Roland buried his face deep in Yukio's cleavage, and ten minutes passed in a flash. His mission was finally complete.
It sounded simple enough, but executing it was agonizing.
After all, ten minutes wasn't ten seconds. With Haruno now more vigilant than ever towards her mother immoral behaviour, how easy could it be to hide between Yukio's breasts for ten whole minutes right under her nose?
Every minute that passed, Haruno would warn him to hurry up and come eat.
She couldn't exactly tell her mother to "get over here," not daring to speak to her that way. So she could only keep pressuring poor Roland.
Under this relentless pressure, Roland would have given up after just two minutes.
But fortunately, Yukio was protecting him. Whenever the pressure became unbearable and he was about to quit, she would glare at her daughter, forcing Haruno to swallow the words forming on her lips.
To be honest, Haruno still feared her mother's maternal authority whenever Yukio truly asserted it.
For the Yukino sisters, their mother's authority was like a terror etched into their very souls. Yuki had moved out precisely because she couldn't bear it any longer. If Haruno hadn't managed to uncover some leverage over their mother, how would she have dared to confront her sharp gaze directly?
Thus, Roland managed to survive the ten-minute mission with only a few close calls.
As soon as the timer expired, he immediately scrambled out of Yukio's embrace, not daring to linger even for a second longer. Cold sweat, born of tension and intoxicating fragnace still glistened on his face.
This clearly showed how agonizing and rewarding those ten minutes had been for him.
Roland couldn't help but sigh inwardly. The missions were getting increasingly difficult. This was only Mission 2—how would he ever manage the ones to come?
...◇...
With the mission completed, Roland had no reason to linger in Yukio's arms. He hastily pulled her into the dining room before Haruno could erupt, and they sat down to eat side by side.
The rest of the meal proceeded normally. Under Haruno's watchful gaze, Roland and Yukio couldn't risk another blatant incident like the towel incident. They were forced to behave themselves and focus on eating.
But wait!
If they couldn't get away with anything too bold, did they really need Haruno's permission for a little flirting and teasing?
For instance, beneath the dining table, out of Haruno's sight, their legs were already playfully intertwined both caressing each other legs.
Even within Haruno's view, Roland and Yukio frequently fed each other.
First, Roland would use his fork to pick up a piece of meat and feed it to Yukio. Then, she would use her spoon to scoop up some soup and feed it to him gently.
Haruno stared at the lingering moisture on the spoon, unsure if it was leftover soup or deliberately left saliva.
Regardless, they acted as if the wet mark didn't exist, taking turns feeding each other mouthfuls of soup and meat in a blatant display of indirect kissing.
What should have been a simple dinner stretched into an hour-long ordeal.
Haruno was so disgusted she wanted to leave, but she feared that if she did, they might escalate their behavior to next level in her absence.
So, despite her growing irritation, she remained rooted to her seat, forced to witness their nauseating display of blatant affection.
Could there be anything more torturous than having to witness something like this?
"Haruno, go pour Mom a cup of tea." Yukio, full from her meal and drinks, leaned affectionately against Roland's shoulder while simultaneously ordering her daughter to fetch her some tea.
It wasn't enough that her mother had indirectly kissed her man right in front of her; now she was leaning on him and demanding Haruno serve her tea like a maid.
Haruno gritted her teeth in fury. She felt her mother was retaliating for her earlier ban on the bath towels. How else could a mother deliberately disgust her own daughter to this extent?
Bound by their mother-daughter hierarchy, Haruno couldn't defy her mother's unreasonable request. Suppressing the urge to sever their relationship for once and all, she stormed off to pour a cup of water for her beloved mother.
"I said tea..." Yukio relented, forgiving her daughter's poor service. Adopting a hint of her former dignified demeanor, she said, "You remember the year-end banquet, don't you?"
"Of course I remember," Haruno replied. "It's that annual banquet, isn't it? It should be happening any day now." Seeing her mother was getting down to business, she reluctantly reined in her emotions back.
"It's tomorrow night," Yukio said. "It lasts two days and two nights, so we won't be back until the day after tomorrow."
The banquet they were discussing was a year-end networking event hosted by various corporate conglomerates. Business and political elites would gather to discuss potential collaborations and expand their professional networks.
After all, these busy individuals rarely had such opportunities to mingle and exchange ideas and increase their wealth by squeezing the pockets of poors.
But that wasn't the true purpose of the event. Its real essence lay in... scouting for potential marriage alliances.
"Isn't it the same every year?" Haruno asked, her suspicion growing. "Why tell me this so solemnly? Couldn't you have just mentioned it casually later?"
Or is this just for Roland's benefit? she wondered. To let him know that if he endures tonight, he can have free rein once I'm gone?
"You know these banquets are essentially marriage arrangements. Several parents have already been asking me about you this year. Don't be surprised if some young men approach you about it at the banquet," Yukio explained to her daughter.
"I already have Roland as my fiancé. Can't we just decline these marriage proposals?" Haruno frowned, her impatience with matchmaking seeming to grow stronger since becoming engaged to Roland.
"Of course I can help you decline, but the Yukino Family isn't just about you. You understand what I mean, right?"
"You want little Yuki to go instead?"
"Exactly. Now that you have someone, Yuki will have to handle these marriage arrangements from now on."
"Yuki probably won't go, and even if she did, her terrible temper would likely cause her to embarrass everyone involved."
"She still has to attend. As I've said before, since they've taken the initiative to approach us, we must attend out of courtesy unless there's a compelling reason not to. Even if we plan to decline, we must still make an appearance," Yukio said firmly.
Some might wonder why it was necessary to attend in person to decline. Couldn't a phone call suffice?
That's true, but you have to understand that for a political-business family like the Yukino Family to thrive, they inevitably need to collaborate with other powerful factions.
If Haruno were to reject every invitation to banquets, marriage proposals, and other events over the phone, people would eventually stop contacting them altogether. Their so-called "network" would become a joke.
For a politician or businessman, losing their network is like cutting off their own hands.
While "networking" sounds impressive, it's actually quite tedious.
Haruno understood this well. Once connections are severed, they're nearly impossible to revive. Take her close high school friends, for example.
Remembering she attended a private school filled with what you'd call "noble scions" in anime—meaning maintaining those friendships was crucial. Yet even so, she rarely contacted them after graduation.
Once broken, they can't be mended.
Networks require constant maintenance. This was a core tenet of the Yukino Family's teachings.
"But don't forget, Yuki is still angry with you," Haruno said, frowning slightly. She understood the logic, but she didn't want her younger sister involved in such disgusting affairs.
Given her mother's domineering personality, she was utterly unreasonable when it came to family matters. She would even force Yuki to attend if necessary.
She wondered if her mother could treat Yuki with the same affection she showed Roland, Yuki would never have run away from home.
"Isn't Yuki's problem that she wants to be involved in politics? This banquet offers her exactly that opportunity. I'm sure she'd be delighted. Perhaps we could even use it to persuade her to move back home. Don't you want her to come back?" Yukio asked her daughter.
"I disagree. There are other ways to get her to move back. I absolutely won't let her get involved in this kind of thing," Haruno replied, equally resolute when it came to her younger sister's affairs.
After all, she hadn't actually married Roland yet. Strictly speaking, they were still in a "Fake Love" relationship.
Wasn't the whole point of establishing their "Fake Love" arrangement to prevent exactly this situation from arising?
Therefore, Haruno could simply refuse any marriage proposals on behalf of her sister.
"I knew you'd say that. If you keep coddling her, she'll never grow," Yukio said with a sigh.
"It doesn't matter if she doesn't grow in that direction. I can handle all the family affairs myself. In fact, it's best if I do it alone, to avoid anyone trying to usurp my position as head of the household later."
"Fine, go if you want. Do as you please," Yukio said, shaking her head.
Her two daughters were either arrogant or tsundere.
Yukio knew very well that Haruno loathed family affairs. The only reason she always took the initiative to handle them was to prevent these burdens from falling on her beloved younger sister.
To provide Yuki with a better environment, Haruno had made sacrifices far beyond what was expected of an elder sister.
Yet, when facing Yuki, Haruno was a complete tsundere. She never let her younger sister know what she was doing, fearing that Yuki would be emotionally affected if she realized Haruno was shouldering everything.
So, to prevent Yuki from feeling guilty about her sacrifices, Haruno would deliberately do things to make her younger sister dislike her. If Yuki hated her, she wouldn't feel guilty, right?
What a twisted personality!
Truly worthy of being her child.
Well, since Haruno wanted to attend this banquet in Yuki place, why should she object?
On the contrary, this was all going according of her master class plan.
Once Haruno left, wouldn't that leave only Little Roland and her in the house?
How delightful to anticipate!