Matchmaking was hardly a foreign concept to Haruno.
Ever since she turned eighteen, she had received marriage proposals from several aristocratic young men almost every year.
After all, the Yukino Family was powerful and influential. Securing a connection with them would greatly simplify many endeavors for those greedy people's.
Moreover, the three Yukino women—mother and daughters—were renowned for their beauty. Marrying one of them and moving into their household would be akin to living with all three.
This golden opportunity to become the sole male presence in the Yukino household and monopolize the three women was naturally something everyone coveted.
Therefore, Haruno was certain that none of her suitors had honorable intentions.
How could she possibly be happy about being matched with someone who harbored improper thoughts about her family?
But what choice did she have?
Just as others sought to align themselves with the Yukino Family, her own family needed support from various factions. So, despite her deep reluctance, Haruno had to put on a smile, go through the motions, and then find a way to reject them.
That's right, she had to refuse. Keeping this around would be like stockpiling emergency rations.
Even if she had no interest in those young masters, the crucial point was: if she got married, who would handle future matchmaking duties?
Most likely, it would fall to her younger sister, Yuki, and Haruno couldn't allow that.
She didn't want her adorable sister to become a political pawn. Until Yuki found true love and married, Haruno would never agree to any arranged marriage.
Unless... her mother decided to send herself instead of Yuki.
But was that even possible?
Clearly not.
In truth, people had asked her mother about remarriage before countless times, but she was as slippery as an eel, easily deflecting the topic without giving anyone a chance.
Even Haruno couldn't imagine her mother, this unapproachable paragon of abstinence, ever showing romantic interest in anyone.
At least, that's what Haruno had always believed.
But when she received her mother's matchmaking assignment, she rushed home from work and went straight to her mother's room.
Suddenly, the stern and domineering image of her mother that Haruno had always held in her heart shattered completely...
In the room, her mother and Roland were leaning against the head of the bed together, their bodies pressed tightly against each other, their hands intertwined with their fingers tightly clasped together, but these were nothing.
After all, her mother has doted on Roland since he was a child, so it is understandable that she would behave like this.
What really shocked Haruno was that while Roland and her mother were holding hands, their faces involuntarily turned to the other side in a shy manner.
No matter how you look at it, they look like a couple in love, right?
Haruno: "…"
Haruno felt that she might be feeling unwell, otherwise why would she see her ascetic mother seeming shy?
The scene in front of her shocked Haruno greatly. Who could tell her what was going on? Could it be that she came back at the wrong time?
But it was clearly her mother who asked her to come back quickly for the blind date. Could it be that the blind date was fake, and her mother's real purpose was to make her see this incredible dog food scene?
I didn't expect you to be such a mother!
For a moment, everyone in the room stared at each other in amazement. Not only Haruno, but even Roland and Yukio were stunned by this sudden "catch-up". The scene was somewhat awkward.
Fortunately, Yukio was an experienced person after all. She quickly adjusted her mentality and quickly pulled her hand out of Roland's hand.
However, what scared Yukio was that she had to pull her hand out several times before she could. At first, Roland was unwilling to let go at all, as if he didn't care about being misunderstood by Haruno, and he insisted on holding her in front of Haruno.
To be honest, Yukio was really scared by the bold behavior. She didn't expect that Roland was so persistent in his feelings for her that he was even willing to take risky actions. Wasn't he worried about being opposed by Haruno?
How does he want her to respond to this heavy feeling?
Can she respond?
But in fact, Yukio didn't know that the reason why Roland was unwilling to let go was simply because there were only a few seconds left before the system task was completed. If Yukio pulled her hand away now, wouldn't all his efforts be wasted?
So even if Haruno misunderstood him, he still had to show the audacity to stay for a while longer.
And this scene was naturally watched silently by Haruno...
After pulling her hand away, Yukio glared at Roland unhappily, and then looked at her daughter with complicated eyes. She felt really ashamed that her daughter saw her like this.
Yukio sighed, unsure of what to say to her daughter. She decided to cut to the chase: "Now that you're back, I'll leave the rest to you young people. Don't forget the task I entrusted to you."
"I understand," Haruno nodded silently.
Though she desperately wanted to know what had transpired between her mother and Roland, she wouldn't be foolish enough to ask if her mother wasn't offering an explanation.
Haruno just look at Roland with her eyes, then turned around and went back to her room.
Of course, she remembered the task her mother had assigned: to successfully complete this matchmaking session and secure Roland as her own.
This was the first time her mother had issued such a firm command, and Haruno dared not defy her will. It seemed she was destined to be claimed by someone.
The thought of becoming that little brat's woman, of being defiled by a stinky younger brother several years her junior, filled her with... with...
Well, surprisingly, she didn't feel the revulsion she'd expected. This realization caught Haruno completely off guard.
In the past, the mere mention of "arranged marriage" would fill Haruno's heart with irritation.
When her mother called this time to announce another matchmaking appointment, Haruno felt the familiar reluctance. After all, she wasn't some commodity. Why should she dress up and endure these encounters just because some man wanted to meet her?
Logically, Haruno should have been vehemently opposed to this arranged marriage. No matter how impressive the suitor across the table might be, it shouldn't have softened her resistance.
Yet, even Haruno couldn't explain it. The moment her mother mentioned Roland's name, her intense reluctance vanished instantly, replaced by a peculiar mix of emotions.
This wasn't hatred or affection; their relationship had long transcended such simple labels.
To Haruno, Roland was still that precocious little brat, a kid who acted far beyond his years. Even as a child, he'd patted her head as if comforting a younger sister, despite her being three or four years older.
That head pat still rankled Haruno. How could a proud "big sister" type like her allow a younger boy to pat her head?
If word got out, she'd become the laughingstock of everyone around her!
So from then on, every time Haruno saw Roland, she would act like an older sister and bully him~ and tease him~, and she was just short of writing the words "Call me big sister" on her face.
In fact, the name Big sis Haruno was what she asked Roland to call her, and the word "big sister" must be added when calling her!
Haruno admitted that she had a competitive streak, but every time she saw the innocent expression on Roland's face when she teased him, she felt particularly happy.
She didn't know when it started, but in this boring world, teasing that stinky little brother like existence seemed to have become one of her main pleasures.
By the way, her second hobby is teasing her sister.
Haruno strongly suspected that the reason why she had become what she is now was definitely because of that touch by Roland back then!
Humph, it's all that brat's fault!
All in all, in Haruno's eyes, Roland is just a younger brother.
Now she suddenly heard that the younger brother whom she had bullied growing up wanted to marry her, how could she feel other than weird?
Especially since this naughty brother was just helding hands with her mother in front of her. The scene was so ambiguous no matter how she looked at it. If this matter is not explained clearly to her, he will never be able to sleep in her bed after they get married!
Haruno didn't seem to realize that she had unknowingly started to think about what would happen after they got married...