Whereas Hanagaki Akari's loyalty was torn between her love for her beloved king and her friendship with the king's strongest adversary.
Who will she choose?
Sequel to The Boss Queen.
Read the first book to understand the story better since this is...
Author's Note: Cussing. Profanities.Manga Spoiler. Minor changes in the original manga plot.
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IT WAS a fine cold morning on the 22nd of February.
Akari had just woken up groggily with droopy eyelids and messy bed hair. She lazily propped herself up on the bed and rubbed her half-lidded eyes. Inclining her head to the side, she saw Izana was already up and was changing into his black shirt, making her have a quick view of his well-toned torso and blush a little.
She once again had a sleepover in his apartment. But this time, her boyfriend was the one who asked her to stay at his place for the night. They actually did nothing other than play board games and binge-watch some gore films the tanned male had on his DVD rack while the two of them cuddled until she passed out to sleep in the middle of their third movie.
Izana could feel someone was watching him and turned around to look at his newly awake girlfriend. A gentle smile etched his lips. "Oh, my beloved queen is now awake. How's your sleep?"
"I slept well." Akari suddenly let out a cute sneeze and shivered due to the room's extremely low temperature. She hastily sheathed the duvet around her trembling body to provide her with its warmth. "Did you turn off the heater? It's freezing cold in here!"
"No, I did not. I also don't think it's broken," he said. "I'm going to cook for our breakfast. Do you want me to make you a hot chocolate to warm your stomach?"
The ravenette bobbed her head to him. "Yes, please, Iza. Thank you." Fixing her frog-printed sleepwear, she climbed down from the soft mattress and followed Izana outside of his bedroom. The two had their breakfast in the dining area with pancakes and bacon served on their plates.
"I'm planning to visit Shinichiro today since it's the founding anniversary of my former gang, the Black Dragons," Izana said after the two finished their meals and fed his Beta fish. They were now in the living room with him combing her bed hair on the sofa. "Wanna come with me?"
It was the very first time she heard him mention his older brother's name ever since the latter's passing. "Isn't it in Shibuya? Sure, I'll go with you. I also wanted to visit my sister's tomb."
Izana placed the comb on the coffee table once he was done with her hair and wrapped his arms around the girl's waist, hugging her from behind.
Akari tilted her head to him. "Hm, Izana?"
He placed a gentle kiss on her shoulder and nestled his head in the nook of her neck, his warm breath tickling her exposed fair skin. "Tonight's our decisive match against Toman, Akari," he told her out of the blue.
The girl's body stiffened and her mind went blank for a few seconds. She wasn't aware that the fight would come sooner than she thought. "O-oh, I see..." she mouthed half-heartedly shortly after with a little stutter in her vocals. Izana didn't even bother to speak any of this to her yesterday. Was it because he didn't want her to feel so anxious about it?
