Ryuto stepped in close, his voice low and steady as he tapped the spot over Koharu’s heart. “Right here. I’m asking if there’s anything in there, something you can’t give up.”
Her breath hitched, eyes wide, and for a moment she just stood there, expression unreadable. Then, slowly, she gave a small nod.
“There is,” she whispered.
A smile touched Ryuto’s lips. “Yeah. I thought so.”
“Yes.”
“Then let me ask you something else. I get it… If there’s no hope of winning, retreating is a valid choice. No shame in surviving when the odds are impossible.” His tone sharpened. “But this time, we can win. So I’ll ask you straight: is the Saegusa clan the kind of cowardly bloodline that abandons the weak and flees while there’s still a chance to fight?”
Koharu’s voice cracked. “No… That’s not who we are…”
“Then prove it. Show them, show all the people who mocked you and dragged your name through the mud. This is your chance. You want revenge? You want respect? Then take it. Here. Now.”
Tears welled in her eyes, but she didn’t look away.
“Still scared?” Ryuto asked softly, then reached out and placed a warm hand on her head. “That’s fine. Do it scared. Just don’t back down.”
Koharu stood still as his fingers ruffled her hair. Her voice trembled, but she didn’t protest.
“I’ll come as fast as I can. Hold the line till I get there,” he added, his smile turning into something fierce and reassuring. “I’m counting on you, Koharu.”
As his hand tousled her hair with exaggerated affection, a shadow fell across them. A sweet voice chimed in, bright as spring, but there was an undercurrent, sharp as a blade.
“Ryuto?”
He glanced back. “Hmm?”
Lilith stood, her smile wide and bright. Her eyes, however, were flat and unreadable, like painted glass. “I believe something’s missing from my head as well.”
Ryuto blinked. “Wait, what?”
And suddenly, he wasn’t entirely sure whether her grin was teasing or a threat in disguise. Probably both.
To say the mood shifted would be an understatement.
Damn, she’s terrifying. It wasn’t just the stare. It was that smile. Wide, sweet, and absolutely devoid of warmth. The kind of smile that screamed “I’m going to break your bones and enjoy it.” But it was her cold, calculating eyes that really did it. Nothing in them even remotely resembled mercy.
“I get it, I get it. Relax,” I muttered, throwing my hands up like I was surrendering to a highway robber.
Without wasting another second, I moved my palm from Koharu’s head and set it gently on Lilith’s instead. Like a switch flipped, her face softened. Her entire body, tense and poised like a spring, melted under my touch. That eerie, mask-like smile transformed into something calm, even serene.
Just as I started to exhale in relief, I felt a low, simmering, sulky pressure. It was Cordelia. She stood there with her arms crossed, her cheeks puffed out, and her lips pursed in the world’s most obvious display of “I’m not jealous, but I totally am.” Her heel tapped against the stone floor in a rapid, annoyed rhythm.
“Seriously?” I gave her a look. “You too?”
Still, she didn’t answer. Just kept glaring at me with those narrowed eyes that said, “Well, are you going to do it or not?”
I sighed and reached out with my free hand—left, this time—and gave her head a gentle pat. Smooth, balanced. Right hand for Lilith, left for Cordelia. The situation was officially defused.
Or so I thought.
Cordelia’s voice turned sickeningly sweet. “Hey, Ryuto?”
My stomach tightened. “Yeah?” I asked, cautiously. Already regretting this.
Her smile grew wider—too wide. “That thing you just did. You definitely touched Koharu’s chest, didn’t you?”
“What?!” I jerked back as if she’d slapped me. “Hold on! What are you talking about?!”
“You know.” She flexed her fingers, popping each knuckle with deliberate menace. “That whole ‘what does your heart say’ routine. You made a fist and pressed it right into her chest. Real theatrical. But you just happened to go for her boob, didn’t you?”
“No!” I barked, half-defensive, half-panicked. “It was symbolic! I was aiming for her heart! Like, the metaphorical one!”
Cordelia tilted her head, grinning like a shark. “You groped her.”
“For the last time, I was going for dramatic emphasis!”
“And I’m going for dramatic justice.”
Her fists clenched at her sides as she took a step forward, murder twinkling in her eyes. Behind her, Lilith nodded slowly and deliberately, as if co-signing the execution order.
“Oh, come on! You’re seriously siding with her on this?”
Neither of them answered. Cordelia’s smile widened. Lilith’s nodding got even more unnerving.
“Great. Fantastic. Two of the most dangerous women in this entire city, and they’re both about to kill me over a misunderstanding!”
“NO MORE TALKING!” Cordelia roared, her fist already cocked.
I barely had time to flinch before her left hand straight smashed into my cheek with all the force of a collapsing star.
And just like that, our brilliant, inspiring, thoroughly adult strategy meeting came to its absurdly violent conclusion.