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「Umm, madam-…」
「Give it up, Nana. She has already said it, hasn’t she?」
「That might be true but… Excuse my discourtesy, may I ask your name?」
「It’s Kisaragi Kotone.」
「Eh-」
「It’s been a while, Nana. Glad to see you doing well.」
「M-m-m-my lady, c-c-congratulations on your health as well!」
「How? I don’t get it.」

Her calm demeanor from earlier disappeared and she’s now absolutely panicked. Her eyes are practically spinning. Ah, and she’s trembling a lot.

「Nana, big sister is different from she was before. So there’s no need to be afraid.」
「Yeah, it’s alright.」
「B-but, i-it’s lady Kotone we’re talking about. A-ah, I’m very sorry!」

The twins’ persuasion didn’t help, huh. In this case, I guess she’ll just have to get used to me. After all, the reason I brought her here was to have her see that Kotone is different now.

「Well, why don’t you calm down and have some tea? We have cookies to pair with it too.」

I took out the cookies I brought and offered them to Nana. I heard a loud shriek from somewhere, but I can guess where it came from. It’s from the one looking like a larva right now.

「Lady Kotone! Wouldn’t that be my share?!」
「I didn’t bring a portion specifically for Nana, so there’s no other choice, is there? You already ate a lot of stuff while you were in my room anyhow.¹」
「You demon! Fiend!」

Call me terrible and all, but I honestly didn’t think that I’d meet with Nana. That’s why I haven’t prepared for her. Actually, I honestly just forgot about Nana’s existence. After all, I haven’t seen her these days. If I hadn’t met up with Misaki, I probably would’ve neglected making her share too.

「Sakiko, for how long will Misaki’s snack ban be?」
「Until I die.」
「Well, Misaki. How do we go about this?」
「…… I abide by you, my lady. Actually, can I be released already?」
「I imagined that you could move like a larva, is that impossible?」
「It is. Moving like they do in mangas requires considerable muscular strength, so the most I can do is roll around.」

It probably needs abdominal and back muscle movement. It’s hard to know without trying it myself, but it’s probably difficult. Still, I probably shouldn’t be the one unwrapping her, so I’ll entrust it to Sakiko.

「I’ll share half of mine, so bear with it alright.」
「Mom, couldn’t it be all instead?」
「It’s my first ever handmade cookies from lady Kotone. I want to have a taste too.」

Oooh, looks like it’s unexpectedly in demand. As the one who made it, hearing those words feel great. Also, Nana has been frozen for a while now, she hasn’t moved at all.

「You don’t have to be so tense, okay?」
「Phew, I can finally stand. My lady, I’m surprised that you were able to bring Nana here with her current state.」
「Well, I didn’t realize it was the lady myself.」

Misaki, Sakiko, and everyone in the family let out an understanding 「Ah~h」 after hearing that. Yeah, I’m already used to this reaction and all, but my own family shouldn’t have found that relatable.

「Nana, this is the lady Kotone of now. Forget about the past for your own good.」
「S-sennior. I’m surprised you can call lady Kotone a demon and so.」
「The current lady Kotone isn’t one to be displeased by something so small, you see. Which is why you should feel free to interact with her as you like, Nana.」

Though I would smack Misaki on the head if she insulted me for no reason. Rather, Misaki already spoke like this to Kotone even in the past. Misaki who doesn’t care much and Nana who dwells a lot about stuff, probably can’t act in the same way. Rather, that’d be too difficult.

「Nana, either way, you are Kotoha and Tateha’s personal maid. There will be more chances for you to meet Kotone, so it will be necessary for you to get accustomed to her. 」
「T-the madam too? Still, isn’t lady Kotone not allowed to reside here?」
「Look at the twins and try making this their last meeting with Kotone this year.」

Hearing mother’s words, I looked at the twins sitting by my side. They’re smiling, completely different from the expressions they show to Kotone in the past. True, seeing their smiles, I don’t think I can tell them that we’ll not be meeting again until next year’s academy opening. I’d feel bad for them, or rather I’d feel immense guilt.

「Are we not going to see big sister again until next year?」
「Big sis, will this be the last?」

Oh, twins, you’re already in 3rd-year middle school, please don’t be so teary-eyed. And mother, don’t just look troubled over there.

「Hmm, I’ll come here when father isn’t around. Other than that, all we can do is make other opportunities to meet. It’s not like today will be our last time seeing each other, alright?」
「I’ll try checking the schedules on my end. Still, there are times when he suddenly comes home, so it’s hard to say for certain.」

He’s overseas right now, so there’s no chance of him suddenly coming home for work that far away, he’s likely going to inform people beforehand. Still, if he’s just within the country, or just going to the company, it’ll probably be hard to tell.

「Kotoha, what can we do to chase father out?」
「Let’s see. Even if it’s impossible physically, I suppose we can attempt to socially obliterate him. Other than that, as a last-ditch effort, also we can try enlisting grandfather and grandmother’s help.」
「Don’t talk of such dangerous stuff. Also, that last-ditch effort has chances of backfiring if you’re not careful, you hear me?」

I warned the twins as they started a dangerous conversation. After all, with their symptoms showing up now, there’s a real chance that they’ll actually take action against father.

「If you want to see me, you can just go to my workplace.」

That way, they can see me and the cafe benefits as well. However, they really can’t take Misaki along. I’m sure Sakiko understands this though. After all, she wasn’t there when mother came to the cafe last week.

「I suppose that’s the only other option. I go there occasionally, so I believe it should be fine.」
「Make sure father doesn’t know that, okay.」
「Don’t worry. He doesn’t have any interest in us, after all.」

True, it’s just as she said. I don’t think that he’s the type to check up on the family’s every single move. In contrast, there are low chances of him getting involved in things as long as it doesn’t cause a problem.

「Umm, lady Kotone feels completely different from she did in the past, but…」
「That’s how lady Kotone is now. Ah, and I’ll be accompanying the twins to the cafe.」
「I disagree. Nana will be the one accompanying them. You will be gathering information about the master under my watch.」

The maids have started discussing and as expected, Misaki is going to be on house sitting duty. After all, if she comes along, she’ll likely forget about the twins and start eating through the cake menu.

「Well then, with that all decided now-」
「「「You aren’t going anywhere.」」」

The twins grabbed onto my arms, this time I failed to escape. Tsk, I misread the situation, huh. I’ve said it before, but wearing those clothes at work tomorrow is basically punishment!

「Your stay here tonight has been decided. Give it up.」
「No, I told you, I can’t!」
「Big sister, let’s have a bath together.」
「I can’t do that either!」

Even if we’re sisters, the one actually inside Kotone is a stranger, moreover a former man, so that’s a pretty tall order! Rather, don’t be so teary-eyed now!

「Big sister, do you dislike me?」
「No, that’s not what I mean. Argh, geez! What can I even do?!」
「Sis, you can obediently stay for the night.」

Hearing my little brother’s calm answer, I couldn’t say anything. He’s right, doing that should resolve this situation. At first, I only planned on seeing the twins, then I wondered why they were keeping their distance, and now I have to stay over tonight.
I know, Okay. That if there’s anything to blame, it would be my impulsive actions.

「U-um, what should I…?」
「We simply do as we usually do. Misaki, Nana, let us start preparing.」

Even the maids are acting under the assumption that I’m staying! I refuse… probably can’t.

「Say, mom. Did you anticipate this?」
「Yes, I suppose it’s just as I anticipated. I didn’t expect the happenings concerning Nana, however.」

Well yeah. She wouldn’t have had everyone except the personal attendants take a leave if she didn’t anticipate this. Mother, you’ve changed so much. I guess I have no other choice but to surrender.

1. Lyly: Okay, I feel bad for Misaki