## Chapter 210 – Area 5 (7)
Charlotte pressed hard on her temples as if suffering from a headache. She never dreamed she would encounter something like this in Area 5, which she had come to purely for relaxation. Sighing deeply as she looked at the ground, Charlotte glared and asked in a chilling voice,
“Are you sure? This won’t end with you saying you were mistaken.”
Heart swallowed hard, nodding in response.
“I’m certain. It’s information I received from my close aide!”
The fact that he was speaking so firmly meant he had really found some kind of clue. Heart scratched meaningless doodles in the sand with the tip of his shoe, opening his mouth in a heavy tone.
“I didn’t want to believe it, but the traitor’s name is Spade… my colleague.”
Charlotte tilted her head, hearing the name for the first time.
“I haven’t heard of them.”
“That’s only natural. He hates showing himself to people, so it’s not easy to see his face except for Clara-nim. That’s why he manages the deep mountains instead of fields like this.”
“I don’t particularly care about that. Why are you so sure that guy’s a traitor? There must be a reason you suspected him, at least.”
Heart answered immediately.
“Recently, there have been indiscriminate attacks on people and animals in our area, and I, who have known him since way back, can tell. That’s the kind of wound only he can inflict….”
“Is that so? Then do you have any idea why?”
“None. He likes Clara-nim as much as I do, so I don’t know why he’s doing this….”
Heart shook his head, his lips turned down in gloom. The feeling of being betrayed by someone he thought was a friend, betraying the person he respected most, was not something easily fathomed.
“Reason for betrayal, motive, who he’s working with… everything’s unknown. Quite a headache.”
Charlotte had initially planned to keep it a secret from Clara, but as she listened, she couldn’t completely hide the doubts that were rising within her.
“But you were trying to solve this on your own, keeping it a secret from Clara-nim?”
Heart flinched, his voice trailing off in embarrassment.
“W-well….”
“If you truly care about Clara-nim, this is something you shouldn’t hide. What can you do, just a mere executive?”
She might have spoken a little strongly, but it was the truth. He said he only wanted to see Clara smile, but that was just greed. He should never turn away from reality and try to escape.
Just as Charlotte was about to say something more, the two people who had seemed to disappear beyond the horizon returned. Ryu saw Heart talking to Charlotte on the beach and asked in a puzzled voice,
“Oh, Heart-nim?”
Aser, her face already red, hid behind Ryu. It wasn’t like she could hide the height difference, but her body reacted instinctively to the thought that they might have been caught doing what they did on the beach or in the sea.
Seeing the two of them, Heart spoke in his usual bright voice, as if nothing had happened.
“It’s almost time for dinner, so I came to pick you up! Clara-nim seems like she’ll be here today too….”
Only then did Aser step forward, relieved.
“T-that’s what it was? Yeah, it was about time to go back. Sorry for making you come all the way here.”
Flustered, she rattled on, quickly gathering the luggage placed under the parasol, and after putting on a coat, Aser finished preparing to leave right away. Charlotte watched the backs of the two people holding hands and walking ahead, quietly muttering her concerns.
“I hope it’s nothing serious….”
Of course, she herself felt it too. This wish could not be fulfilled. As an executive of Area 5, if someone like herself, a Nulli Secundus, caused a betrayal, it wouldn’t end easily.
Filled with various worries, the four returned to the mansion and went straight to their respective places.
Aser and Charlotte, influenced by the sex and the rest they had gained after a long time, went straight to bed and fell asleep. In Charlotte’s case, it was to organize the troubling matters in her head. Ryu, wanting them to rest comfortably, made no sound as she carefully came down to the first floor.
As she came down to the first floor, the unique scent of spices, stimulating her appetite, tickled her nose. Drawn as if possessed to the source of the smell, Ryu was led to the kitchen. Heart, who was boiling something in a huge pot, grinned as he saw Ryu approaching from behind.
“Oh? You could have slept or rested more.”
Ryu shook her head, answering briefly.
“I couldn’t sleep.”
Ryu stared intently at Heart cooking from the side, and Heart, embarrassed by the gaze, awkwardly struck up a conversation.
“Is there something strange?”
“No, it’s just that I haven’t really seen someone cooking this closely before.”
Meals at the mansion were usually prepared by the time she woke up, and Ryu would just eat them. Heart had nothing more to say to Ryu, who was watching the process with curiosity. Then, as if a good idea had occurred to him, he made a request to Ryu.
“Ah! Then could you help me out?”
Ryu nodded without a moment’s hesitation.
“Sure. What do you need me to do?”
Heart pointed to the pile of vegetables stacked next to him, then handed her a peeler, saying,
“Just peel all of those.”
It was a fairly simple task, so Ryu, who was doing it for the first time, was able to manage it relatively easily. Still, the mountain of vegetables showed no sign of decreasing. Ryu wiped the sweat from her forehead, then asked in admiration.
“Do you usually prepare this much on your own?”
“Clara-nim trusts me and has entrusted this area to me, so I want to handle even the smallest details perfectly, as much as possible.”
Heart’s movements, handling several dishes at the same time while conversing, were flawless.
“And eating together is the best feeling! I want to live up to Clara-nim’s expectations, who showed me that joy!”
Whenever Clara’s name came up, Heart seemed more excited than usual. Ryu, understanding that feeling at least a little, laughed out loud.
“It’s the same for me. I really want to live up to Aser-nim and Charlotte-nim’s expectations too.”
Heart playfully opened his mouth.
“Then does that mean we’re comrades from now on?”
“Comrades… I like that.”
Even during the brief pause in the conversation, Heart silently moved his hands, constantly thinking about the relationship between Aser, Charlotte, and Ryu in his head. He knew Aser was a great Demon Lord, but personally, he hoped Charlotte would be happier.
“What does Ryu-nim think of Charlotte-nim….”
Heart stopped speaking. Asking such a question could itself be rude. But since her name had come out of Heart’s mouth, Ryu couldn’t just let it pass.
“Charlotte-nim?”
The desire to hear about what had happened between the two of them did not easily disappear. Heart subtly added more words, feeling that Ryu would tell him everything, even if Charlotte wouldn’t.
“Yes, it seems like it’s the first time I’ve seen Charlotte-nim smile like that. It seems like Ryu-nim is the reason for that.”
“Reason… I think it’s just because we like each other that we show those kinds of expressions.”
“You like each other… then what about the Demon Lord….”
The part about Aser was a topic that even an executive like her couldn’t easily ask about, so her voice gradually became smaller. Still, Ryu answered with a smile.
“I like Aser-nim too! Sometimes I feel like I’m receiving too much love from the two of them, but I want to repay them like Heart-nim too.”
Hearing that, Heart, having roughly grasped the relationship between the three, decided to stop asking about this matter. It wasn’t like he didn’t value his life.
“It seems like we finished faster than I thought, thanks to Ryu-nim’s help.”
“Ah, then I’ll go upstairs and call the two of them down.”
Not long after Ryu went up, Aser came down, rubbing her sleepy eyes and holding his hand tightly. Aser looked at Heart, who was carrying dishes, and said in a apologetic tone.
“Did you do all this by yourself? I feel a little bad….”
“Ryu-nim helped me, so it finished earlier than I thought!”
Aser reacted strangely to the ordinary words. Her body flinched, and the expression on her face slowly began to harden. Aser whispered in Ryu’s ear.
“Y-you didn’t do *it* with Heart too, did you?”
If Ryu and a woman were left alone in a place where her gaze couldn’t reach? Whenever that situation was imagined, scenes of the two of them making love would automatically come to Aser’s mind. Of course, she no longer reacted as violently as before or felt disappointed in Ryu.
Nevertheless, Ryu desperately shook her head to reassure Aser.
“N-no, we didn’t!”
Leaving behind the two who were having strange misunderstandings, Charlotte looked at the food placed on the table and opened her mouth, genuinely impressed.
“Your cooking used to be at a level where I couldn’t possibly eat it, but your skills have improved a lot?”
“I’ve put in a lot of effort during that time!”
After finishing his words, Heart laughed loudly, “Haha!”
“Alright, everyone, don’t just stand there, please eat comfortably!”
Following Heart’s words, they sat down and were about to start eating when the door of the mansion opened and a familiar voice was heard.
“Heart, I’m here.”
Heart, who was about to eat, immediately ran out to the entrance upon hearing her voice. Aser also thought that greeting her was the priority, so she put down her utensils and headed towards Clara.
Clara looked at Aser’s face and opened her mouth with a smile.
“How was it? Did you have fun?”
Aser nodded, answering.
“Yeah, thanks to you. I feel like I could stay here forever.”
“Phew, that’s a relief.”
While the two were having a friendly conversation, Heart, who had run over first, was frozen in place, not moving at all. Charlotte approached her from behind with a puzzled expression.
“What’s wrong?”
Heart’s gaze was directed at a woman behind Clara. Snow-white skin and neatly tied-up white hair, contrasting with Heart’s unkempt short black hair, and emerald eyes that shone blindingly. A white suit and a smile that seemed both melancholic and subtly condescending. Overall, she was a beauty with an impression completely opposite to Heart.
“Long time no see?”
Heart uttered a name in a disbelieving tone.
“…Spade?”
