"Just as expected... Aslan sees us as nothing more than children..."
"Y-Yulia? Why do you look so frustrated? Why are you burning with competitive spirit!?"
"I told you, Uncle is only thinking about marrying us! I even proved it! Why don’t you both believe me...!?"

Yulia gritted her teeth, unable to hide her irritation.
Yuri, in response, was thrown into confusion and panic.
Charlotte simply couldn’t stand this unfair situation.

"Uncle, it was so obvious that you were serious! You two only eavesdropped from behind the door, so you don't know what I saw!"
"Y-Yeah... I guess so..."
"Aaargh! Stop treating me like a fool! Maid, maid!"
"Huh? What’s up?"

Charlotte, frustrated, grabbed the passing maid.
At the sound of her loud voice, the maid stopped with a smile on her face.

"I just made a promise with Uncle! When I grow up, I’ll marry him!"
"Wow, really?"
"And that's not all! We even signed and made a copy! So, this is a fully trustworthy contract, right?"
"Right. When you grow up and bring up this story, I’m sure the master will be very pleased."
"Hehe! See! Even the maid agrees with me!"
"..."
"..."

The maid smiled at Charlotte, who laughed cheerfully and proudly puffed out her chest.
Yulia and Yuri, however, were left speechless and stunned.

This kid...
She’s too innocent!

At this point, I almost felt guilty for destroying Charlotte's sparkling little world with any counterarguments.

"Charlotte is wrong."
"Mm... No use in saying it a hundred times. She’ll just realize it when she grows up and kicks her blanket around, feeling embarrassed, right?"
"You both are impossible!"

Eventually, it was tentatively concluded that part of Charlotte's statement was true.
The long discussion came to an end.

"Sigh... What an empty conclusion..."

Yulia twisted her hair, letting out a sigh of disappointment.
At first, she had felt a little excited.
She had even considered that Charlotte’s words might be true, but now, the feeling that Aslan was carefully raising them only to send them off to someone else’s home seemed to outweigh everything.

Aslan does like us.
He even has a preference for us.
But the type of affection he has for us remains a topic of debate.

If we take Charlotte’s words at face value,
then Aslan is systematically raising us—abandoned children—picking us up, educating us with care, and planning to marry us according to his own preferences.
But surely, there couldn’t be such a crazy, perverted person in this world, right?
Charlotte seems to only believe what she can see...

"That worthless promise..."

Anyway, Charlotte’s promise has no real power.
Believing it sincerely is the real mistake.
Yulia thought this to herself, fluttering the paper she held and gently pushing open the office door.

"Aslan...?"
"Why? Are you here to nap on my arm after so long?"
"Ah, no! That’s your wishful thinking!"
"So, what’s up?"
"...?"

Yulia carefully placed a neat piece of paper on the desk.
Aslan’s eyes narrowed.
What was this paper all about?

"You know, Charlotte and I made a promise..."
"Right."
"Then make the same promise with me. A proper contract written down!"
"...?"

Yulia pulled out a pen from her pocket and placed it on the paper.

'Charlotte is too innocent. Verbal contracts don’t count; if I claim I never made one, it’s void.'

It’s foolish to rely on verbal agreements.
Everyone sells their conscience when it benefits them.

Therefore, there must be undeniable evidence.
I must write a formal contract and keep it as proof.
That’s the difference between Charlotte and me.
I’m far more careful and thorough than she is...!

Yulia felt a bit smug, pushing the paper further toward Aslan.
However, what she didn’t expect was this:

"What promise?"
"Huh?"
"What promise are you talking about?"
"W-What promise? The one with Charlotte... You know... that promise..."
"So, specifically, what promise are you talking about? I’m not the kind of person who goes around blabbing about private promises. Unless you’re clear about what kind of promise you want, I can’t make a contract."
"Wh-!?!"

Aslan, with a mischievous smile, leaned back in his chair as if lounging.
Yulia was caught off guard, exhaling in frustration.
This was not the response she had anticipated from Aslan...

"Tell me. What kind of contract do you want?"
"Don’t pretend you don’t know! You’re just making me say it out loud...!"
"So? If you can’t say it, there’s nothing I can do."
"...!"

Aslan tried to push the contract away.
Yulia had no choice but to grab Aslan’s wrist tightly.
Her face flushed as she hesitated, her lips trembling.

"I-I also... want to make a promise like Charlotte! To marry you when I grow up! When I become a beautiful adult...!"
"Hmm..."
"Of course, the same conditions as Charlotte apply! It can’t just be one-sided in my favor! If I want, Aslan has to marry me, no questions asked, but if not, the contract can be nullified! This is a contract that benefits me with no risks at all, so there’s no reason not to make it! I just don’t want you to think I’m desperately trying to marry you, so I’m saying this in advance!"

She rattled off her explanation in a flurry, then took a breath.
Looking at her, Aslan wore a calm, amused smile.
It seemed Yulia hadn’t realized something yet.

"You want the same conditions as Charlotte? Fine. But you’ll have to accept the same terms as her."
"W-What conditions...?!"
"You forgot something, didn’t you? I still haven’t heard you say that you like me enough to marry me."
"Wha! What... what do you mean...!?"

Immediately, Yulia’s face turned beet red.
She was at a loss for words, just stammering.

W-What did he just say!?
He wants me to say I like him?
Is he joking?

Sitting in front of Aslan, Yulia was flustered and didn’t know what to do.

"Everything has a price. If you want to use your rights only when you feel like it, why would I give it to you for free? If the price is a few words you want to hear, that’s pretty cheap, don’t you think?"
"Ughhhh...!"

Yulia’s cheeks puffed up in frustration.
She was irritated and annoyed.
But it made sense, didn’t it? Why would I accept if I could just demand that Aslan marry me when I felt like it?

It was annoyingly rational, and that made it even more frustrating.

"J-Just say it...!"
"But it has to be sincere. If you’re just saying it to force yourself, it’s invalid."
"It’s not like it’s not sincere... Maybe... maybe just a little tiny bit sincere..."

She hesitated, her lips twitching as she struggled.
Finally, after a long pause, Yulia raised her eyes and opened her mouth.

"I-I like you... I want to marry you... but I’m scared because there’s still a lot of time before I grow up, and I might marry someone else before that... so I want to reserve you... Please just sign this contract..."

Yulia blurted out everything, her frustration spilling out.
What had come over her?
She had never shown her true feelings in front of Aslan before.

She was embarrassed, shy, and couldn’t speak up until now.
Why did it suddenly come out so naturally?

Though she had said it in a harsh tone without thinking,
after finally voicing what had been in her heart for so long,
Yulia felt a little bit of relief.

...Though, after saying it, her face became even hotter and she felt embarrassed later, it couldn’t be helped.

"It’s been a while since I’ve heard you call me like that. Fine, you’ve gathered the courage to say it, so I won’t refuse. I also like you, Yulia. I care about you a lot."
"H-H-Huh? I didn’t turn red!"
"Okay, okay. Now, just sign here."

In an instant, Aslan grabbed the pen and finished the contract neatly.
His handwriting was impressive, but when you looked at the content, it seemed incredibly childish.
Yulia felt a second wave of embarrassment for even requesting such a thing.

However, despite everything,

"Here’s the copy. I can’t use copying magic, so I just wrote one more by hand."
"Heh... Thank you. I’ll keep this one safe..."
"Sure. I’ll keep it in the document case."
"Mm..."

Holding the completed contract, now signed, Yulia felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.
It was her reward for summoning up the courage!

With a soft sound, Aslan slid the contract into the file and returned to his work as if nothing had happened.
Watching him, Yulia smiled a bit bitterly.

'I’m sure he’ll forget it soon enough.'

Aslan was just playing along with Charlotte and me.
He probably wouldn’t think too much about this promise or the contract.
He’d forget about it soon, and we’d either forget or lose the contract too.

'But I’m never losing it...!'

But Yulia was determined not to lose the contract.
She would keep it safe, even coating it to ensure it stayed intact.
Later, she would shove it in his face so he couldn’t back out!

Full of hope for the future, Yulia left the office, still hugging the contract tightly and smiling happily.

"Ah... Even Yulia..."

However, Yuri, who had been watching the scene, only looked more and more exhausted.