━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
What kind of person would want to kill someone they loved, and not even care about the pain they would go through? That kind of twisted 'affection' was clearly an illness, as far as Noelle was concerned, and didn't even deserve to be labeled as love, even the sick kind.
Emilia didn't seem to care about it nearly as much as she should, perhaps, but understanding their concerns, she still smiled. "Alright, alright, I get it. You were all trying to protect me, so I won't care about these things anymore."
Of course, a big part of the reason she forgave them so quickly stemmed from the fact that the crimson-haired girl didn't feel that she had been lied to from the start.
At most, her girlfriends just didn't want to take the initiative to expose her to such unpleasant things.
Although she pitied the ones who were being 'excluded' by them due to being 'too passionate', of all things, maybe being separated from her once and for all might actually be good for those people, all things considered.
While Emilia was usually quite open-minded, she felt that it really was quite unlikely that she would be able to return all their affections with equal intensity. And even if they managed to follow her, would that really lead to a happier future?
Even if they stayed in Cynthia's world, she would only be able to meet them every once in a while, after all.
Having been with her for so long, Cynthia could obviously somewhat guess what the crimson-haired beauty was thinking. And although she didn't make her own opinions known, she couldn't help but sigh. 'Compared to the insecure little girl who wanted to hog every bit of affection she could find when she first came into this world, she's really changed a lot. But… is that really a good thing?'
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
After multiple rounds of 'filtering', Emilia was surprised to learn that there were still over three hundred people left from the thousands who had been initially 'invited' to meet her.
Knowing just how absurdly strict the requirements were for people to 'qualify' at this point, from having zero 'external' attachments to 'exactly a certain level of affection' for her, she really couldn't be blamed for not expecting it.
Naturally, even many of those who had been 'disqualified' seemed to like her quite a lot, and Emilia couldn't resist asking Noelle and Penny to arrange for some of them to meet her in person.
She may not be able to take them along, but it wouldn't hurt to acknowledge their heart, right?
Crystal naturally had no reason to object now that the most 'dangerous' elements had already been removed, well, except for one, that is. But while the blonde girl knew that Michelle was technically just as 'unhinged' as many of those she had 'kicked out', they'd been with her long enough to understand that she shouldn't actually be too much of an issue.
Compared to that, the 'problems' that got these people rejected were really not even worth mentioning.
"Since there are quite a few of them, let's make it so you can meet them ten at a time?"
Emilia just smiled and kissed her adorable blonde girlfriend on the cheek. "Sounds perfect."
A few hours later, it started.
The first group to enter was a giggling group of fangirls, and while they were all very adorable, Emilia could tell why they'd been 'rejected' by Crystal within just a few moments of talking to them.
"Wow, you're even prettier up close than I ever imagined!"
"I never thought I'd be so close to the princess herself!"
"I-I must have used up a lifetime of luck…"
Their liking was true, but… with their personality, it was easy for them to grow obsessed with things, and equally easy to get bored after a while.
When they liked someone, it definitely couldn't be considered shallow, but once they moved on, what they would feel for those past memories would only be a sense of shame and regret.
Emilia listened to them for a while, and even rewarded them with a few tips and compliments before calling in the next batch.
This time, they were all 'intellectuals' who clearly gave more priority to logic than they did to their own feelings, seven boys and three girls, and Emilia realized at once that one of her girlfriends must have painstakingly sorted through them all to filter out 'similar' groups of people so she could handle them more easily.
She couldn't help but smile gently. 'How thoughtful… I wonder whose idea it was? It might be big sis, or Dixie, or Crystal… no, it might even be Noelle? She looks so strict, but deep down, she's really just a big softie.'
Even when given a chance to exact revenge on the Nightingale clan, the gray-haired girl only really 'punished' her 'stepmother' and parents. And even then, most of their suffering stemmed from their own conflicts, and not Noelle herself.
The crimson-haired beauty had no idea that she was destroying the 'reasoning' of many of the intellectuals before her with that smile, and continued interacting with them 'normally' for a few more minutes.
'Crystal must have thought that they were too rational, and would definitely 'fail' to pass through since they wouldn't be dedicated enough. I guess that could be true…' Emilia nodded to herself. 'Unless they have really strong feelings for someone, people like them would really not be willing to abandon everything they know and head to a completely different world.'
She was a bit amused when some of them even questioned her, though she didn't really hate it. "You want to know why I helped Carmen at that time?"
The girl who put forth the question nodded awkwardly. "T-The commander told us that you'd already decided, but I've always been curious about your reasons behind that decision. The Gray Wolfe had already lost its momentum at that time, and there was little to gain from that place. Aside from helping the people in need, that is."
Emilia hummed thoughtfully. "And there were many places more 'deserving' of being saved if I really wanted to go that way, isn't that so?"
Although the girl was clearly embarrassed to know that her thoughts had been seen through, she still nodded. "N-Not many people from Carmen came forward to speak up for you before that."
The crimson-haired beauty giggled. "You're all very smart, and I'm impressed by how clearly you judged everything. Sadly, I can't tell you everything too clearly, but even if I did… I doubt you'll be satisfied. I worked mostly on emotions at that time, after all. In terms of being logical and efficient… I suppose I failed."
The group of ten was clearly flustered by her words, and rushed to 'comfort' her with a variety of words that quickly turned into a jumbled mess.
Emilia soon stopped them while shaking her head in amusement, but she couldn't deny that her heart was a little warmed.
Maybe to Crystal, these people didn't deserve being taken along after criticizing her actions and being so 'judgmental' without knowing all the facts, but she felt that their honesty and clear way of thinking about things was actually quite adorable. It showed that they hadn't yet been tainted by the inherent unfairness and injustice in the world.
Of course, not every group that came in afterwards invoked the same feelings in her heart, but Emilia still made sure to give them at least a sincere smile.
It was her final farewell and thank you to them for their love.
Unfortunately, Emilia completely failed to foresee the 'disastrous' effects of her actions.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Visit freewe𝑏nove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺 for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience