"I... I came because I was really worried, unlike the cold-hearted Yuria! I'm so glad you're safe, really, really glad..."

"C-Cold-hearted... Ah, no... It's just... I was... I wasn’t completely not worried, but..."

Shaking.

Yuria’s hands trembled uncontrollably. She couldn’t speak properly, and her lips quivered.

While pretending to sob in Aslan's arms, she glanced this way and flashed a sly smile...!

Seeing it made Yuria feel a growing frustration, but she couldn’t complain to Aslan—it would look childish, and there was no way to prove it.

In disbelief and confusion, instead of responding, a sigh escaped Yuria’s lips.

"Sigh...! I should just hug Aslan more tightly instead of the cold-hearted Yuria!"

"Ha! Heh..."

Whoosh!

Charlotte threw herself at Aslan, hugging him even tighter and making a little snorting sound.

Yuria felt a sharp pain in the back of her head.

She roughly understood why Charlotte was doing this.

It was her way of telling Yuria to be more honest.

Stop with the words that don’t come from the heart and be more proactive.

Although Charlotte could be annoying at times, she had never done anything because she disliked Yuria.

So, this time, she was probably doing this for Yuria’s sake.

‘How can I be more honest...?’

This time, however, Yuria couldn’t follow Charlotte’s lead.

Being honest with herself was somewhat manageable.

Admitting that she didn’t dislike Aslan, and that she liked him, was embarrassing, but it was just one step—nothing too difficult.

But being honest with the other person, and treating them the way her heart felt... that was an entirely different issue.

How could she act according to her feelings?

That... was too...

Scary...

‘I’m afraid of revealing my true feelings to Aslan...’

She didn’t know the reason, but she couldn’t help the fear.

She had made the decision to change hundreds of times, but every time the same situation came up, she became scared and said the same sharp, unfeeling words.

Why was she like this?

Why couldn’t she be honest like Charlotte?

Why was she only able to speak harsh words, though her true feelings were completely different?

Why did she hope that Aslan would understand her hidden emotions but, paradoxically, hide those very emotions?

The more she thought about it, the more frustrating and pathetic she felt, and Yuria could feel something rise from the depths of her chest.

"I... I was... I was worried too...! I was so nervous, thinking you might get hurt...! When you came back safely, I almost cried from relief, but I held it in...!"

An uncontrollable torrent of emotions surged through her.

Even as Yuria cried, she began to say what she wanted to say.

No, what she had to say.

"You're going to hurt your eyes like that."

"Hiiik, huhu..."

As she wiped her tears with the back of her hand, suddenly, Aslan crouched down to match her eye level, grabbing her wrist.

He took out a handkerchief and gently started wiping around her eyes.

For some reason, this act made Yuria feel even more overwhelmed.

She threw her arms around Aslan’s neck and hugged him tightly.

"I... I said something wrong...! I was really worried... I was even more worried than Charlotte...!"

"I know. I know."

Wrapping Yuria’s trembling body in his arms, Aslan gently patted her back.

And at that moment, Yuria realized.

It wasn’t that she was afraid of Aslan.

It was that she had realized Aslan was such a warm person.

She had come to like him so much.

The fear of being rejected by him, the fear of getting closer—it was because of that.

If she didn’t expect anything, she wouldn’t be disappointed.

If she didn’t get closer, there wouldn’t be rejection.

‘I’m really a troublesome girl...’

With this realization, Yuria was overwhelmed with self-loathing.

She wasn’t honest, she spoke harshly, and she made statements that didn’t reflect her true feelings.

She felt as if no one could possibly like a girl like her.

Once the tears started, they kept flowing endlessly.

After a long time, once Yuria had calmed down, I sent her to the bathroom to wash her swollen eyes before getting lost in thought.

It was time to seriously consider something.

‘Yuria’s tsundere traits are about to disappear...’

When I first met her, she was all sharp edges, throwing harsh words at me.

Even after learning that she wasn’t as bad as I thought, she didn’t want to admit she was wrong and continued to act as if she disliked me.

Now, she was gradually becoming more honest, expressing her affection in ways she could never before.

This was the result I had longed for, but...

Now that the change was right in front of me, I couldn’t help but feel a little regretful.

‘Is the final evolution of a tsundere really a mega-dere?’

Does a tsundere eventually evolve into a mega-dere?

Or is it proper for them to remain a tsundere until the end?

It was a profound and difficult question.

It was, of course, nice that the girl who had only known how to keep people at a distance and hate them was gradually accepting my touch and becoming more honest.

But, on the other hand, I also couldn’t let go of the charming sense of contradiction that came from the dissonance of her grumbling with a face full of affection and care after she became my bride.

I realized that a tsundere could only follow one of two routes, and it made my chest ache.

Though I wanted her to grow and change as she spent time with me, why did I feel so sorrowful about it?

At that moment, I realized once again how contradictory humans are.

"Uncle, uncle..."

Just then, tug.

Charlotte gently tugged on my sleeve, her lips quivering as if she had done something terribly wrong.

"What’s this about Yuria... I... actually lied..."

"What do you mean?"

"Actually, I knew Yuria was really worried about you... I just acted out of spite. I told everyone she wasn’t worried about you. She probably cried because of that..."

"It’s not just that she cried."

"Yeah, probably... I thought if I did this, Yuria would open up, but... I guess she wasn’t ready. It was my fault for not considering her feelings..."

Charlotte, looking down, sighed deeply, her shoulders slumped.

She looked so regretful, biting her lips.

It had been a while since I had seen Charlotte this serious, and she was acting much more mature than Yuria today.

She had always acted like a child, but today, she seemed more grown-up than Yuria.

"Don’t worry about it too much. Yuria will have learned something from this too."

"Mm... Yuria doesn’t just hate you... I hope you know that..."

"I already know. I can tell when Yuria is being sincere or when she’s just clumsily blurting something out without thinking."

"Huh? How do you know?"

Charlotte tilted her head, confused.

How did she not know this?

It was hard to believe Charlotte, who had been closest to Yuria, didn’t realize this.

"When you pay attention to Yuria’s reactions, it’s obvious. When she speaks without hesitation and quickly, it’s 100% sincere. She usually talks about her interests or explains things about spirits. But if her pupils wander upwards while she’s thinking, and the pace slows down, it’s a half-truth. If she avoids eye contact and stutters, it’s almost certainly a complete lie. When Yuria said she wasn’t worried about me, it was the third case. Also, Yuria has this habit of saying 'Heh' when she’s in a good mood, but when it comes up like this, it’s a self-imposed mind trick to hide the lie."

"Ah..."

[The Demon God 'Cali' is horrified by your gloomy nature.]

Charlotte, flustered, stepped back a step.

Now, Charlotte would be able to tell whenever Yuria grumbled if it was sincere or not.

Did I say too much?

I felt like I had spilled a secret.

"Uncle... you’re kind of scary..."

"What?"

Just then, Charlotte’s blunt remark hit my heart.

It felt like I’d been hit with a bone, and with a slight look of contempt, my chest ached, but at the same time, it felt like a hidden preference was being triggered.

"Still, I’m relieved. I realized that you’re more interested in Yuria than I thought."

"I’m just as interested in you too, so don’t worry about it."

"Y-Yes... I mean, huh? What? Eh? Ah? Yes...?"

Charlotte, who had been smiling casually, suddenly blushed when she finally understood what I meant.

Had she thought all along that I was only interested in Yuria as a potential bride?

That can’t be right.

After all, there’s no reason to pick just one flavor when two are right in front of you.