"What is that...?"
Hearing the sounds coming from the dining room, Shien paused slightly before heading closer.
Only when he approached did Shien realize that the dining room was filled with familiar faces.
At that moment, Vivian, Lumya, and Merika were having breakfast together.
However, they seemed to have been discussing something, because their expressions were a little off.
More specifically, Vivian and Lumya both looked apologetic, while Merika appeared somewhat disappointed, her head hanging low.
"What happened?"
Though puzzled, Shien still entered the dining room, drawing the girls' attention.
"Sh-Shien?"
"Mr. Shien!"
Seeing Shien suddenly appear, both Lumya and Merika instinctively stood up.
On closer inspection, the way Lumya and Merika looked at Shien had changed somewhat from before.
Beyond their usual nervousness and timidity, their gazes carried a faint trace of admiration and reverence that others would find hard to notice.
Ever since Shien defeated Aridia, that look had appeared in Lumya's and Merika's eyes.
Clearly, the two of them were beginning to show signs of becoming Shien's little fangirls because of what he had done.
Vivian, on the other hand, still wore the same gentle expression as always.
Yet beneath that gentleness, there was also a hint of amusement in Vivian's eyes as she looked at Shien.
"Finally willing to come back, are you, our Count Poztut?" Vivian said, sounding uncertain whether she was teasing or mocking him. "I thought you couldn't bear to leave Princess Roxie's bedchamber."
It seemed Vivian already knew that Shien had not returned for the night and had spent the entire evening in Roxie's bedchamber.
"...Sorry. I forgot to let you know and made you worry."
Even Shien felt a little awkward.
His skin was usually thick enough, but Lumya and Merika's innocent, clueless expressions—as if they had no idea what was