SS #40 Time to back(2)

Five hours before the date.

Sitting before the mirror, Cordelia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as if steeling her focus before a match. A few steps away, Dahlia stood in a state of bewilderment and tension, swallowing dryly.

It was hardly surprising, as more than a few things were different from usual.

‘These preparations are the real deal!’

Normally, Cordelia hardly wore any makeup.

She was still a bit young for heavy makeup, but more than that, Cordelia herself had never been particularly interested in primping.

‘Of course, my lady is still pretty, cute, and lovely without it.’

Cordelia was blessed with such outstanding beauty that even with the most basic application—something Dahlia, a knight, would be embarrassed to even call makeup—she never looked lacking.

Her skin was fair and clear, with no need for powder to conceal it.
Her features were well-defined, her eyes large, requiring no optical illusions or tricks.
Her lips were a lovely shade of pink all on their own.

For these reasons, Dahlia had never pushed makeup on Cordelia. If Cordelia didn’t want it and didn’t need it, there was no reason to force the issue.

And yet.

‘How did she even know about all these? I heard there are so many different kinds of cosmetics.’

An array of various cosmetics was lined up before Cordelia.

As a knight by trade, Dahlia was far removed from the world of beautification. Despite being an adult woman, she knew little about makeup. But she had at least a vague idea of what kinds of products existed, though it seemed her knowledge was far more limited than she’d thought.

At least half of the items laid out before Cordelia were things she had never seen before.

‘My lady, I’m rooting for you.’

She was really putting in a lot of effort for her first date with Sir Yuder—

‘Gasp! Come to think of it, her first date!’

That was right.
This was Yuder and Cordelia’s first date.
Thanks to Yuder’s frail health, an outdoor date had been unthinkable until now.

‘You can do it, my lady.’

Dahlia clenched her fists, cheering Cordelia on.

“Let’s begin.”

Cordelia spoke softly, opened her eyes, and began to reach for the cosmetics without hesitation.

In truth, just as Dahlia thought, Cordelia had lived a life far removed from makeup. Even in her past life as Hong Yu-hee, the only makeup she’d ever worn was a basic foundation.

‘I was a high school student, after all.’

In any case, it was a fact that she had lived a life completely walled off from cosmetics.

But at the same time, Cordelia was also extremely familiar with them.
After meeting Yuder—or more accurately, after Yuder’s training(?) began—she had been exposed to countless cosmetics.

They say if you hang around a place long enough, you’re bound to pick things up.
Having had all sorts of makeup applied by Yuder, Cordelia had become well-versed in cosmetics herself, eventually even learning the art of application.

‘I wanted to be able to do it for Yuria.’

She hadn’t wanted to be the kind of mother who said, ‘Mommy’s not good at this, so go ask Daddy to do it for you!’

Whatever the case, by the time Yuria was born, Cordelia had already become a makeup pro. With another decade of experience on top of that, she had acquired the makeup skills(?) of a professional artist.

‘Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I’ve done it myself.’

Separate from her having acquired the skill, Yuder had never let her be.
Cordelia recalled how Yuder would rush over, insisting that decorating her was his duty and his right. An unconscious smile graced her lips as she picked up a cosmetic item.

About half an hour later.

Dahlia’s eyes widened in shock, while Cordelia looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled faintly again.

‘Mm, good. Perfect.’

Even the Yuder of today would have no choice but to fall for this.
Imagining a blushing Yuder, flustered and at a loss, yet trying to act nonchalant out of pride, Cordelia gave a mischievous smile and stood up.

“Dahlia, I have one last thing to prepare by myself, so could you please leave me for a moment?”

“By… yourself?”

“Mhm. Please.”

What on earth was she planning to do?
Though Dahlia was filled with curiosity, she soon nodded and replied cheerfully.

“Yes, my lady. I’ll look forward to it.”

“Mhm.”

One minute, then two, passed after Dahlia left.
Taking a moment to compose her breathing, Cordelia stripped off her dress until she was in her undergarments and began to equip the gear she had prepared in advance.

Belts to be wrapped around her thighs and calves, and the magic items to be attached to them.
Small pouches to be hidden inside her skirt.

‘And…’

A few more items she hadn’t packed in the past.
Once everything was equipped, Cordelia turned back to the mirror. Looking at the beautiful body that Yuder had never failed to praise, a thought suddenly occurred to her.

‘The… underwear… I don’t need to worry about that just yet, right?’

Ahem. Clearing her throat, her face slightly flushed, Cordelia picked out a new set of underwear and changed. She seemed to recall hearing somewhere that true preparation meant being thorough even in the unseen places.

‘J-Just in case.’

Just in case.
Really, just in case.
On the one-in-a-million chance.

“Ahem, ahem.”

Clearing her throat again, Cordelia spun around and opened her wardrobe.

How much time passed after that?
Having changed her underwear, put on her dress, and finally placed a large-brimmed white hat on her head for the outing, Cordelia completed her pre-date preparations and clenched her fists.

‘Alright, let’s do this.’

Watching her reflection in the mirror, she spun around once, thought of Yuder, and let a devilish smile spread across her face.

*

“Yellow… Storm?”

Just as she’d expected.
Yuder’s first reaction upon seeing the fully decked-out Cordelia was immensely satisfying.
He just stared at her with a blank expression, his mouth agape.

‘Let me tell you, I’m on a whole different level now.’

Before her ‘return,’ on her first date with Yuder, she had approached the preparations timidly, thinking, ‘I-It’s a date, so I should at least try to dress up a little, right?’ To be honest, neither Cordelia nor Dahlia had been very good at primping.

But this time was different.
She, the prized disciple of the continent’s greatest makeup artist, Yuder, had put her own skills to work.

‘And I’ve prepared even the unseen places.’

With a triumphant smirk, Cordelia feigned composure as she faced Yuder and quietly boarded the carriage.

And so, the carriage departed.
Although Maia and Dahlia were riding with them, Yuder and Cordelia sat facing each other, giving them a perfect view of one another’s reactions.

‘Hehehehehe. Yuder’s embarrassed. He’s so embarrassed.’

The Yuder of today would never admit it.
No, he probably didn’t even realize it himself, but Cordelia was, for all intents and purposes, the very embodiment of his ‘type.’
And what happens when a beauty who is the very definition of your type sits before you, her charms powered up to the max?

‘It’s just deadly, that’s what.’

Whatever your head might be thinking, your body can’t help but be honest. Recalling a line from a very risqué book Kaisa had recommended, Cordelia chuckled inwardly and stared straight at Yuder’s face.
She was trying to meet his eyes as he desperately avoided her gaze, though he would occasionally steal a glance in her direction.

‘His face is red. So cute. Is this how Yuder felt?’

Was this why he was always dying to tease me every day?
In any case, it was fun.
And immensely satisfying.

Another hour or so passed.
Arriving at their destination in the Belkain Mountains, Yuder and Cordelia disembarked from the carriage and made their way toward a flower field in the distance.

“The flowers are so pretty.”

“They… are.”

Yuder replied to Cordelia’s words, his brow twitching slightly.
Why was he acting like this today, when he was usually such a good actor?
Was he that flustered?

‘Hey, act properly. Dahlia and Maia are watching.’

When Cordelia shot him a look, Yuder’s brow furrowed even more, but he eventually nodded.

‘Sheesh, what a shy one.’

Just as Yuder knew Cordelia all too well, Cordelia also knew Yuder.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she had a PhD in Yuderology.

‘He doesn’t want to admit it.’

That his heart was pounding at the sight of Cordelia.
That he was attracted to her as a woman, beyond just simple surprise.

‘But that’s my Yuder for you.’

He was resisting.
He was trying to control his emotions by exerting his willpower to the fullest.
The proof was in his deeply furrowed brow and the occasional twitch of his eyes.
The reality was that Yuder, the master of acting, was failing to act properly.

‘Still, Yuder, you’re going to fall head over heels for me later, you know?’

How do I know?
Because I saw it all in the future.

“Hehe, hehehehe.”

A mischievous smile on her face, Cordelia decided to take things one step further.
The one standing here now wasn’t the seventeen-year-old pushover Cordelia who was teased by Yuder every day, but the Black Cordelia who had been thoroughly corrupted by him.

“Y-Yellow Storm?!”

“Stay still.”

As she sidled up next to him and hugged his arm, Yuder’s eyes shot open in surprise, but Cordelia spoke calmly in a low voice.
“Dahlia and Maia are watching.”

“No, if you do this, of course they’re going to—.”

Yuder, who had been speaking quickly, glanced back and immediately fell silent, turning his head away.
Never mind Maia and Dahlia, who were covering their mouths with both hands, expressing a mixture of shock and delight. The problem was that when he turned his head to look back, Cordelia’s face was right in front of him.

Too close.
Way too close.
What’s more, there was almost no height difference between them, so not only their eye levels but also their lips were nearly at the same height, which was deeply unsettling.

And Cordelia did not miss this opening.
She hugged his arm a little tighter, pressing her chest against him.
It was something White Cordelia couldn’t even imagine, but for Black Cordelia, it was all too simple.

“Wh-What are you do—.”

“Shh. I told you, Dahlia and Maia are watching.”

As she spoke quickly, Yuder clamped his mouth shut.
His face, ears, and even his neck were bright red.

‘My Yuder is surprisingly shy.’

On top of that, ever since his days as the boy next door, he had lived a life completely separate from girls.
Of course, there was Natasha, but the current Yuder hadn’t seen her in six years.
And there was one more factor Cordelia hadn’t considered: the current Yuder was a seventeen-year-old in the throes of a turbulent adolescence, his blood running hot.

“Yuder, why are you suddenly sticking your butt out?”

At Cordelia’s question, Yuder didn’t answer, instead squeezing his eyes shut and fervently chanting the Heart Sutra. Cordelia tilted her head as if worried about him and looked back at him.
Pressing her chest against him a little more.

“Y-Yellow Storm. Let’s talk about our mission.”

“Okay, let’s.”

Being so close, it was easy to whisper.
At the feeling of Cordelia’s breath on his ear, Yuder flinched again before managing to speak.

“First, we need to go to the Solari Temple.”

“And we have to ditch Dahlia and Maia, right?”

“…Yes. So I’ve thought of a route.”

“You mean we jump off that cliff over there using Fly magic, right? Since there’s a shortcut.”

“…That’s right. You…”

“Hm?”

“No, it’s nothing. You really are second in the server rankings.”

“Hmph, of course— Hey! If you tease me like that, I won’t cooperate, you know?”

As Cordelia ‘acted’ as if she were genuinely angry, Yuder let out a sigh of what seemed like relief and continued.
No, he tried to continue, but Cordelia was a bit faster.

“But Yuder, if we just jump off together, Dahlia and Maia will be incredibly worried. They’ll try to follow us no matter what. So, I have an idea.”

“…What is it?”

“So…”

Cordelia pressed her chest against him once more and whispered softly. Yuder, in the throes of various agonies, nodded his head.

*

What happened next was just as it had been in history.
They slowly distanced themselves from Dahlia and Maia, then suddenly made a dash for it, with Cordelia grabbing Yuder and leaping off the cliff.
But right after that.
One thing changed from history—

“I-I want to have some time alone with you! I-I’m a gentleman, so it should be fine!”

Yuder shouted with a beet-red face. Dahlia and Maia were at a complete loss, their faces a picture of utter bewilderment, while Cordelia clenched her fists and cheered inwardly.

‘Yes! This is it! This is it!’

The usual Yuder would never have agreed, but the current Yuder was in a daze, half-enthralled.
That’s why, when she pushed him both physically and mentally, he had agreed in a moment of confusion, leading to the current result.

‘I love this so much.’

I really, really love this.
Thoroughly satisfied, Cordelia grabbed the wrist of the squirming-in-embarrassment Yuder and started to run.

About ten minutes later.
Just as an exhausted Yuder was about to ask Cordelia for a piggyback ride.

“Cordel…ia.”

“Mhm, you want a piggyback ride?”

“…No, not… that.”

“Then?”

“You… aren’t you going to say… ‘fuck’?”

Yuder, drenched in sweat and completely worn out, asked in a low voice. Cordelia flinched.
She realized that not only today, but not once since her ‘return’ had she uttered that word.

“What do you mean? I did, you just didn’t hear me because I said it quietly.”

“‘Fuck’ is… an exclamation, isn’t it? You said it… quietly?”

“Yeah, I even went ‘Fuuuuck~~’ when I jumped off the cliff earlier.”

Cordelia’s acting skills had improved, but perhaps because she was flustered, or perhaps because it had been so long since she’d used the exclamation, it was a little awkward.
The tone and expression she used when exclaiming, that is.

‘W-Well, I can’t help it!’

After she and Yuder had gotten together, she had refrained from using the exclamation because she didn’t want to be seen as a ‘girl who swears.’ After Yuria was born, she had banned it completely, worried it would be a bad influence.

‘And thinking about it now, it’s kind of embarrassing!’

Should she call it a dark history from her younger days?
In any case, Cordelia cleared her throat with an ahem, ahem and tried to quickly change the subject.

“Anyway, are you okay? I think it’d be better if I carried you if we want to make it in time… what do you think?”

Cordelia leaned in close to Yuder, who had collapsed onto the ground.
But instead of stealing a glance at her cleavage or blushing at her proximity, Yuder met her blue eyes with his own cool, mysterious green ones.
This was the usual Yuder.
The sharp, cool-headed gaze of the Yuder she had fallen for.
Yuder snatched Cordelia’s wrist.
He looked straight into the eyes of the flinching Cordelia, who was about to pull back, and after a moment, he spoke.

“Yellow Storm. No, Cordelia Chase.”

At the cold address, Cordelia flinched once more.
What was Yuder about to say?
Was he going to interrogate her, asking if she was really Cordelia, if she was really Yellow Storm?
If so—

No.
Cordelia had a gut feeling.
What Yuder was about to say was not something like that.

“You… you’re from the future.”

A statement that pierced through to the very essence of the matter.
Faced with this side of him, so quintessentially Yuder, Cordelia swallowed dryly.
She nodded her head.

---

Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

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