Originally, Kiana simply refused to be labeled as a "starving ghost" and a scapegoat.
Guided by a sudden, inexplicable impulse within her, she had mustered the courage to finally lean in and plant a kiss!
Yet, Kiana never expected that the moment her lips lightly brushed against Seele's—a fleeting touch of zero distance—
'Oh my, this... this is just too delightful!'
'So this is what it feels like to kiss a girl? This sensation is just too... too wonderful!!!'
In an instant, an indescribably sweet taste nearly overwhelmed her, making it hard to resist the urge to deepen the kiss recklessly.
After all, sharing a kiss with Seele—a wife so adorable it should be illegal—was absolutely intoxicating!
It was the kind of intoxicating that made you wish you could stay locked in that kiss forever once you started!
'Seele really is an absolute little enchantress!'
But, terrified that her losing control might startle the sleeping Seele awake and get her caught red-handed again, Kiana reluctantly held back.
No matter how much she yearned for more, she kept the kiss she'd stolen while Seele slept strictly within the bounds of that light touch.
Though, to be honest, Kiana was being a bit too cautious here.
Theoretically, any of the qualified young ladies could get close to the sleeping Lunelle, and as long as they didn't go so far as to try and "pick the fruit" completely while she was asleep, then even a brief little kiss like Kiana's wouldn't be a problem.
Even if Kiana accidentally slipped her tongue where it shouldn't go, it still wouldn't disturb Lunelle's sweet slumber in the slightest.
But how was Kiana supposed to know that Lunelle was currently in a deep, simulator-assisted sleep?
"Huh? Mei should already be outside the door, right? I've already done the deed, so why hasn't she come in yet?"
Having successfully stolen that kiss, Kiana was now surprised to find that her peck had already come and gone, yet Mei, who should have walked in by now, still hadn't appeared!
Didn't that mean...
"If Mei hasn't shown up yet, does that mean I might really get away with it this time?"
Kiana, who had been convinced she'd be caught in the act just like last time, now felt a flicker of hope upon not hearing Mei's approaching footsteps.
Maybe, just maybe, she could escape unscathed.
After all, even though she had sneaked over to visit her chosen little wife, Seele, behind her head wife Mei's back, if she could just find a spot to hide quickly enough, and wait until she was absolutely sure Mei had left, wouldn't she be able to brush today's near-capture under the rug?
So, Kiana swiftly scanned the hospital room for any suitable hiding places.
Her gaze soon fell upon a certain spot ideal for concealment, one easily overlooked: under the sickbed!
Mhmm, a perfect place to hide!
As a certain friend from the neighborhood once famously said: 'If you don't get seen, it doesn't count as cheating!'
Given a choice, why would Kiana ever want to be caught by her head wife sneaking around to visit another beauty, let alone attempting to do something so... indecent to her?
Thinking this, Kiana felt her plan to lay low had real potential.
Heck, she could almost picture the bright future awaiting her after successfully dodging Mei's room check!
With a tiny spark of anticipation for that future, Kiana slowly lifted the white sheet draped over the foot of Lunelle's bed, and then...
Kiana: "!!!"
The faint hope on her face instantly froze solid!
For beneath the sheet, already curled up under the bed, was a certain little duck—her face gloomy, yet still sporting that signature 'disapproving duck' expression!
'How... when did Bronya get here? Lifting the sheet to find a living person suddenly is enough to scare half my life away!'
In that moment, Kiana felt like a centenarian who had journeyed to the streets of Egypt, and after immense effort finally pried open a manhole cover, only to discover someone had been waiting down there for her all along!
Bronya's iconic (ᗜ ˰ ᗜ) expression under the bed seemed to silently declare to Kiana:
"It's full up here! Give up the struggle, DI... ahem... Kiana!"
But just as Kiana was reeling from the bizarre fact that Bronya had already staked out the space under the bed...
Mei, who had politely knocked earlier, made her next move!
"If there's really no one else in the room, then I'm coming in?"
Following Mei's gentle voice, the crisp sound of footsteps drew nearer and nearer, each step like a death knell.
Clearly, Mei hadn't entered immediately earlier simply because she had good manners, accustomed to announcing herself before entering.
Now that the courteous warning had been given, Mei was truly about to come in!
Shocked by Bronya's presence, Kiana could no longer worry about anything else.
Gritting her teeth, she squeezed under Lunelle's sickbed alongside Bronya, whom she usually couldn't stand.
For Kiana, if Mei caught her in this predicament now, and if that little devil Bronya—who seemed to have overheard part of her earlier... episode—decided to tattle, then her image and standing in Mei's eyes, and even in the sleeping Seele's heart, would probably come crashing down completely.
Just after Kiana and Bronya had crammed themselves under the bed together,
Mei walked in, her expression carrying a hint of anxiety and remorse.
Seeing that the room appeared to contain only the peacefully sleeping Lunelle in her bed, "Oh? Has little Lunelle fallen asleep? But I really need to discuss that matter... I suppose I'll just have to wait then."
A rather preoccupied Mei obviously did have business with Lunelle, but couldn't bear to disturb her sleep.
So, Mei simply pulled up a chair beside Lunelle's bed and sat down quietly, waiting for the moment she would wake.
However, Mei's sudden appearance and her clear intention to stay put immediately created an awkward stalemate for Kiana and Bronya, now squeezed together under the bed, staring wide-eyed at each other.
After all, both were equally curious about why the other was here, yet both were too afraid of being discovered by Mei to utter a single word.
Honestly, if they didn't already have such a mutual dislike for each other, the sight of Kiana and Bronya huddled together under the same bed might have looked rather... shippable.
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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.