---

Blanshe swallowed hard. Bella didn’t miss her agitation.

“Let’s be honest now.”

“My lady…”

“Tristan… You like him, don’t you?”

The sound of the shower’s rushing water drowned out Bella’s voice, but it reached Blanshe loud and clear.

“I…”

Her voice wouldn’t come out.

She had long been aware of her feelings. The empty space left by hatred and resentment had been filled with tender feelings for Tristan. It had taken her a long time to admit that those feelings were romantic affection.

Tristan had abandoned Blanshe.

She resented him, over and over again. For using her as an assassination tool and then discarding her.

Looking back, it was something he had done out of a desire for Blanshe to break free from the Ruelberta Family’s shackles and live freely.

Blanshe didn’t want to acknowledge her feelings.

That she had fallen for the man she had hated so much. And that she had fallen for the man her lady loved.

That’s why Blanshe could only respond to Bella’s question like this.

“I’m sorry…”

“……”

Bella closed her eyes tightly. Blanshe’s apology was, in essence, an affirmation of Bella’s question.

‘I expected it, but…’

Facing the truth, Bella’s feelings were truly complicated. Since becoming a bodyguard knight, Blanshe had never properly expressed her emotions. Bella knew it was a sign of her determination to live solely as a bodyguard knight.

Blanshe saw everything unnecessary for a bodyguard knight as impurities. She even considered the emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure that ordinary people feel as unnecessary.

Bella had always felt sorry.

That her close friend, who was also her bodyguard knight, lived like that.

‘But still…’

She believed that one day, Blanshe would be able to live like an ordinary woman. With her style and beauty, if Bella guided her well, she could get along with people. Maybe she’d even find a man she liked. That’s what Bella had thought, but…

“Why… Why does it have to be Tristan?”

Why did she have to fall for the man Bella loved?

“He’s got a terrible personality, and his tone is arrogant… What’s so good about a man like that…”

“……”

“…Why?”

“…Nothing.”

Blanshe’s gaze made Bella feel a pang of guilt. Thinking about it, she wasn’t in a position to criticize, having fallen for such a man herself.

“I… *ahem*… I feel sorry for him. Like a puppy abandoned by its owner. It feels like only I can take care of him…”

“…Sure. Let’s go with that.”

“Ugh…”

The atmosphere lightened momentarily, but there was still a wall between the two.

Blanshe forced a bitter smile.

She thought it was still unacceptable.

To harbor romantic feelings for the man her benefactor, Bella, loved. It was something that should never have happened.

She thought time would dull the feelings. That if she just stayed like this, she would naturally let go of her feelings.

But her heart didn’t move as she wished.

When Tristan touched Blanshe’s leg in the northern region, amidst the shame of being teased, she felt a faint joy. It was the first time he had seen her as a woman.

It was actually Tristan’s mistake, but Blanshe, unaware of that, felt the spark reignite in her heart. That spark grew uncontrollably, eventually leading her to declare she would become Tristan’s concubine.

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t apologize. There’s nothing to apologize for…”

“I shouldn’t feel this way… But the Count keeps…”

Blanshe couldn’t continue. Her chest ached, and she felt like crying.

It wasn’t just Bella she felt guilty towards. She felt unbearably guilty towards Tristan as well. Her past of targeting his life without knowing anything. And her misunderstanding of him, who, like her, had been a victim of William’s experiments.

All of it made Blanshe miserable.

“Blanshe.”

Bella spoke softly.

“I’m not scolding you. I just… want to advise you not as the lady you serve, but as your longtime friend.”

Bella spoke in a low voice, so the others showering wouldn’t hear.

“Like I said earlier, just be honest. It’s painful to watch.”

“My lady…?”

“A concubine? What’s that? If you’re going to aim for something, aim to be his wife. Look at Helga. Even that blockhead is making a fuss about liking Tristan. What’s stopping you, Blanshe? Your figure? Your face? Your abilities? You’re not lacking in anything.”

Blanshe stood there, looking bewildered.

“In short… I won’t tell you not to have those feelings.”

“Huh?”

“Honestly, it’s too late to have him all to myself. Sigh… If I had known it would come to this, I would’ve just made him mine quickly…”

Bella covered her face with her hand. It wasn’t pleasant to think of another woman entering Tristan’s life. But Bella couldn’t bring herself to be harsh with Blanshe. To Bella, Blanshe was just as precious as Tristan.

In the end, Bella acknowledged Blanshe’s feelings for Tristan.

“My lady…”

“Hmph… Don’t look at me like that. It’s just between us. I won’t stop you from liking him. But…”

Bella smiled at her bodyguard knight and longtime close friend.

“Don’t think about getting ahead of me.”

*

“You seem to have a serious misunderstanding about dignity.”

Facing Helga, who had suddenly changed her attitude, I was tense. If the women coming out of the shower saw this, they wouldn’t take it well.

“The Count is the one who doesn’t understand dignity.”

Whether she knew my thoughts or not, Helga laughed, flaunting her long legs.

“Dignity isn’t something you can create alone.”

“What?”

“Dignity represents a person’s value. And a person’s value can only be shown when there’s someone to compare it to.”

What’s this? Did her intelligence suddenly increase?

“Are you really Helga?”

“How rude, Count.”

With a haughty expression, Helga began to stroke my shoulder and neck with her foot. She looked as if she had become a queen.

“Show me some dignity first. Then I’ll ‘treat’ you with dignity too.”

Now that I think about it, Helga seemed to be imitating Bella. Her tone and demeanor were unmistakably Bella’s. The absurd part was that her imitation wasn’t clumsy but quite convincing.

“Now, how about greeting my foot?”

Helga brought her foot close to my face. It was clear what she wanted me to do.

I’m not into this kind of play, but Helga’s new side was quite intriguing.

“If that’s the case…”

I kissed the top of Helga’s foot.

“Hehe… Well done. But.”

“?!”

Helga’s other foot pressed firmly between my legs.

“Greet properly, Count. If you give another half-hearted greeting… you know, right?”

“…Fine.”

So, you want to play, Queen Helga.

I took Helga’s toes… the tip of her stocking into my mouth. And began to lick softly.

Helga watched my actions with satisfaction.

“How is it?”

“…Sweet.”

Perhaps because of the cola, her foot had a sweet taste. It was a bit sticky too.

“Hmm… Then keep sucking.”

“I was planning to anyway.”

I began to explore Helga’s foot in earnest. I slid my tongue between her toes, coated with saliva. Then, instead of cola, I tasted something faintly sour. This is…

“Helga. Your feet smell…”

“Be quiet.”

Helga, now fully in queen mode, pressed down on my thing again.

“Talking about a dignified lady’s foot odor is quite rude.”

“I’m just stating the facts.”

“What can I do? I wear high heels and stockings every day. It’s more unusual if they don’t smell.”

“Who told you to insist on that…”

“It’s because of you, Count.”

“?”

Helga suddenly made a cold expression and began to press firmly between my legs with her foot.

“Because you don’t pay attention to me, I have no choice but to dress provocatively.”

What kind of logic is that… But Helga’s expression was scary. What? Is she really Helga?

“Because I’ve been running around so much for you, my feet smell. So, you’ll have to suck them diligently until the smell goes away. Right?”

“What…”

“Open your mouth and suck my foot.”

Switching to informal speech? Without giving me a chance to get angry, Helga shoved her foot into my mouth.

I began to explore her foot again. This time, with more care, I tasted her foot thoroughly. From the heel to the sole, to the tips of her toes.

“Giggle… Is it that delicious?”

“……”

Delicious? If it weren’t for the cola, it would probably smell bad… Definitely, stockings make your feet sweat more than socks, so the smell was stronger. This is really…

“What? Did you think women don’t have foot odor? Actually, it’s worse than men’s.”

Now she’s reading my thoughts too.

The more I licked Helga’s foot, the more I felt like I was awakening to a new sensation.

Helga’s toes were gradually moistened by my saliva.

“Like a beast… Huhu… Licking there too…?”

“Didn’t you tell me to?”

“Hmm…? You’re not doing it because you like it, are you?”

Helga’s foot pressed firmly between my legs. Her toes wriggled, then her sole and heel began to stroke softly.

“Ah? What’s this in the Count’s pants?”

“……”

I couldn’t say anything.

Helga’s new side was quite refreshing, and above all, she looked sexier than anyone else to me right now.

Moreover, Helga’s footwork had been extraordinary from the start. Using only her toes to poke and rub was too lewd and stimulating.

Now I see Helga has some talent. She’s got a knack for this.

We seemed to explore each other in silence for a while.

“…Heh.”

“……”

“How long… are you going to keep sucking my foot…?”

“How long are you going to keep playing with your foot?”

Our eyes met.

Helga’s face was red to the ears, and I was also heated up. It was as if a switch had been flipped.

But we didn’t have time.

“We’re done showering.”

“Phew… That felt good.”

The four women who had gone to shower came out in a rush. Of course, at that moment, Helga and I were silently wiping the floor.

“What’s this? Haven’t you finished cleaning yet?”

“Yeah. Well… There was a lot of cola splatter…”

“Ugh. Forget it. Go wash up. Ji-hwan, you take a break too. We’ll be drying our hair in the bedroom.”

“…Alright. Got it.”

“Baek, Count… Let me help you…”

Wendy, being my servant, was anxious seeing me wipe the floor.

I smiled reassuringly and said.

“No. Leave it. Helga and I will clean this up.”

“But…”

“Go before you get cola on yourself again.”

“Okay…”

Fortunately, Wendy didn’t throw a fit and went into the bedroom with the other women.

I finally got up from the floor.

‘If I had gotten up earlier, they would’ve noticed…’

I hadn’t planned to pretend to wipe the floor. The thing Helga had stepped on was unmistakably noticeable.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes…”

When Helga looked up, her flushed face was visible. She had also been pretending to wipe the floor diligently to avoid being noticed.

Somehow, we got away with it.

I sighed in relief and said.

“Go wash up first. I’ll clean up here…”

Then, Helga grabbed my wrist. Startled.

“What’s this all of a sudden…?”

“Continue…”

“What?”

“Continue what we were doing… Right?”

Huh?

Helga’s gaze was intense.

 

---