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The air suddenly went quiet for a second.
Sora froze.
Then she lowered her head and glanced at her chest, tightly wrapped in her gothic dress. It wasn't exactly impressive, but it definitely wasn't… anything worth calling "big."
A wave of humiliation and anger surged up instantly.
"What do you mean small?!"
Like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on, Sora exploded. Her face flushed bright red as she grabbed a cushion from the sofa and hurled it straight at Lucian.
"Luu, you idiot! Pervert! Animal!"
"Wait, wait, wait!"
Lucian caught the cushion in one hand, half-laughing, half-exasperated as he hurried to explain, "I meant your age! Your age! You're still so young. How could your brother sleep in the same bed as you? That would make me a real pervert!"
"You're already a real pervert, sleeping with your student!" Sora snapped, plopping back onto the sofa. She crossed her arms and turned her face away with a huff.
"I really did mean your age," Lucian said, clearing his throat awkwardly.
"Then come sleep with your little sister for one night," Sora said quietly. "We used to sleep together all the time. I don't mind."
Just as Lucian was racking his brain trying to figure out how to calm this little tyrant down, the sound of running water from the bathroom stopped.
Click—
The frosted glass door slid open gently, and a wave of warm, fragrant steam rolled into the living room.
Through the hazy mist, Yukino Yukinoshita slowly stepped out.
A white bath towel was wrapped around her body.
It barely covered the tops of her thighs, revealing a pair of long, straight, dazzlingly fair legs. The heat from the bath had left her skin with a soft, rosy glow. A few playful droplets of water clung to her delicate collarbone, sliding slowly down her pale skin before disappearing beneath the edge of the towel.
Her long black hair, still damp, cascaded over her shoulders. The cold, aloof beauty she usually wore had melted away, replaced by a fresh, almost fragile softness, like a flower just emerging from water.
She was breathtaking.
So perfect it felt like she'd been sculpted by the finest craftsman into a flawless work of art.
Sitting on the sofa, Lucian couldn't help but slow his breathing as he watched.
But Yukino herself wasn't in great shape.
What had happened earlier that afternoon had drained her completely, leaving her muscles sore and her body on the verge of giving out. The hot shower had eased some of the tension, but it had also taken what little strength she had left.
Holding a hairdryer, she stood hesitantly by the bathroom door, her moist blue eyes turning toward Lucian with a faint plea for help.
"Teacher Lucian…"
She bit her lower lip lightly, her voice soft enough to melt, "My arms… I don't have any strength left. I can't lift them… Could you help me dry my hair?"
The moment those words left her mouth, the temperature in the living room seemed to drop to freezing.
Lucian could clearly feel it.
Beside him, Kosugano Sora was radiating a dark, almost visible aura of resentment.
That death glare—sharp enough to kill—felt a hundred times more terrifying than any evil spirit. It was like she was about to bore holes straight through his back.
Under his sister's murderous gaze, Lucian forced himself to stand up.
"Cough… Of course. Go sit on the sofa first. Don't catch a cold."
Yukino nodded slightly and walked over with light steps, carefully sitting down on the single sofa.
Since the towel was so short, she had to keep her legs together and sit slightly to the side, hands resting neatly on her knees. The posture made her look both elegant and strangely endearing.
Lucian stepped behind her, took the hairdryer, and plugged it in.
Bzzzz—
Warm air began to flow.
He slid his slender fingers gently through her damp black hair.
As his fingertips brushed against her cool scalp and the delicate skin at the back of her neck, both of them felt a faint shiver run through their bodies.
The scent of her shampoo, clean and refined, mixed with the natural fragrance of her skin, drifting toward him under the warmth of the air.
"Is the temperature okay?" Lucian asked softly.
"Mhm… it's just right."
Yukino closed her eyes slightly, savoring the gentle sensation of his fingers moving through her hair.
The embarrassment she had felt earlier in the bathroom—realizing she had no underwear—had somehow eased under his careful, tender touch.
More than that, a quiet sense of longing began to grow in her heart.
If, after work every day, there was someone like this… cooking for her, drying her hair…
That kind of life didn't sound so bad.
Not far away, on the long sofa—
Sora stared fixedly at the warm, intimate scene in front of her. It looked so perfect it could've been a newlywed couple.
Her teeth clenched with a faint grinding sound.
The rabbit plush in her hands had its ears twisted into a tight knot.
Unforgivable…
This woman who had appeared out of nowhere—not only had she taken over her brother's bed, she was even taking his gentleness!
This silent war for territory…
Had only just begun.
"..."
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