I Must Not Yield
Ah, damn it. At this rate it's going to look like Aslan Belmont and I are of one mind...
Yuri cleared her throat in a hurry, feeling like she wanted to crawl into a mouse hole and disappear.
She'd been thinking to herself that the two of them were just a pair of cute kids measuring acorns against each other, but she hadn't dared say it out loud—until Aslan Belmont said it for her, and she found herself nodding along without thinking.
Aslan Belmont. Looks like he has at least a basic sense of culture. Hmm, hmm...
Charlotte's endless purity and cheerful personality were her strengths, and even the way her intelligence would occasionally rocket skyward into cunning was part of the charm. Yulia's boundless confidence in her specialty was a strength, and the way she became abruptly timid and clingy the moment she stepped even one foot outside that field—that protectiveness-stirring quality was peak charm itself.
These were things Yuri had learned watching Charlotte and Yulia for years...
And Aslan Belmont had figured it all out in less than four months?
She was starting to reassess him a little. She'd thought he was just a shameless pervert who liked little kids indiscriminately. Looking at it now, he was a man of culture who could recognize Charlotte and Yulia's true worth for what they were.
To think he'd been watching the two of them that carefully...
Rather than marrying them off to some good-for-nothing who had no interest in them as individuals and only cared about the advantages of the match, maybe Aslan Belmont would be better...
Hah!? What am I thinking right now?
The moment that thought crossed her mind, Yuri startled herself and snapped fully awake. There was no way it would be okay to marry those two off to Aslan Belmont...!
He was a heinous man trying to barge into the fantasy, the absolute peak, the ultimate combination that was Charlotte x Yulia!
Absolutely not! Never!
Aslan Belmont getting Charlotte and Yulia was something that could never, ever be allowed!
Yuri swallowed her tears and steeled her resolve once more.
"First, both of you calm down. A person's field of vision is much narrower than you'd think, so advantages and flaws that aren't visible to me can be plain as day to someone else. From what I've heard, you're both right, and each of you has charms that can't be ranked against the other, so there's no need to fight at all."
"Huh? Then Mister, you really think a scatterbrained kid like me could be more charming than a pretty princess-like girl like Yulia...?"
"W-what? Then Aslan, you're saying my annoying, dishonest personality is one of my charms...?"
"..."
Faced with the questions coming back at him, Aslan had no choice but to seal his lips. It was true, and of course he thought that. But hearing it put that way made it sound like he was the kind of person who sat around having lewd, scheming thoughts about the kids every day.
"Anyway, praising each other is fine, but I won't allow you to put yourselves down. If you're going to fight, then fight over who is prettier. Got it?"
"Uuugh..."
"Yes...!"
They looked at each other, then shared an awkward smile with their eyes. Only now did they realize how stupid their argument had been.
People normally only saw their own strengths and failed to notice others'—but these two had it backwards. They could see perfectly how wonderful and pretty the other was, but couldn't see it in themselves, so they got so frustrated they ended up angry. Being able to get that fired up for a friend was truly endearing.
If only Charlotte and Yulia would become just a little more selfish, that would be perfect. Aslan thought so, secretly smiling to himself.
What the heck. Why is this ending on such a warm note...?
The murderous atmosphere dissolved, and Yuri sat between them looking blank, unable to hide her bewilderment.
Aslan Belmont... How had he reconciled Charlotte and Yulia so skillfully...? This wasn't the hand of someone who'd only dealt with children a day or two. Aslan Belmont himself was skilled, yes—but more than that, the degree to which Charlotte and Yulia trusted and followed him was beyond imagination.
And this still wasn't brainwashing!?
Well... back then at the Imperial Palace, he did leave everyone behind and charge ahead alone...
The moment the question surged up, Yuri bit her lip and subsided again.
That day at the Imperial Palace, in front of the monster that wouldn't fall no matter how many attacks they poured on it... While everyone else had collapsed from mana exhaustion, Aslan Belmont alone had stood against that monster...
At the time, Aslan Belmont had said with a confident face that he had a way. Looking back now, that must have been a lie to put them at ease. It was only thanks to His Majesty the Emperor recovering from exhaustion just in time. If he'd been even a little later, that face would probably have been Aslan Belmont's last—and the thought alone made Yuri feel like her breath was catching in her throat.
If they'd been watching that side of him all along... they couldn't help but trust and follow him...
She had only seen that sacrificial side of Aslan Belmont for the first time at the Imperial Palace. But not Charlotte and Yulia. They must have seen it any number of times more, so it was only natural that they trusted and followed him to a degree that looked almost blind at a glance.
Ah. Why do I keep only seeing Aslan Belmont's good sides...
It was strange. She'd come to the mansion specifically to tear off Aslan Belmont's final mask—to find the ugly face he'd worked so hard to hide. And yet she kept finding herself reassessing him.
Yuri pouted sulkily, slightly lifted her mask, and was just chewing down the remaining soup when—
Hmm? Why is the soup still warm?
She'd spent the whole meal glaring at Aslan Belmont, so she'd expected the soup to have gone cold. But surprisingly, it was still warm. No—the temperature was barely different from when it had first been served?
How was that possible? she wondered—and then—
...?!
Sensing Aslan's gaze coming her way, Yuri jolted in surprise. It was a sly, unpleasant smile, like a Demon King watching over a cunning trap he'd laid. But based on everything she'd observed of Aslan Belmont so far, that was a smile of pride with ninety-nine percent certainty.
What on earth is he so proud of... Ah? The dog bowl!?
The moment she realized Aslan's gaze was directed at the dog bowl, Yuri shuddered.
Don't tell me... the soup had stayed steaming hot this whole time because of this dog bowl? It actually had a practical function? He'd been using it for that? Not because of some perverted desire to feed the children from a dog bowl...?
With the shock of being struck in the back of the head, Yuri froze solid on the spot.
Maybe the heinous, shameless scoundrel trying to raise little girls into wives was just a fantasy born of the prejudices and misunderstandings in my head...?
For one thing, the rumor that the Belmonts were raising an army of evil to rebel against the Empire had clearly been exposed as false. Back then she'd laughed at people for believing such wild rumors. But maybe she hadn't had the right to laugh at them?
Even Charlotte and Yulia had disagreed over whether Aslan was raising them as bride candidates. If even the two people who'd lived closest to Aslan Belmont didn't know for sure... had she jumped to conclusions far too quickly?
That thought rose unbidden, and Yuri began to wonder whether her entire perception of Aslan Belmont was truly based on pure experience of what she'd seen and heard—or whether it was all prejudice.
What if it was all just my misunderstanding...?
He hadn't been raising Charlotte and Yulia as bride material. He hadn't been feeding them from dog bowls with impure intentions. Had she simply misunderstood a kind Count who had no interest in black magic whatsoever?
Just as an unstoppable storm of guilt was about to crash over her—
Hah!? No! I can't let my heart yield already!
Yuri barely managed to pull her faltering mind back together.
Today was only her first day at the mansion. Vacation was long, and she had plenty of time. She couldn't just decide Aslan Belmont was a good man this early and live without any suspicion...!
If this was all an act by Aslan Belmont—completely trusting him now would mean falling right into his trap!
I won't miss a single expression, glance, gesture, or step of yours. Just try revealing that sly true nature of yours. I'll make sure to expose your real face to Charlotte and Yulia...!
While Yuri ramped her wariness back up to full and glared fiercely at Aslan Belmont—
I can't believe it. She keeps staring holes through me. Does she like the dog bowl that much? If I tell her I custom-designed it myself, will she fall for it at first sight?
Aslan found himself caught in a strange sense of anticipation.