After parting ways with Kars, Koakuma seed completely distracted. Her usual sharp efficiency was gone, and she looked out of sorts. Patchouli noticed this and frowned.
“Koakuma, what is wrong with you? Have you been feeling unwell?”
“Ah? Oh! No! I feel perfectly fine!” Snapping back to attention, Koakuma quickly shook her head, insisting she was fine. However, Patchouli wasn't convinced. She stared at Koakuma for a while and then made a determination.
“What is going on? You seem to have been chard—and at a very low level, too. Who did you interact with that managed to affect you?”
What Patchouli said astonished Koakuma. She seed surprised by the diagnosis.
“I was chard? But I don't think Kars knows any magic like that, does he?”
“Kars? Were you just with Kars? Well, that would explain it.” After all, Koakuma would only let her guard down enough to be affected by such a low-level charm if she were with soone she completely trusted and wouldn't suspect.
“As for the charm, so vampires are naturally born with a very mild ability to charm, but it's usually not very effective. It would only cause a slight influence, certainly not enough to make you look as distracted as you were.” As she spoke, Patchouli suddenly realized sothing. Her eyes narrowed as she intently scrutinized Koakuma, instantly making the little devil nervous.
“Koakuma, what exactly were you doing with Kars? Although you were chard, such a low-level charm isn't enough to make you behave the way you were. So, sothing else must have happened that was even more captivating, wasn't it?”
Being questioned by Patchouli, Koakuma's eyes darted around. She debated whether to reveal what happened and whether there would be any consequences. However, realizing Patchouli had already noticed a problem, continuing to hide it would only make things worse.
“Well, Kars and I were talking earlier about how to interact with people based on the standard of treating them like soone you like. I suggested that personal experience would help him understand better, and he wanted to cooperate and try it out, so…”
“So you engaged in indescribable acts with a child?!” Patchouli was completely aghast, not having expected Koakuma to harbor such thoughts about a century-old child.
“No, I didn’t! Lady Patchouli! Kars and I just rubbed cheeks at most! We didn't do anything else! It was just… what Kars said that made feel happy.”
Patchouli breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. It was a huge relief that nothing like that had happened. Still, she was surprised by the situation. Patchouli understood Kars’s motivation, but understanding was one thing. Koakuma’s current reaction showed that she needed to pay attention. The low-level charm might not affect others, but for Koakuma, the effect was significant.
“Lady Patchouli?” Koakuma looked at the silent Patchouli carefully, wondering if she was in the clear.
“I understand now. Go back to your duties.” Hearing Patchouli, Koakuma imdiately relaxed. It seed like there were no serious consequences. She resolved to exercise more self-control next ti.
With that in mind, Koakuma finished her remaining duties and returned to her room to rest, feeling a sense of anticipation for what might happen when she was with Kars tomorrow. With her pleasant thoughts, Koakuma quickly fell asleep.
anwhile, Kars also returned to his room, ready to rest.
“You look very cheerful. Did sothing good happen?” Remilia, also in the room, noticed Kars's unusually good mood and was curious.
“Little Auntie! I’ve started learning how to interact with people I like! And it feels really good!” Kars didn't hesitate to share his recent findings with Remilia, telling her everything that happened between him and Koakuma. Remilia blinked, taking a mont to process the information.
“You an you asked Koakuma to cooperate with you for that kind of experint to understand the complexities of relationships?”
“Yes. Why? Is sothing wrong?”
“Is sothing wrong?” How can you ask that so casually? Remilia felt she had slightly underestimated her nephew. He had managed to pull off sothing like this without her realizing it. While it was likely that Koakuma couldn't resist Kars’s pleas, and their familiarity made her agree, the fact remained: Koakuma had effectively been hooked by Kars. If they continued this experint, it might just beco real.
Remilia looked at the still-clueless Kars, unsure how to evaluate him. Could this actually be a good thing?
“Little Auntie, what’s wrong?” Kars asked, seeing Remilia suddenly fall silent.
“Nothing. Just… do your best with this.” Remilia shook her head. She decided to observe the situation. The outco was uncertain, but maybe she didn't have to worry about this boy finding a partner anymore.
“Oh! I will! I won’t disappoint you, Little Auntie!” Kars thumped his chest in reassurance, then climbed into bed, ready to sleep. However, as soon as he lay down, Flandre, who had been hiding under the covers, tackled him.
“I caught Kars!” Flandre hugged Kars and then pulled him up.
“Hey! Kars, let’s play! We didn’t get to play together today!” Because of the banquet, Flandre hadn't been able to play as much as she wanted, but she had been obedient and followed her sister's instructions to behave. Now that the banquet was over, she didn't have to hold back. Since she couldn't find Kars, she had just waited for him in the room.
“Flandre, Kars needs to sleep now. Don’t keep him up to play.” Remilia imdiately refused on Kars’s behalf. Flandre’s bright smile faded into disappointnt.
“Oh!” Flandre thought she wouldn't get to play, but Kars reached out and took her hand as she was about to leave.
“It’s okay! I can stay up a little later, Little Auntie Flandre, let’s go play!”
This was unexpected, but it didn't stop Flandre from cheering up.
“Kars! (ฅ>ω
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