By the time Yukino Yukinoshita returned home, it was already past eight in the evening.

As someone who had served the Yukinoshita family for many years, Mr. Itō, their longtime chauffeur, remained as taciturn and reliable as ever. On the way back, he broke his usual silence just once, asking if the Yukinoshita family should step in to help "that young girl."

Yukino shook her head.

Mrs. Nishimiya was a deeply stubborn woman, proud and fiercely independent. In her eyes, getting into Sōbu High through public assistance was already a stroke of immense fortune. She believed that with this glimmer of light, they could move forward on their own toward a better future.

To Yukino, there were others in the world more in need of help than the Nishimiya family.

Back at her apartment, Yukino followed her usual routine: she cleared her head with a short worksheet before checking her phone. There, she found a message from Shōko Nishimiya asking if she'd gotten home safely, along with an explosion of chatty updates from Kasumi Utaha.

Yukino replied to Shōko first:

[Home safe.]

The reply came quickly.

[I really had a great time today. Thank you, senpai y∩__∩y]

Utaha's message, sent over an hour ago, was a screenshot an announcement from Kasushiko-sensei's Twitter, confirming the serialization of her new novel.

As the most popular breakout light novel author of the past two years, any news about Kasushiko-sensei's new work was bound to stir attention. Her tweet had already racked up thousands of retweets and comments.

Yukino glanced at the summary and theme of the new novel. Sure enough, it was one of the story pitches Utaha had shared with her before one of those beginnings they'd reviewed together.

It was becoming clearer and clearer that Kasushiko-sensei was deeply fond of Utaha. Her pen name was clearly inspired by Utaha's surname, and she'd even shared all her rough drafts with her for feedback.

Kasushiko-sensei... could she actually be in love with Utaha?

Yukino pictured a composed, mature woman in her thirties Kasushiko-sensei falling for a caustic, sharp-tongued high school girl like Utaha, only to end up pining in vain. The image was oddly vivid, and Yukino couldn't help but feel that Utaha really had no idea how lucky she was.

That girl always acted like she couldn't care less about Kasushiko-sensei.

Utaha's message came with the screenshot and a cheerful note:

"What a coincidence. Out of all those story ideas, Kasushiko-sensei picked the one you liked best Hanada Love Notebook."

The story followed a sweet and innocent high school girl named Aiko, who transferred to Hanada High in her small hometown. Everyone there was warm and kind but somehow, the perfect romance Aiko longed for remained elusive.

In her boredom, Aiko started jotting down heartwarming moments and gentle people she encountered in Hanada Town in her notebook.

The person she wrote about most was, of course, the school's most popular boy handsome, kind, and effortlessly charming.

Then one day, the school prince himself stumbled upon her notebook.

Yukino recalled reading this part before. The tone was a major departure from Kasushiko-sensei's earlier work light, playful, written with the bubbly charm of a high school girl.

To be honest, the opening did feel sweet and romantic. The giddy, nervous yearning of young love was captured with such clarity that Yukino had seriously begun to wonder if Kasushiko-sensei was in love herself.

Dear gods, please don't let her be in love with Utaha...

Yukino replied:

[The beginning is definitely sweet. But it feels a little... off. It's not really Kasushiko-sensei's usual knife-to-the-heart style.]

Kasushiko-sensei's previous novel, Love Metronome, was downright soul-crushing. She loved forcing readers to choose between impossible dilemmas, stabbing them with their own feelings.

Yukino added:

[I bet there's a twist later. Like the prince thinks Aiko's a stalker and pushes her away, only for a dramatic, face-slapping romantic turnaround later?]

Utaha replied:

[Guess you'll just have to wait and see~ teehee]

This woman, always teasing halfway through a sentence just to watch people squirm. Absolutely wicked.

As Yukino continued their chat, she casually declined another friend request from an unfamiliar account.

Lately, she'd been getting flooded with requests from random strangers: wealthy, handsome heirs who clearly had more money than sense, melancholic artsy types, gym-buffed hunks you name it.

The last couple of days, the crowd had diversified. Girls had started appearing too: blonde delinquent types, perfect honor-student types, literary girl types, polished office-lady types.

At this point, Yukino was pretty sure she could cast an entire dating sim just from the people who'd tried to add her.

Wait a second were these character types from dating sims?

Was she being targeted by the same person, using different tropes?

Had she attracted some obsessive, creepy otaku?

With practiced ease, Yukino rejected the latest request and blocked the account, then sent Utaha a prophetic message:

[Kasushiko-sensei's new book is too sugary. I just know there's a brutal twist coming later.]

Utaha, ever smug, replied with a single mocking smile emoji.

Yukino: "..."

Damn it.

Exploiting Kasushiko-sensei's feelings just to get exclusive previews like some kind of literary leech.

If you've got the guts, don't spoil a single thing. Ever.

Yukino got up to make herself a cup of coffee. When she returned, she saw a new email notification in her inbox.

Email wasn't common among her phone contacts only her parents used such an old-fashioned method of communication. Sure enough, the sender was her mother.

[Be sure to come home this weekend, Yukino. There's a small, important gathering you need to attend.]

Yukino sipped her coffee, eyes fixed on the message.

Her older sister Haruno was the official heir to the Yukinoshita family. Most of the family's social events and gatherings didn't require her presence Yukino only attended occasionally.

But lately, she'd been invited to more and more of these "small gatherings."

And thinking back to that dinner with the Shirakawa family two weeks ago clearly a matchmaking event Yukino understood her mother's intentions all too well.

A "small," "important" gathering that concerned her? The implication was hard to miss.

Yukino left the email unanswered for now and casually tossed her phone onto the couch.

Her mother had always been a forceful woman. In the Yukinoshita household, her will was the family's will. In the past, Yukino had been the obedient daughter, accepting every command without question.

Just then, the doorbell to her apartment rang and at the same time, her phone lit up with an incoming call from Haruno.

Her sister's voice, after two weeks of silence, sounded unusually somber on the line.

"It's me. Open the door."

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