Chapter 166 166: Warmth
Yuuna draped Misuzu in layers of fabric—her own clothing. The warmth of her garments, still carrying the faint lingering heat of her body, enveloped the trembling girl.
"Yuuna-sama, if you do that, you'll be the one to freeze," A woman in made clothing murmured, her voice barely audible over the howling wind.
"It's fine," Yuuna replied softly, her breath visible in the cold night air. "I can endure a little cold."
She continued to wrap Misuzu in her clothes, shielding her frail body from the biting frost. The snowfall around them was relentless, each flake a silent executioner waiting to drain the last remnants of warmth from Misuzu's already numb limbs.
"The Yuki Clan…" Yuuna muttered. "They truly have no regard for those they deem unworthy. I was aware of that, but to exile their own daughter… to abandon her in the middle of a snowstorm like this—"
Her fingers clenched tightly around the fabric she was tucking around Misuzu. Yuuna understood this pain all too well. She, too, had suffered under the merciless expectations of her lineage, the prestigious Great House of Sarushima. Her own past was no less cruel. That was why she could not stand by and ignore this.
"Why…?"
The word left Misuzu's lips in a whisper, her voice so frail it nearly dissolved into the wind.
Yuuna turned to her. Even in the dim moonlight, she could see the way Misuzu's lips had lost all color, how her body trembled with the telltale signs of approaching frostbite.
Despite how dangerously cold Yuuna herself must have been—her skin already tinged red from exposure, her breath becoming heavier—Misuzu had to know. She had to ask.
This was the first time they had ever met. They were strangers.
So why had Yuuna gone out of her way to save her?
"There is no grand reason," Yuuna said at last, her voice calm, as if she had already decided on her answer long ago. "I simply detest the idea of a child being burdened by expectations they never chose. I loathe it."
She exhaled slowly, her breath turning to mist as it vanished into the night.
"You are the eldest daughter of the Yuki Clan, aren't you? If you are here, abandoned with nothing to your name—not even the clothes on your back—then it must be true. They have truly cast you aside."
Her gaze softened slightly.
"But you don't have to worry anymore. You are safe now."
Yuuna smiled. It was gentle, warm—
And yet, for some reason, instead of feeling relieved, something inside Misuzu snapped.
"Why did you save me?!"
Her voice cracked, raw with emotion.
"I was supposed to die there! To freeze to death, alone in the snow! I am nothing more than a failure—so why? Why was I saved?! Why did you save me?!"
The weight of her words hung in the cold air, heavy and suffocating.
Even as her body trembled, even as the pain of the cold bit into her bones, Misuzu could not cry. The tears simply would not come.
Perhaps that was another way in which she and Yuuna were alike.
They had both been shaped by forces beyond their control. Molded into something unfeeling. Something cold.
Yuuna regarded her for a moment, then raised a hand to her chin in thought.
"Why?" she repeated, tilting her head slightly before offering a small, knowing smile.
"Because you might be useful to me."
Her voice was steady, matter-of-fact.
At that time, Yuuna did not act out of kindness. She did not act out of compassion. She did not feel such things. Not at all.
Her decision to save Misuzu was one born purely out of self-interest.
Even if Yuki Misuzu had been deemed a failure, she was still the daughter of two powerful clans—the Yuki Clan and the Igarashi Clan. A child created through bloodline perfection, meant to be the ultimate leader.
Yuuna could not allow such a valuable existence to be lost to the cold.
"You may have been discarded by them, but you could still prove useful to me," she continued, her voice unwavering. "That is why I am inviting you to join my faction. As of now, I only have two members. But with you as the third, perhaps we can carve a path beyond the fate forced upon us."
She extended a hand toward Misuzu.
The choice was hers.
But deep down, they both knew—there was no real choice to be made.
If she did not accept, she would die here. Her body would be buried beneath layers of snow, forgotten by the world that had already abandoned her.
Misuzu was well aware that Yuuna was manipulating her, leading her down a path with no alternative.
And yet—
There was warmth in her voice. A warmth Misuzu had never known before.
Without hesitation, without a second thought, she reached for Yuuna's hand.
A single decision, made in the freezing cold, beneath the indifferent night sky.
"That day," Misuzu said to Kouhei, her voice quiet but firm, "I made a promise to myself—to aid Yuuna in whatever way I could. Because she was the one who saved me."
Although Yuuna's intentions back then had been far from just, the fact remained—Misuzu had been saved. And now, she was determined to return the favor, no matter what it took.
Her fingers curled into fists, her knuckles turning white as she took a deep breath.
"Which is why I have to get stronger," she declared, her voice steady yet burning with intensity. "To stand by her side in her war against her brother."
The air between them felt heavy, charged with something unspoken.
"And that is why I need your help. Okumura-kun, I want you to help me grow stronger. Will you?"
This wasn't about personal power or ambition. It had never been about that. Every ounce of her determination, every reason she had to push forward, was for Yuuna.
Kouhei studied her for a moment. There was no hesitation in her expression—only raw, unyielding resolve.
He exhaled softly and gave a small nod.
"Of course, I'll help, Yuki-san."
Misuzu's lips parted slightly as a relieved smile formed. A glimmer of something unrecognizable flickered across her gaze before she spoke again.
"Then… will you perform a Love Link with me?"
The moment those words left her mouth, the air in the room seemed to freeze over.
Kouhei's body stiffened—this wasn't some exaggerated reaction meant for comedic effect. He wasn't petrified in fear, nor was he physically frozen in place. No—his mind had simply stopped functioning, struggling to process what Misuzu had just said.
"Uh… Yuki-san… What did you just say?"
Misuzu tilted her head slightly, confusion lacing her features.
"Hmm? I said, perform a Love Link with me."
Kouhei swallowed, his throat suddenly dry.
Love Link—the act of aligning two hearts as one.
And the means of achieving it?
By reaching climax together.
It didn't necessarily require direct intercourse—Kouhei and his partner/s could achieve the bond even through mutual masturbation without physical contact. But regardless of the method, at its core, it was still an undeniably intimate, sexual act.
Misuzu, the stoic and composed woman before him, was asking to do that with him.
Something like that was impossible.
Not because it was unfeasible, but because… Kouhei held no romantic feelings for her. And as far as he could tell, she didn't harbor any feelings for him either.
"Uh… Yuki-san… Do you even know what a Love Link actually is?" Kouhei asked, cautiously.
Misuzu frowned slightly, crossing her arms.
"Even I am not that ignorant," she huffed.
Her tone carried the slightest hint of irritation, as if she were being underestimated.
She had seen firsthand the immense power a Love Link could provide. She had watched Yuuna and Hina wield that strength, carving through impossible odds. And she was certain she understood the process to achieve it.
Even though she had never been in a romantic relationship, she was not oblivious to the kind of act required to form such a bond.
"It's…"
Her voice faltered.
A faint blush spread across her cheeks, creeping up to the tips of her ears.
Even if she had never experienced love before, there was something undeniably embarrassing about saying it aloud.
Yet, she inhaled sharply and forced herself to continue.
"It's through a deep kiss, isn't it?"
A heavy silence followed.
Then—
Kouhei exhaled, shaking his head slightly.
"You couldn't be more wrong, Yuki-san."
Misuzu blinked.
"Huh? It isn't?"
She was certain that kissing had to be part of the process. After all, a kiss was a universal act of intimacy—an act that could bind two hearts together.
But apparently, she had been mistaken.
"It's…"
Kouhei leaned forward.
His movements were slow, deliberate.
Misuzu stiffened as he brought his lips closer to her ear, his warm breath ghosting over her skin.
Then, cupping a hand around his mouth, he whispered the truth.
His voice was low, almost sultry, each syllable rolling off his tongue with a quiet, intimate weight.
The moment the words reached her ears—
"H-Hngh!?"
Misuzu recoiled violently, her entire face turning scarlet.
Her heart pounded furiously against her ribs. The warmth from his breath still lingered on her skin, sending tingling sensations down her spine.
"T-That's how a Love Link works?!" she gasped, her voice a mix of shock and disbelief.
The realization crashed into her all at once.
"T-Then… Yuuna and Hina… and Nagisa… and possibly even Aria…?"
Kouhei averted his gaze, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
Even he felt a sense of shame creeping in.
Yuuna had always told him that harems were a common and accepted practice in Hell. Yet, admitting that he had sexual relationships with four different women still sent a deep embarrassment coursing through him.
Misuzu swallowed hard, her lips slightly parted.
She had thought it was something as simple as a kiss.
She never imagined the truth would be so… intimate.
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