“This room is finished,” Kent said.
“Yeah. Let’s move to the next room,” he replied.
The Japanese-style room, used as a guest room, had few items and was relatively easy to clean after removing the futons used by Fuuko. After quickly finishing the work, the three of them decided to move to the next room.
“Next is the room Catherine and Al are using,” Kent noted.
“Kent, please don’t open drawers and things unnecessarily,” Catherine said, blushing.
Before entering the room, Catherine said to Kent with an embarrassed expression.
“Huh? Why?”
“Um, well, I’d be embarrassed if you saw my underwear or something,” she replied shyly when Kent asked.
“Oh, my, my, this child is getting all worked up,” Marie chuckled, watching the scene with a smile.
“Does this grassy scent belong to Al?”
“It feels like being in nature, it’s so healing,” Marie said.
As soon as they opened the door, a faint scent of grass drifted from the room. Kent thought it was probably a scent emanating from Al, who regularly used the room. Marie seemed to think the same thing.
“Alright, let’s get started,” Kent said.
The three of them split up and began cleaning the room that Catherine and Al used as their bedroom.
“Alright, this should be enough,” Kent said.
Working together, they were able to significantly shorten the time, and the cleaning of the room was finished relatively quickly.
“Next is the room Kent and Mom are using,” Catherine said.
“Um, Catherine, you don’t have to. You can rest in the living room,” Marie said.
“What are you saying? I think it’ll be faster if the three of us clean it,” Catherine replied.
Marie suddenly seemed to remember something and hurriedly tried to stop Catherine from entering the room. Catherine looked surprised by the suddenness of it.
“There’s nothing in here that I’d be bothered by if you saw, right? I’m coming in!”
Ignoring Marie’s words, Catherine opened the door to the room Kent was using.
“The bed is made, and there’s nothing here that I’d be bothered by if you saw. Well, I won’t open any drawers, so don’t worry. I’ll take care of the trash can first,” Catherine said.
“Wait, I’ll take care of that. Please clean somewhere else,” Marie said.
Catherine picked up the trash can by the bed and was about to dispose of the contents when Marie’s expression changed dramatically.
“Sniff, sniff, something smells strange from the trash can. These dried-out tissues…” Marie said.
“Uwahhhhhh, Catherine, wait a minute!” Kent exclaimed.
Kent realized what Marie was flustered about. The used tissues Catherine had taken from the trash can were used to wipe up the liquid that had overflowed after an act between her and Marie. Kent quickly snatched the trash can and tissues from Catherine’s hands.
“I guess I have no choice. Shall I take out the trash from the back of the bed then?” Catherine said.
Giving up on disposing of the trash, Catherine stuck a broom into the back of the bed and started raking out the trash.
“Wow, a lot of different hairs came out. Like silver and pink. I think this brown one might be Mom’s,” Catherine said.
“Kya, Catherine, don’t pry into everything,” Marie said.
“Okay,” Catherine replied.
Among the trash Catherine collected were hairs of various colors. There were also gold, lime green, and black hairs. Kent and Marie watched nervously as Catherine, who was unusually motivated during the cleaning of this room, acted.
“Is that all? That finishes the cleaning of the house,” Kent said.
Afterward, the three of them split up and worked on cleaning the rooms, and before long, the work was completed.
“Thank you, both of you. Let’s take a break,” Kent said.
“Yes. I’ll make some tea,” Marie replied.
“Mom, I’ll help too,” Catherine said.
After finishing the house cleaning, the three decided to take a break. Marie and Catherine headed to the kitchen to prepare tea, while Kent put his feet in the kotatsu in the living room and waited.
“It’s getting warmer, so I guess I’ll have to put away this kotatsu soon,” Kent mused.
Although it was still a bit early, Kent thought that as it got warmer, the kotatsu would no longer be necessary.
“We’re here. Here’s your tea, Kent,” Marie said.
“Kent, I brought some sweets too,” Catherine added.
“Thank you, Marie, Catherine,” Kent replied.
Marie and Catherine came into the living room with the tea ready. After arranging the prepared items on the kotatsu, they both put their feet inside. In this way, they decided to spend a leisurely time until Elnet and Josette arrived.
*Ding-dong*
Then, after noon, the doorbell rang at the promised time.
“Coming!” Kent called out.
Kent’s house had an intercom, but it was only used by people Kent was acquainted with. Most other visitors knocked directly on the door, so considering the time, only two people fit the description of ringing the bell. Therefore, Kent opened the front door without checking the monitor.
“Kent! I missed you!” Elnet exclaimed.
“Uwah!” Kent yelped.
“Older Sister, if you do that, Kent will be surprised,” Josette said.
The moment he opened the door, he was suddenly hugged. The soft touch and the sweet scent peculiar to women tickled Kent’s nose, and he immediately knew the person hugging him was a woman. It was Elnet who had hugged him, but behind her, Josette watched with an exasperated expression.
“It can’t be helped, we haven’t seen each other in a while,” Elnet said. “I don’t want to hear that from someone who’s in the same class and who I’ve seen face to face until recently.”
“Oh, but aren’t you also someone who was at the same school as a teacher until recently?” Josette retorted.
“Yes, yes, both of you, stop arguing and come inside,” Kent said, hurriedly intervening to mediate and urging them to come inside.
“By the way, did you walk here today?” Kent asked.
“No, we came by carriage nearby. We don’t know when we’ll be going back, so we sent them home for now,” Elnet replied.
“I see,” Kent said.
“I didn’t mind walking, but Father was so insistent about using the carriage,” Elnet added.
As Kent and his companions moved to the living room, they talked about how they got there.
“Welcome. Elnet, Josette,” Marie said.
“Welcome,” Catherine said.
“Marie, Catherine, sorry for intruding. It’s been a while,” Elnet said.
“We’re honored to be here,” Josette said.
Marie and Catherine were waiting in the living room, and since it had been about a month since they had last seen each other after that incident, Elnet and Josette were meeting them for the first time in roughly a month.
“Duke, why did you recommend using a carriage?” Kent asked, referring back to the earlier topic.
“Ah, that’s because, currently, many people among the middle and upper aristocrats are trying to gain factions,” Elnet explained.
“That’s right, we were talking about that. The reason we decided to meet here this time was also due to that, wasn’t it?” Josette said.
“Yes. Originally, faction formation was proceeding with the First Prince expected to ascend to the throne, but then something happened, and a shift in the line of succession occurred. However, it was predicted that it would actually take more time to activate. But suddenly, that statement was made, and the movements of those who were part of the former First Prince’s faction became very active. Our family, due to Older Sister’s situation, had not actively moved, but we had taken the stance of being part of the Second Prince’s faction. However, with the sudden talk of succession, our Duke’s family has become the leader of the faction,” Josette explained.
Elnet and Josette began to explain the reason for using the carriage.
“Well, that means there are some people who won’t think favorably of it. There’s a possibility you could be kidnapped on your way and used as a bargaining chip. Well, no matter how much it costs, I don’t intend to lose, but Josette is accompanying me, so it’s for a contingency,” Elnet said.
“I’m sorry for inviting you at such a crucial time,” Kent said, regretting inviting them during such an important period.
“No, we were looking forward to this day. Even if you had refused, we would have pushed our way into your house,” Elnet said, showing no sign of concern at all.
