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I couldn’t understand this situation at all.

I could see why Blanshe showed hostility toward me.

But I couldn’t understand why the maids were trying to protect me.

Their mission wasn’t combat. They had just returned to being ordinary maids like before.

Moreover, since they were freed from the magic formulas, they weren’t puppets moving by orders anymore…

“…Is it because of loyalty?”

They were maids who once served me.

Even after learning about the terrible things the Ruelberta Family and William had done, they still recognized me as their master.

But they didn’t need to step forward.

From now on, they had the right to live the lives they wanted.

I decided to stop them.

“That’s enough. You don’t need to—”

“Young Master, please stay behind me.”

“Don’t worry about anything, Young Master. We’ll protect you.”

Huh?

Rika and Muiry ignored my words and took combat stances.

As if they were my protectors.

“Count! Don’t cowardly use them as shields!”

The maids’ actions to protect me seemed to have provoked Blanshe.

And the more Blanshe showed her heightened emotions, the more the maids shielded me.

“You saw it correctly. We are the Young Master’s shields. No matter what you do, you won’t be able to touch a single hair on his head.”

“Such cowardice…!”

At Muiry’s declaration, Blanshe glared at me with her nails extended.

The usually calm Blanshe was now furious, likely due to her shared pain as a victim of the Ruelberta Family’s horrific experiments.

Unlike Blanshe, who became an assassin while retaining some human emotions, they had their emotions stripped away and were manipulated.

Blanshe probably thought they were being controlled by me again and wanted to save them.

“Step aside! I don’t want to hurt you…!”

“We refuse. We won’t move until you let go of your hostility toward the Young Master.”

“I’m trying to save you from the Count! You’re being controlled right now!”

“No, we’re not!”

Bess couldn’t hold back and shouted.

“We’re not being controlled anymore!”

“Then prove it.”

“Uh… I can’t show you proof, but the Young Master told us the truth and saved us! So we’re protecting him of our own will now!”

“Stop it, Bess.”

“Cynthia, unni…”

Cynthia, who stopped Bess, spoke to Blanshe.

“It seems we won’t reach an agreement. If this continues, we’ll have to resort to force. I won’t say more. Come at us quickly.”

“Ugh…!”

Blanshe hesitated at their firm stance. She didn’t want to hurt fellow victims. She just glared at us with hatred.

If Blanshe was the strongest “sword” responsible for assassinations in the Ruelberta Family, the Annihilation Maids were the strongest “shield” protecting the family.

Now, the strongest sword and shield were facing off in front of me.

“If you won’t make a move, we will.”

“…!”

Surprisingly, the shield side attacked first.

Cynthia and Rika leaped and simultaneously kicked toward Blanshe.

“Ugh!”

Blanshe quickly defended, but she staggered from the sharp kicks. And someone didn’t miss that brief opening.

“Sorry! This might hurt!”

“?!”

Bess thrust her fist toward Blanshe’s chest. The speed was unbelievable for a small girl’s punch, and its power was considerable.

But their combo didn’t end there.

*Thud!*

As Blanshe clutched her chest and bent one knee, Muiry’s knee struck her chin.

If she were an ordinary human, her neck would have snapped, but Blanshe only hit the ground hard.

“Ugh…”

Blanshe couldn’t recover from the rapid attacks.

It was truly an excellent combo. I knew their superhuman abilities remained, but I didn’t expect them to show the coordination from their Annihilation Maid days.

Hmm?

Then, something caught my eye.

The four wore maid uniforms with open backs, revealing magic formulas tattooed on their backs.

And those formulas were exchanging magic power as if communicating.

“Did you notice, Count?”

“Albert…?”

Albert, who had appeared beside me unnoticed, stroked his beard.

“Originally, those formulas were meant to control their consciousness, but now they can wield them by their own will. Not only that, but they can also use the combat information stored in the formulas.”

In other words, while their memories as Annihilation Maids were gone, the “combat memories” engraved in their formulas remained.

The reason they could coordinate attacks as if they were one body was likely because their formulas were connected.

“Hoho… I thought it might be theoretically possible, but I didn’t expect them to handle the formulas so skillfully right away…”

“Hmm.”

The combat they just showed was no different from their prime during the trials.

Now, the fight was turning against Blanshe.

“Ugh… Damn it…”

Blanshe staggered to her feet.

She seemed to have taken significant damage and couldn’t stand straight.

She wasn’t fighting at full strength. She never intended to attack the maids, not wanting to hurt fellow victims.

Unaware of this, the maids relentlessly pressured Blanshe.

“Is this all? The hostility you showed earlier wasn’t just this much. Was I mistaken?”

“My opponent… isn’t you. It’s Count Ruelberta… Step aside.”

“…You’re persistent.”

Muiry glared coldly at Blanshe.

“We can’t show mercy to anyone who tries to harm the Young Master. Everyone—”

“P-please stop!”

Then, the youngest girl here blocked Muiry with both arms.

“Wendy!?”

“T-this person isn’t an enemy!”

“Huh?”

“She’s my martial arts teacher…! There must have been a misunderstanding!”

“Hmm… But she clearly showed hostility toward the Young Master… Even if she’s not an enemy…”

While Muiry was confused, Wendy turned to Blanshe.

“Blanshe, teacher!”

“Wendy…”

“Why, why are you suddenly trying to attack the Count…? You know better, teacher…”

Wendy fearlessly approached Blanshe, who was still showing hostility.

“The Count isn’t that kind of person… You know that, right…?”

“No… I thought so too, but now I see it was all a misunderstanding! That man is a villain.”

“Then what about the time the Count saved the Princess…?”

“…!”

“If the Count were a villain, why would he risk his life to save the Princess…?”

At that moment, Blanshe’s hostility stopped.

Wendy stammered as she continued.

“I, I don’t know why you’re so angry, teacher… I’m sure you have a good reason… You’re not someone who gets angry easily… But… I can say with certainty, having served the Count up close…”

Wendy didn’t know Blanshe’s dark past. Yet, she desperately tried to understand and persuade her.

“The Count isn’t a villain. He’s really… really someone you can trust… So please calm down… and just listen to what he has to say… Okay?”

Then, Wendy wiped the dirt off Blanshe’s face with a handkerchief.

Perhaps influenced by Wendy’s pure heart, Blanshe’s burning hostility gradually faded away.

“…Wendy.”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

Blanshe took a deep breath and spoke.

“Thanks to you, my mind is clear now.”

Then, her hatred toward me disappeared as if it were a lie.

Returning to her usual calm self, Blanshe spoke to me.

“It’s late, but… I’ll listen to what you have to say, Count.”

*

“Please kill me…”

As soon as the misunderstanding was resolved, Blanshe bowed deeply… no, she prostrated herself in apology.

“It’s fine.”

I looked down at her with a “proud” expression.

“You had enough reason to misunderstand.”

“No… I can’t forgive my own foolishness.”

“No. It’s also my fault for not earning your trust until now. Isn’t that right?”

“No… Absolutely not… You were secretly trying to save them… I was just too stupid…”

Though I couldn’t see Blanshe’s face, she must have turned pale upon learning the truth.

When I saved Bella, she swore not to be hostile toward me, yet she showed hostility again.

“I have no words… I deserve to die here… But please show mercy and let me send my final regards to Miss Bella… Then I can die without regrets.”

“…That’s enough apology. Get up.”

The atmosphere made it seem like Blanshe might commit suicide if I left her any longer, so I couldn’t tease her more.

“I, I didn’t know teacher had such a past… Sob…”

Beside me, Wendy was crying.

Upon hearing Blanshe’s past during the resolution, Wendy’s tears burst forth.

“I’m sorry… Sob… I, I didn’t know teacher went through such things… Sob…”

“No. It’s okay…”

Blanshe smiled softly at Wendy.

“Rather, Wendy, your understanding and tears make me feel healed.”

“Sob… Teacher…”

Blanshe gently hugged the crying Wendy.

“Anyway, it’s good that the misunderstanding is resolved.”

Muiry and the maids nodded in satisfaction.

Then, Muiry pointed to the basket on the ground.

“But this…”

“Ah! That’s the tonic Miss Bella sent.”

“Tonic?”

At Blanshe’s words, I tilted my head.

Did such a thing exist in this world?

For a moment, I thought it was strange, but upon reflection, it wasn’t.

In a world where illnesses are treated with magic formulas and magic, tonics like ointments and potions aren’t out of place.

“Can I take a look for a moment?”

Rika took out the tonic from the basket. As the one in charge of cooking, she was knowledgeable about medicinal ingredients, so I expected her to know what it was.

But what came out of the basket was…

“Tea leaves…?”

I thought the tonic would be some kind of liquid, but it was unmistakably dried tea leaves tied with string.

Well, tea has similar effects, so it could be considered medicine.

“Yes. Miss Bella said to steep it like tea, so it seems to be a type of tea…”

Blanshe added an explanation.

But as Rika examined the shape and smelled it, her expression grew微妙.

“…Is this dried Siltevia leaves?”

“Ah, yes. I think that’s the name. Is it a famous medicine?”

“Famous… yes.”

“Really! I heard this medicine is very good for health. Especially effective when you’re low on energy…”

“Well… it’s good… especially for men…”

“Huh?”

“This is… um…”

Rika scratched her head awkwardly.

And as I listened to her explanation, I understood why she hesitated.

The tonic Bella sent was none other than an aphrodisiac.

 

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