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Wendy buried her face in Tristan’s chest. She couldn’t bring herself to lift her head. She didn’t have the confidence to look him straight in the face.

“Wendy… What was I thinking, doing this…?”

Regret immediately washed over her. She had finally said it. Now, she could no longer hide her feelings.

Wendy tightly closed her eyes. She recalled the words Tristan had spoken on the day of the entrance ceremony, as he stepped out of the carriage.

“In ten years, you will have grown into someone more splendid than anyone else.”

Ten years. The time Tristan had given Wendy. It felt longer than ever before.

Wendy was anxious. She feared that Tristan might not wait for her during those ten years. In the end, her impatience gave her the courage to act. No, it might have been a mistake. Because of her confession, she might never be able to return to their previous relationship.

“……”

Tristan remained silent. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Wendy could only anxiously wait for his response.

Then, it happened.

*Rustle.*

“Teacher! What are you doing here?”

“Huh?”

“Did you forget? Today’s the day the medical supplies arrive!”

“Ah? Oh…! Look at me, I completely forgot!”

“Ugh. Hurry up! Everyone’s waiting outside.”

“R-right, I’m coming!”

As the nurse teacher rushed out, silence fell over the health room. Wendy felt as if they were the only two people left in the world. Tristan still hadn’t responded. Unable to wait any longer, Wendy finally lifted her head.

“C-Count…?”

She was both curious and afraid of what expression Tristan might be wearing. When she mustered the courage to look, Tristan’s face was incredibly calm. His eyes were closed, as if he were peacefully asleep, without a trace of worry.

Only then did Wendy realize why Tristan had been so still.

“Count… Are you… asleep?”

Of course, there was no response. The steady sound of his breathing confirmed it. He had fallen asleep before hearing her confession.

“Th-thank goodness…”

Wendy finally felt relieved. All the tension drained from her body. It was a relief that her once-in-a-lifetime confession hadn’t reached him. Even now, she couldn’t understand what had possessed her to say such a thing.

Feeling at ease, Wendy gazed at Tristan’s face. It was the same sleeping face she had seen when she stayed up all night nursing him at the hospital. Now, that face was right in front of her.

Tristan was deeply asleep, not even twitching. No doubt, the fatigue from his relentless efforts had caught up with him. He was always pushing himself in ways no one could see.

Wendy wanted to comfort him, exhausted as he was. So, she reached out and gently stroked his head. The texture of his hair felt pleasant. Afraid of waking him, her touch was cautious.

“Haah…”

Wendy let out a yawn without realizing it. As her tension eased, the fatigue she had been holding back caught up with her. Thinking about it, she hadn’t slept much either and was in a tired state. On top of that, Tristan’s body warmth only made her drowsier.

With bleary eyes, Wendy confirmed that Tristan was deeply asleep. Sneakily, she wriggled closer into his embrace. She could hear the sound of his heartbeat. Listening to it quietly, she felt an immense sense of relief.

“Hehehe…”

Wrapped in a happy feeling, Wendy couldn’t help but giggle. She wanted to act spoiled, to be pampered. And with sleepiness clouding her mind, she even wanted to do things she would never normally dare to do. For example…

Wendy spoke in a small voice.

“Count… Wake up…”

Tristan, deeply asleep, showed no response.

“…I’m a bad girl, Count…”

Wendy brought her finger close to Tristan’s lips.

“I’m a bad girl, so I might do something to you while you’re asleep… So please wake up. Otherwise…”

His lips, touched by her finger, were soft and warm. Surely, a kiss with him would be sweet. It would be as intense as a dream she could never forget.

Wendy exhaled slowly and murmured.

“I really might do something bad…”

Wendy gazed at Tristan’s lips. Stealing a kiss from his sleeping lips would have been so easy. But Wendy couldn’t bring herself to do it. She hadn’t even come first in the exams yet. She hadn’t been granted her wish.

In the end, Wendy brought the finger that had touched his lips to her own. She pressed her lips to the warmth left on her finger. It was the best she could do for now. Even though it was an indirect kiss, her heart trembled uncontrollably. To her, even that was enough to be considered a bad deed.

“N-next time… I might do something even worse… So you have to stop me, Count…”

Wendy closed her eyes in Tristan’s embrace and wished. She wished this moment would never end. She wanted to always be by his side.

“I like you… Count.”

Mumbling like a sleep-talker, Wendy soon fell into a deep sleep.

.

….

……

*Buzz.*

*Buzz.*

“Huh…?”

Wendy woke up to the sound of vibration. The vibration was coming from above her head. When she reached out, she felt a hard hairpin. At the same time, the vibration stopped, and Myohail’s voice was heard.

‘My disciple, are you awake now?’

‘Master…?’

‘But why are you sleeping in a place like this?’

‘Huh…?’

How long had she been asleep? Wendy was alone on the health room bed.

‘Huh…?’

The man who should have been by her side was nowhere to be seen. Only the warmth in the blanket told her that she hadn’t fallen asleep alone.

‘Where’s the Count…?’

‘Yawn… The Count?’

Myohail yawned as he spoke.

‘Hmm? When I woke up, you were alone. Are you still half-asleep?’

*

Somewhere on the streets of Ludlow, the capital of the Meikhael Empire.

“……”

“……”

Two people caught the attention of passersby.

One was a tall, cold-looking beauty. Her neat suit gave her a tidy and dignified appearance.

Beside her was a woman wearing a black military coat. Though her face was mostly hidden by a mask, her beautiful legs, visible beneath her short skirt, drew people’s gazes. Regardless, she stood there, shaking one leg as if dissatisfied with something.

“Ahem…”

Blanshe broke the silence.

“Is there somewhere you’d like to go?”

“……”

Helga didn’t respond. Ignored, Blanshe didn’t give up and asked again.

“Would you like to take a walk with me?”

“……”

“Hey…?”

“……”

“A walk…?”

“……”

Finally, Helga looked at Blanshe. Her eyes seemed to say that Blanshe was the most pitiful person in the world. Only then did Blanshe remember the muzzle on Helga’s mouth.

“Ah, I’ll take it off for you.”

Blanshe tried to remove it, but Helga shook her head. Immediately after, she casually removed the muzzle herself. Somehow, she had also already undone the handcuffs restraining her hands.

“…Do you think I couldn’t remove this thing myself?”

“Then why…?”

“Why? Because the Count ordered me to wear it.”

Helga spoke as if it were obvious.

“And a walk? Why should I take a walk with you?”

“Because our lady ordered it.”

“…Do you really think I’d follow such a ridiculous order? Are you an idiot?”

“……”

Blanshe’s eyes narrowed. She wanted to retort but decided to let it go.

“I don’t want to take a walk with you either, the Count’s bodyguard. More than anything, I don’t have the bad taste to walk around with someone wearing a leash like a dog.”

“…?”

At first, Helga didn’t understand, but then she realized Blanshe was referring to the leash around her neck.

“Hoho… If you keep running your mouth like that, should I pierce another hole in you? So you can talk out of one and drool out of the other.”

“That’s interesting. Loyal doggy.”

“I have a name, you know? It’s Helga. Tall cat.”

The two smiled and glared at each other. Their smiles were chilling enough to lower the temperature around them. But neither showed any sign of backing down.

“Well. Don’t worry, cat. As long as the Count doesn’t order it, I have no intention of harming you.”

“Is that so…? I’m more surprised you think you have the ability to harm me.”

“Hoho… Didn’t you fail to dodge my attack last time?”

Blanshe tilted her head at that.

“I clearly dodged it. At most, it grazed me.”

“So you were hit. A graze is still a hit.”

Blanshe sighed at Helga’s words.

“That was just the wind pressure. I definitely dodged the weapon you swung.”

“What kind of nonsense is that? The wind pressure is part of my attack.”

“Wind pressure doesn’t hurt, so it doesn’t count as an attack.”

“Wow. Is that so? Then I guess I didn’t hit you with the wind pressure? Should I try hitting you with wind pressure for real now?”

“Go ahead if you can.”

Blanshe shrugged. Helga glared at her sharply.

“Ha… You know, you owe your life to our Count.”

“…To the Count?”

Blanshe’s calm expression cracked at that.

“Yes. If the Count hadn’t stopped me that day, you would have died by my hand.”

“Don’t talk as if that man showed me mercy. It’s disgusting.”

Blanshe growled. Though her cold tone might have made others shrink back, Helga just chuckled.

“Hoho… I know everything.”

“…? Know what?”

“If you’re jealous, just say it. You’re jealous that I serve such a wonderful man, aren’t you?”

“Jealous…?”

At first, Blanshe didn’t understand what Helga meant, but her face gradually turned bright red.

“Wh-who’s jealous of whom?!”

“Ah, look at you, all red. You’re embarrassed.”

“Do I look embarrassed right now?! I’m angry!”

Blanshe exploded, but Helga ignored her and continued.

“Ah, you don’t know how good it is to serve the Count. Last time, I even wiped the sweat off him after his workout. Though the handkerchief was taken away… Ah, of course, I secretly retrieved it. Hohohoho… How about it? Jealous?”

“Not at all! Not even a bit!”

The two bickered on the street. The intense atmosphere made people pass by them in quick steps.

Then, it happened.

“Hey! You owe me money!”

A shout came from across the street.

 

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