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Six years later, Suzuran was now a second-year nursing student at Orinthmus University.
Her daily life was filled with memorizing medical terminology and preparing for clinical rotations.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1nHtrFRuEw
More often than not, she ended up pouring the wrong sugar into her coffee while flipping through an anatomy atlas.
Meanwhile, Kimijima Kouichi remained a butler for the Hanazono family,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQ2nR8sLsz
and was now also enrolled in business management courses at Orinthmus University.
He had never forgotten that moment years ago—16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMDnvdcuPRJ
the day he was pulled from the shadows and given salvation:16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9TlcnWKWc
a name, an identity, and dignity by the Hanazono family.
If one day he could shoulder even a fraction of the family’s business burden,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrb6pOo9Rzd
he wanted to be strong enough to carry it without faltering.
As for Suzuran—born into a prestigious household,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAb82hvYfm7
she was like a greenhouse flower, never forced to bloom anywhere in particular.
Her parents had always been gentle with her, even overly indulgent at times.
“As long as it’s something Suzuran wants to learn, let her learn it.”
She had studied piano, painting, floral design—even taken noble etiquette lessons.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZxzSV1uZa
But she never truly committed to any of them, nor did she excel particularly in any field.
Politics and business held no interest for her.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEQpDqfXz5D
It wasn’t fear—just a sense that those worlds were too cold, too far removed. Not hers.
What made her decide on her path was the long-standing instability of her mother’s health.
Since childhood, she had stood outside hospital rooms,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx49zqS8Y4M
watching nurses come and go, doctors passing in white coats—16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXHFQakfWuF
while she could do nothing but smile weakly and cry silently.
Maybe, one day, she thought—she could be someone who actually did something.
When she submitted her application and chose nursing,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJ3jQgevvh
the entire family fell into stunned silence.
This wasn’t the path for a sheltered young lady—too exhausting, too painful, full of night shifts and encounters with death.
But she simply said, softly:
“I don’t want to be someone who can only cry beside a hospital bed anymore.”
She had no grand ideals.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnLZyHGK2Og
Just one quiet hope:
“If one day, Papa, Mama, or Kouichi gets sick… I want to be able to help with my own hands.”
It was a modest, simple wish—16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhftdOSphg6
but so sincere it ached.
In the end, her parents just smiled and nodded:
“If this is your choice, then we’ll support you.”
16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeFNbZs3WEV
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“Kouichi~ Can you help me check this report?”
Suzuran hugged her tablet and shuffled over to his desk,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdyGqeUckZp
looking like a cat reaching out its paw for attention.
Kimijima Kouichi didn’t even look up.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxQxI2srsf
His tone was as calm as breathing:
“Still writing like a disaster, I see.”
“Aw, come on~ Just help me fix it a little!”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4MZGvtbZb
She pouted and pushed the tablet into his hands.
“I have my own coursework too, you know?”
He finally looked up at her, voice caught between a sigh and resigned sarcasm:
“Do you think I divide my day like this:16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjKDMbmGrYT
half for serving you, and the other half for cleaning up the messes you leave behind?”
“But you’ve always been smarter than me…”
Her voice grew smaller and smaller, tinged with guilt and playfulness,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkQb5shQMCg
as she twirled her finger around the ends of her hair.
Kouichi looked at her for a moment… then finally took the tablet.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR0Gi1pBYTV
The corner of his mouth twitched, like he was trying hard not to smile.
“…You really are impossible, my lady.”
He opened the report and began reading.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKd5zimL0a
His pen glided smoothly over the screen.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWlwL9Eby15
The atmosphere was calm—until:
“Hey, Kouichi,” Suzuran leaned in casually,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWWnD0beXc
her tone light, almost too light.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCs1KEiF6JB
“Yuzuka told me… a cute girl confessed to you again this morning?”
Kouichi paused mid-mark,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTroHNf8noF
but his voice remained steady:
“Yes. I turned her down.”
“Sigh…”
Suzuran tilted her head and leaned on the edge of his desk.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMMhIczci7G
Her long hair slid gently over her shoulder.
Her tone was faint, almost teasing:
“You’re eighteen now… It’s the perfect age to fall in love.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8iurASkM6C
Are you really not interested at all?”
He didn’t look up.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAyJBaV24bu
Eyes still on the screen, voice calm:
“I’m busy serving you, studying, and thinking about how to repay the master’s kindness.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpLTzpzQw1D
There’s no room in my head for anything else.”
“Hmm…”
She was completely blocked by the seriousness of his response—16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZcwMHaTksa
like he was answering a teacher in class.
One second. Two seconds.
She looked down at her toes, voice barely a whisper:
“…So those rejections were just… polite excuses after all.”
She didn’t realize her cheeks had turned a faint shade of red.
And though Kouichi kept his eyes on her report—16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxWoRmPD3Ol
his peripheral gaze had long since drifted16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY7Vxy03lzg
to her lowered lashes and those softly blushing ears.
