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“Hmm……”

After hearing the whole story, Bella nodded. In front of her, Helga and Blanshe were kneeling like punished children, their hands raised.

“So, you were fooling around like kids and ended up ruining Tristan’s back… is that it?”

“I’m sorry…”

“Princess, to be precise, we didn’t ruin it, we just made it sprain…”

“That’s the same thing!”

Bella glared at the two with a terrifying expression. It had been a long time since anyone had seen her this angry.

“Ba, is the Count in a lot of pain…?”

I was lying face down on the bed, receiving Wendy’s tender hot compress on my back. I thought there might be something wrong with my spine, but after an examination, it turned out to be just a minor sprain. Considering it was Helga and Blanshe, not ordinary women, I should be grateful it ended like this.

“It’s fine. You can stop now. I have work to do.”

“Ah, nooo…! The doctor said you absolutely need to rest…”

The doctor had insisted on rest, not because of my back but because of overwork. Even a well-trained body couldn’t endure marching on just two hours of sleep a day for nearly a month. A nap might have eased the mental fatigue, but it couldn’t completely relieve the physical exhaustion.

“By the way, Helga… I know you’re prone to eccentric behavior, but what on earth is that outfit?”

“Yes! This is the Count’s favorite outfit!”

“Tristan…?”

“Don’t misunderstand, it’s not like that.”

Bella shot me a look as if to ask if I had really made Helga wear such a thing. But come to think of it, wasn’t Bella the one who wore such outfits before Helga?

“Th, that’s the Count’s favorite outfit…”

“Wendy… That’s what Helga said.”

“Ah, ah?! R, right?! S, sorry…”

“No. What do you all think of me……”

“……”

At that, everyone, including me, looked at Helga with pity. As if to say, what more is there to say…

“Enough… Helga. You know how busy Tristan is… How are you going to take responsibility?”

“Sigh… I guess I have no choice but to repay him with my body…”

“Don’t joke around. Don’t try to sneakily take off your clothes. Blanshe? Don’t get swept up in the mood and try to take off your clothes either.”

“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

“Sigh… What am I going to do with you all…”

Bella placed her fingers on her forehead and sighed. Seeing this, Helga pouted her lips and muttered.

“Pfft… Who was it that gave a lap pillow to such a busy person…”

“?!”

For a moment, Bella’s eyes wavered. But soon, a coldness settled in them.

“Hmm… It seems there’s a little mouse in this mansion.”

“Haha. Princess, really. What happens under one roof, only the mice know? Everyone who needs to know, knows.”

“Ah… Under the vast roof of this grand mansion, you mean?”

“Yes. Hehe… Be careful from now on.”

“Right. I should set up a mousetrap or something.”

“Squeak squeak squeak.”

A dangerous air flowed between the two. Blanshe and Wendy could only watch nervously, unable to intervene. In the end, the only one who could mediate between them was…

“That’s enough.”

I got up from the bed. My back was a bit stiff, but it was manageable. More importantly, I needed to get moving for the next schedule.

“If you want to fight, go somewhere else. Don’t disturb a busy man. The rest of you, go do your business.”

“Tristan. Where are you going?”

“To work.”

“Ah, no! Count! You need to rest more…!”

Startled, Wendy hugged my waist. It was an attempt to stop me… but unfortunately, my back is a weak point now. The sharp pain made me instinctively step back toward the bed.

“Gasp?! S, sorry!”

“Well done, Wendy.”

“Huh?”

Seizing the opportunity, the three women rushed in as if they had planned it and laid me back down on the bed.

“…What are you all doing?”

“Tristan. You need to rest today.”

“I’ve rested enough. I…”

“Rest. Is. Necessary.”

Bella placed her hand on my chest to prevent me from getting up. If it were just that, I might have managed to shake her off, but Blanshe joined in.

“The lady is right. The Count needs to rest.”

“I said I’m fine.”

“That’s your opinion.”

“…Are you following your master’s orders?”

“No. This is my own decision. I’m saying this out of concern for you.”

Blanshe’s hand on my shoulder tightened. And so did Helga’s hand on my other shoulder.

“Don’t worry. We’ve canceled all your schedules for today due to health concerns.”

“Who gave you the right to cancel them?”

“We did, of course.”

Bella was looking down at me.

“You stubborn man. The women who love you are asking this of you.”

“Ba, Count… I also wish you would rest with us today…”

Even Wendy looked at me worriedly from the bedside. The four women were united in stopping me. Even Bella and Helga, who had been bickering earlier, were in sync now.

“Wendy’s right. If necessary, Helga could break your legs.”

“Huh? Me?”

“Aren’t you the kind of person who would do that?”

“No. Even I wouldn’t go that far…”

Helga looked at Bella incredulously, then suddenly muttered as if she had just thought of something.

“Wait, no. If the Count were to stay in bed forever… Hmm. That might not be so bad… What do you think, Count? Your opinion matters most…”

What do I think? As if I’d agree to having my legs broken.

“N, no! Don’t do it! I’ll protect the Count’s legs!”

Wendy, pale with fear, hugged my legs and blocked Helga. Yes. You’re the only one who truly cares for me.

‘Sigh…’

At this point, even I feel my resolve weakening. Everyone’s concern for me is palpable.

It’s an awkward feeling. If I had continued to live stubbornly, as a villain… I would never have felt this way.

The emotion I’m feeling now… was something I had no connection to just a year ago.

I was lonely. No, I had become so accustomed to loneliness that I had forgotten what it felt like. With only one sibling as family, and branded as a criminal for killing my father, there was no one around me… until Park Se-hee appeared.

Back then, if I caught the flu, I would suffer alone at home. No one to care for me, just loneliness.

But now…

“Do you understand? Tristan. You’re not alone.”

“We, we’re here for you…”

“Right. There’s a woman like me for you, Count.”

“I’ll stay by your side until you recover. So don’t worry and rest.”

There are people who care for me like this. This moment must be a happy one for me.

Yes. Happiness.

That was my ultimate goal, what I had desperately fought for 526 times over a year. To save this world and the people I love.

Of course, it’s not complete happiness yet. I won’t stop until Sora wakes up.

But… if the people by my side now are my happiness, the happiness I so desperately want to protect, then I can’t turn away from it.

I finally declared.

“…I give up.”

I surrendered to them… to my happiness.

“I’ll do as you wish.”

No matter how stubborn I am, I couldn’t help but weaken in front of them. It was a natural outcome… but Bella, Helga, Blanshe, and Wendy reacted completely differently than I expected.

What’s this? Why is everyone looking so surprised…

“Tristan…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Make that expression again.”

Huh?

“Hurry! Blanshe. Go to the capital and bring back a good photographer.”

“Yes!”

“Wait. A photographer? What are you talking about?”

“What do you mean? We’re going to take a photo!”

“Suddenly, what’s this about…”

Amidst the confusion, Wendy stared at me blankly and said.

“Um… Ba, Count, I’ve never seen you smile like that before…”

“Smile?”

“Yes…”

Me?

I couldn’t believe it. I rarely showed my emotions and always wore a smile mixed with ‘pride’ or ‘wrath’. But a smile? How could that be possible?

No… more importantly…

For some reason, Helga was taking off my shirt.

“Helga! What are you doing?”

“I’m going to do it.”

Huh?

Helga’s heterochromatic eyes gleamed ominously. As if my body were a feast…

“I can’t hold back anymore.”

“?! Are you crazy?! Wendy’s here too! Get off!”

“How can I resist after seeing that!”

Thud! Helga’s hands made the buttons of my shirt fall off, exposing my chest.

“Blanshe! Grab that… that crazy rabbit!”

“As you command.”

Half out of her mind, Helga struggled as Bella and Blanshe held her back. Wendy, unsure where to intervene, was busy buttoning up my half-removed shirt.

“Huuu… Ah, I can’t see anything…”

Embarrassed, she tightly closed her eyes. As a result, she was buttoning my shirt wrong.

It was a truly chaotic situation, but my heart was equally chaotic.

Did I really smile…?

 

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