On the final Sunday of March, which also marked the month's end, as if the world were reluctant to let time slip away, a gentle rain began to fall surreptitiously from midnight. By noon, it had paused and resumed several times, leaving the ground perpetually damp, akin to a tender maiden, tearfully entreating for lingering affection amidst the sheets.
The half-open French windows bore traces of the rain's touch, their sheer white curtains, now clinging wetly, unable to flutter gracefully like a dancer's skirt in the breeze. Amidst this natural symphony of drizzle, Kagura sat alone in the spacious music room, tirelessly playing his own composition time and again.
His slender fingers halted silently as a figure entered without a sound.
The newcomer was a petite woman named Hayasaka Ai, who served as Kagura's personal maid and school companion. Her simple black-and-white maid attire did nothing to conceal her striking beauty; rather, it lent her an air of gentle submission. Her soft, golden hair, lightly curled and tied into a side ponytail, framed her face, and her rare, azure eyes—owing to a trace of Irish heritage—sparkled. Her skin was so fair and delicate that Kagura often wondered if she secretly bathed in milk daily.
—Far too extravagant for a mere maid.
"Why have you stopped, Master Kagura? Could it be that the sight of a lowly maid like me has rendered your fingers immobile? A useless creature like you, even if you inherit your father's title and office, will likely amount to nothing more than a wretch who lusts after his maids each morning," Ai remarked.
Seeing Kagura pause his playing, Ai approached with near-silent steps, her face devoid of any reverence for her master, wearing instead an impassive mask. Her eyes glinted with faint disdain, as though she were the mistress and Kagura the servant.
—Master Kagura's profile while playing is, as always, strikingly handsome…
"Is something the matter? Did I not instruct you not to disturb me while I play?" Kagura asked, closing the piano lid and resting his chin in his hand, his sidelong glance a silent admonition: You had better have a convincing reason.
Kagura and Ai, the same age, had grown up together since they were four, practically inseparable—though Japan lacks the concept of open-crotch pants. Compared to the petite Ai and his similarly blonde, blue-eyed, loli-like twin sister Eriri, Kagura cut a tall, handsome figure, inheriting his mother's dark hair and eyes, the epitome of an Eastern gentleman.
"…" Ai stepped closer, offering a slight, wordless curtsy, her hands delicately resting on the pristine white apron at her waist. Expressionless, she said, "The mistress awaits you in the study. She says it's urgent."
"So sudden? What could it be…?" Kagura sighed, reluctantly leaving his cherished antique grand piano, shipped from his family's English castle, and stretched as he rose.
Catching Ai's upward glare as he glanced at her, Kagura casually placed a hand on the graceful curve of her chest.
Ai neither recoiled nor shielded herself, nor did she let out a shrill cry. Instead, her gaze grew even more contemptuous, as if beholding a walking heap of refuse.
As Kagura drew closer, Ai closed her eyes, enduring the unfamiliar sensation at her chest and biting out, "Please hurry along, lest I be scolded by the mistress again."
"Is that so? If you're the one to be reprimanded, what's it to me?" Kagura murmured, leaning in behind her, nibbling lightly at her exposed right ear while his hands roamed freely over her chest.
—This maid takes herself far too seriously. She needs a proper lesson!
"Hmph… A useless master who only sniffs at my undergarments like a panting dog beneath my skirt dares to think himself important? How… laughable…" Ai retorted, her legs instinctively drawing together to fend off Kagura's intrusion below her skirt. Without a word, Kagura tapped her knee in warning, and she reluctantly parted her legs slightly.
"Tch…" Ai let out a defiant huff, turning her head aside. Bending slightly, she grasped her skirt's hem, lifting it slowly as she said, "Please keep your play within bounds, lest the mistress grow suspicious of your scent clinging to me."
Kagura merely chuckled. He lifted Ai onto the piano, resuming his seat on the bench to leisurely admire the exquisite view beneath her skirt. The soft curve of her thighs framed the pure white panties, adorned with rose patterns, sheer lace at the sides and top, and a crimson ribbon bow at the center—an utterly captivating sight.
—White suits you perfectly, though black wouldn't be amiss either. Truly, there's such delight in savoring a lady's undergarments~
"I suggest you finish quickly…" Ai said, her blue-painted nails gripping her skirt as her face flushed.
"Lick," Kagura commanded, extending his right index and middle fingers to her lips. Scowling, Ai parted her lips, closing her eyes as her tongue reluctantly caressed his slender fingers, her saliva coating them thoroughly.
Meanwhile, Kagura's left hand nudged aside the delicate fabric between her thighs. Withdrawing his now-drenched right fingers, he pressed them against the tender, hidden crease beneath her, most shy to the world.
"Such bold words, yet a mere lick of my fingers leaves you this wet? Useless maid," Kagura teased, rubbing lightly. The once-neat crease twisted lewdly under his touch.
Raising his hand, he leaned down and spat a generous amount of saliva onto it with a forceful "Pah—."
"And you, swollen with desire the moment I approached? A master whose mind is filled with nothing but lascivious refuse…" Ai shot back, her words faltering as Kagura's fingers slid upward into her smooth, silken flesh, teasingly hooking inside. Her breathing quickened, eyes fluttering shut, her body trembling faintly.
His deft fingers moved within her, alternating speeds, while his thumb gently toyed with her sensitive bud, relishing her shudders and the rapid flush spreading across her face.
But just as Ai's body tensed, on the verge of ecstasy, Kagura withdrew his fingers, instead yanking her ponytail and shoving them into her mouth for her to clean.
Furious at being denied her peak, Ai glared at him, licking his fingers resentfully and nipping lightly in retaliation—only to earn a sharp, but not harsh, slap from Kagura.
Ai turned her face away, clutching her cheek.
—Hmph, slap my face? Just wait. I'll wear stockings and step on yours when I get the chance.
Kagura tugged off her now-displaced panties, balled them up, and stuffed them into Ai's mouth. Waving dismissively, he said, "I'm off. Tidy the piano."
With a flick of his wrist, Kagura straightened his posture and strode toward the study.