By the time Emilia arrived at the village, the sun was already slowly setting.
At sunset, Puck would inevitably fall into slumber.
During this time, Puck had almost no perception of the outside world unless Emilia forcibly awakened him.
This was due to the contract between them, Emilia's supply of mana was insufficient, forcing Puck into periodic slumber.
"Lia, be careful. If anything happens, wake me up immediately. No matter what, I will protect you," Puck said before falling asleep.
Emilia nodded and smiled in response.
Then, Puck returned to the magic crystal pendant resting on Emilia's chest.
The village, bathed in the evening glow, felt rather quiet.
It wasn't because of the turmoil within Lugnica, this remote border village remained unaffected. Rather, it was simply the village's way of life. With no modern appliances, the villagers followed the natural rhythm of sunrise and sunset.
Seeing the peaceful village, Emilia let out a breath of relief.
Just then, a group of children came running from afar.
Emilia called out to them.
The children weren't afraid of the cloaked figure before them.
After all, Emilia had visited the village multiple times in this very disguise, often distributing food.
As for why she never revealed her face—
It had been mentioned before: in this world of Re:Zero, half-elves were outcasts, considered unnatural beings labeled as "half-demons."
"Here, take these and make sure to share with your families," Emilia said with a smile as she handed out the food she had brought.
The children cheered happily, delighted by the gifts.
However, behind them stood a timid blue-haired girl, lingering at the back, seemingly out of place.
Emilia quickly noticed her and curiously asked,
"Who is she?"
Children are naturally honest, and since Emilia was a kind figure who brought them food, one of them eagerly answered as if to earn favor:
"Her name is Meili! She's new to the village. It seems she got separated from the adults."
Hearing this, Emilia's kind heart was immediately moved.
Taking a loaf of bread, she stepped past the other children and approached Meili.
"Meili, did you get separated from your family?"
Meili nodded hesitantly, still looking timid.
Emilia handed her the bread. She hesitated at first but eventually took it and devoured it hungrily.
Seeing how starved the girl was, Emilia's heart trembled slightly.
At that moment, Meili began to speak about her past.
According to her, she came from a remote city in Lugnica, where her family was involved in trade.
Not long ago, her family had been transporting a shipment of goods to another city for business.
But along the way, they encountered strange people in red robes.The adults had sent her away, telling her to run without looking back. She had run aimlessly for a long time before finally arriving at this village.
Listening to her story, Emilia felt a lump in her throat and a pang of sorrow in her heart.
Those red-robed lunatics—how many families had they already destroyed?
At the same time, she grew worried for the girl.
Though nothing was certain, Emilia knew that Meili's family was likely already dead.
Now alone in the world, she had neither food nor shelter.
In the end, after some thought, Emilia asked:
"Meili, do you know how to do housework?"
Upon hearing the question, a faint light seemed to flicker in Meili's eyes.
"I can do all sorts of chores; cleaning, cooking, anything!"
Hearing this, Emilia found a solution.
"Meili, if you have nowhere else to go, why don't you come back to the estate with me? You can work as a maid, you'll at least have food to eat."
Meili nodded eagerly.
Thus, when Emilia returned to the estate, a blue-haired girl accompanied her.
Back at the estate, Emilia felt a bit nervous.
After all, she wasn't the owner of the place, and bringing in a new maid on her own was something she needed to discuss with Roswaal.
However, after searching around, Emilia found no trace of him.
This left her both puzzled and relieved.
She simply assumed that Roswaal had left the estate for some other matter. Given how often Roswaal disappeared without notice, this wasn't unusual.
As for the possibility of Roswaal being killed—
The thought never even crossed Emilia's mind.
After all, he was the Royal Court Magician, the most powerful spellcaster in Lugnica.
"You can follow these sisters and learn the duties of a maid for now. Once the master of the estate returns, I'll talk to him," Emilia told Meili.
Meili nodded.
Afterward, Emilia returned to her room.
Meanwhile, the blue-haired girl began curiously inspecting the maids' quarters. Among the servants, she didn't see two familiar faces.
"They really have disappeared… That's interesting," she murmured to herself before leaving the room.
Now alone, she wandered the estate as if casually exploring, yet none of her earlier timidness remained.
Finally, she stopped before a certain door, reached out, and turned the handle.
The door bore a symbol indicating it was a bedroom.
But inside, rows of bookshelves lined the walls, and the space was far larger than expected.
At the center, a blonde-haired girl sat elegantly, dressed in a lavish gown, as adorable as a porcelain doll, engrossed in a book.
The commotion at the door caught her attention.
Seeing the uninvited guest, the golden-haired girl frowned.
"Who are you? This is Betty's Forbidden Library. If you entered by mistake, leave at once!"
Beatrice scolded, showing no mercy.
However, the intruder showed no fear or intention of leaving. After closing the door, she leisurely wandered around the Forbidden Library.
Her indifferent attitude naturally irritated Beatrice.
"If you refuse to leave, Betty won't mind teaching you a lesson!"
Raising her small hand, Beatrice aimed at the intruder.
But before she could act—
"Is Roswaal dead?"
The intruder suddenly posed this cryptic question.
Beatrice tilted her head in confusion at first, but then her expression changed drastically. Closing her eyes, she focused intently.
A long silence followed before she opened them again, disbelief written on her face.
Her tone now carried tension and wariness.
"Who… are you? Did you kill Roswaal?!"
The intruder merely shook her head.
By now, it should be clear.
Yes, the blue-haired girl—Meili —was actually Haruto in disguise.
In the original story, Meili was a hidden assassin within the mansion, capable of controlling magical beasts.
She was the sister of the infamous Bowel Hunter, Elsa.
However, in this altered scenario, both sisters had been captured and sent to the Foundation for reformation.
Haruto had taken advantage of Meli's identity, deceived Emilia, and infiltrated the mansion.
His goal was simple.
He intended to involve himself in the upcoming events and, at the right moment, capture that gray spirit(Greylin), using it as bait to reach the divine being behind it.
To avoid detection, Haruto had borrowed another's identity.
His current visit to the Forbidden Library was to confirm Roswaal's status.
In truth, the absence of Roswaal in the mansion had already given Haruto a good idea of what had happened.
The Reincarnators had likely arrived and begun their machinations.
As for why they only killed Roswaal instead of targeting Emilia or wiping out the entire mansion—
Most likely, they feared that killing Emilia, a Royal Selection candidate, would provoke an unrelenting hunt from Reinhard.
But eliminating Roswaal was a necessity.
If they wanted to operate freely in the border territories, Roswaal had to be removed. Otherwise, with his power, he would undoubtedly notice any disturbances.
Haruto could even predict their next move.
They were likely planning to seize the magic crystal mines and capture the Archbishop of Sloth.
And just as he expected—
At this moment, Greylin led a group of Reincarnators, scouring the mountains behind the mansion, searching cave after cave.
Soon, they found traces of human activity.
Following the trail, they located the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, Ley Batenkaitos.
The Sin Archbishops were madmen who had inherited the Witch Factors, spreading calamity across the world of Re:Zero.
But Greylin was not here to eliminate him. Instead, he aimed to trigger an even greater catastrophe.
With assistance from the Crimson Witch's Rotting Corpse, Greylin swiftly subdued the Archbishop of Sloth.
"Take him to the royal capital's border. Force him to keep using his ability. That thing will come."
Greylin ordered coldly, tossing the half-dead Archbishop to Demon Mask.
Demon Mask quickly restrained Sloth and began transporting him to the designated location.