Furina, Please Let Me Steal Your Heart!

The House of the Hearth was situated within the Vasari Passage.

Its grandeur was unmistakable, with meticulous ornamentation, clean walls, and gleaming windows. Though not centrally located, it invariably drew admiration from passersby.

This was also the "home" of Lynette, Lyney, and the other children.

"'Father' says he'll be back soon," announced Lyney.

Lynette's cat-like ears twitched slightly at this news.

"How soon is 'soon'?"

"Not entirely sure, but probably within a week. He might even return tomorrow."

"Should we plan a reunion when he gets back?"

A smile played across Lyney's face. Their "father" wasn't always present, so organizing a gathering where everyone could be together seemed like an excellent idea.

Though "Father" never showed joy over such events, he also never expressed dissatisfaction.

So, organizing gatherings was still possible.

"Freminet, what do you think?"

The boy, who had been fiddling with some machinery, looked up and murmured, "I think it's a great idea..."

"See? Having our family come together for a shared meal—just thinking about it makes it sound wonderful, Lynette..."

"I want to enter immediate hibernation mode."

"Don't be lazy—we'll go shopping for ingredients together, okay?"

Lynette puffed out her cheeks but still unwillingly stood up.

"Family..." Freminet suddenly mumbled, his gaze dropping. "What about Luna?"

As if precisely stepping on an invisible landmine, the atmosphere instantly grew heavy.

He glanced at the Steam Bird newspaper lying on the table, which prominently featured Luna's recent interview and a photo of her with Navia.

"She's part of our family too, isn't she?"

"...Really?" Lynette's voice sank to a low, her ears flattening against her head, signaling her mood was plummeting.

"Isn't she?"

"No."

"But... Lynette, you always called Luna 'Lulu'... Why deny that she's still one of us?" Freminet murmured.

Lyney sensed the situation was taking a turn for the worse. "Freminet, this is all in the past. Lynette, too."

"Weren't you there at the time? You should know she's a complete fraud..."

"But 'Father' didn't execute her."

"She betrayed us!"

"That's enough!" Lyney said, his voice firm. "Both of you, stop this at once!"

To Freminet, Lyney was like a brother.

As for Lynette, it went without saying—she was his sister. With her older brother having spoken, she could only exhale and push aside the emotions clouding her face.

"She won't be back," Lynette said.

Lyney smiled. "All right, all right. Let's just focus on preparing to welcome 'Father' first. We can ask him about Luna later."

Freminet nodded and muttered, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine, I was wrong too... But indeed, she's not with us anymore."

With that, Lynette picked up the newspaper.

Spina di Rosula and New Upcoming Actress: A Secret elopement?!

Lulu. Lynette had been the first to use that nickname for her.

However, everything had long since changed. The person calling Luna "Lulu" had shifted to someone else, which wasn't particularly unusual.

"..."

Lyney watched Lynette's tail sway slowly from side to side.

He knew every time she saw this newspaper, her irritation skyrocketed.

So, she's still thinking about her after all these years?

-

"Lulu, your father's name is Arle, isn't it?"

This was the first thing Luna heard upon exiting the restroom, fully dressed.

She averted her eyes. "Mm-hmm. How did you know that?"

"Oh, sorry, I saw the card inside the music box..." Navia said, somewhat uneasy.

Was that not quite appropriate to mention at this time?

Chiori glanced at Luna. Despite knowing each other for a long time, she only had a vague idea about Luna's past.

It could be summed up in one phrase—ran away from home.

It sounded simple enough, but the reality was probably an entirely different story.

"It's alright. Nana has shared quite a bit about her family with me. I suppose I should share something about myself too."

"But before that..."

Luna twirled around nimbly, showing off her outfit.

"How do I look?" she asked with a smile.

"Very pretty!"

Luna brushed aside her hair. "Thanks for the compliment, but it's only natural, don't you think?"

"After all, I made these clothes myself."

"Yes, yes," Luna continued, sitting on the bed and casually crossing her legs, "I was going to say it's because I'm naturally beautiful, but I'll let you have the credit."

"Wait, with your skirt up like that—," Navia blushed.

"You want to see? It's just safety shorts."

"Aiya, even if it's true, be a bit more careful!" Navia hastily smoothed Luna's skirt.

We're all girls here, what's there to worry about?

Luna, unconcerned, pulled a pillow from the bed and said lazily, "Want to sleep together? It might be a bit cramped for three, but I don't really mind that sort of thing."

"Not sleeping this early in the morning," Chiori immediately refused.

"I'd rather hear about your story, Lulu." Navia rested her head at the side of the bed, her eyes shining with curiosity.

They met each other's gaze for a moment. Out of the corner of her eye, Navia saw Chiori sitting at the head of the bed.

"Don't wrinkle your new clothes."

"Stop nagging. Since you've given it to me, I should be able to use it however I want."

Chiori let out a long sigh, refraining from further comment. Perhaps I'll have to make her another nightgown later.

Luna began, "From the moment I was born, my parents had disappeared."

"Huh? Then your father..."

"That music box was for my 'father,' and I wrote the card as well. Of course, this 'father' wasn't my birth father, just the person who adopted me."

Luna twirled a strand of her hair.

"As a baby, I was placed in a basket with a card labeled 'Luna' and delivered to an orphanage's doorstep. I was adopted and raised there."

"Later, due to some circumstances, my 'father' adopted me again."

"So now it's..." Navia ventured cautiously.

A smile played on Luna's lips.

"I've run away from home."

"Don't you want to go back?" Chiori asked softly.

"Not really. Isn't it just like how you left your own home, Chiori?"

"I did leave," Chiori responded casually, "but it wasn't a runaway case. I simply see no reason or necessity to return."

In Inazuma, I couldn't pursue what I truly desired, that's all.

Navia fell silent for a moment. She could tell that Luna was still harboring secrets, but she chose not to press further. There were many unspoken words, especially those concerning family.

Still, Navia had something to say.

"Lulu."

"Hm?"

"Next time, why don't you take me to meet your family?"

Chiori choked on her words: "Huh?"

"Why?" Luna asked, genuinely puzzled. "I don't quite understand."

Miss Navia was always unpredictable; Luna had come to appreciate this about her.

"I believe having a home to return to is a wonderful thing. Maybe you've had some disagreements with your family, Lulu, but you still love them deeply, don't you?"

"Miss Watson, do you have any evidence for this?"

"No! My intuition tells me so!" Navia declared, puffing out her chest proudly.

Luna playfully poked her in the chest.

"D-don't poke my chest!" Navia jumped, startled.

"But you touched mine before, remember?"

"When was that?"

"During the escape you helped me with."

"...Sorry, I hadn't really noticed."

Chiori smiled. "Indeed, it's easy to overlook such things."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? I know very well what I saw—not that I'm overlooking anything!" Her gaze returned to Navia's face.

A hint of bashful pink, yet more prominent were the qualities of steadfastness and earnestness. The more Luna got to know Miss Navia, the more she felt drawn to her, unable to look away.

As if they were treasures.

"If someone is at our side, shouldn't it be a bit easier to face our families?" Luna brought the conversation back to the topic.

"I don't think anyone would accept the 'home' I come from. Thank you for saying so though, Nana."

With that, Luna picked up the script using her toes.

"All right, since you're here, take a look at my script for me."

Was she avoiding giving a straightforward yes or no? Navia belatedly realized this.

"Luna..."

Before Navia could finish, Chiori interrupted. "Come here too, Navia."

"Ah...right..."

"And put your feet up here."

"Want a kiss?"

Chiori said irritably, "I could dip it in hot water instead."

"Then eat it?"

"..."

Under Chiori's silent gaze, Luna slowly diverted her eyes.

Chiori sighed softly and took the script.

She didn't need to ask Luna why she was writing a script; she knew Luna would never miss an opportunity like this.

To strive for perfection and defeat everyone—this was often Luna's modus operandi.

"...What is this you've written?"

"Hmm? Let me see." Navia curiously straightened up and leaned over.

The Reincarnation of a Villainous Heiress Will Never Pay Attention to the White Moonlight Protagonist

What a long title!

"Isn't this the kind of title you'd expect from a Inazuma light novel?" Navia exclaimed, astonished.

This was a script?

"Doesn't it instantly draw you in?"

"You wrote a musical script, didn't you?" Chiori asked.

"Well, why don't you read it and find out? Of course it is."

Navia was rendered speechless.

What kind of musical would perform such a story... Ah!

"I understand now!"

"Please enlighten me, Miss Watson."

What exactly is a 'Miss Watson'? Chiori longed to ask.

Navia raised her hand and deduced, "Lulu wants to go down a daring path!"

Luna snapped her fingers and smiled. "Congratulations!"

"Congratulations, you guessed right?" Chiori asked nonchalantly.

Luna shook her head. "Actually, I was wrong."

Chiori casually added, "She just finds it amusing."

"Oh, so she did guess correctly."

Luna stepped down from the bed, extending her hand. "Now, we can't say the music in Fontaine's melodrama is boring. We can only say it's a bit outdated."

"It needs fresh blood!"

"Why aren't you that fresh blood?" Luna challenged.

At the end of the day, a musical was just another form of entertainment. All that mattered was keeping the audience engaged.

"The blood you'd inject would be more like a mudslide," Chiori teased, yet she couldn't help smiling. "But I suppose a mudslide is preferable to stagnant, unchanging clear waters. Do as you please. And hand over the performance costumes; there's no room for refusal this time."

Luna sighed and lay back down. "This is absurd. How is this 'do as you please'?"

"Do you have any other choice?"

"No, I suppose not."

Chiori's response was indifferent. "Well then, it works out. Let me borrow your desk for a moment." Without waiting for Luna's acknowledgment, she sat at the table, grabbed some of Luna's notepads, and began sketching furiously. Inspiration had clearly struck her.

"Can't you go back to your room to work on that?"

"No can do. Are you bothered by the noise with three of us here?"

"Not particularly."

"I figured as much." Luna patted the space beside her invitingly. "Care to join me in bed, Nana?"

"Eh? N-no need for me, I'm good," Navia stammered, visibly flustered.

"Well then, I'm off to dreamland."

Luna shut her eyes, soon emitting steady, deep breaths as she drifted off.

Navia couldn't help but gaze at her sleeping face.

"...Not everyone can reconcile with someone they've grown apart from," Chiori suddenly whispered.

Navia thought to herself, Indeed, that's true.

"But it's always better than doing nothing," she said.

Chiori let out a soft chuckle. "That's true."

A smile spread across Navia's face. "I'm right, aren't I? Ah, I shouldn't disturb Lulu's rest. I'll head back now."

She had intended to discuss the Phantom Thief matter, but decided it could wait until later.

"Then I'll head back too."

As Navia rose, Chiori packed away her draft.

"Chiori, you haven't..."

"I can finish the rest later."

Without giving it much thought, Navia nodded. "Let's stop by for some sweets on the way. After all, mental labor requires a sugar boost!"

Luna suddenly raised her hand. "I want some too."

"Don't eat sweets before bed," Chiori admonished. "It'll keep you up."

"Party pooper," Luna pouted.