---

A few days later, Tristan arranged a meeting with the demon faction.

The participants included Tristan, Bella, and several other commanders, along with a few bodyguards.

The location was a plain between the Demon Forest and Roelgreen Castle. It was chosen because the open surroundings would make both sides feel at ease.

Around noon, when the sun was fully up, the participants began moving to the meeting spot.

“P-Princess… You’re letting someone like me ride with you…?”

“It’s fine, Wendy.”

Bella, holding the reins, rode with Wendy in front of her. The horse’s hoofprints marked the pure white snowfield.

“Everyone else wouldn’t even care about such things.”

“B-But…”

Wendy rolled her large eyes around, trying to gauge the reactions of the people around her. Her adorable appearance made Bella want to hug her.

“Don’t worry and stay close to me. Did you forget? Today, Wendy, you’re my vassal.”

“Y-Yes…”

Today, with Tristan’s special permission, Bella had borrowed Wendy, his exclusive maid. Well, it was more of an exchange than a borrowing.

Bella gently patted Wendy’s head.

“I was lonely without Blanshe, but I’m glad Wendy is here with me.”

“Huuu… W-Won’t I be a burden…?”

“Haha… Of course not.”

Bella glanced at the man leading the group. From here, she could only see his back, but it was Tristan, the black-haired noble dressed entirely in black.

Lately, Tristan had been borrowing Blanshe frequently, saying he needed her for reconnaissance missions to monitor the Demon Forest. Blanshe was a talented individual, so Bella understood that much.

However, Blanshe was not only Bella’s bodyguard knight but also her aide. With Tristan constantly borrowing Blanshe, Bella often found herself in difficult situations, having to act alone.

The only silver lining was that those who used to approach her with ulterior motives had stopped.

Even in places like this, there used to be nobles who tried to flirt with Bella, but now there were practically none.

Especially Patrick Wolfbert, who had shown great interest in her, had stopped approaching her at some point. Whether his interest had cooled or he had given up, Bella was relieved.

No matter how much Patrick pursued her, it only made things awkward for Bella, who had already made up her mind.

In any case, Bella couldn’t keep acting alone forever.

Eventually, she requested Tristan to provide someone to assist her in Blanshe’s absence. That role, as you can see, went to Wendy… In short, it was an exchange between Blanshe and Wendy.

Though it might seem like treating people as objects, Bella had no intention of treating Wendy that way. In fact, she didn’t even plan to treat her as an ordinary vassal.

“Remember what I said before, Wendy. When it’s just the two of us, you can call me ‘sister.'”

“Ah!? Y-Yes… B-But someone like me calling the Princess that…”

“I know. It’s hard for you to call me that.”

“Yes…?”

“Thinking back, I realize I only considered my own feelings at the time. I made a one-sided request without considering your perspective. Even though it’s late, I want to apologize for that.”

“N-No!? T-The Princess doesn’t need to apologize to me…”

“But please understand this much. I think of Wendy as my own little sister.”

Bella held Wendy tightly to prevent her from falling off the horse.

“So it’s okay to rely on me. You can depend on me as much as you want.”

“Princess…”

“I judge people by their character. I may not look like it, but I’m more confident and accurate in judging people than anyone else. And Wendy, you’re one of the kindest and purest people I’ve ever met.”

Wendy was different from the people Bella had met before. Due to her noble status and stunning beauty, many approached her with ulterior motives.

But Wendy was someone whose inside matched her outside. Though her young age might have played a part, even considering that, she was someone who couldn’t lie.

She was the type who couldn’t hide her true feelings and wore her heart on her sleeve… Moreover, she never spoke ill of others or blamed them.

One might call her naive, but Bella had watched Wendy all this time and felt a genuine fondness for her as a person. She was also confident that she could trust this girl.

“Huuu… T-That’s too much praise…”

“I’m just stating the facts. People with as good a character as Wendy are truly rare.”

“N-No… The Princess and the Count have much better characters than me…”

Wendy stammered. It wasn’t a big deal, but being mentioned alongside the Count made Bella’s lips twitch upward.

Even Wendy, who served the Count closely, seemed to think the two were a good match.

“That’s high praise. Haha…”

“Besides, Lady Helga might be mischievous and eccentric, but her character is—”

“That can’t be.”

“Huh? W-What about Lady Helga’s character…?”

“It’s pitch black.”

“Eek?!”

Wendy was startled by Bella’s firm tone.

“I-I had no idea…”

“It’s because you’re so innocent. Look over there.”

Bella pointed to the leading group… Specifically, the two at the very front: Tristan and Helga.

Tristan was speaking with a calm expression, while Helga chuckled and responded.

To others, it might seem like a normal master-servant relationship, but to Bella, it looked unnecessarily close.

Bella recalled a conversation she had with Helga before.

“You know, Princess, want to hear something interesting?”

“Huh? Something interesting…?”

“Yes. The position of the legal wife isn’t given to the woman who marries first.”

At that time, Helga had said with a playful smile.

“The position of the legal wife goes to the woman who bears the most children.”

“Children… W-Wait, what are you talking about?!”

“Well, since I’ll be having more, you can enjoy yourself for now. I just wanted to let you know that.”

In other words, a rival.

Thanks to that, Bella had been watching Helga more sharply than ever.

Especially when she saw Helga laughing next to Tristan, it made her uncomfortable. Bella knew that Helga rarely smiled in front of others but often did so around Tristan, which was infuriating.

“Wendy, look at that sinister smile.”

“Huh? Um… It doesn’t seem any different from usual…”

“That’s exactly what’s sinister about it.”

“Eek?!”

“Listen carefully, Wendy. That woman is someone you really need to be careful around. She’s like a ticking time bomb.”

“O-Okay… I think I understand… The Count once said Lady Helga was like a ‘dump truck that could go off at any moment’…”

“A dump truck? Is that a foreign word? Or an ancient language?”

“I-I’m not sure either, but the Count said it meant the same as a ticking time bomb.”

“Ah… Well, he is a bookworm, so his metaphors are unique. Anyway, as even the Count acknowledged, Helga is a woman who requires caution. So I’ll ask this of you too, Wendy.”

“Y-Yes…!”

Wendy’s shoulders tensed at Bella’s serious tone.

“The fact that the Count’s curse has been lifted must not be revealed. Especially to Helga… That woman must never know.”

If Helga found out that the Count’s curse had been lifted, it would spell trouble. At least until they returned to the capital, that fact had to be hidden. Even if engagements or other arrangements could be made in the capital, nothing could be done here.

On the other hand, Helga was the type who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals. Given that she had made a declaration akin to a challenge to Bella, the current situation was a powder keg waiting to explode.

Fortunately, Wendy agreed with Bella’s request.

“O-Okay… Princess. I won’t tell Lady Helga, just as you said…”

“Good. You’re such a good girl, Wendy.”

As Bella patted Wendy’s head, she glared at Helga in the leading group.

‘Hmph… The woman who bears the most children becomes the legal wife?’

What a ridiculous notion.

*

“Ugh, the back of my head feels prickly… Are you okay, Count?”

Helga, riding at the front, muttered while rubbing the back of her head.

“……”

“Count?”

“……”

“Hello?”

“……”

“Hey, handsome.”

“……”

The black-haired noble next to the snarky Helga simply sighed.

“Heehee… What’s wrong? The details are lacking. The ‘Count’ wouldn’t ignore me like that.”

“…Stop talking nonsense.”

“Oh, that’s a bit closer. At least that’s how it should be. It’s supposed to be my role, but if you can’t do it, it’s a problem.”

“…Can’t you just be quiet for once? Do you have some disease that forces you to open your mouth every second?”

“Wrong! If it were the Count, the correct answer would be ‘shut up.’ You need more practice. Heehee…”

The patience of ‘her,’ wearing Tristan’s guise, finally ran out.

“Helga, please shut up. Ah, no. Just shut up.”

“Pfft…! Ahem… What’s that? Blanshe.”

“It’s because you keep scratching at my nerves, making it hard to focus.”

Blanshe, disguised using the power of the mirror Tristan had lent her, grumbled.

“Tsk tsk. Excuses aren’t good. With your poor acting skills, it might have been impossible to replicate the Count’s dignified presence from the start.”

“…Do you want some milk again?”

“N-No… What I mean is that you should learn by watching the ‘real thing.'”

“The real thing…?”

“There, you see it now.”

Helga pointed to a round table. The table, inexplicably placed in the middle of the snowy plain, looked like something out of a surrealist painting.

As they approached, the image became clearer.

The figure of a proud and beautiful villainess sitting at the table was the focal point of the painting, drawing all eyes.

“The ‘real thing’ stands out even when doing nothing.”

The endlessly cold, obsidian-like eyes greeted them.

 

---