The moment Kotomi Izumi spoke, Yukino Yukinoshita’s brows drew together slightly. Yui Yuigahama, on the other hand, opened her mouth in surprise before lowering her head like a little maid who had fallen out of favor.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kotomi glanced at Yui. She said nothing aloud, but inwardly she couldn’t help snickering. This silly dango wasn’t just a little foolish, she was also extremely prone to jealousy.

She had once thought Yui was just a small ball of vinegar. Now it seemed she was an entire vinegar jar—bottomless!

Speaking of which, Megumi Kato was also quite jealous. Kotomi was actually a little afraid when Megumi got jealous. Small incidents were fine, but the last time Megumi’s jealousy accumulated past a certain threshold, she had gone completely dark—sharpening a knife at Kotomi before committing suicide afterward.

If Kazumi hadn’t intervened in time, saving both Kotomi and Megumi’s souls and rewinding time to successfully revive them, Kotomi would have truly ended up with a tragic “knife ending.”

Some time had passed since the stabbing incident—not particularly long, but not short either. Yet whenever she thought about it, Kotomi couldn’t help touching her stomach. The wound had long since vanished, but she still felt a chill and a faint phantom pain.

So between Megumi Kato and Yui Yuigahama, who was she more afraid of when they got jealous? Kotomi pondered inwardly.

Megumi got jealous easily, but she showed it openly, allowing Kotomi to immediately sense: Megumi is jealous, time to start comforting her.

Yui, although prone to jealousy, rarely showed it. She kept it bottled up inside, quietly feeling wronged. Even someone as perceptive as Kotomi, whose thoughts were as fine as spider silk, had failed to notice several times when Yui was jealous.

Of course, most of the time Kotomi knew perfectly well that Yui was jealous. But because Yui was obedient, sensible, and easy to soothe, Kotomi sometimes deliberately pretended not to notice. Occasionally she even added fuel to the fire on purpose, making Yui even more jealous.

Why? Kotomi didn’t have any grand reason. Simply put, Yui was easy to comfort, so she enjoyed teasing her a little.

If it were Megumi instead, even if you gave Kotomi a hundred lion hearts and leopard gallbladders, she wouldn’t dare pretend ignorance after realizing Megumi was jealous, much less deliberately escalate things.

She used to dare—but ever since Megumi stabbed her in the abdomen, she didn’t anymore.

Whenever she was around Megumi now, she behaved like an obedient, gentle, and adorable little wife.

Back to the point—if asked which of the two she feared more when they got jealous?

Kotomi’s answer was: she feared both, so she needed a way to prevent either of them from becoming jealous.

The solution she came up with was simple—treat everyone equally. I love little Megumi, but I love Yui too!

While Kotomi was still thinking about how to maintain balance, Yukino Yukinoshita glanced at the small paw Kotomi was waving. That smug little expression on her face seemed to say: hurry up and come trim my nails~

The key point was that Kotomi had maintained that irritatingly smug expression since earlier!

How should one describe it… it was just a tiny bit punchable.

Yukino now felt an overwhelming urge to pin Kotomi onto the bed and give her a firm spanking!

In reality, Kotomi hadn’t intentionally kept that smug expression. After speaking to Yukino, she had become lost in thought about her two girlfriends, Megumi and Yui, and simply forgot to change her expression.

Of course, if Kotomi actually said that to Yukino, the outcome might be far worse than just being pinned down and spanked.

Yukino took a deep breath, bent down, and gently pinched Kotomi’s fingernail between two fingers.

Kotomi was just about to say, “The nail clippers are on the bedside table,” when she suddenly felt Yukino’s two fingers applying upward pressure against her nail.

What was Yukino trying to do? How could Kotomi possibly not understand?

She instantly chickened out.

No—she followed her heart.

Kotomi hurriedly pulled her little hand back and glared at Yukino with pitiful resentment.

“Oh? Weren’t you asking me to trim your nails? Your nails are indeed a little long. Though for girls this length is perfectly normal, and even suitable for pretty manicures. But since you don’t like keeping them long, I’ll help shorten them for you.”

Seeing Kotomi withdraw her hand with that aggrieved expression instantly stirred Yukino’s desire to bully her. She let out a cold laugh as she spoke.

Kotomi liked teasing Yukino, but Yukino equally enjoyed teasing Kotomi.

“Couldn’t you just use the nail clippers? Was that trimming my nails? You were about to snap them off! Haven’t you ever experienced a nail splitting accidentally? It really hurts!”

Kotomi puffed out her cheeks like an angry little bun.

Impulse once again flooded Yukino’s heart. At this moment, she wanted nothing more than to bite Kotomi hard on the face.

As hard as possible—ideally drawing blood and leaving a clear bite mark on Kotomi’s beautiful cheek.

Like stamping a seal.

To tell every girl harboring improper intentions toward Kotomi that she already belonged to Yukino Yukinoshita. That she was fierce, and all those fox spirits had better not get any ideas.

Today she could bite Kotomi to keep her from flirting around. Tomorrow she could beat those shameless homewreckers to death!

After indulging in that fantasy, Yukino returned to reality and couldn’t help giving a bitter smile inwardly. As satisfying as the fantasy had been, in truth it should be Yui leaving bite marks on Kotomi’s face—Yui crushing fox spirits underfoot and tearing apart homewreckers.

And herself?

She was the one harboring improper intentions toward Kotomi—the homewrecker who would be torn apart by Yui.

“Yes, accidentally splitting a nail does hurt. That’s why I wanted to snap yours—to let you experience it,” Yukino said calmly.

Her tone was sharp and venomous, but she was only speaking. Even if Kotomi hadn’t pulled her hand away earlier, Yukino would never truly have snapped her nail. She would have sighed helplessly, picked up the nail clippers, trimmed them properly, and afterward added a sarcastic remark:

Kotomi, are you three years old? Do you really need someone else to trim your nails?

Hearing this, Kotomi obediently hid her little hands, her expression full of grievance.

“Cold little tigress… one day I’m going to bite your tiger claws.”

Maybe I really should snap her nails… Yukino’s expression instantly turned cold as the thought crossed her mind.

While Kotomi and Yukino continued bickering, Yui Yuigahama sat nearby feeling slightly jealous while also struggling to suppress laughter after hearing Kotomi’s words.

So “cold little tigress” really was the nickname Kotomi had given Yukino.

If this had been before, Yui might have thought the nickname didn’t fit. But now, looking at Yukino facing off against Kotomi…

Yui suddenly felt that the nickname Kotomi had given Yukino was surprisingly appropriate.

Of course, even though she felt the nickname Kotomi had given Yukino suited her perfectly, Yui Yuigahama would never actually say it out loud.

Kotomi and Yukino could trade blows back and forth during their “standoffs,” but if Yui herself tried to do the same?

She didn’t know for certain, but because of her own insecurities, Yui felt she would probably be completely crushed by Yukino in a one-sided manner.

So Yui obediently kept her mouth shut. After finishing trimming Kotomi’s toenails, she followed the method Kotomi had taught her earlier and began massaging Kotomi’s feet.

There was a thought Yui had always kept buried inside because saying it aloud felt too embarrassing.

She especially loved Kotomi’s feet.

Whether they were wrapped in stockings, cotton socks, or bare, Yui adored them all.

Back when they had only been friends, no matter how much she liked them, she could only sneak glances whenever she found an opportunity. Now that she had finally become Kotomi’s lover, whenever she had the chance, she wanted to hold Kotomi’s little feet in her hands.

Even if Yui was too shy to admit it, how could someone as experienced as Kotomi Izumi fail to notice? She simply chose to turn a blind eye.

It was like how Aimi would sneak into Kotomi’s bedroom using a spare key whenever Kotomi was asleep. Kotomi also turned a blind eye to that, either falling asleep early or pretending to be asleep with her eyes closed.

Every time Yui pretended to casually touch her feet, Kotomi would act as if she hadn’t noticed while secretly blushing and gently biting her finger.

Yukino Yukinoshita also noticed Yui’s little movements. The corner of her lips twitched as she almost spoke up to comment, but before the words left her mouth, she realized something—what right did she have to say anything? Kotomi and Yui were a mutually loving couple. Whatever little gestures Yui made toward Kotomi were not something she had the standing to criticize.

That realization filled Yukino’s heart with bitterness, as though a freshly brewed cup of coffee had been knocked over inside her.

The coffee was very bitter.

Yukino did not help Kotomi trim her fingernails. Instead, she sat at the edge of the bed, pulled the blanket over herself, and prepared to sleep.

Kotomi also stopped insisting that Yukino help with her nails. It had only been a passing whim anyway—she just wanted to tease this cold little tigress.

She had already gotten her moment of amusement after saying it. If she kept pushing or insisted further, Yukino might really pin her down and spank her.

Yes, even though Yukino hadn’t said it aloud, Kotomi had clearly sensed that Yukino wanted to spank her just now.

Why?

Because there had once been an incident when Kotomi had been too mischievous. Right in front of Megumi Kato, she deliberately accepted love letters and small gifts from female classmates and even bragged about it to Megumi, saying things like, “Ah, there were quite a few pretty girls just now. Maybe I should accept one of them~?”

Megumi, who usually doted endlessly on Kotomi, showed absolutely no room for negotiation this time. Holding a box of cheesecake, she lured little Kotomi home. Kotomi drooled over the cheesecake all the way back, but before she could even take a bite, Megumi pushed her onto the bed and gave her a thorough spanking.

Kotomi ended up crying.

More precisely, she cried after it was over.

It wasn’t because Megumi had hit particularly hard. To put it bluntly, Kotomi had thick skin when it came to spankings.

She and Aimi had both been quite mischievous as children. When they got into trouble, their mother initially punished them by hitting their palms. Later, when that stopped working, she switched to spanking.

Eventually, Kotomi developed resistance to it. If three consecutive days passed without her mother spanking her, she would even rack her brain trying to create opportunities to get punished.

When Megumi spanked her, Kotomi only let out a few symbolic cries, and they sounded obviously fake. She lay there bored, letting Megumi spank her while secretly thinking:

So little Megumi has started spanking me? Why is there no strength at all? I’m about to fall asleep. Should I ask her to grab a slipper or a feather duster or something? No… better not. I’m afraid she’ll bring something heavier. That heavy thing would be a kitchen knife… Ah, thinking about that makes my stomach feel cold again. Tonight I’d better eat some hot winter melon soup with meatballs and rice.

By the time Kotomi was almost asleep, Megumi finally finished. Kotomi instantly sprang up as if nothing had happened and reached out eagerly toward the cheesecake.

But when she opened the cake box, she discovered there was no cheesecake at all—just an empty box.

Megumi said, “Hmph. You think you can flirt around and still eat cake? The cake shop had a promotion—collect three boxes and exchange them for a free fruit cake—so I kept this box instead of throwing it away. It turned out to be perfect for luring a little foodie like you home.”

Hearing that, Kotomi felt both embarrassed and angry, her cheeks turning red.

Other girls at least used real snacks or toys to lure me home. You tricked me with an empty cake box. Even if you’re already my girlfriend, you can’t lure me like that!

Thinking this, Kotomi let out a loud wail. She hadn’t cried earlier despite being spanked for so long because it hadn’t hurt at all, and fake crying was tiring. But when she realized the cheesecake she had been craving was just an empty box, she instantly turned into a wronged little beast, tears pouring uncontrollably.

Megumi had originally intended to stay firm this time, but less than a minute after Kotomi started crying, her resolve completely crumbled. She hurried to the dango cake shop at top speed and bought a real cheesecake.

Holding Kotomi in her arms, she coaxed and fed her bite by bite until Kotomi finished the entire cake. Only then did she stop crying.

Back to the main point—why had Kotomi sensed that Yukino wanted to spank her earlier?

Because Yukino’s gaze just now felt exactly the same as Megumi’s expression before spanking her. Even though the two expressions looked nothing alike, the feeling they gave Kotomi was identical.

Simply put, whenever she was looked at like that, Kotomi’s mind instantly concluded:

She’s going to spank me!

Hmph, little Yukino. Once you become my girlfriend, I’ll definitely make you kneel on one knee and call me “Your Majesty.” And you’ll have to wear a maid outfit with cat ears!

Kotomi huffed inwardly. After she bought a spacious luxury apartment in the future, she absolutely needed to stock the bedroom wardrobe with maid outfits—short skirts with over-the-knee stockings, short skirts with pantyhose…

As for who exactly would wear them, Kotomi hadn’t decided yet.

But Yukino absolutely had to wear one!

Thus, making Yukino wear a cat-eared maid outfit, kneel before her, and call her “Your Majesty” became a small goal Kotomi was determined to achieve.

Yukino watched Kotomi and Yui, her heart filled with complicated feelings of envy and jealousy toward Yui.

Meanwhile, Kotomi finalized a new small goal in her mind.

And what was Yui Yuigahama doing?

Yui was happily trimming Kotomi’s fingernails, her heart filled with sweetness. Earlier, she had felt hurt because Kotomi asked Yukino to trim her nails. But now that Kotomi let her do it instead, the little jar of vinegar in Yui’s heart disappeared instantly, replaced by a jar of honey filled with sweet happiness.

Holding Kotomi’s small hand carefully as she trimmed her nails, the growing sense of happiness made Yui giggle softly.

“Hehehe~”

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep