Ram:IF Memory Snow

Chapter 1: A Sudden Chill in the Roswaal Mansion

PARTIALLY NSFW CONTENT WILL BE IN THIS CHAPTER

Let's go back to around a week before the Sin Archbishop voyage but a week after the mansion attack, after Rem had been saved.

Subaru opens his eyes to the sunlit room he has grew quite accustomed to for a long time now. He feels a sensation on his hand as a voice speaks. "Barusu, have you awoken?" Subaru turns to his right to see Ram, his hand in hers. His hand was over hers, so Subaru reluctantly loosened his grip.

"Was I the one who did this? I grabbed your hand and never let go?" Ram then pouts a little, tightening her grip on his hand. "I did this because it looked like you were having a nightmare. Stupid Barusu." Ram scoffed at him, as usual.

Subaru sits up and stretches his arms. He looks out of the window of the room, seeing the clouds tinting the sky dark. The sun slowly rises, lighting up the dark atmosphere slightly. Subaru smiles and exhales in relief. "I've always loved days like these." He stared out of the window, gazing out at the cloudy but bright sky.

Subaru looks away from the scenery, feeling a chill down his spine. "By the way, don't you think it's a little bit cold today?" Ram looked down, taking a small pause before continuing in a serious tone. "Now that you mention it, it does seem unusually cold today..."

There was a small moment of silence in between the two. Subaru looked up at Ram, who still had a firm grip on his hand. Suddenly, she let go of his hand, getting up from the seat that was pulled up by the bed. "So, are you ready to get started on today's work, Barusu?" Subaru put his face into his hand, grumbling. "Jeez, I just woke up..."

Ram scoffed and smiled. "You truly are useless, Barusu." Hearing this brought a small blush to Subaru's face. Out of embarrassment, he yelled, "Fine!". He hopped out of bed and quickly began to change into his butler uniform. Ram hid a soft smile, exiting the bedroom.

The dust in his face caused him to let out a small cough. Ram rolled her eyes at Subaru's clumsiness while he was dusting. As he brushed away at the dust in the dull-looking storage room, when suddenly he tripped over a raised floorboard, crashing onto the floor face first. For whatever reason, Subaru felt a certain hollowness on the floor when his head landed. Recollecting himself from the fall and Ram's scoffs and insults, Subaru finds a trap door, where he landed.

"Ram, look, I think I might have found something. Have any idea what's in it?" Subaru looked up at Ram while pointing down at the discovery he made. Ram peered down at the trapdoor, which looked unnoticeable, matching along with the pattern of the floorboards. She shrugged with her eyes closed. "Not at all. Go ahead and open it Barusu. If a swarm of bugs fly out, don't blame me."

Subaru looked down at the trap door with a sudden feeling of menace. Hoping for no spiders to launch out of the door, he opened it with a swing. In relief and confusion, Subaru opened the door only to find bottles of what looked like alcohol.

"This is quite the collection, so is all of it alcohol?" Subaru looked back up at Ram with an astonished look on his face. Ram, also looking intrigued, responded. "Come to think of it, I did hear stories about Master Roswaal's grandmother being a heavy drinker." Subaru's eyebrows raise a little at the information. "Since Ros' granny was around... It's hard to even picture that. If this stuff really is that old it's gotta be worth a fortune by now, right?"

Ram set her gaze on Subaru. With a sigh, she continued. "Barusu, no matter how much you struggle, alcohol is never the answer." He looked up at her and responded loudly. "I wasn't gonna drink it!" Suddenly, they heard footsteps behind them. Turning his head around, Subaru's face fell grim.

"Subaru, Ram! So that's what those rummaging noises were. So, what are you both doing in here, huh? Emilia stood at the doorway of the storage room that Subaru was dusting. "I was warning Barusu that no matter how painful your life is, alcohol is never the right answer." Subaru rolled his eyes and groaned. Emilia put her finger over her mouth, bending down slightly to match Subaru's crouching level.