Every lover sleeping in bed together at night can fall asleep peacefully, but why is our case different?

It's midnight, and I find myself staring at my beloved Inzo while he's asleep. He's so handsome and cute that I can't bring myself to close my eyes and sleep. Look at his innocence when he's asleep; he's so defenseless. A woman like me could never turn away from such a scene. So, I gently stroke his black hair, and he smiles in response.

His smile is like a beam of light, and combined with his defenseless state, he's like a gift from heaven that makes my heart flutter. Kyaa~! His smile is angelic as always! I might die from his smile! And so I hugged him tightly, pressing my body against his, refusing to let him go. Maybe he'll go to other girls if he wakes up today. I bury my face in his chest to inhale his scent—a mixture of his own scent and the scent of his blue blazer. I inhale deeply, unable to get enough of his intoxicating aroma.

SNIFF! SNIFF! SNIFF!

"Ahh~ I can't get enough of your scent, my beloved Inzo."

He remains asleep, not making a sound. He looks like a toy to me now, one that won't even make a noise. It makes me like him even more. What if I could tie him up? Would he protest or make a noise about it?

With that thought in my mind and my face still buried in his chest, holding him tightly, I close my eyes to sleep. Being close to my beloved Inzo, his sweet scent attracts me, making me feel like I'm being cleansed by him. Truly a gift from heaven.

I woke up to the sound of sudden cries and pleading voices. Raising my head, I saw Inzo with his eyes closed, tears streaming down his face as he pleaded, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry for not winning the competition, but please don't leave me... Don't leave me, please... Please..."

Before he could continue pleading, I approached his left ear and whispered softly, "Don't mind them, Inzo. You have me."

After I said those words, his crying stopped, and he opened his eyes, startled to find me so close to him.

"E-emi?! Wha-what are you doing?" he asked, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

With a mischievous grin, I pulled away from him. "Oh, Inzo, you're so cute when you're blushing!"

"Waking up to you so close and being whispered in my ear is a bit... unexpected and embarrassing," he admitted, his blush deepening.

"Well, you were crying in your sleep, so as your one and only friend, I decided to comfort you," I replied casually.

"Y-yeah, I really appreciate it, Emi, but next time, a simple pat on my head will do."

"Ara~ so that means you hate getting whispered in your ear?" I leaned closer to him. "There's no fun in just patting your head, my beloved Inzo."

"F-fine! You can do that when I have bad dreams, but don't do it too much since we're just friends." He turned to the right side in my bed, avoiding my gaze. "I'm going to go back to sleep now! Don't ever do anything weird to me while I'm asleep."

"Okay, goodnight, Inzo," I said softly, smiling sweetly as I watched his back.

"Good night too, Emi," he said shyly.

His voice was so cute when he said that and after a few minutes, he seemed to be back asleep. I woke up earlier, so I don't need to sleep again. I decided to check the time. I stood up from my bed and went to the table to turn on my phone.

As my phone turned on, the time on the lock screen, with a wallpaper of Inzo's face, was displayed.

It was 3:30 a.m.

So it's already early in the morning? Hmm, I shouldn't sleep then. I'll prepare breakfast because it's Inzo's first time experiencing breakfast with me!

No other girls have done that for Inzo; it's only me. This is a huge achievement for myself, one I can proudly boast about and show to the whole world—the first breakfast with Inzo, with someone his own age, is with me!

I touched the handle of my door before I could open it. I glanced back at Inzo, still sleeping in the bed.

"I'll be back, my beloved Inzo. I'm just going to prepare breakfast for us~."

I left my room and descended the stairs to go to the kitchen. Arriving there, I went to the elegant kitchen countertop, where I kept my cooking utensils and ingredients neatly arranged for preparation.

There, I saw a small red button in front of me, so I clicked it. When I pressed that small red button, it meant that my maids, who lived in the quarters near my mansion, would immediately respond and report here.

As expected, I heard a door open in the mansion, followed by the footsteps of my maids as they arrived in the kitchen, and I turned back to look at them.

"You're all late by 1 minute and 10 seconds. It should be exactly 1 minute according to my rules," I said coldly.

The head maid, Yuriko Kato, an old lady in her sixties with black hair streaked with white, humbly bowed before me.

"I apologize on behalf of my maids, Harashino-sama. It's my fault that we are late," she said.

The other maids looked at Yuriko Kato, seeming to disagree that it was her fault. Perhaps they realized it was their own fault, not hers.

"Starting today, every 3:30 am, all of you need to come here to the kitchen and start cleaning the mansion and washing mine and Inzo's clothes."

As I mentioned my beloved Inzo, I remembered an incident from yesterday afternoon. Despite my instructions to avoid being seen by him, one of the maids dared to show herself at 7:50 p.m. She had short blonde hair, the same age as me. When Inzo turned to look at her, I immediately glared at the maid with intense, frightening eyes, conveying a clear message:

"DON'T YOU DARE OPEN YOUR MOUTH AND SPEAK TO MY PROPERTY!"

The maid trembled and hastily retreated, leaving Inzo puzzled. I quickly returned to my usual kind and friendly demeanor, smiling sweetly at him.

“Why did she run away, Emi?" Inzo asked.

"Oh, please forget about that. She's just my maid. She had some emergency problems," I explained casually.

"Emergency problems?" Inzo tilted his head innocently. Ahh, he's so innocent.

"Yes, she had to go home immediately because her mother and father had an emergency."

"I hope she finds a way to solve her problem," Inzo said softly, like a saintess wanting to help someone.

At that moment, jealousy and anger surged within me. Why was he worried about someone else? His attention should only be mine, not from other girls!

Turning back to the kitchen, I grabbed my phone and texted Yuriko Kato with my fingers that were so fast moving in anger.

"All of the maids should be in the quarter! Failure to do so can result in immediate termination."

That's what happened yesterday; now I must look at these maids to find that girl. My eyes look at all the maids until I find her. I immediately walked and then grabbed her by the neck, my blue-gray eyes full of anger and jealousy.

"HOW DARE YOU TRY TO STEAL MY BELOVED INZO?!"

"I-i'm sorry, Harashino-sama! I didn't mean to... It was an accident, I swear!"

She was just trying to find an excuse for her actions, which only angered me further. I tightened my grip on her neck.

"Do you think I will believe your excuse? It was a clear instruction from me that you should not show your face to him, yet you defied me and approached him?!"

"A girl like you deserves to die!" I shouted furiously, my grip squeezing tighter around her neck. The maid gasped for breath, fear filling her eyes.

"Harashino-sama, please calm down! Let her go," Yuriko pleaded, her voice firm yet filled with concern.

I hesitated for a moment, my rage still burning fiercely within me, but I reluctantly released my grip on the maid's neck. She gasped for air, coughing as she struggled to breathe.

My fists remained clenched, and I still desired to end her life. I wanted her to stop breathing to eliminate any threats to my plans. Yuriko noticed my clenched fists.

"Take a deep breath, Harashino-sama. Violence won't solve the problem," Yuriko said, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder.

I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths to regain control of my emotions. After a moment, I felt calmer. I opened my eyes and looked at Yuriko.

"She needs to understand the consequences of disobeying my orders."

"Of course, Harashino-sama. I'll make sure that she learns from this mistake," Yuriko said.

"Very well. Today, maids, you will assist me in cooking. Some of you will prepare the Hanayami Academy uniforms, clean the mansion, and Yuriko."

"Yes, Harashino-sama?"

"Tell my driver to have the car ready outside the mansion by 7:30 a.m."

"I understand, Harashino-sama," she replied with a deep bow.

"Now, let's get to work," I headed to the refrigerator to gather ingredients. The other maids joined me to suggest breakfast ideas.

Meanwhile, the rest of the maids began preparing uniforms and cleaning the mansion. I'll make the best breakfast to please Inzo and draw him closer to me. Fufufu~

————

I opened my eyes, feeling great as I sat up from the bed. Oh man... This room is filled with my pictures on every wall, and even the window is covered. I wonder what time it is. There are no clocks here, just pictures of me.

I never expected to find a friend, let alone someone so interested in me that she would do all this in her own room.

But just being patted on the head and having someone care for me deeply It warms my heart. It feels like I'm being comforted, like I could cry on her shoulder anytime and share my problems, knowing she would listen carefully.

That's what I like about her. She's truly kind-hearted. I want to cherish her as my one and only friend, even though she does things like plaster my pictures all around in her own room.

I still couldn't shake off what I remember yesterday evening in her room, when she called me "my beloved Inzo." Did Emi truly see me romantically rather than just as a friend? I should probably ask her about that during breakfast later, especially since she seemed open to the idea of a more-than-friend relationship.

But if she were to say yes, like she did yesterday evening, what should I do? Should I reject her and say that I don't plan on dating her, and that I just want to remain friends? But if I said that, she would probably be mad at me.

I need to come up with a better reason to support my answer. Come on, Inzo, think! What should I say to reject Emi without making her angry?

Before I could brainstorm and come up with a reason, I heard a knock on the door, followed by a sweet voice.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"The breakfast is ready now, my beloved Inzo."

Oh no, I can't go to breakfast with her right now without having an answer or a reason for rejection. I should probably pretend to be asleep so I can buy myself some time to think.

I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes, trying to think of a good reason. Then she spoke again.

"I know you're awake, so stop pretending and open the door so we can have breakfast together," she said, her voice sweet but with a hint of darkness, perhaps anger.

With that said, a shiver ran down my spine. How did she know that I'm awake right now? Did she just take a guess? But setting that aside, I need to think of a reason first. However, her voice grew angrier, with a threat in her tone.

"You don't want punishments, do you, my beloved Inzo~?"

I sighed. This was getting dangerous, so I got up from the bed and walked to the door, opening it. As soon as the door opened, she immediately hugged me tightly.

"Good morning, Inzo," she said, her face buried in my chest as she inhaled my scent.

"Good morning, too, Emi," I replied.

She pulled away from the hug and smiled warmly at me.

"I prepared breakfast for us," she said, extending her hand in invitation. "Let's go, shall we, Inzo?"

"Yeah, let's go," I agreed, taking her hand. We descended the stairs and entered the kitchen.

I sat down in the chair by the dining table, and she sat beside me. In front of us, there were two plates, one for Emi and one for me. In the center of the dining table, there was an elegant food tray with hotdogs, eggs, and ham.

"It looks good," I said, feeling hungry as I looked at the food.

"Of course it is, since I'm the one who cooked it!" she replied proudly, chuckling.

I chuckled too. "Thank you, Emi. You're such a good friend to me," I said, smiling at her appreciatively.

She returned the smile. "Oh, it's nothing, Inzo. I'm just happy that I could take care of you," she said gently.

My cheeks flushed when she said that, her smile making her look even more beautiful and cute. I felt lucky to be the one seeing her like this, and my heart raced. I needed to change the topic.

"W-well, let's eat now," I stammered.

"Yeah, let's eat now and relieve your face that's full of red," Emi teased playfully, her blue-grey eyes sparkling with affection.

As I tried to strike a hotdog with my fork, my hand trembled slightly, and the hotdog slipped from my grasp, landing with a soft thud on the dining table.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry," I stammered, feeling my face flush with embarrassment.

Emi giggled softly, and after that, she patted my hand reassuringly. "Don't worry, Inzo. It happens to the best of us," she said with a warm smile.

"T-thank you, Emi; I should try it again." I grabbed my fork and aimed for another hotdog once more. This time, I struck it successfully, and I put it on my plate.

"Congratulations, Inzo! You did it!" Emi said cheerfully, her eyes shining with pride and encouragement.

"Thank you, Emi. I couldn't have done it without your support."

She smiled once more at me and leaned closer to my left ear to whisper something.

"Remember, Inzo, I'll always be here for you, no matter what," she said, her tone a mix of affection and something darker, a seriousness that sent a shiver down my spine.

I smiled back at her, accepting both sides of her. "I'll always remember that, Emi."

I was lucky enough that I hadn't asked her about her feelings towards me romantically or as just a friend, as I had just managed to avoid her anger.

Emi was the only girl who made me feel vulnerable and soft, and she was also my one and only friend who would stay by my side forever.
 

[/author I just wanted to say that the first arc is over, so starting in chapter 7, we will be going into the second arc, Hanayami Academy arc with Inzo and Emi's school life, while there are going to be new characters that will be introduced and also a transfer student! So stay tuned for the next chapter! For now, I'm going to leave you with the question: What are your thoughts on the first arc? (Chapters 1-6).]