"Hehe, if you want more herbal tea, just call me!!!"
"..."

Unable to make eye contact, Charlotte lowered her head and hurriedly spoke.
She then immediately turned and rushed out of the office.
With a slam, the door closed behind her, and Charlotte slumped against the wall, slowly sinking down.

"Sigh... Sigh... Sigh..."

Her heart was racing, and her breath was shallow.
Why did I do that?
Charlotte couldn’t understand herself at all.

Am I really that fond of him?
It was just a simple, somewhat joking question, so answering should have been easy.

If it were the old days, she would have answered immediately, without any hesitation.
Her mind wouldn’t have even processed it, and she would have blurted out that she liked him, without a second thought.
She wouldn’t have had any reservations about saying it.

But why, why couldn’t I say that I like him just now?
Why was I so embarrassed, my face turning hot and my whole body flushing?
Why couldn’t I say it like I used to, without any trouble?

"Ugh..."

It wasn’t like I’d never said it before.
Saying I liked him was something I did almost every day.
It should have been just as natural as usual, but why was it so hard today?
No matter how much she thought about it, Charlotte couldn’t understand the phenomenon. She tilted her head in confusion, then decided.

"I need to go ask!!!"

She ran out, determined to clear up her confusion.

...

"So, so I was about to say that I really, really like him, but suddenly my face got hot, and I couldn’t look him in the eye. I started worrying about how he sees me, and my voice started stuttering like it was broken! Why is this happening? Tell me, Yuri!"
"Cough..."

Yuri choked on the cookie she had been nibbling.
What... what did she just say?
Did I hear that right?

"W-What do you mean?"
"I mean, before I could easily say I liked him, but now, when I try to say it, it’s just not coming out. What’s happening? Ah! Maybe it’s because I’ve known Yulia for so long, and I’ve started acting like her?"
"..."

Charlotte, who had come up with this ridiculous possibility, gasped in realization.
Yuri, struggling to hide her dismay, tried her best not to show it.
From everything Charlotte said, there was only one conclusion.

‘Charlotte likes Aslan...’

Yuri unconsciously bit her lip.
She had somewhat suspected that Charlotte might already be in love with Aslan, and she had mentally prepared herself for that possibility.
She thought she had braced herself for it...

But when it was directly confirmed, it felt like a punch to the gut, and Yuri felt tears welling up in her eyes.

She hadn’t prepared at all.
This wasn’t something that could have been prepared for.
Her precious, one and only closest friend had fallen for that conniving aristocrat...
The shock was even greater because Charlotte had said it so openly and brightly.
Yuri stood there, dazed, unable to process what she had just heard.

"Yuri? Yuri? Are you okay? Does it hurt?"
"Ah, yeah... I’m fine..."
"If you’re feeling bad, should I make you some veggie juice too?"
"I totally hate that."

Because Aslan Vermont drinks it, right?
I don’t want to drink the same thing as him...
Yuri glanced at Charlotte, sulking.

‘She really doesn’t notice...’

Charlotte’s face clearly showed that she was in love, but it seemed like she had no idea.
She truly didn’t understand why it was so difficult for her to express her feelings for Aslan Vermont.

The reason was simple.
The ‘like’ she was talking about before and the ‘like’ she felt now were completely different.
Even though it was the same word, the meaning had changed.

Before, she liked him as a respectable person, someone to admire.
But now, she was admiring Aslan Vermont as a man, someone she was in love with.

Yuri instantly realized this, but Charlotte still didn’t seem to understand, and it was just so frustrating.
Charlotte, being as innocent and naive as she was, was too slow to notice.

"Sha, Charlotte."
"Yes!"
"Aslan... no, the Count... the reason why you’re finding it hard to express that you like him..."
"Yes, yes!"

Charlotte leaned in closer, focusing on Yuri, eager to hear what she had to say.
Yuri’s lips instinctively pressed together.

‘What should I do? I really don’t want to say this...!’

It was simple: Charlotte liked Aslan Vermont.
But telling her that was like committing a sin.
If Charlotte didn’t know it yet, Yuri thought it might be better to leave it that way.

‘No... this is wrong. I can't keep lying...’

Yuri gritted her teeth, realizing that she couldn’t deceive Charlotte any longer.
No matter how much she disliked the idea of Charlotte marrying Aslan Vermont, she couldn’t keep preventing it like this.

Interfering with Charlotte’s feelings without her realizing it was like deceiving her, like manipulating her.

Would it feel satisfying if I succeeded in stopping their marriage?
Would Charlotte resent me for it? Would she be heartbroken, blaming me?
The more she thought about it, the more Yuri couldn’t keep silent.

"It’s because..."
"Why are you dragging this out?"
"Ah! Charlotte, you like the Count as a man, don’t you!"
"..."

Charlotte froze for a moment, and Yuri’s eyes widened at the unexpected response.
She had been expecting Charlotte to blush and be shocked, but instead, Charlotte was surprised in a completely different way.

"What? You knew?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You knew that I liked the Count..."
"Uh... Yuri, what are you talking about? How could I not know my own feelings? Of course, I’ve known I like the uncle as a man for a while!"

Charlotte proudly puffed her chest, acting like she’d known all along.
In reality, she had only realized it the day before, but she pretended to have figured it out long ago.

‘She knew...?’

Yuri stood frozen, overwhelmed with shock.
The one person she thought was completely unaware of love, Charlotte, had already realized her feelings for Aslan.
Was the world coming to an end?

No, there was no end of the world.
Only the end of the Charlotte-X-Yulia combo.
Yuri felt as if the sky was collapsing, unable to do anything.

"So, anyway, Yuri!"
"Ah, what?"
"Please help me!"
"Ugh...!"

As Charlotte moved closer, pleading, Yuri squeezed her eyes shut, groaning.
She could already guess what Charlotte was going to ask.
Of course, it was to help her marry Aslan Vermont and make him fall in love with her, wasn’t it?

She didn’t want to hear that request.
It was one of the worst scenarios she had ever imagined.

Yuri silently wished time would stop right there.
She didn’t want to hear Charlotte’s next words.

"Help me, let’s help Yulia marry the uncle!"
"That’s... no... wait, what?"

Yuri froze, wide-eyed, at Charlotte’s completely unexpected request.
What did I just hear?

Yulia?
Why is her name coming up now?

"Ah, Yuri, you don’t know yet."
"...?"
"Yulia also likes the uncle. In fact, Yulia liked him even before I did! So, I think Yulia should be with the uncle, not me..."
"..."

Charlotte smiled bitterly and twirled her hair with her fingers.
Yuri stood frozen, unable to process the news.

Charlotte wasn’t the only one who liked Aslan Vermont?
Yulia liked him too?

‘This can’t be true...!’

Yuri’s world seemed to shatter in an instant.
And in that moment, Yuri resolved that she would become Aslan Vermont’s wife first, to stop the marriage and prevent the polyamory.

She made up her mind again, but her heart felt heavy and hopeless.