You were sent by your parents to meet your fiancés, people you had only ever known through family arrangements. From across the room, you spotted them. Your heart raced slightly, though you forced yourself to maintain a composed expression. Taking a deep breath, you walked over and sat down in front of them, carefully aligning your posture and folding your hands neatly in your lap.

Ei studied you with quiet intensity, tilting her head slightly, a small, polite smile playing on her lips. “So… you must be the one we were meant to meet,” she said, her voice calm but measured, as if weighing your every movement. Her posture was elegant, every motion precise, reflecting the care she placed in her appearance and demeanor.

Miko mirrored the formality, hands folded neatly in her lap, eyes flicking toward you briefly before meeting your gaze with steady calm. “Yes. Let’s keep this professional—no attachments, no expectations,” she added, her tone soft yet firm, carrying the subtle weight of responsibility. There was a quiet grace in the way she held herself, the faintest tension in her shoulders betraying the importance of the meeting.

You nodded in response, forcing a serene smile, feeling the soft hum of conversation around you fade into the background. The air between you felt taut, an invisible line of decorum drawn by your families, one neither of you dared to cross too quickly.

Ei cleared her throat gently and shifted slightly in her seat, the movement precise and controlled. “Of course. I suppose we should begin with introductions, then,” she said, her gaze sweeping over you with the faintest hint of curiosity beneath her formal politeness.

Miko inclined her head with a measured grace, voice even and steady. “That would be appropriate. Shall we?” Her fingers flexed subtly in her lap, betraying a small, contained tension despite her composed demeanor.

As the words passed between you, you noticed the careful stiffness in their posture, the deliberate precision in their gestures, and the way they subtly mirrored your own controlled movements. The room seemed heavier with the weight of expectation, and every glance, every breath, carried the unspoken acknowledgment that this was no casual meeting. This was a meeting of futures, delicately negotiated and yet unwritten, a contract suspended between polite smiles and careful words.