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Helga swallowed hard.

“Father… you killed him?”

“Yes.”

It was too much to be a joke.

No, Tristan wasn’t the type to joke about such things.

“When I said I killed Father, the relatives immediately had me hospitalized. They said it couldn’t be true.”

For young Helga, it was a story she couldn’t handle.

She didn’t know whether to comfort him or blame him.

After a moment, what came out of her mouth was neither comfort nor blame.

“Why did you kill him…?”

“Because he deserved to die.”

It was an immediate answer.

Without a hint of guilt, Tristan added calmly.

“I don’t regret killing Father. Even if I went back to that time, I would kill him again.”

“…Was it really necessary to go that far? No matter how bad he was, he was still your father.”

“Father left me with scars that can never be erased. And he gave me an unquenchable wrath.”

“Wrath…?”

“Yes.”

The atmosphere was suffocating, as if it would crush her.

It might have been her imagination, but Tristan’s voice seemed to tremble.

Helga couldn’t help but tense up.

“At first, I thought my life was quite splendid. I was born into a wealthy and honorable noble family and grew up without want. But… it was all my delusion. Born into a cursed family, I was pointed at for not being able to use magic. That man called Father was a lunatic who constantly tormented me. It was only after I killed him that I realized why he wanted to leave such indelible scars on me.”

Tristan’s mouth twisted.

He was smiling.

“To make me feel wrath. Wrath against this absurd world.”

Absurdity.

The moment she heard that word, Helga’s injured eye hurt as if it had been gouged out.

The same sensation as when her magic control failed. She instinctively covered her eye.

The wound on her eye had already healed.

Her pain came from wounds that hadn’t healed.

A half-baked failure who couldn’t even handle magic properly.

A burden to the family.

A dirty illegitimate child.

The shame of the Wolfbert family.

A scar that would remain in Helga’s memory forever. It was the same for Tristan.

‘Ah… you’re just like me.’

Helga didn’t know what kind of life Tristan had lived.

But he had a wrath that a young boy her age shouldn’t have.

And that emotion resembled hers.

“Wrath is the power to destroy… the power to ruin everything. I will take everything into my hands. And I will ruin everything.”

Tristan wasn’t crazy.

He was just someone who wanted to seize his ideals with power, like her father, Gale.

But… that path would not be blessed by anyone.

He would have to fight against fierce criticism and those who claimed to be justice.

‘Like a Demon Lord…’

Helga’s heart raced.

At the fact that only she understood his ideals.

At the fact that only she was qualified to walk with him.

“I will ruin this crazy world.”

Even if the end is destruction.

Tristan’s words ended, but Helga couldn’t say anything.

She was captivated by the strange emotion of witnessing the birth of a Demon Lord.

So, it was Tristan who spoke first again.

But his expression was subtle.

“…Are you okay?”

“Huh…?”

Only then did Helga realize something hot was flowing down her cheek.

Blood was dripping from her injured left eye.

…She never said it was actually tears.

*

Helga stood in the cold rain.

Her military coat had been soaked for a long time.

Heavy with rainwater, it weighed down her shoulders.

She didn’t know how much time had passed.

A day… maybe two?

No, it didn’t matter.

She didn’t want to know, and there was no need to know.

She just… wished she could stand there and die. Helga thought.

She had been standing there ever since Tristan dismissed her.

During that time, Helga thought about what she had done wrong.

She thoroughly punishes the enemy.

That’s why she attacked the enemy.

There should have been no mistake in that action.

Very faintly, doubt sprouted in Helga’s heart.

Tristan often sent her on missions.

It was all because Helga was competent.

As a weak child, Helga had trained relentlessly after meeting Tristan.

Her once muscle-less body was now covered in firm muscles, and her clumsy magic manipulation had developed to an excellent level.

All to keep up with Tristan.

Helga had grown enough to become the Deputy Commander of Aslan.

Her competence had been sufficiently proven.

But Tristan didn’t accept her as a Bodyguard Knight.

Instead, he kept sending her on distant missions.

Was it because she had become too competent?

Or perhaps… maybe… was he just trying to keep his distance from her?

Did he no longer need her?

“Don’t ever appear before me again.”

When those words came to mind, she couldn’t move.

The moment she left this spot, her heart felt like it would shatter.

It was then that she heard a voice through the rain.

“A-are you okay…?”

When Helga turned her eyes, a small girl with her hair in twin braids was looking at her with concern.

The uniform peeking out from under the umbrella looked quite luxurious.

“You… I don’t recognize you.”

“Huh…? W-we met the other day…”

“Sorry. I tend to forget things that aren’t related to the Count.”

“Ah… yes. I-I’m… Wendy, the Count’s Exclusive Maid…”

“…Exclusive Maid?”

Helga frowned.

Tristan wasn’t the type to have an Exclusive Maid.

He wasn’t the type to keep anyone by his side.

After all, even Helga, who had served Tristan for a long time, wasn’t accepted as a Bodyguard Knight.

But… this little girl introduced herself as the Count’s Exclusive Maid.

“That’s strange…”

That wasn’t the only suspicious thing.

Why was she wearing a school uniform in the first place, even if she was an Exclusive Maid?

…Could it be the Count’s preference?

Helga shook her head.

No. That couldn’t be.

There was no way the Count had a preference she didn’t know about.

“U-um…”

“?”

“The Count… he didn’t mean what he said…”

Wendy spoke without making eye contact, as if scared.

“Helga… you’ve been standing there for so long… he didn’t say anything, but he must be worried…”

What on earth was this girl talking about?

Helga opened her mouth.

“…What do you know about the Count, to say such things?”

She hadn’t intended to get angry from the start.

But as she spoke, the emotions bottled up inside her burst out.

“Don’t act like you know the Count! I… I know him best!”

At her words, the girl named Wendy fell silent.

Perhaps she had nothing to say.

Or maybe she pitied Helga.

Eventually, Wendy bowed her head politely.

“…I’m sorry. As you said, Helga, I still don’t know much about the Count… but…”

“…?”

“You’re the same, Helga.”

“…What did you say?”

Helga’s eyes flashed.

Was this brat crazy?

But Wendy, without even looking at Helga, placed something in front of her.

“…I’ll leave this here… I hope you’ll eat it…”

“What…?”

It was an umbrella and a steaming cup. From the smell, it seemed to be soup.

“Then… see you later…”

“Wait! Don’t just leave!”

Despite Helga’s call, Wendy ignored her and disappeared somewhere.

In the end, Helga was left alone in front of the mansion.

She was on the verge of exploding with frustration.

“…Who would drink something like this…?”

But the soup smelled rich.

A savory aroma that rose even through the rain.

Probably a soup full of mushrooms.

Just one sip would surely thaw Helga’s frozen body.

“Damn it…”

She felt humiliated.

She felt like she had been tricked by that sly little brat who called herself an Exclusive Maid.

“She looks innocent, but to set such a trap…”

Coincidentally, there was no one in front of the mansion.

Was this also part of Wendy’s meticulous calculations?

For Helga, who hadn’t eaten for days, it was a temptation hard to resist.

She glared at the soup Wendy had left with a murderous look.

“Just a little soup like this…”

If she downed it in one go, no one would know, right?

She was the Deputy Commander of Aslan, capable of taking down monstrous beasts in one strike.

A mere cup of soup like that could be taken down in one gulp.

Helga bent down and picked up the soup cup placed neatly under the umbrella.

It was warm.

Just holding it was thawing her body.

Helga focused all her nerves.

She would make that warmth entirely her own.

With that resolve, she poured the contents of the cup into her mouth with a bold motion.

So, she didn’t notice him approaching until he was close, the sound masked by the rain.

When Helga met his emotionless, cold eyes.

“Co-Count, pfft!”

She spat out the hot soup she had been holding in her mouth.

 

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