After Hayashi Maki's figure vanished, Yukinoshita Haruno pressed a hand over her pounding heart, and the corners of her mouth lifted.
"A demon, huh? He's actually pretty gentle."
Willing to bear the pain himself to heal her sister—what Hayashi Maki did genuinely moved Haruno.
Even though he paid a price for it.
From now on, her whole life would belong to Hayashi Maki as his possession.
But it was all worth it.
When her prayers to the gods went unanswered, it was Hayashi Maki who responded to her hopes.
And he wasn't like the demons in movies or fairy tales, who make those who bargain with them suffer all kinds of misery and tragedy.
On the contrary, he treated her so gently.
Although his brazen behavior toward her still left Haruno a little resentful.
Overall, though, she was satisfied with her first time.
Her only complaint was that he was too experienced.
That philandering demon!
Sitting by the bed, Haruno brushed the hair off her sister's forehead. Seeing that her face had regained its rosy color, she couldn't help a gentle smile.
"Yukino-chan, wake up soon, okay? Onee-san will stay right here with you."
What she didn't know was that Yukinoshita Yukino was already awake.
Or rather, she had been awake all along.
She just couldn't open her eyes.
When Hayashi Maki kissed her, she felt everything with perfect clarity.
What she was too embarrassed to say was—
That person actually used his tongue!
What kind of person does that?
Not only did he steal her first kiss, he went that far on top of it.
Yukino didn't want to open her eyes.
Not because she didn't want her sister to know she'd woken up, but because she was mortified and had no idea what to do.
And she decided not to tell her sister that she knew everything—otherwise her sister would be terribly embarrassed.
Faced with a sister willing to sacrifice everything to heal her, Yukino felt a kind of gratitude she'd never known.
Until the urge to pee hit her, and she couldn't keep up the act.
She opened her eyes and looked at her sister in embarrassment.
"Onee-san, I…"
"Yukino-chan, you finally woke up! Thank goodness!"
Seeing her sister's eyes open and hearing her voice, Haruno pulled her into a tight hug. Her eyes grew moist, and tears wouldn't stop falling.
"Um… Onee-san… could you let go for a second… I need the bathroom."
Mortified as she was, Yukino decided to deal with the private matter first.
"Ah—sorry. I'll take you."
Haruno froze for a heartbeat, then smiled and supported her out of bed, careful and attentive; it warmed Yukino's heart.
At the same time, Yukino made up her mind.
She was going to find that demon and make him cancel the contract.
She couldn't let such a good sister be bound to him for life because of her!
…
News of Yukinoshita Yukino waking up was nothing short of a miracle; the hospital doctors all stared in disbelief.
After examination, they found her body had fully recovered—no problems at all.
The attending physician wanted to keep her for observation, but Yukinoshita-san, in full "councilman's wife" mode, smiled and said a few words.
Whatever little scheme the doctor had brewing immediately fizzled; he had no choice but to process Yukino's discharge.
Most likely he thought her body was special and wanted to keep testing her—maybe even "study" her.
Naturally, Yukinoshita-san wouldn't allow it.
She made a phone call and had her councilman husband deal with the ill-intentioned doctor; only then did she turn to her fully recovered younger daughter.
Yukino lowered her head, a bit embarrassed—she didn't know how to face the mother she'd always had friction with.
"Mother…"
But the scolding never came. Yukinoshita-san hugged her younger daughter tightly.
Her eyes were wet, too.
"Welcome back, Yukino-chan."
"…"
After a moment of silence, Yukino's eyes grew moist as well.
Awkwardly, she raised her hands and hugged her mother back.
"I'm back, Mother."
Seeing mother and daughter so harmonious, Haruno spread her arms and joined the hug.
Honestly.
How could they leave her out?
She wanted to hug Yukino-chan and Mother too!
In that moment, the gloom hanging over the Yukinoshita household lifted, and everything began to move in a better direction.
Back home, Yukino headed straight for the bathroom.
She'd been lying in a hospital bed for so long; even though her sister had been wiping her down, she still felt there was a strange smell on her body.
Girls like to be clean—who could stand that medicinal odor?
As she washed her pale skin, Yukino couldn't help covering her lips.
Thinking about that person… using his tongue… the more she thought about it, the angrier she felt.
She felt unclean.
But when she thought of her sister, it seemed like her own matter wasn't such a big deal.
Her sister had sacrificed everything—her purity, and her future.
Holding a hand to her chest, Yukino felt unbearably heavy-hearted.
She had no idea what she could offer in exchange for her sister's freedom.
After all, she'd been a "vegetable," and the demon had paid a price to restore her health.
How could she make him change the contract?
Was she supposed to go back to being a vegetable?
Putting aside that she didn't want to live like that, what her sister had already lost couldn't be recovered anyway.
Distressed, the second heiress left the bathroom and crawled under the covers.
Haruno, meanwhile, hugged her sister tight, rubbing her cheek against Yukino's arm like a spoiled child.
"Yukino-chan, Onee-san is sleeping with you tonight, okay? Don't you miss it?"
Once upon a time, Yukino-chan had been her shadow.
Wherever she went, Yukino followed on her heels.
But as the eldest daughter—the one meant to inherit the Yukinoshita household—Haruno had accepted their mother's strict, high-pressure education and become the family's standard-bearer.
She didn't want Yukino to know how hard it was, or to walk the same path.
So she started playing pranks on the sister she loved most, until Yukino flinched whenever she saw her.
Yukino did stop following her—but they also grew distant, leaving Haruno feeling empty.
This time, faced with her sister's coddling, Yukino didn't push her away. She just nestled into Haruno's arms and nodded.
"Mm. Let's sleep together."
Thinking of what her sister had done for her, she wanted to cry.
But she couldn't let Haruno know she understood everything, so she buried the feeling and bore it alone.
Haruno didn't overthink it.
Her sister was finally awake—and healthy. She couldn't be happier.
In her heart, she felt even more grateful to a certain demon.
~~~
For Every 100 Powerstone = 1 Bonus Chapter! Please Vote for more Chapters!
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 180+ Chapters Ahead of Others!