Chapter 77: Table manners

Ephnel finally took a white ribbon she had once used on stage and wrapped it around her neck to cover the “red mark.”

But the bruises on her wrists were impossible to hide.

The season in Seikyo City wasn’t sweltering, but it definitely wasn’t the kind of weather where one could wear long sleeves.

Ephnel had no choice but to use a wristwatch and an armband to barely cover them—better than nothing.

After lingering in Yukina’s embrace for a moment, Ephnel realized how late it had gotten.

Yukina still had to go to school today.

The schedule had originally been more than manageable, but thanks to Yukina’s mischief, it had become precariously tight.

Though Takuma and Kaoru had finally returned home, they didn’t want Yukina skipping classes for their sake.

In this era, schoolwork was still considered important.

At least, that was what Takuma and Kaoru firmly believed.

For Yukina to survive in an age where resources were growing scarcer by the day, knowledge and skills that could support her livelihood were essential.

Since there would still be plenty of time after school, Yukina didn’t push the issue.

She simply grabbed her textbooks.

Just as Takuma and Kaoru treated Yukina as their real daughter, Yukina regarded them as her real parents.

She wouldn’t go against their words.

“What do you want for breakfast?”

“I’ll eat whatever Naoko makes.”

Ephnel was preparing breakfast while Yukina clung stubbornly to her from behind, arms wrapped around her waist, enchanted by the soft feel beneath her hands.

“Then… whole wheat bread and milk? I’ll fry you an omelet too, or—”

“Or… can I just eat you instead~?”

Before Ephnel could finish, her lips were sealed again.

“Mmm…”

Their tongues intertwined, a warm kiss making Ephnel’s head swim.

She closed her eyes lightly, returning Yukina’s fervent demand.

By now, she had lost count of how many deep kisses they’d already shared this morning.

Since Takuma and Kaoru had left the house, Yukina had become even more unrestrained.

And Ephnel couldn’t bring herself to resist this side of Yukina.

Just then, Yukina’s restless hands slid upward toward her chest.

Before she could go any further, Ephnel lightly slapped them away.

“Yukina!”

Her reproach came out in a coquettish tone as their lips parted.

Yukina licked the corner of her lips, clearly unsatisfied.

“There’s no time… keep this up and you’ll be late!”

“Ehe~”

Yukina stuck out her tongue, giggling mischievously.

Then she rose on tiptoe and dropped a kiss on Ephnel’s lips again.

“Naoko, I really love you. What am I supposed to do if I want to marry you~?”

“Yukina… enough, stop fooling around!”

“I still want more…”

“You have school…”

“There’s still time!”

“No, you can’t…”

“Just one last minute! Just one!”

“One minute?”

“Mm! Really, just one minute!”

“If… if it’s only one minute…”

Again, Ephnel’s lips were captured.

Her eyes grew hazy as she half-heartedly resisted, stumbling backward until she bumped into the dining table.

Creak—the leg of the table groaned under pressure.

With nowhere left to retreat, Ephnel braced one hand against the edge, the other hovering behind Yukina’s shoulder—half pushing away, half drawing closer.

Yukina didn’t hesitate, pressing forward inch by inch until Ephnel let out a soft cry and collapsed backward onto the table.

She tried to support herself with one hand, but soon Yukina’s weight pushed her down completely.

Ephnel resisted anxiously against Yukina’s escalating advances.

“Y-Yukina… not here… what if they come back…”

From the front door, anyone could glance straight into the living room and see the dining table.

Ephnel dreaded the thought of her parents suddenly returning.

But Yukina only smiled slyly.

With her heightened hearing, she could make out even the faint chime of the elevator down the hall, or the rumble of its pulleys.

If Takuma and Kaoru were to come back, she would know instantly.

No matter who it was—even her parents—she would never allow anyone else to see her beloved like this.

But for Ephnel, the sense of being on the verge of exposure only made her more conflicted.

Her heart was torn between irresistible desire and her ingrained restraints.

That struggle shone through in her moist eyes, her beautiful expression one of painful entanglement.

To Yukina, seeing the usually composed and dignified Ephnel losing herself for her sake was the most intoxicating stimulant imaginable.

The clothes that had just been tidied were tugged and pulled out of place again.

The air was filled with shallow breaths and the sticky sound of tongues entwining.

“D-don’t… Yukina… mm~”

Yukina buried her face in Ephnel’s neck.

Her fingers interlaced with Ephnel’s, their legs tangled together, neither able to move.

The disadvantage of being the same height was laid bare.

Ephnel tilted her head, teeth pressing against her lip as a soft moan escaped.

Yukina’s two fingers rested in her mouth.

Afraid of biting, Ephnel’s muffled whimpering grew incoherent.

Her blurred vision fell on the plates still left on the table.

She tried carefully not to knock anything over, but the girl on top of her cared nothing for that.

Yukina’s teeth pressed lightly against the ribbon around her neck, nipping the sensitive skin beneath and sending a shudder through Ephnel’s body like a jolt of electricity.

Her neck was one of her weak spots.

“So cute, Miss Naoko.”

Yukina rose again, teasing deliberately.

Ephnel arched her back unconsciously, lips parted, gasping softly—so irresistible a sight Yukina couldn’t get enough.

“Here,” Yukina pulled her saliva-slick fingers from Ephnel’s mouth.

Strings of silver clung between them.

She raised them to her lips, licking with her small tongue as her other hand traced down Ephnel’s cheek, along her throat, to the softness of her waist.

“And here.”

Everywhere she touched was one of Ephnel’s weaknesses.

“Are there other places that make you feel good too?”

“D-don’t tease me like that… how would I know something like that…”

Ephnel’s face felt so hot she thought it might steam an egg.

Since becoming a girl, she’d never explored her body herself.

Until Yukina’s invasion, she hadn’t even known her waist and neck were so sensitive, that being touched or kissed there could feel this good.

“Tell me~”

“I really don’t know…”

Not giving up, Yukina leaned down again, brushing Ephnel’s hair aside and nipping gently at her earlobe.

Her tongue teased the soft flesh, sending every muscle in Ephnel’s body taut.

“D-don’t lick…”

“And you say you don’t know, but you’re trembling so hard.”

She blew softly into Ephnel’s ear.

Ephnel frowned, trapped between pain and pleasure.

She had no way to resist Yukina’s teasing.

Her heart wanted it, but her rational mind warned her she would lose control if this continued.

So her mouth kept refusing.

But Yukina was far stronger.

Without invoking the Power of Order, Ephnel could only let herself be subdued.

“Y-Yukina…”

At last, Ephnel managed to push back just enough to breathe, pressing her fingertip against Yukina’s collarbone.

“O-one minute’s up… right…?”

Yukina blinked.

“Eh? That fast?”

“It’s already been three minutes… T-time’s up. You still have school… If you want more… we can… we can continue later…”

“Does that mean we can go further tonight?”

“I-if it’s just at night… c-continue… it’s not impossible…” Ephnel bit her lip hard before finally whispering, “But you can’t let Uncle and Auntie find out…”

“I understand!”

Yukina kissed her once more before reluctantly releasing her disheveled lover.

Ephnel finally breathed in relief, hurriedly straightening her clothes and setting the shifted table back in place.

Thankfully, her parents hadn’t come home just then.

Kissing at the dining table behind their parents’ backs was nerve-racking.

But also… thrilling.