“What…?”

Sia couldn’t hide her confusion.

Tristan’s words were completely unexpected.

Although the smallest of the Seven Stars, the Riumin family had long been loyal servants of the Imperial Family.

They were clearly in an antagonistic relationship with the Ruelberta family, who constantly threatened the Imperial Family.

So, for Tristan to speak highly of our family…?

Moreover, he said he would overlook Sia’s mistake because of it.

She didn’t know how to react.

Wendy was probably a student from a family as influential as Sia’s.

The Chairman would likely know that. Yet, his power was so immense that he could punish Wendy.

No, was there even anything this man feared?

So, Tristan’s favor towards Sia wasn’t out of fear of Riumin.

That scoundrel had acknowledged Riumin.

……

It didn’t feel bad to be acknowledged by this man.

No, it felt strange.

It wasn’t any of the Seven Stars families.

Only the Ruelberta family, enemies of the Imperial Family, had recognized Riumin’s silent loyalty.

Sia suppressed her rising emotions and spoke.

Her demeanor was much more relaxed than before.

“……Thank you for your words, Chairman. But a mistake is a mistake. So, you must discipline me. For the sake of my family’s honor.”

“……”

Tristan was silent for a moment.

His expressionless face had a decadent gaze fixed on Sia.

The young Chairman, not much older than Sia, made her feel a bit embarrassed under his gaze.

“Understood.”

Tristan looked away from Sia.

“However, both of you will be punished.”

“?!”

Wendy flinched.

“Chairman! My, my mistake-!”

“Be quiet, Wendy.”

“…Hiccup!”

Now it was Sia who was upset.

“W-wait a minute. Wendy didn’t do anything wrong?”

“Lying to me is a serious crime.”

“There’s no such law!”

“In this school, I am the law. If you can’t follow my words, I’ll hand you over to the disciplinary committee. There, you’ll be punished fairly.”

“Ugh…”

Sia bowed her head in frustration.

She was ashamed that she had momentarily seen this man differently.

Clenching her teeth, she spoke.

“Then I’ll take the punishment for both of us-!”

“Stop deluding yourself, Sia Riumin.”

“…!”

At that moment, Sia couldn’t help but hold her breath.

“You’re just a student. Do you think you can bear my punishment?”

The atmosphere changed with Tristan’s wrath.

Sia couldn’t speak, feeling as if her heart was being squeezed.

“Is that so?”

“……That’s.”

“Answer me.”

Sia barely managed to squeeze out a response.

“N-no…. I’m sorry…. I’m sorry.”

Simultaneously, Tristan’s anger subsided.

Only then could Sia finally exhale.

It was a truly terrifying experience.

Only then did she fully understand why Tristan was such a notorious noble.

It wasn’t a sensation one could feel facing an ordinary human.

Was it like facing a beast or a monstrous creature? Or perhaps… a demon.

‘Maybe… being handed over to the disciplinary committee would have been better…’

She blamed herself for her mistake.

If she had thought a bit more, she might have remembered.

That Tristan was a genius of evil deeds.

From now on, he would mete out punishments beyond her imagination.

“……I will follow your wishes, Chairman. I will… comply.”

“That’s something to look forward to.”

Tristan spoke as if mocking Sia, who had resigned herself to her fate.

“I wonder how well the Riumin lady can clean.”

“……Huh?”

Wait…. what, what did he say?

“…Cl-cleaning?”

“Yes. Both of you will clean my office every day for this semester. That is your punishment. Of course…”

As he spoke, the corner of Tristan’s mouth twitched slightly.

It was a wicked smile.

“Refuse, and you’ll be expelled.”

With those final words, Tristan walked past them and disappeared down the hallway.

*

“Ah… I never thought such a day would come for me…”

A few days later, Helga, fully recovered, appeared before me.

She had finally become my Bodyguard Knight.

“How is it? Does it suit me…?”

“Not bad.”

“Hehe… right?”

Helga showed off her coat, fluttering it before me.

The clothes I had commissioned from Ruelcia were finally complete.

I had requested a design she wanted, and judging by her reaction, they turned out well.

The outfit she wore was a military-style coat similar to Aslan’s uniform.

But it had a black lion embroidered on it, giving it a luxurious feel whenever the light reflected off it.

From now on, she would wear this uniform and assist me.

Helga smiled brightly, clearly pleased with the situation, and opened the inside of her coat.

“Look. The inner uniform is also very pretty, right? The tie is made from salamander leather, and the shoes are made from dragon scales.”

“……”

I felt a slight headache.

The uniform Helga wore inside the coat was a design I had seen somewhere. Yes. It resembled Meikhael University’s school uniform.

So, Helga looked like a dignified high school student wearing a military coat… no, that’s not important right now.

Because…

“Helga.”

“Ah, yes?”

“Get the skirt remade.”

“Huh… why?”

The skirt Helga wore was a tight H-line skirt.

The problem was its length…

“If you plan to guard me looking like that, return to Aslan immediately.”

It was ridiculously short.

Her thin thighs were clearly visible beneath the skirt, making it hard to know where to look.

She wasn’t some delinquent high school student.

“This makes it easier to kick.”

“…Like that?”

“Eh~. Don’t worry. I’ll only show my legs to you, Count.”

“That’s not the issue.”

“Hehe. I may look like this, but I’m quite confident in my legs!”

Helga sat across from me, crossing her legs seductively and giving me a sly smile.

The only saving grace was that she wasn’t bare-legged.

Her legs, clad in black stockings, reflected the light, making them look even more alluring.

But that sight didn’t stimulate me at all.

No… there was some stimulation.

The moment I saw her legs, a forgotten setting flashed in my mind.

At the same time, I wanted to test something.

“How is it? You can keep looking. Hehe… ah! If you want, you can even touch…”

“Alright.”

“Huh… what?”

I put down my tea and stood up, approaching Helga.

“Wha-what?!”

“Close your eyes.”

“Huh? Wh-what?! Wait a minute!”

“It’s an order.”

“Ugh…!”

Helga reluctantly covered her unpatched eye with her right hand.

Her left hand tightly gripped her skirt. She had been so eager to show off her legs earlier, but now she was desperately trying to cover them with her palm.

“Wh-what are you going to do?!”

“Stay still until I tell you to open your eyes.”

“No! Count, are you really going to… my legs?!”

What I pulled out was a common ointment available in stores.

An ointment that, when applied to wounds, gradually heals them—something you could find in the real world.

The only difference was that I had infused it with a lot of magical power.

“Wait! Wait! Count! Stop!”

Ignoring Helga’s pleas, I used a teaspoon to float the ointment in the air.

I scooped a spoonful and let it drop onto Helga’s leg.

“Gyah?!”

“Don’t move.”

Helga shivered.

I manipulated the teaspoon to spread the ointment on her leg. It should work even over the stockings.

“Ah! It tickles! It tickles! Stop!”

Helga tried to grab the teaspoon with her remaining left hand but failed.

Manipulating a teaspoon like this was nothing to me now.

The teaspoon dodged Helga’s hand and meticulously applied the ointment to her leg.

“Ah! There…! If you touch me like that! Ah! Hic! Hmph!”

Helga, writhing like an octopus, started breathing heavily. She was overreacting.

Time to test it.

I focused and activated the magical power infused in the ointment.

This experiment was to see if I could arbitrarily increase the healing effect of the ointment.

I carefully manipulated the evenly spread magical power.

Helga’s shoulder twitched.

“Th-this sensation is definitely the Count’s hand…! If you touch me like this, I’ll…! I’ll have to marry my brother…!”

She started babbling nonsense.

Was it working?

I guess… I’ll have to check.

I manipulated the magical power.

The teaspoon flickered sharply.

Sizzle-!

Helga let out an uncharacteristic scream.

“Kyaa! No, no!”

“…It’s working.”

It was definitely working.

Through the torn stockings, Helga’s bare leg was visible.

The large and small scars on her leg were gradually fading.

The ointment’s effect was amplified by the magical power.

Just as I had predicted.

Now that I could handle magical power, learning healing magic wouldn’t be difficult.

But it would be problematic if it became known that I could use magic.

Carrying ointment infused with magical power like this would be useful for emergencies.

Thus, the experiment was successful. But…

“Hic… no, no… my… my scarred legs… please don’t look… hic…”

Helga was on the verge of tears.

This was why she could only wear black stockings.

No matter how strong she acted, Helga was still a delicate girl.

The scars she had earned from countless battlefields.

She was proud of them, yet also ashamed—a contradictory emotion within her.

Aslan’s uniform didn’t expose much, so it wasn’t a problem, but now that Helga had become a Bodyguard Knight, she received a new uniform.

And she had chosen the skirt to look good in front of me.

I appreciated her sentiment.

Helga tried to cover her legs.

“Don’t look…! These ugly legs…”

“They’re not ugly.”

“No…! The scars… you’ll feel bad if you see my legs…”

“Open your eyes, Helga.”

“Ugh…”

Helga finally opened her eyes.

At the same time, she tried to cover her legs with both hands.

“Huh?”

But Helga stopped in her tracks.

She must have felt something was off.

Her legs, which should have been covered in large and small scars, were now shining in the light.

“Wha-what?! My legs?! My legs?!”

Helga, unable to believe it, touched and examined her legs, but the many scars were almost gone.

“H-how did you do this?”

“This.”

I handed the ointment to Helga.

“This is…?”

“……Expensive ointment.”

I vaguely explained.

After all, scar treatment was something even professional healers could do.

It wouldn’t be strange if such ointment existed in this world.

Fortunately, Helga seemed to accept that.

“Wow, amazing… I guess it’s because it’s expensive…”

“I’ll give it to you.”

“Huh?”

“You don’t have to use it. If you want to live with your scars, that’s fine. If they’re your pride, that’s okay too. But if you keep applying this, the scars on your legs will disappear.”

Of course, it would be much less effective than my magical manipulation, but it still served its purpose as an ointment.

It was up to her to decide.

“…Then you can proudly show off your legs. You can live with that pride from now on. As my loyal servant, you have the right to do so….”

Helga bowed her head.

Tears like chicken droppings fell from her unpatched eye.

“Yes… I will. If that happens… I’ll show you first, Count.”

“…Do as you please.”

I returned to my seat and took a sip of tea.

A moment of relaxation was necessary for today’s schedule.

And I informed Helga, who was still overwhelmed with emotion.

“But that skirt is a no. Go get it altered right now.”