'This feels strange...'

Flinch. Flinch.
Yulia held back her shivers and squeezed her eyes shut.
Rustle. Something settled over her body.
Again. And again.
She almost let out a whimper but managed to hold it back.
Just as she thought it was over, a firm hand reached out and gently touched her soft skin.

“Kh-huhuh.”

That sinister laugh echoed from a distance.
How did things end up like this?
Yulia felt tears welling up in her eyes.

"Who’s there?"
"...It’s me."
"What’s the matter? In the middle of the night?"
"I can’t sleep alone... I need your help..."

That was two hours ago.
Yulia had steeled herself before knocking on Aslan’s office door.
She wasn’t there because those damned voices had kept her awake again.
It wasn’t because of the peace she felt near Aslan.

'This is just so I can uncover whatever schemes that evil man is up to!'

After sleeping soundly for over twelve hours last night, did Aslan really do nothing to her?
Or, what kind of trick did he use to completely silence those voices?
There were too many questions, and only one way to find the answers.
She would pretend to sleep near Aslan and keep an eye on him, to catch him in the act.

'I’m scared, but I have to do it...'

Someone had to.
Though it terrified her, she had to uncover Aslan’s true nature.
For Charlotte’s sake, she would see this through.
When she entered the office, she found Aslan buried in paperwork, his hands moving busily.

“Um...”
“Just lie down on the couch or the floor. I’m busy.”
“...”

Without even looking at her, Aslan dismissed her with annoyance.
He remained as rude as ever.
Aslan’s face was hidden behind a stack of papers for a moment, and Yulia stuck out her tongue at him before lying on the couch and hugging her pillow.
She closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep, but her brow furrowed.

'The voices. I can still hear them...'

Realizing something was off, Yulia’s eyes opened.
She couldn’t sleep here.
The voices were quieter but still too loud for her to fall asleep.
She stood up and walked over to Aslan, noticing that as soon as she got close, the voices vanished.

“I can only sleep right next to you...”
“Then sleep on the desk. It’s big enough, so there’s plenty of room.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“Do you expect me to abandon all this work and sit by your bedside? Take it or leave it. The choice is yours.”
“Ugh...!”

Really? Sleep on the desk?
How could he say that with a straight face?
There were other options, but Aslan clearly wasn’t going to mention them.

'He wants me to beg to sleep in his arms, doesn’t he!?'

It was obvious what he was trying to do.
The chair Aslan sat on was large and wide.
If she climbed onto his lap and leaned against his chest, there would be plenty of room.

He was being shameless, hoping for that.
Did he think she wouldn’t be able to sleep on the desk?
Determined to defy him, Yulia kicked off her shoes and climbed onto the desk.

“Well, I’m sleeping on the desk, just like you said.”
“...”

How about that? Didn’t expect this, did you?
Aslan’s face showed a slight hint of surprise.
Feeling triumphant, Yulia lay down on the desk with her pillow and closed her eyes.
The desk was large enough for Yulia’s petite frame, and she smiled in victory as she settled in.
About three seconds later—

'Wait, something feels wrong!'

Only then did Yulia realize her mistake.
What was she doing?
She was lying on the desk right in front of Aslan, as if she were on display.
Her sense of triumph quickly faded, replaced by an overwhelming sense of embarrassment.

'No, this is fine. I came here to see what kind of suspicious things Aslan does while I’m asleep. Tonight, I’ll catch him in the act!'

Yulia closed her eyes tightly, pretending to fall into a peaceful sleep.
If she did this, Aslan would eventually drop the act and reveal his true colors.
And so, she fought against sleep, waiting and waiting.

“Master Aslan, here’s the estate management plan for this year. But, what’s this...?”
“Don’t mind it. Just think of it as furniture. Now bring the transaction records with Holzbern as well.”
“I was sleeping before I was called in. Are you giving me more work now?”
“...”
“Please don’t ignore me, Master Aslan.”

“Yawn. Here’s the transaction records with Holzbern up to last month. But, I’m getting...”
“Getting what?”
“Nothing at all.”
“If it’s nothing, go fetch the payroll records for the servants.”
“Are there even any?”
“If there aren’t, make some.”
“...”

“Master Aslan, I’ve prepared the payroll records. Can I go to bed now?”
“You might as well match your sleep schedule to mine.”
“Master Aslan, I don’t know if you remember, but I’m not a secretary. I’m a knight.”
“Oh, right. Thanks for reminding me.”
“...”

What is wrong with this man?
He just shuffles papers all night long, not doing anything else.
At some point, even Sylvia started ignoring Yulia lying on the desk, treating her like part of the furniture.

It’s not like she expected anything else...
But being forgotten like this felt odd.
Now, she felt like a child throwing a tantrum, disturbing a busy lord in the middle of his duties.

'No, that’s not it!!!'

Aslan surely had some dark secrets.
He must have done something to make it so that she could only sleep near him.
He must have set this up to do something suspicious while she slept...

'At least, that’s what I thought... that’s what I have to believe...'

Yulia’s certainty began to waver.
Her resolve was crumbling.
She had planned to catch him red-handed here.
But even when she opened her eyes to check, Aslan was simply focused on his documents, oblivious to her presence.
It seemed he’d even forgotten she was there, as he accidentally placed some papers on top of her.

'It tickles...'

Rustle. Rustle.
With each new sheet of paper laid over her, Yulia flinched, shivering from the tickling sensation.
Eventually, she found herself covered in a blanket of documents.
This madman.
Did he really forget there was a person here?

“Oh. I forgot about you.”

After some time, the rustling of papers subsided.
Aslan finally noticed Yulia’s presence and reached out his hand.

'So he’s finally showing his true colors!'

Yulia, who’d been fighting sleep, suddenly felt wide awake.
There’s no way Aslan Vermont, with a girl lying right in front of him, would just ignore her.
I’ll expose him right here.
With this resolve, Yulia braced herself.

Aslan’s large hand touched her soft cheek.

“Hmph...”
“Oh, this might wake her. I should be more gentle.”

Slide. Slide. Press. Press.
Aslan’s fingers softly stroked Yulia’s cheek, pressing and lightly pulling it as if her cheek was a soft, stretchy rice cake.

“Kuhuhuhu...”

A chuckle slipped from Aslan’s lips.
Who wouldn’t be tempted to smile while touching such cheeks?
Succumbing to this unexpected addiction, his hand never stopped moving.

Rub, rub.
Press, press.
Then pull...
Aslan continued with one hand on Yulia’s cheek while still working with the other, oblivious to how her face was turning bright red.

'What is this!!!'

She had come here to expose Aslan’s true nature.
She had braced herself to face whatever he might do while she was vulnerable.
But what was this?
Now it felt like she was just some stress-relieving toy for him, being fiddled with as he worked.

Yulia felt her pride crumble, with a confusing mix of embarrassment washing over her.
It wasn’t an unpleasant kind of shame, but it was still terribly embarrassing.

'Was I the one imagining things...?'

Did she suspect him for no reason?
Maybe Aslan really didn’t have any sinister plans.
Well, it was odd that he was squeezing her cheeks and laughing mischievously, but...
It wasn’t quite what she had envisioned.

This wasn’t something the wicked Aslan Vermont would do.
This wasn’t the behavior of someone from the Vermont family who treated people like objects.
This shouldn’t be happening...

Little by little, Yulia’s world began to collapse.
Her pride broke down.
Everything she’d believed in was crumbling.
The drive that kept her going was vanishing.

She had resented Aslan, hoping to defeat him and escape.
But if Aslan wasn’t someone she should hate, then who could she despise?

As she pondered, Aslan’s voice quietly broke through her thoughts.

“Blessed body. Being able to sleep so peacefully.”

What could that mean?
Does Aslan have insomnia too?
She didn’t know...
Yulia was no longer in a state to continue thinking.
Sleep gradually overcame her.
Her consciousness faded.

'Mom...'

As she drifted into the world of dreams,
that warm touch seeped in.
Just like whenever she’d whine about a stomachache,
a warm hand on her stomach...

“Huh?”
“I was going to wake you, but you woke up on your own.”
“Ah!?”

The feeling on her lower abdomen.
That chilling sensation made Yulia’s eyes snap open.
It was as if she had taken Aslan’s hand and placed it there, holding it down with her other hand to keep it from moving.

Her embarrassment gauge hit the ceiling, and Yulia sprang up, reflexively.

“Eeek!?”

Thud, thud!
Yulia tumbled off the desk, rolling roughly onto the floor.
When she looked up, she saw Aslan sitting at the desk, sorting through papers as if nothing had happened.
He looked at her with a smug expression, as if to say, “Well done.”

“Quite the noisy wake-up. But it sure does the job.”
“You... damn it!”

He could’ve caught her!
Aslan’s mocking tone made Yulia grit her teeth, her misplaced anger suddenly redirecting back to him.
That man definitely wasn’t a good person.
Though now... she wasn’t sure if he was an entirely bad one either.
But at the very least, he was certainly mean.

At breakfast, Yulia ate in silence, almost as if licking a dog bowl.
Charlotte watched her and finally spoke.

“Yulia.”
“...”
“Yulia, Yulia, Yuliaaaa.”
“What? Why do you keep calling me?”
“So, what’s with that bump on your forehead?”
“I don’t know!”
“Why are you so angry...?”

Hadn’t her mood improved lately with better sleep?
Charlotte looked puzzled as Yulia grumbled.