My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As Expected

[Side Quest: The host may freely choose whether to complete it.]

That was a relief. The quest to become the top student in the whole school might lose steam later, but it would do as a supplementary quest. As for the one about dating, forget it.

Though Yukino had been bound to the Unscrupulous System, she still had her principles. She couldn't bring herself to do something as scummy as taking advantage of someone else's feelings.

The car finally stopped in front of the Yukinoshita Residence, and the butler at the entrance opened the door for them.

"Welcome home, Second Miss."

Before getting out, Yukino saw Mr. Ito, who had opened the door for her, give her an encouraging smile.

"Miss, I'll take my leave now."

Yukino let out a quiet breath. As she slowly approached the entrance, a maid in a fully buttoned uniform opened the door for her.

Neither Mr. Yukinoshita nor Madam Yukinoshita was particularly fond of having people coming and going, but in a mansion as large as the Yukinoshita home, without maids and butlers, Madam Yukinoshita would probably be trapped inside, buried in housework.

Madam Yukinoshita was so arrogant that she believed only the stars above were worthy of her gaze. She barely had time to concern herself with her own daughter, so how could she possibly let herself be bothered by groceries, cooking, brooms, and pots?

"Second Miss, Madam is waiting for you over there."

The unfamiliar-looking maid pointed somewhat nervously toward the living room.

She had only recently started working for the Yukinoshita Family. She'd heard that the family's Second Miss had an eccentric personality and was difficult to get along with, so naturally, she felt a little nervous meeting her for the first time.

The maid sneaked a glance at Yukino, then quickly looked away.

She thought the Second Miss did look cool and distant, and not particularly approachable.

But she was so beautiful!

Yukino handed her schoolbag to the maid. She saw her mother sitting with her back to her on the sofa, flipping through a blue folder. A tall stack of folders in various colors sat on the coffee table.

"Now that you're home, come sit down. Dinner will be ready soon."

Madam Yukinoshita's voice was calm, but carried an unquestionable authority.

At Sobu High School, Yukino was radiant and one of a kind. But once she returned home and stood before her mother, she became Yukino Yukinoshita again.

She silently sat down on the sofa opposite her mother.

"How are you still so quiet at your age?"

Madam Yukinoshita looked up. Though she'd been prepared to see Yukino, she still froze for a moment. "...It's been a long time since I've seen you looking like this."

Yukino had never been very close to her parents.

When her second daughter was born, the Yukinoshita Family was making major moves in both politics and business. Neither Mr. Yukinoshita nor his wife had a moment to spare; they were so busy they could barely keep their feet on the ground.

From the time Yukino was little, it had been her older sister, three years her senior, who raised her.

Whenever they came home, the tiny little girl would hide behind her sister or cling to her waist, peeking out timidly as if she were looking at a stranger.

Madam Yukinoshita put the folder back on the coffee table. "You like desserts, don't you, Yukino? I had the cook make a mango mille-feuille this time..."

"Mom," Yukino said softly. "I'm allergic to mangoes."

The living room fell silent for a moment.

Just then, a maid's welcoming voice sounded from the entrance.

Yukino looked up and saw her smiling sister step inside.

She handed her bag to a maid and hurried over to sit beside Madam Yukinoshita. "Oh, Mom, I told you not to bring all that work home. Just looking at it gives me a headache."

The moment she appeared, the cold, lifeless house seemed to come alive and brighten.

That was the kind of charm Haruno Yukinoshita had.

Madam Yukinoshita smiled. "You're the one slacking off, and you still have the nerve to say that? Be careful the old men at the company don't come complaining about you again."

They were the ones who seemed like a close mother and daughter.

Yukino was like a stranger who had wandered in by accident.

Only then did Haruno seem to notice Yukino. She smiled brightly. "Oh? Yukino's home?"

She leaned over and took Yukino's fingers in hers, beaming. "You came home without even telling me, Yukino. That's so mean of you~"

A subtle sense of discrepancy stirred in Yukino's heart.

Haruno, who was always mean and awful, and loved teasing her.

She had never smiled at Yukino so warmly before.

Mr. Yukinoshita was in the United States negotiating a contract, so he didn't come home that evening.

From the time they sat down to eat until dinner was over, Haruno was the only one chattering away, while Madam Yukinoshita occasionally replied with a word or two.

Yukino casually switched on the television built into the living room wall, trying to make herself seem less awkward.

She didn't feel much about being left out. After all, she'd always been the quiet, overlooked one at home, ever since she was little.

If silence and coldness were water, Yukino was a fish accustomed to swimming in the deep sea.

Honestly, she was already greatly relieved that things had been so peaceful since she came home.

She'd thought her mother would see her and immediately get so angry she'd have to take blood pressure medication.

It seemed things were fine after all.

Madam Yukinoshita's gaze fell on her second daughter from time to time.

Though it had only been a little over a month since they'd last met, she couldn't help feeling that an enormous distance had opened up between her and Yukino.

When Yukino was in elementary school, Madam Yukinoshita only came home once every few months. Later, Yukino went abroad for middle school.

Then, when Yukino was about to start high school, Madam Yukinoshita learned from her husband that Yukino planned to move out.

They were mother and daughter. How had they grown so distant?

Though she would never admit it aloud, Madam Yukinoshita did feel guilty toward her younger daughter.

So even though Yukino had been acting so terribly for over a year, she'd convinced herself it was just a brief phase of adolescent rebellion.

Now, it seemed that phase had passed?

"Yukino, there's a party tomorrow evening. You should come along."

Madam Yukinoshita's words were like a fishing net cast into the depths, pulling Yukino up from the sea.

Though surprised, she nodded. "Okay."

After all, she was a daughter of the Yukinoshita Family. In the past, Yukino had attended society parties with her family from time to time.

At that, Haruno, who had been chattering away, fell silent.

She still wore a smile. "I'll go with Yukino tomorrow."

Madam Yukinoshita glanced at her. "Do as you like, as long as you don't cause trouble."

"Mom, you're so mean. How could I cause trouble?"

Haruno could always act sweet and coy with her parents so naturally.

As they went upstairs to rest, Haruno smiled at Yukino. "You'd better be careful at this party. That Miss Shijo will be there, after all."

The Shijo heiress?

Like the Unscrupulous System, Yukino's attention was caught by the keyword.

Shijo. That was a surname Yukino Yukinoshita knew all too well.

The Shijo Group was one of the families that had branched off from the Shinomiya Zaibatsu, one of the four great zaibatsu that dominated Japan's economy.

Unlike the Yukinoshita Family, a local powerhouse, the Shijo Family was a true giant with considerable influence across all of Japan.

Of course, there were countless wealthy young men and society girls across the country. The only reason Yukino remembered Shijo was that Maki Shijo was on Blonde Yukino's list of victims.

Yes, she'd been cheated on by Blonde Yukino, too.

Yukino was almost numb to it.

So he'd really traveled all over the country, leaving a trail of women he'd cheated on everywhere?

What made it even more awkward was that this awful business had been laid bare in front of her sister.

Yukino had always been competitive, and she was even less willing to admit defeat in front of her sister. That was why she had stubbornly refused to contact Haruno first.

And yet now, for the first time in her life, she'd been utterly humiliated in front of her sister.

So annoying!

Yukino put on a stern face. "I'll take care of it."

Haruno looked amused. "How?"

"I'll get rid of Miss Shijo's hostility toward me," Yukino answered at once.

She continued, "The company business you're in charge of hasn't been going very well lately, has it?"

Haruno scoffed inwardly.

Not going well? She was running into obstacles at every turn.

Of course, Haruno didn't think it was a big deal.

She shook her head with a bright smile. "You've got it wrong. That Miss Shijo may be difficult to deal with, but she's never let her personal feelings affect relations between the two families."

"Miss Shijo might not. But the people trying to curry favor with her will surely do something, and may go even further than Maki Shijo herself."

"If we let these provocations and harassments continue, sooner or later they'll cause trouble for the Yukinoshita Family, won't they?"

Haruno was almost speechless.

Since when had Yukino become so quick-witted?

Neither the old Yukino nor the blonde-haired Yukino had been particularly interested in this sort of thing.

Had she grown up?

Haruno seemed to remember something. Her gaze cooled slightly, while her smile grew ever sweeter. "Is that so? Yukino's so clever. Do your best~"

Though she told Yukino to do her best, the lack of even a trace of trust in her expression nearly made Yukino grit her teeth.

As the eldest daughter of the Yukinoshita Family, Haruno was beautiful and talented. A few years ago, she had already begun easing her parents' worries about the family's future.

Under the unofficial title of "supervisor," she'd joined an insignificant branch company under Yukinoshita Corporation to gain experience.

She must have still been in high school then, a teenage girl with a trace of childishness on her face. When she first joined the company, a bunch of old-timers looked down on her and mocked her as "a smiling vase with nothing but a pretty face."

Yet in only a few short months, those company veterans had been practically begging for their lives whenever they saw that vase smile.

While other kids her age were worrying about failing grades, Haruno had already been making people several times her age tremble in fear.

Her social skills, her methods of handling people, and even her business sense were all so outstanding they were beyond reproach.

Yukino had once thought that someone as exceptional as Haruno would always be beyond her reach.

But things were different now.

She had a cheat code! [Confidently planting her hands on her hips]

"Just watch."

Yukino folded her arms. She had no idea that she looked like a childish kid desperate to prove herself.

"I'll do what Haruno can't."

With that, she turned and went back to her room, leaving Haruno stunned where she stood.

Watching her little sister's proud back, like a little bird about to spread its wings, Haruno almost thought she was seeing the old Little Yukino again—the proud, stubborn one.

Fool.

She mercilessly mocked herself in her thoughts.

When she returned to her room and closed the door, the eldest daughter of the Yukinoshita Family's sweet smile vanished completely. Her expression froze over, as cold as a demon from hell.

She should have understood this a long time ago.

She couldn't get her Little Yukino back anymore.