Charlotte, with clumsy hands, tried to wrap a bandage around my arm, twisting it here and there.
Unable to stand it any longer, Julia rushed in to help, making the situation even worse.
“It’s a mess.”
My arm was a chaotic mix of band-aids and bandages, a complete mess.
I remembered Charlotte riding on top of me, trying to wrap the bandage, and causing a ruckus.
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
[The Evil God ‘Kali’ envies you greatly!]
It’s not hard to see why. My fiancées care so much about me.
I was so proud of them that I almost felt grateful to Irene, who had given me this injury…
Wait, maybe that’s not right.
“My Lord, here are the documents you asked for.”
At that moment, the door to the office slammed open. Sylvia appeared, looking worn out, holding a pile of documents.
“Alright, leave the documents here.”
“Yes, then…”
“Before you go, take a look at this arm.”
“Yes… It’s wrapped in bandages.”
“What do you think when you see this?”
“Well, it’s wrapped quite messily. It’s clearly the work of a beginner.”
“And?”
“Huh? What do you mean by ‘and’?”
“Hah…”
Sylvia tilted her head as though she didn’t understand what I was saying, and I sighed deeply.
Sylvia, having lived a life of constant hardship since childhood, had become so emotionally dried up that it was hard to deal with her.
“Look closely. This band-aid was carefully applied by Julia, who has been collecting band-aids over a long period of time. She stuck it all over the wound because she thought the area was too large.”
“Yes…”
“And this bandage was wrapped by Charlotte. She didn’t know how to wrap it properly, but her desire to help heal my wound was sky-high, so it ended up like this. Don’t you feel something from this?”
“Feel what exactly?”
“You should feel their affection for me, of course. It’s frustrating.”
“…”
[The Evil God, ‘Kali,’ nods vigorously, agreeing with your opinion.]
Despite my explanation, Sylvia’s face remained indifferent.
Had she become so emotionally dry that she was like a machine?
Or perhaps she was just jealous of the affection I received from the others but was suppressing it because it felt like admitting defeat to show such feelings.
“Well… I guess that’s nice…”
She muttered awkwardly, then nodded slightly and left the office.
If she was jealous, she could just admit it.
Sylvia had some surprisingly childish sides to her.
‘But my body really is too fragile.’
I slightly unwrapped the bandage and checked the bruise on my neck in the mirror.
The bruise hadn’t faded; if anything, it had grown larger.
The recovery was very slow.
What if it never heals? For a moment, that thought crossed my mind.
But if it never healed, Charlotte and Julia would keep wrapping the bandages for me every time, so maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
“Mister, Mister!”
At that moment, the door slammed open loudly.
I nearly got startled and choked, but when I looked up, Charlotte was holding a cup filled with a greenish liquid.
“I made juice for you, so you’ll get better faster!”
“…Why is the color of this juice like that?”
“I put in all the vegetables that seemed healthy!”
“…”
Charlotte placed the cup on the desk.
Up close, the juice looked even worse.
It was the color of swamp algae. I wasn’t sure if it was safe to drink this…
“Can you tell me exactly what you put in this?”
“Umm, I can’t remember all of it, but… I put in spinach, cabbage, kale, apple, carrots, and… and… and…”
“…I think that’s enough. That’s plenty healthy.”
The ingredients sounded like they could all be tasty if cooked or eaten separately, but having them all blended into one juice?
Just imagining it made my stomach churn.
Do I really have to endure this kind of torture just because I got a little scratch?
I was extremely skeptical, but when I looked at Charlotte’s innocent face, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse.
“Thanks. I’ll drink it.”
“Hehe! You’re welcome!”
Thinking I was taking care of my health in advance, I closed my eyes and began gulping down the green sludge.
As expected, the moment it touched my tongue, the extreme bitterness shot straight to my brain.
[The Evil God, ‘Kali,’ is thrilled by your bravery!]
I opened my eyes slightly, and the remaining half of the cup filled me with despair again.
I drank the juice without even realizing whether it was going down my throat or my windpipe.
All I could think about was that I needed to finish it as quickly as possible.
“It tastes… healthy…”
“Hehe! Then I’ll make it for you every morning until you get better!”
“What…? You really don’t have to go that far…”
“It’s fine! I’ll buy fresh vegetables and fruits every morning while I go for my walk! You need to get better, Mister!”
“Alright…”
I couldn’t protest anymore, especially with Charlotte’s bright smile.
The juice might taste a bit… no, a lot awful, but it was extremely healthy.
How could I refuse Charlotte’s thoughtful care for me?
“I’ll be back again!”
Charlotte left with the empty cup in hand.
The door closed with a loud bang, and just like that, the office became quiet again.
Now, I guess I should get back to the boring paperwork.
I sat back down and picked up the documents Sylvia had dropped off earlier.
I focused on my work and was starting to pick up the pace when…
“…?”
Thud, Thud, Thud!
I heard a sound, like someone knocking on the window.
At first, I thought it was just the wind blowing hard, but then…
“Mister…!”
“Charlotte!?”
From outside the window, I heard Charlotte’s voice…?
Wondering what was going on, I drew the curtains, only to see Charlotte grinning while hanging from the window. Shocked, I hurriedly opened the window and pulled her inside.
“What are you doing, risking your life?”
“Hehe! I thought this side was closer, so I climbed up without thinking! If I had gone through the front, I’d have to go all the way around!”
“…Don’t do that again. It’s dangerous.”
“Yes!”
I had planned to scold her seriously, but I couldn’t help but let out a half-laugh because it was so absurd.
Charlotte was the type of person who would listen well, so I didn’t think she would do it again.
But what made her so urgent that she had to climb up the mansion’s outer wall?
“Tada! It’s a four-leaf clover! I found it on my walk by chance!”
“…”
In Charlotte’s arms, a bunch of four-leaf clovers appeared.
One, two, three, four, five, six…
How many are there?
No matter how I thought about it, there was no way you could find this many just by casually walking around.
Anyone could tell that she must have searched the grass thoroughly to gather them…
I had my suspicions, but I couldn’t bring myself to question the blatantly shameless Charlotte.
“The maids said that if you have a four-leaf clover, good luck will come! Mister, you always seem to have bad luck, so this will help neutralize it!”
“Heh… Thanks. I guess it’ll help my wounds heal faster.”
“Right, right!”
Normally, she would be busy practicing with her sword, but instead, she spent her time finding four-leaf clovers for me.
I was so moved that I couldn’t resist reaching out to pet her head, which naturally snuggled up to my hand.
She rubbed her head against my hand, happily enjoying the gesture.
“Hehe! Then I’ll be back again!”
“Alright.”
Charlotte waved goodbye and closed the door behind her.
She’ll be back again…?
What initially sounded like just a casual comment now seemed strangely serious.
She wasn’t planning to come back today, was she?
I still hadn’t finished my paperwork…
How much time had passed since then?
About ten minutes?
By now, it should have been time for coffee, so I thought it was strange that she hadn’t brought it yet.
But just as I was wondering…
“Mister! Mister! I made some herbal tea!”
Bang!
The door once again opened noisily.
As expected, it was Charlotte, carrying a teacup and saucer.
“I heard coffee is bad for you, so I thought herbal tea would be better for your recovery!”
“You’re right, coffee is bad for you. I didn’t even think about it, but thanks.”
“Hehe! I made it myself!”
“Normally, you’d be out playing with your friends, but today you’re really going all out with the care. You really like me, don’t you?”
I had said it without thinking.
If it were the usual Charlotte, she would have happily answered, “Yes! I really, really like you!”
But her reaction was completely unexpected.
“Uh? Ehh? Me… uh… I-I like you… ugh…”
“…?”
In an instant, her face turned bright red, and she couldn’t even look at me.
She turned her head slowly, avoiding my gaze, and her hands kept fidgeting, her heels twitching restlessly.
This was the first time I had seen Charlotte acting shy?
“Uh…?”
Why is she reacting like this?
