Yukinoshita-san is definitely secretly in love with me.

Tonight's banquet was swarming with Japan's social elite. Old acquaintances gathered in twos and threes, and inevitably, the gossip began to flow.

Not only was Haruno being interrogated by her circle of girlfriends about how many handsome guys she'd dated, but even Lady Shijō Maki wasn't spared. Her companions playfully teased her about her relationship with that Tanuma boy.

Of course gossip and drama have always been humanity's primal driving force.

As soon as the topic came up, Haruno saw her friend Hanamiya elbow Yukino playfully, eyebrows waggling. "Ooh, so it's that Tanuma boy, huh~?"

The boy in question Tanuma Tsubasa.

Rumor had it that Lady Shijō once had a crush on him. But he ended up dating Yukinoshita Yukino, one of her rivals in love albeit only briefly. The two of them broke up the very next day, and some time later, Tanuma Tsubasa started dating someone new: Kashiwagi Nagisa.

And Kashiwagi Nagisa just so happened to be one of Shijō Maki's closest friends.

Emmmmm... Well, what a tangled web we weave.

Still, this kind of mess was nothing compared to the chaos within the circles of the truly wealthy and powerful.

But Lady Shijō clearly had no intention of getting dragged into this swamp of rot. She lifted her chin gracefully. Though her smile remained, her gaze turned razor sharp.

"This kind of ridiculous rumor I'd appreciate it if none of you brought it up again."

"Tanuma Tsubasa may be dating my friend, but even if he weren't with Kashiwagi, I wouldn't spare him a second glance."

"Foolish. Impulsive. Timid as a mouse. Indecisive. Spineless. That kind of man is someone I, Shijō Maki, could never possibly be interested in."

Her words were almost cruel in their bluntness. Without the slightest hint of mercy, she dissected her friend's boyfriend with chilling precision.

"Such idiotic rumors don't just endanger my friendship with Kashiwagi they make people question the standards of the Shijō family."

Her declaration was so sharp, so resolute, that the entire room fell quiet for a moment.

Miss Yagyū raised an eyebrow. "Oh wow. Looks like Miss Shijō really can't stand that Tanuma guy."

Hanamiya rested her elbow casually on Yukino's shoulder and laughed, "She probably just doesn't want to be associated with lame rumors about falling for her best friend's boyfriend."

Haruno had always known that Hanamiya had zero concept of personal boundaries. If someone fit her aesthetic preferences, she just had to get close clingy hugs and all.

And it shouldn't have mattered. That wasn't the real Yukino, after all. So why should she care?

That's how it was supposed to be.

But no matter how she tried to suppress it, Haruno found her eyes drawn toward Hanamiya and Yukino.

"…Hanamiya, can't you tell Yukino doesn't like physical contact?"

Hanamiya pulled a face at her, then promptly wrapped both arms around Yukino's waist. "She just doesn't like your gross big-sister touches!"

Haruno: "..."

Hey. "Yukinoshita." At least try to resist a little, won't you?

What kind of behavior is this?!

Miss Suzuki nodded with exaggerated seriousness. "Totally. I want a little sister like Yukino, too. I'd dress her up in cute outfits every day!"

Miss Yagyū rolled her eyes. "Is that why you keep trying to make your little brother wear skirts?"

Everyone burst out laughing. The mood was light, cheerful, filled with banter.

But Haruno quickly noticed that something was off.

Somewhere along the way, the atmosphere around the girl standing beside her had subtly shifted.

Haruno had always been acutely sensitive to Yukino's moods.

But now, she hated that part of herself.

After all, despite both being icy, black-haired beauties with sharp tongues and flat chests, she and the heiress from the Shigū family couldn't be more different.

Yukinoshita Yukino's frost was deceptive an icy mask that discouraged closeness but shattered at the gentlest touch. She was a fragile child who hid kindness behind cold pride.

The Shigū family heiress, though that was a real glacier. Cold knives flew from every glance, cutting through even the air around her.

But right now, Haruno felt like she was staring at the Shigū heiress herself.

Yukino lowered her eyes. "Excuse me… I need to visit the restroom."

She who once believed that in front of her sister, she could simply be Yukino was now, once again, merely Yukinoshita.

She walked straight out of the lavish, dazzling banquet hall not toward any restroom, but directly to the third floor.

As a seasoned loner, Yukino had long mastered the art of finding the most secluded, least-trafficked corners of any venue. More than mental fortitude or social indifference, the most vital skill was that first glance knowing exactly where to hide.

If loneliness were an academic discipline, Yukinoshita Yukino would graduate with straight A's.

Her expression was calm as she ascended the stairs. Her pace, steady. Even when a server approached to inquire politely, she managed a soft refusal.

No one could possibly guess how many stormclouds were gathering and fracturing inside her chest.

What she felt now could only be described as sheer, unfiltered humiliation.

From childhood, she had always kept her emotions under strict control. Even anger and joy were measured and subdued. She almost never lost control.

Except, of course, in front of her sister.

Around Haruno, she never needed to pretend. She could bare her claws, throw tantrums, sulk like a spoiled kitten humiliating and childish as she liked.

That was the twisted, awkward yet somehow comforting bond they shared.

She would never admit it aloud, but Yukinoshita Yukino knew in her heart Haruno was special to her.

So special, that if one day someone else's soul took up residence in Haruno's body, Yukino was sure she would see through the change instantly.

But she'd been too confident. So confident, in fact, that she believed Haruno would do the same for her.

That when she was replaced possessed Haruno would be the first to notice the difference.

And now, realizing that Haruno hadn't noticed a thing… that she, like everyone else, failed to see the truth and even looked at her with suspicion 

Yukino was furious.

Furious… and humiliated.

How laughable.

How utterly ridiculous of you, Yukinoshita Yukino!

Wasn't this outcome inevitable? How could anyone possibly believe such an absurd notion that someone could be replaced, body and soul?

Even their parents hadn't noticed. Not a single soul in the world would believe such a thing.

So what right did you have to expect Haruno to just know, without a word from you?

What gave you the right to expect someone anyone to unconditionally understand you, believe you, see through everything and take your side?

Foolish. Arrogant. Self-absorbed. Pathetically naïve.

Burning with a fury she could no longer suppress, Yukino strode to the far end of the quiet, deserted third-floor hallway and stepped out onto a secluded balcony.

That was when she heard someone crying.

"I… I really do like Tanuma-kun…"

Startled by the sound of footsteps, a girl with soft chestnut hair and tearstained cheeks lifted her head in panic.

Yukino: "…"