***

After a stormy day had passed, night came.

The four of us decided to sleep in one bed, but since the bed was incredibly wide, there was no problem with all four of us sleeping on it.

It was just that everyone wanted to sleep next to me.

Eventually, the lower-body monster, who was my nominated person, had to move away from me. At least the shorter one didn’t rub up against me all night…….

“Why do I have to move away from you!”

“I’m quite content with my spot.”

“Me too.”

Seth and Yuno pretended not to hear Dietrich’s complaints while lying on either side of me.

“Liri is cute, isn’t she.”

“You know what you’re talking about, tower master. She’s cute, especially when she rolls her eyes.”

“Right.”

After grumbling for a while, Dietrich, tired of resisting, gave up and lay down next to Yuno.

I wasn’t even at a camp, and although it felt strange to sleep with others around, I wondered when did I start caring about such things!

Being someone who could eat and sleep well anywhere, I disregarded it and lay down in my spot. With several people gathered, no one seemed to be restraining or doing anything to each other.

It’s not as bad as I thought.

It’s been a while since I’ve tasted this kind of peace.

“Why.”

I thought I fell asleep in an instant, but I felt the sensation of someone holding my cheek.

“Um…?”

“Why, Master. Are you cold?”

As I regained my senses, I realized I was snuggled in Seth’s embrace.

“No.”

Why am I like this?

I settled between Seth and Yuno, but when I came to my senses, I found myself once again in Seth’s embrace. Did he pull me in, or did I come here on my own?

“Hmm… why again…”

As if understanding my silent cry of “Why am I here,” Seth replied with a playful tone.

“Why? Because I intentionally chose to sleep on this side.”

Huh?

“Master, didn’t you know you always sleep facing this way? You tend to roll in one direction.”

Rubbing my sleepy head, I realized that the position Seth and I were lying in now was the same as when we were in his house.

So, did he know that and chose intentionally to sleep here because I kept rolling to the right?

“Just give up and come here.”

Seth pulled me close and gently stroked my back. Feeling the ordinary texture of his white shirt against my palm, I relaxed my body.

It’s nice that Seth doesn’t just suddenly let go anytime.

…Why should I be happy about this?

It felt like tears were welling up, but the warmth of Seth’s embrace soon lulled me back to sleep.

“Hmm…”

Feeling the emptiness in the embrace, I reached out and felt the empty space beside me. I got up from the bed and looked around.

A man with hair shining red in the moonlight stood beside the blue-haired man on the far left of the bed.

And he’s even holding something?

“…Seth?”

With bated breath, he carefully opened what seemed to be Dietrich’s mouth with his index finger.

Strangely enough, Dietrich didn’t wake up… He seemed to share some traits with Seth, who couldn’t seem to wake up properly next to me.

Come to think of it, they all seem to sleep well next to me.

Maybe it’s because Yuno casts a defensive spell before sleeping, but Seth and Dietrich also slept well.

Is it because I calm the people next to me, or is it because I’m in the heroine´s position?

Since the protagonist can’t nullify magic, it must be a small buff from the author.

I wondered what Seth was doing, but he quickly put something in Dietrich’s mouth and swiftly returned to his place on the bed.

“Ugh!”

Dietrich soon groaned in pain and sat up.

“Seth? What did you do?”

“Stay still.”

“Ugh.”

Suddenly, Dietrich grabbed his chest, and Yuno woke up too.

“Huh…? What’s going on?”

Yuno, who was rubbing his eyes and clenching his fists, noticed something strange and lit up the room. At that moment, a pungent smell began to tickle their noses.

“Dietrich!”

“Stay here, master.”

Seth, who was holding me from behind, whispered quietly.

“Mana reflux!”

Startled, Yuno examined Dietrich’s condition.

“His mana is boiling uncontrollably. Oh no, we need to stabilize it.”

“Wait, Tower Master.”

As Yuno was about to place his hand on Dietrich’s body, he turned to look at Seth, who was holding me. A faint golden glow emanated from Yuno’s palm.

“Cough.”

“This is serious.”

“Listen, Tower Master. If we get rid of him, we can divide the two days he’s occupying between us.”

“Huh…”

Yuno tilted his head to the side in confusion.

“So, does that mean we each get to be with Liri for three days?”

“That’s right.”

The golden eyes twinkled, and the villainous chancellor who hadn’t missed it added gently.

“So, don’t help him.”

“Okay.”

Wait a minute.

“Should I just kill him then? I think I can do it with a little bit of my mana.”

The golden glow on Yuno’s palm grew stronger.

“Yu-Yu-Yuno!”

“What’s wrong, Liri?”

“Don’t do it!”

“I’m not going to kill him. Just incapacitate him.”

Seth shrugged as if to say what’s the problem.

“I mean it, master.”

The dark chancellor was trying to be nice and fulfill his promise to me.

But who thinks of something like this when asked not to kill him….

“No, Yuno, help Dietrich regain consciousness.”

“But I want to spend more time with Liri…”

“Listen to me, you brat!”

I grabbed Yuno by the collar and shook him vigorously.

“When Dietrich dies, I’m going to go to the Duke of Beluga’s mansion and live as Dietrich’s wife all week, for the rest of my life!”

“I’ll help.”

Perhaps the threat worked, as the light emanating from Yuno’s hand faded.

If Dietrich dies, no one could rescue me from the tower, Yuno is so naive.

“Why intervene? Do you like him?”

Seth didn’t try to stop Yuno any further. He simply held me tighter, expressing his disapproval.

“Would you do the same if it were me dying?”

“Of course.”

I didn’t want to see anyone die, and I felt a strange responsibility for this world.

At least they shouldn’t suffer because of me. They should be happy.

I was worried about returning home.

What if the story has changed too much, and I can’t go back?

This place still feels too unfamiliar to me.

I’ve put that aside for now, but this place is still so foreign to me.

I feel like I’m watching a play, with the main actors answering questions as if they’ve memorized the script. If I’m removed from the scene and another actor comes in who fits the role, it’s all going to be fine.

“Hmph. I guess I’ll just have to put up with it then.”

Except for one, slightly off-script actor, who bothers me.

While Seth held me, ready to seize the opportunity to kill him, I couldn’t shake the feeling of unease.

In the meantime, Yuno helped Dietrich stabilize his magic.

“That damn chancellor……!”

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with his fist, Dietrich quickly drew the sword he had kept at his side and pointed it at Seth.

I stretched out both hands to stop him.

“No, you can’t.”

“Why not?”

Dietrich seemed poised to grab me and then kill Seth.

“Because if he dies, I’ll be the Duchess of Milan…?”

A chilling silence followed.

“Why!”

“You must not have heard, but I said that if you die, I will be the Duchess of Beluga for life, and that’s why Yuno helped me.”

Dietrich looked at the mage with wide eyes, and Yuno nodded.

They can’t bear the thought of me belonging to someone, just one person. They have to have me, or at least a part of it.

Why are they like this?

Because I set it up that way.

The actions of the characters are predictable, which makes it even scarier.

Despite his bravado, Dietrich ultimately didn’t attack Seth. Even if Dietrich had tried to kill him, I didn’t think Seth would die.

“Master, let’s sleep. Oh, but we should change the sheets first, right?”

“I can clean it up.”

The male leads, who seemed completely unfazed by the situation, nonchalantly lay down.

They seem like living, breathing people, but I can’t shake this strange feeling.

I’m not a predetermined actor in this story, so what should I do?