It was early morning, just as the sun was about to rise.
Yuri woke up abruptly, feeling the automatic alert built into her body going off.
She quickly got out of bed and, as always, reached for the hair tie on the table.
“I can’t eat anymore… Ugh…”
“Ahhh…”
“…”
She paused as she noticed something squirming right next to her.
Somehow, Julia’s bed had been invaded.
Charlotte was clinging to Julia, sucking on her hair.
And Julia, with her hair being tugged relentlessly, let out pained moans as if she were having a nightmare.
Charlotte’s sleeping habits were terrible, and Julia always suffered because of it…
It had been a long time since Yuri had seen such a scene.
Now that she thought about it, from now on, she’d probably see this every day until the vacation ended.
Memories of missing these moments suddenly flooded Yuri’s mind, and she almost burst into tears.
‘The peaceful daily life I wanted to get back so badly…’
With Charlotte and Julia around.
Three meals a day, a full stomach. A warm bed to sleep in.
Just as the desire to settle down and live here even after the vacation crept up on her, Yuri shook her head vigorously, gathering her thoughts.
‘I can’t let my guard down until I uncover Aslan Vermont’s true nature…’
She had to endure it. For Charlotte and Julia.
Until Aslan Vermont’s true nature was revealed, she couldn’t let her guard down!
With that resolve, Yuri quietly walked out of the room, making sure not to wake the children.
“Did he say I had to run 10 laps this morning? It’s a bit of a hassle.”
After washing her face, Yuri stepped outside and took a deep breath of the cool morning air.
Was she the only one awake at this hour?
The entire mansion was eerily quiet.
Just as she was about to start jogging, Yuri heard heavy footsteps behind her and turned around.
“You’re up early. Do you have something planned today?”
“Yes, Count. I have something to do as a student researcher at the Academy…”
“I’ll have a carriage ready for you. Feel free to use it whenever you need to go back and forth.”
“Ah…!”
At Aslan’s casual remark, Yuri was taken aback and didn’t know how to respond.
He was offering a carriage just for her to travel back and forth?
Was this a scheme to later make her pay some fee and force her into debt?
“I won’t ask for payment, so don’t worry. I’m offering it simply because I hope you get home quickly.”
“May I ask why you want me to return quickly…?”
“Since someone of your age has come to the mansion, it seems the children are excited. Shouldn’t you return quickly to make them happy?”
“…”
Aslan chuckled and then headed back into the mansion.
Yuri stood frozen for a moment, staring after him.
The smile Aslan had just made didn’t seem as unpleasant as she’d expected…
It was strange. Normally, even if he had a neutral expression, it would irritate her.
But his smile just now didn’t bother her at all.
Yuri was confused, tilting her head in puzzlement.
“Huff… huff…”
“…?”
A little while later, Sylvia appeared from the direction Aslan had gone, panting heavily.
Her face was flushed red, and her body and breath were still trembling from excitement.
She seemed to have rolled on the ground, as her clothes were covered in grass and dirt.
Yuri stared at Sylvia for a while before gasping in surprise.
‘Ah, Aslan Vermont! What shameless thing did he do with the instructor outside…?’
What had happened to make the usually composed instructor look so disheveled?
Was the instructor in some kind of relationship with Aslan Vermont?
Or perhaps Aslan had just harassed her, without any mutual feelings?
A whirlwind of thoughts began swirling in her head. Yuri’s mind became chaotic, and her face turned bright red.
‘Aslan Vermont can’t be trusted…!’
What? Did Aslan’s smile not bother her?
What nonsense was that?
She didn’t have evidence yet, but she was sure that Aslan Vermont’s true nature was ugly…
Yuri shuddered and swore to herself that she would unmask Aslan’s true face before the vacation ended.
.
.
.
“Ugh…?”
In the pitch-black darkness, Julia opened her eyes.
She tried to sit up, but her hair was being pulled tightly, forcing her to lie back down.
Looking back, as expected, Charlotte had invaded this bed as well, chewing on her hair.
“Mm… The meat seems a bit tough… It’s hard to chew…”
“…”
Of course, it’s hard to chew since it’s hair…
Julia sighed deeply and gently scratched Charlotte’s chin, prompting her to open her mouth so that she could finally free her hair.
Ugh, look at the saliva on my hair.
Though she was disgusted, Julia couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
“I thought it’d be a little awkward because of yesterday’s fight.”
It felt like a dream that they had yelled at each other the day before.
She had been so frustrated and angry, shouting at Charlotte.
And since Charlotte hadn’t understood, they hadn’t made eye contact or spoken again until mealtime.
She had even worried that things between her and Charlotte might become irreparable.
But to her surprise, from the very next morning, Charlotte was already sticking to her as if nothing had happened.
As expected, Charlotte quickly forgot when she was angry. Julia, on the other hand, always found it hard to forget after a fight and would lie in bed thinking, ‘I should’ve argued this way instead.’
There were times when Julia couldn’t help but envy Charlotte, who could muster courage so easily in these situations and forget grievances so quickly.
Because of that, Charlotte was seen as big-hearted, while Julia felt like a small and petty person. Well, it wasn’t entirely untrue, but…
Just as Julia was feeling down…
“Ugh!? I had a dream where I was eating a really disgusting steak…!”
“…!?”
Suddenly, Charlotte jumped up with a loud noise, springing out of bed like a coiled spring.
Julia froze in shock for a moment.
Rubbing her eyes, Charlotte, after realizing Julia was there, flinched and greeted her with a sheepish voice.
“Ah, ah. Julia… um… hi…”
“Mm…”
As soon as their eyes met, Charlotte quickly turned her gaze away and greeted her in a soft voice.
Seeing this, Julia was certain of one thing.
Ah. Charlotte feels awkward too.
‘I’m not the only one who feels awkward facing each other after a fight, right? I’m not the only petty one, right? Is that it!?’
Ah.
She felt a little relieved. Even Charlotte, who forgets things so quickly, seemed to be sulking until the morning after such a big fight.
Julia secretly let out a sigh of relief in her heart.
“Umm… It’s a bit embarrassing…”
“Huh? What’s wrong all of a sudden?”
“Now, I see that you’re coming to my bed… You’ve always been too shy to come to my bed first…”
“What? No, this is…”
“I know! You came in your sleep without realizing it! But the unconscious never lies! You must like me so much that you came looking for me in your sleep… Hehe!”
“No. It’s you, Charlotte, who came to my bed.”
“…Really?”
Charlotte, who had been rolling around hugging a pillow and squealing, belatedly looked around at Julia’s voice, which sounded like she couldn’t believe it. Then, after a moment, she realized she was in Julia’s bed and became embarrassed.
“Hehe! I knew it! I thought it was weird that you came looking for me!”
“…”
Charlotte scratched the back of her head, looking sheepish.
Julia, letting out a soft laugh, thought to herself: As expected, I’m the only petty one here.
Charlotte had already forgotten all about what happened yesterday.
Well.
Since they made up thanks to Aslan’s mediation, it made sense.
It was only Julia who hadn’t let go of the lingering feelings in her heart.
“Eh? Julia? Why are you hugging me all of a sudden?”
“Ugh… I regret fighting with you… I got suddenly scared imagining our relationship drifting apart…”
“Hehe. Don’t worry about that. The reason we fought was because we like each other so much, so there’s no reason for us to drift apart, right?”
“That’s true… but…”
“Even if we really fight, it’s okay. I’ll come back to you again, no matter how many times it takes. So don’t worry.”
“Well, the thing is… It always seems like you’re the one who comes first and lightens the mood, Charlotte, so… I want to try to be brave and do this myself…”
“…”
Julia stuttered, whispering shyly.
Seeing Julia like this, Charlotte momentarily lost her words.
What is this adorable creature!?
Unable to hold back, Charlotte immediately pulled Julia into a tight hug.
“Ugh! What should I do!? Julia is just too cute, right!?”
“Ugh, Charlotte… I… can’t breathe…”
“Ah! Sorry.”
“Huff.”
“…?”
“…?”
At that moment, just as Julia was struggling under Charlotte’s embrace, they both heard a heavy breathing sound coming from the door.
Both Charlotte and Julia turned their gaze toward the noise.
From the doorway appeared Yuri, holding her nose to stop a stream of blood, looking flustered as she peeked in.
But wait…
“Ah.”
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
She’s not wearing her mask?
Charlotte and Julia both noticed this at the same time.
Yuri realized a moment too late, and a brief silence fell over the room.
