“Did you have a refreshing bath?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, I was able to wash up comfortably, and my cluttered mind has cleared as well. Thank you, Count.”
“Nothing to worry about. If you ever want to do it again, feel free to come anytime.”
“…”
That’s a bit…
Yuri bowed her head slightly, responding only with a hollow laugh.
By the way, this outfit is too big…
You can’t put on the clothes that smell like sweat again.
Reluctantly, she took a dress shirt that was lying in front of the bath, but it looked like it was two sizes too big.
The width was so large that my shoulders were exposed, and the sleeves were ridiculously long.
“Whose clothes are these?”
“They’re mine.”
“…!?”
What do I do if there are no other men’s clothes in this mansion?
It’s either me or the coachman or the butler.
I felt bad about making a kid wear the clothes of an old man who smelled bad, so I had no choice.
Wow. I had quite the sense.
Surely Yuri would start to look at me favorably now?
Just as Aslan was filled with anticipation, Yuri thought.
‘This is the absolute worst! To make a girl wear his own clothes…!’
Suppressing a scream, she was horrified.
There’s a limit to bad taste.
To make her wear clothes that he had worn and to enjoy watching her in them?
It felt like getting a glimpse of the depths of human ugliness.
This outfit must surely be one he didn’t wash after wearing!
Does it smell? Does Aslan Vermont’s scent cling to it?
Sniff. No, it doesn’t.
He doesn’t seem to have much body odor…
‘But what’s going to happen to me now…?’
Thinking about it, she realized she had lost her own clothes.
There was no way she could go out wearing this loose dress shirt.
If so, it was essentially like being trapped in the mansion, right…?
Did this man intend this from the start when he suggested taking a bath!?
Yuri’s face turned to one of shock as she realized the enormous conspiracy.
“You’ve enjoyed a free bath. Now it’s time to pay the price.”
“…!”
Aslan smiled meaningfully.
What will happen to me now?
What will Aslan Vermont do to me?
Yuri shivered in fear.
She hesitated and stepped back.
“Begin the report, Sylvia. You’ll act as the secretary.”
“Eh. Yes?”
“What are you dazing off for? You said you’d come to report in person since you couldn’t explain everything in writing. I’m busy, so hurry up and get it done.”
“…?”
Sylvia grabbed a pen and notepad.
Aslan also clasped his hands and prepared to listen attentively.
No. Really…?
Is he not going to do anything?
“…The customer’s evaluation was excellent, but the shortcomings I just mentioned have been addressed with the training program. That concludes my report.”
“Okay. There are quite a few things, but good job. You can leave now.”
“Ah. Um, about my clothes…”
“Lord, the laundry for the dress you requested has been completed.”
“…”
Creeeeak.
As the door opened, a maid entered carrying the neatly folded dress.
Yuri was speechless.
After changing into this outfit, am I going to be taken deep into the basement of the mansion?
Anxiously changing clothes, she was met by the coachman yawning at the front door.
“I’ll take you home as per the Lord’s command. Where shall we go?”
“To the Imperial Magic Academy dormitory, please…”
“Yes. Understood.”
“…”
Ah. Is this really how it ends?
Really?
Watching the coachman approach the front door with the carriage,
Yuri was left bewildered.
‘At this rate, I’ll look like the weird one!!!’
Because of this, it seems like Aslan Vermont doesn’t really think much of it, but I’m the only one imagining strange things and getting my hopes up!
Aaaah!
Yuri stomped her feet, silently screaming in frustration.
“But what’s this…?”
Then, suddenly, her gaze fell upon the mailbox.
A familiar envelope was stuck in the mailbox.
Wait, this is the envelope I use to send letters…?
‘Aslan Vermont said he’s an acquaintance of Mr. Black. So he might be related to someone at the Imperial Magic Academy.’
She flinched for a moment, but it wasn’t an envelope that only she used.
This was an envelope used by the Imperial Magic Academy.
It seemed that Count Vermont also had a deep connection to the Imperial Magic Academy.
Yuri thought this way and decided to dismiss it lightly.
.
.
.
“Did you see that, Charlotte?”
“I saw… I really saw it…”
Hidden behind a corner,
Charlotte and Julia whispered to each other in each other’s ears.
Returning a bit earlier than planned from their visit to the training ground, they witnessed a shocking sight.
“Mister called Yuri to the mansion!!!”
“Moreover, he seems to have ordered her to wear women’s clothes! Yuri hated wearing such frilly clothes, saying they were cumbersome…!”
It was an emergency.
Yuri always insisted on wearing pants and keeping her hair short, claiming it was easier to move around.
Yuri, who never listened when told she would look really pretty in cute clothes, was now wearing a dress that even a girl from the beginner class would find childish…?
There was no way that Yuri chose to wear that herself.
Charlotte and Julia quickly came to that conclusion.
“Did Mister make her wear it…?”
“Ahhh! He must have threatened her! If she didn’t wear this dress, he would cut her pay! Something like that…”
“Mister must have lost his senses wanting to see Yuri looking pretty!”
It was truly a shocking situation.
Aslan actually forcing Yuri to wear a frilly dress?
They knew he had his eyes on Yuri, but they never imagined he would go to such lengths to like her…!
“At this rate, Yuri might really become the countess!”
“We have to stop this, Charlotte! Absolutely!”
“Yeah! No matter what!”
Charlotte and Julia exchanged determined looks, their conclusions were the same, though.
‘I’m about to lose my position as Countess to Yuri. If I want to make my love for Julia come true, I have to interfere with Yuri!’
‘Yuri is a precious friend… Yes. So, it’s only right to help her escape Aslan’s grasp…!’
The processes that led to these conclusions were different for each of them.
Huddled behind a corner, Charlotte and Julia exchanged fierce glares.
Meanwhile…
“Eek! What should we do? A fight has broken out among friends!”
“They must be feeling jealous of each other…!”
The maids watching them were enjoying themselves to the point of madness.
***
‘What is this? The writing style seems strangely uplifted.’
Without thinking, I opened and unfolded Yuri’s letter.
The content itself wasn’t much different from usual.
Yet, for some reason, as I read, a fresh feeling arose.
– These days, I’ve been rereading the letters that Mr. Black sent before. I didn’t realize it at the time, but when I said I wanted to work, I could feel that Mr. Black was upset in his reply.
– I felt a bit guilty about that, so these days I’ve been focusing more on my studies. I always got first place without much effort, so I didn’t pay much attention, but digging deeper, I was surprised to find there’s more to study than I expected.
– Thank you for watching over me without harsh words, even when I tried to stray. From now on, I will be the good child that you want me to be.
‘Why has he become so docile…?’
It was clear from his writing style that he was stubborn.
Oddly enough, in today’s letter, Yuri seemed like a docile lamb.
What could have caused this change?
Could it be that a single bath in the mansion made him reconsider?
Whatever the circumstances, that was fine.
The important thing was that the fierce Yuri was slowly starting to be tamed.
The acceptance of the engagement was no longer a silly dream.
I felt a surge of emotions, and tears almost welled up.
“Aslan…”
“…?”
At that moment, the office door creaked open.
Revealing herself through the gap in the door was Julia, dressed in pajamas and tightly hugging a shark plush toy.
What was going on?
It had already been… quite some time since Julia had independently decided to sleep on her own away from me.
It had been over a week!
The passage of time felt too swift.
Facing the reality that the children were growing up day by day and that the only moment I had was slipping away with every second took my breath away.
So why did Julia come to me like this?
“What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?”
“Not really. I just… can’t sleep…”
She glanced nervously, not able to meet my eyes and stammering.
She forgot to attach the usual polite tone that she used to always include.
She still had a lot to learn about lying.
“Really?”
“I… really… didn’t sleep.”
“Did I mention that I have the Spirit’s Eye? I can tell immediately if you’re lying…”
“Yikes! Really!?”
[The Evil God ‘Kali’ fervently pleads with you to stop teasing our necromancer.]
Julia turned bright red, clearly startled.
“It seems like saying you can’t sleep is a lie. So, why did you come here?”
“Well, um…”
As Julia seemed to think of another excuse and was rolling her eyes diligently, the half-closed door swung open forcefully again.
This time, Charlotte appeared confidently, hugging a teddy bear.
“I’m here!”
“Why are you…?”
“I want to sleep next to you!”
“Why?”
“Just because!”
“Alright. That’s acceptable.”
“…!?”
Charlotte had never been the type to whine about not being able to sleep, so I figured it was okay to indulge her just this once.
Charlotte trotted over to me humming a tune, and Julia froze with a shocked expression.
Julia shivered, as if she were about to say something.
“Charlotte! Aslan is used to holding onto his left hand, so you should hug his left arm instead of the right…”
“Master! It’s an emergency!”
“What? What happened?”
“I have a message from Irene. She says that Miss Emilia is in her possession, and if you want her back, come to this address quietly on your own…”
At that moment, Sylvia rushed in urgently to relay the news to me.
They had kidnapped Emilia, and if I wanted her back, I had to come alone?
It was a laughable self-made scenario.
It seemed that Irene had finally decided on the date to attack me.
