Chapter 61

As cherry blossoms danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

---

Patrick, what a cruel punishment! I was banned from the kitchen. Now, where am I supposed to cook? I'm really in a bind... but not really.

I've only cooked twice recently. I have no plans to cook in the future, and I have no motivation to do so.

However, I don't want to lose the chance to serve meals to my beloved fiancé. I owe him a lot, so I want to do something to repay him, even though he's the one who banned me from the kitchen.

What else can I do besides cooking? I ponder this while brushing Ryu's teeth with a large brush in the mansion's garden.

"Okay, next is the back teeth."

I lean into Ryu's wide-open mouth to brush his teeth. His large fangs are lined up, making it quite a challenge just to brush them.

"Maybe I could do something like brushing his teeth?"

No, no, that won't do. I know that brushing teeth between grown men can become overly sensual. I want to aim for something more pure.

By the time I finish thinking about this, Ryu's teeth are sparkling clean.

"Done with the teeth. Next is the ears... Wait!"

Just as I was about to say I would clean his ears, Ryu promptly took off. He had been so well-behaved during the tooth brushing.

He ignored my protests and was already far away in the sky.

Ryu seems to dislike having his ears touched. Last time, he reluctantly let me do it, so I let my guard down.

"Huh, why is ear cleaning the only thing he doesn't like... ear cleaning?"

That's it, ear cleaning. I'll clean Patrick's ears. A pillow on the knee and ear cleaning. It sounds like something lovers do, and it's a good idea.

---

"What are you planning to do now?"

"Just go with it."

I immediately led Patrick into my private room, sat on the bed, and patted my knee.

"Here, pillow on the knee."

"A, ah."

Patrick tried to act calm, but his movements were awkward. Ah, he's nervous. It's his first time.

He lay down on the bed as instructed, placing his head on my knee.

Our eyes met for a moment, but he quickly looked away and turned his head to the side. It's rare to see him so shy. But it's convenient for me.

"Okay, I'll start cleaning your ears."

At that moment, Patrick's body, which had been slightly tense, completely stiffened.

"Ear... cleaning?"

"Yeah, ear cleaning. I'm good at it, so leave it to me."

"No, that's fine. I'm happy just with the pillow on the knee..."

Just being given a pillow on the knee makes him happy... I'm starting to feel embarrassed too.

I picked up the ear pick and brought it close to his ear.

"Okay, I'll start."

"No, ear cleaning—"

"Don't move! It's dangerous!"

I held down Patrick's head as he tried to sit up. Moving suddenly during ear cleaning is dangerous.

He stopped moving completely. I could feel his muscles tensing up.

Well, he'll naturally relax over time.

Let's start again. I peered into his ear... but his ear was very clean, and there was no earwax. It's not very satisfying.

"Huh? Patrick's ear is so clean."

"That's good... then ear cleaning isn't necessary. Put that dangerous thing away slowly."

"...Ah! There's a big one deep inside!"

I found a big one! I'll get it out.

"I've heard that you shouldn't force out earwax deep inside. It's dangerous near the eardrum."

I held down Patrick's head with one hand and inserted the ear pick with the other.

"Okay, no talking. It's dangerous."

"..."

Patrick stopped moving as I instructed. He was gripping the sheets tightly, a gesture I couldn't imagine him doing normally.

A slight sweat was forming on his forehead. Is it hot in here?

I tried to carefully remove the big one, but it was difficult. It seemed to be stuck in the crevices of his ear. I tried to scoop it out carefully but couldn't move it.

I took a break and removed the ear pick from his ear.

"Hmm, tougher than I thought."

"Then let's stop. Stop right now. I feel like I'm going to die."

Patrick said this with a hint of panic. Don't worry, if this doesn't work, I'll use my secret weapon.

"Don't worry, leave it to me! I'll use magic!"

"Magic?"

I'll use the highest-level dark magic, Black Hole. I'll activate it on a very small scale to remove only the earwax.

When I explained this, he resisted with all his might, trying to sit up.

Come on! You're not a child. Don't be afraid of ear cleaning!

"You'll die! It's really dangerous! Let go, Yumiera!"

"Okay, Black Hole activation. 3, 2, 1..."

As I started the countdown, Patrick's movements stopped.

The big one in his ear was swallowed by a tiny black sphere and disappeared without a trace. There was no sign of any damage to his ear.

"Done. Good job."

I released his head, and Patrick rolled off my knee and fell off the bed. He kept rolling until he hit the wall.

"Ha... ha... That was the scariest thing I've ever experienced."

"Ear cleaning, that bad?"

"No, it's not the ear cleaning."

"But it didn't hurt, right?"

"Well, it didn't hurt, but..."

Patrick stood up unsteadily, breathing heavily.

Hmm, why didn't it turn into a sweet moment? It seemed to be going well until the pillow on the knee.

As I pondered this, Patrick tried to leave the room.

"Thanks for the ear cleaning. Next time, just the pillow on the knee."

"Wait."

"What now? We're done, right?"

"Can you stay for a little more pillow on the knee?"

"...Well, a little."

Just as he was about to leave, Patrick turned back and said gruffly.

I ran to him and hugged his arm tightly. Now he can't escape. And I said,

"The other ear still needs cleaning."

It ended up feeling a bit like a horror story.