The Morning After

When I open my eyes in the morning, I always wonder about the night before.

Ugh... What is this...?

Waking up this morning, I felt a strange sense of incongruity.

Was it because of the heavy, languid fatigue wrapping around my entire body?

Or was it the faint, sweet scent drifting past the tip of my nose?

Or, if not that, was it the unfamiliar ceiling and the sensation of a soft bed brushing against my bare skin—a feeling I had never experienced before?

What the... Where am I?

Confused, I pushed myself up.

My limbs felt strangely stiff and heavy, as if I hadn't been able to move them for a very long time.

It was a different sensation from the muscle soreness after a workout.

Squish.

??

Where my hand had landed was a beautiful girl with orange hair.

Specifically, it was resting right on the breast of Lilit Tistina, one of the main heroines of Heart-fluttering Stormy Harem Transfer Student.

To make matters worse, Lilit was completely naked.

It was a bed wide enough for two people to lie down comfortably.

And on top of it, a naked man and woman.

Furthermore, the woman was clinging tightly to the man's wrist.

What in the world is this?!

I screamed internally.

If my last memory served me right, I had run into her yesterday during my early morning workout.

Then, I fell for her cheap provocation, drank with her, and blacked out...

No way.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

I had made a catastrophic mistake.

It was bad enough that an extra like me had touched a main heroine.

But for a mere provincial count's son to take the chastity of a daughter from a famous ducal family?

This was a disaster of the magnitude that could easily cost me my head.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Mmm... What is it... Rofel? Are you awake?"

Lilit looked up at me with a soft, gentle smile.

"L-Lilit, what is the meaning of this?"

"What?... Hmph... What's this? Now that the night is over, you're going to act like this? Pretending it was all just a drunken mistake?"

"No, no, don't misunderstand! I really don't remember anything!"

"...So, by any chance... it's not what I think, right? Nothing happened, right? Please tell me nothing happened."

I asked her, my eyes trembling with anxiety.

"No."

"I knew it!"

Life returned to my eyes, and I clenched my fists.

"Hahaha! Listen to the end. I meant it's not that nothing happened."

The wind was instantly knocked out of my sails again.

Fuck.

"Honestly, aren't you being a bit too shameless? A man and a woman waking up naked in the same bed—does it make sense for nothing to have happened?"

"Well, yes, but... sigh... I was hoping for a miracle..."

"Let me explain it simply. We were both so drunk we couldn't even think straight. I mean, we literally drank all day."

"I figured you wouldn't be able to make it back to the dormitory in that state, so I decided to let you sleep over at my mansion. But then, somehow, the mood turned a bit... suggestive..."

Lilit curled the fingers of one hand into a circle and repeatedly inserted and withdrew the index finger of her other hand.

"Like this. Well? Do you remember even a little bit?"

"...No, not a single thing..."

It was the truth.

It was as if my memory had been cleanly snipped away with scissors; nothing remained.

"Hmm... I see... So that's how it is... Mmhmm..."

Seeing me like this, she narrowed her eyes for some reason and smiled.

"I knew that sly fox... I have to hand it to her, she's good at what she does."

? What was she saying?

Her lips moved, but her voice was too quiet to be heard.

"Anyway, what are you going to do about it?"

"What do you mean, what am I going to do?"

"Our relationship. We've been friends all this time, but we finally crossed the line, didn't we? Just so you know, I have no intention of letting this slide, so give me a proper answer. It was my first time, you know?"

"It's not like I'm some kind of trash... sigh... But still... yeah... I have to... take responsibility, right?"

I repeated the dilemma to myself and muttered it aloud.

As I've always said, I am merely the son of a provincial count with nothing special to my name.

But her status was that of a ducal family—and the Tistina family at that.

The Tistina family was a highly successful high-ranking noble house in the Kingdom of Usilia, the setting of this game, having amassed immense power based on their vast capital.

If they hadn't partially given up their political influence back then to develop a cooperative relationship with the royal family, they might still be under royal surveillance today. That was how massive their influence was.

And the chastity of such a noble lady... I had defiled it.

With the status of a provincial count's son who had absolutely nothing.

"Really~? Yay! I knew I could count on you! Today is day one for us, okay?"

Whether she knew how I felt or not, Lilit smiled and threw her arms around me.

Since we were both naked, our bare skin pressed together, and I could feel her body heat.

I placed my hands on her shoulders and accepted the embrace.

"But... I forgot to ask, are you really okay with this?"

"You know... I don't have much to show for myself. My family is unremarkable, and my academy grades aren't that great either. As a friend, maybe, but... as a romantic partner, don't you think I'm lacking a lot?"

Besides, there was also the real protagonist, Marc Visus.

"Huh? No? Actually, I'm so, so happy."

Lilit spoke as if my question was absurd.

"I always think this, but you really don't know your own worth, Rofel. You're a noble, yet you have such a good personality..."

"Do you have any idea how rare it is among nobles to find someone who isn't rotten in body or mind? Besides, do you know how many noble ladies flock to you because of your face, your body, and the way you talk?! It was so hard for me to ward them off one by one!"

In her excitement, she blurted it out, then gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.

"...? Warding them off one by one? What does that mean?"

"...I mean, it was hard turning down the requests of noble ladies who wanted me to introduce them to you as a friend!"

"Anyway, you really don't know the value of your own lew—ahem... valuable body."

Clinging to my chest, she stroked my torso as she spoke.

"Ahem! Let me ask you instead... what do you think of me? Not as a friend, but as a lover... am I okay?"

? She was asking something that was blindingly obvious.

"Of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠course you are. In fact, you're way too good for me."

I replied with a smile.

Her long orange hair shone as bright as the dawn, and her eyes gleamed like gold.

Her flawless, porcelain skin made her distinct features stand out even more.

She possessed a beauty that was more than worthy of her position as one of the main heroines in the original game.

On top of that, just as she had said, despite being a noble of a ducal house, she had a wonderful personality with no rough edges.

In other words, she was perfect in both looks and character—an ideal partner, and an even better companion.

"You're beautiful and you have a great personality. Who could possibly dislike you?"

"Hehe... Then what's the problem? Why is your face so dark?"

"That's exactly what worries me... What if strange rumors start spreading because you're dating a guy like me?"

"And even though you're in the prime of your youth... when marriage talks come up in the future, this relationship history might become a disadvantage—"

"Stop! Don't say another word about that. Why are you always so eager to put yourself down? At least when you're with me, never do that."

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry."

I pulled Lilit closer into my embrace.

We were still naked, but since we were lovers now, I supposed we would have to get used to this kind of intimacy.

"Mmm~ Rofel... Rofel is my boyfriend... Hehe..."

Was she really that happy?

Lilit was grinning from ear to ear in my arms.

By the way, what should I do now...?

Just because she said it was fine didn't mean the eyes of others would vanish.

From now on, I would have to convince the higher-ups, including the head of the Tistina family, who would look down on the relationship between Lilit and me.

It felt truly daunting.

But what could I do? Since things had turned out this way, I had to take responsibility and make Lilit happy.

Although we had been friends, it wasn't as if I had zero romantic feelings for her.

Rather, she was such a precious and beautiful flower that I hadn't even dared to pluck her. While this situation was deeply baffling, I couldn't help but feel a small flutter of joy.

To be with Rofel, she had drawn up all kinds of dark, insidious plans.

But in the end, the plan she chose was to start as lovers using a slight deception.

This was because she, too, wanted to start a relationship as ordinary lovers with mutual feelings, if possible.

Of course, that was only "if possible."

If the drug hadn't worked well and he had retained even a sliver of memory, or if he had noticed something amiss and suspected her...

She would have locked him in this room, secured with special locks, and thoroughly engraved herself onto his body so he could never forget.

Or perhaps she would have threatened his family ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in the provinces to force a marriage proposal.

To understand how she, a lady of a high ducal house who once had someone else she secretly loved, came to pour all her status and love onto another person...

We must go back to that day two years ago.

The day she collapsed, exhausted by her own worn-out and frayed emotions.

And the day she finally discovered someone who noticed those feelings and comforted her.