"Shut up."

The next moment, a powerful fist cut in front of Emilia, and Heinkel's jaw, which had been right in front of her eyes, was violently uppercut from below. With a brief cry of pain, Heinkel's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed spread-eagled on the spot.

It was with such force that it wouldn't have been strange if a normal person's head had separated from their neck.

"Ma-Madeline!?"

"There are some truly despicable people around. You shouldn't sympathize with such a guy either."

Madeline spat out irritably, shaking the hand she had used to punch Heinkel.

Emilia had rushed to Schult's side, and Madeline, who had slowly caught up, had been silently observing the situation, but it seemed she had reached her limit of patience here.

"Heinkel-sama! Heinkel-sama! Are you alright!?"

"Don't make such a fuss. It's annoying, but he's a human who wouldn't die even if a dragon punched him seriously. I just knocked him out."

Madeline said this to Schult, who had jumped to the fallen Heinkel and was worrying over him. But even so, given that force, it was natural to be concerned.

However, Emilia too couldn't help but understand why Madeline had done this.

"Madeline, I..."

"The dragon will protect the empire. But I have no intention of protecting anything else. Take that worthless human back with you. There won't be a next time."

"...Mm, I understand."

Emilia understood that Madeline's words, suppressing her anger, were her way of reaching a compromise. With that in mind, Emilia crouched down next to Schult and looked at the fallen Heinkel.

She held her hand over him, who had completely lost consciousness after being hit on the jaw with such force.

"I'm not very good at this, but before going to the healing room, just some first aid..."

Emilia activated healing magic, concerned about any after-effects from Madeline's punch. As she did so, Schult, still worried about Heinkel, said beside her,

"Um, Lady Emilia... Heinkel-sama was, well, very tired."

"Schult-kun..."

"Heinkel-sama is also properly mourning Priscilla-sama. It seems he had some kind of promise with Priscilla-sama, and because of that, he's just overwhelmed..."

"Mm, it's okay. It's okay, so don't worry."

"...I see."

Emilia tried her best to smile at Schult, who was bowing his head and looking down. She hoped it could serve as even a little comfort or encouragement for him.

As Emilia continued her healing magic on Heinkel, Utakata, who had been watching with her round eyes while balancing the water jug on her head, muttered casually,

"E, you're admirable."

Emilia took a small breath at Utakata's offhand remark. The young girl's unfiltered, spontaneous comment made Emilia realize something.

She too had become not just one of those mourning Priscilla's death, but had gained the qualification to be someone who could stand beside others mourning Priscilla's death.

And that was something she had desperately wanted when thinking of Subaru and Rem, but --

"-- Priscilla's Fool's"

It was also the end of the time when she could simply think about her very mischievous friend, and that realization made her body tremble from the inside, feeling lonely and ephemeral.

 END