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Blanshe explained the whole incident like this.

While Hildegarde and I went to the annex in the painting, the three left behind started eating in an uncomfortable atmosphere.

But during that time, Patrick seemed to show interest in Blanshe.

Blanshe rejected him, but Helga, unable to stand Patrick’s persistent advances, finally spoke up.

“Brother, shut your mouth before I blow your balls off.”

That one comment made Patrick furious, and harsh words were exchanged between the two.

Given their already strained relationship, their mutual animosity was uncontrollable.

In the end, fists flew before Blanshe could even intervene… and that’s the whole story.

It was a headache-inducing situation.

A bodyguard knight had struck the acting head of the Wolfbert family. Normally, Helga, as the bodyguard, should have been punished.

However, both sides were at fault, and with Hildegarde mediating, the incident ended with mutual apologies.

That evening, upon returning to the mansion, I immediately placed Helga under house arrest.

It was a necessary punishment, as her wrongdoing was undeniable.

This incident couldn’t be dismissed as simply Helga being hot-headed.

Fundamentally, it stemmed from the conflict between her and the Wolfbert family.

The wounds, contempt, and humiliation she endured from the family still lingered in her heart.

If the story had followed the original plot, Helga would have expressed those dark emotions by killing Gale.

The fact that she, who only moved under Tristan’s orders, took such independent action was proof of the depth of her feelings.

If we didn’t resolve the resentment in Helga’s heart soon, it could hinder future developments…

“Sigh…”

I placed my fingers on my temples and sighed.

Helga, under house arrest, looked full of discontent.

Having reluctantly apologized to Patrick, her pride must have been hurt, and now she was being punished…

Perhaps out of defiance, Helga immediately stormed out of the mansion after her punishment.

According to reports, she hadn’t gone far and was drinking heavily at a nearby pub.

Helga had been drinking outside, coming back drunk, and heading back to the pub the next day… This had been going on for two days. As a result, I missed the chance to talk to her about the Head of House Duel.

“It’s raining…”

Raindrops began to form on the window.

Tonight, I stood by the window, waiting for my wayward daughter to return, feeling like a parent waiting for a child out late in the rain.

Knock knock.

“Count, may I come in…?”

“…Come in.”

With a barely audible voice, Wendy, dressed in her maid uniform, appeared. Since Helga was under house arrest, Wendy had been attending to me after returning from school in the evening.

“Has Helga not returned yet?”

“Nope…”

Wendy came in pushing a tray, perhaps with tea.

I was in the mood for a drink, so this was perfect. If I could wash away this frustration with a cup of tea… But what Wendy brought wasn’t tea.

“…Alcohol?”

On the tray was a bottle of wine and a crystal glass.

“W-well… My father said that when you’re stressed or troubled, drinking helps…! You seemed troubled today, so I thought this might help…”

Ah… I see.

Wendy had brought this for me, worried about Helga.

Her kind gesture seemed to ease my fatigue.

When I remained silent for a moment, Wendy hurriedly changed her tone.

“S-sorry for acting on my own…! I shouldn’t have meddled…”

“No, you did well. On a day like today, alcohol is better than tea.”

I reached out to pat Wendy’s head but hesitated.

“…Ugh.”

Wendy subtly stepped back.

She seemed oddly wary of me.

Normally, she’d be happy if I patted her head at this moment… Why is she acting like this now?

“Y-you don’t have to pat my head…”

“Why not?”

“W-well, I’m not a child anymore…?”

Cute kid.

She must want to act like an adult now that she’s grown up.

Amused, I patted her head anyway.

“Eek?!”

“How dare you refuse a reward from me? You’re getting bold…”

“N-no, that’s not it… I-I can’t… H-how…”

Wendy tried to resist, but her expression softened with each pat.

“By the way, what kind of wine is this?”

“Ah, it’s… a wine made from the Compania variety, stored in the cellar. It’s a specialty of the Molia region, and only 50 bottles are made each year…”

“…You brought quite a fine wine.”

“R-right? I’m glad you like it… The head butler recommended it…”

Honestly, I had no idea, but I had to pretend to know. After all, I’m a count; I can’t admit ignorance.

“Ugh…”

Pop!

Wendy struggled but managed to pull the cork.

She wasn’t very skilled, but considering her personality, I expected mistakes…

Noticing my gaze, Wendy awkwardly smiled and explained.

“Well… I practiced a lot with cheaper wines… I failed so many times that the head butler scolded me… Hehe…”

“Hmm.”

Her skill was the result of sacrificing countless bottles of wine.

As Wendy poured the wine, a deep red liquid filled the glass.

I swirled the glass elegantly, as I’d seen in dramas, took a sip, and savored it slowly.

Come to think of it, this was the first time I’d had alcohol since coming to this world.

“H-how is it…?”

Wendy’s question didn’t need an answer.

Even with my limited knowledge of wine, the taste was undeniably excellent.

*

*

*

“So, do you know how disappointed I was? Huh?”

“Yes, I know very well.”

“Tch! What do you know?!”

“Do you know this is the 15th time you’ve told me this today?”

Late at night, with rain falling steadily.

Blanshe, holding an umbrella, was walking while supporting a drunk Helga.

“Ugh, I want to drink more.”

“Haven’t you had enough already…?”

“Enough? What’s enough! I can still drink more!”

“That’s impossible. No matter how I look at it, it’s impossible.”

“Nothing’s impossible! I can do it! I won’t die! Lai lai cha cha cha!”

“What’s with the sudden… Sigh…”

Blanshe lamented her situation.

How did it come to this?

Blanshe had come to the bustling district to shop on her day off when she ran into Helga around noon.

Already quite drunk, Helga dragged Blanshe to a pub.

‘Thinking I’d just keep her company for a bit was a mistake…’

Helga drank as if she wanted to drain the pub’s entire stock. Meanwhile, Blanshe, though unwilling, had to listen to Helga’s tragic past.

It was a past that would make anyone sympathetic.

Blanshe realized that Helga, too, carried deep scars.

But hearing it over and over until past midnight made even that sympathy fade.

“You’re under house arrest… Does the Count know you’re out like this?”

“Hmph. Who cares if he knows or not.”

Helga pouted and grumbled.

After the fight with Patrick, Helga had been placed under house arrest by the Count, and she couldn’t hide her disappointment.

“He probably doesn’t care about a troublemaker like me anymore.”

“Don’t say that. The Count is surely worried about you even now.”

“Lies. No matter how much I try to seduce him, he doesn’t budge. He treats me like a stone, not a woman. Blanshe, would you care if there was a stone or not?”

“…No.”

“See? The Count doesn’t care about someone like me… That’s why he put me under house arrest…”

Helga looked utterly miserable.

Blanshe had no idea how to comfort her. The best she could do was silently escort Helga back to the mansion.

“It’s too late… Please go inside.”

“…I was going to eat. Sob…”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Sob… The Count was going to eat me…”

“W-what!? Stop saying such outrageous things! Someone might hear!”

“No! You’re going to eat me, right? Right?”

Helga pressed Blanshe with her alcohol-laden voice.

Stay calm, Blanshe…

“I won’t eat you…”

“Don’t lie. You’re going to eat me.”

“I won’t eat you. There’s no reason to.”

“Is the Count not good enough for you? Is that it?”

“That’s not what I meant. If you want me, that’s one thing… Ugh?!”

“Heh… So you’re offering yourself?”

“I said I won’t eat you! Stop asking!”

“Hmph… How boring… I’m leaving.”

By now, they had reached the front gate of the Ruelberta mansion.

Helga, refusing Blanshe’s shoulder, turned away.

“Can you walk alone in this rain?”

“I’m fiiine. Fiiine. Thanks for bringing me~.”

“Okay… Whatever…”

Blanshe could only watch uneasily as Helga staggered toward the mansion.

*

*

*

Creak…

In the dark of the night, the mansion was silent.

Helga, instead of returning to her room, headed to Tristan’s bedroom, driven purely by alcohol-induced courage.

Drunk beyond reason, she felt an inexplicable boldness… or perhaps recklessness.

‘So what if I get caught? I’ll just say it was a mistake.’

Helga walked silently, like a cat. And just as she expected, a man was asleep on the bed.

Tristan Ruelberta.

Her master and the man she had longed for was there.

“Count…”

Perhaps he was in a deep sleep. Tristan didn’t open his eyes even as Helga climbed onto the bed and looked down at him.

“Ah… How…”

Even in sleep, his appearance was impeccably flawless, almost unnervingly so.

Helga carefully pulled back the blanket, revealing his well-toned body in the moonlight.

Gulp…

Helga unconsciously swallowed.

This was a scene she had imagined in her dreams.

Perhaps it was the alcohol.

His figure seemed more tempting than ever, but Helga quickly shook her head.

She hadn’t come to be seduced by him, but to seduce him.

“Count, you’ve always… ignored me.”

Helga bit her lip.

No matter how short her skirt was, no matter how seductive her gaze, he remained unmoved.

But tonight, she was determined to confirm.

That he, too, was just a man.

“Even if I do this… can you still not see me as a woman?”

Helga cautiously touched his thigh with her foot. Tristan twitched slightly but didn’t wake.

“Hmph… Does it feel good?”

Helga began to gently press her foot against his thigh. With each touch of her stocking-clad foot, Tristan frowned.

“…If you don’t wake up, I’ll keep stepping on you~?”

Something she could never do normally.

The thrill of boldly stepping on her master’s body with her foot was exhilarating for Helga.

Each time her toes felt his firm calves and thighs, her chest trembled.

“Hah… Haha…”

It felt like she was teasing his entire body with her foot, and she couldn’t help but laugh. Each time her foot poked his body, she shivered with pleasure.

“Even after all this, you’re not waking up…?”

Bolder now, Helga licked her lips.

Her true target had been decided from the start.

The place between his legs.

Helga stretched her foot toward it. Now, no one could stop her.

Just as her stocking-clad toes were about to touch it…

“Ah?!”

Suddenly, a hand shot out and grabbed her ankle, twisting it. Losing her balance, Helga fell onto the bed.

At the same time, a large shadow pinned her down, leaving her unable to move.

“You look like you’ve found a fun toy.”

The first thing Helga felt as she fell was the faint smell of alcohol. The next was that the hand gripping her wrist was stronger than she expected.

In the moonlight, when she saw the man’s face, Helga felt like her breath had stopped.

“Count…?”

“What an amusing coincidence.”

“Huh?”

The look in his eyes was different from usual.

Tristan smiled mischievously and said,

“It seems I’ve also found an interesting toy.”

 

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