“Ugh. Charlotte. I can’t see very well.”
“Come over here. Should I open the door a bit more?”
“No, if we do that, we’ll get caught… Ugh. It’s too cramped. Let’s just take turns looking.”
“Can I go first?”
“Uh, sure.”
Ah! She’s so curious!
She’s going crazy with curiosity!
Julia stood next to the door, calmly crossing her arms, but inside she was itching to peek through the crack.
What’s going on inside?
Sylvia and Aslan seemed to be… getting along well.
Usually, they exchanged harsh words and bickered, but that’s something only close friends would do.
Considering the social gap between them, it was even more surprising.
What kind of relationship do they have?
She hadn’t seriously considered it until now, but. Thinking about it now, there were more than a few suspicious things.
‘To take off clothes…’
And that line.
She must have misheard it, right?
It must have sounded strange because she heard it out of context?
Julia’s feet fidgeted nervously, tapping on the floor.
“What… are they doing right now?”
“Sister Knight is taking off her clothes with an embarrassed look and folding them neatly.”
“Ahhh.”
“Now she’s sitting with her back turned to the gentleman.”
“Ahhh…”
A sigh of relief escaped involuntarily.
She was so surprised, thinking they were playing an adult game!
If her back is turned, that probably means it’s not that, right?
…Right?
“Wh-what’s happening now?”
“Mister is touching Sister Knight’s back.”
“Touching her back!? Why!?”
“I don’t know either… And your voice is too loud, Julia.”
“Ah…”
Julia covered her mouth with her hand, lowering her voice.
Touching her back? Why…? Maybe it’s a massage?
Isn’t it usually the shoulders? How do you give a back massage while sitting?
No, even if it’s a massage, it’s strange.
Why would a noble like Aslan be giving a massage to a knight?
Isn’t that already a sign of a twisted preference?
‘Just hearing it doesn’t give me any idea of what’s going on…!’
Knight Sylvia is sitting with her back turned, having taken off her top.
And Aslan is touching her back?
What is this?
She heard everything from Charlotte, but.
The more she heard, the more difficult it was to imagine the scene.
She wanted to see it directly…!
“Sh-should we switch now? I’m curious too…”
“Gasp. Sister Knight is standing up. She’s turning around, isn’t she? In just her underwear?”
“Wha…!?”
“And Mister is staring intently at her chest.”
“!?”
What in the world is happening? Julia’s pupils darted around, unable to find a place to rest.
Soon, her patience wore thin.
She needs to see too!
“Let’s switch now! I want to see! I’m curious too…!”
“Julia! If you push like that… Aah!?”
“Whack!”
Clunk, clatter.
Julia, having misstepped, lost her balance and fell with Charlotte, knocking into the door.
The scene revealed was.
Sylvia, blushing deeply, covering her chest with her underwear.
And Aslan, looking a bit annoyed.
“…”
“…”
“Could you leave?”
“Yes.”
“Y-Yes.”
Aslan’s soft demand.
Charlotte and Julia quietly closed the door and left.
Thud, in front of the closed door.
Charlotte and Julia’s eyes met.
Both were confused, looking as if they didn’t know what to do.
“Julia… Maybe the countess will be Sister Knight instead of us…!”
“A formidable opponent has appeared in an unexpected place…”
“A formidable opponent? You don’t like Mister, right?”
“Well, if I’m going to be a spy on the inside, I’ll have to become the countess, won’t I? I-I don’t particularly like it, but! Still, I could become Aslan’s wife… there’s no reason I couldn’t…”
Julia muttered in a tiny, almost ant-like voice. Charlotte’s mouth widened in a grin.
Even if she can’t admit she likes Mister, at least she finally admitted she wants to be his wife.
Being honest is difficult for Julia, so she can’t suddenly be completely honest.
If she becomes gradually more honest like this, she will eventually fully acknowledge her true feelings.
But while she was trying to induce jealousy, she became completely honest the moment she saw the knight being close with Mister…
‘Am I not a big enough threat to make her feel urgency?’
Charlotte felt a little, just a little.
A sense of defeat and slight disappointment.
Was she not even a competitor…?
***
“Haa… There’s no shortage of things that make me sick…”
[The Evil God ‘Kali’ is furious, asking how dare you speak nonsense to our dark knight and necromancer!]
“Sylvia, the maids…”
[Evil God, ‘Kali’ is at a loss for words.]
Actually, it’s true that I was referring to Sylvia, Charlotte, and Julia.
One of them refused to remove the mark despite being offered to have it removed.
I can’t understand this judgment at all.
Trust is one thing, and removing the mark is another, isn’t it?
If it were me, I would have been grateful, bowed deeply, and had it removed right away.
Sometimes Sylvia can be too rigid.
Does she think that if she’s physically distant, her heart will be distant too?
It’s not like having the mark is the only way to feel close.
Anyway, she’s a tricky one.
And the other two… Hah.
They still can’t correct their habit of peeping into others’ bedrooms.
If you’re going to peek, at least do it quietly and without getting caught.
‘Did I raise them wrong?’
I don’t particularly care whether they peek or not.
But it’s undoubtedly a bad habit.
Should I scold them properly this time?
Lately, it feels like I’ve been too lenient, and I sometimes feel the need to show a stricter side.
“Alright. I’ll give them a good talking-to so they won’t peek into others’ private lives again.”
[The Evil God ‘Kali’ is heartbroken but agrees, wiping away tears.]
Yes. I need to be a bit stern.
Bad habits need to be corrected.
It’s not that I’m doing this because I’m upset about being caught spending time with Sylvia in her underwear.
Definitely not because I’m afraid that my plan to become engaged and get a virtuous, pretty, and adorable wife might fall through.
By now, morning had come.
It was about time the children would wake up.
Just as I was thinking of getting up and going to their room.
Knock, knock, knock, a soft, high-pitched sound echoed through the study.
It wasn’t the usual part of the door where knocks are heard but a bit lower down.
I immediately recognized the source of the knocking.
“Come in.”
“Mister…”
“Aslan…”
Creeeak.
The door opened cautiously, and a small voice came through.
As expected, the visitors were Charlotte and Julia.
Both of them looked as if they were deeply embarrassed and downcast.
…This is making my previously stern resolve weaken.
“What’s the matter?”
“Uh, about yesterday… um…”
“About peeking into your bedroom…”
“I-I-I’m sorry for forgetting to apologize… um…”
“Sorry…”
Charlotte and Julia, bowing at a 90-degree angle as if showing off their flexible waists, apologized.
The moment I saw them.
I felt even the anger I had forced myself to feel melting away.
What am I supposed to do with my anger now?
[The Evil God ‘Kali’ strongly demands that we forgive our Dark Knight and Necromancer immediately and shower them with affection!]
“Haah…”
“Hic.”
No matter what Kali says.
I sighed deeply and pretended to still be angry.
When correcting bad habits, one must do it properly.
If I handle it halfway just because the kids are cute, it will only cause trouble later.
“It seems like there’s still something left to say.”
“We won’t do it again. Um…”
“We are reflecting. We won’t do it anymore…”
A satisfactory answer.
Perhaps because they saw a somewhat embarrassing scene while peeking, they seem to genuinely regret it.
I finally relaxed my expression.
“Words need to be followed through to have meaning. You promise not to do it again, right?”
“Y-yes! We will!”
“We won’t peek again…! We started because we were following the maids, and we got carried away. But now we know it was wrong…”
So the cause was the maids.
I’ll excuse Charlotte and Julia since they’re just kids, but what about those maids?
Teaching kids things when you’re an adult.
The ones who really need to be scolded are not the kids but the maids.
Seeing me relax, the previously dejected faces of the kids also brightened up.
Charlotte and Julia, closing the distance immediately, approached me.
I naturally stood up from my seat, gently patted their heads, and passed by them.
“Let’s go have breakfast.”
“Yes!”
“By the way, are you so curious about what Sylvia and I were doing yesterday?”
“Oh, no? Not at all?”
“Not curious at all…?”
These kids.
They want to know.
They want an explanation.
“This is your last chance. Are you curious?”
“J-just a little… um…”
“You were snuggling a lot! I’m curious!”
“Ch-Charlotte…!”
“It wasn’t anything strange. It was a ritual to remove the mark from Sylvia’s body. Sylvia had been forced into a contract to prevent her from betraying Vermont.”
“Ah! Ahhh! So, that’s what it was! I knew it! It wasn’t anything weird, just the ritual to remove the mark! Hmm. I see, as expected!”
“I thought they were playing an adult game or something…”
“Charlotte…!”
It felt a bit embarrassing, like they were making excuses.
But I’m just relieved to clear up the misunderstanding.
In the now cheerful atmosphere.
As I walked side by side with the kids toward the dining hall.
“Eh!? An earthquake?”
“…!”
Thud!
A strong vibration, as if something was crashing down, shook the entire mansion.
This sensation felt oddly familiar.
Charlotte and Julia’s faces lit up with excitement.
“Dirt-Dirt!”
