Chapter 26: Weakness?
“Onii-chan is going to sleep together…!?”
Due to Maria-san’s outrageous statement, the shock Hina was experiencing while hiding behind my back is still evident.
As expected, it seems that a sister who is attached to her brother cannot tolerate him sleeping with other girls.
Speaking of which, I feel like her reaction is off because she’s reacting to me sleeping together rather than being engaged…
Come to think of it, the only time Hina and I slept together after she got older was on the first night after we started living on our own.
Even though she was already a high schooler, this clingy little girl wanted to sleep with me “since it’s a special occasion.” But starting the very next day, she suddenly said, “Let’s sleep separately after all…!” and began sleeping in her own room without hesitation.
Needless to say, it was quite shocking for me at the time.
After being healed by my cute little sister’s affection the day before, the sudden drop from heaven to hell felt brutal.
“Ah, I haven’t explained it to you yet, Hina-chan. These girls are my daughters. It seems they did something awful to you—so I’m sorry about that.”
Maria-san apologized to Hina for what Emera had done.
This made Emera and the others look surprised since they probably never saw their mother apologize before.
It’s not hard to understand why they would be surprised by this.
But surprisingly, she actually apologizes pretty easily.
She apologizes to me too, but I feel like she apologizes a lot more when she’s with Hina.
…Well, that’s mostly because Maria-san keeps hugging Hina so tightly that she ends up making her suffer.
“Hey, what are you spacing out for? Apologize to Hina, Emera,”
Ignoring Hina’s shocked mutter of “Daughters…!?”, Maria-san told Emera to apologize to her.
She didn’t tell Furei to do the same because she probably understands that Furei isn’t at fault in this situation.
Shirayuki-san probably put in a word for her too, but unlike with Emera, Maria-san seems to hold Furei in high regard, so that likely contributes to the trust she has in her.
However—
“Sorry, Hina…”
—Furei was the one who apologized first.
She hadn’t been told to apologize, but she had probably intended to from the start.
Because of that, Emera, who had been spacing out, was too slow to apologize.”
“F-Fine, I’m sorry…”
Following Furei’s lead, Emera also apologized.
But—
“Huh? Is that how you apologize?”
—Not pleased with Emera’s apology, which sounded like she was talking down, Maria-san tilted her head with a sweet smile and let out a silent, terrifying pressure.
This made Emera break out in cold sweat and freeze up. Maria-san then added more pressure by saying, ‘You should do it properly by kneeling down…’
Yeah, Emera is definitely Maria-san’s daughter.
Actually, seeing how Maria-san always teaches her to do things like this might be why she turned out so bossy…
“—I-I’m very sorry for what happened…”
It seems that Maria-san must have scared her a lot. Despite being proud, Emera knelt down as instructed and even used polite language.
Maybe because I noticed how timid she is under all the bravado, I feel sorry for her now…
“P-Please raise your head…! I-I didn’t want you to go that far…!”
Hina, who rarely gets apologized to by anyone other than Maria-san, hurriedly told Emera to stop kneeling.
Indeed, a person with a normal conscience would be uncomfortable if someone knelt down in front of them.
But then again, it seems like Maria-san calculated that Hina would say something like this…
“Fufu, you’re so kind, Hina-chan. If you want, you can keep tormenting her until you feel satisfied, you know?”
And just like always, Maria-san whispered those devilish words with a smile.
Of course, she only said it because she knew Hina would never actually do it—but still, to crack the whip even further at her daughter after humiliating and tormenting her so much during the punishment…
Emera, who already felt guilty for what she did to Hina and was terrified she might get payback, took Maria-san’s joke at face value and turned pale all over again.
“I-I won’t do that…”
“Hina’s kind, so there’s no need to be scared…”
While Hina was shaking her head at Maria-san, I went over to Emera to reassure her.
But—
“Hyahhhh!?”
—whispering it right next to her ear must have been a bad idea, because Emera’s whole body jolted violently.
Oh yeah, her sensitivity is ten times higher now…
“Y-you did that on purpose, didn’t you..!??”
“I’m not that mean…”
It was really just to calm her down because I felt sorry for her.
“Eito’s a sadist…”
“I thought he was a gentleman…”
But it seemed they didn’t believe my explanation, and Furei and Shirayuki-san both looked at me with narrowed eyes.
Also… looks like Furei’s decided to start calling me by my first name now.
Well, I guess that’s only natural since we’re engaged… And besides, I’ve been calling the two of them by their first names on my own—partly because using their last names would just get confusing—so I guess we’re even.
“It might sound weird coming from me, but I’m… pretty nice to girls, I think…?”
At the very least, I never lay a hand on them, and I do try to be considerate.
Even in situations where I’d absolutely punch a guy without hesitation, if the other person is a girl, I always hold myself back.
Yeah, just like what Emera did back in the classroom
“I know…”
“That’s… true. You’ve never hit me back even once…”
Furei looked the same as always, but Shirayuki-san’s cheeks flushed faintly again as she gave a meaningful little nod.
This girl’s face has been red for a while now… does she have a fever or something?
The thought made me a little concerned.
While I was worrying about Shirayuki-san like that—
“Umm… about having them sleep with Onii-chan… I really think it’s better not to…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine, I know how he is. No matter what happens, he’ll just have to take responsibility, so you don’t need to worry at all, Hina-chan.”
—Hina and Maria-san suddenly started whispering to each other. They’re not… talking bad about me too, right…?
Character Summary (non-official)
- Aima Eito (愛真 英斗) — A second-year high school boy and twin brother of Hina. Level-headed and cautious, he knows more about the Tenjouin sisters’ cruelty than most after being in their class last year. He tries to stay quiet and unnoticed to avoid trouble, especially from the Tenjouin sisters who despise men.
- Aima Hina (愛真 雛) — Eito’s twin sister, a tiny 148 cm girl who’s adorable, clingy, and very attached to her brother. Sweet-natured and polite, but easily frightened, especially upon learning she’s placed in the same class as the Tenjouin sisters.
- Tenjouin Emera (天上院 翠玉) — One of the school’s notorious “twin queens.” A beautiful girl with long straight hair: a single streak of her bangs is white while the rest is gold. She has heterochromia—right eye red, left eye blue, and a flat chest. Cold, arrogant, and dangerously influential thanks to her powerful, wealthy family. Devoted entirely to her sister Furei.
- Tenjouin Furei (天上院 風麗) — Emera’s twin sister, with opposite hair colors—one golden streak in her bangs, the rest pure white—and mirror-image heterochromia: right eye blue, left eye red. She has a bob cut and a voluptuous figure like a gravure idol. Quiet, expressionless, and mysterious, yet incredibly dangerous beneath her calm. Furei doesn’t care about anyone except for Emera and the girls she favors, and even then, she treasures them more like pets than equals.
- Tenjouin Maria (天上院 真莉愛) — Maria is the foster parent who took Eito and Hina in from the orphanage when they were in second grade. An unbelievably beautiful woman who looks to be in her twenties—and still insists she is in her twenties—she has striking half-gold, half-white hair parted cleanly down the middle, brilliant blue eyes, and an ample chest. Though she appears elegant and composed, Eito describes her as a “demon in human skin,” having put him through countless extreme punishments whenever he failed to meet her expectations. Yet despite her terrifying side, Maria is helplessly weak to cute things, which is why she absolutely adores Hina and has spoiled her since they were little.
- Shirayuki Koori (白雪 氷) — Shirayuki Koori serves under the Tenjouin twins. She is a petite girl with pale blue twin-tail hair and an adorable, youthful face, paired with an icy, emotionless gaze. Despite her doll-like appearance, she is a highly trained combatant raised under special training since childhood. Competitive and proud, she hates losing and becomes flustered or emotional when things don’t go her way, revealing a childish side beneath her cool exterior.
- Shirayuki Hitomi (白雪 仁美) — Koori’s mother and Maria’s loyal maid. Like Maria, she is an unbelievably beautiful woman who looks to be in her twenties despite her age. Her appearance and personality resemble Koori’s, though with greater maturity, and she possesses the uncanny ability to read people’s thoughts at a glance. Despite her gentle demeanor, she may also have sadistic tendencies, given how she smiled gracefully while “punishing” Emera, all the while calling her pitiful.