The Strawberry Kiss Shock
Chloe's reaction speed to strawberry flavor was never slow. But this time, the circumstances weren't favorable. She'd been zapped into a charred mess by Marian's lightning, leaving her body sluggish to begin with, and this was Chloe's own bedroom. For the past three years, this room had been her absolute safe zone. Assassins gunning for Marian had slipped in often enough, but they always targeted the bedroom upstairs. They never poked around in Chloe's room uninvited. And the person sitting right beside her now was Marian herself. Someone far beyond just "harmless"—to Chloe, who had no family, she was family. That's why Chloe couldn't react. And the result?
Strawberry flavor...?
A strawberry-flavored first lip-lock. It burned an intense, indelible mark into her mind—one she couldn't erase even if she tried.
"A-ah... L-Lady...?"
Experience kissing women? Of course she had. Back in her assassin days as Edwin, Chloe—no, Edwin—had been renowned as a heartthrob. Women fell for him left and right, and he'd been assigned plenty of missions that required seducing them for intel.
"Wh...? Ah...?"
But that was her male days. Now she was a woman. A full-fledged adult at twenty-two. In Chloe's common sense, two women kissing felt morally off somehow. Not absolutely forbidden, but something deep in her chest kept signaling that it was wrong. Her heart pounded like she'd committed a crime, and for some reason, her face felt scorching hot.
"Uh...?"
Chloe's mind was a whirlwind of confusion, too. Marian had clearly said she was using her wish coupon. Then she'd lunged straight at Chloe's lips. No tongue, so not a full kiss—more like a peck, or rather... a literal lip-smash. She'd been lip-smashed outright.
But Marian had said she was using her wish coupon... So did that mean this lip-smash was her wish? What was she lacking that she'd use it on another woman like Chloe? Marian was the legitimate heir to the Evergreen Grand Duchy. A word from her, and handsome young noblemen with striking looks would line up. Chloe would've moved heaven and earth to find her a match if she'd just asked. So why go to the trouble of claiming her lips with a wish coupon?
And amid it all, Marian's scent wafted subtly of roses, while Chloe's lips—still tingling from the contact—carried the strawberry aroma transferred from Marian's mouth. A rich strawberry scent so potent she could practically taste it if she licked her lips.
"N-no..."
A storm of chaotic thoughts raged relentlessly in her head, and Chloe crumbled completely. Her mind kept trying to think, but no thoughts would form.
"Eh...?"
Letting out nothing but short, helpless gasps, she stared into the black eyes of Marian, who sat right beside her. And in those eyes, the reflection of the golden-haired woman looked like she might die of embarrassment. If Rosetta saw that face, she'd probably scold her: Thinking of marriage already?
"W-wait just a..."
Finally snapping to her senses, Chloe covered her flushed face and shoved at Marian's body. But...
"L-Lady..."
Marian, now nearly the same height—and actually taller than Chloe—didn't budge easily. And in the next instant...
"Wh-what the hell...?"
Marian toppled Chloe straight onto the bed. Then she straddled Chloe's plump thighs. Well, "straddled" might not be quite right. Even in her glee at finally advancing to the "next stage" with Chloe, and with her face flushed from the ecstasy of their lips touching, Marian was considerate enough not to put her full weight on her. She hovered her hips slightly, supporting herself half-upright on her knees.
But...
"Wish coupon..."
Consideration was one thing.
"You used the wish coupon..."
"Yes?"
"Stay still... Don't run away..."
"W-wait..."
"I said stay still!"
This was this. Marian bellowed, pinning Chloe down with brute force and restraining both her arms. Marian was a bona fide mana circle awakener. Even as an alchemist, she'd learned basic body reinforcement from Rosetta. And with their builds now similar, Chloe had no chance of overpowering her physically.
"Chloe."
It meant she had no choice but to listen.
"Remember when you kept your distance from me?"
"Th-that time recently?"
Pinned completely under Marian, Chloe couldn't look away. She had to stare straight at Marian's faintly flushed face. What to say... With Marian like this, the moment she averted her eyes...
Where you looking? She'd probably force her head back.
Anyway...
"That's when I thought, Oh, I can never let Chloe get distant again. We have to stick together every day. If we don't live together, she'll end up kissing that bear doll again."
"Pardon...?"
Chloe echoed blankly, as if she had no idea what Marian was saying. She looked like a rabbit trembling in anxiety before a predator, and Marian—who'd started lecturing like a preacher—barely knew what she was saying herself. Pressing her lips to Chloe's had her face feeling like it might explode. It was so hot, her heart thundering... Her brain wasn't working, just like Chloe's. The only difference was...
"I'm never giving this to anyone else. You can't do it with anyone but me."
The predatory instinct etched into the Evergreen Grand Duke's blood was clearly telling her what to do next. And Marian...
Followed her instincts.
"L-Lady..."
She sealed Chloe's lips again. Of course, no tongues this time. Marian was still... too young. She didn't yet know that mustering just a bit more courage from a peck would make it a kiss.
"Eh...?"
Midnight. The hour when Marian, having tirelessly stamped lip-marks all over Chloe's lips and face, finally collapsed into exhausted sleep. Unlike Marian, who slumbered peacefully under the shared blanket beside her, Chloe couldn't sleep a wink.
Because the thought that something was deeply wrong refused to leave her mind.
"A-a girl... with another girl, why...?"
She had to sort out her thoughts. She didn't yet fully grasp women's views on sexuality.
"I-I heard about going to the bathroom together, but... d-does that mean pecks are... uh?"
Thoroughly broken, Chloe stuttered even her internal monologue as she desperately tried to organize her mind.
"I-is that it? Is that okay?"
Was a light lip-touch acceptable as an expression of affection between close female friends?
"Ah, ah...?"
The more she thought, the more her face burned like it might burst. Back when their lips had met, when she'd locked eyes with Marian... Those eyes had clearly been...
The eyes of a girl in love.
Yes. Marian loved Chloe.
"She loves... me...?"
A woman loving another woman? The lady of the Evergreen Grand Duchy, loving a mere tutor? Wasn't that too many problems piled up?
"I-I like her too, but..."
That was the 'like' born from a family-like bond, not the 'love' that sparked a desire to steal lips. The two were distinctly different. Chloe's feelings were softer, more platonic 'like.'
But Marian had used her wish coupon—even mana—to forcibly claim Chloe's lips. Even calling it a soft kiss without tongues, her actions in the process were anything but soft. How could the result be soft if the process wasn't?
"Th-this is wrong..."
Her mind was a jumbled mess, but she hadn't treated Marian well hoping for this kind of relationship. It was simply... the joy of gaining a family she could open her heart to, giving the affection Marian craved. A means to stoke Marian's thirst for learning. And Marian had grown into an excellent alchemist, but regardless of results, the intensity of her affection for Chloe was excessive. Chloe had vaguely sensed it, but today made it certain.
"I need... distance. This won't do..."
This couldn't go on. For Marian's future, she had to redirect that affection. Chloe would leave the Grand Duke's castle in three years anyway, but if Marian ended up assaulting maids like Viola afterward, it'd be a disaster.
"Advance the social season schedule first. Yeah... Surrounded by handsome noble sons, she'll forget all about someone like me. Good, prioritize that."
Having sorted her thoughts, Chloe slipped out of her bed where Marian slept and headed to the study. She'd check the nearest social events first. Then send Marian to ones packed with eligible men. Surrounded by handsome guys, she'd snap out of it.
"Yeah, that's right..."
No, it was far too late. Maybe Chloe's entire philosophy of raising her with affection was flawed from the start. Somehow, she had to fix this.