Chapter 74
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Expensive Ointment
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What...?'
Sia could hardly hide her bewilderment.
Tristan's words had been utterly unexpected.
Though the smallest among the Seven Stars, the Ryumin family had loyally served the imperial family for generations.
They were in clear opposition to the Ruelverta family, who constantly schemed against the throne.
Or at least, they should have been...
'Tristan held our family in high regard...?'
And because of that, he was willing to overlook her mistake.
She had no idea how to respond.
Wendy was probably from just as prominent a family.
The chairman would surely know that. And yet, his power was so vast that he could punish her anyway.
No, did this man even fear anything to begin with?
Which meant Tristan's kindness toward Sia wasn't out of fear of the Ryumins.
That villain had acknowledged them.
...
The fact that this man recognized her didn't feel bad.
No, far from badit felt strangely good.
It wasn't some other Seven Star family.
The Ruelverta, enemies of the throne, had seen the quiet loyalty of the Ryumins.
Sia tamped down the swelling emotion in her chest and spoke.
Her posture was far softer than before.
"...Thank you for your words, Chairman. But my mistake is still a mistake. So you must discipline me. I believe that's the honorable thing for me and my family."
Tristan fell silent for a moment.
His expressionless face held a somehow weary gaze fixed on Sia.
Just as the young chairman's eyesbarely older than her ownbegan to feel a bit embarrassing...
"I see."
Tristan looked away from Sia.
"But both of you will be punished."
"!"
Wendy flinched.
"Chairman! My mistake!"
"Be quiet, Wendy."
"..."
This time, it was Sia who bristled.
"Wait just a moment. Wendy didn't do anything wrong."
"Lying to me is a grave offense."
"There's no such rule!"
"In this school, I am the law. If you can't obey, I'll send you to the disciplinary committee. They'll judge you fairly enough."
"..."
Sia bowed her head in frustration.
She felt ashamed for having seen this man in a different light, even briefly.
Gritting her teeth, she said,
"Then let me take both our punishments!"
"Enough of your delusions, Sia Ryumin."
In that instant, Sia could only swallow hard.
"You're just one student. Do you claim you can bear my punishment?"
Tristan's anger shifted the air around them.
The suffocating pressure gripped her heart, leaving Sia speechless.
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
"Answer me."
Sia barely managed to force the words out.
"No... I'm sorry... I'm sorry."
Only then did Tristan's anger subside.
Finally, Sia could breathe again.
It had been a truly terrifying experience.
Now she understood viscerally why Tristan had such a notorious reputation among the nobility.
It wasn't the sensation of facing an ordinary human.
A beast? A monster? Or perhaps... this was what it felt like to confront a demon.
'Maybe... the disciplinary committee would have been better...'
She berated herself for her mistake.
She should have realized it with just a bit more thought.
That Tristan was a genius at villainy.
From now on, he would mete out punishments beyond her imagination.
"...Do as you see fit, Chairman. I'll... accept it."
"That should be interesting."
Tristan spoke as if mocking her complete resignation.
"How well the Ryumin lady cleans."
"...Pardon?"
Wait... what did he say?
"C-Cleaning?"
"Yes. The two of you will clean my office every day for the rest of the semester. That's your punishment. Of course..."
As he said it, Tristan's lips curved slightly upward.
A wicked smile.
"Refuse, and it's expulsion."
With that final word, Tristan brushed past them and vanished down the corridor.
"Ahh... I never imagined a day like this would come for me..."
A few days later, fully recovered, Helga appeared before me.
She was finally my bodyguard knight.
"How do I look? Does it suit me...?"
"Not bad."
"Hehe... Right?"
Helga fluttered her coat for me to see.
The outfit I'd commissioned from Luelcia in Ruelusia was complete.
I'd asked them to make it to her specifications, and from her reaction, it seemed perfect.
The clothes she wore resembled Aslan's uniforma military coat.
But with a black lion embroidered on it, it gleamed luxuriously in the light.
From now on, she'd serve at my side in this uniform.
Delighted, Helga grinned broadly and spread the coat's lining.
"Look inside. The uniform underneath is super cute too, right? The tie's made from salamander leather, and the shoes use wyvern scales, they said."
...
I felt a slight headache coming on.
The uniform under Helga's coat had a familiar design. Yes. It was similar to Meikahel University's school uniform.
So, in the best light, she looked like a confident high school girl in a military coat... No, that's not important right now.
Because...
"Helga."
"Yes?"
"Get the skirt refitted."
"Eh... Why?"
What Helga wore was a skin-tight line skirt.
The problem was the length...
"If you plan to guard me like that, go back to Aslan right now."
It was absurdly short.
Her pale thighs were fully exposed beneath itleaving nowhere safe to look.
She wasn't some delinquent high schooler.
"It's easier to kick in this."
"...In that getup?"
"Aw Don't worry. I'll only show my legs to you, Count."
"That's not the issue."
"Hehe. My legs are one thing I'm confident in, you know!"
Helga sat across from me, crossing her legs seductively with a playful smile.
At least she wasn't bare-legged, thank goodness.
Her legs, sheathed in black stockings, gleamed even more alluringly under the light.
But the sight stirred nothing in me.
No... it did stir something.
The moment I saw her legs, a forgotten detail resurfaced.
Along with an experiment I'd wanted to try.
"Like what you see? Go ahead and stare. Hehe... Or even touch, if you want!"
"Sure."
"Uh... Pardon?"
I set down my tea and rose, approaching Helga.
"Wha-wha???"
"Close your eyes."
...
!
"P-Pardon? Wait, hold on!"
"That's an order."
"Ugh...!"
Reluctantly, Helga covered her unpatched eye with her right hand.
Her left hand clutched her skirt tightly. After boldly showing off her legs earlier, now she was desperately trying to cover them.
"W-What are you planning?!"
"Stay still until I tell you to open them."
"No! Count, you don't mean you're actually going to...?!"
What I pulled from my pocket was an ordinary, commercially available ointment.
The kind you rub on wounds to heal them graduallysomething from the real world.
The difference? I'd packed it full of my gathered mana.
"Wait! Stop! Count! Halt!"
Ignoring Helga's pleas with her eyes covered, I infused mana into a nearby teaspoon and levitated it.
I scooped up a dollop of ointment and dropped it onto Helga's leg.
"Hya?!"
"Don't move."
Helga shuddered violently.
I manipulated the spoon to spread the ointment on her leg. Even over the stockings, it should work.
"Ah! I-It tickles! So ticklish! S-Stop!"
Helga tried grabbing the spoon with her free left hand, but it was no use.
This level of control was child's play for me now.
The spoon deftly dodged her hand, meticulously applying the ointment to her leg.
"Ah! N-Not there...! If you touch like that! Ahhn! Hnng!"
Helga writhed like an octopus, resisting, her breaths growing ragged. What a drama queen.
Time to test it.
I focused and activated the mana infused in the ointment.
This experiment was to check if I could arbitrarily enhance the ointment's healing effect.
I finely manipulated the evenly spread mana.
Helga twitched.
"Th-This touch... It's definitely the Count's hand...! If you touch me like this, I'll...! Have no choice but to marry you, oppa...!"
She was overdoing it, starting to babble nonsense.
So, it was working?
Looks like... I'd have to confirm.
I manipulated the mana.
The spoon gleamed sharply.
Riiiip!
Helga let out an uncharacteristically shrill scream.
"Kyaa! N-No!"
"...It works."
It definitely did.
Through the torn stockings, Helga's bare leg was revealed.
The large and small scars on it were fading away.
The ointment's effect had amplified in response to the mana.
Just as I'd predicted.
Now that I could handle mana, learning basic recovery magic was no issue.
But if word got out that I could use magic, it'd be trouble.
This portable mana-infused ointment would be handy for emergencies.
The experiment was a success. But...
"Sob... N-No... I... These scarred legs... Please don't look... Hic... sob..."
Helga was on the verge of tears.
That was exactly why she always wore black stockings.
No matter how tough she acted, Helga was still a delicate girl.
Scars from countless battlefields.
She took pride in them yet felt ashameda contradictory emotion within her.
Aslan's uniform had covered them up, but now as my bodyguard knight, she had a new one.
And wanting to impress me, she'd chosen a skirt.
Her feelings touched me.
Helga tried desperately to hide her legs.
"Don't look...! These ugly legs..."
"They're not ugly."
"No...! The scars... You'll hate seeing my legs...!"
"Open your eyes, Helga."
"Ugh..."
Helga finally did.
She tried to cover her legs with both hands.
"Huh...?"
But she froze in place.
Something felt off.
Her legs, which should have been covered in scars big and small, were gleaming in the light.
"Wha-wha?! My legs?! My legs?!"
Helga touched and examined them in disbelief, but nearly all the scars were gone.
"H-How did you...?"
"This."
I handed her the ointment.
"This is...?"
"...Expensive ointment."
It was awkward to explain, so I brushed it off.
Healing scars was something a specialist healer could do anyway.
One pot like this in the world wouldn't be suspicious.
Fortunately, Helga seemed convinced.
"Wow... Amazing... Figures it's expensive..."
"I'll give it to you."
"Eh?"
"You don't have to use it. It's fine to live bearing your scars. If they're your pride, that's good. But if you apply it steadily, the scars on your legs will vanish soon."
Of course, without my mana manipulation, it'd be far less effectivebut it would still work as ointment.
Ultimately, it was her choice.
"...Then you can proudly show off those legs you take pride in. From now on, live with that as your boast. As my trusted subordinate, you have every right."
...
Helga bowed her head.
A tear like a chicken dropping fell from her unpatched eye.
"Yes... I'll do that. And when I do... Oppa I mean, Count... I'll show you first."
"...Do as you like."
I returned to my seat and took a sip of tea.
A cup of tea was essential for the leisure before today's schedule.
And I informed the still-emotional Helga.
"But that skirt is a no. Go get it fixed right now."