In the quiet room, the candlelight flickered gently.
Shinobu Kocho listened quietly as Giyu outlined his grand plan, manipulating the thousand-year-old Demon King with ease. Her purple eyes, which had initially held a mocking smile, unconsciously widened into slits.
She used to think that this Water Hashira was a dull, unyielding blockhead who wouldn't utter a sound, but when he truly revealed the gentleness hidden beneath his cold exterior, the reassuring yet heart-pounding masculine hormones were so strong they practically filled her nostrils!
Shinobu Kocho gazed at the handsome face opposite her, her breathing gradually quickened, and a captivating blush crept onto her cheeks.
Without making a sound, she moved her knees, and her graceful body, which had been sitting upright opposite her, naturally turned around, bypassing the low table, and moved closer to Giyu's side!
A girl's fragrance instantly enveloped Giyu's face.
"Mr. Giyu..."
Shinobu Kocho tilted her head back.
"You're always so amazing... whether it's swordsmanship or strategy..."
"But... I have a question that I just can't figure out no matter how hard I try."
As Shinobu spoke, she stretched out her delicate white hand and gently placed it on the back of Giyu's hand, which was resting on his knee.
"Since Mr. Giyu is so incredibly intelligent, understanding the thoughts of that charcoal-selling boy and Muzan Kibutsuji perfectly... how come he's so utterly oblivious to the feelings of that girl who stays by your side every day, serving you tea and water?"
Giyu glanced down at the little hand that was messing around on the back of his hand, then looked up at Shinobu Kocho, who was so close to him, and his eyelids twitched almost imperceptibly.
"Ren, what are you saying?"
"If you're referring to the Butterfly Mansion's funding, I've already given all of last month's allowance to Kanae."
"Ugh! Who wants to talk to you about such vulgar things as money?!"
The Shinobu Kocho, but then pressed itself three inches closer!
In an instant, her full curves, completely disproportionate to her petite stature, clung firmly to Giyu's muscular forearms through the thin silk pajamas!
With her misty purple eyes slightly narrowed and her long, slender neck tilted back, Shinobu began to recount:
"Mr. Giyu, are you still going to play dumb with me?"
Last month, when we went to the remote, frigid mountains to collect century-old medicinal herbs, during a blizzard, you stayed up all night holding me in your arms to shield me from the wind and keep me warm.
"Whenever I'm at the Butterfly Mansion, if I even slightly frown, you magically produce my favorite Kyoto candied fruit, konpeito (Japanese candy), and even the Western-style microscope that I casually mentioned, you had someone buy it for me from Yokohama..."
Shinobu's two little hands climbed up Giyu's wrists from the back of his hands, her voice tinged with a hint of resentment:
"Mr. Giyu, look me in the eye and answer me!"
"You're so good to me, so doting on me, don't you really have even the slightest bit of... the kind of affection a man has for a woman?"
The true intentions are revealed when the true story is unleashed!
Faced with his sister-in-law's attack, which was practically a knife to his throat, Giyu Tomioka fell into a deep silence.
To be honest, if it were the same idiot from two years ago who hadn't yet developed his intelligence and was only thinking about "whether everyone dislikes me" all day, he would most likely have tilted his head and looked completely bewildered when faced with Shinobu's words.
But the current Giyu Tomioka is no longer the emotionally clueless person he once was!
Since confessing his feelings to Flower Hashira Kanae Kocho and getting married, Giyu has gained a certain understanding of the feelings between men and women!
He's not blind!
In recent years, the way Shinobu Kocho looked at him had become increasingly strange, from the initial admiration and respect to the later resentment and longing, and then to the aggressive feeling in recent weeks that seemed to want to strip him naked and tie him to the bed. How could Giyu not see it?!
However—seeing it is one thing, but being able to counter it is another!
What kind of international joke is this?!?!
He has Kanae Kocho!
Kanae gentle, virtuous, dignified, and generous. She is completely devoted to him and deeply in love with him!
Perhaps Kanae could tolerate it, but would he dare to gamble...? Ugh... As a man of integrity, since he married his sister, he must remain 100% loyal to the marriage!
Shinobu is indeed a wonderful girl—charming, intelligent, sharp-tongued, and strong. Giyu has a deep affection and pity for her.
But that's because she's Kanae's only close blood relative in this world!
In Giyu's heart, his kindness towards Shinobu was entirely out of brother-in-law's affection and care for his sister-in-law!
If he'd even lay a hand on his own wife's younger sister, what kind of person would Giyu Tomioka be?!
What's the difference between him and Makoto Shinkai, who can't control his lower body, and scum Muzan Kibutsuji?!
With this thought in mind, Giyu displayed extraordinary composure!
With a slight tremor of his arm, a gentle yet irresistible force surged forth, instantly and imperceptibly freeing his wrist from Shinobu Kocho's tight grip.
Immediately afterwards, Giyu straightened his back and shifted his buttocks back on the tatami, instantly creating a full meter of safe social distance!
"Ren, you must be too tired from researching new poisons lately, and it's making you feel unwell."
With his hands on his knees, Giyu solemnly began reciting the Tao Te Ching:
As the saying goes, an elder sister is like a mother, and an elder brother is like a father!
"Since Kanae and I are husband and wife, then you are my real, genuine younger sister."
"As a brother-in-law, protecting his sister-in-law's safety on the battlefield, preventing her from freezing to death on snowy nights, caring for her daily needs, buying her snacks and study materials... isn't this what he should do?"
"Please don't overthink it!!"
After saying that, Giyu even considerately reached out and picked up the plate of cookies, putting it back in Shinobu Kocho's hand, and then pointed to the front door:
"It's very late at night, and it's chilly outside!"
"Take this plate of cookies back to your room and eat it. Get some rest!"
Click!
Boom--!
It was as if a bolt of lightning from the heavens had pierced through the roof of the Butterfly Mansion and struck Shinobu Kocho precisely on the top of her head, scorching her to a crisp and sending black smoke billowing from her face!
My own sister?!
Basic family obligations of a qualified brother-in-law?!
The purest and noblest brotherly love?!
The charming and sweet smile that Shinobu Kocho had been wearing on her face froze and vanished in that instant!
She kept her head down, her bangs falling down and obscuring her eyes.
If there were comments above Shinobu Kocho's head right now, they would be flooded with bold, bright red exclamation marks!
Brother-in-law again! And sister again!
Giyu Tomioka, you damned heartless blockhead!
What a blockhead!
A terminal case of "steel-hearted straight male chauvinist"!
I even wore my silk pajamas tonight, and I used all my vocal cords, practically sitting right on your lap, and you still dare to recite the brother-in-law code of conduct to me?!
Who wants to be your sister?!
Who cares about your bland, water-like brotherly love?!
At that moment, a strong sour feeling rushed to Shinobu Kocho's nose, making her feel as if her whole heart had fallen into a vat of vinegar, and even her breath tasted sour!
Why should I?!?!
She and her sister met Giyu Tomioka together!
It's all because of Kanae Kocho!
It's all because of her older sister, who appears gentle and dignified on the surface, smiling like a pure white lotus, but is actually scheming and ruthless behind the scenes!
If Kanae hadn't shamelessly used a Giyu -inflicted injury to take advantage of Giyu and make his advances irreversible... would Shinobu Kocho have ended up in this hellish situation where even confessing her feelings is seen as violating family ethics?!
Just thinking about the days and nights she spent in the Butterfly Mansion over the past six months made Shinobu Kocho feel like her back teeth were about to shatter!
It's clearly the same handsome face!
They both have the same drool-worthy, perfect body!
Why is it that the perfect man that Shinobu Kocho Shinobu Kocho and night, the man she dreams of holding in her arms and biting twice... can be openly locked in her room and used without any restraint by Kanae Kocho?
What's the most infuriating thing?!?!
What's most infuriating is that every time they're up until the wee hours of the morning, that wicked woman knows perfectly well that she lives in the next yard, knows perfectly well how sharp her hearing is, yet she still...!
The next morning, the cheating older sister, beaming with delight, would run to her Medicine Room, clutching her aching back, and sip a blood-nourishing soup of red dates and goji berries while boasting to her:
"Oh dear, Shinobu, Giyu- san is simply beyond human endurance, sister..."
Ugh! I'm so angry! So jealous! So envious!!
If I keep watching you two, this shameless couple, flaunting your love day and night right under my nose, I'm really going to completely turn evil!!