Chapter 14

"Hey."

"Y-Yes, Lord Albert?"

"Sit. Now."

"…Understood."

Thirty minutes after Lord Albert woke up, I found myself kneeling in formal seiza.

"Yuka, I’ll give you a choice."

"A… choice?"

This couldn’t be good.

"Either forget what you just saw of me earlier… or—"

"Or…?"

His face was beet red. This was not the atmosphere for jokes.

"Or I’ll make you forget. Choose."

Oh no. His eyes were dead serious. Apparently, he really hated that his clingy, vulnerable side had been exposed.

By the way, his familiars had already sensed the danger and fled long ago. Mill-senpai had even carried the sleeping Lil away on her back. Traitors!

"…Just out of curiosity, how exactly would you ‘make me forget’?"

"I’ll beat you over the head until your memory resets."

"You mean physically?!"

Not even magic?! Just pure brute force?!

"Relax. A hit like that wouldn’t kill you. At worst, you’d get a little dumber."

"I’d rather not lose brain cells…"

"A necessary sacrifice."

He’s starting to sound like a villain!

"Hurry up and choose."

Think! Think! There’s gotta be a way out of this!

"…W-Well, you were… kinda cute…? Back then, I mean."

"Oh? So I do have to make you forget."

Mistake. Huge mistake. He reminded me of Gonta, the big dog I used to have back home, so I slipped up. Damn it! If that’s how it’s gonna be—!

"Forgive me, Lord Albert!"

"W-Wait, don’t hug me—!"

"I refuse to forget what I saw! And I refuse to turn stupid! So I’ll do this instead!"

If there’s no escape, then I’ll charge forward! I choose life!

"S-Stop clinging to me, I said…"

Lord Albert’s intensity was wavering. Now’s my chance!

"There there, Lord Albert~. Good boy, good boy~"

"D-Don’t pat my head—! Nngh… ah…"

Turns out, Lord Albert is weak to being hugged. And with Lil’s patented head-patting technique added to the mix, all his earlier intimidation melted away. He just sat there, limp. Victory! End of Chapter One!

"E-Enough of this—!!"

"Ah—"

In the next instant, lightning struck right above my head.

"Honestly, you’re just…"

"I sincerely apologize."

He was prostrating himself in apology. By the way, about that lightning bolt that struck me—apparently, Lord Albert had held back, so aside from losing consciousness, I wasn’t injured.

"...There’s a lot I could say, but... I am grateful that Yuka and Lil came to my rescue. That said, f-forget what happened back there! Understood!?"

"As you command."

It seemed dangerous to push my luck any further, so I decided to just go along with it.

"By the way, Lord Albert, are you feeling alright?"

"More or less. Thanks to you all. I didn’t expect the pain to fade this quickly."

"I’m glad we could be of help."

"A-and... when Yuka hugged me... I guess you could say it calmed me down, or reassured me, or... well, yeah. Th-thank you."

Halfway through, he started blushing and muttered his thanks. I wasn’t about to play dumb and act like I didn’t hear him. If I did, I might get another lightning strike for my trouble. Besides—

"I’m just really glad you’re okay. I was worried, you know."

That came from the heart. Sure, we’d only just met yesterday, but that didn’t mean I wanted to see him suffering. Lord Albert stared at me intently.

"...Why do you care so much about me...?"

"Lord Albert?"

"N-never mind!"

"I see."

When I asked, he quickly looked away. I didn’t know what he was about to say, but judging by how his face flushed bright red without any trace of anger, he was probably just embarrassed. No need to force him to talk about it.

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(Why does she care about me so much? This engagement was forced onto her for our own convenience. I was planning to use her. And yet, she’s genuinely happy I’m okay, worried about me... Why... why does she care so much?)

(Why am I... feeling this way?)