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As a certain famous British cabinet secretary once remarked, "A secret can only be truly secure if the keeper himself also has a secret guarded by another."
Only then can trust be absolute, especially when both parties are protecting the very same secret.
After an intense, frenzied night, morning inevitably arrived—well, to be more precise, it was actually mid-morning.
"Wakey wakey, nya~ Rise and shine, Bokue~"
As bright morning sunlight streamed gently through the windows, Bokue Keikain was gradually nudged awake.
His eyelids fluttered open sleepily, his vision filled with Kuroka's worried expression hovering just above him, along with Koneko standing nearby, her brows slightly knitted, white cat ears twitching subtly.
Bokue yawned deeply, rubbing the drowsiness from his eyes.
"Ahh... Good morning, Kuroka, Koneko. What's the matter? Did something happen?"
"Did something happen...?" Kuroka let out an exasperated sigh, clearly relieved but visibly annoyed at the same time. "It's almost nine o'clock! Normally, you'd be wide awake by now. Yet today, you were still asleep—come clean, nya! Just what time did you sneak back in last night?"
"Bokue-senpai didn't come home all night," Koneko added quietly, eyes narrowed in subtle accusation.
Bokue stretched lazily, pulling himself up while holding Kuroka lightly on his lap, letting another yawn escape.
"Hey, that's not fair. I was back last night, just... late. Maybe around two or three in the morning?"
"Hmph, I knew it! You got 'lost' in some other girl's room again, didn't you?" Kuroka said, her tone dripping with playful sarcasm.
Clearly, from her perspective, there was only one explanation when Bokue returned so late.
He shook his head calmly, "Actually, I was just in the bathhouse."
"...Huh?"
This was definitely not the answer Kuroka had expected.
She blinked, bewildered. "You... alone? You stayed soaking in a bath all that time by yourself?"
Normally, spending that much time soaking would leave someone dizzy, or worse—passed out. But considering his stamina, Kuroka seriously doubted that was even remotely possible for Bokue. She suspected even lava baths wouldn't faze him—in fact, he'd probably complain they were lukewarm.
"Not alone. Venelana was with me."
"...Oh."
Kuroka exchanged a knowing glance with Koneko, immediately relaxing. She'd already complained about this particular subject to her sister plenty of times. Nothing new here.
Wait... No. Hold on.
Something important suddenly crossed her mind.
"Just Venelana alone? She can really handle you for that long?"
"Ah, forgot to mention—Grayfia was there too."
"…Eh?!"
Both cat-eared girls drew sharp breaths simultaneously, visibly shocked.
Koneko muttered softly under her breath, "Even Grayfia-neesama ended up..."
But before she could finish that thought, Kuroka seized Bokue's face, tugging on his cheeks in mock irritation.
"If that's the case, why didn't you come upstairs and invite your dear sisters, nya?! Come on, spit it out!"
Koneko stood speechless, staring blankly.
Indeed, here was the stark difference in the sisters' ways of thinking. While Koneko remained utterly stunned at "Even Grayfia joined in..."
Kuroka's main gripe was apparently, "You had a party and didn't invite me?"
"It was just... an accident," Bokue sighed, gently slapping Kuroka's thigh as he smoothly lifted her up with one arm, scooping up Koneko effortlessly in the other, and finally rose from the bed.
"Alright, enough about that. Since we're already late, let's hurry downstairs for breakfast."
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After quickly washing up, Bokue descended into the dining hall alongside Kuroka and Koneko. Everyone else had already gathered around the breakfast table, midway through their meals.
Spotting his arrival, Asia greeted him with her usual bright curiosity.
"Good morning, Bokue-san! How rare to see you up so late!"
"And looking pretty sleepy at that," Irina quickly chimed in with a teasing smirk.
Subconsciously, Bokue raised a hand, lightly touching his face.
Was it really that obvious?
"Aha! See, see! Guilty as charged," Irina proclaimed dramatically, jabbing a playful finger in his direction.
Over these past days, Irina had been busy sightseeing around the Underworld alongside Xenovia and the others. While it had definitely been fun, without Bokue's company, it simply lacked that certain spark. Especially yesterday, when he'd vanished from morning till well past midnight without a trace—and, even worse, hadn't bothered to visit her room after returning!
The conversation looked dangerously close to spiraling down a slippery slope, but Venelana calmly intervened with an elegant wave.
"Now, now. It's merely sleeping in a bit late. Nothing worth making a fuss over, dear."
Lifting her gaze from her meal, Rias suddenly perked up.
"Speaking of which, Mother, didn't you get up unusually late today as well? Did you stay up late?"
"Hmm~?" Venelana lightly tapped her lips thoughtfully with her fork. "Not exactly. You know, dear, staying up late is something only you youngsters really have the energy for. When you reach middle age like your dear mother, there's rarely anything so thrilling to motivate pulling an all-nighter."
Middle age...? Rias felt momentarily at a loss for words, staring incredulously at her mother's impossibly youthful and vibrant appearance—hardly different from her own.
Venelana continued serenely, "Still, I have heard that devils sometimes experience insomnia as they grow older, possibly due to increasing stress. The fact I can sleep soundly until morning might actually be a blessing."
"Well... I suppose that's true..." Rias muttered faintly.
Though it seemed absurd that her mother—who lived comfortably as a noble lady, pampered and free of worldly worries—could ever be troubled by "stress," it was enough knowing her mother remained healthy. Actually, now that Rias observed closely, her mother seemed even more radiant lately.
Was having someone to talk to each day really making her that happy?
Well, whatever it was, it certainly wasn't a bad thing.
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Meanwhile, as Bokue settled into his seat alongside Kuroka and Koneko, the sound of a serving trolley smoothly gliding across the dining hall caught their attention.
Grayfia approached gracefully, pushing the trolley towards him.
"Your breakfast, Bokue-sama," she said politely, placing a sizzling plate of steak and pasta in front of him.
He glanced up curiously at the silver-haired maid standing nearby.
"Grayfia, won't you join us?"
Grayfia gently shook her head, a reserved smile touching her lips.
"Thank you for your concern, Bokue-sama, but I already ate earlier."
As she leaned forward courteously, her lips passed near his ear, whispering softly—so only the two of them could hear.
"Thank you for your... hard work last night, Bokue-sama. This breakfast was specially prepared by my own hands, with an extra helping of poached eggs—please enjoy~"
With those quiet words, Grayfia straightened gracefully, turned, and slowly pushed the trolley away.
From behind, at just the right angle, Bokue could glimpse a faint blush coloring the normally composed maid's cheeks.
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