"What did it all mean...?"

Thud. Thud.
As I made a rough sandwich with the leftover ingredients in the kitchen, Silvia's feet continued to stomp the ground.

I was already lost in thought, my mouth stopped chewing the sandwich long ago.
All of Silvia's attention was consumed by Aslan's words from earlier.

"You'll have to wield your sword for me for the rest of your life. I'll make sure to utilize you properly."

I was taken aback.
He said I'd wield a sword for the rest of my life?
Aslan was not the kind of person to say such things.

And rightly so...

"You little bitch. Who do you think you are to watch me? Did my father send you? How ridiculous. I'll make you beg me to let you quit. You'll cry and say, 'Please let me quit.' Just wait."

Aslan hated me.
And as much as he hated me, he loathed the sword I loved.
He even threatened that he'd make me put it down for sure.

At that time, I was so scared and sad that I cried.
Even when faced with death on the battlefield, I had never cried.
But the fear of possibly having to put down my sword made me weep like a child in secret.

Now, all I have left is this sword.
With my mana core injured, and being unable to use magic, my only identity left is that of a knight.
If I put down my sword, what will I become?
How will I live?

I didn’t even want to imagine it.

"Things have changed too much..."

I initially viewed Aslan's transformation positively.
He spread negative energy throughout the mansion, frequently berating the hired help and the local residents.
He was a complete failure of a human, performing strange rituals with a goat's head.

But that Aslan came to his senses.
He wanted to try doing something himself.
I thought that was quite commendable, but that’s where it ended.
I had never trusted Aslan, nor did I ever plan to.

I thought he had merely gone from being human waste to someone barely human, only following me around as a guard and watcher.
But he was changing.
Steadily. And assuredly.

At first, I forcefully denied it.
It couldn't be true.
He hadn’t truly changed; he was just pretending.

Caring for the children was ultimately for his own benefit.
He was just pretending to be kind.
That’s what I believed, but that faith began to waver quickly.

"Why is this so confusing...?"

I ground my teeth.
If he was going to be bad, then be bad to the end; if he was going to be kind, then be kind from the start.
What is this nonsense, confusing people like this?

What am I supposed to do?
Can I trust you?
Should I trust you only to be betrayed?

My mind insisted that I should never trust him.
But my heart was being drawn in.
It was tempting me to give Aslan a chance.

He certainly still had the same fierce and dark eyes he always had, but
something inside him had definitely changed.
No, I have no idea if a person’s true nature changes or not, but...
I just felt that way.

"I'll wield my sword for you for my entire life..."

He had indeed said that I would wield my sword for the rest of my life.

A halfwit who can't produce mana.
Only an upper-tier sword expert at best, nothing special.
Even with Charlotte, who could handle a holy sword appearing, there was only one reason he continued to employ me without discarding me.

'Did he catch a glimpse of the possibility of me becoming a Swordmaster?'

The path I once gave up on long ago.
Could it be that he saw the qualities to become a Swordmaster?
In the past, I would have dismissed it as "No way,"
but now, after Yulia and Charlotte have awakened, I couldn't take it lightly.

Can I challenge myself again?
To become a Swordmaster with this half-baked body?
Feeling my heart racing, Silvia slightly flushed with excitement.

"Ah! What do I do! Your face is turning red!"
"Hey! Why are you shouting!"
"...?"

Pitter-patter.
The sound of hurrying footsteps echoed outside the kitchen door.
Why were the maids making such a fuss?
Silvia tilted her head, stuffing the remaining sandwich into her mouth.

"I'm hungry..."
"Come out to eat if you're hungry."
"But if I go out to eat, I have to face Uncle!"
"..."

Perhaps recalling the recent memory, Charlotte buried her face in the pillow and kicked the blanket.
Yulia looked at Charlotte with a look of pity.
I thought she had no sense of shame, but was she feeling embarrassed like a tragic heroine?

"What are you going to do? You can't just keep starving."
"W-what should I do...?"
"Should I bring you food?"
"Please... And if possible, could you also find out where the Super Strong Sword is...?"

Muttering in a voice barely audible while hiding under the blanket, Charlotte.
With a sigh, Yulia kicked the blanket aside.
With a cry, Charlotte tumbled out from under the bed.

"Okay. The time-limited heroine."
"Ah! Really!"

The embarrassment was only temporary.
It would be alright after some time.
Thinking so, Yulia left the bedroom.

"Why isn't Charlotte coming out?"
"Well, she says she's not hungry. Maybe she's still recovering from mana depletion..."
"Hmm..."
"Should I bring her some bread later? ...?"
"Do that."

In the dining room,
Yulia elegantly dug into her food, acting nonchalantly with a dog bowl.
Aslan, who had been watching her closely, smiled faintly.
What had initially seemed crude had improved quite a bit.

[The Evil God, 'Carly,' seems displeased.]

What? Why again?
Aslan tensed up.

[The Evil God, 'Carly,' shouts that our dark knight is starving and demands he be brought in to sit down!]

Ah, she said she wouldn't eat.
What should I do?
I can’t just shove food into her mouth forcefully.
Aslan felt a throbbing pain in his head.

"And by the way, the Super Strong Sword..."
"It's the Super Strong Sword."
"Right. The Super Strong Sword..."
"It’s the Super Strong Sword. Pay attention to the pronunciation."
"Ugh. Anyway, where is that long sword right now? ...?"
"Did Charlotte ask you to find out?"
"Huh? No, I just... wanted to know. ..."

You want to know where the sword is?
You, who doesn’t even know the type of sword, are interested?
Aslan immediately saw through Yulia’s lie.

"Tell Charlotte that the Super Strong Sword is in my possession. If she wants it back, she must come to me directly."
"..."

Aslan replied with a smirk.
If Charlotte didn't show her face, there were plenty of ways to force her out.
But making her come willingly would be far more entertaining.
It would also create an opportunity for a conversation.

'Despicable...'

Yulia shook her head.
That man can be childish at times.

'Yulia, you must be asleep now?'

In the late hours of the night,
after wriggling under the blankets, she slowly uncovered herself.
Yulia's bed was lumped up, as if she were sleeping soundly.
To avoid waking her, Charlotte stealthily slipped outside.

"They said the Super Strong Sword is with uncle..."

Thanks to Yulia, I obtained valuable information.
Did he think I'd go to uncle the moment I found out the Super Strong Sword was with him?
If he thought that, he was making a big mistake.
I'm not a fool.

'Anyway, uncle is too weak to carry the Super Strong Sword. He must have hidden it somewhere.'

Just because he said it was with him doesn't mean he carries it on him.
If that's the case, the Super Strong Sword must be left somewhere.
The most likely candidate was, of course, the office.
Charlotte quietly moved toward the office, careful not to be noticed by the maids working late into the night.

"Huff, I'm not stealing it... I'm just going to get my belongings back..."

I'm not acting like a petty thief at all.
It's just that it's a bit awkward to face uncle.
Charlotte swallowed nervously and gently pushed the office door.

"Ah, it's dark."

Of course, he wouldn’t be working at this hour.
The moment Charlotte opened the door wide with relief.

"Ah..."
"I was waiting for you."

What greeted Charlotte was Aslan, engrossed in paperwork with a small candle flickering on his desk.
And...

"Why is Yulia over there?"
"Hmm, yum. Hmm..."
"If you ask me that, it's quite difficult to answer."

Aslan had his hand on Yulia's cheek, looking quite pleased as she slept.
Charlotte froze in shock for three seconds.
Then, the next moment, a smile spread across her lips.

"Huhuhuh. I see. Yulia is such a spoiled girl that she can’t sleep without uncle around."

I caught Yulia's weakness!
Before she knew it, Charlotte had completely forgotten why she felt awkward about seeing Aslan.