"Husband, please have some tea."
She respectfully presented a cup of emerald green tea to Cloud.
That word "husband" was spoken so naturally, so sweetly.
Cloud's heart nearly melted.
"Ahem!" He cleared his throat, trying to maintain his dignity as "head of the household." "Chizuru, how has... everything been at the shrine lately?"
"Mm, everything's fine." Chizuru smiled and nodded. "Sister has also been more relaxed."
When she mentioned "sister," her eyes brightened noticeably.
Here it comes!
Cloud knew the main topic had arrived.
"How has Maki been lately?" Cloud asked, pretending to be casual.
"Sister, she..." Chizuru sighed softly. "Same as always. During the day she handles clan affairs, at night she often sits alone at the shrine, lost in thought."
"She... has suffered too much."
"Ah, yes indeed." Cloud also let out a long sigh, his face showing an expression of compassion.
"I, Cloud, have always conducted myself openly and honestly throughout my life. What I cannot bear to see most is... lovers being obstructed by fate!"
"Miss Maki, such a gentle and kind person, yet she must grow old alone for the sake of that so-called guardian maiden's destiny! This is simply... the extinction of humanity! The loss of morality!"
As he spoke, he slammed the table with righteous indignation.
That acting—it would be a waste not to win an Oscar.
Watching Cloud's "justice-filled" appearance, Chizuru knew exactly what schemes he was hatching.
Her pretty face flushed slightly, but her eyes were full of encouragement.
"Cloud..." She gathered her courage, took Cloud's hand, and whispered, "Actually... you know, there's something I've always wanted to ask of you."
"Speak freely!" Cloud immediately adopted an attitude of "I'll go through fire and water without hesitation."
"I... I hope..." Chizuru's face turned so red it seemed blood might drip from it. "I hope you... can... can also take sister..."
She was too embarrassed to finish the sentence.
But Cloud understood.
He took her small hand in his, his face full of righteous solemnity as he said, "Chizuru, you don't need to say more!"
"For Miss Maki's happiness! To break this unjust fate!"
"This matter—I, Cloud... will definitely handle it!"
"Tonight, I'll go... counsel Miss Maki!"
With that, he stood up, wearing a tragic expression like "the wind blows cold, the hero goes forth never to return," and strode toward Maki Kagura's room.
Leaving only Chizuru behind, so embarrassed she nearly buried her head in the teacup.
But what she didn't know was...
Just as she and Cloud were "plotting" how to "rescue" her sister.
In the next room, that "pitiable" Maki Kagura who was supposedly "bound by fate."
Was sensing everything happening in the tea room with perfect clarity.
She listened to that "shameless couple"—ahem, that "perfect pair"—having their "heartfelt" conversation.
Her face had long since turned as red as a branding iron.
Her heart was beating faster than when she had faced Goenitz.
Embarrassed! Afraid!
She felt that her "shrine maiden" heart, which had been calm as still water, had been completely thrown into chaos tonight by that wicked yet irresistible man.
When she saw Cloud actually walking toward her room.
She panicked.
She immediately lay down on the tatami, pulled the covers over her head.
And began...
—Pretending to sleep.
...
The reason Cloud dared to walk openly toward Maki Kagura's room on this dark and windy night like a "flower thief."
His confidence came not only from his "city-wall-thick" shamelessness and his lofty ideal of "saving fallen maidens."
More importantly, it was...
[Ding! System friendly reminder: Bond Target Maki Kagura's affection toward you has reached 100 (Heart secretly given, awaiting your claim)!]
[System Comment: Good lord! Host! I say good lord! Your "hitting the cow from across the mountain" pickup technique is truly a role model for us all! You've barely met a few times, yet you've already maxed out affection with your sister-in-law... ahem, that gentle older sister! Did you drug her younger sister, or did you feed her some love potion?!]
Looking at that bright red, sparkling "100" on the system panel, Cloud's heart blossomed with joy.
So...
She also feels that way about me...
Hehehe...
Thinking about how he was about to embrace both sisters—with completely different temperaments but equally breathtakingly beautiful—at the same time.
Cloud felt the "soul of a pervert" within him burning fiercely!
But!
As a "top-tier gentleman" with taste, class, and depth, he knew well that "forcing himself on her" was the lowest method.
A true "master of romance" must know how to create atmosphere, progress gradually, and make the other party willingly, actively open her heart to him.
So, when he pushed open Maki Kagura's door and saw that figure with the covers over her head, body trembling slightly in "fake sleep."
His face immediately shed that "pervert" expression, replaced by a holy countenance full of righteousness.
"Sigh..."
First, he let out a long sigh.
That sigh was full of indignation at "unfair fate" and pity for "beauty's tragic destiny."
Then, he slowly walked to the edge of the tatami and, in a tone like reciting Shakespearean tragedy, began to speak: "Night, why are you so cold? Stars, why do you no longer shine?"
"It is because, in this world, there is still a beautiful woman, being bound and tormented by merciless fate."
"She possesses the gentlest heart in the world, yet must bear the heaviest shackles."
"She possesses the most beautiful countenance, yet can only wither alone in endless solitude."
"Oh! God! If you have eyes, why do you let such tragedy befall the mortal realm?!"
This deeply emotional monologue, worthy of a "stage actor," gave Maki Kagura, who was pretending to sleep under the covers, goosebumps all over her body.
...
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