Kyon genuinely regretted the absence of lush clouds of dust in Juno’s room. He would have hidden there for a while. Given the current state of things, he could be immediately found if someone looked under the bed.

When Juno left the room in the morning, Kyon checked out his environment and reached a grim conclusion: he could not leave the room on his own. The windows wouldn’t open, the door had a special lock. He had nothing to do but wait in there. He could hide only under the bed and in the closet. Both options were so-so but he had no other choice.

He wished he had one of those remotes that could reset time 15 hours ahead so that the lousy skunk would snuffle peacefully in her pillows and not even think about waking up all of a sudden!

Six hours passed, Kyon had already re-certified from the ghost of the mansion to the under-bed monster when suddenly Anna, armed with a feather duster, walked into the room flashing her slender legs and other no less appetizing body parts in her sexy maid uniform.

«Stupid sister! It’s no good timing to fall ill... She is always running somewhere... Why should I do everything for her? Oh, how stupid she is… What if lady Juno finds out? I always have to cover for her.» - She muttered softly to herself.

Kyon's heart went into unplanned shock. Of course, Juno’s room had to be cleaned! Only superior maids could do it. The others wouldn’t be allowed in there! If only Anna noticed the slave who was considered dead, he would be dead for real! Maybe not at once but that’s not the point.

Anna fluttered around the room whistling softly, brushing off occasional dust. The girl noticed a tiny spider who had settled in the darkest corner between the ceiling and the closet. She had to swallow before she bravely picked up the web and sent the eight-legged into the bin wincing in disgust. She opened the closet, collected the dirty things for the laundry, looked under the bed... With one more discontented sigh, she swept away the cobwebs and feathers from then. She noticed a black hair among other sweepings - where did it come from? - and continued with her work.

Kyon had hidden on the bed in the pile of soft pillows against the wall while the maid was busy with the linen in the closet. He let out a sigh of relief — that was close. No one should notice him. He had literally merged with the pillows, he was thinking like a pillow, he was himself a pillow.

However, Kyon obviously did not take into account the fact that the pillows were not just “lying” there. They also needed an occasional pillowcase change! Anna took a pile of bed linen and as if by magic, headed to the bed. Kyon shut his eyes tight like in his childhood when he thought that if you don’t see them, they don’t see you either. The maid took the first pillow and... The door opened and Juno and Marina came giggling into the room together with sad and vexed Yegorka.

Kyon froze like a stone idol. Anna had just grabbed the pillow that was covering his head, and now he was staring in horror at the merry trinity, mostly hidden by the maid’s back. It was perfect timing for the girl to turn to the door!

«Oh, Anna! Clean the room another time, please.» - Juno waved her hand carelessly.

«Yes, my lady.» - The maid bowed and put the pillow back into its place without looking. She knocked Kyon on the nose quite tangibly and left closing quietly the door behind her.

Kyon was close to breathe his last breath because of all that tension. Staying in that mansion was like walking through a minefield. This time the mine did not explode. Was he going to stay lucky?

The three friends plopped on the bed. Kyon had the impression that Juno had been missing on some fun with her friends. That’s why she invited them all at once. (Well, only two of them, to be more precise. Not an epic party, of course, but given her terrible character, it wasn’t that bad). Marina could be loosely regarded as the little demon’s “friend” but Yegorka was playing the role of their little fool. There are people like him in any company. But it was quite unexpected to see Yegorka in this deplorable position. He was a respected and promising genius, after all. Only not in Juno’s presence. When she was around, he was willing to be even a clown.

Juno threw a pack of playing cards into the center of the bed. She smiled cheerfully teasing the boy:

«Yegorka, you are so stupid... Didn’t you see that the guard was just following my order to detain you? You made a complete idiot of yourself. I couldn’t believe my eyes when you took off your trousers on his orders!»

«That’s bad enough but why did you start dancing at his request?» - Marina kept up with her friend.

Yegorka turned crimson, his head down. He slammed his hand on the bed in anger and said with annoyance:

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«So that’s who I heard giggling behind the door…»

The girls burst in laughter. Their voices were so sweet like ringing silver bells. The boy hid his embarrassment and began to shuffle the deck. Yegorka’s poor heart missed a beat every time he heard Juno's laughter. He was willing to be a fool for the rest of his life just to see her smile.

With a sinking heart, Kyon felt Juno's back lean on the pile of pillows. The pleasant smell of her shampoo and body enveloped him in a soft cloud. She was close, too close. There was one pillow between him and the demoness and even less between him and death.

Kyon got into the part of being a pillow. He had almost stopped breathing. He slowed his heartbeat and literally turned into an inanimate object.

The three friends spent about an hour playing cards, laughing, fooling around and poking fun, mostly at Yegorka.

Juno pressed harder and harder on the pillows, making Kyon feel more and more uncomfortable, both morally and physically. He imagined how his hands crawled out of the pillows, closed on her thin neck and clenched until the girl started wheezing, and then she fell altogether and never moved anymore...

While he was daydreaming, he didn’t notice that under Juno’s weight, he slowly began sliding to the side and down...

{Oh shit!}

The pile of pillows together with Kyon were slipping majestically into the gap between the bed and the wall.

Kyon landed on the floor like a cat trying not to make a single sound. No matter how hard he’d been copying the pillow, he weighed pretty much. He rolled under the bed at once and tried to calm down his heart that was coming apart. It was about to hang him out to dry, so loud it was hammering against the rib cage.

With a snort of a complaint, Juno picked up all the pillows and laid them out as close as possible to the previous design. However, for some reason, she didn’t feel the same as if something was missing... {Maybe a couple of pillows have rolled under the bed?}

Yegorka was soundly defeated in the game. He overreacted and scattered the whole fan of cards on the floor.

«Damn it! I lost again! Today is definitely not my day!»

Juno laughed:

«Yeah, surely the fault is in the stars and these… magnetic storms or whatever. Now pick up all the cards quickly.»

Yegorka got out of the bed with a groan to clean up the mess. The best genius of the family had to crawl on the floor like some kind of reptile... But, it was his sweet little Juno who had asked him to...

Meanwhile, the under-bed monster was looking at the back of Yegorka’s head in fear. He was dangerously close. If only Yegorka turned his head, their eyes would certainly meet.

Marina, a kind soul, decided to help her newfound friend and dived under the bed to collect the cards that had flown in there. A glance - a spark - a storm! Kyon’s hand was already over her mouth so that the girl would not turn on her ultrasound. He pulled a scary face: “shut up, be quiet!” but the girl had understood everything. At least, she didn’t make a fuss. She just nodded. Marina was sincerely sorry for Kyon. She didn’t enjoy the prospect of his instant murder, either. She turned around, covered his with her back and said:

«I will pick up everything myself, Yegorka. Can give me some juice, please.»

«Ah… Sure.»

Kyon gave Marina his heart in gratitude. There was no one kinder than her in the whole world, that’s for sure. As for Yegorka, his attitude seemed perfect... The ideal attitude to take the honorable place of a “just friend.” He could be a “wall builder” as well. He had built a perfect “friend zone” around Juno and himself that he would never escape. He had to become a king at least to make Juno take him for a man, and that by a long stretch of the imagination. Such is life. It would be easier for him to find a new girl and consider his mistakes.

Yegorka dusted himself off. He rose from the floor, visibly displeased, and went to take the juice on the nightstand. Juno sincerely enjoyed his sulky face. The moments when she could hurt someone gave her an indescribable thrill. Now, her face didn’t have a vicious grin but a pretty smile, and the pain she had caused was not physical but moral.

Yegorka stared at the subject of his desire and melted like ice cream in the sun. His heart fluttered, his hands trembled. He had to make an effort to pour juice into glasses, not on the nightstand. He solemnly gave Juno a drink but she brushed him off rudely. His plan to prove himself a “gentleman” had miserably failed. However, Juno was quite pleased with the downhearted look of the sorry-ass knight

Soon the trio left the room.

The night replaced the day.

The door creaked softly and Kyon could see from his perspective the same notorious slippers with ears a la "bunny", slender bare legs and, of course, the owner of both the legs with slippers and the room itself.

The young lady read a book for a while purring something under her breath.

Kyon could barely keep his eyes open. Several sleepless nights had taken a toll on him. Suddenly, the piercing sound of the sound transmitter broke the silence. Judging by the wheezing in the "receiver," Kyon was about to be an unintentional (or intentional?) witness to the conversation of the patriarch and his granddaughter.

After a couple of their welcome remarks, Kyon could draw some conclusions regarding their relationship. Grandfather Bai’s voice belonged to a man with a strong character and yet, it was imbibed with love, affection, and care for Juno. He was willing to give her half the world, she just had to ask. Kyon couldn’t help wondering why her grandfather was so far away, in Boston the capital, if he was so dearly attached to her.