Prologue

Out of the blue, Renjō Toru, a first-year high school student, found himself engaged. And not just to anyone—his fiancée was a classmate, the undisputed beauty of the school, a golden-haired, blue-eyed goddess.

As if that weren’t dreamlike enough, they were living under the same roof, and she was showering him with affection, practically throwing herself at him.

It sounded like pure fantasy, but this was Toru’s reality.

Just moments ago, they’d even bathed together.

Now, Toru sat in a chair by the bathroom sink, his hair still damp. Behind him stood his fiancée, Aino Lyuti, dressed in casual loungewear, a hairdryer in hand as she dried his hair with evident delight.

“Toru-kun, your hair is so smooth and gorgeous!” she chirped.

“I-Is it?” he mumbled, a bit self-conscious.

“Totally! It’s like a girl’s!”

Aino’s fingers brushed through his hair as she worked the dryer, her touch gentle but ticklish. It felt nice, though a little embarrassing.

“You’re a guy, but you take such good care of it, huh?” she teased.

“Well, Toka-san’s always on my case about it,” he admitted.

Toka Tokieda, a relative and the secretary of the prestigious Kōnoe family, had been the closest thing Toru had to family until now. She was the only one who’d ever truly looked out for him.

(T/N: In the first volume secretary name was translated to Fuyuka. It's changed to Toka now)

At that, Aino giggled softly. “Well, from now on, I’m the one who’ll be looking after you, Toru-kun.”

“It feels a bit wrong to have you fussing over me, Aino-san,” he said, scratching his cheek.

“Why? We’re engaged, aren’t we? Drying your hair like this could be an everyday thing!”

Aino’s voice was bright, her mood practically sparkling. She seemed over the moon just to be with her fiancé.

(If only this life could go on forever…) Toru thought wistfully.

But their engagement was, after all, arranged for the convenience of the Kōnoe family, a powerful dynasty. What the future held was anyone’s guess.

In fact, the Kōnoe family had even sent a minder to live with them.

As if on cue, Chika Kōnoe, Toru’s childhood friend, poked her head into the bathroom, her eyes narrowing at Aino with a sulky glare.

“How long are you gonna keep flirting with Toru?” she huffed.

“Hmm, maybe forever, until I’m satisfied?” Aino replied with a playful grin.

“You’re planning to flirt with him forever?!” Chika shot back, her voice rising.

The two girls bickered noisily, their voices bouncing off the bathroom walls.

Years ago, during a kidnapping incident, Toru hadn’t been able to save Chika. He’d always thought she resented him for it. But now, here she was, living in the same house, even barging into the bathroom in a school swimsuit, of all things.

Chika, his former fiancée, seemed to still want that role, acting like Aino’s romantic rival.

Their lively, chaotic three-person cohabitation had only just begun.

But this life was, at its core, temporary.

The Kōnoe family’s next move would soon shift the dynamic between Toru and Aino, setting their relationship on a new course.