Seated inside the carriage heading back to the academy,
Yuri felt completely drained, her entire body going limp with shock.
“Aslan Vermont… isn’t Mr. Black…?”
The pink envelope Julia saw.
Of course, that was the one I sent to Mr. Black.
Naturally, I was certain that Aslan Vermont was Mr. Black.
But then, upon discovering yet another pink envelope stuck in the mailbox, Yuri’s thoughts came to a halt.
This one wasn’t sent by me.
Someone else, other than me, was sending letters in pink envelopes to the Vermont estate.
In other words, the envelope Julia found might not have been hers.
“Calm down… It’s not proven yet that Aslan Vermont isn’t Mr. Black…”
Yuri took deep breaths, trying her best to steady herself.
Her trap to find Mr. Black had missed its mark.
But that only meant she had failed to confirm that Aslan Vermont was Mr. Black.
It wasn’t proof that Aslan wasn’t Mr. Black either.
That meant there was still a chance the two were the same person…
It was a mistake to rely on something as flimsy as the color of an envelope.
Next time, I’ll get undeniable, irrefutable proof that he is Mr. Black!
Clenching her fists, Yuri made up her mind.
Yet she failed to notice that somewhere along the way, her goal had shifted.
She had started out trying to find Mr. Black…
But now, it had turned into proving that Aslan Vermont is Mr. Black.
.
.
.
‘That was the perfect chance to get caught…’
I had to completely revise my plan.
Originally, I had intended to fall into Yuri’s envelope trap and let her uncover my identity.
But at the perfect moment, Irene had unintentionally interfered, causing the plan to fail.
Now, I needed to find another way to let Yuri discover who I was.
‘I can’t just sit around waiting for Yuri to set another trap. I need to take a more active role in getting caught.’
For all I knew, this incident might have completely erased Yuri’s suspicions that I was Mr. Black.
She might now rule me out as a suspect and start setting traps for random other people, trying to confirm if they were Mr. Black.
That meant it was time for me to step in and make sure I got caught.
However, simply walking into a trap wasn’t an option. If I made it too obvious, it would be clear I was getting caught on purpose—an embarrassing failure.
I needed a refined and flawless plan.
“The coming-of-age ceremony will be held in the small church in Vermont territory.”
“Isn’t that location too cramped? I believe you planned to invite many guests and turn it into a festival.”
“That was the original plan… But I changed my mind. I’m cutting down the guest list significantly and keeping it small. A grand ceremony would just make Yuri uncomfortable.”
“Hmm… Something about this seems suspicious.”
“…You can’t be serious.”
Sylvia eyed me with clear suspicion.
As expected, a Sword Master’s intuition was sharp.
Originally, I had intended to invite guests in the hundreds to Yuri’s coming-of-age ceremony.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Not just any occasion, but one marking Yuri’s transition into adulthood—a significant milestone.
A regular birthday could be celebrated modestly, but a coming-of-age ceremony couldn’t be taken lightly. I had planned to make it as grand as possible.
But on second thought, that would only make it harder for Yuri to find Mr. Black.
‘I’ve already told Yuri that Mr. Black will attend the ceremony. If there are too many guests, the list of suspects will be too long. I need to minimize the pool of candidates.’
In other words, I had to make Yuri’s deduction as easy as possible.
She had already seen Mr. Black’s back, so she knew his general height and build.
Now, imagine she attends the ceremony, and the only person there matching that description… is me.
She’d have no choice but to conclude that I was Mr. Black.
A perfect plan.
“Then I’ll ask the church for their cooperation.”
“Then I will inform the church and request their cooperation.”
“Wait. Add a few more requests for them.”
“Yes, my lord. What are your instructions?”
“The ceremony will be conducted by female priests only. If there aren’t enough, any male priests involved must be shorter than me. Ensure these two conditions are met.”
“…”
Of course, this was to further narrow down the number of people matching Mr. Black’s physique.
“…What exactly is the purpose of these requests?”
“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
“I have no idea what you’re plotting, but… The ominous and devious energy radiating from you tells me I’m better off not knowing.”
“….”
[The Evil God ‘Kali’ takes great pride in our guard captain’s wisdom.]
This guy…
Just because he’s a Sword Master, does he think he can sense things that aren’t even there?
I was annoyed, but I had no real excuse to dock his pay, so I let it slide.
‘This time, I will get caught…!’
I had to make it look natural.
As if it wasn’t intentional.
As if it was a genuine mistake.
This coming-of-age ceremony… was my battlefield.
***
‘It’s been so long since I’ve been to a church…’
Standing in front of the small church, Yuri bit her lip.
This wasn’t a place that held many good memories for her.
The orphanage she grew up in had received church support, yet her childhood had still been full of hardships…
“Ah, there’s an orphanage here too.”
Just then, Yuri spotted a group of children playing in the yard.
They looked well-fed, clean, and full of energy.
Even when they played pranks on passing priests and nuns, the adults just smiled and responded with kindness.
Watching the scene, Yuri smiled warmly.
‘There aren’t any orphanages like the one I grew up in anymore.’
Aslan Vermont had personally petitioned the Empress to shut down all corrupt orphanages.
Now, only well-managed ones remained.
No more children would have to suffer like we did…
With a soft smile, Yuri stepped inside.
The ceremony was about to begin.
It was time for the protagonist of the coming-of-age ceremony to make her entrance.
‘Alright. From now on, I need to focus on finding Mr. Black.’
Inside, the attendees were already gathered.
One of them had to be Mr. Black.
I had memorized his back perfectly—there was no way I wouldn’t recognize him!
With determination, Yuri pushed open the door.
“You’re a little late. Come forward quickly.”
“Ah? Oh… Y-yes…”
The sight before her was far more desolate than she had expected, making Yuri stammer in confusion.
Wait a minute. The attendees…
Charlotte, Julia, the instructor…
Then there was the young lady, Lillia, and Irene Vermont.
…That’s it?
Seriously? That’s everyone?
She rubbed her eyes and looked again.
But no matter how many times she checked, the same faces remained.
No matter where she searched, she couldn’t find a tall, broad-shouldered man like the one she had seen before.
‘Wait… No way…?’
Actually, there was one person left.
Yuri’s gaze slowly shifted forward.
Her eyes locked onto Aslan, who stood with his hands behind his back.
Now that she thought about it…
He was about the same height as Mr. Black.
His build was similar too.
All the conditions matched.
So then… could Aslan Vermont really be—?
‘Seriously? Aslan Vermont is Mr. Black? Then he said he’d attend the ceremony, but deliberately didn’t invite anyone else who looked like him? This isn’t just suspicious—this is basically begging to get caught!’
As soon as that thought hit her, suspicion turned into outright doubt.
If Aslan Vermont really was Mr. Black…
This was way too easy.
Too obvious.
It was like he was practically handing her the answer on a silver platter.
Would Mr. Black really be such a devious and underhanded person?
Or was there a chance that Mr. Black couldn’t attend today for some reason?
Her thoughts spiraled deeper into confusion.
‘Ugh, I can’t take this anymore…’
Grit.
Yuri clenched her teeth and stepped forward.
This was getting exhausting.
Her head hurt.
She was done with all the guessing.
“Now let’s proceed with the coming-of-age ceremony.”
“We will now proceed with the coming-of-age ceremony.”
“Wait a moment. I have something to say.”
“…?”
Yuri stood in front of Aslan, tilting her head back to meet his eyes.
She let out a small sigh before parting her lips.
“Mr. Black.”
“…!?”
Aslan’s eyes twitched ever so slightly.
Just that reaction alone was as good as a confession.
Yuri smirked, then turned around to face the gathered guests.
“I know you’re here. I don’t know exactly who you are… but there’s something I really want to say.”
“….”
“I love you. Please marry me. …Once I’m all grown up, that is.”
“…!?”
The room erupted into chaos in an instant.
