The time was evening. The crimson sunset burned through the windows of the room. After returning to the mansion for the first time in two days, I thought about taking a rest in my own room. However, it seemed that I wouldn't be able to slip into my bed so easily. Or rather, the atmosphere didn’t allow for that.

──── No, I brought this situation upon myself, didn’t I?

Even so, there were a lot of thoughts running through my mind... When I returned to my room, my fiancée was waiting for me. My foolish thoughts, which had started tilting in an obviously strange direction, ended up spilling over onto her in a fit of misplaced frustration. That frustration then escalated into an outright confession of all the emotions I had been bottling up until now.

And my fiancée—like a saint—accepted it all. Moreover, she made me realize my own mistakes...

To put it plainly, Freesia saved me. And after that, we somehow ended up in a situation that wasn’t very characteristic of us. I, too, was about to be swept away by the atmosphere—

「……」

At that moment, I noticed the presence of my ever-so-amusing comrades who had been eavesdropping outside the door. Once I became aware of them, I couldn't just ignore it.

“So… what exactly is this situation? And what business did you all have?”

For now, I had the four intruders—Prince Chronos, Weiss, Lady Schvia, and Levia—sit properly on the floor of my room in a formal kneeling posture. Then, I sincerely questioned them.

However, for some reason, there was no response. Rather, they avoided making eye contact with me, as if looking me in the eye would mean certain death. What was this about?

──── You guys don’t have to be that scared, do you?

The atmosphere in the room remained tense. Even Freesia, who had just been displaying the most dazzling presence of the century, now seemed incredibly embarrassed that people she knew had witnessed such a scene. She had turned bright red and was burying her face behind me like a timid kitten. How innocent.

To be honest, I wasn't exactly at ease either. But… in a way, their sudden appearance had saved me. If I just admitted to everything that happened, maybe they'd at least take that into consideration. So, I softened my tone and asked them again.

“Look, I’m not going to eat you all or anything. I’m simply curious, that’s all. You must have had some reason for pressing your ears against my door, right? Otherwise, people wouldn’t just eavesdrop in front of someone’s room for no reason.”

“Eek…”

The response I got was a shriek. Oops. It seemed I had unintentionally let some of my emotions slip through.

Weiss, Schvia, and Levia were visibly trembling. On the other hand, Prince Chronos, though his expression remained stiff, seemed to gather his resolve and spoke.

“I… I know this might sound like an excuse, but… we were worried about you, Clay. You’ve been acting strange ever since you got back. And after hearing what you just said…”

As if agreeing with him, Weiss and the others nodded their heads almost desperately. But it wasn’t an attempt to make excuses out of fear—it was clear that their concern and unease were genuine. That’s when I realized something.

──── I had been so caught up in my own struggles that I had made everyone worry.

“Sigh…”

I let out a sigh, realizing how pathetic, immature, and shortsighted I had been. At this point, I couldn’t even blame them for eavesdropping… No, in the first place, I had no right to.

“──── I’m sorry. I misunderstood the situation. And… I apologize for making you all worry.”

As my thoughts cleared up, I immediately lowered my head in apology. The others, still kneeling on the floor, seemed momentarily stunned, as if they couldn't comprehend what had just happened.

A brief silence. As I anxiously raised my head, unsure of their reaction, they suddenly surged forward all at once.

“No, we were at fault for not reading the room… Honestly, we must’ve been a huge nuisance, right?”

“Th-that! We’re really sorry for interrupting your moment, but we were just so worried about you, Clay! That’s why we… um, we…”

“Clay! I—whenever you need, you can always rely on me! I will always lend you my chest to lean on!!”

“Freesia, you’ve finally taken your first step into adulthood… It feels like you’ve gone somewhere far away…”

Each of them spoke up in their own way, their expressions now tinged with relief instead of fear. Although I didn’t exactly want them digging into what had just happened with Freesia, I could tell that they genuinely cared about me.

──── Somehow, it feels like it’s been a while since we’ve had a conversation like this…

That’s how preoccupied I had been.

“I really have been thinking only about myself…”

I muttered so quietly that no one could hear. Or at least, that’s what I thought—until I felt a warm, soft hand gently cover my clenched fist.

“That’s not true.”

Her voice was gentle, as if comforting me. The warmth of her touch lightened the heaviness that had settled in my chest.

Right. There was no point in dwelling on past mistakes and drowning in self-loathing. Time wasn’t on my side, and there was still so much to do. Regrets and self-recriminations could come later—after everything was settled.

If that was the case, then I had to make the best choice I could now. Ideally, I shouldn’t involve them in all of this. I certainly shouldn’t drag them into a battlefield where death was a very real possibility. This was a mess I had created, and I had intended to handle it all on my own.

But thinking that way was arrogance in itself. I had let my pride convince me that I could do it all alone. But that wasn’t true. Claym Bradley was not someone capable of handling everything by himself. The reason I was standing here now was because of the comrades by my side.

“Suu… ha────”

Taking a deep breath, I calmed my mind. Once I sorted out my feelings, I finally voiced what was in my heart.

“I have a favor to ask of you all.”

And with that, I made my plea to the most trustworthy comrades I had in this world.