Nothing Happened (For Real)
Nothing Happened (For Real)
While the Crown Princess was suffering through her ordeal.
Kir was walking alongside Yune toward the lecture hall where her own class was to be held.
She'd been deeply displeased by the Crown Princess's manner—acting so nonchalant after leveling that kind of threat at her—but...
Yune is adorable again today....
That displeasure had long since dissolved like a mirage, all thanks to Yune walking along holding her hand.
Yune, gripping Kir's hand with his small one as though to say he would trust her no matter what happened, walking just slightly ahead of her.
She gazed at his profile and smiled contentedly. As a bonus, she found herself wanting to shout, Look at my betrothed, everyone. He's the cutest and most lovable in the whole world, and brag about him on the spot.
"...."
Huh? Wait, Yune's awfully quiet today...?
Soon, however, she realized that Yune was somewhat quieter than usual.
Kir knew well from experience that Yune tended to chatter on about this and that to catch the attention of those he felt comfortable around.
No matter how pressed for time they were before the lecture started, it seemed strange to her that Yune hadn't said a single word to her, so Kir studied his face a bit more closely.
—Staring.
...Hm? Yune, what are you thinking about so hard?
She leaned forward slightly to get closer to his eye level, and only then got a proper look at his expression.
Yune kept licking his lips with his tongue, as though they'd gone dry from nerves.
He apparently hadn't entirely retreated into his own world, though—at Kir's close approach, he glanced sidelong at her face.
Then he cautiously opened his mouth.
"...Hey, Kir."
"Hm? What is it? Is something bothering you? Is it because of the Crown Princess?"
They'd nearly reached the heir-only lecture hall by then, and since it was reserved for heirs alone there was nobody else around, so Kir had no qualms about asking whether the Crown Princess was to blame.
Yune glanced around briefly, then stopped in his tracks and looked up at Kir.
"...Kir, I'm sorry."
"Hm?"
"It's my fault you had to call Duchess Schmut here, right?"
Unusually for him, Yune wore a serious expression as he apologized to Kir.
Thinking What's gotten into him today, she bent her knees lightly to meet his eye level.
"That's what you were worrying about? You know my mother's personality. She was pleased to see you in your uniform, too. There's nothing you need to apologize for."
"I already apologized to Her Grace. While I was explaining, you know, what happened yesterday."
"Wait, you told Mother about that? That you got drunk and... with the Crown Princess...."
"Yeah. It seems you held back for my sake, but the Duchess had a right to know. I told her you weren't throwing a tantrum, that you did it to protect me."
Kir's eyes widened when Yune said he had disclosed yesterday's blunder to Schmut.
She had deliberately kept quiet because it was obvious her mother would tease Yune if she found out, and that would have embarrassed him. Yet Yune himself had gone and told her.
She shook her head with a wry, what-can-you-do air.
"Honestly. You didn't need to go that far on my account. If you really feel you must, you can give Mother a shoulder massage sometime."
"I actually tried to apologize to the Duchess, you know? But she said she was fine and told me to take care of you instead."
"Mother said that about me?"
"Yeah. She said you've been through a lot because of me, so I should repay you."
Yune then naturally disclosed that Schmut had told him to repay Kir.
After that, he began to prepare the "perfect tailored gift for Kirschblüte" that Duchess Schmut had tipped him off about.
"So Kir, come over here for a second?"
"Hm?"
* * * * *
With only about three minutes left before the lecture started, I went inside the heir-only lecture hall with Kir.
Satisfied that the room was empty as expected, I promptly asked Kir to get into position.
"Kir. Stand right here for a moment. Bend your knees just a little."
"...Like this?"
Kir obediently bent her knees slightly even though she had no idea what I was up to.
That brought her eye level a bit closer to mine.
...Maybe because I still haven't hit my growth spurt, there was still quite a gap, but oh well. If I went up on tiptoe with everything I had, I could probably manage somehow.
Then I began to prepare the repayment that Aunt Schmut had told me about—the one that would, in her words, "make Kir keel over on the spot."
—Grab.
"Kir."
First I grabbed Kir's forearm as she stood there in that awkward pose.
Then I looked up at Kir. Just as Aunt Schmut had advised, I lightly licked my lips to moisten them.
"Yune, what is this...."
Kir asked what I was doing, but with so little time left I couldn't afford to stand around explaining.
I quietly lifted my heels, just like when I'd taught Kir ballet.
That brought my eye level high enough to meet Kir's face.
And then...
I closed my eyes and slowly brought my lips closer to Kir's face.
"A present for you, Kir. For being so good to me."
"...!!!?"
The gift Kir would love more than anything, as I'd heard from Duchess Schmut. It was giving Kir a kiss.
I meant to get it done quickly and head out, since there wasn't much time.
But soon I frowned at an inconvenience.
...It's only gonna be on the cheek anyway, I should've just done it from the side. No—I should've just asked her to sit for a moment in the first place.
Even with Kir bending her knees slightly and me pulling off the feat of standing on the tips of my toes, there was still a height difference.
To give Kir a kiss head-on in this situation, I had to press as close to her body as possible.
And a defining feature of Kir: her chest was incredibly large.
When I pressed close, Kir's chest flaunted its presence as if to say come no further, blocking my way.
—Squish.
Ah, maybe if I push harder I can manage somehow?
But the more I pushed my body against it, the more that soft mass squished tenderly against my chest and made way.
It was oddly soft—whether she wasn't wearing undergarments or something else I couldn't tell, but still, it worked out in my favor.
And so I pressed right up against Kir.
—Sway.
"...!?"
Huh?
There was one thing I had overlooked.
The fact that, since I was leaning my body against her while standing on tiptoe, most of my weight was distributed onto Kir,
and that my weight was exerting a force that threatened to topple her over,
and lastly, that because Kir was holding an awkward stance at my request, she was vulnerable to that very force.
Not knowing any of this, I kept pressing my body forward, and Kir's body began tipping further and further back...
"Hyiik!?"
"Aahh!!"
—Thud!
And just like that, Kir and I toppled to the floor, like dominoes.
Kir and I both screamed, startled by the dull impact that shook our bodies.
Despite the shock that had me cry out, it didn't hurt as much as I'd expected.
—Soft.
That was because Kir's chest, which I'd thought was in the way a moment ago, had gently cushioned my face.
My hands, still gripping Kir's forearms, hadn't been so lucky and had hit the floor directly, so they stung a little, but hurting my hands was a hundred times better than planting my face straight into the floorboards.
For a moment I stayed like that, my nose buried in Kir's chest, inwardly apologizing: Sorry, chest. I thought you were just pointlessly big earlier. Turns out you had a purpose after all? But...
I quickly came to my senses and hurriedly pushed myself up.
Kir cushioned me, so I wasn't hurt, but... what about Kir?
"Kir, are you okay!?"
"Uh, uhm, yeah...."
Still hovering over Kir on my hands and knees, I asked, and she nodded vaguely.
I looked her over carefully in case she was lying about being hurt, but although her face was red and her breathing was a bit rough, she didn't seem to be forcing herself to endure any pain, which put me at ease.
But...
"Whew, thank goodness. I'm sorry—hm?"
—Burst open.
"My apologies for being late... Huh?!"
Before the two of us could get back up, the professor suddenly barged into the lecture hall. Seriously, what timing.
The professor looked down at us sprawled on the floor with the look of someone who'd just walked in on something they shouldn't have.
Tangled together as we were, we stared up at the professor in dismay.
"......."
For a moment, the professor's face was a picture of complete failure to comprehend the situation.
Mouth agape, she looked back and forth between Kir's face and mine, and then...
—Squeak.
Without a word, she quietly stepped backward and shut the door.
Baffled, I just blinked.
And Kir stared at me, her face so red it looked ready to burst.
"...Yune, could you get off me now? The professor is here."
"Hm? Ah, yeah. Sorry."
I awkwardly moved aside, and Kir quickly got up, brushing herself off here and there and straightening her clothes.
Her outfit had been seriously disheveled—a button on her chest, right where my nose had been, had come undone, and her skirt had ridden up so much that her underwear was plainly visible. But Kir soon straightened herself out, returning to her usual neat academy uniform appearance.
I was glancing at her out of the corner of my eye, gauging the atmosphere, when—
"Yune?"
"Uh, yeah?"
Kir spoke to me quietly.
When I looked at her in surprise, her face was flushed a far deeper red than before. As if some turbulent emotion had sent all the blood rushing to her cheeks.
I figured the emotion surging up to her face was anger. Anger at me, for causing yet another mess so soon after yesterday's blunder.
"We'll talk once we're back. No getting out of it."
—Smile.
But instead of getting angry, Kir smiled and said we'd talk later.
The words sounded an awful lot like just you wait, so I felt a crushing pressure and nodded frantically.
"Uh, yeah! See you at dinnertime! I'm really sorry!!"
—Burst open.
I threw open the door and dashed out. Run away, and fast.
"Lady Kirschblüte...."
"Professor, you saw nothing."
"......Hm? Did something happen? I've only just arrived at the lecture hall, you see."
"Nothing happened. Now, let's begin promptly."
"The Crown Princess has yet to...."
Ignoring the conversation behind me, I quickly put distance between myself and the lecture hall.
Only when I reached the front of the student council room where Chloe was waiting did I stop and catch my breath.
"Haah, haah."
What do I do? She looked like she was sharpening her knives to scold me... Honestly, Aunt Schmut, why'd you have to go putting ideas in my head!