December 25th was the last day of school for AD2096. Everyone in class 2E were checking their end of term results before classes end for the day. Tatsuya noticed Mizuki was looking at him nervously. He asked her what was wrong. Mizuki wanted to ask Tatsuya about his test grades but was embarrassed that she might have to tell him hers as well. She told him nothing was wrong. Tatsuya then headed to the Student Council Room while Mizuki went on to the Arts Club.
Later that day, the 2nd year friends met up at Eine Briese for an informal Christmas gathering. Minami, nor any of the other 1st years were attending because they had to attend a much larger party thrown by the members of their grade. Erika commented on wanting to have their party a day earlier, but everyone had prior commitments to their families’ own social gatherings.
As they enjoyed their cake, they reflected on the year's events. Each one added their own perspective on the previous year’s events. As usual, Erika picked on Leo. When they left for home, Honoka asked Tatsuya if he was going to attend Hatsumōde with everyone on New Year. Tatsuya answered that Miyuki and himself could not attend this year due to a previous commitment. Miyuki seemed nervous after Tatsuya said this to everyone because she knew Tatsuya and herself would have to attend the Yotsuba's New Year family gathering. Shizuku worried about Miyuki and inquired if she was okay. Erika quickly changed the topic since she knew, if Miyuki were sick, Tatsuya would have reacted immediately.
Once back home, Tatsuya noticed Miyuki has still not recovered. He told her to rest in her room until she feels better. Once in her room, she used her magic to increase the temperature, then changed out of her school uniform. She saw the letter from the family ordering everyone to attend this year. She knew that ordering everyone to attend meant that Maya was going to name her successor as head of the family. She was one of four candidates from among her generation. The other three were all her cousins; Shibata Katsushige, Tsukuba Yuuka, and Kuroba Fumiya. She knew that she was the most likely candidate to become the next head of the family due to her superior magical abilities.
She dreaded becoming the next head of the family because that meant she had to become engaged and be married to someone else, separating her from her brother. She was conflicted because she knew that she could improve her brother’s standing within the family if she was the head of the family. She reflected on the fact that it was others that had always pushed her on becoming the next head of the family. But, since the incident in Okinawa four years earlier, she no longer had any desires to be the next head of the family.
Miyuki then had a conversation with her perceived younger self in her mirror. She tried to convince her image in the mirror that she had no control over the coming events and that she must do her duty. Her mirror image challenged her and tried to convince her that she was in love with her brother and to not give up on that. She confessed her romantic love for her brother to herself and her dread of never being able to fulfill her desire to be with him. She resigned herself to her fate, to have to spend her life with someone other than Tatsuya.