Shinobu Kocho understood. "So you don't have a lover?"
"No." Tetsu no Sosuke thought her tone sounded a little strange. Why do you seem disappointed that I don't have a lover?
Do you want to break up me and your Older Sister that badly?
Tetsu no Sosuke couldn't help glaring at Shinobu Kocho.
Then he turned to the Love Pillar. "I should have sounded you out about this first, but I didn't expect my sister-in-law to make such a mess of things. It wouldn't matter much if you got the wrong idea, but if she did, my future would be over. I'm sorry for blurting it out early. Still, now that it's out in the open, can you tell us what you think of the Serpent Pillar?"
The Love Pillar sat there, stunned, then said awkwardly, "Well... I don't know."
"How can you not know?" Shinobu Kocho asked. "You should know how you feel about someone, whether you like him, dislike him, or feel nothing at all."
Tetsu no Sosuke sighed. "This is why I didn't want us to tell you first. Whatever you thought of the Serpent Pillar before, this conversation is bound to change your impression of him, and probably not for the better. The next time you're together, you'll notice how carefully he treats you. You wouldn't have thought much of it before, but now you'll read all sorts of things into it... and that could distort how you felt about him in the first place."
"...I think you're making this too complicated," Shinobu Kocho said. "I still see it the same way. When you find out someone likes you, you have two choices: accept him or reject him."
The Love Pillar looked from one to the other. Suddenly, it felt as though this had nothing to