But the rebuttal she wanted to hear never came. Auntie Ya looked at Kiana in confusion, only to see her lowering her head with a grave expression, deep in thought. Auntie Ya was immediately left speechless.
Auntie Ya did not ask Kiana why she was not refuting Big Duck. She feared getting an answer she did not want to accept.
"Go on." Kiana did not even tell Big Duck to shut up. Instead, she told her to continue.
"And isn't this a happy thing?" Big Duck recalled Otto's arms. They were incredibly strong. "Do you want Mei to spend the rest of her life alone? Or do you want to wait until Mei meets someone she likes someday, then watch her throw herself into that person's arms and walk away right in front of you?"
"It's actually an easy choice. There's nothing difficult about it."
"It depends on whether you want Otto to kiss Mei's lips so the three of us can spend time together often in the future, or whether you want to watch some stranger—or someone you barely know—kiss Mei and take her somewhere you can't just drop by for a meal whenever you want."
"Bronya, you... you..." Kiana's eyes widened. When it came to arguing, how could she possibly be Big Duck's match?
Back when they were still studying at St. Freya Academy, Bronya had not spoken much, but her tongue had been the sharpest.
Big Duck was really just making a few changes to what Little Duck had once said to persuade her. Calling it nonsense would not be inaccurate. Why did Auntie Ya have to find a husband? Couldn't she stay single for the rest of her life?
Still, some things really were not wrong.
Since there was no escaping it...
Why not be a