"The report from the spirits we left with the old skeletons has come in! They said they twisted the necks of all the animal corpses because they were disturbing... Huh?"

On the morning of the event.

Yuria, still looking sleepy, rubbed her eyes as she spoke.

She said it as if it were no big deal, but in reality, it was a huge crisis.

‘Reinhardt’s deputy was a shaman. If things had gone a bit differently, the underground of the Imperial Palace would have been filled with monsters.’

At this time, shamans were still a very unfamiliar concept in the Empire.

But for those who had read the description of the shaman class in the original work, it would be impossible not to recognize the trick of transforming intact animal corpses into monsters.

Coincidentally, Reinhardt’s deputy, Sephiroth, was a shaman from the Elven Kingdom. Just the fact that she had thrown animal corpses that could be turned into monsters into the underground of the Imperial Palace was almost enough to confirm it.

‘At least today won’t go smoothly.’

The Emperor’s sister had said that if nothing serious happened, she should forget about secret bodyguards and just enjoy the event.

But something told me that today, that 'something serious' was about to explode.

I couldn’t afford to let my guard down for a second. I had to stay alert even before arriving at the Imperial Palace… because anything could happen.

"I’m done putting it all on, Aslan. It’s not as uncomfortable as I thought... though."

"…!"

Just then, the door burst open, and Yuria appeared, lifting the long skirt that covered her shoes. She had her hair pulled back and held in place by a bright flower ornament.

And, to top it all off, she wore thin gloves that showed through her outfit. The feel of the gloves seemed uncomfortable, as her hand movements looked awkward.

I felt like I had been punched in the chest, and my breath nearly stopped.

"Is this the first time you've put everything on?"

"Uh-huh. Yes, it is. The maids all helped with the dressing, hair tying, and the accessories, so it took a long time. I felt a bit sorry about that... though."

"It suits you. Even when I saw them separately, they were beautiful, but now that everything is together, it all blends perfectly and highlights your beauty."

"Heh, heh… Do you think I'll get happy just from hearing such sweet words? …?"

Yuria laughed slightly and turned her head to hide her rising smile. It wasn’t just her fancy appearance that made her look beautiful.

Wearing the finest formal attire requires a great deal of effort and time, all of which are filled by the labor of the hired help.

Noble women, who have lived their whole lives naturally commanding others, probably wouldn’t even realize it.

But the fact that Yuria, who had unconsciously caused her hired help hardship, felt that way, made her all the more beautiful in my eyes.

Though she now lived like a noblewoman and enjoyed the privileges of a noble status, deep down, Yuria’s heart was still that of a commoner.

Her heart hadn’t changed at all.

Seeing her like that made me smile involuntarily.

"You're grinning too much. It feels kind of weird. People might think you and Charlotte are just happy, but others will misunderstand...!"

"I know. That's why I'll hold back my smile outside."

"Don't do that. Can't you smile a little less suspiciously?"

"Like this?"

"Ugh! Now it feels even worse!"

"..."

Just as I was trying to force a soft smile, the active skill ‘Evil Laugh’ activated, and Yuria recoiled in shock.

What a ridiculous situation.

An active skill, they said.

Why does it trigger automatically just from laughing?

"...It doesn't go the way I want it."

"Strange... Sometimes... no, very, very, occasionally, Aslan also smiles in a way that doesn’t feel bad."

"When was that?"

"I don’t know. I don’t remember exactly, but I’m sure that when Aslan smiled in a way that didn’t feel bad, there was something about it that made me feel bad...!"

"...."

To think that a smile that wasn’t unpleasant made her feel bad.

She had quite the talent for saying things that hurt so casually.

By the way, from what Yuria was saying, it seemed that there was once a time when I smiled, and the ‘Evil Laugh’ skill didn’t trigger.

When and under what conditions did I smile without triggering the skill? I had no idea.

It seemed like an almost impossible condition to fulfill in daily life, based on how rarely it happened.

Since Yuria herself didn’t remember clearly, it was likely going to be difficult to figure out what that condition was.

Maybe someday, when the conditions are right again, I’ll manage it by accident.

For now, though, I decided not to bother trying to figure out how not to laugh evilly while I was already busy with my research on black magic.

As long as Charlotte and Yuria knew there were no ill intentions behind my laughter, that was enough.

I wasn’t concerned with whether others misunderstood anymore.

"Hey, Charlotte! You still haven’t finished putting it on!!!"

"Ugh! No! I don’t want to! How can it take 30 minutes just to put on clothes!?"

Just then, there was a loud crash and the sound of heavy footsteps echoing throughout the mansion.

Yuria sighed without saying a word, as if she had expected this.

The footsteps grew louder, and soon the door burst open roughly, with a teary-eyed Charlotte rushing into my arms.

It felt like a truck had hit my stomach.

"Kuh-huh!?"

"Sir, help me! The maids are bothering me!!!"

"Bothering? What are you talking about? Come here! I still haven’t put your tights on!"

"..."

Charlotte clung to me as if she wasn’t going to let go anytime soon.

Behind her, the maids had finally arrived, each holding one pair of tights in their hands. They looked as if they were warriors preparing for battle.

I could already guess what had happened without even asking.

From the early morning, Charlotte had to wash herself in a hurry, then sit still for nearly an hour to get dressed. For someone like Charlotte, who wanted to play around, it must have been torture.

Judging by the snack bags in the maids’ hands, it seemed they had tried all sorts of methods to keep Charlotte from running off.

But now, it seemed like they had reached the breaking point, and Charlotte had just run out.

"Sir! Please help me! I really hate tights, and the maids keep trying to make me wear them!"

"..."

"Sir?"

"..."

Charlotte, calling out for help with her usual enthusiastic voice.

But after a long time of silence from me, she seemed to notice something was off when the maids relaxed their guard and slowly let go of their tension.

"A-Aslan? No, it’s not you, right?"

"Of course, you still need to finish putting on your clothes."

"Ahhh! Even you betrayed me!"

"Haah, master, please."

Crunch.

With a firm grip, I held onto Charlotte’s arms, accepting the tights from the maids.

Charlotte had been struggling, climbing on top of me and trying to escape in all directions, but I wasn’t about to let her go.

Of course, if Charlotte used her immense strength, she could easily escape my grip. But it seemed like she didn’t want to risk injuring my hand.

Even though she was about to burst into tears, she didn’t seem to consider the possibility of running away and hurting me in the process.

"Ughhh! I hate tights! I don’t like the feeling of them covering my legs! I also hate how they bunch up or wrinkle when I run!"

"If you leave your legs bare, won’t you be cold?"

"It’s summer, what’s cold about it…"

"Just accept it. You know no one—neither the maids nor I—will give up until you put them on."

"..."

Although she didn’t seem convinced, Charlotte reluctantly stopped resisting and lay down on the floor with a sigh.

It was a wise choice.

When Yuria passed by, giggling, Charlotte immediately wore a displeased expression.

"Still, I picked something comfortable for Aslan to wear. If you don’t like tights, do you want to trade and wear mine?"

"I’ll wear it! I think the dress is too long, but I think it would be okay if I hold it and run!"

"Really? You sure?"

"...!?!"

With that, Yuria lifted her skirt, revealing her legs covered in white stockings, causing Charlotte to react in shock and awe.

"Those are even worse than tights…!"

"So? Really going to swap?"

"I’ll wear the tights…"

With that, Charlotte’s complaints disappeared, replaced by a calm demeanor.

Thanks to Yuria’s support, I was able to change her more easily.

As Yuria had said, I had considered Charlotte’s comfort when picking out her outfit.

It wouldn’t have suited Charlotte to wear a voluminous dress like Yuria’s, especially as she would have been uncomfortable and likely raised the skirt to run around. And it was simply not her style.

Instead, I had chosen a ballet-style dress for her. The short skirt would be more comfortable to move in.

Since the dress was short, she couldn’t go without tights, as it would ruin the outfit’s balance. The tights were essential to complete the look.

"Can you lift your leg for me for a moment?"

"Ughhh. I really, really don’t want to…"

As I grabbed Charlotte’s calf and lifted it, her body was almost horizontal as it bent.

She didn’t seem uncomfortable at all, though she’d been bending her body into that position. It must have been because she was so flexible, having worked out all day.

I wondered if Sylvia was as flexible as this.

"Tights won’t feel so bad once you get used to them."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Gently, I pulled the tights up her leg, listening to the smooth sound as they slid up.

I made sure not to twist them and checked for any folds or discomfort before continuing with the other leg.

"Now I understand why Yuria hated wearing knee-highs for the first time..."

After wiping away the tear that had appeared in Charlotte’s eye, the process was finally complete.

"Haah. Is it finally done? Now we just need to wait for Yuria to arrive."

"Hasn’t Sylvia the knight arrived yet?"

"Sylvia? Oh, she should be fine..."

I had almost overlooked it, but then it dawned on me.

I had been expecting Sylvia to show up in her usual uniform, but I had forgotten that today, she was supposed to arrive as my companion.

Now that I thought about it, I had paid for the security detail, but I hadn’t checked what kind of outfit she had chosen.

I hoped she wouldn’t show up in some bizarre outfit.

Just as the thought crossed my mind...

"Sorry, I’m late. I had unexpected trouble with my attire..."

"Wow! Is that the knight?! Really?"

"Wow..."

"..."

[The demon god, 'Kali,' is surprised.]

The door burst open with a loud sound.

The maids standing in the hallway stood frozen, mouths agape, as the clicking of heels echoed in the hall.

And there, stepping into the room, was a figure that naturally drew everyone’s attention.

For a moment, I was left speechless.

"...Who is this?"

"Don’t joke around, master."

Could it really be Sylvia?