"Last time Yuri came to the mansion, I even let her use the bath..."

Swish, swish.

Charlotte, constantly adjusting Aslan’s pant legs, took a deep breath. The scene she had witnessed that day was still vivid in her mind.

At the time, she had just thought, Ah, Aslan and Yuri must have gotten quite close, and had brushed it off lightly. But as time passed and she thought about it again, a feeling of tightness started to form in her chest. It almost seemed like anger was bubbling up.

I haven’t even tried wearing Uncle's big clothes yet...

The shock when she saw Yuri wearing Uncle’s large clothes, peeking around the corner... It was something she just couldn’t forget.

Aslan must have only met Yuri recently. Yet, he had already brought her to the mansion, bathed her, and even dressed her in his own clothes—how much must he like her...?

"By the way, Uncle, you know the girl, Yuri... Ah-ra, right?"

"Why do you bring her up?"

"Is she someone special to you? You seem to meet her a lot more than the other staff members of Vermont Security..."

"..."

Trying to hold it in was only making her more frustrated!

Charlotte immediately turned her head to meet Aslan's gaze and asked point-blank. What did he think of Yuri?

Was he being kind to her as he was to Yulia, with the intent of proposing later? Or was it just because he thought of her as a cute, young girl?

She wanted to know Aslan’s true feelings.

"Not really. She's just outstanding among the staff, so she gets called for various tasks more often."

"I see... So, Uncle, you don't have any special feelings for her, do you?"

"Of course, I do have some interest. She’s like a treasure to the company."

Aslan was awful at lying or changing the subject. Therefore, the casual response he gave could not have been a lie. It meant that he still saw Yuri as just an exceptional employee.

Well, that’s a relief!

Charlotte sighed in relief inwardly. Phew. I was really worried that Yulia’s position as the Countess might be in danger...

But, this is all for Yulia...

She gripped Aslan's pant leg tightly, mentally repeating to herself. At first, the reason for wanting to become the Countess had been to gain access to more information and attempt an escape from here. But now, it had become much simpler.

She just wanted Yulia's love to come true.

Because Yulia had liked him first.

So, there was no other choice.

If Aslan were to fall for Yuri, even just a little, she would subtly intervene.

"Ugh. Can you arrange a private meeting with her? I have something I want to say."

She would tell Yuri subtly that Aslan might be targeting her, and that she should keep some distance for now. Knowing Yuri's straightforward and worried nature, she would immediately become wary of Aslan.

That would be enough.

At least until Yulia got engaged.

Just until then, if she could keep Yuri away, that would work. After that, everything would be cleared up, she believed.

...Or so she thought.

"Well, as for what I think about her... she's a very cute girl."

"C-cute?!"

"She's pretty and very feminine."

"P-pretty!? Feminine...!"

"Don’t tell anyone I said this, but she looks great in women's clothing."

"Ugh...!"

At Aslan's unexpectedly nonchalant response, Charlotte's eyes went wide. She was so shocked that she nearly lost her breath.

Cute. Pretty. Feminine.

Words she had never heard Aslan say, especially not toward her or Yulia.

She never even heard those words from him when it came to Yulia or herself! But now, he was repeatedly praising Yuri like this. What the heck...?

This is bad! Aslan doesn’t just think of Yuri as a good employee!!!

A full-blown crisis! He clearly liked Yuri much more than she thought!

Charlotte trembled with sudden anxiety.

So, Uncle likes girls like Yuri, huh...

Usually cold and indifferent, but when he smiled, he was cute. He exuded charisma while working, but when dressed up on his days off, he looked great in his clothes.

It was clear. Yuri was definitely a completely different style from me and Yulia.

But still, Uncle... doesn’t he have any resolve?

Just recently, he took Yulia to the dark, enclosed laboratory and started setting up for their engagement. She thought he was carefully preparing for it, but now his number one priority was another girl?

Ugh. She was a little disappointed.

Wasn’t he the type of person who only focused on the girl he first took an interest in, slowly and carefully preparing to make her his wife?

This was more like a womanizer...!

Charlotte couldn’t hide her displeasure, puffing out her cheeks.

"Ah, so you really think of Yuri like that... I’m kind of shocked..."

"Now, you’re probably not in the mood to ask for that private meeting anymore, huh?"

"No, on the contrary, I want to meet her even more! I think the meeting might take a little longer than expected...!"

Plan revised!

Seeing how much Aslan liked Yuri, Charlotte realized that if Yuri kept trying to keep her distance, she would probably follow her around more. So, it would be better to actively push Yuri away!

This was all necessary to eliminate Yulia’s competition!

Even if it meant deceiving Yuri, she would have to do it!

Charlotte clenched her fists, making up her mind.

"Whew... I’ll find a time to set it up..."

"Oh, really!? Great! Thank you, Uncle!"

"Just so you know, she’ll probably wear a mask if you meet her alone. She’s a bit shy for a guy..."

"Eh? A guy? What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?"

"Yuria’s a girl, Uncle."

"...?"

Charlotte cut off Aslan's words in surprise. A guy? What...?

It took her a moment to fully understand what Aslan meant, as the shock left her speechless.

Wait... Did Aslan think Yuri was a guy this whole time?

Even though he said she was cute, pretty, and looked great in women's clothing?

Ahhh! That’s why!!!

No wonder Aslan had been so generous with his compliments!

He wasn’t just praising her for no reason—he thought she was a guy!

That’s why he had been so sarcastic!

Finally, the mystery was solved, and Charlotte felt a sense of clarity in her mind.

I might be smarter than I thought!

"Silvia, when new staff members join Vermont Security, they collect personal information, including their gender, right?"

"Yes, that’s correct."

"So, what’s Yuri’s gender?"

"She’s female."

"Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?!"

"...You never asked."

Silvia answered quietly, avoiding Aslan’s sharp gaze.

Well, of course she didn’t.

There was someone who couldn’t stop obsessing over pure, innocent children...

But honestly, it was also more fun to keep it hidden.

Yuri is a girl...?!

After confirming the truth, Aslan was left in shock for a while, replaying the memories.

Naturally, Yuri had been buying women’s underwear. She had been somewhat embarrassed, yet came to the mansion in women's casual clothes. Then, when she was asked to take a bath with him, she had refused, visibly uncomfortable.

All of it pointed to Yuri being a girl.

If it weren’t for his political correctness obsession, anyone would have come to the same conclusion without needing a change of perspective.

But why... Why had he been so sure that Yuri was a guy?

Aslan paused, thinking deeply.

Ah, this game company’s previous works all had male protagonists...

That’s when he discovered the root of his prejudice.

The game company had three previous works, all following the same clichéd plot: a male hero destined to save the world, gathering female companions along the way.

And the beginning of this new game was remarkably similar to the previous ones.

At some point, Aslan had simply assumed that Yuri was a male protagonist.

But still, the question remained.

The game company had featured male protagonists three times in a row. Why had they suddenly chosen a female protagonist this time?

Aslan, retracing the distant memories of his previous possession, quickly found the answer.

Ah, I complained that this company always makes wishy-washy, frustrating male protagonists who ruin the mood...

That was it.

The company had always created male heroes with an annoying flaw—they became useless and frustrating in the latter half of the game, constantly overshadowed by their female companions.

Apparently, they had finally come up with a solution: they made the protagonist female and filled the entire party with women.

It was a ridiculously simple decision.

And that was how things had ended up this way.

In this world, Yuri had been a girl from the start.

It was just him who had stubbornly believed she was a guy.

Wait. If Yuri is a girl...

Aslan stroked his chin, deep in thought.

Now that he understood, it was actually simple.

Instead of securing Charlotte and Yulia’s engagement with Yuri’s approval, he could just get engaged to Yuri as well, and that would solve everything, right?

As Aslan came up with this brilliant idea...

I shouldn’t have said that!!!

Reading Aslan’s expression, Charlotte fell into a silent scream of despair.

It had been going so well!

If she hadn’t mentioned that Yuri was a girl, she would’ve been out of Aslan’s grasp by now!

But because she revealed that Yuri was a girl...!

It was too late for regrets now.