‘I really want to die…’
With all her energy drained, Yuri’s shoulders slumped.
The whole day had felt like a nightmare.
She had been forcibly confronted with the truth she didn’t want to know—Charlotte liked Aslan Vermont.
Then it was revealed that Charlotte was aware of it.
To make matters worse, it turned out that even Julia had feelings for Aslan…
The shock kept piling up, and Yuri’s mind was already in tatters.
If she took any more shock, she might end up a broken person.
Why was reality so harsh? A sense of doubt began to form in her mind.
All she wanted was to see the perfect combination of Charlotte X Julia together for a long time.
Why did Aslan Vermont seem intent on crushing even that?
Yuri was so frustrated with Aslan that she was on the verge of losing her mind.
‘Why do they like Aslan Vermont so much…?’
She couldn’t understand it at all.
It had barely been four months, right?
Not four years, just four months.
In such a short time, what could have happened that both Julia and Charlotte fell for him?
If Aslan was handsome, from a prominent family and great abilities, it would make sense.
But in reality, he had a frightening appearance, owned a small countship in a remote area, and was a serious weakling.
The research his family did was on black magic.
Of course, the more Yuri learned about Aslan Vermont, the less her initial dislike seemed justified…
The face she had once thought was only harsh was starting to look better…
And she began noticing the kindness and consideration hidden behind his indifferent and seemingly cruel attitude…
But even so, it didn’t change the fact that she hated him.
How could she like a man like Aslan Vermont!?
Even if she lived with him for four months, she was certain she wouldn’t like him.
‘Marriage must be stopped. There’s only one way to stop it…’
Yuri’s lips tightly pressed together.
What could she do to stop the marriage between Aslan Vermont and the others?
She had thought about it a lot, but there weren’t many options.
At first, she thought exposing Aslan Vermont’s true nature would do the trick.
But as time passed, she realized that the more she learned about him, the less likely that seemed.
Aslan Vermont was not as ‘ugly’ as she had imagined.
Even if something ugly came to light, it would only show his human side, and so far, he seemed to be far cleaner than expected.
Charlotte and Julia probably knew more about Aslan’s true nature than Yuri did.
So maybe persuading them with words would work?
‘Please, don’t get married… I just want to see Charlotte X Julia together forever, without any men intruding…’
Just imagining it made her dizzy.
She couldn’t say that.
She could never say that she had been imagining wild fantasies about them in her head.
That would be social s*icide.
She couldn’t bear the hateful looks from Charlotte and Julia if she tried to stop their marriage.
‘Then… there’s only one way…’
The remaining option was clear.
She would seduce Aslan Vermont, marry him, and then strongly oppose polygamy to protect Charlotte and Julia.
“…”
It felt strange.
When she first came up with the idea, she thought it was genius.
She believed it was the right thing to do.
But now, when she thought about it again, guilt started to overwhelm her.
In the end, she would be stealing Aslan Vermont from Charlotte and Julia.
She would crush their tender feelings and steal Aslan from them.
Before, she had felt a sense of mission to protect them from the evil Aslan Vermont.
But now, looking back, that mission felt utterly repulsive.
She had long lost any justification of “for Charlotte and Julia”.
“Then I should stop now…”
At this point, she should stop.
For Charlotte and Julia, she should support their love from behind the scenes and bless them.
She knew that in her head, but in her heart, it wasn’t so simple.
Why?
Why was she still focusing on trying to cut in on Aslan Vermont’s marriage?
Why was she gravitating toward something that was bound to make her hated?
It was an inexplicable phenomenon.
Could it be that, deep down, she had fallen for Aslan Vermont…?
“Pffft.”
Yuri couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter.
That couldn’t be it.
She had Mr. Black.
A truly wonderful, classy man, completely different from the frivolous Aslan Vermont.
There was no way she’d fall for Aslan Vermont.
No way.
Yuri smiled confidently, making up her mind.
Whenever her mind got chaotic or shaken, thinking of Mr. Black always calmed her down and reassured her.
Even though they didn’t exchange letters, the mere existence of Mr. Black was enough to be her mental support.
“For now, I’ll just wait and watch…”
With her mind made up by thinking of Mr. Black, Yuri took a deep breath and clenched her fist.
It felt like she had these thoughts almost every day, but the vacation wasn’t over yet.
Maybe another way to stop Aslan Vermont’s marriage would come up.
Who knows if Aslan might slip up and reveal some ugly side of himself?
She couldn’t give up just yet.
Yuri thought to herself as she passed through the hallway.
“Just stay still. It’s hard with the bandage, isn’t it?”
“I’m staying still. Your hands are shaking, Julia.”
“…Be quiet.”
A quiet voice came through the gap in the door.
Yuri’s body stiffened immediately.
No wonder she hadn’t seen Julia around…
She had just gathered her resolve again, but now all the energy drained from her body once more.
Tears began to well up in Yuri’s eyes.
Ah. She really couldn’t stand it anymore…
.
.
.
‘It’s definitely better than the bandage Charlotte wrapped.’
The bandage was neatly wrapped around his arm, sticking firmly in place.
He repeatedly bent and straightened his arm, lightly admiring the craftsmanship.
Julia had such great skill with her hands.
Looking back, it should have been Charlotte helping Julia, not the other way around, when they were wrapping the bandage for the first time.
‘It’s good that Charlotte and Julia visit often because of the injury, but it’s starting to get inconvenient.’
Charlotte and Julia had been coming frequently, using his injury as an excuse.
But it was also causing his work to pile up.
The discomfort in his arm was growing, and he was getting frustrated with how slow his healing was.
He wished he could recover quickly.
He was really getting irritated with this cursed body, which was healing so slowly.
The bandage on his arms was easy enough to cover with long sleeves.
But the bruise on his neck was a huge problem.
Whenever he had an appointment, he had to wear something that covered his neck, which made it feel like he was matching Sylvia’s couple outfit—and he really didn’t like it.
“Count…?”
“Ah, Yuri. What’s the matter?”
At that moment, the door creaked open carefully, and Yuri entered with a polite posture.
But what was up with the aura around her?
It seemed like she had experienced all the despair in the world.
“Did Julia come by earlier?”
“Yeah, she did.”
“What did you two talk about?”
“We talked about daily things while I was changing the bandage. The only thing that stands out is the snack she mentioned today.”
“…”
Julia had left a croissant, saying it was delicious.
For some reason, the croissant tasted even better than when he ate it alone, probably because it had been torn apart by Julia’s hands.
But he decided not to mention that he had barely managed to suppress the urge to nibble on Julia’s fingers while pretending to eat the croissant.
“Charlotte and Julia keep feeding me, saying that eating a lot helps heal the wounds. Thanks to them, I haven’t been hungry all day.”
“…So the injury is the problem, huh?”
“…?”
Yuri murmured something under her breath just now.
Maybe it was just his imagination, but as he was wondering, Yuri suddenly lifted her head and shot Aslan a fierce glare.
What the heck? Why was she being so scary all of a sudden?
“The wounds on your neck and arm… they’re really bothering you, Count?”
“Uh? Yeah, they are uncomfortable, but I can manage.”
“Would it be okay if I had a look?”
“…”
Why was her tone so menacing?
It was as though she was threatening to create more wounds if he didn’t show her.
With no other choice, he reluctantly pulled back the collar of his shirt and showed her the bruises on his neck.
“This is the problem… This is why Charlotte and Julia keep… Tsk… I should get rid of this…”
“…”
The “get rid of this” part surely referred to the bruise, right?
Just as he was shaking with fear, Yuri seemed almost possessed, reaching out and placing her hand on Aslan’s neck.
And then, at that very moment…
[The Evil God ‘Kali’ is startled by an unexpected miracle!]
“Ah? The bruise…?”
Suddenly, a bright light radiated from the tips of Yuri’s fingers.
The light slowly absorbed into Aslan’s neck.
Seeing Kali get all worked up, he quickly grabbed a small mirror.
“… !?”
The bruise on his neck had completely disappeared.
It was as if it had been washed away, leaving no trace.
How did this happen?
Both Aslan and Yuri were stunned and couldn’t speak for a while.
