Shout out to Dersbyth for the pledge. 2 extra chapters next week!!

Have a nice week ahead!!!

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There was still about an hour before class, and Nozomi wasn't in any rush. Instead, he wrapped his arms around the quiet but lovely second daughter of the Yukinoshita family, enjoying their time together like a scene from a slice-of-life anime.

"Yukino, do you feel guilty?" he asked gently.

"Guilty?"

"For never really thinking about caring for your mom... Mrs. Yukinoshita."

Yukinoshita Yukino turned her gaze toward him, eyes slightly narrowed. "Do you have some kind of mind-reading ability?"

Nozomi grinned, his expression playful. "I wish I did. If I could read your mind, I could make you happy every day... And then, maybe Yukino would allow me to do more... indulgent things."

"B-Baka! Is that all you ever think about? Can't you aim for something nobler in life?" Yukino huffed, thumping the back of her head against his chest.

This fiancé of hers—he was always thinking about indecent things!

Nozomi, shameless as ever, leaned down and pressed his lips against her pink ones in a brief but firm kiss. Only after that did he speak again, voice low and warm.

"To me, Yukino is the most beautiful thing I could ever pursue. I know I'm a bit of a scumbag... maybe more than a bit. But that's exactly why I want to do whatever I can to make you happy. Because if I don't, I have no excuse to keep you by my side."

"Idiot..."

Yukino turned her face away slightly, cheeks tinted pink. This guy... always with the flirtatious words. She used to feel sick just hearing things like that. But now?

Now, they made her heart flutter.

Sure, she still wasn't completely satisfied with how shameless he could be. But what could she do?

She was the one born weak.

And even though they were engaged, sometimes she wasn't sure if she had the right. Shiina Mashiro and Ogiwara Sayu had been with Nozomi much longer, yet neither had formalized their relationship with him. Was she the interloper? The third party in her own engagement?

Her mother had used the Yukinoshita family's power to force the engagement, practically dragging Yukino into it. Was that fair to the others?

"Speaking of which, have you talked to Mahiru or Sayu recently?" Nozomi asked, shifting topics.

"We chatted a bit when we went to pet the cats. Why?"

"Just checking in. I was worried you might be uncomfortable. But seeing how well you all get along puts my heart at ease."

Yukino gave him a flat look. "You must be pretty proud of yourself."

"Hehe, maybe just a little."

"Hmph, shameless scumbag! And get your hands off me! Stop touching my stomach!"

"Roger that!"

Nozomi released her waist... only to turn his gaze to her long, elegant legs wrapped in those alluring black over-the-knee socks.

"Your eyes are drifting again!" Yukino nearly screamed, pulling her legs back instinctively.

"My bad, my bad. Since hugging is banned for now... how about giving me a knee pillow instead?"

Without waiting for her answer, he laid down, his head resting gently on her lap. Yukino sighed and covered his eyes with her soft palm.

"You can use my lap, but you are absolutely not allowed to open your eyes and look at me from that angle."

"Why not? Yukino looks so cute from here. I could stare at you forever."

"Shut it. No staring."

She was going to die from embarrassment if he kept talking like that.

With a soft chuckle, Nozomi closed his eyes, enjoying the warm comfort of her lap.

Yukino, still covering his eyes, spoke slowly.

"When Ogiwara-san first told me about your indecent harem ideas and invited me to be part of it, I was furious."

Nozomi's breath caught, and his hand instinctively reached up to hold hers. She didn't pull away.

"Later, after I ran away from Sakurasou and got harassed by that guy... you were the one who saved me. That was when I started feeling something for you. Just a little. Not that I want to admit it."

Her voice was trembling slightly.

"You may be a shameless flirt, but you take responsibility. You protect people. When you joined the Service Club, I felt strangely reassured."

Nozomi's lips curled into a playful smile as he quietly listened to Yukinoshita Yukino's rare and heartfelt confession. His fingers gently entwined with her soft, snow-white hand, caressing it as if it were something precious and fragile.

Yukino took a deep breath, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but her voice was clear and resolute as she continued.

"I've never dated anyone before... From elementary school until now, I never even had a real friend."

She paused, biting her lip for courage.

"But... I think I want to try. To understand you, to spend time together. So... I might be inexperienced and awkward, but please guide me, Nozomi-kun."

With trembling fingers, she lifted her hand from his eyes, revealing her crimson-tinted cheeks and shy, yet earnest gaze.

Nozomi's eyes widened slightly, stunned not just by her beauty but by the sincerity of her words. His heart skipped a beat.

In that moment, a single thought surged through his mind with unwavering clarity.

I have to kiss her.

And so he did.

He rose quickly, his hand slipping under her delicate chin, and with an intensity that mirrored the beating of his heart, he pressed his lips to hers.

Yukino's body tensed for a brief second—but she didn't pull away. Her fingers tightened slightly around his hand.

It was the first time she had been this open, this vulnerable. The kiss wasn't just a kiss—it was her way of embracing their engagement, of accepting him into her once tightly guarded world.

From this moment on, Yukinoshita Yukino had decided: she would try. To understand Nozomi, to walk beside him, to grow closer with every step.

This was the beginning of their relationship—as awkward and clumsy as any real love story, but entirely theirs.

――

Thirty minutes before class.

Yukino finally made her way back to the Service Club.

Yuigahama Yui spotted her from across the room, and immediately blinked in surprise, then narrowed her eyes with concern.

"Yukino, your lips are swollen again! Did you eat something weird?"

Startled, Yukino quickly composed herself, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear with elegant calm.

"I just had some spicy snacks. A little too much, I suppose."

Nozomi stepped in right behind her, playing along with a casual shrug.

"She lost a bet to me, so I made her eat spicy strips. They were pretty intense."

Sanshokuin Sumireko raised a brow, her expression unreadable.

"Spicy strips... huh. Sure doesn't sound suspicious at all."

"Nozomi! That's too mean!" Yuigahama cried. "Yukino's skin is sensitive! She'll break out if she eats too much spicy food!"

Yukino nodded awkwardly, adding, "I don't usually eat spicy things, but I honored the bet. They weren't too bad."

She forced a calm smile, even though internally she was still trying to will away the lingering warmth of that kiss.

"Anyway, Yukino-chan!" Yuigahama suddenly said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a small parcel wrapped in a cute ribbon. "I made cookies as a thank-you for helping me study! Guess what? I passed the makeup exam!"

Yukino's expression froze.

Cookies... from Yuigahama.

She tried to keep a composed face but couldn't stop the small twitch of panic in her eyes.

"Ah... um, I may not be able to eat them right now," she stammered. "I just ate something spicy and my throat's a little dry."

Truthfully, she was just afraid.

Yui's cooking skills were... infamous.

But Yuigahama, oblivious to Yukino's hesitation, cheerfully pressed the cookies into her hands anyway.

"Don't worry! I made extras! Nozomi-kun, this one's for you!"

Being called "Nozomi-kun" in that sweet, chirpy tone made him blink, but he didn't object. Yui's bright smile was hard to resist.

"You can eat it later, Yukino-chan. It's my heartfelt thanks. Please don't say no, okay?"

Then came the final blow.

Yui widened her big round eyes and put on her ultimate weapon: the cutesy-puppy look.

Yukino faltered.

"O-okay..."

She accepted the cookies with a resigned nod. But her mind was already made up.

She turned ever-so-slightly toward Nozomi, her gaze pleading.

He kissed her. He hugged her. He even teased her mercilessly. Was it really too much to ask him... to help her get rid of a bag of potentially deadly cookies?

Yes.

This, too, was part of the trial of dating Nozomi.

And thus began her quiet mission:

Operation: Cookie Disposal.