"Arghhh…"
Gepard's face twisted in frustration, but once again, he felt the same helplessness from a few days ago—his limbs, including his mouth, were firmly pinned down, rendering him immobile.
The other four, afraid Gepard would ruin their plan, moved with surprising coordination.
"Gepard, calm down! We don't have solid evidence right now, so barging in isn't great… No, even if we had solid evidence, barging in still wouldn't be great!" Stelle pleaded earnestly.
—"Hey, go easy, you'll break it if you're that rough."
Gepard struggled again, but to no avail.
Bronya's eyes flickered slightly. "Seele… I think our timing's about right, don't you?"
Their goal was fundamentally the same as Gepard's.
Seele thought for a moment but shook her head. "No, we need to be absolutely sure. Best to stay by the door and wait until they're done. That way, they can't deny anything when they come out."
Gepard: "Mmph! Mmph—!"
—"This place has a great vibe. No matter what we do, no one will notice," Cocolia's voice came from inside the room again.
Bang!
In his struggle, Gepard accidentally kicked the door, making a loud noise.
—"Hm? What was that? Is someone outside?"
The four exchanged glances in a split second, silently agreeing to hoist Gepard up and sprint toward the corner at the end of the hallway—
Click.
Just as their figures vanished, the door opened. Cocolia stepped out, wearing an apron and holding a kitchen knife. "Anyone there?"
"…"
"That's odd." Cocolia glanced around, then closed the door.
…
"Gepard, can you calm down now? They're not doing what you thought," Stelle said, patting Gepard's shoulder reassuringly.
Gepard exhaled. "Phew, that's a relief. Good thing you guys stopped me."
Stelle: Wow, this guy switches faces without missing a beat.
But according to the law of smile conservation, when a smile appeared on Gepard's face, someone else was bound to lose theirs.
Like a certain silver-haired filial daughter.
"Damn it, why aren't they doing that?!" Bronya slammed her fist against the wall in frustration. "Doesn't she always talk about Aunt Serval? This was the perfect chance—she should've just gone for it!"
"Why can't she just let me catch her red-handed? Middle-aged women's flirting is just cooking together? Damn it!"
Stelle facepalmed, sweating. Middle-aged women—was that really an accurate description for Cocolia and Serval?
Logically, since Bronya was in her twenties, Cocolia's age wasn't exactly young. But this was the 2D world, where age didn't follow real-world logic. Perfectly reasonable, right?
"Miss Bronya, please watch your words. As Cocolia's superior, I'm obligated to report what you just said," Gepard said seriously. "Don't say such foolish things."
Bronya shot back sharply, "Hmph, Gepard, didn't realize you could flip so fast. Weren't you the one most eager to barge in just now?"
Gepard: "I was trying to stop an improper relationship!"
"Hmph, it's mutual consent. What's improper about it?"
"Oh? I hope you're just as bold when the Silvermane Guards arrest you."
Bronya gritted her teeth, turning away in annoyance. "Tch, can't be bothered arguing with you. I'm going back to keep eavesdropping. I refuse to believe, with my mom's personality, she'd let such an easy catch slip away!"
Gepard shrugged, smiling faintly. "I'll admit, your thinking might be right, but sadly, it won't come to pass."
…
As Bronya predicted, inside the room, after some time together, Cocolia's gaze started to shift.
"Serval, what do you do when you're bored lately?" Cocolia rested her chin on Serval's shoulder, speaking softly.
"Me? Probably just messing with music or reading Pela's new novels," Serval said casually.
"Oh? Still the same old routine, huh?" Cocolia wrapped her arms around Serval's waist. "Wanna go out and have some fun with me?"
"Sure, you plan it. I'm down for whatever," Serval agreed cheerfully.
Their bodies were close, and as Cocolia looked at Serval's slightly flushed earlobe, her heart raced. She decided it was time to be bold and do something—
Ring, ring, ring!
A shrill alarm shattered the warm, quiet atmosphere. Cocolia froze, all too familiar with that sound.
It was that damn communicator from Gepard again!
Ring, ring, ring!
Cocolia's fists clenched. Again and again—this had to be deliberate! With all the work she had, why contact her now?!
Unbeknownst to Cocolia, a few days ago, when she took a cheap shot at Gepard during the chaos, he promptly used his injury as an excuse to grant himself a week's vacation, perfectly coinciding with her own.
"Oh, hold on, I need to reply about work," Cocolia said with an awkward smile, taking the communicator into the bathroom.
"Hello? I'm on vacation. Per work regulations, only emergencies should contact me at this time. What's going on?"
"Oh? You're on vacation? My bad, didn't mean to disturb."
Beep, beep, beep—
Cocolia: Damn you, Gepard! Just wait until I get a chance to strike back!
…
After that, nothing progressed. Even though Bronya stubbornly waited outside the door all afternoon, all she heard was Cocolia complaining to Serval about Gepard.
Gepard didn't even bother eavesdropping anymore. Perhaps out of spite, he called Cocolia every half hour with a different excuse: wishing her a happy vacation, travel recommendations, book suggestions… In short, he turned work calls into harassment calls.
The two were locked in a cycle of mutual torment.
Oh, and worth mentioning: Cocolia used the same tactic on Bronya.
The three groups tortured each other all day, only returning home exhausted as night fell.
"Sigh, Seele, with my mom around, she'll probably never let us live together," Bronya said, unusually dejected. "Let's meet again tomorrow."
Seele said softly, "It's okay. We've got plenty of time."
"I believe Auntie will come around eventually."
—"March, this, this, this… isn't this a bit much?"
As they walked, the two suddenly noticed a familiar voice.
Following the sound, they saw Stelle in thin pajamas, clutching a pillow, her pale feet desperately gripping the doorframe. "I really don't want to trouble you tonight!"
March 7th tugged at Stelle's collar. "No way. What if you run into a ghost at night? Listen to me, come to my room."
"No, really, I'm fine…"
Bang!
The door slammed shut, cutting off Stelle's voice.
Bronya: Huh?!