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“Count. Are you really okay?”

“Yeah.”

In the afternoon, I finished touring the school with Bella and returned to the office. The sudden inspection by the Chairman left most professors and students flustered. However, perhaps because I was accompanied by Bella or because my appearance had changed, people’s gazes seemed softer.

As I sat down and calmly reviewed the student records, Bella approached me.

“You look a bit pale… Shouldn’t you go back to the health room?”

“…I’m fine.”

I had fallen asleep on the health room bed not long after lying down due to the aftermath of ‘Patience’ and ‘Jealousy.’ That was pretty much my physical limit. I passed out like a device with a dead battery.

Even so, I probably only slept for about an hour. When I woke up, Wendy was sound asleep in my arms. Is this what it feels like to raise a daughter? Her cute, peaceful sleeping face made me smile like a doting father, but that’s a secret.

Wendy must have been as tired as I was. She said she’d been staying up late studying for exams lately. It was heartwarming to see her working hard to show me good results. Though she’s clumsy and lacks confidence, Wendy is fundamentally a diligent girl. How could I not cheer for a girl who always tries her best and only looks at me? I quietly covered her with a blanket so she wouldn’t wake up and left the health room.

But one thing bothered me. A wish I faintly heard Wendy murmur in her sleep.

‘If I didn’t mishear, she definitely said…’

“What are you thinking about right now?”

At the sudden voice, I slowly looked up. For some reason, Bella was sitting on my desk, looking at me.

Bella, now in casual clothes, was wearing a skirt and blouse. She was dressed up more than usual, as if she had a date later. I put down the student records I was holding and spoke.

“I was just thinking about which students to give special scholarships to.”

“Special scholarships?”

“Yes.”

The reason I toured the school today and the reason I became the school’s Chairman. I personally observed the unnamed students during various classes. I already knew about them through documents, but I wanted to see them for myself one last time. To see if any of them had the potential to grow.

“I plan to give scholarships to about 30 students. They seem promising.”

“Let me see… Hmm. There are a lot of new students on this list? I see some from my class earlier.”

I nodded. These were students who, in the original story, would have disappeared without even being mentioned. Whether they would shine in the future was still unknown. But even if they only reached the level of supporting characters, it would be a great benefit in the future.

As Bella looked through the documents, she tilted her head.

“But aren’t you deciding on the scholarship recipients too easily? Just based on student records and one class observation, it seems a bit… Shouldn’t the students with visible potential be over here?”

Bella pointed to the documents of the named students. It was true that the named characters had better grades, so her point was valid. But I shook my head.

“This scholarship is an opportunity I’m giving to students who might bloom with talent. If they got into this school, they must have some ability. Those who have already bloomed will do well on their own.”

I stroked my chin.

“I’m more interested in what kind of flowers might grow from students who haven’t bloomed yet.”

“Hmm… Who was it that threatened to expel students with no potential?”

“The students I said had no potential were the ones who had given up.”

“Right, right. Of course.”

As Bella said this, she suddenly paused while looking through the student records.

“Count… I thought you were just heartless, but it seems you have this side too?”

“What do you mean?”

“These students marked as priority scholarship recipients. They’re all from difficult backgrounds, right?”

The documents Bella showed had checks in the priority recipient column. Most of them were commoners or fallen nobles. Families who had scraped together the tuition fee, reluctant to let their children’s talents go to waste. I already knew this from separate investigations, but I decided to hide that fact.

“Seems so.”

“Pretending not to know?”

“It’s not pretending. I just don’t know.”

“Liar.”

Bella laughed mockingly, looking down at me from the desk.

“You know what? Your right eyebrow twitches when you lie.”

I wondered if that was true, but I didn’t panic. It seemed like Bella was holding back laughter.

“That sounds like a lie.”

“Right. It is a lie. Hmph. As expected from a liar, you didn’t fall for it.”

“I don’t lie.”

“Hmm…? Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Then tell me. When did you learn that swordsmanship?”

Bella looked at me with suspicious eyes. I decided to tell the truth.

“I just learned it by watching you.”

“Liar again.”

“……”

It was unfair, but it was the undeniable truth. The swordsmanship I showed was a copy of her movements through ‘Jealousy.’ Of course, even if I were Bella, I wouldn’t have believed it.

“The Izakhel Style isn’t something you can learn overnight by watching. It requires years of wielding a sword and observing your master’s movements for a long time. But coincidentally, neither my father nor I have ever taken a disciple. So, for you to use our family’s swordsmanship means…”

She continued in a calm voice.

“Count, you must have had a genius talent for swordsmanship all along. For some reason, you’ve been hiding it until now. If that’s not the case…”

Bella paused for a moment.

Then, as if revealing something she had kept in her heart, she spoke.

“…Maybe you’ve been watching me from afar for much longer than I thought. Long enough to reach the level of mimicking my swordsmanship. Is my guess correct?”

Her guess was half right and half wrong. I didn’t have a talent for swordsmanship; I just knew how to handle personalities. And Bella had been the heroine since the original novel. Aside from my younger sister, the original author, I knew Bella’s character better than anyone.

I silently looked at Bella for a moment. It was painful to meet her eyes, which were pleading for the truth.

I knew the answer she wanted, of course. But… I couldn’t bring myself to give it to her. If I did, Bella’s future might change. And the future of this world might become uncertain.

Finally, I spoke heavily.

“Sorry, but—”

“Don’t answer.”

Bella cut me off. She was sitting on the desk, her head bowed. As if she wanted to hide the expression she was making. But her choked voice couldn’t be hidden.

“You’re just going to lie again anyway…”

A heavy silence followed. I sat in my chair, thinking, but no words of comfort came to mind. No, it wasn’t that they didn’t come to mind—it was that I couldn’t comfort her.

In the end, it was Bella who broke the silence.

“Count. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”

“Forgotten what?”

“You promised to grant me a wish if I won the sparring match.”

“A wish… you say?”

“You’re not going to pretend not to know, are you?”

First Wendy, now Bella. I feel like Santa Claus.

“Right. I haven’t forgotten.”

“You’ll grant my wish, right?”

“…I’ll decide after hearing it.”

“No. That defeats the purpose.”

“There are wishes I can’t grant.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t wish for something you can’t do. You’ll grant it, right? My wish.”

As if trying to shake off the earlier gloom, Bella looked down at me with a playful smile. But her eyes were still glistening. Tears on the verge of falling, and that fragile smile. Above all, I felt sorry, so I couldn’t refuse her request. I sighed.

“…Fine. I’ll grant your wish. Tell me.”

“Really? No take-backs!”

“Fine.”

I didn’t like it, but what could I do? If this could comfort her even a little, it would be worth it. Besides, most of the wishes she could make were things I could grant.

For example, the massive debt the Izakhel family owes to the Ruelberta family. I could erase that. It’s a significant amount, but it’s meaningless money to me. The current Izakhel family doesn’t have the ability to repay it, and I never expected to receive it anyway. Besides… I no longer needed or had a reason to bind Bella with debt.

“My wish is very simple.”

Suddenly, Bella took off the ring on her finger. A simple, silver ring. A magic item I had given her before. She handed it back to me and said.

“Propose to me again… Count.”

 

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