Late afternoon.
Standing in the kitchen was Tokai Natural.
Maruzensky approached silently, footsteps soft, coming up behind her.
At the moment, Tokai Natural was preparing the broth for dinner—something that required almost no attention.
Yet, watching Tokai Natural like this, the anxiety within Maruzensky's heart still refused to fade.
Even though she now knew Tokai Natural had no intention of approaching Rudolf, once worry appeared, it would expand infinitely on its own.
Standing behind Tokai Natural, Maruzensky gazed at the long hair tied high up, carefully styled to prevent stray strands from falling into the food.
And beneath the hair, the usually hidden, slender neck.
Looking at that neck, the first thought that arose in Maruzensky's mind was to place a collar around it, perhaps with a chain attached.
If she did that, then Tokai Natural could never possibly do anything that worried her.
But that idea only lasted a brief instant before Maruzensky pushed it down again.
She wasn't like some of her kouhais—possessed by a desire for exclusive control so strong it couldn't be suppressed.
Or rather, she appeared not to be.
Thus, Maruzensky didn't do anything more extreme. She merely reached out with both arms, wrapping them gently around Tokai Natural's body.
Although there was a great height difference between the two, because Tokai Natural was standing on a small stool, Maruzensky's arms happened to wrap perfectly beneath Tokai Natural's chest.
Finally, she embraced her fully.
At first, when her hands touched Tokai Natural's sides, she felt her body shiver.
But a second later, the shivering stopped.
Yet now, with her hands pressed firmly against Tokai Natural's body, Maruzensky could clearly sense it—
Tokai Natural's body was still trembling, ever so slightly.
As if…in fear.
The instinctive reaction of her body conveyed much to Maruzensky.
Feeling this subtle trembling,
Maruzensky leaned her head forward, burying her face gently in Tokai Natural's neck, inhaling softly before whispering: "Yayoi…"
"Hm? What is it? I'm right here…"
Her voice had a slight tremble to it as well. Paired with her body's faint shaking,
Maruzensky now clearly saw what she had never noticed before.
That even though Tokai Natural was terrified of what might happen, she was still forcing herself to appear calm.
Feeling that soft trembling, Maruzensky hesitated, then finally asked softly, "Yayoi, won't you resist?"
"…No, I won't."
Her trembling grew even stronger.
Sensing Tokai Natural's body shaking like this, Maruzensky thought again for a moment, then spoke quietly once more: "Natural… Tell me, would you run away?"
She voiced the thought that had earlier appeared in her mind.
Then waited quietly for Tokai Natural's reply.
The trembling intensified further. But in the next instant—
All trembling ceased completely.
As if Tokai Natural had already made her decision.
"No, I wouldn't. It's just…"
Slowly stirring the soup in front of her with a ladle, Tokai Natural lowered her head slightly.
This made it even harder for Maruzensky—standing behind her—to see her expression.
"Mochizuki… I can't."
Hearing this reply, Maruzensky released her hold.
She stepped around to Tokai Natural's side, looking at her from an angle where she could clearly see her expression. "I was just joking around."
Saying this, Maruzensky continued speaking casually, as if nothing unusual had occurred:
"C.B. mentioned to me about buying you a shopfront to run. But I figured you wouldn't really accept something directly gifted like that, so we thought maybe we could buy the store jointly with three or more people and then hire you to work there."
Maruzensky smoothly concealed the earlier tension in her heart, continuing her explanation calmly: "But rather than hiring you, we'd probably just rent the shop to you. Rent would depend on monthly revenue, with a portion of profits collected. Whatever's left would be yours."
"That's why I asked you that earlier."
The smile on Maruzensky's face looked as normal as always.
Observing Maruzensky's gentle smile, Tokai Natural opened her mouth slightly, then closed it again.
She could sense clearly that Maruzensky's earlier question was definitely not just a joke.
But…
Since Maruzensky had said it like that, Tokai Natural would treat it as truth.
She could see the truth—but at the same time, couldn't allow herself to acknowledge it.
Thus, Tokai Natural gave her answer:
"I won't run away. Mochizuki is still here, after all."
Saying that, Tokai Natural returned her gaze to the simmering ingredients in front of her. Staring down at the slightly murky broth, she was silent for a few seconds before softly adding:
"Besides, you treat me very well. So I won't run away."
Tokai Natural's words were simple and direct.
Facing this reply, Maruzensky paused for several seconds, then spoke again casually: "That's good. It would be troublesome if our investment went to waste. C.B. and I can freely spend our prize money, but the third person involved…"
Listening to Maruzensky, Tokai Natural didn't want to dwell on that subject anymore. After all, there wasn't much worth thinking about there.
Instead, she found something else to divert the topic.
"I don't really mind who the third person is. You and C.B. can decide that yourselves. I… won't interfere."
After saying this, Tokai Natural turned her attention slightly elsewhere, asking softly:
"By the way, when is C.B. coming back?"
"Oh, right. Let me check."
Just as Tokai Natural anticipated, as soon as the subject changed, Maruzensky immediately followed along.
Watching Maruzensky take out her phone, Tokai Natural glanced down at the simmering pot once more and quietly spoke up again:
"Oh—if C.B. is planning to stop by the supermarket, have her pick up some meat. But not too much."
Hearing this, Maruzensky quickly typed out the message on her phone—and immediately sent it out.
Meanwhile, upon hearing her phone's notification, Mr. C.B. pulled it out and read the incoming messages.
Looking at these texts, Mr. C.B. furrowed her brows slightly.
Her instincts, honed as a former Triple Crown winner, told her clearly:
Someone else was taking the lead.
Though unsure exactly where this feeling came from, it still made Mr. C.B.'s expression tighten.
Frowning slightly, she replied briefly to the text.
Then put down her phone, turning her focus back to the documents before her.
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T/N: these goshdarn stallions smh, always thinking with their...