Near noon, Harucha returned from grocery shopping and found her younger sister lying on the sofa reading.
Natsu was becoming more and more beautiful. Her shoulder-length brownish-green hair framed a sweet, tranquil face, while her two long, slender, fair legs swung back and forth nonstop.
"I'm back."
"Welcome back," Natsu replied without even looking up, her eyes fixed on the pages.
"You've been pretty free lately," Harucha said.
"Neji went to school. Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata don't need me looking after them either, so there's nothing to do."
After giving it some thought, Harucha put the groceries away in the kitchen, then came back and sat beside Natsu, snatching the book from her hands.
"What are you doing?" Natsu said helplessly.
"Sit up. I have something to ask you." Harucha closed the book and set it on the coffee table beside them.
Natsu merely let out a heavy sigh and flopped facedown onto the sofa.
"Go ahead."
Harucha felt helpless seeing her like this. After carefully choosing her words, she finally asked, "That Naruto... I mean, His Majesty the Emperor... doesn't he have any feelings for you at all?"
"How would I know?" Natsu buried her face in a cushion and answered in a muffled voice.
Harucha could not help feeling troubled. "He shouldn't be like that."
She had clearly heard that His Majesty the Emperor was a man who lusted after women... and her little sister was so beautiful, always appearing before him every day. Could he really feel nothing at all?
Natsu herself was somewhat lost about her future. Back when she lived with Makoto's family, she had gotten along very harmoniously with everyone. Sometimes, Makoto would even make little jokes that made her blush furiously.
But as the children gradually grew older, she suddenly began to feel