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If you want something, take it by force.

That was what Helga’s father, Baron Gale Wolfbert, used to say like a habit.

It was definitely something Gale, who had raised the status of the Wolfbert family with his bare hands, would say.

In Gale’s younger days, the Empire’s seas were teeming with pirates.

As a fisherman, Gale had no choice but to frequently clash with pirates.

But Gale, who was incredibly strong, would personally deal with the pirates, which caught the attention of the Imperial Navy, and he was scouted.

Once he joined the Navy, Gale rose through the ranks.

Participating in pirate suppression operations, he made remarkable achievements and contributed greatly to protecting the Empire’s waters.

The fact that he was a descendant of Boris Wolfbert, who was praised as a hero of the sea, also helped his rise to prominence.

As a reward, Gale received a noble title and rose to the position of an honorary Navy Admiral.

Everything he had achieved was through his own strength. It was something to be proud of.

Gale’s children, who inherited his exceptional abilities, all joined the military and followed the path of soldiers.

All except for one, his youngest daughter, Helga.

Unlike her brothers, Helga had been frail since birth and was often sick.

She spent most of her childhood in the hospital.

It was a monotonous life.

The stifling reality of staying in an all-white hospital room, wearing all-white patient clothes.

In that suffocating room, there was hardly any entertainment for young Helga.

At best, it was just reading books borrowed by the servant who visited daily.

Helga didn’t complain about her situation.

Because with books, she could immerse herself in another world.

Because she could escape reality and become the protagonist.

Books were her sanctuary and escape.

Unlike her father or brothers, her skinny body was severely weak.

Her stamina was so poor that even walking was a struggle, and no matter how hard she looked, there were no muscles to be seen.

Helga thought.

With this body, I can’t achieve anything. I can’t become anything.

The more she was consumed by a sense of helplessness, the more Helga immersed herself in reading.

Because only when she read could she possess anything.

Because with just the strength to turn the pages, she could gain stories.

During her hospital stay, Helga read countless books.

Eventually, the books brought by the servant weren’t enough.

So she went to the library on the top floor of the hospital.

There, it was filled with fairy tales for children much younger than her.

So what if it’s a bit childish?

Helga went to the library every day to read fairy tales.

Fortunately, among them, there were stories that Helga found interesting.

Specifically, fairy tales based on the legends of heroes.

Stories of brave heroes and warriors saving the world from an evil Demon Lord.

But the character that impressed Helga wasn’t the hero—it was the Demon Lord.

The Demon Lord was strong.

So strong that even when heroes and warriors attacked together, he wouldn’t budge.

The Demon Lord was lonely.

While heroes and warriors always had comrades, the Demon Lord led monstrous beasts alone.

Perhaps because she had read so many books.

Helga found the Demon Lord, who sought to change the world, more appealing than the heroes who shouted about justice.

She even wanted to cheer for the Demon Lord.

After all, the Demon Lord doesn’t exist in this world.

So it’s fine to cheer for him, right?

But not long after, Helga met the Demon Lord.

Not in a story, but in reality.

The moment she first saw him, Helga couldn’t take her eyes off him.

In her usual spot in the library.

There, the Demon Lord was.

A pale-skinned, black-haired nobleman.

His cold gaze scanned the pages of the book.

It was actually a ridiculous scene if you thought about it.

A boy around 10 years old, sitting arrogantly, seriously reading a fairy tale meant for children.

Was he even a patient?

But upon closer inspection, he wore a bracelet with medical records, just like Helga.

It was just that the boy was reading a book there, but it felt like the atmosphere around him had changed.

Perhaps because his appearance was so intellectual and there was an inexplicably decadent aura about him.

No, even excluding all that, the boy stood out.

“Black….”

The boy was dressed entirely in black.

In this hospital, everyone, doctors and patients alike, wore white.

His attire didn’t fit here at all.

But the boy in black sat there with a noble air, as if he had always been there.

He resembled the Demon Lord Helga had seen in fairy tales.

In fairy tales, heroes were always white, and the Demon Lord was depicted in striking black.

From then on, Helga came to the library every day to watch the Demon Lord.

At first, she watched him from a distance, but gradually, she closed the gap.

She couldn’t resist wanting to know his identity.

Every day, she got a little closer to the boy.

Until then, they had silently read fairy tales without exchanging a word.

And finally, on the day she sat across from him, Helga spoke first.

“Hey. You there….”

“…….”

“Hey….”

“…….”

The boy kept his head down, reading.

At first, she thought he hadn’t heard, but he was simply ignoring her.

She got up abruptly, annoyed.

“Hey. Isn’t it polite to answer when someone calls you?”

“…… What do you want?”

The boy finally looked up with a sigh.

At the same time, Helga couldn’t help but be startled.

The boy in front of her was more handsome than she had thought.

With his long black hair, if not for his voice, she might have mistaken him for a girl.

“……?”

The boy tilted his head, waiting for her to speak.

Helga cleared her throat and spoke.

“Ahem…. No, it’s nothing…. Don’t the nurses say anything about you dressing like that?”

Helga pointed at his black clothes.

The boy replied nonchalantly.

“…No one in this hospital can reprimand me.”

A fittingly Demon Lord-like response, you could say.

His tone was arrogant, not matching his age.

It was absurd for a kid to talk as if he owned the hospital.

But…. Somehow, Helga didn’t dislike this boy.

Instead, intrigued, Helga opened her mouth.

“Your name….”

“…?”

“What’s your name?”

At that, the boy frowned.

“…Why do you want to know?”

“Just…. We’re the only ones here reading books every day. It’s fine to know each other’s names, right? I’m Helga Wolfbert. And you?”

Afraid of being rejected, Helga abruptly stuck out her hand.

But the boy didn’t take it.

He just muttered in a low voice.

“…Tristan Ruelberta.”

*

“Here you are.”

Blanshe bowed to me after finishing class.

Behind her was Wendy, looking utterly drained for some reason.

“Today’s class is over. I’ll be returning to the Duke’s residence now.”

“Alright.”

“But…. Who is this?”

At Blanshe’s question, Helga behind me politely greeted her.

“Nice to meet you. I am Helga Wolfbert, Count Tristan’s ‘only’ bodyguard knight.”

“Bodyguard knight?”

“Bo-bodyguard knight?”

Both of them looked at me with confused expressions.

I sighed and introduced Helga.

“She is the deputy commander of Aslan. I have never had a bodyguard knight.”

“I see….”

Then, Blanshe spoke as if she remembered something.

“Aslan…. Are you perhaps part of the Steel Lion Order?”

“Oh? You know your stuff.”

“Yes. I have… some connection.”

Blanshe glanced at me with an indescribable expression.

Even though it was a short period, she had once been part of Aslan.

Though she worked as an assassin, Blanshe’s official affiliation was Aslan.

Her records had long been erased, but it seemed Blanshe was reminiscing about those times.

Unaware of this, Helga asked Blanshe with interest.

“You have a connection with Aslan? What is your relationship with the Ruelberta family?”

“A stubborn bad relationship.”

“…A bad relationship?”

“Yes.”

“I see….”

Helga stroked her chin.

That was a bad sign.

“So, you’re saying you’re an enemy of the Ruelberta family?”

“…You could say that.”

“I see. So you’re an enemy.”

“?!”

A flash of light.

If Blanshe hadn’t turned her head with superhuman reflexes, her head wouldn’t have been safe.

Moreover, if Blanshe hadn’t shielded Wendy beside her, it could have been dangerous.

A thin line of blood trickled down Blanshe’s cheek as she narrowly avoided the attack.

Blanshe growled at Helga.

“…What do you think you’re doing? Wendy could have been hurt!”

“I thought you were just a stray dog, but you can dodge too. Not bad.”

“A stray dog?”

“Oh my…. My apologies. My temper got the better of me….”

Helga held an iron rod in her hand, which she had somehow drawn. It was a nunchaku connected by chains.

But unlike ordinary nunchaku, sparks crackled whenever the two iron rods met.

Helga, holding the electrified nunchaku casually, spoke as politely as when she had greeted earlier.

“If you’re an enemy, you should have said so from the start. It would have saved us the trouble.”

Then, with a cheerful expression, Helga delivered a line I had heard from an anime character.

“Count. It seems these people all deserve the death penalty, don’t they?”

 

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