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“Helga… What on earth are you doing there…?”

Blanshe, hiding behind the shadow of a tree, muttered to herself.

The mysterious figures who had gotten off the carriage were none other than Helga and the Annihilation Maids. It was vaguely clear that they were the special unit the Count had mentioned.

But it was a suspicious special unit.

Helga and the maids were not wearing their usual uniforms but were instead draped in black robes. If their goal was simple reconnaissance, they wouldn’t have hidden their identities like that.

And that wasn’t the only suspicious thing.

Why would they come all the way to the northern forest, not Roelgreen Castle, to hunt monstrous beasts at this late hour? This area is near the boundary of the demon realm, teeming with dangerous beasts. Not to mention, it’s close to the lair of demons, so there’s a risk of encountering them.

Surely Tristan knew that…

The problem was that the one who should have given them orders was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, at their center stood an unfamiliar woman.

Her hair, as dark as the pitch-black night, swayed gently. Though her face was hidden behind a mask and armor, the extraordinary aura she exuded was impossible to conceal.

She seemed like a woman of noble status. Blanshe, with her keen observational skills, could tell just by her demeanor and posture. She must have been treated with the respect befitting her status, as her attitude while conversing with Helga reeked of arrogance. Yet, she managed to maintain her dignity, which was impressive.

This sight reminded Blanshe of someone. But she shook her head.

“No… That can’t be.”

Even if the long hair could be faked with a wig, her build and voice were different. No matter how skilled one was at disguise, those things couldn’t be changed.

In other words, this woman was a complete stranger.

But why did it feel like Helga and the maids were taking orders from her? Moreover, seeing how casually Helga conversed with her, they seemed quite close.

“Then who on earth is she…?”

The more Blanshe looked, the less she could grasp the woman’s identity. And the presence of this mysterious woman made Blanshe, uncharacteristically, think deeply.

For an assassin tasked with eliminating targets, personal emotions and thoughts were like impurities.

If this were during her prime as a top assassin, she would have accepted the situation simply. But unfortunately, she was now just an ordinary bodyguard knight for a duke.

A moment of carelessness led to complacency.

By the time she noticed the shadow behind her, it was already too late.

“Were you following us?”

“?!”

At the chilling voice of the woman, Blanshe felt her heart drop. She quickly distanced herself like a swift predator and turned around to see a mysterious woman wearing a mask standing there.

“…Tch.”

Even if her instincts had dulled, how could she let someone sneak up on her! Though she felt indignant, it was useless. Her tailing had already been exposed.

“There’s no need to be so wary.”

The woman glared at Blanshe with cold eyes. That arrogant gaze, knowing who held the upper hand, was eerily similar to his.

But that wasn’t important.

“Let’s talk first—”

Ignoring her words, Blanshe channeled magic into her legs and kicked off the ground. Her body leaped into the trees in an instant.

She had to escape. Escaping and informing Bella of the situation was her priority.

As Blanshe focused solely on that thought…

“?!”

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through her ankle. She face-planted into the snow-covered ground and only then noticed the iron chain wrapped around her ankle.

Chains, flying in like whips from all directions, bound Blanshe’s body.

She tried to break free, but these weren’t ordinary chains. They were clearly enchanted chains used to subdue monstrous beasts.

“L-Let me go!”

“Sorry for handling you so roughly.”

Looking up, Muiry, the leader of the maids, looked down at Blanshe with pity. In her hand was the chain.

“If you had stayed quiet, this wouldn’t have happened…”

“Why are you doing this…?”

“I-I’m sorry!”

A young girl, Bess, emerged from the bushes and bowed her head in apology.

“But we had no choice! Since you’ve seen our secret, we can’t just let you go.”

“Tch…”

In her hand was also a heavy chain. Not only that, but Cynthia and Rika also appeared from the bushes, each holding chains that restrained Blanshe. Blanshe despaired at being captured by those who were once fellow victims of the Ruelberta Family.

“Haha… Where did you think you were running to?”

“Helga…!”

Helga, who appeared from behind a tree, looked down at Blanshe, who was tied up and lying in the snow, with a mocking expression.

Seeing that shameless face made her blood boil.

“Whatever you’re planning, stop it now!”

“Oh my? It seems you don’t know what we’re up to.”

Helga smiled with the face of a true villain. That confirmed it. They were up to something sinister behind the scenes.

“Why…?”

But the words that came from Blanshe’s mouth weren’t curses or condemnation—they were questions. Though it hadn’t been long, she had considered Helga a comrade.

At the very least, she wanted to know why Helga was doing this, so Blanshe asked with a strained voice.

“Why… why did you betray the Count?”

“Huh?”

Helga, who was second to none in her loyalty to Tristan, was now serving someone else. This situation was impossible to comprehend.

“Didn’t you follow the Count so devotedly!? Why did you suddenly change your mind?”

“Hmm? Betrayal? Change of heart?”

Helga tilted her head as if she didn’t understand, then suddenly started chuckling as if she had realized something. Her attitude only irritated Blanshe further.

“What’s so funny!?”

“Hehe… I see. I get it now, Blanshe. So that’s how you saw me?”

Helga patted Blanshe’s head, who was tied up and looking furious.

“You’re so naive… It’s not like my feelings suddenly changed.”

“Huh?”

“My feelings never changed.”

“Then from the beginning…!?”

It felt like the pieces of the puzzle in her head were falling into place.

This had been planned for a long time. In other words, she had been deceived all along.

“Damn it…!”

Blanshe’s shoulders trembled with rage at the betrayal.

“Since you’ve seen our secret, we can’t just let you go.”

“You…! I’ll never forgive you!”

“Now, now. Behave.”

She tried to struggle, but the chains tightened around her body. It was so painful she could barely breathe. The overwhelming sense of helplessness made her want to cry.

Then, a face flashed through her mind.

“The Count… where is the Count now!?”

“Why? Are you curious?”

“If you’ve done anything to him, I won’t let it slide!”

“Huh?”

If the old Blanshe had seen this, she wouldn’t have believed she was saying such things.

Not only was she asking about that detestable Tristan’s well-being, but she was also worried about him. It was beyond love and hate now.

Tristan was one of the few people she cared about.

But now, her reality was harsh.

Helga shrugged and shook her head.

“Sorry, but even if you saw the Count now, you wouldn’t recognize him.”

“Don’t make me laugh… No matter what you’ve done to him, I…! I would recognize him.”

“Really?”

“Yes! Of course!”

“That’s a lie. Right, Count?”

“…Huh?”

The direction Helga was looking at had only the mysterious woman.

Could it be that this woman was the new “Count”?

The woman walked up to Blanshe and removed her mask.

At that moment, Blanshe gasped.

Under the moonlight, her face was as beautiful as Bella, who was praised as a peerless beauty.

The woman’s voice was cold.

“Surprising.”

“?”

“That you’d worry about me…”

Her eyes, as beautiful as the night sky, were different from Bella’s. They held contempt for the world, cold cynicism, and an arrogant gaze that looked down on everything—just like his.

“No way……”

“Yes.”

The mysterious woman answered Blanshe with a “proud” smile.

“It’s me. Your loyal… Blanshe.”

*

“Please kill me…”

Blanshe couldn’t lift her head, covering her face. After her identity was revealed, we brought her to the cave where the Yeti once lived.

The one who had been tailing us was Blanshe.

Since we were planning to bring her into the special unit anyway, it was bound to come out eventually. But now that things had turned out this way, we decided to conduct an experiment. To see if she, who had a long history with Tristan, could recognize me in disguise.

And the result was a success.

However, there was an unexpected outcome.

“I’m so embarrassed I want to die…”

“……”

Blanshe, who had shouted out of concern for my safety in front of Helga and the maids, was now left with nothing but shame after the hidden camera moment.

The atmosphere was too awkward to speak, so Helga and the maids left the area. Well, they basically left her to me.

I was the only one who could calm Blanshe, who was furious with them.

“What are you doing? Just kill me already…”

“……”

Blanshe, who wasn’t good at expressing emotions, was sulking like this to appeal to me.

But this was really troublesome.

Comforting or apologizing didn’t suit the character of Tristan at all. At best, I could only convey comfort or apologies indirectly.

Feeling guilty about this incident, I cautiously opened my mouth.

“Blanshe.”

“……”

“Do you want to see what’s happened to this body?”

“……”

“Aren’t you curious how I changed my appearance?”

At those words, Blanshe slowly lifted her head. She seemed thoroughly sulky but couldn’t resist her curiosity.

I extended my arm and continued.

“This is a fake body made by an artifact. You’ll understand if you touch it.”

“……”

After hesitating, Blanshe finally took the bait I threw.

She reached out and began to touch my arm.

Blanshe’s hand began to feel through the illusion, touching my arm.

“How is it?”

“…It’s really strange. It’s different from what it looks like.”

After touching it a few times, Blanshe seemed to grow interested and even touched my shoulder, marveling.

“No wonder I was fooled.”

“…Hmm.”

I almost said “I’m sorry” but held it back.

She looked like a puppy with its ears and tail drooping, which only made me feel guiltier.

Wait, how long does she plan to keep touching me?

The hand that was touching my shoulder had moved to stroke my hair. She was engrossed like a child with a new toy, so I decided to stop her.

“That’s enough. Stop touching.”

“…No.”

“What?”

Blanshe suddenly muttered in a sulky tone.

“You touched my leg… as you pleased, didn’t you?”

 

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