“Coming down, could it be…?”

To a surprised Karl, I responded with a smile once again.

“Yes, that’s right. There’s no one around right now anyway.”

After saying that, I climbed over the terrace railing.

Even though it was only the second floor, it was quite high for a normal person to jump from, but it wasn’t a problem.

I was skilled at jumping due to having to leap from even higher places when dealing with monsters.

As I grabbed my dress skirt and leapt down, Karl shouted with a startled face.

“Vice Captain…!”

He quickly stretched his arms towards me.

It seems he thought I wouldn’t land properly and would fall to the ground.

Thanks to that, even I became flustered.

I didn’t expect Karl to throw himself to catch me.

Because of that, I regretted jumping during that brief moment of falling from the second floor, but Karl managed to catch me in his arms.

“Karl! Are you okay?!”

I wasn’t a lightweight child, but a full-grown woman who had jumped down.

So the impact when he caught my body must have been quite strong, but fortunately, Karl didn’t fall over.

He caught me in his arms in a somewhat stable posture as I fell from a high place.

Regardless of the outcome, it could have resulted in him getting seriously injured, so I scolded him.

“I could have landed on my own! Why did you catch me? It’s dangerous! You didn’t dislocate your shoulder, did you?”

As I worriedly touched Karl’s shoulder, he grinned at me.

“I’m fine. You’re light, so it’s no problem at all.”

Only after hearing Karl say he was fine could I finally feel a little relieved.

Still, just in case, I asked him again.

“Are you really okay? And what do you mean I’m light? Just the weight of this dress I’m wearing must be considerable.”

“You really are light. If you don’t believe me, should I carry you and walk around the garden once?”

“…That’s enough. Stop saying nonsense and put me down quickly. You might really dislocate your shoulder.”

Despite being told to put me down, Karl didn’t immediately do so for some reason.

He held me in his arms for a while, and only after I pinched his cheek did he finally set me down on the ground.

While I was picking up and putting on the shoes I had thrown over the railing earlier, he asked me.

“By the way, you said earlier on the terrace that you were organizing your thoughts. Did you have a serious conversation with Johannes?”

“Ah, that… Johannes introduced me to his fiancée.”

“Ah, I think I caught a glimpse earlier. It’s Lady Adelheid, right?”

I nodded and sat down on a nearby garden bench.

Karl also sat down next to me, and then I spoke again.

“Yes, it’s Adelheid. She seemed like a wonderful young lady, so I encouraged their relationship. So, how should I put it… I needed some time to gather my emotions and organize my thoughts.”

Karl listened quietly to my words as he always did.

As always, I felt comfortable in that silence, and ended up revealing the words I had kept inside.

“Johannes told me this. That he wants me to be happy. That it’s his oldest and most earnest wish… I almost cried when I heard that.”

“That’s touching… I have a younger sister too, and if she said something like that, I think I’d probably cry. You felt the same way, Vice Captain?”

“Yes, so I made a decision. That I’d make his wish come true no matter what. So, I’m going to try to be happy from now on, just as he wished.”

I had resolved to live a perfect life this time for my mother’s sake, thanks to the new opportunity gained from her heirloom.

On top of that, Johannes says that my happiness is his greatest wish.

Therefore, I had to try even harder.

I had to try harder, become happier, and fulfill their wishes.

After hearing me say that much, Karl suddenly asked.

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Huh?”

Karl, who had been sitting next to me on the bench, suddenly turned his body towards me.

“Karl…?”

My voice came out a bit tense without me realizing it.

Hearing me call his name, Karl looked at me closely and opened his mouth.

“I want you to be happy too, Vice Captain. Is there any way I can help, even a little bit, to make that happen?”

“……”

Karl was certainly a great help to me.

I had faced many hardships while fighting monsters up until now, and each time, Karl had been there to support me.

If it weren’t for him, I probably wouldn’t be here now.

But apart from that, it was difficult to answer his question easily.

Somehow, it sounded a bit meaningful.

It was hard to tell whether he meant he would make me happy just as a colleague, or if there was some deeper meaning behind it.

It was even more so because Karl’s gaze and voice as he looked at me were much more serious than usual.

Anyway, since he was waiting for my answer, I replied for now.

“Will it really be just ‘a little’ help? You’ve always been a great help to me. I’m sure you will be in the future too. I need you to be happy. You’re not just my subordinate, but my precious friend.”

Of course, Karl might have simply meant those words as just a subordinate or friend wanting to help me.

The thought that his words sounded like a proposal from a man to a woman might just be my own self-consciousness.

Nevertheless, I deliberately emphasized the word ‘friend’ at the end.

While I had thought of him as a loyal subordinate, a precious friend, and sometimes even family, I had never thought of him as a man.

If by any chance he had different feelings for me, I wanted to make him give up on them early on.

“……”

Though he must have heard my words clearly, Karl didn’t say anything in response.

He just kept looking at me, holding my image in his eyes for a while.

Just as the prolonged silence was starting to feel uncomfortable, he suddenly burst into laughter.

“Of course, right? Then I’ll continue to work hard from now on. To make you happy, Vice Captain Yulia, as your subordinate and friend.”

“Thank you.”

It seemed that thinking there might have been a different meaning in Karl’s words was indeed just my imagination.

The heavy emotion from earlier couldn’t be felt in his voice as he answered that he would work hard for my sake.

It was the same bright and cheerful voice as always.

With a more relaxed mind, I asked Karl.

“By the way, what is the Captain doing?”

“He’s busy, of course. As he is every year, he’s surrounded by young ladies.”

“Ah, I see.”

I nodded as if I had expected that, and then looked towards the banquet hall.

“I should go help him a bit.”

“You’re going to the Captain? It hasn’t even been a few minutes since we started talking.”

“The Captain can’t be harsh to young ladies, you know. If he gets caught by a talkative young lady, he might be stuck for hours.”

The Captain tended to be particularly soft towards those younger or weaker than himself.

Should I say he can’t refuse them…?

So he’s probably surrounded by young ladies right now, unable to push them away.

“Well, if it’s the Captain, he might be stuck all night.”

“Then I’ll go check. Are you going to stay here?”

“Yes, I think I’ll just stay here and gaze at the stars, feeling a bit melancholic. I have a lot to think about too.”

I gave Karl a light smile before moving towards the banquet hall.

On the way, I briefly stopped and looked back at him, and he waved at me.

Karl, sitting alone on the garden bench and waving, looked somewhat lonely.

So I hesitated for a moment, but eventually moved my legs again.

Although I felt sorry for Karl, helping the Captain who was likely in trouble seemed more urgent.

Returning to the banquet hall, I immediately started looking for the Captain.

It wasn’t difficult to find him. Thanks to his tall stature, he was easily visible wherever he stood.

As I expected, he was completely surrounded by young ladies.

The Captain was undeniably tall and handsome, so there were quite a few young ladies who admired him.

That’s why he would always be surrounded like this during events or festivals.

Ernant would speak kindly but firmly reject the young ladies when he didn’t like it, but the Captain couldn’t do that.

He would stoically listen to the young ladies’ chatter for hours.

I guess it’s because he didn’t want to hurt them.

Anyway, I approached him to rescue the Captain from such a situation.

It was then that Ernant suddenly appeared and blocked my path.

“Where are you going?”

“I have something to say to the Captain.”

Ernant’s eyes twitched slightly upon hearing my brief answer.

I tried to ignore him and walk past, but unfortunately, that attempt was also quickly blocked.

“You’re my partner today, so I’d like you to focus only on me.”