Restraint
Around the time the winds began to turn warm and sticky, a festival mood had already settled over the Imperial Magic Academy.
The last week of first-semester classes was wrapping up, and vacation was finally at the door.
"Finally! First semester's over...!"
The moment Friday's final period ended, Yuri stretched her stiff body with a long, luxurious pull and let out a cry of pure joy.
The classes themselves had been fun enough. But once she started studying, greed took over — she signed up for everything, until her weekly schedule had no free hours left except the weekends. And whatever weekday evenings and weekends remained evaporated into shifts at Belmont Security. In practice, her free time barely scraped ten hours a month.
It had been enjoyable while she was in the thick of it. Looking back now, though, the schedule had been nothing short of hellish.
So would she lighten her course load next semester?
I want to pack my time even fuller...!
Absolutely not. Studying had given her so much. Focusing solely on training was less effective than studying the theory of body-enhancement magic, which actually accelerated her growth. She would keep getting stronger, stacking credentials and experience, aiming for a rise in status — all so she could diligently work toward becoming Aslan Belmont's wife...
Wait.
Is this... really right...?
The Dark Mister flashed through her mind, and Yuri bit down hard on her lip.
I like the Dark Mister. The only person I like is the Dark Mister. Is it really okay to marry someone like Aslan Belmont? It's a marriage without feelings, and the plan is to divorce the moment it's done — but once I've already been someone else's wife, will the Dark Mister still take me in?
The more she thought about it, the more she hated the plan of becoming a countess just to block Charlotte and Yulia's marriages. Did she really have to do it? Wasn't there another way? Had she buried herself so deep in one idea that she couldn't see any others?
Once she became a countess, there would be no going back. Right now, there still was. If she simply gave up cleanly, she wouldn't have to become Aslan’s wife at all.
Yuri clenched her fists tight and resolved to find another way to get Charlotte and Yulia back.
"Hey, Yuri? There's a letter for you at the dorm..."
"Really? Hehehe! Thanks!"
A student handed her an envelope. Yuri shot to her feet and snatched it up at once. Every student watching squeezed their eyes shut.
So there really is something going on with Count Belmont...
The second the letter touched her hands, Yuri's serious face bloomed with color. That bright smile never appeared in ordinary life. The sender was obvious without looking. It had to be Count Belmont — the man who monopolized what little free time she had on her days off.
People had wondered whether her occasional meetings with the count were purely Belmont Security business. But they met far too often, and in far too many different places, for that to be true. It looked less like work and more like a man and a woman inventing excuses to see each other's faces...
"Gaaah! Our Yuri!"
"Hey! This guy's coughing up blood again!"
"Hold it together, man! How are you going to survive when she sends wedding invitations?!"
"Gaaah! Gaaaaaah!!!"
Yuri was meeting a man? The idol of the Imperial Magic Academy? And not just any man — Count Belmont, the one with the widespread rumor that he looked at children with lecherous eyes?
The moment that thought landed, wails broke out left and right.
"Are we just going to sit here and watch? Are we going to let Count Belmont snatch our Yuri away?!"
"What are we supposed to do? The guy already throws around power on the level of a grand duke..."
"We don't have to fight Count Belmont head-on to protect Yuri. I've got one brilliant idea."
"What is it?"
Wiping the blood from his lips, the student smirked. He waited for the others to crowd in, then murmured in a low voice:
"Everyone knows a Saint chosen by the gods can't marry, right? So we just make Yuri into a Sai—"
"Oh, for crying out loud. Say something that makes sense."
"This guy lost it ages ago. Someone call the asylum."
"Turns out it wasn't coughing blood — it was a brain hemorrhage..."
I was an idiot for listening seriously. The tension broke, and the gathered students scattered in a noisy rush. Was it truly impossible to protect the school's idol from the count who radiated such a ghastly aura in real time?
The heavy question only deepened. The sunset that evening was beautiful for no good reason at all.
"Hehehe. A letter from the Dark Mister...!"
Meanwhile, Yuri locked her dorm room door, humming as she opened the envelope. Scritch-scritch — she carefully pried at the seal with a dull knife.
"Slowly... slowly... Ah?!"
Her strength slipped; the knife jerked. The envelope and seal tore open. She had wanted to keep every single one pristine...!
Yuri's face crumpled on the verge of tears. Still — at least the letter paper itself was unharmed. She sniffled back both tears and snot and, heart fluttering again, unfolded the sheet.
I received your vacation plans. But isn't your schedule packed a little too tightly? I'm quite worried you'll wear yourself out being so busy...
Yuri read on with a glowing face. Then, around the middle, her expression began to harden.
"Skip this training entirely?!"
The instruction came completely out of nowhere. Suddenly, without warning, she was ordered not to attend the Imperial Guard field training? The Dark Mister had never once told her directly not to do something, which made it all the more bewildering. He had always cheered and supported whatever she chose...
Why?
She searched the letter for a reason and found none. Just a bare order: Do not attend.
"You could at least tell me why..."
Yuri's cheeks puffed out. She knew full well that if the Dark Mister said it, there had to be a good reason. She could also guess that the reason was difficult to explain, which was why he had left it out. Even so — the man who always spoke to her in such a warm tone had come down so sharply. She couldn't help feeling sulky.
"This is annoying."
If the Dark Mister gave an order, how could she possibly refuse? Of course she would obey... She just hated having to obey without knowing the reason. At the very least, something like, I can't tell you the reason right now, so please trust me for the moment. I'll explain later, would have been enough.
"I hate feeling like I'm being restrained..."
Six months had passed since she escaped the orphanage, where every hour, every minute, every second of her life had been watched and controlled. The Dark Mister knew better than anyone how much she despised that life. For that same man to try to bind her now made something hot and miserable well up inside her.
This wouldn't do. She had to send a protest.
"To the Dark Mister..."
Yuri wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and picked up her pen. It was time to settle this.
"Mister, you've been getting a lot of letters lately, huh?"
"Have I? Must be because it's tax season."
"Ahh...!"
Thud-thud-thud. Charlotte came running in with an armful of mail and dumped the whole pile onto my desk. I ruffled her hair in thanks; she leaned into my hand with a blissful little sound. Good kid.
"Let's see..."
I flipped through the envelopes. Sure enough, one from the Imperial Magic Academy turned up. Lately they seemed to go back and forth almost every day. Couldn't be helped. Yuri and I had been having something that wasn't quite an argument...
"Maybe I should have bent a little."
No. Even so, the Imperial Guard training was a hard no. Wrong was wrong. My chest might ache, but I didn't regret it in the slightest.
I steeled myself and opened the envelope. The letter paper that was usually packed edge to edge was nearly empty this time. How many sentences was this? Barely three?
Dear Dark Mister,
Okay. I'll do as you say.
I won't ask questions and I won't argue — I'll just obediently follow your orders.
I won't be sending any letters during vacation, so please take note of that.
— Yuri
A hollow laugh escaped me the instant I read it. This kid was seriously mad at me.
I sighed at the bitterness of it all — and then:
"My lord. A guest has arrived at the front gate."
"Ah. She's finally here?"
"Yes. The one you summoned..."
Silvia threw the door open with the news. I shoved the letter into a drawer and stood at once. So she had come.
I stepped outside with a stride that was quick but not undignified — and found myself face-to-face with Yuri, lifting the hem of her skirt in greeting, her eyes full of open hostility.
"Ah... good day. As of today, I will be imposing on the Belmont estate for the duration of the vacation... I look forward to your care, Count..."
And why, exactly, was Yuri here?
Simple reason.
"Right. I heard from your sponsor. Welcome."
"..."
The fierce exchange of nearly ten letters had ended with my order that she spend the entire vacation at the Belmont estate.