I Confessed to the Three Beautiful Sisters at School and Got Rejected, but After I Became their Stepsister, They Started Doting On Me - Chapter 60

“So… would someone like to explain what’s going on here?”

The one who posed the question, in a calm but sharp tone, was Chiya Tsukimori.

The setting was Chiya’s own room—neatly arranged, quiet, and entirely devoid of unnecessary flair.

Facing her were Hiyori and Karin, seated side-by-side like they were on trial.

“It’s not complicated! I came home and caught Hiyori-nee about to do something outrageous—!”

Karin waved her arms wildly as she spoke, clearly flustered.

“I was simply about to express my feelings honestly, that’s all.”

Hiyori, resting her index finger on her cheek and tilting her head, remained the only one in the room completely unfazed.

What led to this situation was fairly simple.

◇◇◇

“I’m home! …Wait, what are you two doing?!”

Karin had burst into the house, breathing heavily, her shoulders rising and falling.

After what Akari said to her in the gym, she couldn’t focus on practice and left early, dashing home at full speed.

When she peeked into the living room, she felt it instantly.

A strange tension in the air—something subtle, but undeniable.

Maybe it was the sensitivity of a younger sibling, but she could tell that something about her older sister Hiyori’s presence had changed.

“Ah, welcome home, Karin-san. I was just asking Hiyori-san the same question I asked you earlier.”

Her hunch was right.

Akari had turned to Hiyori and asked what she thought of her—just like she had with Karin.

“Wait, you already asked her?!”

“I don’t think this is something Karin-san needs to hear.”

It was rare for Akari to cut off a conversation so firmly.

Naturally, that only made Karin even more flustered.

“A-Akari…? Wait, are you still mad at me?”

“I’m not mad.”

But as Akari turned her head away with a pout, Karin could still clearly see her puffed-out cheeks from where she stood.

She was very obviously… still upset.

“A-Akari…? Look, if it’s the ball, you can come to my room. I’ll give you one!”

“I don’t need it.”

“O-Okay, then I’ll swap it with the school one, just give me a sec!”

“I’m not good at ball games.”

“Wha—?!”

None of this made sense. She was saying the complete opposite of what she’d said earlier.

But Karin didn’t dare point that out—not when it might make things worse.

Was this… the weakness of being in love?

Only now did Karin realize just how terrifying the idea of Akari hating her really was.

“Fufu. I haven’t told Akari how I feel just yet, you know?”

Hiyori chimed in cheerfully.

But Karin could tell—something about her eyes was different than usual.

It was subtle. So subtle, that only a sister who’d lived with her since birth could possibly notice.

It wasn’t much—but Karin felt it. A glint of… womanly intensity.

“W-Wait just a second! Shouldn’t we have a sisters’ meeting before anything’s said?!”

Her instincts screamed: this must not be allowed to continue.

For Karin—who had already upset Akari—this situation was only going to get worse.

So she took desperate action and played the only card she had.

“A sisters’ meeting…?”

Hiyori blinked and tilted her head again.

“Yes! We should talk this over with Chiya-nee too! I mean, Hiyori-nee, this isn’t something you should be deciding all on your own!”

Karin knew there was no way she could stop Hiyori by herself.

So she invoked the authority of the eldest sister—Chiya—to stall the situation.

“If it’s a sisters’ meeting, then I’m allowed to join too, right?”

And then, unexpectedly, Akari’s low, quiet voice slipped in.

For Karin, it was a completely unanticipated ambush.

“W-Well, this is more of a real sisters’ thing… like, actual blood-related siblings…”

Technically, Akari was a stepsister, so there wasn’t a valid reason to exclude her.

But this particular conversation was one Akari absolutely shouldn’t hear.

Which was why Karin tried, awkwardly, to shut her out.

“…I see. So I am just an outsider to you after all.”

It was a voice deeper and colder than Karin had ever heard from Akari.

It sent chills down her spine.

“That’s not what I meant!!”

And in that moment, Karin swore she could feel herself weeping blood.

◇◇◇

And so, with Chiya now home, the current confrontation began.

“Ugh… she totally hates me now. Akari definitely hates me…”

Remembering everything that happened, Karin held her head in her hands, wallowing in despair.

She had only been trying to stop Hiyori—but it completely backfired.

A tactical disaster.

Akari’s reaction was unlike anything Karin had ever seen—and it tore her heart in two.

“But wasn’t she kind of cute when she got all pouty like that?”
Hiyori spoke without hesitation, openly admiring what she found adorable.

That kind of honesty—without hesitation or fear—was something neither Chiya nor Karin had ever been able to manage.

“You only say that because you’re not the one being treated like the bad guy! Try putting yourself in my shoes for once, Hiyori-nee!”

Karin could feel what Hiyori was really thinking. She wanted to shout, you know how much it hurts to feel like Akari hates you!

“I’m just saying, I wouldn’t have left her waiting for an answer like you did. That’s probably why she didn’t get mad at me.”

“P-Please stop. I’m already dead inside.”

Karin slumped down, unable to defend herself. Hiyori had hit the mark too cleanly. There was nothing left to say.

“So… just to confirm—you were both asked the same question by her, weren’t you?”

Chiya’s voice cut through their bickering, bringing the room back to order.

“Yes. That’s right,” Hiyori answered calmly. “Which is why I intended to give her a proper answer.”

“…And what exactly were you planning to say to her?”

Chiya turned her attention squarely to Hiyori.

“I was going to say, ‘I love you.’ Simple as that.”

Hiyori said it plainly, with calm sincerity and no hint of embarrassment.

Her words left both Karin and Chiya breathless for a moment.

“Hiyori… are you serious?”

“Of course. It’s not something that needs to be hidden.”

“But we’re… sisters.”

Chiya’s tone sharpened slightly, like she was trying to correct a mistake.

Yet Hiyori didn’t so much as flinch. Her gentle smile remained unchanged.

“We’re stepsisters. And if anything, isn’t the bigger issue that we’re both girls?”

“W-Well… that’s…”

“The fact that you didn’t say ‘no’ right away tells me everything I need to know about how you feel about Akari too, Chiya-chan.”

Hiyori let out a soft, knowing laugh.

“Th-That’s…”

Chiya tried to stay composed, but that one remark shook her. It struck right at a vulnerability she hadn’t fully admitted to herself.

Hiyori’s honesty cut straight through—so direct and clear that it left no room for cloudy thoughts or hesitation.

“Karin-chan, Akari got upset because you didn’t tell her the truth. That’s all there is to it.”

Still holding her head in her hands, Karin let out a groan of frustration as her older sister gently gave her the blunt truth.

“B-But listen… I mean, she confessed to me before, and I turned her down. And now suddenly I’m in love with her? Isn’t that kind of messed up?”

Karin hadn’t even realized that she was no longer denying her own feelings.

What really weighed on her was something else: guilt.

She had once rejected Akari’s feelings.

So now, to suddenly flip her stance and act like nothing had happened—wouldn’t that be unfair? Dishonest?

That doubt clung to her.

“If that’s how you feel, that’s your choice. But personally, I think pretending not to care is the real dishonesty.”

Hiyori’s view remained steady and unwavering.

“And I’m not trying to push you either. If you and Chiya-chan believe keeping some distance is what’s best, I’m not here to argue. That’s one way of choosing too. I just know it’s not what I want.”

Karin and Chiya had never seen Hiyori so open before—so certain, so unfiltered.

It left them both without words.

“I, Hiyori Tsukimori, love Akari Hanano. That’s all there is to it.”

That was her answer—simple, unshakable, and real.

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