After finishing breakfast in a suffocating atmosphere of discomfort, Irefi calls me with a disapproving look.

“Hey.”

“Hey? Really…”

It’s shocking to see Irefi maintaining such a cold attitude when she always used to call me “Nepy” in her affectionate voice. I almost felt a lump in my throat.

“What’s the schedule for today?”

“We’re supposed to go out and have fun.”

“Don’t you have any work to do? You should have at least left some tasks for me to handle.”

“Well, starting today, it’s vacation time.”

Though she hadn’t planned any vacation whatsoever, I decided to insist on it anyway. It was a necessary choice to increase my intimacy with this darkened version of Irefi.

“How did I end up with such a lazy person as my lover… sigh.”

“Because you completely fell for me. You even went so far as to confine me. It was no joke. Phew!”

“What nonsense! I would never engage in such vulgar behavior! If you mock me with such absurd claims, you should be prepared for the consequences!!!”

“No, seriously, that vulgarity of yours almost caused the end of the world…”

There’s no point trying to convince Irefi who has lost her memories—it would only increase her cognitive dissonance.

Memories of when I first started living with Irefi come flooding back.

The difference now might be my mindset, recognizing Irefi as my lover.

‘If she’s forgotten, I’ll have to help her remember.’

To you who has regressed into a conservative old person, I’ll restore our daily life.

Something instinctive that your body will remember…!

◇

The place I chose to close the distance between us was a dessert shop.

It’s the perfect venue to win over Irefi, who has lost all sense of taste except for sweetness. Though Irefi is deliberately keeping her face stiff and expressionless, the corners of her mouth are adorably true to her desires.

Just by glimpsing her relaxed mouth, I can feel the effectiveness of my strategy.

“This is a shop I like. What do you think?”

Actually, you were the one who introduced me to this spot first.

“Hmm, it’s passable.”

I knew you’d say that. Despite being completely excited…

You’ve always been meticulous about keeping up appearances.

Apart from her dark transformation, that’s just Irefi’s nature. Normally she’s unpretentious, but she always draws certain lines for herself.

She rarely stepped outside those somewhat liberal boundaries.

However, after becoming lovers, those lines became noticeably looser. I think she made many concessions from her perspective.

Conversely, this means the darkened version of Irefi likely maintains at least her previous rigid standards.

“Irefi.”

“Speak.”

Well, it doesn’t matter to me. Even if she holds the values of a twisted future, we’re standing in the present.

“You promised, didn’t you? To cooperate in maintaining our normal daily life.”

I deliberately slip in the excessive expression “promise.” Irefi agrees as if she doesn’t particularly mind.

“I keep my word.”

“Right? Irefi’s charm is her sincerity and honesty.”

“Hmph, you’re quite direct. Not that you’re wrong.”

“Good, that’s exactly what I was waiting to hear.”

I cut the freshly served cream cake into bite-sized pieces and lean forward.

A piece of cake on the fork. The transparent glass dish supporting it.

As I hold all of this close to Irefi’s lips, I flash a triumphant smile.

“Come on, Irefi? Say aah~”

“Wh-what?! What are you…!”

I was so envious of Miren doing this for Arnel. I had been determined to try it myself for days.

I never expected the first recipient would be her future self, but life works in mysterious ways.

“Y-you…?!”

Irefi’s reaction to the cake in front of her was dramatic.

Her blue eyes swirled with emotion, and her cheeks became like volcanoes about to erupt, filled with chaos and anger.

Then she exclaimed:

“There are people watching everywhere, how shameless! Your behavior is truly obscene! I would never accept something like that!”

“Hmm? Irefi. This is different from what we agreed. Don’t tell me… you’re not going to keep your ‘promise’?”

“As if I would make such a vulgar promise!”

Just as expected. This was fitting for Irefi’s future self, who was already conservative. Firmly established values support consciousness like the roots of an old tree.

To shake such strong consciousness, I would need to counter it with another firmly established value.

“Come on, you promised to cooperate in maintaining our normal daily life.”

“As if such indecent behavior could be normal…!”

“What’s wrong with feeding you cake? We’re engaged.”

“Ngh.”

Irefi’s weakness is that she becomes confused when faced with perfectly reasonable arguments. Plus, I had her word that she wouldn’t break her promise.

In this carefully laid double trap, there’s no escape…!!!

“Ugh… kuhk…!”

“Irefi. My arm is getting tired.”

The sight of Irefi trembling with embarrassment gave me a subtle sense of victory.

I must have been frustrated with all those days of being punished with violence.

This moment was the pinnacle of my glory.

“I was always forced to taste the food you made… is even this much difficult for you…?”

This time I deliberately use a guilt-inducing tone.

“D-did I feed a man food?! You’re not an infant—such lewd and unnecessary actions, for me to…!!!”

‘Is that how it is…? This Irefi…!’

Irefi used to make me taste her food even before we became lovers. Yet her future self condemns this as vulgar behavior…

How much pride did she take in her cooking with those poison-producing hands? I can’t believe it.

“I was really embarrassed and shy too, but I endured it.”

“Even if that’s true, isn’t it your responsibility for not refusing?!”

The one who refused refusal was you, Irefi.

Well said, you.

“Yes… it might indeed be my responsibility.”

“If you understand, then remove this dish…”

“My responsibility for loving you. It was too embarrassing, but your request as my fiancée made me even happier… yes, it must be my responsibility.”

That’s a complete lie.

This wasn’t enjoyable in the slightest.

But Irefi, unaware of the circumstances, covered her cheeks with both hands while her lips trembled. She looked as if she had heard something too embarrassing to repeat.

“Y-y-you! How can you say such shameless things in broad daylight?!”

“Because I love you?”

“You truly have no filter! Openly saying l-l-love and whatnot! Are you trying to mock me?”

‘Wow, what is this?’

Is future Irefi this adorable?

Irefi, who spent her years as a noble and knight without any romantic entanglements.

Irefi the Destroyer who awakened her Malice after failing to save Miren.

To think that when her memories disappear and her Malice stabilizes, she transforms into this kind of person. She was as bitter as she was cute.

‘Wait, her Malice has stabilized?’

Irefi’s Malice typically manifests when she struggles to control negative emotions. In other words, it’s an energy that’s honest to instinct and mood.

Which means…

‘She’s angry and scolding me for my actions, but she doesn’t truly dislike it? Oh my…!’

What a dishonest person!

I suppressed the urge to embrace Irefi right then and there.

Instead, having obtained her implicit consent, I urged her awkwardly.

“Irefi, please. Just eat it.”

“I’ve been saying I don’t want to…”

“Then I’ll have to insist. Here comes the cake, Ms. Irefi. Aah.”

“Get that away from…! Kuh, ah… aah…”

“How is it? Delicious, right?”

“I-I don’t know, you fool!”

It was so like Irefi that the worst insult she could muster was “fool.” If she truly disliked it, she would have resisted with her spirit energy.

The very fact that she quietly accepted it spoke volumes.

“Ah, there’s some cream near your lips. Must be my mistake.”

“How careless. This is why I should eat by myself.”

As Irefi took out her handkerchief to wipe it off, I seized the opportunity with the sharp eyes of a hawk.

Swish.

“Hmm? What are you trying to… ngh!?”

I wipe the cream from the corner of Irefi’s mouth with my finger. Her eyes ripple with various emotions at this disconcerting gesture.

‘I really didn’t want to go this far…’

I never thought I’d be doing something I wouldn’t even do when flirting with Irefi.

I suck the cream I wiped from Irefi’s lips off my finger, cleaning it myself. Now that I’ve done it, an overwhelming sense of embarrassment pierces my chest like a spear.

It was the kind of cringe-worthy act that only the protagonist of a romance fantasy would do.

“Uuuugh, how filthy! Not only is your sense of hygiene questionable, but your sense of propriety is equally dubious! T-t-that I would f-f-fall for someone like you. It must be a malicious lie!”

“I love you more than anything in the world, Irefi.”

“Mmgk…!”

Irefi flinches, her whole body convulsing. As expected, her Malice remains tightly bound.

She lowered her head as if experiencing a blackout from the rush of intense thoughts. Of course, her face was flushed red like a ripe apple.

“I cannot accept this. I cannot tolerate it… that I, that I would be captivated by such an unprincipled, shameless man. That I would be the same.”

“Irefi.”

“What is it?”

“Honestly. Do you really dislike me that much?”

“Kuhk.”

Irefi withheld a hasty confirmation. Perhaps because I asked with a genuinely serious expression.

After contemplating for a long time and hesitating several times, she finally reached a conclusion.

“I… don’t know.”

It was a lukewarm conclusion that contradicted her usual clear-cut black and white approach.

“I don’t know… You’re impertinent with no sense of manners, unprincipled, shameless, and as lewd as you are indecent, yet somehow I’m not as upset as I should be.”

“Now my feelings are getting hurt, Ms. Irefi.”

“I’m surprised and unfamiliar with myself for tolerating someone like you, whose culture and intellect are as shattered as roadside pebbles.”

“Now I’m finding it hard to tolerate this.”

“You truly are a strange being.”

“I’d like to hand you a mirror.”

“Haah…”

Is it normal that Irefi’s deep sigh makes me increasingly annoyed? I felt bitterly resentful of her for hurling daggers of condemnation as naturally as breathing.

“If you’re really suspicious, want to check directly?”

“Suspicious?”

“We can ask someone who can judge how we normally live together.”

“If I ask your acquaintances, I’ll only get biased answers.”

“What if it’s not my acquaintance but our acquaintance? Someone you can definitely trust.”

“Our… acquaintance?”

“Yes.”

I mention the name of someone who can provide an objective judgment.

“Let’s go see Miren. You haven’t forgotten Miren, have you?”

“…!”

I had simply made the suggestion while casually mentioning Miren.

If I had foreseen what would happen next, I might have hesitated to suggest it.

I swear I had no intention of provoking such a reaction from her.

Drip. Drip.

Transparent droplets leaked from her eyes, which were like blue lakes. They were warm tears that made me regret having spoken at all.

Just as I managed to gather my confused thoughts, Irefi broke the silence with a cracking voice.

“Miren… my… sister… my only… sister…”

“Irefi…!”

“Damn it. Why suddenly are my emotions… tears… what’s this, it’s strange… you, me, this whole day, everything is strange… ugh……”

I somehow got the impression that her flowing tears were like a concentrated mass of profound regret.

Memories she thought she could never return to. The trajectory of a life that had burned away peaceful daily existence seemed to be lost in that blue lake.

It was like hearing the screams of a woman calling out from the end of a world burning with ash and fire.

“…I’m sorry, Irefi. Yes, I must be the strange one. I was being foolish. I’m sorry.”

“Hic, huuuk…”

All I could do for her as she sobbed was kneel on one knee and try to wipe away her tears, having carelessly thrown out such a thoughtless remark.