1

It happened one night.

It was the wee hours of the morning, and the moon was approaching its zenith in the night sky.

In a spacious bedroom at the main residence of the House of Rainsworth, one of the four great dukedoms, Sheryl was sitting up in bed.

Sheryl Rainsworth. Although she was elderly and normally used a wheelchair to get around, the years had stolen none of her elegance and grace.

In aristocratic society, where male dominance was still quite common, the House of Rainsworth was unusual in that the Rainsworth women held strong influence. As the head of the family, Sheryl was well-respected, not only by the Rainsworths, but by the aristocracy as a whole.

“—Hee-hee!”

With a charming smile on her lips, Sheryl glanced at the window. The curtains were drawn, but a thin shaft of moonlight slipped in between them.

Sheryl raised one hand and cupped it to her ear, as if she was listening closely to catch a faint sound.

Then she murmured, pleasantly:

“The cat seems to be making noise again tonight. That sweet little kitten…”

2

The young lady was troubled.

In the afternoon of the following day, as she stood before the vanity in her room at the Rainsworth mansion:

“Could I possibly be ___________?” Sharon muttered, gazing at her reflection in the mirror. Both her voice and her face were glum, dreary and dejected. “…”

Sharon glared at her face as though she was trying to stare it down. Realizing that her forehead was creased, she forced a cheerful smile. The Sharon in the mirror broke into a flawlessly ladylike smile that would have been quite at home at any society function.

It didn’t last long, though.

“Haaah…”

Sharon sighed listlessly, hanging her head.

This is depressing… After I’d determined to do my best, too…

“Haaaaaaaaaaah.” She gave a long sigh.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. From the hallway, a voice called, “Sharon-sama, may I come in?” When Sharon banished her gloomy atmosphere and said, “Yes, go ahead,” the door opened quietly and one of the maids who worked at the mansion entered.

With the door at her back, the maid bowed to Sharon, then came forward.

Closer inspection revealed that she was holding a small package.

“You’ve received a parcel, miss. Here it is.”

“…?”

The maid held the package out respectfully, with both hands. Sharon took it, puzzled.

She hadn’t been expecting anything from anybody. From the weight and feel of the package, she guessed that it was a book, and she checked the sender’s name. It was a bookstore Sharon frequented.

At that, she remembered.

“You’re right. It’s the book I’d ordered.”

When Sharon nodded slightly, the maid bowed again, turned briskly and walked to the door.

Sharon let her eyes fall to the package. Then:

“…Haaah.”

Though her order had arrived, Sharon didn’t seem happy. In fact, she seemed disappointed. At her sigh, the maid turned back.

Sharon gave a troubled smile.

“A little while ago, I wasn’t able to find a book I was looking for, so I asked them to send me a copy if one came into their hands. Later on, though, I found the book at another bookstore, and I already have it. I forgot to cancel my order.”

“…If you have no use for it, miss, shall I dispose of it for you?” the maid asked, solicitously.

Sharon told her there was no need to go that far. The maid bowed again and left the room.

Sharon had ordered one of her favorite things: a romance novel.

The book was a work that one of her favorite authors had published in the past under a different name. It was now quite hard to find, and was said to be an elusive gem. She really should have been delighted, but the fact that this was a duplicate copy made that difficult.

Since it was here, however, Sharon thought she should at least put it on her bookshelf with the rest, and she unwrapped the parcel.

When the cover of the book emerged from its wrappings:

“Oh?”

Sharon sounded puzzled. “…This isn’t what I ordered,” she murmured.

The parcel held a book she’d never heard of by an author she didn’t know.

Someone else’s package must have been delivered to her by mistake, she thought.

In that case, she should return it to the bookstore.

Just as Sharon rewrapped the book, there was another knock at the door, and a voice called in:

“Sharon-sama?”

The voice belonged to a different maid from the one who’d just left. At Sharon’s “Come in,” the door opened, and she entered.

The maid bowed to Sharon.

“Sheryl-sama would like to speak with you. She requests that you come to her study.”

“Grandmother? Yes, I see.”

Sharon told the maid she’d go right away.

After the maid had departed, Sharon glanced at the wrapped book in her hand. Then she placed it in front of the vanity and rose to her feet. She’d considered giving the book to the maid to take care of, but she wanted to enclose a message for the bookstore, asking them to cancel her previous order.

I’ll deal with this book later, then.

Having made up her mind, she checked her hair and clothes in the mirror to make sure nothing was out of place. Everything was perfect.

Even so, Sharon’s reflection in the mirror seemed somehow dispirited…

I may be ___________.

She couldn’t get the thought out of her head, and it dragged her mood lower and lower.

…Still.

I mustn’t let Grandmother see me like this.

She shook her head, summoning a bright smile. There. Sharon nodded approvingly to herself, then left the room. At that, the room was empty.

A few minutes later.

“Sharon, it’s me!”

Baaaaaam!

Flinging the door open with a complete lack of manners and absolutely no reserve, a girl entered the room.

No sooner had she done so than she struck an arrogant pose. The haughty voice and attitude marked her as Alice, beyond a doubt.

“You said you had some good sweets, so I came all the way over here in person, just for you— Hmm?”

The sight of the empty room perplexed Alice.

She strode to the center of the room and folded her arms, looking irritated.

“What, she summoned me and she isn’t even here?” she snarled, glancing around the room.

Abruptly, her eyes found the parcel that lay on the vanity. A box of sweets?! Alice thought. She crossed to the vanity with a bounce and picked up the parcel. If we’re going to eat this anyway, she thought, she won’t mind if I open it. So she opened it.

But what emerged from the wrappings wasn’t a box of sweets.

It was a book.

On registering the difference, Alice gave a dissatisfied little growl.

Alice knew that Sharon loved books—particularly “romans novels,” or whatever they were called. She’d once been the target of an enthusiastic lecture on how wonderful they were. She’d been told that they were the bible of “maidenly feelings” and “melting hearts,” and just packed with sweet-and-sour sentiments. Sharon’s intensity had been impressive, Alice thought.

She’d been told to call Sharon “Sharon Onee-sama,” but she hadn’t understood it at all.

Only, when she had called her that because there was no help for it, Sharon had wriggled with joy.

…Alice really didn’t understand it.

“Grrr, I don’t get it. Something edible would be a lot better than something like this.”

Alice flipped through the book with a bored expression, muttering complaints.

Suddenly, the hand that was turning the pages stopped.

She’d spotted an illustration.

“??? …What’s this…?”

Alice cocked her head, confused, and thought hard.

3

“Oh, Alice-san.”

Sharon’s conversation with Sheryl, her grandmother, hadn’t taken very long at all, and when she returned to her room, there was Alice.

Alice was standing at the far end of the room, facing the window. When Sharon called to her, she jumped and whirled around, looking terribly startled.

“Sha-Sha-Sharon?! You…!”

“Good afternoon,” Sharon said smoothly, nodding to her. She glanced at the room’s clock.

“You’re early, aren’t you. There’s still an hour left before we’d planned to meet.”

She’d sent a messenger to Pandora with a note saying she’d found a confection she thought Alice would like, and asking her to tea. In the message, she’d invited Oz and Gilbert as well, but she didn’t see them.

“Alice-san? Where are the others?”

“Huh? O-o-o-oh, them! Since we got here early, they said they were going to look at the rose garden or something—”

Alice seemed nervous.

“…Alice-san?” Sharon murmured, curiously.

Alice’s behavior struck her as odd. It wasn’t a problem if Oz and Gilbert were out looking at the Rainsworth rose garden, and of course it wasn’t a problem that Alice had come to her room early, by herself. However, there was something strange about this particular Alice.

The moment Alice had seen Sharon, she’d begun to inch backward, trying to put as much distance between them as possible. However, she soon came up against the window glass and was unable to go any farther.

A cloud of question marks floated above Sharon’s head.

Whatever’s the matter? She seems quite tense…

No, “tense” wasn’t the word…

Wary? Is she frightened of something? …Of what? Of me?

But why?

Even as Alice watched Sharon, she kept glancing away. When Sharon followed her gaze, her eyes found a book lying on the sofa that stood against the wall.

It was the book Sharon had rewrapped and left on the vanity.

Aha, Sharon thought, hiding a smile.

While she was alone, Alice had stealthily unwrapped the parcel and looked at its contents, and before she could wrap it up again, the room’s mistress had returned. That was why Alice was flustered. She was afraid Sharon might be angry with her.

…The question of whether Alice really had such a commendable personality did cross Sharon’s mind. However, she couldn’t think of any other reason for this reaction.

“Haah… Alice-san?”

Simply being addressed was enough to make Alice flinch.

Then she looked at Sharon with timid eyes that seemed to beg for forgiveness. She’d teared up just a little.

—My, how adorable! Sharon thought, privately.

Of course, although her arrogant speech and behavior normally canceled it out, Alice was a pretty girl.

Huddled up, she was as cute as a small animal; a squirrel or a rabbit, perhaps.

I won’t shout at her, but I really should caution her.

Not being bound by rules and manners was one of Alice’s charms, but even so…

Sharon crossed to the sofa, picked up the book, and set it aside. Then she sat down.

She patted the cushion next to her, beckoning Alice over.

This is for Alice’s sake. Oz-sama lets her have her own way a bit too much.

Yes, it certainly wasn’t because Alice was so cute when she was frightened that it had put mischievous thoughts into her head.

Not in the least.

“Come, Alice-san. Come here.”

Sharon smiled, encouraging her. However, Alice shook her head.

“N-no, but I —”

“…Alice-san?” Sharon’s smile grew brighter.

“……”

Timidly, fearfully, Alice approached the sofa. She was still sneaking glances at the book. Stealthily, as if to keep as much distance between them as possible, she sat on the very end of the sofa. Sharon promptly moved over, narrowing the gap.

“Wah!” Alice gave a little scream.

Sharon frowned a bit sadly at this oversensitive reaction.

“Don’t be so frightened. You’ll hurt my feelings.”

“I-I didn’t mean to! I-I don’t, but, well, you know…”

As Alice desperately defended herself, Sharon giggled.

“I’m only joking. —Now, then…”

When she lowered her tone slightly, Alice shrank even further.

“You looked at the book, didn’t you.”

“Uhh…”

“You mustn’t peek at others’ belongings without permission. That’s a breach of etiquette.”

“B-but I—”

“Now. What should we do about it?”

Sharon spoke in a whisper, putting her face very close to Alice’s. Alice’s expression was bewildered; she didn’t seem to know how to respond. Sharon thought that was adorable, too. …Her heart began to flutter impatiently.

She was in the mood for a bit of mischief.

Life would be such fun if I had a little sister like Alice-san… Sharon thought, wistfully.

She was sure the days would be pleasant, and boisterous, and never, ever dull.

She leaned even closer to Alice.

“Alice-san—”

“Wh-what are you trying to do, Sharon?!”

“Onee-sama.”

“Huh?” Alice looked nonplussed.

“Call me Onee-sama, please.”

Little by little, Sharon’s engines were warming up.

“It isn’t as if it’s the first time, you know. Go on.”

Sharon’s tone wasn’t at all threatening. On the contrary, it was gentle and affectionate.

…Some things are much scarier that way.

Alice caved easily to Sharon’s mild pressure, obeying nervously even as her face betrayed confusion.

Looking at Sharon with tear-filled eyes, in a voice so faint it was scarcely audible, she said:

“O…Onee-sama…”

Eeeeeek!!

Sharon secretly rejoiced. That’s marvelous no matter how many times I hear it!

However, she didn’t let the emotion show in her face. She gave a faint smile.

“You’re a naughty girl, Alice. Helping yourself to other people’s belongings.”

Sharon began to address Alice informally, without thinking about it. She was in very high spirits.

“We’ll just have to discipline you, won’t we?”

“Discipline?” Alice sounded agitated.

“Yes,” Sharon said, putting her face even closer to Alice’s. However, after that point, she didn’t actually have a plan. What shall I do? she thought. She could tickle her, or poke her soft cheeks… That sounded pleasant.

“Waaaaahh…”

Anxiety. Fear. Worry.

As Alice moaned, all these emotions were plain to see. Finally, she shut her eyes tightly.

She seemed to have resigned herself to the fact that there was no escape. Then, as if something had burst, Alice spoke in a loud, energetic voice.

“A-all right! Do whatever you want to me!”

Her eyes flew open and she stared—or rather glared—right at Sharon.

Her gaze was steady. She was fully prepared.

…Huh?

This time it was Sharon’s turn to feel bewildered.

She’d never dreamed that Alice would take this particular attitude. Although she managed—barely—to keep it out of her expression, inside, Sharon was terribly flustered.

Alice’s next move made Sharon doubt her eyes.

Suddenly, Alice put her hands to her jacket and pulled the front open. Her smooth skin lay daringly exposed. Her face was serious. It was the expression of a soldier heading to the battlefield, prepared to die.

Alice’s skin, which was slightly flushed with excitement or shame, seemed to leap out at Sharon.

“Wh-wh-what are you doing, Alice-san?!”

Naturally, Sharon lost her composure and raised her voice. This was far from anything she’d imagined or anticipated.

She couldn’t bring herself to believe that Alice had masochistic tendencies, but—

As if to say “It’s gone too far, and there’s no stopping now!” Alice lunged at Sharon.

“Th-this is what you wanted, isn’t it, Onee-sama?! All right, come on, Onee-sama, Onee-sama, Onee-sama!”

“Wai–! Wa-wa-wa-wa-wait just a minute, Alice-san!”

Sharon leaned back; she didn’t even have the wherewithal to enjoy the series of “Onee-samas.”

Their positions had been completely reversed.

Sharon could not have been more confused. She had no idea what was happening.

Wh-wh-wh-what’s going on? Is Alice-san trying to…to seduce me—?!

On the sofa, Alice pressed forward, while Sharon drew back.

In no time at all, though, they reached the end of the sofa. Alice’s hands caught Sharon’s arm and pulled it to her. Even if she tried to escape, Sharon could never beat Alice in a physical struggle. She’d only meant to lecture Alice on manners. Yes, she’d let a bit of mischief creep in, but that didn’t explain this particular development. She couldn’t understand it.

…She had a fleeting thought that it might be divine punishment for the mischief.

Alice brought Sharon’s hand to her bared chest. Her voice was feverish and earnest:

“Go on, Sharon…”

She pressed Sharon’s palm flat against her skin.

Ooh, it’s so soft— No! Get ahold of yourself, Sharon!

Finding herself involuntarily impressed by the texture of Alice’s skin, Sharon mentally smacked herself.

It was completely incomprehensible, but at any rate, Alice was serious. There was no other possible interpretation.

Sharon had always assumed that Alice preferred eating to romance and was completely indifferent to love, but…

Was Alice-san a girl of “that” persuasion, and I simply never realized it…?!

Sharon’s mind whirled with confusion.

Did Oz know that Alice was a Sapphist? If he didn’t, should she tell him? —No, this was a delicate matter… Sharon didn’t know what to do. For the moment, she thought, she really must say something to Alice.

…But what? She didn’t have time to think at her leisure. First, then—

“Please wait, Alice-san!”

Sharon checked her. She felt she had to explain this properly. There was nothing wrong with falling in love with somebody. She was terribly flattered that Alice liked her.

However, she was unable to reciprocate.

“Come on, Sharon! I mean, Onee-sama!” Sharon hadn’t gotten through to Alice at all.

“Alice-san, listen…!”

“‘Eat’ me!”

“‘Eat’—?!” Sharon blushed, flabbergasted.

“Yeah! —Like in that book!”

Alice pointed sharply at the book, which had fallen off the sofa and now lay on the floor.

…Huh?

Sharon’s mind had sailed past confusion and was now an enormous blank.

With her arm still caught in Alice’s grip, Sharon twisted around to look at the book on the floor, trying to see what Alice was talking about.

The book had opened when it fell.

By sheer coincidence, it was open to the illustration Alice had seen.

Sharon’s eyes took in the meticulously detailed drawing.

Instantly, her mind boiled over.

Two women, kissing…!!!!

“I know. I know all about it now. It’s all right!”

Managing to free herself from Alice, who was speaking emphatically, Sharon stood up, book in hand. She glanced at the text on the page that faced the illustration. It depicted an exchange between two women. In the scene, they kissed and confessed ardent emotions to each other. Actually, in the text, they didn’t stop at kissing.

It was…

The book was…

“A novel of forbidden romance”…!!

Sharon felt dizzy.

Not only that, but the women in the book were canoodling on a sofa in a room somewhere.

On top of that, the older woman was making the younger one call her “Onee-sama.”

In other words, the scene looked

A    W   H   O   L   E     L   O   T

like Sharon and Alice did at the moment.

I have to explain this to Alice-san right away, Sharon thought.

She had to tell her it wasn’t what it looked like. This was not her book; it belonged to someone else, and had simply been delivered to her by mistake. It certainly did not reflect her personal preferences. Sharon turned to face Alice.

As she did, something struck her as odd.

Before, when Sharon had shown Alice a romance novel and Alice had seen an illustration of a kissing scene, she hadn’t understood what it was.

Alice was terribly naive about all such things—or so she’d thought.

Had innocent Alice understood this book after a mere glance…?

This is…strange.

Privately, Sharon was dubious. Seeming concerned for Sharon, Alice spoke, as if to encourage her:

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. It must be a real pain, though…”

At that point, she hesitated just a bit, fumbling for the words.

“Smoochie Sweetruno Disease… I mean, I hear they haven’t found a way to treat it yet.”

“Smooch…? Could you repeat that?” Sharon was dazed.

“Smoochie Sweetruno Disease. Apparently it’s an incredibly rare illness.”

“…What? What a ridiculous name…”

“You’ve got a rare disease that will kill you if you don’t drink energy from living things, don’t you, Sharon?”

Sharon had absolutely no idea what Alice was talking about.

However, as Alice continued, Sharon understood everything. She understood, all right…much to her regret.

Alice told her, “I heard all about it from the old clown.”

Ohhh… So that’s what it was.

Sharon felt her face cool down abruptly. As a matter of fact, her overall temperature dropped.

At the sudden change in Sharon’s mood, Alice frowned, puzzled. Although, for a moment, the air around her had darkened, Sharon smiled almost immediately and looked at Alice. Then she urged Alice to tell her everything, in detail.

The story she drew from Alice was about what Sharon had expected it would be.

“Sharon, it’s me!”

Having flung open the door with a bang and entered the room, Alice mistook the wrapped book on the vanity for a box of sweets, picked it up, and was disappointed when she realized her mistake. Then, as she absently leafed through the pages, an illustration seemed to jump out at her.

It was a drawing of two women in the altogether: a young woman being pinned down by an older woman.

Alice looked blank.

That particular content was, in a sense, advanced, and as Sharon had guessed, it hadn’t made much sense to Alice. However, just then:

“Hello there, Alice-kun. Welcome!”

Break entered from outside, throwing a leg over the window frame, as if he’d just dropped out of the sky.

Startled by his sudden appearance, Alice let go of the book. It fell to the floor, with the open pages facing down.

As Break approached, waving genially, Alice immediately dropped into a fighting stance, radiating suspicion.

“Hisssssssssssss! Stay back, you old clown!”

Break seemed unperturbed. He crossed to Alice and retrieved the book from the floor.

Alice watched him closely, keeping her guard up.

Break gazed at the open pages. “Oho,” he murmured. And then he said, “Well, well! Would you look at that. …Heh-heh, the lower girl is being thoroughly ‘eaten.’”

Eaten? At the unexpected word, Alice looked perplexed.

Then, understanding it, her expression turned triumphant.

“Ha-ha! Did your eye finally rot out, clown?! What about that looks like a meal to you?!”

However, Break calmly shook his head. “No, no. Alice-kun, ‘eating’ isn’t limited to sinking your teeth into something and gnawing away, you know.”

At Break’s words, Alice forgot her suspicion almost instantly. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she’d asked, deeply interested.

Then Break had explained everything to Alice, with brilliant, modulated, highly believable storytelling. This picture, he’d said, showed someone dining by making skin contact with a partner and drinking her energy, or “life force.” The life force absorbed from a partner you fancied was an incredible delicacy, he told her.

After hearing him out all the way to the end, Alice sighed. “Oooh…”

Even Chains weren’t able to absorb life force through mere touch. Alice held the book up in front of her face again, studying it carefully.

Then, with a grave expression, she said, “…Don’t tell me Sharon likes this sort of story, too…”

“‘Like’ isn’t quite the word. …She’s using it as a reference.”

“A re…ference?” Alice echoed. She had a bad feeling about this.

“Yes.” Break nodded, and his face was the picture of sorrow. After telling her, solemnly, that since she’d seen the book there was no help for it, but that he wanted her to keep this a secret from everyone else, he’d said, “My lady is troubled because she has a similar constitution.”

Alice gulped. “She does?” she muttered, hoarsely. She’d had no idea.

Faced with this weighty reality, Alice was speechless.

Break had bowed his head and covered his face with his hands; his shoulders were trembling. Alice thought he was probably thinking of Sharon and crying.

Finally, Break lowered his hands and counseled Alice.

“It’s more of a disease than a constitution, really. My lady is suffering from an illness so rare it affects only one in several hundred thousand people. Due to that rarity, there is no cure, and my lady would really rather no one knew about it. And so…”

At that point, Break made a request. He was almost pleading.

“If my lady tries to eat you, would you please indulge her?”

Alice felt a horrendous shock, as though she’d been struck by lightning. She was confused, and enraged, and said, “Oh yeah right! Wh-wh-wh-why do I have to do a thing like that for that woman?! It’s not my problem!”

She absolutely refused to be eaten. Alice turned her face away in a huff. Break watched her, steadily.

There was nothing pushy about his gaze.

He just looked at Alice, quietly.

Even so, Alice snorted and closed her eyes, as though trying to escape Break’s stare.

…Sharon, suffering from a mysterious illness.

However, only people who were very close to her knew about it, and ordinarily, Sharon hid her illness, acting as though nothing was wrong.

Of course, that didn’t mean that Alice had to give up her own life force for her.

Obviously not. She absolutely refused.

…But even so, a little pain of unknown origin had begun to prickle inside her chest.

Finally, Alice opened her eyes and looked at Break nervously.

“Y-you’re sure… I couldn’t just bite her cheek, instead of letting her eat me? It’ll cheer her up, you know.”

“Although I appreciate the thought…” Break shook his head, sadly. It wouldn’t do any good, he said.

Alice looked a bit like a cornered small animal.

“I-I’m sorry she’s sick. But, I-I’m just here today because she called me…”

“She called you?”

“Yeah. She said she had some yummy sweets. I-I don’t see them anywhere in here, but still.”

“…I see.” On hearing Alice’s appeal, Break murmured, significantly. Then: “No, they’re here. Or rather, they’ve just arrived.”

Break was watching Alice. In a voice that instilled unease into the heart of its listener, he said, “They’re right here.”

He pointed at Alice.

In spite of herself, Alice came very near to screaming as if she’d just heard a horrifying ghost story. However, before she could, Break’s expression abruptly sharpened. “My lady is returning,” he told her. Then he turned on his heel and left the way he’d come in: through the window.

As he was leaving, he made one last, poignant entreaty:

“Smoochie Sweetruno Disease. That is the name of my lady’s affliction. Please, Alice-kun. It’s all right. It won’t kill you……”

He’d departed like a gust of wind. Alice could only stare dazedly at the window through which Break had made his exit.

And then Sharon had entered.

“—And that’s what happened.”

Alice wasn’t very good at explaining things clearly to people, and when she’d finished, she gave a small sigh.

“…”

Sharon, who’d listened carefully, was silent and expressionless. When Alice asked, “What’s wrong?” and peered into her face, concerned, Sharon smiled brightly.

“Is it. I see.”

“…Y-yeah.” Overawed, Alice nodded.

“You were worried about me, weren’t you, Alice-san? That was kind of you. However, I’m afraid it was quite unnecessary. He was only teasing you.”

“Teasing…?” Alice was dumbfounded. For a while, she stared blankly back at Sharon. Then: “Of course I picked up on that!!” Alice threw out her chest, arrogantly. She put her hands on her hips and laughed loudly—“Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!”—but the effect was so funny and sweet that Sharon only smiled pleasantly. She gave a decorous little laugh. However, behind her back, a rumbling, black aura was spreading ominously.

Alice didn’t register Sharon’s state.

“I-I’m very generous, you know, so when I heard the old clown’s stupid little story, I decided I’d play along with it, as a special favor to him. I mean it. —Oh, and I wasn’t worried about you at all, all right?! Not at all!”

She embellished this desperate appeal with a flurry of gestures.

“Alice-san.”

Sharon checked Alice, as if to say she understood. Her tone was perfectly calm, but it made Alice hold her tongue in spite of herself.

Sharon rose from the sofa. Her movements were elegant and polite…but a certain threatening weight hung about them.

She bowed to Alice; her expression was apologetic.

“…Alice-san. I haven’t shown you any hospitality yet, and I do apologize, but do you think you could go home for today? I’ll explain everything to Oz-sama and Gilbert-sama later. I’m very sorry, but our tea party will have to wait.”

The declaration of postponement came abruptly and without sufficient explanation. However:

“—Uh…uh-huh.”

Alice behaved, obediently leaving Sharon’s room.

4

“Alice-chan?”

After Alice had left Sharon’s room, just as she’d reached the Rainsworth mansion’s entry hall, a voice hailed her from behind. “Nn?” Turning, she saw an elderly woman in a wheelchair being pushed by a servant.

Alice recognized the lady; she’d seen her several times before. It was Sheryl, the head of the House of Rainsworth. Sheryl had a cape spread over her knees, and resting on the cape was a good-sized cardboard box, elegantly wrapped.

“Huhn. What do you want?”

“I’m terribly sorry about my Sharon-chan. She invited you, and then she didn’t even entertain you…” She held out the box, saying, “Please take this.”

“What is it?” Alice muttered. She approached Sheryl and accepted the box.

“It’s the confection Sharon-chan meant to give you. It’s a new offering from one of our favorite patisseries: a chestnut cake. They’re quite proud of it. If you’d like, do take it back to Pandora with you and enjoy it with the others.”

“…Oho. Cake, huh?”

Sheryl chuckled.

“I wonder if you wouldn’t have preferred meat instead.”

“Of course. I don’t hate sweet things, but if you’re asking me which is better, it’s obviously meat.”

Alice boldly declared herself a meat-lover. Then her face grew thoughtful. “But…”

Oz liked sweet things. If she took this back to him, it was sure to make him happy. He’d probably be grateful to her for bringing it— As she thought about it, Alice smiled, just a little bit.

“Hmph!” Alice puffed out her chest. “Well, if you insist, I suppose I’ll take it off your hands.”

“Yes, that would make me very happy.”

As she chuckled, Sheryl was like an artless child. However, her expression abruptly clouded. She glanced upstairs, where the private rooms of the mansion’s residents were located, and gave a small sigh.

“Honestly, I don’t know what we’re going to do with Xerx-kun. Still—” At that, Sheryl’s eyes turned to Alice. “Thanks to you, Sharon-chan seems to have recovered somewhat. I’m grateful to you.”

“Recovered? So she actually was sick?”

Alice was worried. Sheryl shook her head.

“No, my granddaughter is quite well. She was afflicted by…shall we say, an emotional ailment. However, that seems to have greatly improved, and again, it was your doing. Thank you for your concern, though.”

“Um, no, I wasn’t really…”

Alice fidgeted self-consciously. Watching her, Sheryl broke into a smile. “My, how adorable. ” Apparently, blood did tell: She looked remarkably like Sharon.

Suddenly, as though she’d been struck by a good idea, Sheryl said, “Alice-chan, I don’t suppose you’d come to live with me, would you?”

“…Huh?” Alice’s eyes went round.

“If you lived with me, I’d make sure you had all the sweets and meat you wanted.”

“Meat?! As much meat as I can eat…?!”

Struck by a fearsome attack spell, Alice shuddered. She staggered, taking a step back. Sheryl smiled and added, “I hear Sharon-chan’s mentioned wanting to adopt you,” but Alice’s mind was completely occupied with meat, and the words didn’t reach her.

Meat. As much as I can eat.

How sweet the words sounded! Alice’s feelings wavered helplessly. She seemed a breath away from latching on to the offer.

Sheryl watched her, smiling cheerfully.

However, finally:

“No. I can’t. I can’t do that,” Alice said, flatly. All hesitation was gone from her face.

“Oh,” murmured Sheryl.

“This isn’t where I’m supposed to be. Not here—”

At Alice’s declaration, Sheryl nodded, satisfied. She didn’t seem at all disappointed.

Although her invitation had been rejected, Sheryl said, “Come and visit anytime.”

Alice responded arrogantly: “H-hmph! If I feel like it, I may grace you with my presence!” Then she headed off toward the rose garden and Oz and Gilbert.

As Sheryl watched her go, she murmured cheerfully, “Now, then— All that’s left is the kitten.”

5

“BREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAK!!”

Sharon raised her voice angrily as soon as she set foot in Break’s private room, in a corner of the Rainsworth mansion.

Break was standing by the window, looking out and crunching a hard candy. As Sharon entered, cloaked in an aura of wrath, he turned to face her, waving beamishly.

“If it isn’t my lady. Good afterno—”

In a motion too fast to follow, Sharon’s harisen flashed. Break went flying.

The strike had been so blindingly fast that Break was still smiling when he crashed into the wall. Sharon had run all the way from her room; she was panting for breath, shoulders heaving.

Break looked up, with his neck still bent at an impossible angle.

“Ha-ha-ha… That’s just like you, my lady. I didn’t even manage to fall safely.”

“That is of absolutely no importance whatsoever! You—! You put outrageous ideas into Alice-san’s head!”

“Did you enjoy it?”

“A-as if I would!” Sharon retorted automatically.

Break, realigning his neck with a series of pops and snaps, murmured, “Oh, really?” He sounded mystified.

“You seemed rather enthusiastic about it, for all that. When Alice-kun counterattacked, your response was a bit weak.”

“B-B-B-B-Breeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaak?!”

Sharon’s embarrassment was profound, and her face flushed so red it seemed about to burst into flames.

“Y-y-y-you… Were you…watching that…?!”

“No, I just said it off the top of my head. However, from that reaction, I can’t have been far from the—”

Sharon readied her harisen again.

She seemed to be thinking, The only way to shut him up is to kill him! However, even faced with Sharon’s overwhelming aura, Break laughed impassively. Then, quite casually, he said:

“Really, I’ve never seen anyone less uncoordinated than you. You have nothing to worry about.”

“!”

Sharon gulped. She stared at Break, aghast.

“Could I possibly be?”

“Could I possibly be uncoordinated?”

This was the private worry that had been depressing Sharon for the past few days. Of course, she hadn’t said a word about it to anyone.

However, Break continued easily.

“Having a bit of trouble learning swordsmanship isn’t anything to fret over.”

He knew all that…?!

Sharon was clearly disturbed.

—It was true: For the past few days, she’d stealthily practiced with a sword at night, in a spot where she wouldn’t be seen from the main house. All by herself.

She had no ambitions of becoming a master swordswoman. She’d simply wanted to change.

Ordinarily during fights, she was completely reliant on the Chain to which she was contracted. With that Chain sealed, she was powerless. She’d wanted to change that, even a little bit.

When things got rough, at the very least, she wanted to be able to protect herself.

“—”

Sharon glared at Break. Her eyes were slightly misty with shame and wretchedness.

If I can’t do at least that much, then I can’t walk beside Break—

No, she thought. Beside Xerx Nii-san. That was what I thought, so I—

Xerxes Break.

He was her subordinate at Pandora, a servant of the House of Rainsworth, and someone she’d spent so much time with ever since she was small that he felt like a big brother to her. He was self-centered, secretive, and he’d start acting arbitrarily if left to himself for a second.

If she were going to be with him, it wouldn’t do for her to tag along behind him, constantly being protected.

That was what she’d thought. And so…

She hadn’t wanted him to know she was practicing alone.

She certainly hadn’t wanted him to know it wasn’t going well.

She felt embarrassed and pathetic.

“Did you think no one knew?”

Break’s voice was warm, without a hint of ridicule.

That only made Sharon more uncomfortable. Fighting back the urge to run away, she gave a small nod.

“We know. Everyone’s worried about you. They’re afraid you may hurt yourself.”

“Everyone?!”

Sharon couldn’t believe it. How many people did “everyone” cover? Really everyone? Every last person at the main house? Even though she’d gone late at night, and chosen her place carefully, so that no one would find out?

“Yes, every last person in this house. For the past several days, it’s all they’ve been talking about.”

“…I had no idea.”

At Sharon’s stunned confession, Break laughed heartily: “Ah-ha-ha-ha-haaaah!”

Sharon’s shock was so great that she came very near to collapsing to her knees on the floor.

Then she came back to herself with a jolt.

“Then you mean Grandmother also—”

The response to those words came, not from Break, but from the woman herself, in the doorway.

“Of course. As a matter of fact, I was the first to notice.”

“Grandmother!” Sharon whirled around.

There was Sheryl, in her wheelchair, pushed by a servant. She smiled brightly and waved a hand at Sharon.

On seeing her, Sharon’s mind replayed the conversation they’d had when her grandmother had summoned her.

Come here, Sharon-chan.

Yes, Grandmother. Did you need me for something?

Oh, it’s nothing important. I had something I wanted to ask you, that’s all.

Something to ask me?

That’s right. Did you know that a cat has been sighted on the manor grounds recently?

A…cat? No, I didn’t.

The kitten seems to be practicing hunting.

Practicing hunting…

It’s been worrying me a bit, you see. Don’t you know anything about it?

No, I…

“Oh, I did forget to mention…?” Sheryl turned an affectionate smile on Sharon, who was in a daze. “The kitten always appears late at night.”

Sharon wished the floor would open and swallow her up. As she watched her granddaughter—whose face was as red as it could possibly get—Sheryl’s expression grew tranquil. Then she turned slightly reproving eyes on Break.

“Xerx-kun. As pleased as I am that you wanted to divert Sharon-chan…”

What is she talking about? Sharon thought.

“…I can’t approve of the way you used others to do it.”

“……I’m sure I don’t know what you mean. Ha-ha-ha!” Break gave a patently evasive smile.

…In other words, he’d put strange ideas into Alice’s head and teased Sharon, all to force Sharon’s mood up and out of her depression—

Was that what it was about? Sharon thought.

…Either way, she couldn’t bring herself to meekly thank him.

Even if he’d done it out of concern for her…

There’s no doubt he was entertaining himself as well. This is Xerx Nii-san, after all.

Sharon sighed.

“—ach you?”

Break had said something, but Sharon, deep in her own thoughts, hadn’t heard.

“What?” She turned to look at him, answering his question with a question. “Did you say something, Break?”

“I said”—Break closed an eye—“if you’d like, shall I teach you?”

Swordsmanship.

She’d assumed he’d be against it. Not only Break: She’d thought every member of the Rainsworth household would say, There’s no need for you to swing a sword around.

She thought they’d only worry she’d get hurt.

I mean, Sharon thought, a bit resentfully, earlier, when I first tried to cook, all I did was cut my fingertip a little, and Break hasn’t let me hold a kitchen knife since—

…However.

“My, what a splendid idea.”

When even Sheryl voiced her approval of Break, Sharon’s mood shifted into a confused mixture of all sorts of feelings. She felt at a loss, and depressed, and…happy.

What wasted effort, she thought.

Break was a master swordsman. If she’d let him instruct her, she would have improved to some extent, she wouldn’t have worried about her abilities, and she might not have worried anyone else.

The next time she saw Alice, she thought, she really would have to apologize to her for having gotten her involved in this mess.

“Yes, Break. I should have done it that way from the start.”

It was true. She would have done better to ask Break to teach her at the outset.

Self-centered, secretive, and ready to act arbitrarily if left to himself for a second—that had been her assessment of Break. Still, thinking about this incident, she realized with embarrassment that the assessment described her as well.

Sharon steadied her breathing. Resolving to ask meekly, she looked at Break.

Break smiled cheerfully.

“That said, if you injure yourself in the slightest, I’ll make you stop immediately.”

Sharon was aghast.

“That’s raising the bar rather high, don’t you think?!”

Inwardly, she fumed. She was being treated like a child.

Self-centered, secretive, and ready to act arbitrarily if left to himself for a second—her assessment of Break.

But that wasn’t all.

Xerx Nii-san is…

Sharon thought, resolutely, that she’d have to add one more item to that list.

Xerx Nii-san is overprotective!

That was precisely why she’d wanted to learn to use a sword so that she could stand beside him, without being constantly protected.

Wasn’t this putting the cart before the horse?

Just watch, Sharon thought. Someday, for sure, she’d make him acknowledge that she could do more than just let herself be protected. Someday, she’d leave Break speechless.

The young lady was all fired up.

Meanwhile…

“Sharon-chan still needs a bit of looking after, doesn’t she.”

“Yes, we’ll have to keep an eye on her.”

Genially, cheerfully, Sheryl and Break exchanged eloquent glances.

~ Fin ~