Like?
The answer was undoubtedly yes. Her feelings for Kars were certainly those of affection; there was no room for question.
Although she didn't know why Kars suddenly asked this, Sakuya replied with a smile.
"Of course, I like Young Master Kars very much." Saying something akin to a confession made a slight flush appear on Sakuya's usually sharp features, making her look quite charming.
"Then, Sakuya, come closer." Sakuya approached without a second thought, and as she slightly bent over, Kars leaned in and kissed her on the mouth.
"I like you very much too, Sakuya! Doing that is proof that I like you a lot."
Sakuya: (⊙_⊙)
Sakuya froze completely in that instant. This sudden event left her unable to react; her brain even shut down. She questioned if what just happened was real and whether she was dreaming. To be kissed, and mouth-to-mouth at that, was an immensely joyful experience!
"Sakuya, what's wrong?" Kars asked, confused by Sakuya's sudden stillness.
"Y-Young Master Kars, am I dreaming?"
"Dreaming? You're awake right now, so how could you be dreaming?" Kars replied, perplexed by her strange question.
"Th-that means… I… I'm not… not dreaming? You just kissed me, right?" Sakuya asked, her voice trembling. Her reaction started to worry Kars.
"Yes, I did. Did I do something wrong? Isn't that something you can do to someone you like?"
"No! Absolutely not! You didn't do anything wrong at all!!" How could such a thing be wrong? If this was wrong, then nothing in the world was right!
Sakuya's intense reaction made Kars nervous; he couldn't comprehend such an extreme response.
"Young Master Kars, I will never regret becoming a maid at the Scarlet Devil Mansion in this lifetime."
"Huh? Why do you say that?" Under Kars's confused gaze, Sakuya, who seemed to have calmed down, looked at him with a satisfied smile. Then, her nosebleed erupted uncontrollably, causing her to instantly collapse.
"Sakuya!!"
--- Sakuya in Emergency Care ---
"She really scared me half to death." Hong Meiling sighed, looking at Sakuya lying in bed. Although her face was pale, she was still smiling faintly in her unconscious state. She seriously doubted whether Sakuya might one day collapse from excessive blood loss due to a nosebleed.
"I… I didn't know Sakuya would react like that. It's all my fault." Kars stood beside the bed, looking distraught, feeling responsible. Sakuya's condition was caused by his kiss, so it was undeniably his fault.
"You can't completely blame yourself. Sakuya just has very low resistance." As a longtime colleague, Hong Meiling knew Sakuya's condition well. Her resistance to the Mistress and Kars was practically zero, so this was completely normal, especially given the special circumstances this time.
"Kars, try to be more careful when interacting with Sakuya in the future. Don't do anything too stimulating." If things got too stimulating, it might be impossible to save her. "Even if you want to express your happiness and affection for Sakuya, kissing her cheek is enough. It will make her happy and ensure she doesn't suffer a major hemorrhage."
"I understand." Kars nodded, assuring her he got it. He didn't want to see Sakuya in such a dangerous state again.
"Alright, alright, don't be sad." Hong Meiling saw Kars was still visibly upset and wanted to comfort him, but she couldn't think of the right way, having never done anything similar before. Finally, she chose to hug Kars, hoping it would make him feel a little better.
"You saw it yourself. Sakuya was so happy she passed out after you kissed her. Even though this happened, she doesn't blame you, so don't be too sad. Don't you believe she'll wake up looking incredibly happy?" Hong Meiling was sure that Sakuya would be smiling even in her sleep for the next while after this event.
"Even so, I still feel guilty towards Sakuya." Kars rested his head on Hong Meiling's shoulder, looking at Sakuya lying on the bed, his feelings very complicated.
"Why would you feel guilty? But if you really feel that way, maybe you can kiss Sakuya again later to cheer her up. Just make sure you don't kiss her on the mouth." Hong Meiling specifically warned him. Otherwise, she couldn't imagine what would happen to Sakuya next time. Is it bad for me to suggest this? she wondered, but she couldn't think of any other way to stop Kars from being so upset.
"I understand." Kars's expression softened a little, clearly thinking that was a viable option.
"Then let's leave so Sakuya can rest properly." Hong Meiling led Kars out of the room and returned to her gate duty as usual. This time, even if she slept longer than usual, Sakuya couldn't complain since she was currently bedridden. This meant she didn't have to worry about Sakuya catching her slacking off and deducting her food allowance. Hong Meiling thought this was a pretty good turn of events. And if Sakuya knew that she had encouraged Kars to kiss her cheek occasionally, would Sakuya thank her? Would she then turn a blind eye if Hong Meiling slacked off?
Before long, Hong Meiling leaned against the wall and fell asleep. After some unknown amount of time, a familiar sharp pain on her head instantly woke her up, causing her to cry out in agony.
"Sakuya, why are you awake so soon! And I even helped you out a lot!"
"No matter the reason, that is no excuse for slacking off." Sakuya retrieved the throwing knife from Hong Meiling's head with an expressionless face. "And what assistance are you talking about? I have no idea."
"Well, Kars felt guilty because of your condition. I couldn't think of a good way to comfort him, so I told him he could just kiss your cheek every day to cheer you up, and he agreed! I helped you a lot, didn't I? You love that kind of thing."
"Ev… every day…" Happiness suddenly struck again. The partially recovered Sakuya felt her head spinning once more.
"I must admit, I do need to thank you."
"Then, can I…" Hong Meiling's eyes instantly lit up.
"Next time, I will switch to using my smallest knife on you, so it won't hurt as much."
Hong Meiling: (눈_눈)
The light in her eyes faded, leaving only a look of dejection as she watched the blissfully happy Sakuya walk away.