Too bright.
The light, strong enough to pass through her eyelids, gradually roused Miyo.
Enveloped in the smell of silky, unfamiliar sheets, she slowly opened her still-heavy eyes and saw that the morning sun was peeking through a gap in the nearby curtain.
The light shining on the bed from the high window was very bright.
Wait…
Miyo usually woke from her sleep with the rising sun.
From the brightness of the light, she immediately gathered it was far past her normal wake-up time.
“Huh?!”
She rose in a panic, looking around her.
It was an unfamiliar room. Why had she been sleeping here? Unable to immediately remember, she felt a bit confused.
“Miyo.”
From nearby, she heard Kiyoka’s voice. She looked in that direction and saw he was in the middle of getting himself dressed.
A white shirt covering his muscular and lithe upper body, he was illuminated by the sunlight, and his long, dazzling unbound hair looked almost holy as it glistened.
Even as he was getting dressed, his beauty was unmatched. No matter how many times she laid eyes on him, she couldn’t help but stare.
Once he finished buttoning his shirt up to the top, Kiyoka drew closer to Miyo.
“You awake? Good morning.”
“G-good morning, Kiyoka…”
As they greeted each other, Miyo’s sleep-addled brain finally cleared, and she recalled the events of the night prior.
Oh, that’s right.
After completing their wedding ceremony several days ago and wrapping up most of their courtesy calls yesterday, they had decided to stay at the Kudou main estate to decompress from all the stress.
Hazuki had been the one to propose they get some rest there.
She must have been unable to sit by while Miyo and Kiyoka were mentally and physically exhausted from all the unfamiliar events they had been put through. Though Tadakiyo and Fuyu would both be at the estate as well, Hazuki had said staying there would be a perfect way to relax, and as there were servants on hand, they wouldn’t have to do any housework.
Kiyoka did have a servant—Yurie—who came to his house to help out. But Miyo felt bad about leaving everything up to the old woman, so she would often find herself helping out.
That explained why they had been practically forced into a three-day break at the Kudou estate.
They were staying in Kiyoka’s childhood bedroom, which still had some of its original furnishings.
To be perfectly honest, I’m very grateful for all of this…
Hazuki, now Miyo’s true older sister-in-law, was showing more concern over Miyo than ever before.
This applied to their stay, as no matter how industrious and hard-working Miyo may have been, she had wanted some time to be at peace, and she was truly grateful for Hazuki’s consideration for her in proposing it.
She really was her mentor in life.
All of that aside, however…
“I-I’m sorry, I’ve slept in so late.”
Returning to her senses, Miyo rushed to get out of bed before Kiyoka stopped her with a gentle smile.
“No need to rush. You’re tired, aren’t you? You get to relax as much as you want these next three days; no one will fault you for sleeping in a little late.”
With a touch of embarrassment, Kiyoka added that he’d woken later that morning himself. Miyo felt a tickling in her breast that was hard to describe.
Suddenly, Kiyoka brought his fingertips to Miyo’s chest. He gently adjusted the somewhat disheveled collar of Miyo’s nightgown.
I—I, I didn’t—
Miyo hadn’t noticed the precarious position of her collar whatsoever, a careless movement away from exposing her breasts. If she had been in this state from the moment she’d woken up then—
Eeeep!
She inwardly screamed. Immediately looking down, she hid her burning face, steam threatening to rise out of her ears. She was so unbearably, excruciatingly ashamed that she wanted to hide under a rock.
“M-m-my, my apologies…”
When Miyo gave a stammering apology, barely above the volume of a whisper, Kiyoka burst into laughter.
“Don’t let it bother you.”
“I-it does.”
“It’s a bit late for that.”
“Wh—?! Wh-wha, h-how can, why would you say that…?”
Miyo could feel her face getting redder and redder. Her emotions were in such disarray that she couldn’t tell if she was annoyed or embarrassed at Kiyoka’s completely insensitive remark.
They had become husband and wife, so naturally, they shared a bed or floor mattress every night, which led to various areas being exposed. Of course, this also made her so embarrassed she thought her heart would stop.
However, that wasn’t the issue here.
Kiyoka chortled quietly. Then he made a remark to tease Miyo even further.
“We were told we could relax as much as we want, after all. Why don’t we relax in our room a bit longer?”
“Huh?”
“After everything, I made sure to get the day off today, too, so we could relax to our hearts’ content.”
“What…? U-um…”
Kiyoka was putting a tremendous amount of emphasis on the word “relax.”
However, the sun was already high in the sky. What did he expect them to do in here to relax?
Kiyoka’s handsome face slowly inched closer to Miyo as she sat on the bed, confused. She leaned back in surprise, and the momentum sent her falling backward.
“K-Kiyoka…?”
“Miyo…”
He put away his smile and hovered over Miyo, staring hard at her with a look of pure seriousness in his eyes.
Slowly but surely, Miyo began to grasp what Kiyoka meant by “relax.”
Her heart beat fiercely, painfully so. Her entire body—not just her cheeks—flushed, and she began to sweat.
Kiyoka’s hair glistened in the sun as it flowed down over her, as if she was being enclosed in light. Even though she had seen all of it countless times before, she couldn’t take her eyes off his blue-tinged irises as they closed in, his sharply sculpted nose, or his shapely, thin lips.
The unequivocable heat of affection was radiating from him.
N-no, surely he’s not… But it’s already morning…
Nevertheless, as Kiyoka gazed at her with sincerity, Miyo found it impossible to resist him. The moments she felt his kind, profound love were so very sweet, so very comforting
They melted together, enough for her to wish they could stay that way forever.
Miyo listened to her heartbeat pounding in her ears as they gazed into each other’s eyes—she wondered how long they must have spent like that.