July 28.
This was the first day of summer vacation, and it also marked the moment when Kazusa would leave campus life behind and take her first steps toward rekindling and pursuing her dreams in a foreign land.
Even though she had prepared for this moment well in advance, when it truly arrived, it was still difficult to avoid a sense of melancholy and reluctance.
Chisato and Kazusa both felt the same way.
Inside Kazusa's room on the second floor of the Touma residence, the noises in the room gradually subsided after a moment of intimacy.
Chisato, wearing only shorts and bare-chested, was packing Kazusa's clothes for her.
As for Kazusa, she lay quietly on the bed, covering her slender body with a thin blanket. Her large, expressive eyes remained fixed on his movements.
In truth, they should have packed everything last night.
However, knowing that they would soon part, Kazusa had ignored the unspoken rules, drank some of her mother's treasured red wine, and returned to her room with a passion that bordered on madness.
Throughout the night, she had relentlessly clung to Chisato, leaving him no room to think about anything else.
He had no choice but to focus entirely on her.
As a result, they had spent the entire night entangled, from a little past ten in the evening until the early hours of two or three in the morning, with no end in sight.
Youko, who had come home that morning to prepare for her trip to Vienna with her daughter, eventually pushed open her bedroom door in the middle of the night.
Muttering under her breath, "These two really have too much energy," she shook her head, walked downstairs, and went to rest in the guest room on the first floor.
The walls in the Touma house had good soundproofing, but no matter how good, they couldn't completely muffle the intense sounds seeping through the walls and doors.
Listening to her daughter's vigorous and passionate voice, Youko realized that if she didn't change rooms, she wouldn't be able to sleep a wink that night.
"All right, that should do it. Youko-san said that they'd buy any necessary clothes in Vienna, so this should be enough."
Chisato zipped up the suitcase and sat down beside the bed.
"Mmm…"
Kazusa murmured softly in response, her gaze fixed on Chisato's back, which was covered in scratches.
Overnight, they had darkened into a deep red, chaotic and striking.
The longest one stretched diagonally from his shoulder to his waist, a clear testament to just how intensely she had immersed herself in the moment last night.
Feeling guilty, she sat up. The thin blanket slipped from her body as she reached out and wrapped her arms around Chisato from behind, pulling him into her warm embrace.
"Sorry… Does it hurt?"
Chisato placed his hands over hers and shook his head.
"It's nothing. But we should head downstairs. It's already almost ten, and Youko-san has already come up to check on us."
"Mmm…"
Earlier, before nine o'clock, Youko had knocked on the door. But at the time, the two of them had been too entangled in each other to respond.
Considering that their flight was at two in the afternoon, they still needed to wash up, have breakfast, and take a taxi to the airport.
Time was not on their side, so they needed to pick up the pace.
When the two of them came downstairs, hand in hand, they were met with a teasing remark from Youko, who was watching TV in the living room.
"You know, there's still plenty of time. You two could have spent a little longer getting cozy."
Kazusa turned to her mother, silently mouthing the words "boring old woman" before walking straight into the bathroom without a word.
She held quite a grudge against her mother.
The reason was that she had wanted to postpone her departure for Vienna by two more days, just to spend a little more time with Chisato.
To that end, she had even resorted to an uncharacteristic act of pouting and begging.
But Youko, smiling as if amused, simply pinched her cheek and mercilessly rejected her request.
To make matters worse, she had booked their flight to Vienna right in front of her.
This was a grudge Kazusa would likely hold onto for days.
Meanwhile, Chisato didn't follow her into the bathroom.
He set down the suitcase he was carrying and sat beside Youko.
"For the time being, Youko-san, you'll be staying by Kazusa's side, right?"
"Yes. After all, I've already announced that Youko will be taking a break for a while."
"You worked nonstop after recovering from your illness, all so you could prepare for this moment, didn't you?"
"Mmm~ You really are as sharp as ever, Chisato-kun. You saw right through me."
Youko picked up the teapot on the table and poured herself a cup of tea.
Ever since she had brushed past death, she had been consciously limiting her alcohol intake.
"All these years, I've been living for myself, convinced that as long as I provided Kazusa with a comfortable material life, she would be happy.
But in the end, I realized that wasn't the case at all. Compared to me, who only thinks about practical matters, Kazusa is much more emotional.
What she truly needs is something much simpler—companionship.
I've already rented a place for the two of us in Vienna.
For the next six months or so, I plan to stay by her side, to make up for the time I've neglected her in the past.
At the same time, I suppose… this is also a bit of self-indulgence."
"Self-indulgence?"
"You'll understand when you become a father one day, Chisato-kun. The kind of feelings parents have for their children."
Youko smiled softly, her gaze filled with warmth.
"Just don't get jealous over it."
"Why would I? Knowing that Kazusa will have you by her side in a foreign country, I can't be anything but grateful."
Chisato chuckled and shook his head.
Satisfied with the expected answer, Youko smiled happily. But then, as if suddenly remembering something, her expression changed.
"By the way, about that matter we discussed before. In order for Kazusa to focus entirely on the piano, what do you plan to do?"
"What does Youko-san want me to do?"
Chisato responded with a question of his own.
"I initially thought it would be best if you didn't visit Kazusa at all until she graduated from her master's course.
With modern technology, an occasional video call should be more than enough.
But then…"
Youko paused here, her eyes narrowing mischievously.
"After hearing how… energetic the two of you were last night…"
Chisato's face flushed red as he let out a dry cough and lowered his head.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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