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Yukino's fingers froze mid-motion as she was fastening her buttons. A flicker of tearful humiliation flashed through her deep blue eyes. Gritting her teeth, she snapped in a low voice:
"Isn't it because you threw it away earlier…? And besides… in that kind of condition, covered in… weird stuff, how could I possibly put it back on?!"
She pointed off to the side.
The hooks on her bra had long since vanished who-knows-where. The rest of her underwear was damp and in a state no one would want to look at.
Right now, she was completely bare underneath. Nothing at all. If she moved even a little too much, or if a breeze slipped in, everything under that oversized shirt would be exposed.
Click—clack!
Just then, a sharp mechanical sound came from the entryway.
The lock had been picked.
"We're dead."
Lucian's scalp tingled. He didn't even have time to appreciate the "boyfriend shirt" temptation in front of him. He grabbed a blanket from the floor, hastily threw it over the incriminating mess, and sprinted toward the entrance like he was running the 100 meters.
No matter what, he couldn't let Sora walk straight into the bedroom!
Creeeak—
The bedroom door began to open slowly.
A split second before it swung fully open, Lucian pressed his hand against the doorframe, forcing out what he believed was a perfectly natural, bright smile.
"Hey, Sora. You're home pretty early today, huh?"
Standing outside was a silver-haired girl who looked like she'd stepped straight out of an anime illustration.
Kasugano Sora wore a slightly gothic-style black dress. Her doll-like face carried a faint trace of the dark, obsessive fury of someone who'd been ready to catch a cheating lover in the act.
In her hand, she held a black hairpin—already bent out of shape.
Seeing Lucian blocking the doorway, her beautiful black eyes narrowed slightly, like a cat that had caught the scent of prey.
"Luu… you're acting guilty."
Her voice was cool, laced with undisguised suspicion.
"Huh? No way your big brother would feel guilty." Lucian kept his body wedged in the gap, a faint sheen of sweat forming on his forehead. "It's just my first day reporting to Sobu High. Just got back from work, I'm a bit tired…"
"Move."
Sora didn't buy a single word.
Her small nose twitched lightly in the air. Her expression darkened instantly.
"There's a strange smell… kind of like bleach, kind of like… something floral. And there's also a perfume I don't recognize."
She shoved Lucian aside. Taking advantage of her smaller frame, she slipped right under his arm and darted inside, her gaze sweeping toward the bedroom like a radar.
By the time Lucian tried to stop her, it was already too late.
Time seemed to freeze.
Sora stood at the bedroom doorway. The moment she took in the scene, her cool expression shattered, her pupils shrinking violently.
The entire room looked like it had just survived a brutal war.
On the bed, the blanket was twisted into a mess. A few torn strands of black tights, not fully hidden, dangled precariously off the edge.
On the floor, shredded pieces of Sobu High's signature sailor uniform were scattered everywhere.
And at the edge of the bed stood a girl with long black hair cascading like a waterfall—so beautiful she even outshone Sora herself.
What made Sora's brain completely short-circuit was this: the unfamiliar woman's face was still flushed, her eyes faintly wet, her whole demeanor fragile in a way that stirred pity.
And she was wearing… her brother's favorite white shirt.
Under the oversized shirt were a pair of smooth, dazzling legs. Her slightly trembling knees, her hands with nowhere to go, and the faint outline beneath the collar—all of it slammed violently against Sora's sense of reality.
Worst of all, the thick, lingering atmosphere in the room practically screamed to the world what kind of "adult activities" had just taken place.
Clink…
The broken hairpin slipped from Sora's hand and hit the floor with a crisp sound.
Her delicate lips parted slightly. Her eyes widened. A trembling finger pointed at Yukino by the bed, then shifted toward Lucian, whose clothes were in disarray.
She tried to speak, but all that came out was a series of short, choked sounds.
Clearly, the shock had hit too hard. Her brain had completely crashed.
Looking at his stunned, statue-like sister, then at Yukino—face burning red, wishing she could disappear into the ground—
Lucian let out a long sigh and rubbed his temples.
Caught red-handed, with overwhelming evidence everywhere, he broke the suffocating silence in a tone that even he found weak:
"Sora, listen… I just happened to save her."
He paused, took a deep breath.
"And we didn't do anything. Do you believe me?"
"....."