Hong Meiling's appearance undoubtedly brought an abrupt halt to the proceedings. Furthermore, having an intimate moment interrupted made Sakuya feel frustrated, which was evident in the displeasure in her eyes toward Meiling.
"W-What's wrong?" Meiling asked weakly, intimidated by Sakuya's intense gaze.
"Nothing at all. Young Master Kars, you may begin your meal now." Sakuya took Kars from Meiling's arms, carried him to his seat, and then quietly stood to the side to serve him. Seeing this, Meiling felt it was best to leave. Whatever had just happened was clearly not her business.
Only after Meiling left did Sakuya's tense expression soften. She looked at Kars seated at the table, and the flush she had managed to suppress returned to her cheeks.
"Young Master Kars, please conduct such activities in a more appropriate location in the future. Doing them in public areas like the hall, where others might see, is generally unsuitable."
Sakuya's request complicated things for Kars. Koakuma had told him that these activities were most effective when conducted in a place where people might appear or while others were present. Now, Sakuya seemed to prefer not doing them in public, leaving Kars unsure which approach was better.
"Is Young Master Kars conflicted?" Sakuya asked, noticing the troubled look on his face.
"Yes. I was told that doing it this way is more effective, but since you don't like it, Sakuya…"
"It's fine. If that's the case, then I have no objections at all." Sakuya immediately stated that she had no problem with it. If this approach was more effective, then they should continue. Since she had the Lady's permission, overcoming this flaw was the top priority. Getting spotted was a secondary concern.
"I-I see." Seeing Sakuya change her mind so quickly, Kars nodded and didn't press the issue further. After finishing breakfast, Kars went to the garden and was immediately approached by the waiting Hong Meiling.
"Kars, what was going on with Sakuya earlier? Why was she sprawled out on the table?" Hearing Meiling's question, Kars, without thinking too much, told her what he had been doing. Meiling's expression froze as she listened.
"Are you sure you were helping Sakuya overcome her weakness?!" Meiling felt something was deeply wrong, very wrong. Kars's actions seemed entirely inappropriate! Touching a girl's thigh and all that…
"Yes, why? Is that wrong?" Kars looked at Meiling's reaction. Was this behavior wrong? But Koakuma said it was the best way, and Sakuya seemed to support it.
Is it right… or wrong… Meiling didn't know how to answer. Given Sakuya's reaction, she seemed to be consenting, so it wouldn't be appropriate for Meiling to say it was wrong.
Meiling suddenly felt out of place here. Everything around her felt so strange, and she didn't know how it had gotten this way.
"Well… I actually think it seems a little wrong, but I don't know how to explain it to you right now." Meiling scratched her head, looking utterly confused. She felt she should properly inform Kars about these things, but how to explain it was complicated, especially since she couldn't even figure out the situation herself.
"By the way, did you decide this, or did Sakuya?" This wasn't the kind of thing Kars would do on his own, Meiling thought; the well-behaved Kars wouldn't do such a thing unless prompted.
"It was Auntie. Auntie said that for Sakuya to have children later, I need to help her overcome this problem."
Well, that left her speechless. The Lady had personally authorized it, and it was even so Sakuya could… have children?!! Wait, what?
Meiling: (๑ʘ̅ д ʘ̅๑)!!!
What did he just say? Sakuya having children? Does that mean Sakuya is going to be Kars's wife?! Wait, what?! The shock of the news made Meiling wonder if she had slept too much and missed a lot. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been completely unaware of this development. If she hadn't been curious enough to wait for Kars and ask, she might never have known.
"I-I see! Ahahaha! Then I have no issues!" At this point, Meiling felt she shouldn't interfere with Kars. This was clearly outside her purview. Still, she never would have imagined things would turn out this way. Sakuya must be absolutely thrilled!
"Then I hope you succeed!" Meiling offered her encouragement, hoping things would go smoothly.
"Mhm, I'll try my best! I'll be going now, Meiling!" Kars nodded in response and bid Meiling farewell.
"Sigh, this is truly a subtle turn of events." Meiling scratched her head and walked toward the entrance to begin her martial arts practice, hoping the physical activity would keep her from dwelling on the matter.
However, her method of avoiding thought by sleeping quickly ended. Shortly after she drifted off, a flying knife plunged into her head, causing her to scream in pain. Sakuya walked over, silently pulled the knife out of the fallen Meiling.
"If I catch you slacking off again today, you won't get any extra food at mealtime. Be aware, I am not joking."
"You're kidding me?!" Meiling, covering the now-healed wound, looked at Sakuya's utterly serious face with a look of misery. The possibility of Sakuya preventing her from sleeping was very low!
Meiling felt Sakuya's actions were related to the incident earlier, but she thought it had little to do with her. She hadn't done anything… Wait, was Sakuya mad because she interrupted her good time? Thinking about it, that seemed highly likely.
Meiling's expression grew even more mournful. Sakuya, however, completely ignored her and silently turned to leave. Hong Meiling, left alone, leaned against the wall in despair, contemplating what to do, and then promptly fell asleep again…