The winter night was silent, and even the usual chirping of insects had faded away completely.
Because Shane had been the only one speaking the entire time, that strange contrast made the night wind feel especially cold, and it cleared his head even further.
In his line of sight, the girl's back had gone rigid at some point, pulled taut into a straight line.
A faint crack came through the night breeze. The sound of knuckles grinding together fell clearly into his ears.
She clenched her fists? Is she really that angry? Shane felt a little uneasy.
But then he straightened his back.
She was the one who had thrown out that suggestive topic and provoked him first. He was in the right. There was no reason for him to feel guilty.
Once he figured that out, his chin lifted slightly, and his tone became a little more justified.
"What, you're mad because I saw through you? If you want to fight, you should know—"
But before the last syllable could leave his throat, his vision was suddenly filled with a rush of silver.
Without any wind-up or leverage, the girl's tense body whipped around like a released spring.
A strand of silver hair, still carrying her body heat, brushed past Shane's nose. The next moment, a heavy, warm weight slammed solidly into his arms.
With a dull thud, his back hit the wooden steps hard.
Her slender arms braced against the floor on either side of Shane's ears. The force was so great that the floorboards gave an overburdened creak.
Their breaths tangled at a distance of mere inches.
Those brown-blue eyes churned with moisture, the corners flushed an unnatural red.
It was anger mixed with embarrassment.
"What are you—"
Sensing that something was off, Shane instinctively started to speak.
But his question was forcibly blocked by a soft, warm sensation.
Mira's fair cheeks were flushed crimson from holding her breath. Without saying a word, she lowered her head fiercely and pressed down.
Their lips touched.
Warm. Damp. Carrying a thin sheen of sweat from tension.
Only, unlike Mira's bold attitude, her movements were incredibly rough and completely lacking in technique.
Rather than affection, it was more like a newborn puppy blindly gnawing around before it had even opened its eyes.
Shane's pupils widened. His brain crashed, turning completely blank.
The cold winter wind kept pouring through the wide-open courtyard gate and into his collar, yet the warmth in his arms was shockingly hot.
To keep the two of them from rolling down the steps, he instinctively lifted his hands and loosely circled the girl's slim waist, barely maintaining their tilted balance.
Only when the air in her lungs had almost been completely wrung out, her chest rising and falling violently, did Mira finally prop up her somewhat weakened body and pull back a little.
She turned her head and wiped her glistening lips messily with the back of her hand. A trace of tears still clung to the corners of her eyes from knocking her teeth together.
When she looked back down at him, she glared fiercely at the person beneath her.
"Now… do you still think I was joking?"
"You… I… huh?"
Shane propped one hand on the steps and covered his mouth with the other, his eyes full of horror and question marks.
He could not understand why Mira, who had been talking perfectly normally just a moment ago, had suddenly exploded. He understood even less why he was somehow the one being forced again.
Did he really have to react that dramatically?
Looking at the person beneath her wearing an exaggerated expression as though the sky had collapsed, Mira's own feelings became complicated.
Her overheated head cooled slightly, and a trace of awkwardness with no way forward or back climbed into her heart.
But backing down now would mean admitting defeat. She forced herself to endure her burning cheeks and deliberately curled her lips as though she did not care.
"You should've done this plenty of times with Erza, right?"
"…"
The air around them seemed to grow even colder. Shane's eyes shifted unnaturally to the side, and he fell silent.
The air stayed quiet for two seconds.
That brief flicker of avoidance naturally did not escape Mira's eyes.
Her gaze circled around his guilty-looking side profile.
Then she suddenly realized something.
"Wait…"
The embarrassment in Mira's eyes vanished, and they gradually lit up.
"Don't tell me… you and Erza still haven't done anything?"
Hit by the truth, Shane's eye twitched. He tried to save face.
"I only woke up a few days ago. What could I possibly have done?"
The soft rustle of fabric sounded as Mira grabbed Shane's collar and pulled his face close to hers again.
"Stop pretending! Before, you lived under the same roof as Erza too. You didn't even have the courage for that?"
"…"
They were so close he could see each of her eyelashes clearly. Shane opened his mouth, then finally chose to close it, giving up on arguing.
After all, although Erza would not reject closeness, he had always believed in letting things happen naturally.
Aside from being forced twice by Ultear, he really had not done anything suppressed or outrageous.
Those few seconds of silence were the best answer.
Mira froze for a moment. Then the corners of her mouth began to rise uncontrollably.
"Pfft—hahaha, so that's how it is!"
She simply lay directly on Shane's chest and laughed triumphantly out loud.
The little bit of shame she had felt from impulsively crossing the line vanished completely in that moment.
Through the fabric, Shane could clearly feel the soft pressure and friction of the girl's body against him.
After laughing enough, Mira released his rumpled collar and lightly jumped off him.
She patted the dust from her short skirt, turned around, and bent slightly at the waist.
Bright moonlight spilled down, coating her silver hair with a faint glow. Her eyes were full of slyness, like a fox that had successfully stolen a chicken.
"Looks like I win this time."
With that, she straightened, took a deep breath of the winter night air, and said,
"The flowers are planted nicely, and the night breeze feels good today. Then—"
With her back to him, Mira waved and walked toward the courtyard gate.
"That's enough for today. Good night."
Her footsteps gradually faded. Only after a long while did Shane woodenly sit up from the steps.
He touched his lips. His mind felt like it had been stuffed full of tangled thread.
Fortunately, Kagura had gone to sleep long ago. If that girl had seen this and turned around to tell Erza…
The moment that thought appeared, Shane hurriedly shook his head and cut it off by force.
No. He should not think like that.
What happened with Ultear before was already a lesson. The more he hid things, the worse they exploded in the end.
Although he could not understand what had gotten into Mira for her to suddenly make a move on her teacher…
Surely it could not simply be some rebellious urge against Erza that made her mess with him on purpose, right?
But no matter what, he absolutely could not hide it.
A chill ran through Shane's heart. He immediately made the decision: something this deadly had to be confessed early for leniency.
"When I see Erza later, I'll tell her immediately."
He muttered to himself while holding his chin, then turned and walked into the house.
The living room lights were bright.
As Shane changed his shoes, he was still thinking of praising Kagura a little. Though she had forgotten to close the door, at least she had remembered to leave a light on for him.
But then—
when his gaze followed the glow and casually shifted toward the center of the living room, his movements froze instantly.
On the beige fabric sofa, where there should have been no one, there was now a striking sweep of black.
A woman was lazily reclining against the cushions.
Her black hip-hugging dress clung tightly to her body like a second layer of skin. The silky fabric wound down along her full thighs, perfectly outlining the curve of her hips.
Hearing the movement at the entrance, the woman slowly lowered her crossed legs and sat up.
Several strands of black hair fell lazily over her smooth collarbone. Her eyes passed over the entryway and quietly fixed on the young man frozen at the door.
"You were muttering to yourself outside just now…"
Her red lips parted slightly. Her voice was gentle, yet it echoed faintly through the empty living room with a chill that made his scalp tingle.
"What exactly are you planning to tell Erza?"