Yukino had never imagined she would one day feel hurt over a man having sex with another woman.
She had never even imagined herself getting close to any boy.
She got along with her father well enough, at least better than with her mother or sister. But she had never felt this kind of pain just because he favored her sister more. She only wanted to prove to her parents that she was no less capable.
Plenty of boys had tried to get close to her over the years. She was quite pretty, after all. Yukino had never denied this, and could even openly compliment her own looks in front of complete strangers. She knew what she looked like. And because she knew, she also knew exactly why those men tried to approach.
Because she was pretty, so they wanted to be with her?
To Yukino, that was nothing but the fake.
What she had always sought was the genuine. Something not decorated or packaged by appearances, by looks, by outer presentation.
Take herself. If someone liked her for her face, for the version of her she showed the world, then they didn't actually like "Yukino Yukinoshita" as a person. They liked a pretty girl who happened to carry that name. The moment someone prettier or more impressive came along, they'd feel the same pull, the same desire. Because that was what they were really chasing.
That kind of affection, in Yukino's eyes, was the fake.
And yet, everyone around her seemed to prefer the fake. Only she kept searching for the genuine.
Given all that, Yukino never believed she could get close to any man. She didn't even bother pretending otherwise. She was as cold as she could be, as sharp-tongued as she could be, scaring off anyone who dared come near.
This attitude was also her true nature. Her genuine self. So she would never hide it.
If you told her past self that someday she'd feel hurt because a man was having sex with another woman, she would have scoffed.
But how could her past self have known? Everything she once believed in and accepted turned out to be fake too.
Whether it was ordinary life, or the world she had always wanted to change, all of it was nothing but surface. Genuine fakes, through and through.
The truth of this world had always been hidden beneath that ordinariness. Lurking in the shadows. In the darkness. That was the genuine article.
Honestly, Yukino was grateful to Leo. Grateful that he had given her the chance to see the world as it truly was. To find the genuine.
So even though she never said it aloud, Yukino had long since accepted everything. Including the fact that Leo considered her his property, considered her a member of his harem. Things that her past self would have found utterly absurd.
The main reason was that Leo had never forced her. Never dragged her into any of it. With her personality, if he had, she probably would have done what she always did: tried to change things, or fled from his side entirely. Even becoming a stray devil wouldn't have been off the table.
But he hadn't. Despite all his flirting, he had never forced her to do anything before she came to terms with it on her own. Even though he constantly called her his property, his servant, a future member of his harem, he had never once been disrespectful in those early days.
Things like barging into her room without knocking while she was changing, chatting with her while completely naked as if it were the most natural thing in the world, or soaking together in a hot spring... none of that had happened before. Not until Yukino accepted everything. Acknowledged everything. Only then did that man become so brazen.
He had always known where the line was. He seemed shameless. Seemed like nothing was off-limits, like he was having the time of his life being a devil with zero restraint. But he had never truly crossed a line.
He paid attention to how his servants were doing. What they were thinking.
He cared about how they felt.
He called himself their master, but never actually treated them as servants. The way he interacted with them daily was closer to being around friends.
He often said that the Gremory family had treasured their servants for generations, doted on their peerage. But in Yukino and the others' eyes, he was worse than any Gremory. He practically spoiled them rotten.
Every action he took came from the heart.
His feelings toward his servants might not be called passionate, but they were absolutely sincere.
Unlike the social games at school, or the politics of the real world, where every smile hid something... being around that man, every second of it, you could feel that this was just him. No act, no agenda.
So whether it was her, or Asuna, Utaha, Mahiru, or the rest, they were all genuinely content to stay by his side. Even if they sat together in silence reading books, it never felt uncomfortable.
That was remarkable.
She herself went without saying. As reclusive as she was, there was never a moment she could be called "sociable." Asuna, Utaha, Mahiru... they all preferred solitude over company. The faces they showed to the public were just masks, maintained for the bare minimum of social circles and relationships.
Even Eriri, the blonde who seemed to get along with everyone, would definitely prefer hiding away to secretly work on her doujinshi over spending all day chatting and laughing with people who didn't know her real self...
Unattainable beauties were unattainable precisely because they were not only beautiful, but impossible to get close to.
Yet around Leo, that principle simply didn't apply.
All four of these flowers atop their distant peaks had already accepted Leo. Accepted the arrangement as it was.
Yukino knew this day would come eventually.
That man wanted a harem, after all. How could he possibly keep his hands off when surrounded by so many beautiful women?
Girls were far more perceptive than boys imagined. Unless they were the truly innocent, truly naive type, they always knew what boys were thinking.
You think sneaking a girl off to a secluded spot is subtle?
You think taking a girl to a hotel and insisting you "just want to sleep, just want to rest" actually fools anyone?
Wrong. Dead wrong.
Sometimes, when they played along, it wasn't because a boy's game was slick. It was because they were willing.
And so, as Leo barged into their rooms with increasing boldness, as he grew more enthusiastic about bathing together, the girls had already more or less figured it out. This man was going to make his move.
Even Yukino had mentally prepared herself.
What was happening now wasn't particularly surprising to her.
There was just one thing she couldn't quite accept...
"Even if he was going to make a move, shouldn't it have been me first?"
Who was she?
She was the very first servant Leo had taken after becoming a High-Class devil and debuting as a King.
And Asuna?
She was a latecomer!
Why did she get to go first?
Yukino strongly expressed her dissatisfaction.
Click...
An hour later, the bathroom door opened.
Leo stepped out wrapped in nothing but a towel, riding the wave of steam that billowed from the bathroom. His face wore an expression of utter contentment, as if he'd just had the most relaxing massage of his life. Anyone who saw him could read only one word from his entire being: satisfied.
But before he could wipe that blissful look off his face, his body went rigid.
Because standing right in front of him, arms crossed, eyes cold, was a girl.
"...Why are you here?"
Leo's brain short-circuited.
"Why?" Yukino said coldly. "You don't want to see me here?"
"That's not it..." Leo said, face stiff. "How... how long have you been here?"
He prayed that Yukino had only just arrived.
If so, maybe he wouldn't be socially dead.
Carefree and easygoing as he normally was, tonight was his first time. Both lives combined, this was the night he'd finally lost his virginity. The last thing he wanted was for someone to have been listening.
Unfortunately, his fragile wish was doomed.
"I'd say I arrived fairly early," Yukino said, expressionless. "After all, someone who talked big about building a harem surrendered not long after starting. How could I possibly have come late?"
"Bullshit!" Leo exploded, practically jumping out of his skin. "Who surrendered?! I only did that the first ti..."
The sentence died halfway.
Right. If Yukino had heard even that much, then she really had arrived early.
And he really was socially dead.
Leo was instantly overcome with the urge to cease existing.
"Where's Asuna?"
Yukino couldn't have cared less whether her scum of a master was having an existential crisis. She glanced at the bathroom.
"In there. Cleaning up."
Leo's response was lifeless.
"Hmph."
Yukino wanted to say something more, but couldn't figure out what. She settled for glaring at Leo, letting out a cold snort, and turning to leave.
"Wait!"
Leo panicked. He lunged forward and grabbed her, pulling her into his arms.
"What are you doing?!"
Yukino yelped, then went red to her ears.
And who could blame her? Leo was wearing nothing but a towel, hugging her bare-chested. Close enough that she could smell the body wash and shampoo on his skin.
Yukino, who could barely handle physical contact on a good day, felt her composure crack.
But Leo didn't let go.
"So, uh... can we make a deal?" Leo held her and smiled sheepishly. "What happened tonight... don't tell anyone, okay?"
The sex with Asuna? That, he didn't mind people finding out. It was bound to come out sooner or later. He'd never hidden it. Even if it was discovered, he could face the contemptuous stares of his servants with perfect composure.
But finishing embarrassingly fast the first round? Absolutely not.
Just as Yukino had said, it contradicted the image of the man who was always going on about building a harem.
Sure, he'd quickly rallied and come back for round two, proving himself. But he really didn't want anyone finding out that he'd gotten a little too excited and lasted about as long as a sneeze his first time.
This had to stay buried between himself, Yukino, and Asuna. Nobody else could ever know.
"You're still capable of shame?" Yukino struggled, and upon realizing she couldn't break free, sneered. "Isn't your skin always impossibly thick?"
"That depends on what it is!" Leo declared with iron resolve. "Other stuff? Fine, whatever. But this? Absolutely not. This can never get out."
"Why not?" Yukino shot back. "Aren't you always saying we're the closest to each other? That we're fated companions for tens of thousands of years? What could possibly need hiding?"
"How is that the same thing?!" Leo's mouth twitched. "This is personal privacy. Everyone has a sense of shame. I don't make you all report which day of the month you get your period, do I?"
"Nobody would report that to you!" Yukino was genuinely angry now. "And I have zero interest in advertising your embarrassments. Let go of me!"
She struggled again.
Instead of letting go, Leo held on tighter.
"If you got here that early, why did you stay the whole time instead of leaving?" Leo calmed down, his intelligence reclaiming the high ground. "Don't tell me you have some kind of eavesdropping fetish."
"Who has a fetish like that?!" Yukino's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You're the one who suddenly made a move on someone. You don't get to blame people for overhearing!"
"Other people, no." Leo looked at her steadily. Then, as if he'd seen through something, he smiled. "But you? That's fine."
"After all, you're my first servant."
The words froze Yukino in place.
The next instant, Leo swept her off her feet, making her cry out.
"What are you doing?!"
"You."
"???"