The Purple Rose in Yoizumi's hand twirled between his fingers as he stood by the laboratory door, quietly waiting for Lady Shinobu to finish.
Noticing the sound of urgent footsteps approaching from within the room, Yoizumi immediately turned sideways, ensuring that Lady Shinobu would see him as soon as she opened the door.
"Creak~"
Shinobu's face was filled with unconcealed joy. The moment she saw Yoizumi, she excitedly embraced him. Yoizumi was startled for a moment, then smiled and put his arm around Lady Shinobu's shoulder.
She pressed almost all her weight onto Yoizumi, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and resting her face against his chest, her lighthearted tone revealing her delight.
"Yoizumi, I succeeded!"
"I've found a concrete direction for my research."
"It won't be long before the antidote to suppress the side effects of the Mark is complete!"
Gently patting Lady Shinobu's back, a slight smile appeared on Yoizumi's usually calm face. He was also happy for Lady Shinobu.
"Yoizumi, have you seen Lady Tamayo?"
"I still have questions to discuss with her."
Stepping out of Yoizumi's embrace, Shinobu looked around. Not only was there no sign of Tamayo, but Yushiro was also nowhere to be seen.
"Tamayo needs to be alone right now," Yoizumi said, raising a hand to smooth Lady Shinobu's disheveled hair, hooking a strand behind her ear.
"And…" Yoizumi slowly took Lady Shinobu's wrist, his brows slightly furrowed, his usually flat voice tinged with worry.
"Lady Shinobu needs rest."
His sapphire eyes observed Lady Shinobu's trembling fingertips. Having stayed there all day, she probably hadn't even eaten. Yoizumi, uncharacteristically firm, led Lady Shinobu towards her room.
Shinobu, who hadn't had time to ponder why Tamayo needed to be alone, was thus pulled back to her room by Yoizumi and immediately pressed onto a soft cushion.
Yoizumi casually placed the day's Purple Rose into Lady Shinobu's hand.
"I'll go get something to eat."
"Lady Shinobu, don't move."
Everything happened so quickly that Shinobu didn't even have time to refuse. She chuckled helplessly, gazing at the Purple Rose in her hand, her eyes shimmering with gentle light, her fingertips lightly touching the delicate petals.
Carefully placing the Purple Rose into a vase, she recalled how, ever since her casual remark last time, she had received the freshest flower from Yoizumi every day.
If this continued, her room would probably be filled with Purple Roses.
Resting her chin on her hands, Shinobu's expression was gentle and soft. The small vase was already packed with dozens of Purple Roses… Using Blood Demon Art: Instant Shadow, Yoizumi returned to the Butterfly Mansion and found Kanzaki Aoi, telling her he needed some food.
As soon as Kanzaki Aoi heard it was for Lady Shinobu, she rolled up her sleeves without a word and hurried to the kitchen.
"Mr. Yoizumi, could I trouble you to start the fire?"
Kanzaki Aoi chopped vegetables quickly, preparing the ingredients.
In about half an hour, Kanzaki Aoi had prepared two dishes and one soup: fried fish, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and miso soup.
She added a pickled plum to the rice, and everything was complete. She covered the bento box and handed it to Yoizumi.
"Thank you," Yoizumi said. In the time it took Kanzaki Aoi to turn around and find a clean cloth, he had vanished without a trace.
"Mr. Yoizumi, your face… Huh?"
Kanzaki Aoi slowly lowered the cloth in her hand. Mr. Yoizumi had left too quickly.
When Shinobu saw Yoizumi, her eyes widened slightly. A few seconds later, she couldn't help but cover her mouth and stifle a laugh. Yoizumi tilted his head, puzzled. What was wrong with Lady Shinobu?
"What's wrong?"
Shinobu tried hard to suppress her laughter and waved at Yoizumi, signaling him to come closer.
"Come here, and I'll tell you."
Yoizumi obediently approached and then, following Lady Shinobu's words, bent down. Shinobu's finger brushed Yoizumi's face, and a distinct black smudge stood out on her pink fingertip.
Instinctively wiping his own face, Yoizumi stared at the black ash on the back of his hand. He hadn't noticed while starting the fire, and it had gotten on his face.
She playfully poked Yoizumi's nose with her ash-stained fingertip.
Now he looked like a little kitten~
Placing the bento box on the table, Yoizumi quickly washed his face and returned to the room. He extended his palm to Lady Shinobu, who, confused, placed her hand on his.
With a damp cloth, Yoizumi carefully wiped the black ash from Shinobu's fingers, then nodded with satisfaction.
"Eat."
Smelling the familiar aroma of the food, Shinobu curved her lips and sighed softly.
"It's been a long time since I've had Kanzaki Aoi's cooking."
Sitting on the other side, Yoizumi deboned the fried fish for Lady Shinobu. Shinobu smiled as she watched, feeling as if the food in her hands tasted even better.
After eating, Shinobu brewed herself a pot of relaxing herbal tea. It was sweet on the palate, and the lingering aftertaste made her eyes narrow.
Only Yoizumi found it tasted no different from plain water.
His puzzled, indescribable expression made Shinobu laugh out loud again.
Shinobu glanced at the vase and regretfully picked out some withered Purple Roses, saying with a hint of sorrow,
"Yoizumi, the flowers have withered."
"It's okay, I'll bring them to Lady Shinobu every day, so they won't be considered withered," Yoizumi said seriously.
As long as Lady Shinobu liked them, he would keep sending them until she got tired of them.
Yoizumi loved the unconscious smile Lady Shinobu displayed when she received his flowers.
"Is that so~ Then…" Shinobu walked with light steps to Yoizumi, and with ease, cupped his face as he sat.
"You can't miss a single day, got it?"
"Mhm," Yoizumi's voice was a bit muffled, his cheeks pinched.
"Oh, right, Lady Shinobu," Yoizumi suddenly remembered something Yushiro had said earlier, which he truly couldn't understand.
"Hm?" Lady Shinobu naturally settled into Yoizumi's lap, resting her head against his chest.
"What does 'seduce' mean?" Yoizumi leaned back slightly to make Lady Shinobu more comfortable, propping himself up with his hands as he asked curiously.
"…?"
Shinobu slowly turned around, placing her hands on Yoizumi's shoulders, and said softly with a smile,
"Who told you that?"
Lady Shinobu's expression was strange… Yoizumi thought.
"Yushiro said I was seducing Tamayo."
It was him… A dark glint flashed in Shinobu's eyes. He really hadn't learned his lesson.
She looked down at Yoizumi's bewildered eyes and, exasperated, ruffled his beautiful golden hair. Why did everyone want to corrupt her Yoizumi? "?"
Yoizumi, whose hairstyle was inexplicably messed up, became even more bewildered.
"Yoizumi only needs to know that this is something you don't need to understand."
"Okay."
— — — — Short Skit — — — —
The next day
"Damn it! That vicious woman must have eaten gunpowder!"
The furious Yushiro squatted in the courtyard, frantically pulling weeds to vent his anger.
The ground was bare, covered with the corpses of weeds.
He didn't know what kind of madness had possessed that woman. From the first moment he saw her, Yushiro knew he was being targeted.
But he couldn't say a single word in rebuttal!
"Darn it!"
"Who did I offend?!"
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