"It seems I've failed in my duties as a host, if my guests have been left with that impression."
Roswaal's expression turned serious.
"I have no intention of rushing you. I only worried that, having invited you here on those terms, you might feel let down by the arrangement."
"If you haven't decided yet, then please, stay as long as you wish. You're welcome here for as long as suits you."
The strange cadence of his speech made everything he said sound slightly off, but the sincerity behind it was hard to fault.
"Much appreciated." Gojo polished off the last of his pancake with clean efficiency, then lifted his tea with an easy smile. "I was hoping to impose a while longer anyway. I've grown rather fond of the place."
...
Night fell.
No lamps burned in the study. The only light came from a sliver of pale moon through the window, casting the room in silver and shadow.
Roswaal sat deep in a high-backed armchair, Ram tucked against his side. His palm rested gently on her forehead.
Under his careful control, Mana flowed into her body in a slow, steady current.
"Our interesting guest these past two days. What's your impression?"
Ram leaned into him, eyes half-closed with an almost feline contentment. They opened a fraction at the question.
"Satoru Gojo. On the surface, he's carefree and unpredictable. But the things he reveals without meaning to tell a different story. His strength and his capacity for learning are both extraordinary." She paused. "Unlike the other two, he doesn't bother hiding the fact that he's been investigating things around the mansion. His eyes seem unusual as well. And he has a pronounced sweet tooth."
"According to Puck, Betty got the worse end of an encounter with him in the Forbidden Library."
"A mysterious powerhouse..."
Roswaal nodded, the flow of Mana from his hand never wavering.
"And Felt?"
"Pragmatic. Guarded. Greedy." Ram considered for a moment, searching for the right word. "Like a hedgehog."
"She grew up in the Slums, but she shows remarkable restraint. Food, fine clothing, luxuries of any kind. She doesn't indulge recklessly. Every move is cautious."
"As for Natsuki Subaru."
"Ordinary, yet strangely energetic. He hasn't displayed any particular abilities. Clumsy, prone to bravado, full of enthusiasm that never quite lands. He does odd things and says odder things."
"That said, it's painfully obvious how taken he is with Lady Emilia."
Roswaal's fingers traced lightly through Ram's hair.
The softness beneath his fingertips seemed to draw something out from behind his eyes, a dim, watchful gleam buried deep in those mismatched irises.
According to the Book of Wisdom, a person with the power to change the world would appear at Emilia's side.
He had made considerable preparations for that day.
What he hadn't anticipated was the number. Not one person had appeared beside Emilia, but three.
"How thorough you are, Ram." His voice was warm, approving. "And what about Lady Emilia herself? My candidate. Has she shown a different side with them around?"
"Lady Emilia seems... more animated than before."
Ram thought back over the past two days. Subaru had been dragging Emilia into one thing after another, and the effect was undeniable. More activity. More smiles.
Before their arrival, Emilia's routine had been quiet to the point of stillness. She'd find a sunny spot somewhere, play with Puck, and that was the shape of her day. Conversation was never a problem. She could talk to anyone easily enough. But the feeling she gave off was always the same: a kind of gentle distance. If no one initiated, she wouldn't either.
She lived inside her own small world, and it was peaceful there.
Subaru had shattered that peace entirely.
"More animated, you say?"
Roswaal murmured the words to himself.
The faces of all three guests flickered through his mind.
Judging by what he'd observed so far, the most likely candidate for the one with world-changing power was Gojo. The astonishing strength, the speed at which he absorbed new information. Among the three, only he fit the description.
But nothing was certain yet. More testing would be needed. More observation.
"Keep watching them. They're far more interesting than any of the other candidates."
"Yes, Lord Roswaal."
Ram's voice was soft, obedient.
What she didn't see was the cold indifference pooled at the bottom of Roswaal's gaze.
...
Over the days that followed, Gojo and Subaru settled into the mansion like they owned the place.
Gojo's routine was simple: eat pastries, wander the halls, and hunt for the door to the Forbidden Library. That was the whole of it.
Subaru was even less subtle. He sought out Emilia every chance he got, sticking to her like gum on a shoe.
Felt was the only one of the three who hadn't fully relaxed. A certain stiffness clung to her, a wariness she couldn't quite shed. But she was warming up, bit by bit, the way Gojo had told her to.
New clothes replaced the worn-out set she'd arrived in. The style was still practical, easy to move in, but the quality was leagues ahead of what she'd had before. On a girl who'd always been pretty, the effect was immediate. Something almost regal surfaced in her bearing.
She was starting to look the part of a royal candidate, though she herself had no idea.
Roswaal and the rest of the household carried on as usual. Ram and Rem had a slightly heavier workload, but nothing dramatic.
The real victim in all of this was Betty.
After Puck had guided Gojo to the Forbidden Library that first time, Gojo had figured out the trick.
The Six Eyes let him distinguish which door, at any given moment, would connect to the library's entrance.
And so, pestering the easily irritated girl while browsing through her collection became his favorite pastime, second only to eating sweets.
He wasn't the only culprit.
Subaru had somehow found his way there too. Gojo's success came from the Six Eyes. Subaru's defied explanation. Even he couldn't articulate it. Instinct, he called it. Pure gut feeling, and it led him to the right door every time.
With two uninvited regulars now barging in on a daily basis, the Forbidden Library experienced the liveliest stretch it had seen in years.
Whether Betty welcomed the attention was another matter entirely.
...
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