Nagi sat alone in the snow, a small dark shape against the pale stretch of Iceberg Isle. The wind nipped at her cheeks, but she didn’t flinch. She simply dragged a finger through the powder, sketching quiet little lines—shapes only she understood. Her expression barely shifted, though a faint pout tugged at her lips.

She had come here to spend the day with Idate. Her beloved oji-sama. But instead of offering her his full, undivided attention—like any proper guardian would—he had wandered off with her. That polar bear.

Nagi’s finger paused mid-line. A tiny twitch came from the tip of her tail, almost imperceptible.

She did not understand it at all. Why Idate enjoyed Rocma’s company… why he kept choosing that lumbering, ridiculous creature over her. To Nagi, Rocma was nothing more than a bothersome obstruction—a silent thief stealing what rightfully belonged to her.

“Oji-sama was supposed to devote all his energy to me today…” she murmured, voice soft and elegant, though threaded with ice. “Yet that polar bear insists on lingering. How very improper.”

Her gaze remained calm, polished, eerily still. Only her grip on her skirt tightened—just slightly.