Back in the honeymoon days of their early promise at the orphanage, Bronya had certainly gotten a taste more than once.
But after finding Seele again, Bronya had been worried that moving too fast might scare her, so she'd been holding back those inner impulses all this time.
Even if they weren't quite old enough yet for her to devour her precious Seele completely…
Wasn't it perfectly fine to re-unlock some things the two of them had already unlocked before?
'A Seele who's lost her memories… probably hasn't kissed any other girls yet, right?'
Thinking this, Bronya—with her little red duck pout face "(=ᗜ ˰ ᗜ=)"—felt a strange thrill suddenly rush to her heart.
Then, little by little, Bronya slowly closed the distance between the two sisters.
And little Lunelle, currently in deep sleep, clearly had no idea what was about to happen to her.
30 cm...
13 cm...
3 cm...
As the space between Bronya and Lunelle grew smaller and smaller…
Bronya could even clearly sense that Lunelle's delicate, unfairly cute little face seemed to be perfectly overlapping with the image of Seele from her memories.
But just as Duckie was about to make contact…
A very ill-timed idiot's voice and completely undisguised footsteps suddenly rang out from outside the room!
"Huh? Miss nurse over there, could you tell me how to get to room XXXXX?"
Instantly, Bronya felt like she was about to go 'blood rage' on the spot!
Especially after recognizing that the voice, of all people, belonged to none other than that idiot Kiana—the one she was most jealous of right now.
Bronya's already blood-raged state instantly upgraded to a 'red-hot' fury.
Huh? How could it be that idiot Kiana?!?
How did that big dummy even find this place?
(¬_¬ꐦ)
Bronya, who'd had her moment ruined so mysteriously, strongly suspected that Kiana's untimely appearance right now was no coincidence!
She was definitely here on purpose, dammit!
But…
Mwah!
Smack!!!
Even knowing that a certain bug was now at the door, a thoroughly annoyed Bronya decided to throw the playbook out the window.
Right then and there, she forcibly left her mark on Lunelle's delicate, adorable face.
Anyway, her cute Seele was right in front of her—why overthink it? She'd steal a kiss first and worry later!
Was she supposed to just hand her precious Seele's first kiss over to that Paramecium for free?
If Bronya could have made any expression other than (ᗜ ˰ ᗜ), she probably would have struck a downright Dio pose right then, sneering triumphantly:
'The one who gets Seele's first kiss after her memory loss wasn't you, Kiana—it was me, Bronya!!!'
But even though Bronya, in a fit of pique, had fiercely stolen a kiss from her precious little Seele and felt satisfied in the moment…
After that delay, she'd clearly missed her best chance to escape.
Judging by the footsteps, Kiana's position was such that this Paramecium was basically blocking the doorway already!
If she rushed out now, Bronya felt there was over a 90% chance she'd run right into that idiot Kiana.
And then it quickly occurred to Bronya—if Kiana caught her sneaking around in Seele's hospital room, she'd have a pretty hard time explaining herself!
After all, compared to Kiana barging in without a care in the world…Bronya had used some rather underhanded tricks to sneak in here!
Even with Kiana's paramecium-level IQ, she might not guess the exact reason, and Bronya was fairly confident she could bluff her way past the idiot for now.
But Bronya was really worried that if that big-mouthed Kiana accidentally let it slip that she'd sneaked into Seele's room…
Then Schicksal authorities would probably find out about her clandestine visit too!
Since Bronya had only just joined Schicksal yesterday…
Her current understanding of the organization was still stuck in the stereotypical impression of Otto's iron-fisted rule.
Under Otto's kind of ruthless management, if someone was caught sneaking into a Schicksal hospital's critical care unit like Bronya had…
She could roughly imagine the brutal consequences she might face.
If she was unlucky enough to get arrested outright, she'd probably be subjected to harsh interrogation about her motives for infiltrating Schicksal.
If she was a bit luckier, she might manage to escape capture.
But that would mean she could no longer openly visit her Seele.
For Bronya, paying that price would be worse than death!
After all, if she couldn't see her precious Seele anytime she wanted, maybe even get close… what was the point of being alive?
So, even if just to stay by her precious Seele's side, Bronya had to avoid exposing herself to Schicksal's gaze too soon.
Soon, Bronya noticed that the space under Seele's hospital bed seemed to be the kind with a white cloth covering it—an empty gap underneath!
A pretty good hiding spot!
After confirming with staff, Kiana was surprised to find that Lunelle's room was, by sheer coincidence, just ahead.
"Why does this door look like it's been smashed by something? This dent kinda looks like the big cross Auntie used to hang me up and whack me with…"
Seeing the terrifying dent on the door—clearly made by the Oath of Judah—Kiana, who'd recently been subjected to a binding play by Judah after calling Theresa a 'midget' to her face…
'Auntie said Seele's already woken up. I wonder if Mei will be mad that I snuck over to visit Seele behind her back?'
…felt a sudden wave of PTSD and was oddly reluctant to approach Lunelle's room.
"No! Seele only ended up in the hospital because she was saving me!"
"If I could visit and not come even once… Forget Mei getting angry, even I'd look down on myself!"
But remembering that her prospective little wife Seele had gotten so badly injured and hospitalized precisely because she'd protected her…
Kiana's bit of PTSD was soon suppressed by her growing resolve.
And just as Kiana steeled herself and stepped into the room…
Bronya, having finished her stolen kiss, swiftly and silently slid under Lunelle's hospital bed.
Since the bed had a fairly long curtain covering the sides and the space underneath wasn't too cramped…
Even with a kid like Bronya tucked under there, unless Kiana got down on the floor to check, Bronya wouldn't be discovered under normal circumstances.
Of course… that was only under normal circumstances.
Because Bronya had hidden herself very promptly.
And while Kiana might have a 'yuri radar', she didn't have Bronya's special 'duck' nose.
So, even though Kiana felt an indescribable strangeness in the quiet room…
"Weird? Why does it feel like I'm not the only one in here? Am I imagining things?"
Luckily, Bronya's scent was a light, milky powder smell.
While Lunelle's was a sweeter, milky body fragrance that carried a special hint only certain beautiful girls could perceive.
So even though a trace of Bronya's milky powder scent still lingered in the room…mixed with Lunelle's overwhelmingly sweet milky aroma, it really wasn't easy to notice anything off.
In the end, Kiana wasn't sharp enough to pinpoint exactly where the room's strangeness came from based on that slight feeling alone.
And compared to the weird vibe the room gave her…
Lunelle's delicate, heart-meltingly cute little face was clearly the more worthy subject of attention, right?
"Hehe, Seele really is so gentle and cute! Even her sleeping face is this pretty…"
Pushing aside that faint sense of oddness, Kiana soon focused her gaze on Lunelle—the little wife she'd secretly set her sights on.
The moment Lunelle's familiar, adorable face entered her view, Kiana felt instantly healed.
"Hehe, Seele, cute Seele, nya-hehe (ˉ﹃ˉ)"
Captivated by Lunelle's cuteness, Kiana suddenly felt like she might drool a little.
How could there be a girl as illegally cute as 'Seele' in this world?!
Meanwhile, hidden under the bed and forced to listen to this pervert Kiana wax poetic about her darling Seele…
Bronya's usually blank duck pout face grew visibly gloomy.
Sadly, to avoid being discovered and potentially expelled from Schicksal…
Bronya had no choice but to suppress the urge to jump out and beat Kiana up.
To Bronya, this scene was practically the same as that sneaky idiot lecher Kiana cradling her most beloved Seele-chan right in front of her, getting handsy all over…
And then provocatively taunting Bronya with a punchable face:
'Bronya? You wouldn't want me to find out you sneaked into Seele's room to do something bad, would you?'
'If you don't dare, then just stay hiding under the bed and hold it in! Watch as I completely devour your most beloved Seele-chan. Bwahahaha!!!!'
And right now, Bronya could only grit her teeth, clench her fists, and listen in silence as that big pervert Kiana went wild over Seele!
But to be fair, Kiana was just staring dazedly at Lunelle's excessively cute face, drooling a bit—she hadn't even gone as far as trying to take advantage yet!
From Bronya's perspective, though, even this level already had the flavor of 'duck-witness offense'.
"Huh? Am I seeing things? Why does Seele's face seem… a bit off?"
After admiring Lunelle's lovely, appetizing face and mentally 'powering up' for a bit, Kiana suddenly noticed something: on the deeply sleeping Lunelle's face, that adorable cherry-pink tint… looked almost like it had just been nibbled on!
Huh? Nibbled on?!?
At first, Kiana thought she must be mistaken.
But after a certain idea flashed through her mind, Kiana suddenly felt like this spontaneous hypothesis might just be the truth!
Especially upon closer inspection—Kiana's eyesight wasn't bad—she quickly noticed that one particularly eye-catching area on Lunelle's cute face…
Did seem a bit unusually swollen!
'My prospective wife Seele got kissed by someone?! And I wasn't even aware?!'
At that moment, Kiana felt an inexplicable anger flare up inside!
She even felt like the top of her head had suddenly become the filming location for some cartoon where a wolf keeps trying to catch a sheep but never gets to eat it.
Angry!
This young lady is angry!
The kind of anger that can't be soothed!
Even though Kiana currently only saw Lunelle as her little wife, the thought that someone else had dared to lay hands on her before she'd even had a chance to taste those sweet lips made Kiana feel exceptionally foul.
Somehow, Kiana felt like her favorite toy had been secretly played with by someone else without her knowing!
But… if Seele had already been kissed by someone else, didn't that mean she could also…
Just as these dangerous thoughts sprouted in Kiana's mind, and she'd unconsciously leaned so close to Lunelle she was almost touching her…
Knock knock knock…!
A crisp knocking sound suddenly came from the door, but Kiana didn't pay it much mind.
After all, she'd only moved 'a little' closer—just wanted a better look at her little wife's cute sleeping face, right?
Was she supposed to be scared if a staff member came in?
If I, Kiana, get scared today, then I'll…
"Excuse me… is anyone in the room?"
But the gentle voice that followed from outside instantly terrified Kiana out of her wits!
"Whoa! M-Mei?! Why is Mei here all of a sudden!!?"
The Kiana who'd been fearless just a second ago now belatedly realized her whole body was practically draped over Lunelle's bed—a position that looked exactly like she was trying to sneak a kiss while Seele slept!
But why did this scene feel vaguely familiar, even déjà vu?
Under the influence of this strong sense of familiarity, even Kiana, who didn't like to think too hard, suddenly realized: was she about to get framed again for trying to kiss little cutie Seele, taking the fall for some random asshole?
'Why does it have to be me taking the blame again?! You can't keep shearing the same sheep over and over again!!!'
Remembering that day when she'd only had some ideas but hadn't really acted on them…
Yet was inexplicably caught by everyone first thing in the morning, then conclusively wrongfully convicted as the pervert who'd groped Seele…
The more Kiana thought about it, the angrier and more resentful she became!
I mean, if she'd really gotten to 'eat the meat', then fine, she'd take the blame…
But she hadn't gotten to eat any of the times!!!
And yet this big, black pot kept getting slammed onto her head without explanation.
Why?!?
Looking at Lunelle's captivating little face right before her, radiating an alluring charm even in unconscious sleep…
Kiana's attention subconsciously focused on those possibly-already-kissed cherry-pink lips.
And a dangerous idea suddenly bloomed in her heart.
If she was going to get blamed every time without ever getting to 'eat the meat'…
Then maybe she should just eat the meat first this time!!!
After all, even if she was going to die, Kiana refused to die a hungry ghost.
Wouldn't it be better to be a well-fed, content ghost when she kicked the bucket?
With that thought, driven by full-blown resentment and indignation, a tiny heart seemed to sparkle in Kiana's eyes.
Then, without another thought, she just went for it and leaned in to plant one on Lunelle!
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.