“You must never do that under my command, so don’t even dream about it.”
“Yes…”
Aslan Vermont drew a clear line with a growl, his voice firm and unyielding.
Yuri stood before him, and for some reason, her body became stiff and rigid.
‘Killing intent…!?’
People around Vermont tend to unconsciously radiate killing intent when they are angry.
Yuri had experienced Aslan’s killing intent before, so she was familiar with it.
While the pressure from that killing intent was not particularly overwhelming, for some reason, she felt more terrified now than when facing monsters or any strong foes.
“If you ignore my words and tear your skin to test your healing abilities, our relationship will end that day. I will kick you out with severance pay, and you’ll never see me again. Understand?”
“Y-Yes…”
Yuri was still puzzled inside, unable to understand Aslan’s anger. She wasn’t planning on hurting him or anything. It’s my own body…
Why is he being so sensitive?
Just as Yuri was confused, Aslan’s thoughts drifted.
‘Damn it. How could you forget how I saved you from that dreadful fate?’
Aslan gritted his teeth, struggling to calm the heat radiating from his body.
He had tried so hard to twist the terrible fate of the original story. He had worked tirelessly to prevent the protagonist, Yuri, from being tortured by Aslan Vermont and having her will repeatedly broken in the future.
He had aimed to prevent her from experiencing the pain of being bloodied and suffering.
Ever since playing the original game, Aslan had found it unbearable.
Why did such a young child have to endure needless suffering and a ruinous story just because they were the protagonist and hero?
Yuri would have become stronger and completed her first class change on her own, without needing such trials.
As an employee who cared for her and as her guardian, Aslan didn’t want to see Yuri exhausting herself in a reckless manner.
He would stop any situation where she had to hurt herself.
He would be her shield until Yuri grew into a true hero.
That was the role of an adult and a future spouse, wasn’t it?
“Let’s go. We’re done for today.”
“Ah…”
With a soft push, Aslan placed his palm gently on Yuri’s head and turned away.
Unlike the previous casual strokes, this felt more like a warning, with a rougher touch.
‘His hand… It’s so big…’
But for some reason, Yuri didn’t dislike it.
In fact, it felt warmer than when he gently petted her.
‘Am I crazy!?’
She gasped in surprise, her face turning red.
Why would I think such ridiculous things!?
Yuri kept rubbing the top of her head, where Aslan’s hand had been, and silently followed him.
‘It was Dirt-Dirt who said it… That I was freed from a terrible fate because of someone else’s efforts…’
Suddenly, this thought came to her.
In the quiet carriage, Yuri glanced up at Aslan before quickly turning her head away.
What if… What if the person who helped change my fate wasn’t just that dark man?
Could Aslan Vermont have contributed, even just a little?
If that were the case, Aslan Vermont wouldn’t be the villain trying to take Charlotte and Julia from me.
He might actually be her savior.
As Yuri reached that conclusion, she suddenly froze.
“Ugh!”
“…What’s going on?”
“Oh, nothing. Just a little… Hic.”
She shook her head, inwardly rejecting the thought.
No way. It can’t be. I’m sure of it…
But despite her protests, Yuri couldn’t stop her mind from leaning toward doubt.
Once Yuri had a suspicion, it wouldn’t easily fade.
Just like how she still hadn’t fully dismissed her doubts about Aslan Vermont being a villain, she couldn’t easily let go of the thought that he might be her savior.
Knowing this well, her mind grew more and more tangled.
‘I want to see Charlotte and Julia quickly…’
Yuri felt the need to be with Charlotte and Julia, to heal and calm herself.
If she stayed with Aslan Vermont any longer, she felt like she’d keep having strange thoughts…
Yuri clenched her teeth, waiting for the carriage to arrive at the mansion.
“Yu…”
“I have an urgent research task to solve, so I’ll take my leave!”
The moment the carriage stopped, Yuri dashed out.
Thud-Thud-Thud.
She hurried into the mansion, searching for Charlotte and Julia.
But the mansion was strangely quiet.
There should definitely be sounds of Charlotte swinging her sword or Dirt-Dirt screaming somewhere.
The only place where Charlotte could be this quiet was… one.
Yuri immediately rushed toward the study, flinging the door open.
“Oh, Yuri, you’re here.”
“Come over here! We need your opinion!”
“…?”
Inside, a very serious atmosphere hung in the air.
Charlotte and Julia were sitting across from each other with grave expressions.
It almost looked like they were in the middle of a debate.
“What were you two doing?”
“Charlotte keeps ignoring what I’m saying!”
“Julia is saying the most absurd things…!”
Both Charlotte and Julia rushed toward Yuri, pleading as if they were wronged.
Yuri quickly figured out what was going on.
It was clear they had been arguing again…
What could the issue be this time?
Yuri couldn’t help but hold back a laugh at the repeated nature of the argument.
She sat between Charlotte and Julia.
“Okay, explain it slowly.”
“Well, yesterday I overheard Aslan talking to himself.”
“Huh?”
“And when I listened closely, he was secretly crying, saying how moved he was that we had grown.”
“That’s… a lie!”
Aslan Vermont cried?
Over something as trivial as us growing up?
That sounds like…
“That sounds like something a doting father would do.”
“I thought that too!”
“And then, do you know what Aslan said next?”
“What did he say?”
Gulp.
Yuri swallowed nervously, eager to hear the next part.
What? What did he say now?
“He said that he would arrange a marriage for us…”
“W-What!?”
What did he just say?
Yuri’s mind froze for a moment.
“Stop lying, Julia! Repeat exactly what you heard! There’s no way he said that!”
“It’s pretty close! He said something like… it doesn’t seem far off that we’ll be betrothed soon?”
“How is that even interpreted as an arrangement for marriage to another noble family! Obviously, it means he wants to marry us off to himself!”
“What!? That’s just your interpretation, Charlotte!”
“You’re the one adding your own interpretation, Julia! You’re just too scared to face the truth, so you’re convincing yourself that Aslan just sees me as a daughter, not as someone he’s romantically interested in! You’re afraid of the shock of being rejected!”
“Wh-what are you saying!?”
Their voices started to rise, and soon they were face-to-face, growling at each other.
Yuri let out a deep sigh, caught between them.
Not this topic again…
How many times a day do they fight over the same thing?
They’ll probably end up fighting, pouting, crying, and then hugging to reconcile again.
Yuri already had a sense of where this heated argument was headed.
But what Yuri didn’t expect happened next.
“This is driving me crazy!”
“Hey, that’s my line!”
“Then should I go and ask him directly?”
“U-uh? How…?”
“Just ask Mister!”
“U-uh…?”
In an instant, Charlotte stood up and stormed out of the study.
Julia, stunned, froze for a moment.
Yuri sat still, staring at Charlotte’s back.
“I-I have to stop her!”
A moment later, Julia snapped out of it and jumped to her feet.
Yuri followed suit, chasing after Charlotte.
Was she really going to ask Aslan directly!?
C-Charlotte… no, she couldn’t be thinking of doing that, right?
She wasn’t actually going to ask him such a direct question, right?
Yuri broke into a cold sweat, and just as she caught up to Charlotte, she saw Aslan lifting her up and sitting her on his lap.
“Mister, Mister!!!”
“What’s going on? Why the hurry…?”
“Mister, are you going to marry us?”
“…!?”
That was way more direct than she imagined!
Yuri felt dizzy, almost fainting, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but wonder what his answer would be.
