Natsuki Subaru's Journey to Strategically Capture Reinhild

R5. The Fragile Girl

—So tired, so tired… I can't believe I made that kind of promise. What was I thinking?

Reinhild felt mentally exhausted for the first time in a long while.

Holding her head with one hand, she leaned against Felt's door to rest for a moment, then straightened up again.

Glancing at the nearby clock, she saw that Subaru was due to wake up in 30 minutes.

—Let's check how the food preparation is going.

Trusting in Ferris, Reinhild headed to the kitchen to confirm the situation.

A chef in charge of guest meals hurriedly approached her, explaining the difficulties they had encountered in preparing the food.

In the back kitchen, the other chefs were huddled around notes, discussing things intensely. Despite the mansion having many top-tier chefs thanks to Reinhild's influence, making completely new types of food was still a tall order.

Reinhild hesitated for a moment but then decided to cook Subaru's food herself.

Of course, Reinhild wasn't diving into this unfamiliar cooking without reason.

Having taken care of her father's meals since the age of six, Reinhild could be considered the world's most skilled chef. Not only was she highly skilled, she also possessed the following Divine Protections:

Divine Protection of the Gourmet King: Can create delicious food by any means. Divine Protection of Roasted Dishes: Supreme skill in grilled cuisine. Divine Protection of Stewed Dishes: Ultimate talent in stewed cuisine. Divine Protection of Steamed Dishes: Peerless skill in steamed cuisine. Divine Protection of Fried Dishes: Unrivaled mastery of fried cuisine.

With these five top-tier culinary Divine Protections, even if the recipe was unclear, as long as she knew the taste and ingredients, Reinhild could recreate it flawlessly.

——Cooking Transition——

Reinhild looked at the dishes in front of her with confusion.

She had lifted the lids several times, but the food didn't emit any dazzling glow.

Though her Divine Protections kept assuring her the dishes were already perfect, Reinhild clearly remembered Subaru saying that glowing food meant the ingredients were perfect.

But with little time left before Subaru woke up, she had to suppress the small regret in her heart.

Sometime in the future, Subaru would see Reinhild in an apron confidently serving glowing food, and he would remember that he had once exaggerated about anime food he'd never actually eaten—that would be another story entirely.

"These are for tasting. Try them, discuss amongst yourselves, and I'll taste them again in a few days."

Reinhild told the chefs around her, whose eyes were sparkling as they looked at her.

"Yes, Master!! Leave the rest to us!"

The chefs who had watched her cook hurriedly bowed and scrambled to complete the finishing touches.

.

.

.

"Temporary memory confusion?"

Reinhild asked with concern.

"Yes, so he'll be a few minutes late. Ah, there's Ferris—it looks like things are fine. I'll go greet him."

Otto spoke as he saw Ferris walking toward the dragon carriage through the window, then left the room.

Reinhild raised her hand slightly as she watched the carriage turn but gave up halfway.

She watched the dragon carriage slowly roll toward the main gate until the sound of footsteps behind her brought her back to reality.

When she turned around, she saw Subaru, now fully dressed.

Reinhild gave him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, I spaced out a little. Are you feeling okay?"

... (Omitting repeated dialogue)

"I swear on my sword—I will not break my word."

Reinhild silenced the others present with a glance and made the highest knight's vow to the delinquent-looking Subaru.

As she did, she reflected on the greatness of love while also quickly scanning through everything she knew about Lady Emilia.

However, Subaru's answer was completely unexpected.

"My only wish is to be hired to work at this mansion."

Reinhild couldn't accept such a small request as payment for Subaru's great favor.

Despite having sworn on her sword, she instinctively suggested he think it over again.

"Maybe if you calm down, you'll think of many things you want… But I'm not a man who lies to himself.

Right now, I'm completely broke.

Sure, having a large sum of money to splurge would be great, but having stable income to cover basic living expenses is pretty good too, right?"

"...You don't need to be a servant though. Why not just be a guest?"

Reinhild mentally praised Otto.

While the reward still felt small compared to Subaru's help, it was much better than making him a servant.

So Reinhild said seriously:

"Indeed. For what you've done, I could support you with the best treatment for the rest of your life."

And then Subaru gave a dazzling refusal, insisting on sticking to his word as a man.

.

.

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After confirming that the bet with Felt had been accepted, Reinhild went to a room at the top of the mansion.

It was a simple room, with only two vases and a huge bed that could fit five people.

On the bed lay a woman with long golden hair, sleeping soundly in white pajamas.

She was Reinhild's mother—Louanna Astrea.

Reinhild replaced the flowers in the vase, then sat down beside her mother and began talking about recent events.

"…So Father is still drinking... Grandfather's still mad at me, huh... And then there's Lady Felt... I believe she's the royal princess we failed to find 14 years ago. It feels like fate that she turned out to be the final royal candidate. For the kingdom's sake, I should dedicate myself to making her a worthy king.

And yet… I made that childish bet with her. I actually placed a personal promise above the nation's future. Did I make a mistake?"

"Sorry, even though I rarely get to see you, I just keep saying depressing things.

Oh, right. Yesterday, I met a boy named Subaru… Amazing, really.

He took a knife for the girl he loved.

I was ready to fully support him, but his only wish was to work at the mansion.

And I get the strange feeling that he somehow already knew what we were going to talk about.

It's like—though he was thinking, it felt more like he was reciting lines, not considering options. Funny, right? Like he had already had that conversation once before.

I must really be tired."

"To be honest, I even regretted switching the Divine Protection of Emotion back to the Divine Protection of Omnipotence.

But the omnipotent Divine Protection is hard to control… and I can't peek at Lady Felt's emotions anyway. Ah, time's really flown by. I should go rest now. Otherwise, Otto's going to throw a fit again."

"Mother…"

In the end, Reinhild said nothing more. She gently touched the face of her mother, who had been asleep for 17 years, wiped the corners of her eyes, and quietly closed the door.