“Cha-Charlotte… what did you just do…?”
“A cheek kiss. Why?”
“H-How did you do that so naturally…? As if you’ve done it before…?”
“Well, because I have done it before?”
“…”
Julia’s eyes narrowed.
Just witnessing that surprise cheek kiss up close was enough to make her dizzy.
And now she hears this isn’t even the first time?
While she had been hesitating, debating, and struggling with her feelings every single day, Charlotte had already made her move?
Acting all innocent while secretly stealing kisses behind her back?
…Aslan wasn’t even a first-timer anymore?
Julia’s pupils began to shake wildly.
“H-how did you end up kissing like that…?”
“Hmm? I don’t really remember. A cheek kiss isn’t a big deal, is it? I guess that’s why it didn’t leave an impression.”
“…”
Not a big deal?
That “not a big deal” thing—she hadn’t even done it once yet.
She hadn’t even worked up the courage to try.
“If you really want to, you could just say so. Here.”
“H-hmph. It’s not like I really want to or anything…!”
“Really? Then maybe next time—”
“B-but still… since I’m already sitting here, I suppose there’s no reason not to do it…”
As Aslan knelt on one knee in front of Julia and started to rise again, Julia suddenly grabbed his collar and tugged him back down.
Aslan stifled a laugh, lowering himself again.
She was always so shy on her own, hardly ever expressing affection.
But when Charlotte subtly prodded her, she quickly grew flustered.
Countless times, Aslan had debated telling her about Charlotte’s kiss just to stir her up a little.
But now, he was relieved that he hadn’t.
He closed his eyes slightly.
“Ugh…”
Standing in front of the waiting Aslan, Julia froze stiff.
Now that she was about to press her lips to his cheek, a wave of embarrassment hit her.
But more than that…
‘Should I just go for the lips…?’
Her gaze fixated on Aslan’s pale face, where his red lips stood out vividly.
A battle raged within her.
A cheek kiss at this point was meaningless.
Aslan’s first had already been taken by Charlotte.
Even if she kissed his cheek a hundred or a thousand times, Charlotte would still be his first.
But what if she took his lips instead?
Surely Charlotte hadn’t kissed him on the lips yet… right?
If she did it now, she’d definitely be first.
She could take Aslan’s first real kiss!
‘Should I just go for it? If I hesitate now, Charlotte will steal another first from me, and I’ll regret it again!’
A kiss…
Should she really do it?
That would make things undeniable.
A kiss was a stronger bond than any engagement contract.
‘Y-yeah. I can do this. This time, I’ll be first—’
Julia swallowed hard, steeling her resolve.
She adjusted her aim slightly toward Aslan’s lips—
“Heyah!”
“Ugh!?”
At that moment, Charlotte gave Julia a light shove from behind.
Julia, who had been shifting her position, lost her balance and—smack—her lips landed on Aslan’s cheek instead.
Oblivious to the situation, Aslan simply smiled in satisfaction and stood up.
Julia, realizing she had lost her chance, immediately looked like she was about to cry.
“Aah…! Charlotte, why did you push me?!”
“You kept hesitating and wasting time, so I gave you a little courage! Besides, mister’s legs were probably getting tired.”
“I-it wasn’t hesitation, I just…”
“Weren’t you just standing there hesitating?”
“Ugh…”
No, that wasn’t it.
She had been debating whether or not to go for his lips…
Julia opened her mouth to explain, but the moment she tried to say it in front of Aslan and Charlotte, her face burned up.
“F-fine… I guess you’re right…”
“Hehe! Good thing I pushed you!”
“Ughhh…”
As Charlotte rubbed her nose smugly, Julia swallowed her frustration.
Once again, she had lost because she was too embarrassed to speak.
She felt utterly defeated and humiliated, but—
‘Next time, I’ll make sure Charlotte isn’t around and get Aslan alone…!’
This wasn’t over.
She was still determined to take Aslan’s first kiss.
Before it was too late, she had to—!
Julia clenched her fists, her resolve burning brighter than ever.
“Huh? Oh! The scary lady is here!”
“The scary lady? Oh…”
Charlotte’s ears perked up as she turned toward the entrance, her face lighting up.
Curious, Aslan followed her gaze.
The moment he saw the high heels stepping out of the carriage, he understood.
It was Irene.
“Scary lady! You’re here!”
“S-scary lady…?”
“Thanks for coming to our birthday party!”
“…”
As Charlotte and Julia ran over, surrounding her, Irene’s usually commanding presence crumbled.
She still found it difficult to deal with children.
After all, she had originally brought them in as mere test subjects for her cruel experiments, to use as leverage against Aslan.
Did they even realize that?
Of course, now, all of that was meaningless.
Nevertheless, every time Irene saw them, she felt a stabbing pain in her heart, and she couldn’t relax.
“Oh! Yuri’s here too!”
“Yuriii—!”
A second carriage stopped at the front gate.
The moment a familiar short-haired girl stepped out, Charlotte and Julia rushed toward the entrance.
“I thought you were busy? You said you might be late today?”
“I wrapped things up quickly and came.”
“Oh, really? How?”
“It was a mission to wipe out a group of rebels holed up in an old castle. A frontal assault was too troublesome, so I had them launch me over the castle walls with a catapult, and I took care of everything from the inside!”
“Ah… Uh… Yeah…”
Listening to Yuri casually recount her battlefield exploits, Charlotte and Julia were at a loss for words.
She really worked in extreme conditions…
Every time they heard stories like this, they were reminded just how hard it was to make a living through sheer effort.
“Before the real birthday party starts, how about we hand out presents?”
“Oh! Yes, yes! That sounds amazing!”
“I can’t wait…!”
Bringing the excited children into the room where the presents were prepared, Aslan was confident in his choices.
He had put a lot of thought into them.
As Charlotte and Julia received their beautifully wrapped boxes, their eyes widened in awe.
“A big box! A pretty ribbon! This really feels like a birthday present!”
“Charlotte… it is a birthday present.”
“Go ahead and open them.”
“Okay! Then I’ll go first…!”
Julia, her eyes sparkling with anticipation, carefully unwrapped the package.
Inside the box was a dainty bracelet.
“It’s a specially crafted bracelet embedded with an enchanted mana stone. If a Necromancer wears it, all those scary ghosts and lingering spirits you normally see will appear as cute little elementals instead.”
“R-really!?”
Just the fact that it was a gift from Aslan was enough to make her happy.
But to think it had such an incredible function…
Had he noticed how she constantly flinched and gasped at the ghosts she saw?
This was the perfect gift!
As Julia slipped the bracelet onto her wrist with admiration, Aslan smiled in satisfaction.
Among the possible accessories he had considered embedding the mana stone into, a choker had also been an option.
But suppressing his darker impulses and going with a bracelet had clearly been the right choice.
“What about me? What about me?! Oh! A dagger!”
Charlotte tore through the wrapping with an impatient flurry of hands.
Inside her box lay a dagger, along with a sheath designed to match.
The craftsmanship was impeccable—both the blade and sheath exuded an undeniable charm.
“You only have the Super Super Strong Sword as your main weapon, but because of its size, carrying it everywhere is difficult. So I thought it’d be good for you to have a secondary weapon.”
“Whoa! I love it! It’s even super pretty!”
“I’m glad you like it. The dagger was made by Jacob, but since his orders were backed up, I couldn’t place a custom order. Instead, I bought this off another client by paying a higher price—”
“Huh? The dagger is changing?”
“…!?”
It happened the moment Charlotte hugged the dagger close to her chest.
The blade suddenly darkened, its shape twisting as it morphed.
Within seconds, the elegant dagger transformed into something just as menacing as the Super Super Strong Sword.
Everyone was stunned.
“It looks so cool now…!”
“…”
But Charlotte, oblivious to everyone else’s shock, squealed in excitement.
Aslan, who had been about to say something, simply gave up.
If Charlotte was happy, then that was that.
‘Seriously… why does everything she touches turn black?’
Just gripping the weapon for a moment hadn’t done anything.
But the moment Charlotte fully acknowledged it as “hers”, it transformed.
No matter how many times he saw it, it was still an eerie phenomenon.
“Alright, let’s eat now.”
“Yes!”
“Okay!”
With their presents now equipped—one on the wrist, the other at her waist—Charlotte and Julia skipped happily toward the dining hall.
Birthday presents.
And not just any presents, but extravagant ones…
Their smiles refused to fade.
But then, as they glanced toward Yuri, their steps faltered slightly.
‘Come to think of it… does Yuri have a birthday?’
Like them, Yuri didn’t know her exact birth date.
She had never experienced a birthday party or received a gift.
Maybe they should celebrate one for her too?
Was it really okay for only the two of them to enjoy this?
A small pang of guilt crept in.
“Yuri. You mentioned you grew up in an orphanage, right?”
“Huh? Yes, Count.”
“Then you wouldn’t have any family to celebrate your birthday. You might not know the exact date, but I’ll give you a present for this year.”
“…!”
At that moment, Aslan pulled something from the cupboard and set it on the table.
A dog bowl.
With “Yuri” engraved on it.
Yuri’s face went stiff.
“A… a dog bowl… I see…”
“This is amazing! A dog bowl just for Yuri!”
“With this, you’re officially part of the Vermont family…!”
“…?”
Initially about to protest, Yuri hesitated as she saw Charlotte and Julia clapping in excitement.
Wait… was this not a joke?
Was this actually a good gift?
Was she supposed to be happy about this…?
“…T-Thank you…?”
Yuri was left completely bewildered.
