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Chapter 163: Secret
"Am I not supposed to be here?" Kanae blinked, looking at the utterly baffled Aoi.
"No, no." Aoi quickly waved her hands. "I didn't mean it like that, it's just..."
Kanae tilted her head curiously. "Just what?"
"Nothing. Never mind."
It took Aoi less than a second to deduce that the woman in Suyan's room was 99% likely to be Shinobu.
But she chose not to tell Kanae, deciding to cover for Suyan instead. Well, maybe it wasn't exactly covering for him. Shinobu was the one who had brought Suyan to the Butterfly Mansion in the first place, and she was technically the first to be with him.
"Well, since it's nothing, you shouldn't frown so much, Aoi. It'll give you wrinkles," Kanae said, not pressing the issue. Seeing Aoi's furrowed brow, she reached out and gently smoothed the corners of the younger girl's eyes, trying to ease her worries.
Aoi panicked. "Really?!"
Girls were inherently vain creatures, especially when there was someone they liked. Competing with Suyan's other contractees—all of whom were devastatingly beautiful—put immense pressure on her.
"I'm just teasing you, of course." Kanae winked playfully.
Aoi shot her a resentful look. "Kanae-nee~"
"Could you make me some breakfast, Aoi? My stomach is absolutely empty." Kanae quickly changed the subject, pressing her palms together in a pleading gesture. "Please, I just want a bite of your cooking! This is the request of a lifetime!"
"Oh, and if possible, I'd love salted grilled saury for the main dish!"
Aoi rolled her eyes. "You have an awful lot of 'requests of a lifetime'."
"Onegai!" Kanae looked at her with pure, earnest desperation.
"Alright, alright, let me check. There should be some saury in the ingredients that arrived a few days ago..." Aoi waved her hand helplessly, wearing a look that clearly said, I can never win against you.
Kanae threw her arms around Aoi, rubbing her cheek affectionately against the younger girl's. "You're the absolute best, Aoi!"
Aoi pushed her away with a look of faux-disgust and walked over to the large water tank. She quickly scooped out a fresh saury, grabbed a knife, and prepped the fish with clean, masterful strokes.
While she could never overcome her mental block when fighting demons, applying her Breathing Style techniques to cooking made her exceptionally skilled in the kitchen. Watching her work, Kanae couldn't help but wonder if Aoi might eventually invent a specialized "Cooking Breathing" style if given enough time.
"Incredible." Kanae stood nearby, providing emotional support as Aoi cooked, while simultaneously agonizing over how to bring up last night.
In no time, the salted grilled saury was ready. Aoi paired it with a bowl of miso soup and two small side dishes.
"Please enjoy." Aoi wiped the grease from her hands with a towel.
After such intense exercise last night, Kanae was genuinely starving. The aroma of the food made her mouth water. She clapped her hands together, whispered "Thanks for the meal," and began eating in small, dainty bites.
Despite her elegant posture and small mouthfuls, she devoured the food at an alarming speed.
"Oh, thank goodness, I'm alive again." Swallowing a large mouthful of rice, Kanae sighed in pure bliss. "As expected, your cooking really is the best, Aoi. Saikou!"
"It's not that amazing," Aoi deflected, shaking her head. "I still have a long way to go."
Despite her modest words, the small, proud smile tugging at the corners of Aoi's lips proved she was thoroughly pleased.
Kanae looked her in the eyes, her tone completely serious. "I don't care. To me, your cooking is the greatest in the world."
"Just eat," Aoi muttered.
Kanae smiled and silently finished her meal. Swallowing the last drop of miso soup, she set down her bowl. Seeing Aoi move to clear the table, she gently stopped her. "Leave that for later. Let's talk about last night."
"Last night..." Aoi's heart clenched, the shame Kanae's arrival had briefly dispelled rushing back in full force. She bowed her head. "I'm sorry, Kanae-nee."
"I'm sorry, Aoi," Kanae blurted out at the exact same moment.
Their voices overlapped perfectly. Kanae blinked, a question mark practically hovering over her head. She had no idea what Aoi could possibly be apologizing for.
She patted her full stomach and asked nervously, "Did you drug the food?"
"No, no, that's not it!" Aoi waved her hands frantically. "It's about before... I shouldn't have snuck around with Lord Suyan behind your back and—"
"Is that it?" Kanae let out a massive sigh of relief, her tone turning nonchalant. "I thought it was something serious. I've known about you two for a while now."
"Huh?" Aoi froze. Her mind raced with a chaotic storm of thoughts.
"Since you're done, it's my turn to talk, right?" Kanae said.
Aoi snapped back to reality, looking at the deeply apologetic expression on Kanae's face. "Go ahead."
"I'm the one who should be apologizing for last night," Kanae said guiltily. "I wanted to be alone with Suyan, so I intentionally showed up to scare you away."
Aoi's blue eyes widened in shock, a flash of genuine anger crossing her face. Seeing this, Kanae hung her head even lower.
"I'm so sorry," Kanae said. "If you're really angry, you can..."
"Never mind." Aoi shook her head.
While she was a little mad at Kanae for doing that, it was only a little. Even if Kanae hadn't interrupted, there was no way she could have monopolized Suyan for the whole night. If she had stayed any later, Suyan inevitably would have teleported to Greed Island for a night of debauchery.
She could have followed him, of course. That enthusiastic woman, Takagi Yuriko, had invited her to join them multiple times.
But... she was terrified.
So, her anger wasn't nearly as intense as Kanae feared. However, looking at Kanae's guilt-ridden face, Aoi suddenly had an idea.
She leaned in, hesitating for a moment before asking a deeply personal question. "Um, Kanae-nee... did you and Suyan do that last night?"
"Do what?"
"You know, that." Aoi glanced around the empty kitchen to make sure no one was listening. She leaned close to Kanae's ear, whispering explicitly what she meant, even making a few highly descriptive hand gestures.
"Mhm." Kanae's face instantly burned crimson. She gave Aoi a look of pure shock, her eyes screaming, How do you know so much?! Then she bowed her head, uttering a tiny, embarrassed sound of confirmation.
Seeing Kanae's reaction, Aoi felt a wave of helplessness.
She didn't want to know so much! But that woman inside Greed Island, Takagi Yuriko... not only had she taught Aoi a vast amount of "knowledge," but she had also taught her plenty of "positions."
Yuriko was basically a demon, and her lessons were demonic whispers that Aoi found terrifyingly addictive. Whenever she had free time, Aoi couldn't stop herself from sneaking into Greed Island to ask her questions.
Yet, on the most critical question—what the first time actually felt like—Yuriko always refused to answer. She would just give Aoi a meaningful look, practically daring her to initiate an attack on Suyan and find out for herself.
So now, with the perfect opportunity to interrogate Kanae, she wasn't about to let it slip away.
Aoi pressed eagerly. "Was it your first time, Kanae-nee?"
"Mhm." Kanae's head dropped even lower.
"Can you tell me what it feels like?" Aoi's lips curved into a sly smile, her eyes burning with an unholy thirst for knowledge. "Tell me, and I'll forgive you for scaring me."
"Ah..." Kanae froze, puffing her cheeks out slightly. "You've been corrupted, Aoi."
"Is it a no?" Aoi pouted.
"Fine!" Seeing the disappointment on Aoi's face, Kanae gritted her teeth and agreed. She hooked her finger, gesturing for Aoi to come closer so she could whisper the details.
Just then, a voice rudely interrupted them.
"Kanae? What are you doing here?"
Kanae and Aoi whipped their heads toward the door in a panic. Standing there was the exact male lead of the topic they were about to discuss: Suyan.
An incredibly awkward atmosphere descended on the two girls.
"Suyan? Why are you here?" Kanae asked hurriedly.
Suyan held up a stack of dishes. "Shinobu and I finished breakfast. I brought the plates back."
"I see." Kanae nodded, then asked nervously, "Um, did you talk to Shinobu? Has she calmed down?"
Suyan's reply was somehow even weaker than hers. "I'd say she's about fifty percent calmed down."
"Fifty percent?" Kanae tilted her head.
Suyan scratched his cheek, his eyes darting away, completely avoiding Kanae's gaze. "The other fifty percent is up to you."
"What does that mean?" Kanae was entirely lost.
Suyan cleared his throat, evasive. "Well, Shinobu will tell you later. Or you can go find her right now."
"Alright, I'll go find her now." Seeing that Suyan was clearly hiding something, Kanae didn't press. She nodded, asked where Shinobu was, and turned to Aoi with an apologetic look. "Sorry, Aoi, I'll have to tell you about that later."
"It's fine." Aoi shook her head.
She didn't mind. With Suyan standing right there, Kanae was too embarrassed to talk, and Aoi would have been far too embarrassed to listen anyway.
Once Kanae left, Suyan wrapped an arm around Aoi's slender waist. "Aoi, what was this 'that' you guys were talking about?"
"Secret" Aoi smiled mysteriously.
Suyan feigned offense. "Wow, keeping secrets from me now?"
"You kept secrets from me first, Lord Suyan."
"What did I keep from you?"
"Kanae-nee knew about us for ages, and you knew that she knew, but you kept it from me." Aoi shot him a resentful glare. "You let me suffer a heart attack for nothing last night."
Suyan spread his hands in innocence. "Isn't that because you enjoy the thrill of sneaking around?"
Aoi opened her mouth, instantly rendered speechless by how utterly correct he was. She quickly changed the subject. "The person in your room earlier... that was Lady Shinobu, wasn't it?"
"Yep." Suyan nodded, seeing no reason to hide it. After all, it wasn't the first time Shinobu had spent the night in his room. The very first night he arrived at the Butterfly Mansion, she had slept there too.
The only difference was that Kanae had been there the first time. This time, Shinobu had been forced to sleep in his bed alone.
Getting a firm confirmation made Aoi even more curious. "So last night... it was you, Kanae-nee, and Lady Shinobu all together?"
Suyan gave the overly curious girl a confused look. "Why do you ask?"
"No reason, just wondering. Kanae-nee is so gentle, I know she'd agree to your perverted requests, but Lady Shinobu..." Aoi hesitated. "Knowing her personality, I just can't imagine her ever agreeing to something like that."
"Agreeing to what?" Suyan shook his head. "I was only with Kanae last night."
Aoi wanted to ask, Then why was Lady Shinobu in your room? But before she could get the words out, Suyan anticipated the question and shut it down.
"What happened this morning was an accident."
While he wasn't hiding the fact that Shinobu was in his room, he was keeping his lips sealed about the empathic bed-wetting incident.
Thinking about it, Suyan couldn't help but marvel at the old saying that women were made of water. Especially the girls of the Butterfly Mansion—the saying couldn't be more accurate. They were like little salamanders.
So incredibly wet, and so soft!
"What kind of accident?" Aoi asked.
"Secret" Suyan replied, throwing her own deflection right back at her.
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Meanwhile, Kanae had located Shinobu in Suyan's room.
Thankfully, Suyan had already cleaned up, so aside from a lingering, peculiar scent in the air, nothing looked out of place. Given her lack of experience, Kanae didn't notice the scent anyway.
"I'm so sorry, Shinobu. It's my fault. Can you forgive your older sister?" Kanae sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed Shinobu's hands, launching into a desperate, sincere apology before Shinobu could say a word.
Shinobu's eyelids twitched, a flash of anger sparking in her eyes.
A moment ago, she had actually felt a little bad about her revenge plan. But hearing the word "forgive," her mind instantly flashed to that filthy scumbag Suyan, and whatever pity she held vanished into thin air.
She hid it perfectly, though. Squeezing Kanae's hands, she replied in a calm, steady voice, "Don't be silly. We're the closest sisters in the world, aren't we? How could I possibly blame you?"
"Really?" Kanae's eyes lit up, though a tiny sliver of doubt lingered in her heart.
"Of course it's real." Shinobu shifted the tone effortlessly. "But to say I'm not angry at all would be a lie."
"Punish me, Shinobu! Do whatever it takes to calm your anger!"
"Okay."
The absolute lack of hesitation in Shinobu's voice made Kanae's heart leap into her throat. It only settled back into her chest once Shinobu announced the terms.
Shinobu pretended to think for a moment before declaring her pre-planned punishment. "Then I forbid you from sleeping with me tonight, and I forbid you from sleeping with that scumbag Suyan."
"Agreed."
Kanae agreed instantly. She had suffered a massive physical toll last night; her body still throbbed with a dull ache. Forbidding her from being with Suyan tonight was actually a massive favor. If she were forced into it again so soon, her only remaining option would be to open the back door.
And as traditional as she was... she just wasn't mentally prepared for that yet.
Plus, this worked out perfectly. She could sleep with Aoi tonight and finish telling her the details she hadn't gotten to share earlier.
Three birds with one stone. Kocho Kanae felt like she was winning at life.
What she didn't notice, however, was the imperceptible, razor-sharp smile that flashed through her younger sister's purple eyes the moment she agreed.
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