"It's getting late. Let me go prepare dinner."
Ukina got up and headed to the kitchen.
It was already past 5 PM.
Byakuya had originally planned to leave before dinner, but now it seemed he couldn't very well do that.
"So, how is it? Can you see a lot of myself in my mother?"
Eto took a rare jab at herself.
"You've got it backwards. It's that you're very much like your mother. As expected of blood relatives."
Byakuya corrected her.
"Same thing, basically."
Eto grinned.
"My mother's like that—she's not making things too difficult for you, is she?"
Eto suddenly asked.
"What are you saying..."
Byakuya's expression turned somewhat odd. "If I found things difficult, you would have made things difficult for me long ago. It wouldn't be Ukina-san's turn."
"Haha, that's true."
Eto laughed.
"Since you don't find it difficult, then..."
Eto's tone sounded like she was joking. "How about I try marrying you, like Mom suggested?"
"..."
Byakuya was momentarily stunned.
Was she serious?
But the very next moment, Eto added, "Just kidding~"
"I knew it. I knew you wouldn't play it straight."
Byakuya teased her, unsurprised.
"The way you put it—couldn't it be that I'm just a little shy and trying to cover it up?"
Eto said to Byakuya with a somewhat resentful tone.
"How could that be..."
Byakuya was halfway through his sentence when he noticed a faint blush had actually appeared on Eto's face.
Could she really be embarrassed...?
Byakuya found this somewhat hard to believe.
"Why couldn't it be?"
Eto countered. "Whether it's real or fake, we can just try it out and see, right? Like starting with a romantic relationship..."
"Didn't we already pretend once before? It's just like that."
Byakuya said.
Previously, to generate buzz for the new book launch, he and Eto had posed as a couple for a while.
Nothing particularly memorable had happened during that time—after all, it had been fake from the start, not a real relationship.
"Last time was last time. This time can be different."
Eto said with a smile. "This time it won't be pretending—it'll be a real romantic relationship. What do you think? Does your heart skip a beat?"
"It doesn't."
Byakuya said expressionlessly. "Your little tricks can't fool me anymore."
Having been desensitized by Eto long ago, he now defaulted to assuming everything she said was nonsense.
"Ahh~ I knew you wouldn't believe me. I guess there's no choice then."
As soon as she finished speaking, Eto suddenly leaned in close.
Where Eto was aiming was perfectly obvious, yet Byakuya still assumed she was just messing with him, so he didn't move or dodge.
The result was...
A cool, soft sensation struck Byakuya's lips directly.
Only then did a hint of surprise show in his eyes—Eto was actually serious?!
[Ding! Host has completed "kissing" with Eto Yoshimura. Reward: 50 Fusion Points!]
When their lips parted, Eto wore a mischievous smile.
"Well? Does this prove I'm serious?"
However, the crimson blush spreading from Eto's cheeks all the way to her ears betrayed her emotions at that moment.