“—Nn… where… am I?”

Having carried Shirayuki-san into my room, taken off only her blazer, and laid her on my bed so she could rest comfortably, she slowly opened her eyes.

So I leaned in a little to look at her face.

“Are you awake?”

“——Huh!?!”

But it seemed that peering at her right as she woke up had been a bad idea. Shirayuki-san instantly froze, her eyes widening as her face flushed bright red.

…Yeah. Despite her cool demeanor, this girl might actually be pretty shy.

She also froze and lowered her head when I stroked her hair.

“I was asked by Furei to shelter you at my house.”

Assuming she hasn’t grasped the situation yet, I briefly explain.

Some parts weren’t exactly accurate, but… well, they were minor details anyway.

Some parts weren’t exactly accurate, but… well, they were minor details anyway.

“When did you even have that kind of exchange— ugh…!”

Shirayuki-san tried to sit up, but winced and held her chin with her hand.

She had hit herself pretty hard, so the pain was clearly still there.

“I applied some ointment, but if it continues to hurt, you should go to the hospital.”

As Furei was worried, there’s a possibility that it might be fractured.

I’m not a doctor, so I can’t tell her condition for sure.

“No… I’m okay… But, how did you get Koori into the house?”

Shirayuki-san looks at me suspiciously—with caution.

She must feel something is off about me readily sheltering someone I fought a duel with.

“If I had left you with Emera as things were, you would have been subjected to terrible treatment. I couldn’t abandon the girl who went unconscious for my sake.”

“It wasn’t just for your sake…”

When I honestly conveyed my feelings with a smile, Shirayuki-san turned her face away haughtily.

No matter how you look at it, anyone would think she knocked herself out for my sake… But unlike Hina, this girl really isn’t honest at all, huh…

“Koori just hates owing favors… But… in the end, I ended up owing one…”

Shirayuki-san laughed self-deprecatingly with a coolness that didn’t match her youthful appearance.

Is she referring to me protecting her from Emera and bringing her to my house?

She’s quite serious, as expected…

“None of this would’ve happened if you hadn’t chosen to knock yourself out in the first place. Honestly, it feels like this settles the score — if anything, I’m the one repaying your favor now.”

“That’s not true… You deliberately provoked Emera-sama and turned the blame onto yourself… I fainted on purpose to repay that debt…”

“So you noticed…”

“Naturally. No one would deliberately anger the person they’re about to negotiate with unless they had a reason…”

She’s a perceptive girl…

I can see why Furei cherishes her.

She’s probably loyal to Emera and Furei as well, normally.

“Therefore, this is still a debt…”

“Okay, then—will you listen to my request now?”

If she insists it’s a debt, so be it.

Then, if I can get her to repay that debt immediately, the lending and borrowing will be over.

“There’s nothing I can do against Lady Emera or Lady Furei….”

Even if she had defied them once, she clearly had no intention of helping me any further.

With eyes filled with firm resolve, Shirayuki-san told me exactly that.

“Yeah, I know. I just want your help regarding my little sister.”

“——The person who injured Furei-sama?”

A subtle flash of anger appears in Shirayuki-san’s eyes when I mention Hina.

She’s trying her best not to show it, so it seems that she herself is angry about someone injuring Furei.

“It wasn’t intentional, she was accidentally injured.”

“I heard that she deliberately ran into Furei-sama?”

“It depends on how you say it. It’s true that Hina bumped into her, but she didn’t notice that Furei was turning the corner and collided with her.”

When I explain the circumstances, Shirayuki-san closes her eyes.

She must have realized that I wasn’t lying.

Good grief, Emera… You totally said that on purpose just to provoke Shirayuki-san. How underhanded can you get…?

“You said you wanted to entrust your sister to me, correct? Could you explain what you mean by that?”

“Yeah. The truth is—”

I briefly convey the events that happened to Hina and my concerns.

After that, Shirayuki-san’s eyes wavered, and she awkwardly averted her gaze from me.

It seemed she hadn’t been told by Emera what they’d done to Hina.

And realizing she had unknowingly become involved in it, she now couldn’t bring herself to look me in the eye.

“I see…”

“Do you believe everything I’m saying?”

Since she accepted everything I said without a hint of doubt, I decided to ask her outright.

“If it were Emera-sama, she would absolutely do something like that. She shows no mercy to anyone who opposes her. That is also the teaching of the Tenjouin family.”

“So she didn’t do it because of her personal feelings, but because of her family’s teachings?”

“Yes… Anyone who bares their fangs even once must be crushed completely. If not, they will sharpen their fangs again and rise against you. To prevent that, we’re taught from childhood to take everything from the opponent.”

I see…

If they only dealt with someone half-heartedly, there was a chance that person could regain their strength later and become a threat to them again

Because they hold grudges and have experienced defeat, they’ll be much more troublesome than before.

They’ll prepare thorough countermeasures and strike when they have an advantageous situation.

Apparently, the teaching is to crush them thoroughly so that doesn’t happen.

It’s a teaching for those at the top to protect their position.

Come to think of it, Maria-san said something similar in the past.

For people in higher positions, perhaps that’s common sense.

Well, in her case—when I once asked, “Wouldn’t it be better in the long run to bring someone over to your side instead of crushing them?”—she actually looked a little surprised and said:

“If that’s what you think, then go ahead and try doing it your way. True, absorbing someone is better than destroying them. If something can be used, you should make use of it. That said… it’s dozens of times harder than simply crushing them.”

So compared to the Tenjouin family, she isn’t quite as absolute about always doing things that way.

“The world of the rich is tough… But what she did to Hina can’t be forgiven.”

Regardless of Emera’s teachings or her position, she made that choice herself.

She will take responsibility for it.

“Yes, I suppose so…”

Shirayuki-san seems to understand that as well.

“Can you tell me their address? And also, I want you to get in contact with Furei.”

Aside from me, the only one who grasped the situation accurately was Furei—so she was probably already expecting that I’d reach out to her.

This isn’t a problem that can be left vague, so if I go through Shirayuki-san, there’s a high chance she will arrange a meeting place.

“I don’t mind… but Emera-sama will be by her side, won’t she? It’s dangerous…”

Even so, Shirayuki-san contacted Furei for me.

And just as I expected, Furei told me, “Come to… the estate… alone…”

Beside her, Emera was apparently shouting, “Koori, get back here this instant…!” But I leaned in and hung up the call before she could say anything else.

There was no reason to listen to her anyway.

Well, Shirayuki-san glared at me resentfully a little bit.

Once we finished discussing everything—

“Onii-chan… I’m done… may I come in?”

——Hina, who had warmed her body in the bath, knocked on the door three times and slowly opened it to peek inside.

“I see… She certainly doesn’t look like someone who would ever harm Furei-sama…”

The moment she saw Hina, Shirayuki-san murmured her impression.

Hina looks harmless no matter how you look at her, so it seems she completely believed what I said.

“Ah… Nice to meet you, I’m Hina…”

“Thank you for the polite greeting. I am Shirayuki Koori. Pleased to meet you.”

Seeing that Shirayuki-san was awake, Hina hurriedly bowed her head, and Shirayuki-san got out of the bed to bow as well.

Both of them are so earnest.

“Come to think of it… I haven’t asked for your name yet…”

“Oh, right? Now that you mention it, you introduced yourself and then immediately attacked me by surprise, didn’t you?”

“Ugh…! That was because you ignored Koori and spoke with Emera-sama instead…!”

When I teased Shirayuki-san to lighten the mood, she let out a pained little sound, as if I’d poked exactly where it hurt, and she blamed me instead.

“Haha, that’s true. Anyway—my name is Aima Eito.”

Finding Shirayuki-san surprisingly cute when she was flustered, I introduced myself with a smile.

However—

“Huh…?”

Shirayuki-san’s eyes flew wide open, and she froze with a look as if she were staring at something unbelievable.