Charlotte wrapped bandages around my arm with awkward, clumsy hands.
Yulia, unable to watch any longer, rushed in to help, making the situation even worse.

"This is a mess."

My arm became a tangled mess of band-aids and bandages.
I remembered Charlotte climbing onto me, trying to wrap the bandages, causing all sorts of chaos.
A small laugh escaped me.

[The evil god, 'Cali,' is very envious of you!]

It's no wonder.
My fiancées are so concerned about me.
I was so proud, I even felt grateful to Irene, who caused the injuries.
...That might be a bit much, though.

"The papers you asked for, sir."

At that moment, the door to my office suddenly opened.
Sylvia appeared, looking gaunt and holding a pile of papers.

"Alright, leave the papers there."
"Yes, then..."
"Before you go, look at this arm."
"Yes... it’s the arm with the bandages."
"What do you think when you look at this?"
"Well, it’s wrapped very messily. Clearly the work of a beginner."
"And?"
"Yes? And what?"
"Sigh..."

Sylvia tilted her head as if she didn’t understand what I was saying.
I couldn’t help but sigh deeply.
Sylvia, living such a harsh life since childhood, had clearly become emotionally numb.

"Look closely. These band-aids were carefully placed by Yulia, who’s been collecting them bit by bit over a long period. She stuck them on because the wound area was so wide, that’s why it’s all clumped together."
"Yes..."
"And this bandage was wrapped by Charlotte. She didn’t know how to do it properly, but her desire to treat my wound was so great that it turned out like this. Can’t you feel anything from this?"
"Feel what...?"
"Obviously, you should be feeling the affection these girls have for me. How frustrating."
"...."

[The evil god, 'Cali,' nods vigorously in agreement with your opinion.]

Despite all this explanation, Sylvia’s face remained as stoic as ever.
Had she become so emotionally dry that she was practically a machine?
Or perhaps, she was so jealous of me, receiving all the affection from the girls, that she was suppressing her emotions on purpose, trying not to show any sign of envy?

"Yeah, well... must be nice..."
She said that awkwardly and bowed her head as she left the office.
If she was envious, she could have just said so.
Sylvia had a subtle childish side to her, too.

‘But she really is too frail, huh...’

I unwrapped the bandage slightly to check the bruise on my neck in the mirror.
Oddly enough, instead of fading, it had grown bigger.
My recovery was moving at an extremely slow pace.

Would it never heal?
The thought briefly crossed my mind.
But then again, if it never healed, Charlotte and Yulia would keep wrapping bandages around me, so maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.

"Uncle, uncle!"

At that moment, the door swung open with a loud bang.
I was almost startled enough to choke, but I calmed myself and saw Charlotte holding a cup filled with a strange, greenish liquid.

"I made juice for you so you’ll get better quickly!"
"...Why is the juice that color?"
"I put in all the healthy vegetables I could find!"
"..."

Charlotte set the cup down on the desk.
Now that I saw it up close, the juice was even more horrifyingly green.
It looked like swamp algae had been scooped up.
Is it really safe to drink this...?

"Can you tell me exactly what you put in it?"
"Um, I can’t remember everything... but I put in spinach, cabbage, kale, apples, carrots, and... um... what else..."
"...I think that’s enough. That’s healthy enough."

Just hearing the list made me dizzy.
Each vegetable by itself could be tasty if cooked or eaten in smaller portions, but blending them all together and drinking it at once?
The thought alone made my stomach churn.

Do I really have to go through this just because I have a scratch?
I felt extremely skeptical, but looking at Charlotte’s bright, innocent face, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse.

"Thanks. I’ll drink it."

"Hehe! You’re welcome!"

I figured I might as well think of it as getting my health checked.
I closed my eyes and began drinking the green sludge juice.
As expected, the extreme bitterness hit me the moment it touched my tongue, going straight to my brain.

[The evil god, 'Cali,' is shivering in awe of your courage!]

When I opened my eyes slightly, I saw there was still more than half left, and a wave of despair washed over me again.
I drank it without even knowing whether it was going down my windpipe or my esophagus, my mind completely focused on finishing it as quickly as possible.

"Such a... healthy taste..."
"Hehe! I’ll make this for you every morning until you’re completely better!"
"What...? You don’t have to go through all that trouble..."
"It’s fine! Every morning, I’ll buy fresh vegetables and fruits when I go for a walk! You have to get better quickly, uncle!"
"Yeah..."

Seeing Charlotte’s bright smile, I couldn’t say anything more and had to give in.
The juice didn’t taste great—actually, it was horrible—but it was definitely good for my health.
How could I reject Charlotte when she was doing this for me?

"I’ll be back soon!"
Charlotte waved as she left the room with the empty cup.
The door slammed shut, and with the sound of her footsteps fading away, the office grew quiet again.

Should I get back to the dull paperwork now?
I sat back down, picked up the papers Sylvia had left behind, and began focusing.
Just as I started picking up speed, a sudden noise interrupted me.

"...?"
Thud, thud, thud! The sound of something tapping on the window.
At first, I thought it might just be the wind, but then I heard Charlotte’s voice from outside.

"Uncle...!"
"Charlotte!?"

I rushed to the window and pulled open the curtains, only to see Charlotte grinning, hanging from the window ledge.
I quickly opened the window and pulled her inside.

"What are you doing, that’s dangerous?"
"Hehe! I just thought it would be closer this way, so I climbed up without thinking! If I went around the front, I’d have to walk all the way around!"
"...Don’t do that again. It’s dangerous."
"Yes!"

I meant to scold her, but seeing her innocent face, I couldn’t help but laugh.
Charlotte was the type to listen, so I didn’t think she’d do this again.
But why was she in such a hurry to climb up the wall of the mansion?

"Ta-da! I found a four-leaf clover! I found it while I was walking!"
"..."

From Charlotte’s arms, a bunch of four-leaf clovers appeared.
One, two, three, four, five, six...
Goodness, how many are there?

No matter how I thought about it, it wasn’t something you could find just by going for a walk.
It looked like someone had buried their head in the grass and searched for them.
I was full of suspicion, but I couldn’t bring myself to confront Charlotte, who was smiling so shamelessly.

"The maids said that if you have a four-leaf clover, you’ll get good luck! Uncle, you always seem to have bad luck, but this will help counter it!"
"...Hmm... Thanks. It should help my wounds heal faster."
"Right, right!"

Normally, she’d be too busy training with her sword to spend time finding four-leaf clovers for me.
It was so heartwarming that I couldn’t help but reach out, and as I did, Charlotte’s head instinctively snuggled into my hand and began rubbing against it.

"Hehe! I’ll be back soon!"
"Alright."

Charlotte waved as she left, and the door closed behind her.
Was she really coming back again?
At first, it seemed like just a casual remark, but now it didn’t sound so casual.

I hope she’s not really coming back today...
I still haven’t finished my paperwork...

How much time had passed?
Maybe about 10 minutes?
By now, it would be time for coffee, and it felt odd that it was so late.

"Uncle, uncle! I brought herbal tea!"

Bang! The door opened again with a loud noise.
It was Charlotte again.
This time, she was holding a tea cup with a saucer.

I could already feel a laugh bubbling up.

"Coffee is bad for your health, so I thought it would be better to drink herbal tea, which is good for recovery!"
"Yeah, coffee is bad for you. I didn’t even think about it. Thanks."
"Hehe! I made it myself!"
"If it were any other day, you’d be out playing, but today you’ve been really thoughtful. Shouldn’t you be playing with your friends? Are you sure you’re not liking me too much?"

I just said that without thinking.
If it were the usual Charlotte, she would’ve answered cheerfully, "Yes! I really, really like you!"
But Charlotte’s reaction was completely unexpected.

"Huh? Eh? What? Uh... I-I like you... uh..."
"...?"

Her face instantly turned red.
She couldn’t make eye contact with me and slowly turned her head away.
Her hands couldn’t stay still, fidgeting constantly, and her heels kept rising as if she couldn’t stay still.

This was the first time I had ever seen Charlotte act shy.

"Ugh..."

Why is she acting like this?