Throttling

Kuzunoha was already waiting when I stepped onto the deck of the Landship. Her crimson eyes locked onto mine immediately, their sharpness cutting through the faint hum of activity around us. A faint smirk tugging at her lips.

"You've been hiding something precious from me," she said, the words leaving her mouth with casual ease. "Oh, how it wounds me when I realized that you no longer ask for my aid, even though you have been deeming me as your reliable secretary all the time~!"

Ah yes, a reliable secretary who started slacking after my daughter took her position.

There was no point in denying it. Kuzunoha knew me too well to fall for any deflection, and besides, I wasn't planning to keep this a secret any longer. I returned her gaze with a casual expression, folding my arms loosely.

"It wasn't intentional," I replied. "I simply hadn't found the right moment to reveal it. But now seemed like the perfect opportunity."