"Before that, let’s talk. Man to man, let’s open our hearts and have a chat."
"Yes, Count. Please, go ahead... Huh?"

Yuria’s brows furrowed sharply.
Fortunately, thanks to the mask, Aslan probably wouldn’t notice her expression.
Yuria couldn’t hide her discomfort that much.

"I feel like you’re treating me too stiffly, so if there’s any misunderstanding, I want to clear it up."
"...Yes."

Tightening his grip on Yuria’s shoulder, Aslan pulled her closer.
Yuria was taken aback.
It felt like she was being hugged by Aslan.
...Or maybe it was just a casual shoulder embrace between men.

'Does he really think I’m a guy!?'

Her blood pressure spiked.
Well, considering she was cross-dressing, it was somewhat understandable.

I have short hair.
I don’t wear makeup.
My voice is raspy.
I only wear neat pants and a shirt.

At first glance, everyone thought I was a guy.
But that was just the first impression.
After talking to the academy students and professors for a while, they all began to look puzzled,
and eventually couldn’t hold back their curiosity and asked if I was really a guy.

Even though I’m all wrapped up like this, does my femininity still sneak out?
I was trying to cross-dress, and this was beyond frustrating.

...That is, until I met someone who didn’t even notice I was a girl, even after sitting so close in this carriage for hours that our skin was touching.

'Why doesn’t he realize!? Usually, people notice!'

It was incredibly frustrating.
Had we only met a couple of times?
We had seen each other countless times: twice at the academy, several times at the training ground, and so many more.

Was he really not interested in me?
That wasn’t true either.
Aslan seemed to doubt the relationship between me and my slaves, growling at me to take off my mask.
That meant he was paying attention to me, right? But how could he not know?

He even used a fake name, accidentally slipping up and saying “Yuria.”
Yuria could be used as a male name, so it was understandable if there was some confusion.
But how could he think I was a guy just from seeing Yuria...?

Could it be that he misunderstood me as a pervert who enjoys cross-dressing to the point of changing my name to a girl’s name?
...No way, right?
A rather plausible hypothesis crossed Yuria’s mind, causing her pupils to shake severely.

"...Anyway, it means he has a lot of expectations."
"Yes."
"So, don’t you have anything to say?"
"..."

What were we even talking about?
She knew Aslan was saying something, but due to the chaos in her head, she couldn’t remember a single word.
Yuria panicked, stammering and just answered vaguely.

"Yes. Nothing."
"Are you saying you don’t plan to take off that mask?"
"...Yes."

Gently, Aslan pushed aside her mask.
Yuria lowered her eyes, avoiding his gaze.
Aslan let out a deep sigh.

With a somewhat disappointed expression, he stood up.
Looking a bit deflated, Aslan walked away first.
Yuria was left trembling with her shoulders shaking.

'Do I really not look like a girl? Ugh...!'

This is so annoying.
It’s frustrating.
I feel bad.
Yuria’s tightly clenched fists trembled, and she shed a few tears.

'There’s no way I can leave Charlotte and Yulia with someone like him!'

The guard she had barely let down surged back up.
Thanks to the black old man’s letter, the hatred that had almost subsided was instantly recharged.

"Huh?"

At that moment, the sound of rustling bushes made Yuria whip her head around.
It wasn’t a sound made by Aslan.
Then what could it be...?

...

"Whoa...!"

Panting, Charlotte and Yulia ran, not even paying attention to the sound of the bushes rustling.
They had just witnessed a shocking sight!

"That was Yuria, right? It’s her, isn’t it?"
"I think so. Why is Yuria even here...?"

Beneath the mask that Aslan had pushed aside, a face emerged.
It was definitely Yuria's face.
While it was surprising enough that Yuria was here...

"But more importantly, why is Aslan getting so touchy with Yuria?!"
"Yulia, shh. Quiet...!"

The sight of Aslan being so intimate with Yuria shocked them even more.
He hadn’t reached out to them like that yet.
How long have Yuria and he known each other for him to act so naturally...?

Seeing that bold hand stretching out toward Yuria as if she were just another guy made Charlotte and Yulia feel completely flustered.

"I think we’ve come far enough. Hah. Hah..."
"You barely ran, and you’re already out of breath?"
"I don’t have stamina like you... Hah... I’m not that fit... Hah..."
"By the way, why did Yuria come here?"
"Isn’t it obvious? She said she would come back to save us. Since then, Yuria must have thought we’d be treated poorly at the Vermont mansion. So she must have secretly approached us while hiding her identity."
"Aha! That’s why she was wearing a mask...!"

Charlotte clapped her hands in realization, her eyes wide open.
It was the moment when all the mysteries unraveled.
Well, it made perfect sense for Yuria to do that.

Considering her position knowing the truth about Aslan Vermont, it could seem somewhat foolish,
but remembering that they had also feared him until recently, they understood how precarious it must have looked to an outsider.
Knowing that sentiment made it all the more complicated to figure out how to respond.

"Don’t we have to tell Yuria? We’re actually getting along really well, contrary to the rumors."
"No, we have to be careful about that. If it’s Yuria, she might think we’ve been brainwashed by Aslan and only say good things about him."
"Oh. That could really be the case for Yuria... So what should we do?"
"We can’t just reveal it directly, or we’ll be suspicious, so we need to subtly hint at it. We have to make her believe that we still haven’t seen under that mask to increase the credibility of what we say."
"Credibility... what? I don’t know! But that sounds right!"

Charlotte understood the nuances of what Yulia was saying, even though she only grasped a rough idea.
No matter how much they tried to calmly persuade Yuria while sitting her down, Yuria would probably listen with one ear and let it go with the other.
She was the type to consider the worst-case scenario first, so it was obvious she would suspect brainwashing.

But what if they pretended to be completely unaware and subtly revealed that the treatment they received from Aslan wasn’t bad?
Since it wouldn’t be a direct persuasion, Yuria wouldn’t suspect brainwashing,
and it would make it possible for her to quickly realize what kind of person Aslan really was.

"Awesome! That would ease Yuria’s worries!"
"Yes. And one more thing. We need to get Yuria away from Aslan quickly."
"Ah..."

Remembering something she had almost forgotten, Charlotte’s mouth fell open.
The old man...
He seemed to really take a liking to Yuria.

'No more competitors for Yulia!
If the maids are correct, Aslan has a twisted preference for pure, innocent common girls! So we need to protect Yuria from Aslan!'

Charlotte and Yulia locked eyes.
Even though they were thinking completely different things,
the two, who somehow shared a single purpose, nodded and exchanged glances.

'This is so awkward, I might go crazy.'

As the carriage started moving again,
the atmosphere inside, which had been clustered together, fell into silence once more.

Was it because of Yuria not saying a word while wearing her mask?
Charlotte and Yulia seemed to be overly cautious and didn’t display their usual lively selves.

'Has the operation relying on the black old man’s authority failed?'

If it were a man-to-man conversation, she thought he would open up.
She had cast aside the dignity of a noble and had spoken frankly.
But he, like a girl, pulled away and instead reinforced the wall around his heart.

Fine. That guy isn’t a parasite but a similar girl.
I completely understand.
I had assumed he was a manly man and a big shot in negotiations because he was the protagonist, but in fact, he was a cowardly timid guy.
Now, I needed to change my approach a little.

[The evil god, 'Kali,' seems to be restless about our apostles getting into a showdown.]

A showdown?
What does that mean?
It’s just an awkward atmosphere; what kind of showdown is there? Kali’s judgment can’t be trusted.

Just as I shook my head and let out a deep sigh.
The kids seemed tired, and before long, their eyes began to flutter shut.
At first, they seemed fine, but Charlotte and Yulia gradually moved closer to me and ended up claiming an arm each.

"..."
"..."

On the other side.
Through the mask, I felt a piercing gaze that stared straight through me.
Even though I couldn’t sense mana, I felt a dense killing intent that almost took my breath away.
I knew that the more I showed this side of me, the more Yuria’s misunderstandings and hatred would deepen, but...

'I'm sorry, but your companions have already been thoroughly tamed by me.'

An inexplicable feeling of superiority swelled within me, something I could not control.