All the Heroines are my Ex-girlfriends

Seeing the two beautifully presented bowls of shoyu ramen that Yukima Azuma brought out—

Along with several side dishes full of traditional Japanese flair—

Yukino blinked, slightly surprised.

"Why did you make so much? There's no way we can finish all of this."

Yukima Azuma smiled, offering no explanation.

He simply said, "More importantly, try it and see if it's good."

Yukino gave a small nod.

The shoyu ramen was as delicious as always.

(๑ᵔ⤙ᵔ๑)

Back when Yukino used to work late into the night and didn't have time for dinner, once she returned to the Yukima household…

Yukima Azuma would often cook this dish for her.

She had eaten it more times than she could count, yet never once did she feel tired of it.

It felt like she could eat it for the rest of her life.

As for the side dishes…

Yukino tried a bite.

And didn't feel particularly impressed.

Usually, Yukima Azuma's cooking always surprised her.

But these small dishes were unexpectedly… ordinary.

Even so, after a few bites, she found herself unconsciously reaching for more.

(っ˘ڡ˘ς)

Watching Yukino silently devour her ramen, Yukima Azuma seemed to be lost in thought and gave a small nod.

He had made three bowls of ramen.

Yukima Azuma had actually invited Mrs. Yukinoshita to join them.

But she shook her head and declined.

She had her meal in the back kitchen.

Those side dishes—were made by Mrs. Yukinoshita.

Turns out, Mrs. Yukinoshita could cook.

And judging from her technique, she was fairly skilled.

Though not quite at a professional chef's level…

She was at least as capable as a seasoned housewife.

Maybe even an exceptional one.

This genuinely surprised Yukima Azuma.

After all, she was a great ojou-sama from the Yukinoshita family…

Knowing how to cook just felt a little off.

Though Japan didn't have outdated sayings like "a woman's place is in the kitchen"...

Cooking clearly wasn't a skill expected of someone raised like an ojou-sama.

On that note, Yukima Azuma casually asked her about it.

Mrs. Yukinoshita answered plainly.

She had learned to cook around the time she first became the head of the household.

Back then, the Yukinoshita family was just an ordinary family—not some prestigious noble line.

A woman stepping up as family head had stirred no small amount of controversy.

At the time, Mrs. Yukinoshita didn't even have anyone she could trust by her side.

Reviving a whole family inevitably meant making enemies.

To the point that even sitting down for a meal couldn't be done in peace.

In the end, she had no choice but to cook for herself—just to survive through that period.

Out of curiosity, Yukima Azuma asked another question:

Had she ever cooked for Yukino?

Naturally, the answer was… never.

As expected.

Yukino had never once eaten her mother's cooking.

Yet, now tasting it for the first time—she didn't seem to think it was bad at all.

Seeing how she kept picking at the food non-stop—

Yukima Azuma couldn't help but feel, superstition or not, as if there was some kind of "mother-daughter buff" sprinkled in there.

...

After dinner—

Yukima Azuma and Yukino left the ryokan again to take a walk in the snow-lit streets.

Then, they returned to their separate rooms.

Just as Yukino had said, the travel today had been tiring…

It was time to rest.

However—despite saying that—

Once she returned to her room—

Yukino stepped in front of the mirror.

Staring at the braid resting over her shoulder.

She unconsciously picked up the backless sweater again.

This time, after a moment's hesitation—

Yukino began to change clothes.

She had decided: might as well be the one to make the first move.

ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ

Now that she clearly understood her own desire—

Yukino resolved to do what she wanted first.

Everything else that needed thinking—could wait.

...

Just as she finished changing "battle suit"—

Yukino suddenly heard a knock at the door.

With the knocking came the sound of her own heart pounding wildly.

ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩ

She quickly stepped toward the door.

After taking two deep breaths...

Yukino turned the doorknob, bracing herself for Yukima Azuma's reaction.

But instead—

"M-Mother… why are you..."

Seeing Mrs. Yukinoshita standing outside the door,

Yukino's eyes widened as she instinctively stepped back two paces.

Her hand tugged lightly at the hem of her sweater.

In truth, Mrs. Yukinoshita herself was feeling extremely conflicted in that moment.

After thinking through countless ways to mend their mother-daughter relationship—

She had finally come to knock on the door.

What she didn't expect, however, was that the moment the door opened—

She'd see her daughter, who had always been the epitome of poise and discipline, who had only ever "rebelled" once in her entire life, who always took everything seriously—dressed like this.

Granted, from the front, the sweater did appear relatively proper.

But Mrs. Yukinoshita wasn't some out-of-touch older woman who "didn't know how to use the internet."

She had seen this kind of sweater design before.

Yukino had always been a textbook "good girl" since childhood.

For a moment, Mrs. Yukinoshita was taken aback.

(っ º - º ς)

As the initial shock wore off, Yukino began silently backing away.

There was no way she could let this version of herself be exposed today.

She didn't know why her mother suddenly showed up here—

But she didn't want to lose ground.

After all, in their previous confrontation, it had been Yukima Azuma who stepped in to help her secure her freedom.

She didn't want Azuma to worry about her anymore.

"Why did you come to see me, Mother?"

Yukino retreated to the table and asked tensely.

Being asked again—

Mrs. Yukinoshita seemed to snap out of it.

Seeing her daughter standing there, tensed up and guarded—

A sudden wave of sadness washed over her.

(´•︵•`)

Now that she thought about it, both of her daughters—

Always seemed to carry this kind of tension when facing her.

"It's nothing, I just… wanted to talk with you a little."

Mrs. Yukinoshita stepped into the room.

She quietly closed the door behind her.

In the enclosed space—

Yukino felt even more on edge.

But as she took a closer look at her mother…

She couldn't help but feel a bit confused.

Today, Mrs. Yukinoshita seemed… lacking something.

Mnnnnnn.... Ah—she was missing that overwhelming aura she usually carried.

"… where should we even begin?"

Yukino furrowed her brows slightly.

Mrs. Yukinoshita took a seat at the table.

Yukino followed and sat down as well.

"Have you been… doing well lately? Though I suppose I'm not really in a position to ask that."

Mrs. Yukinoshita seemed to be muttering to herself: "Forget it, anyway—I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

The moment she heard the word "sorry"—

Yukino's eyes widened instantly.

She never imagined…

That one day, she would hear such words come from her mother's mouth.

In her mind—

Her mother had always been someone who could never be wrong.

Seeing her daughter's stunned expression—

Mrs. Yukinoshita let out a long sigh.

"Sigh… how do I put this… it's fine if you don't forgive me."

"After all, you grew up in the Yukinoshita household."

"If you ever feel like coming back to visit, just come."

"The affairs of the family… will no longer have anything to do with you."

That last sentence sounded like a severing of ties—

But to Yukino, it didn't feel that way at all.

That she was no longer involved in the Yukinoshita family—

In truth, it meant that Mrs. Yukinoshita was completely letting her go.

Even though Yukino had left home—

This change in her mother's attitude…

Still felt like a dream.

"Why… so suddenly…" Yukino fumbled, unsure how to even voice the questions stirring in her heart.

Mrs. Yukinoshita only shook her head slightly.

"It's not really that sudden. Anyway… you've done very well."

She was someone who valued results above all else.

When Yukino left home, Mrs. Yukinoshita opposed it—

Because at the time, she believed that decision wouldn't lead to any worthwhile outcome.

But now that the results had changed—

So had her perspective.

In truth, even if Yukima Azuma hadn't invited her here—

Mrs. Yukinoshita had long wanted to find a chance to speak with Yukino alone.