At night, inside Carlisle's room, candlelight flickered softly. He sat at his desk, flipping through a beautifully bound knight novel. In this world without special effects shows, mobile phones, or television, reading these cliché stories about heroic knights had become one of his few sources of entertainment.
"Dong dong."
A knock sounded at the door.
"Carlisle kun, it's Rem. May I come in?" A soft and gentle voice came from outside.
"Please come in."
The door was gently pushed open, and Rem walked in while carrying a plate of carefully sliced apples. She placed the fruit plate in the empty space on the desk, the neat slices glistening under the candlelight.
"Rem peeled some appas." She lowered her head slightly. "If you don't mind, please have some."
"Thank you." Carlisle nodded gently. "Then I will accept them."
After thanking her, Carlisle was about to continue reading when he noticed that Rem was still standing quietly beside him, showing no intention of leaving.
Noticing Carlisle's questioning gaze, Rem immediately explained.
"Rem is a maid. Standing here and waiting for orders is perfectly fine. Carlisle kun does not need to worry. Please continue reading."
"There is no need for that. It is already very late. Rem should go back and rest."
"Please allow Rem to stay here." The girl shook her head slightly. "Rem wants to watch Carlisle kun, because watching Carlisle kun fills Rem's heart with happiness."
This sudden remark, which sounded almost like a confession, made Carlisle freeze slightly. The tips of his ears flushed unconsciously.
He opened his mouth, but did not know how to respond. In the end, he could only awkwardly turn the page of his book again, though his eyes remained fixed on the same line of text for a long time.
In truth, he had already noticed Rem's feelings.
Ever since the day she brought tea and snacks and interrupted his rest with Subaru, he had noticed the look in her eyes when she gazed at him. It was a gaze filled with affection and longing, almost identical to the way Subaru looked at him.
But he had not even figured out how to respond to Subaru's feelings yet, and now there was Rem as well.
He had only done what he believed was the right thing to do.
Situations like this had never happened to him before.
Rem quietly gazed at Carlisle's side profile, a sweet ache spreading through her chest.
Earlier that day in the Royal Selection hall, when she heard the nobles insulting him with their filthy words, her nails had dug deeply into her own palms. If Subaru had not stepped forward first, she might have already stained her meteor hammer with blood.
"The person behind him."
Although his vow had included her as well, that reckless yet brave black haired girl clearly already held a special place within his heart.
Under the candlelight, Rem unconsciously placed her hand over her chest.
That night, when she had been trapped by a curse, he reached out to her. Later, when she stood before him in tears, he spoke with the gentlest voice.
"If you truly wish to repay me, then simply call my name. And I want to see your smile."
"Every sincere smile is an invitation to the future."
Those words had been like a key that unlocked the shackles binding her soul. They had allowed her to finally escape from that burning night.
Yet why, even though she had already decided that simply staying by his side forever would be enough, did the emptiness within her heart continue to grow day after day?
This feeling. Rem understood it clearly.
She regarded Carlisle as her hero, but this salvation could not belong to her alone.
He was Subaru's hero, Emilia sama's knight, and the "Perfect Knight" praised by the citizens of the royal capital.
And she was merely one of the many people he had saved.
"Since I cannot have him entirely to myself."
She tightened her grip on the lace of her apron.
"Then Rem will simply become a little more greedy."
Even if she had to share him, as long as she could remain the person standing by his side, she would gladly accept the position of a second wife.
Just as he had never given her the choice of refusing his salvation back then, she would never give him the opportunity to refuse this determination.
---
"Um. Rem."
Hearing Carlisle's voice, Rem looked up as if awakening from a dream.
"Yes. Does Carlisle kun have any orders?"
Carlisle handed her an empty plate.
Rem immediately understood.
"Are the appas finished? Rem will prepare more right away."
"There is no need." Carlisle gently shook his head. "It is already very late. You should rest as well. I also need to prepare to sleep."
"I see."
Rem's fingertips lightly traced the edge of the plate. Her voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible.
"Then Carlisle kun, please rest well."
Just as she turned to leave, Carlisle's voice called out from behind her.
"Rem, regarding your feelings, I..."
"Shh."
Rem quickly turned around and gently placed her slender index finger against Carlisle's lips.
"It is alright."
Her voice was softer than the night wind.
"Carlisle kun does not need to rush to respond to Rem."
The warmth of his breath brushed against her fingertips. Rem suppressed the urge to lean closer and slowly withdrew her hand.
"Rem can wait. One year, ten years, even until her hair turns white."
She slowly lowered her head. When she raised it again, the light in her eyes was brighter than the stars.
"But until that time comes, please allow Rem to continue standing by your side."
"This is the one request Rem will never withdraw."
After saying those words, she slowly stepped backward and gently closed the door, leaving the unfinished confession and her own racing heartbeat behind within the quiet night.
The moment the door closed softly, Carlisle froze where he stood.
He slowly raised his hand and touched his lips, where the warmth of Rem's fingertips seemed to remain.
Blood rushed to his head with a loud pounding sound, and even the tips of his ears turned bright red.
"This is too..."
He covered his face with his hand. The skin visible between his fingers was so red that it looked as though it might start bleeding.
According to the teachings of the Knights Order, love was a solemn vow, a bond that endured through life and death. Those thick books explained how a knight should bravely face danger for the one they loved.
Yet none of them explained how one was supposed to maintain their sanity when a girl with such an undeniable presence suddenly rushed into their heart.
"This is truly..."
He exhaled slowly.
"It is even harder to deal with than the curse of a demon beast."
T/N- In Rezero Apples are called Appas.
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