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After parting with Ariel, I was lost in thought for a while. She is one of the characters entangled in a bad relationship with Tristan.

The ‘Autumn Tragedy’ that took the lives of her husband, Kyle, and her son. She has always believed that the Ruelberta Family, who delayed sending reinforcements during the incident, also bears responsibility for the tragedy.

At the time, William, whom she cherished like Kyle’s younger brother, had changed completely after the incident, so her sense of betrayal must have been immense. Moreover… in that state, William named his son the same name as Ariel’s deceased son, which must have made her feel an indescribable sense of betrayal and humiliation.

She must have wondered how William, who turned a blind eye to Kyle’s death, had the audacity to name his son Tristan.

But William had actually tried to save Kyle and the young child.

And in the end, he went mad after witnessing the despairing reality.

Now, it’s impossible to know what William was thinking when he named his son Tristan.

He might have done it out of mere interest or amusement, or perhaps, as Ariel said, out of guilt for failing to keep his promise to Kyle. Having experienced William’s past myself, I couldn’t help but think Ariel was right.

Thanks to that, I came to understand William, even if just a little.

“This is surprising. The curse is gone…?”

Miohail, who had been carefully examining my body, suddenly looked up with a surprised expression.

After the trial of despair, I was freed from the curse that had been passed down through generations. The reason was probably because the demon of ‘Wrath,’ Ruelberta, who was the source of the curse, had died.

I thought the personalities of the seven deadly sins, including ‘Wrath,’ had disappeared along with it, but strangely, they remained. I guessed that perhaps the last personality I learned, ‘Despair,’ had swallowed Ruelberta, and the personalities he had were reabsorbed into me.

“Right after that, we were thrown out of that space, but Count, you and Wendy stayed behind. What exactly happened there?”

“…I was in despair.”

“Despair?”

“Yes. I struggled to survive in despair.”

‘Despair’ was truly a terrifying personality. Despair persistently tried to swallow me whole.

If it weren’t for Sora and Wendy, I would have undoubtedly sunk into the abyss forever.

“Hmm. Despair, huh… So that was the trial you faced, Count… Well, you made it through, so that’s a relief. Congratulations on becoming the Demon Lord. No, saying congratulations for becoming the Demon Lord feels a bit strange. Haha.”

“…It’s not wrong, so it doesn’t matter.”

Come to think of it, I still can’t fully grasp the fact that I’ve become the Demon Lord.

Even though I gained ‘Despair’ and finally received the recognition of the great demon Lukaela, I haven’t even started acting like a Demon Lord yet, so that might be why.

“Honestly, when you went berserk, even I, the Sage, couldn’t help but be tense. I even considered sealing you away. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Because…”

“Because of Wendy?”

Miohail hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“Yes… I just couldn’t bear to see that child sad. I’ve become quite soft. I’m sorry. Even though I made a promise with you…”

“No. Don’t worry about it. Thanks to you finding another way, I was able to come back…”

“If you want to express gratitude, do it to Wendy. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have been able to think of another way.”

“…I see. I should definitely thank her.”

Wendy, a character with almost no significance in the original story. I, too, had seen her as nothing more than a death flag or a hazard. But ironically, it was because of her that I was able to survive.

“To her, you are like the sun and the sky. It’s no exaggeration to say that you are her everything.”

Certainly, whenever my eyes met Wendy’s, her large pupils reflected my image perfectly.

She was so pure and innocent that she followed me without a single doubt, trusting me completely. All I can do for her is to help her live a happy life from now on.

As I was making that resolution to myself, Miohail cleared his throat and spoke.

“Ahem… So, I’ve changed my mind.”

“Changed your mind?”

“Yes. In the past, well… Count, honestly, you didn’t meet my standards. You seemed to be trying hard, losing weight and all, but by my high standards, it was still far from enough. Our Wendy deserved a hundred times better. Yes, indeed.”

“?? What??”

“Ahem. So, what I’m trying to say is… I think it’s okay to entrust Wendy to you now.”

Wait… What do you mean by entrusting Wendy to me? I was about to say that but stopped myself. Thinking about it, to Miohail, Wendy is like a beloved disciple and a granddaughter. He came here solely for her, despite not caring about how the world works. He has always acted as her protector.

So, Miohail must have been worried about Wendy.

From the outside, she was just the exclusive maid of the eccentric and ill-tempered Count Ruelberta.

From Miohail’s perspective, he must have been concerned that I might mistreat her.

But it was an unnecessary worry.

Even if Miohail hadn’t asked me to take care of Wendy, I had already planned to take responsibility for her from the beginning.

“Don’t worry. As long as she is by my side, she won’t suffer…”

“Count, hearing you say that puts my mind at ease. However, her age is a bit concerning. By today’s standards, it’s a bit early, but back in my day, people did it at a much younger age… Hmm… Still, I would prefer if Wendy waited until she became an adult.”

“…What? What are you-”

“Count~! Are you in there?”

A cheerful voice came from outside.

Soon after, the carriage door swung open, and Helga entered.

“Oh my! Who do we have here? Mimi? Did you follow me all the way here?”

“Meow.”

“Hehe… Even after all this time, you’re still so cute. Come here…”

“Meow!”

Miohail jumped onto Helga’s lap and started acting cute. I couldn’t help but frown. Helga, finding him adorable, poked him playfully with her fingers.

Wait… What did she just say?

“…Mimi?”

“Yes. I gave him that name. How is it? Does it suit him?”

“……”

“Oh dear…? What’s wrong? Is it a bit strange?”

“Honestly, it’s a terrible name.”

“Shahhh!”

Miohail hissed.

Old man, you should think about your age and gender…

“Alright, Mimi. We’ll see you later. I need to talk to the Count now, okay?”

“Meow!”

“Good girl. You’re such a smart cat, aren’t you?”

“……”

The problem is that he’s much smarter and craftier than Helga thinks.

Miohail slipped out through the window.

Seeing that, I brought up something that had been bothering me.

“Helga…”

“Yes, Count.”

“…Why did you sit next to me instead of taking the seat across?”

Helga had sneakily sat right next to me as soon as she entered.

“Oh, Count, you don’t understand. It’s obviously easier to protect you if I’m this close, right?”

Still as shameless as ever.

“It’s cramped. Move over.”

“Ah, no. I need to be within 10cm of you to protect you in case of an emergency! It’s for your protection, so don’t complain and stay close.”

At this point, she’s abusing her position as a bodyguard knight.

“I don’t know what kind of emergency you’re talking about.”

“Be more vigilant. There are foolish people out there who are constantly trying to separate us… Ah, no, I mean, they’re targeting you!”

“…I wish those foolish people would come quickly.”

“Ah, don’t say such dangerous things!”

Helga hugged my arm tightly. My arm, sandwiched between her soft breasts, felt ticklish.

“Hehe. See? Now you’re the safest person in the world.”

“…Stop with the nonsense. I know you can protect me from 10km away.”

“Eh? That’s a bit too much even for me.”

In this timeline, I’ve known Helga for less than a year. But with all the memories from past timelines, it feels like we’ve known each other for a long time.

Yes. Let’s be honest.

I even missed these trivial jokes we used to share.

“Count. Are you worried about something?”

As if reading my mind, Helga suddenly changed her expression and asked me seriously.

“Everything has gone according to your plan… Is there something wrong?”

As she said, I’ve been smoothly moving forward since ascending to the position of the Demon Lord.

“If it’s okay, please share it with me.”

However, recalling all the memories from the past has made this timeline feel like something that happened a long time ago, making me nostalgic.

I slowly opened my mouth.

“Helga. Do you remember when you said you would be my umbrella?”

“Of course. I remember, Count.”

“Do you remember when that was?”

“Well……”

Helga, who was about to answer confidently, suddenly tilted her head.

“Huh…? Uh… When was it? I definitely said it though…”

“It’s natural you don’t remember. You didn’t say that ‘this’ time.”

“Huh?? This time?”

Seeing her reaction, I was convinced.

Even though I thought I had erased all the Dummy Worlds as Peter, I hadn’t completely erased them.

The remnants of the Dummy Worlds, which could be considered parallel worlds, had affected Helga’s memories as well.

Perhaps not just Helga, but other characters might also have remnants of those memories.

Maybe those who disliked me for no reason vaguely remembered my misdeeds from the Dummy Worlds. Conversely, those who had a good impression of me in the Dummy Worlds might have found it easier to get close to me in this timeline…

As I was thinking that, Helga suddenly hugged my arm again and clung to me.

“I don’t know what it is, but I’ve been feeling a bit resentful towards you, Count.”

“Resentful?”

Suddenly?

Helga nodded and puffed out her cheeks slightly.

“You left me behind and went away.”

“Left you behind?”

“Yes. At the Duke’s castle.”

Ah…

Now that I think about it, I remember leaving Helga behind when I went to investigate the Duke’s castle.

I had scolded Wendy for trying to follow me to the Duke’s castle, treating her like a child. But because I sided with Wendy, Helga threw a tantrum, even regressing to childlike behavior, and was really upset with me.

I was about to scold her for still holding onto that, but I held back.

Since the memories from the past timelines have resurfaced, the time I spent with Helga feels like it was a long time ago. In reality, it was only a few days ago, so she probably hasn’t gotten over it yet.

I spoke in a calm voice.

“Yes. It was my mistake to leave you behind. I admit it.”

“Just words?”

“…?”

Suddenly, Helga lay down with her head on my lap.

“…What are you doing?”

“Waaah! I’m baby Helga!”

“What?”

“Baby Helga is upset! Count has to comfort me!”

Oh, please…

I tried not to show it, but my face twisted involuntarily.

“…This is insane.”

“Waaah! I’m the woman who drives the Count crazy with my fatal charm!”

“Don’t make things difficult for me like this, Helga.”

“Waaah!!”

Ah, her crying is really loud.

A grown woman throwing a tantrum like this is beyond ridiculous.

She thinks she’s being cute, but Helga is an error.

No, no. To be fair, she is cute.

But Helga is tall for a woman and her style is far from that of a child. She exudes an overly seductive aura, making it hard to call her a child.

Looking closely, her voluptuous figure and long, model-like legs make this behavior seem out of place. In short, the imbalance is the biggest problem.

But regardless, Helga started throwing a tantrum.

“Comfort me quickly! Comfort me! If you don’t, I’ll become a complete baby and embarrass you!”

“Stop it, Helga. If you just keep asking to be comforted without saying what you want, I won’t know what you’re asking for.”

“Give me food! Food! I want to eat the Count’s food!”

“…Have you lost your mind?”

Squeak.

“Count. I need to discuss the issue of remaining and withdrawing personnel with you… but… uh…”

The person who poked her head into the carriage was the silver-haired princess, Bella.

Of all the times to visit… At this point, I wonder if Wendy passed on ‘misfortune’ instead of ‘hope.’

“……”

“……”

“……”

A heavy silence fell between the three of us.

I had no idea what to say in this situation.

But if I’m not careful, this could lead to a big misunderstanding. No, if Helga hadn’t interfered, I could have handled it.

Please, just shut up for a moment.

“Bella, this is…”

“Waaah waaah… Count, food…”

I closed my eyes tightly.

Suddenly, Bella, meeting my eyes, smiled softly.

“…I’ll come back later.”

With a perfectly polite gesture, Bella quietly left.

The only flaw was that her eyebrows were twitching uncontrollably.

Squeak.

As the door closed, only Helga and I remained in the carriage.

I quietly looked down at Helga.

Then, as if nothing had happened, she started sucking her thumb with a sly expression.

“…Waaah!”

 

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