My Happy Marriage (LN) - Volume 7 - Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1  

Charm

The morning smelled of spring.

A dry breeze possessing both the warmth of the season and a tinge of leftover chill blew through, filling even the interior of the house with a peculiar air of sleepiness.

Miyo picked up the wrapped lunch box she had prepared in the kitchen and joyfully carried it to the entryway.

She was proud of the day’s lunch, which she’d prepared with seasonally appropriate butterbur and rape flowers.

She put her heart into making Kiyoka’s lunch every day, of course, but she couldn’t wait to see how he would enjoy the bitter spring vegetables she’d used. Her steps were light with excitement.

“Kiyoka.”

“Right, thanks.”

Kiyoka wore a tranquil and warm, almost relieved, smile on his lips as he turned to her.

“…Here you are.”

Miyo held out the lunch box, and Kiyoka took it from her carefully, as though it were a valuable treasure, stowing it away in his bag.

It had been a year since they’d first met, and though scarcely a day went by when she didn’t see him, she would still find herself captivated each morning by his quiet, handsome appearance and every little thing he did.

And if Miyo was not mistaken, he had started to wear a smile in the house more and more often this past month.

On a whim, he would show her a smile so lacking in sternness, it felt as if her head was being gently caressed, or as if she was being soaked in comfortable warm waters, leaving Miyo unsure what to do with herself.

He definitely wasn’t like this before…

At the same time, however, Miyo’s own disposition was completely unlike how it had been before. As such, there was a chance Kiyoka thought the same thing of her.

Even then, that didn’t make it any less embarrassing.

The day of their wedding was fast approaching, and she couldn’t stop herself from imagining what lay in store for them.

“Miyo? What’s wrong?”

“Da…”

“Da…?”

“Do be careful, Kiyoka.”

He broke into a smile as Miyo hastily blurted out her reply to prevent panic from showing on her face.

“I’ll be on my way.”

Kiyoka’s long, light brown hair swished behind him as he gallantly turned around. It was tied up with a brand-new light blue hair cord.

Miyo had gifted it to him just a little while ago to replace the purple hair cord that had been lost in the middle of all the turmoil. Kiyoka had used it to tie up his hair every day since.

Why was I able to say it back then…?

Miyo covered both her cheeks with her hands then touched the hairpin in her hair.

Whenever she thought back to the moment when she’d accepted Kiyoka’s renewed marriage proposal, she felt like her face was on fire. Caught up in the momentum, she had let one outrageous thing after another escape her mouth.

“I love you, darling.”

She thought it strange that she had been able to say such a thing.

Saying “I love you” outright was bad enough, but then to have topped it off by using a pet name for him! It was all so unbelievably audacious and embarrassing.

Unable to bear the thought anymore, Miyo quickly rushed back to the kitchen and began cleaning up after breakfast.

She was restless. But she was happy. Enough to question if there was anything that could possibly make her happier.

What would change once they became husband and wife?

She didn’t want the cozy situation they were in now to change, but if she had the opportunity to build an even better relationship with Kiyoka, then she wanted to do anything she could to get to that point.

At times, she would remember the painful events of the recent and the long past, and they would cast a shadow on her heart.

But even so, Miyo’s chest was filled with warmth, more than it ever had been before. That was why, surely…

This vague uneasiness I’m feeling right now must just be my nerves, right?

It was something that came in fits and starts, like a flutter in her chest. If she pretended not to notice it, it would naturally fade away on its own, but was she just imagining things?

After finishing the dishes and doing the laundry, Miyo set about cleaning. When she cleared her mind and focused on the chores that had become so familiar in the past year, she was able to forget about her uneasiness and embarrassment.

The same thing had happened last summer when she was troubled by nightmares.

When she thought of it that way, she realized that she was still the same person as always. Miyo smiled with exasperation at herself and headed to the sink to draw water for cleaning the floors.

As she did, she heard the engine of an automobile outside.

“Good morning, Miyo!”

She went out through the kitchen door and headed over to the front of the house, where she saw the driver open the passenger door for Hazuki, who waved at Miyo cheerfully.

“Good morning, Sis.”

Miyo’s future sister-in-law was as stylish as ever, her light yellow dress the perfect choice for springtime. She projected her usual brand of strength and beauty.

It was still very difficult for Miyo to pull off this style of Western dress. She’d always looked up to Hazuki, so just the sight of her was enough to cheer her up.

“Good morning. Guess what? I’ve brought something fantastic!”

Hazuki had an even sunnier look on her face than usual. Like Kiyoka, her features were handsome and pristine.

“Something fantastic?”

Miyo tilted her head in confusion, thinking it was surely too early for wedding gifts.

“Don’t worry, you’ll see,” insisted Hazuki, pushing her from behind through the entryway and into the house.

After being brought to the living room, Miyo took a seat at a low table across from Hazuki.

Miyo was still inexperienced as a gentlewoman, and she was concerned about being disrespectful during the wedding ceremony and banquet, so she had asked Hazuki to reteach her how a woman marrying into the Kudou family ought to behave in front of everyone.

That was to say, Miyo had expected Hazuki to show up today. However, she had no idea what this “fantastic” thing of hers might be.

“Um, what’s the thing you mentioned?”

“Right, right, let me show you.”

Hazuki riffled through her bag on the tatami floor, taking out a notebook and placing it on top of the table.

“Look, I made a bunch of newspaper and magazine clippings! Hee-hee, I’m sure you’ll find them interesting.”

“Wow…”

Miyo untied the string around the notebook. Just as Hazuki had said, there were a great many clippings from newspaper and magazine articles inside.

The variety was truly staggering—it had everything from large headlines to excerpts from smaller columns.

“You did all of this yourself?”

“That’s right. Oh, but I had a blast doing it, so no need to worry about it or anything, okay? I mean, there’s been so much reporting about your wedding! I can’t help wanting to collect it all,” Hazuki replied cheerfully, looking somewhat proud of herself.

Miyo nervously peered at the open notebook.

Since Kiyoka was somewhat of a celebrity, Miyo knew that their wedding was becoming a hot topic among the public. In fact, Kiyoka had vented to her about being fed up with all the requests for interviews he was getting from reporters.

But what was the press saying about their wedding?

Miyo was curious. Curious but scared. Unconsciously holding her breath, she lightly scanned the articles.

Unsurprisingly, the newspaper articles were mostly concerned with the events of the last few months that had threatened to shake the whole empire and how they had involved Kiyoka’s own position. Conversely, the magazine articles consisted almost entirely of slightly gossipy fair.

“Th-there’s nothing bad written in them…right?”

Miyo certainly didn’t have the courage to pore over the articles, so she’d only skimmed them briefly. Though from what she’d read, the articles were far less vitriolic than expected. She heaved a sigh of relief.

Hazuki let out an amused chuckle.

“Come now, Miyo, do you really think I’d show you something that would make you sad on purpose? It’s not necessarily one hundred percent flattering, but it’s mostly just opinions about the government or the military, not anything attacking you or Kiyoka personally.”

“That’s a relief.”

Thankfully, the matter of Kiyoka’s temporary arrest was reported as false charges over and over again.

He’d avoided being slandered as a traitor.

Instead, the criticism was focused on the government for letting such a thing happen—that an individual like Naoshi Usui had been able to manipulate the military and even the emperor to plunge the country into danger.

In the modern age, when few people believed in the existence of Gifts or Gift-users, Usui’s Gifted Communion and their peacekeeping squads were simply perceived as a religious group and nothing more, but that was all the more reason why there were so many voices reproaching the government for being shaken up by a group of civilians.

Regardless, the papers praised Kiyoka for striving against Usui’s coup despite being arrested on false charges, and for proving his innocence. There were also many blessings for his marriage, which set Miyo at ease.

But when it came to the gossip in the magazines, however…

Wh-what is all this?

The headlines were outsized in both dimension and content: THE TEARS OF NOBLE DAUGHTERS EVERYWHERE!; COUNTLESS WOMEN FAINT AT NEWS OF FAIR SCION’S WEDDING!; NOBLE SON WHO DROVE MANY WOMEN TO TEARS FINALLY SETTLES DOWN.

“See, aren’t they funny?”

Hazuki giggled, clutching her side.

The articles reported with great humor on the detailed resentments held by the young women who previously had their engagements to Kiyoka called off, as well as the laments of anonymous women who secretly pined for him.

“Is this…really something I should laugh at…?”

Miyo had mixed feelings about the headlines and frowned slightly.

The authors of the articles came to some rather odd conclusions, writing quite scathing things such as, “One must strive to deepen the relationship before they can hope to be a partner to such an aspiring person,” and “One shouldn’t be content with their upbringing and should aim their ambitions ever higher.”

There was even one writer who ended their article by saying, “I worry about the possibility that the deep resentment borne by these young noblewomen might bring some harm to the Kudou scion.”

“Oh, of course you can laugh at the articles,” said Hazuki. “That’s why I brought them all here to you. Besides, half of it is Kiyoka’s own fault, really, for being so cold to all those young girls and ensuring rumors got out about how mercilessly cruel he is. He could have turned down most of those marriage offers more amicably; that’s for sure.”

Hazuki never failed to frankly speak her mind.

However, she was right that now that Miyo and Kiyoka were about to tie the knot, the articles really served as nothing more than funny episodes. Miyo couldn’t help chuckling a bit at Hazuki’s way of putting it.

Still.

If Kiyoka had been more delicate about handling the situation like Hazuki had laid out, then Miyo probably wouldn’t have been here right now.

The only reason she’d even had a chance with Kiyoka in the first place was because he’d left all those women in tears.

“Oh, is that a look of relief I’m seeing?”

Miyo flushed when Hazuki pointed this out.

“R-relief? No, of course not…”

“It’s fine, right? You and Kiyoka choose and were chosen by each other. Whatever the process may have been to get there, it’s delightful to meet someone who thinks about their partner as much as you two do. You can be proud of that.”

“Thank you.”

Regardless of the details pointed out in the articles, many people were giving their blessing to Kiyoka and Miyo’s wedding. Even the gossipy stories devoted a significant amount of space to celebrating their union.

Though she first felt bashful and embarrassed by the thought of so many people knowing about her, a sense of happiness welled up inside her soon after, for she could feel it in her bones that the day she would finally become Kiyoka’s wife was drawing closer.

“…Is it okay if I keep this?” Miyo asked, making up her mind. Hazuki blinked.

“Of course it’s okay, but it wasn’t very funny…for you, right?”

Hazuki had seen through her brief second of indecision.

Nevertheless, Miyo was happy that Hazuki had thought of her and had given her the clippings. Miyo would have never thought to save these articles; in fact, she probably wouldn’t have even read them in the first place.

Ten years from now, they would assuredly be good mementos to laugh about.

“Of course I want it. You went to all the trouble of gathering these articles. I think that when I look back over this someday, it’ll help me remember what I’m feeling now.”

“My! Sheesh, Miyo! You’re just, you’re just too much…!”

Hazuki’s words caught in her throat, and she covered her face with both her hands. After she’d spent a few moments calming down, she said, “Well then,” shifting things completely and flashing a brilliant smile Miyo’s way.

It was as though she was trying to say that now they were going to get to the real topic of conversation.

“Not to change the subject, but how are things? The ceremony’s coming up, and you and Kiyoka are under the same roof like this, so…have you both gotten even more passionate with each other?”

“P-passionate—”

This time, Miyo went crimson to the tips of her ears, and she froze in place.

“No trying to escape the question by saying you’re too modest, either. It’s too late for that. So then, how is it? Isn’t it about time you sleep with your mattresses lined up next to each other?”

“Wh-wh-what? I c-couldn’t!”

Her head felt hot enough to boil, and her thoughts spiraled out of control. Why was Hazuki able to ask such a question so calmly?

Miyo would be lying if she said she hadn’t imagined the situation at all, but she still wasn’t quite ready for that yet. Sleeping with their mattresses lined up together was completely out of the question.

Although they had ended up in that situation once before, she had completely lost her composure, so she hadn’t experienced the type of atmosphere that Hazuki was getting at.

On top of that, she was still embarrassed about how she’d shared a bed with Kiyoka’s familiar, Kiyo, only to discover afterward that Kiyoka’s consciousness was linked with Kiyo’s.

“Oh, come on, that won’t do. That’s how things will be sooner or later anyway, so you need to get used to them soon.”

“H-how could I possibly get used to that…?”

Even after a year of living together, she would frequently lose her composure in unguarded moments when she was sharing the same space as her fiancé.

Her heart wouldn’t be able to then endure a whole night of that.

“Well, Kiyoka really wants to take good care of you, too. I mean, I get it. I would do the same thing myself.”

“Kiyoka’s always been kind, from the very beginning…”

Hazuki tilted her head at Miyo, who had lowered her eyes to hide her bright red face.

“Hey, Miyo.”

“Yes?”

“I notice you can be quite stiff when you’re around Kiyoka. Do you ever think about changing that?”

Miyo startled.

She froze and kept her eyes on the ground as Hazuki brought up yet another topic she didn’t want to think about.

“You’ve acted that way from the very beginning, right? But I guess that makes sense—at the start of your engagement, I bet you thought of him as more of the master of the house than your fiancé, right?”

“Urk…yes.”

Hazuki was perfectly on the mark.

She had thought about this ever since she first called Kiyoka “darling.”

When Miyo first came to this house, she hadn’t thought for a moment that she would be able to become Kiyoka’s wife. She was prepared to be chased out or even killed, so she’d believed that being treated like a servant would be one of the better outcomes.

That was why, to ensure she didn’t offend him, she had tried to address him respectfully.

At this point, however, she was used to the way she talked to him. She was resistant to the idea of being less formal around him, and she lacked the courage to change it.

“Just once, I was able to loosen up around him…um, to call him ‘darling.’”

“Oh, that’s perfect, isn’t it? I love the idea of calling him that. It’s quite like what other married couples do these days, I would say.”

“But I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to say it again…”

Miyo guessed her face was an awful mess at the moment. She couldn’t possibly bring herself to look at Hazuki.

She was positive that it was red enough to burst into flames, no longer able to be explained away as innocent or adorable.

“Miyo.”

Hearing Hazuki address her seriously, Miyo hesitantly lifted her head. There she saw her gentlewoman mentor’s kind, lovely smile.

“Why don’t we practice?”

“What?”

Miyo wasn’t sure what Hazuki was saying to her. Practice? Practice what exactly?

She understood, but she didn’t want to, so her brain rejected the idea. As Miyo sat in blank surprise, Hazuki gave her the smile of a goddess.

“You can’t be so formal around him forever. Listen, even my mother normally calls Father ‘Tadakiyo,’ but when the two are alone together, she’s more casual with him and calls him ‘dear.’”

“Mother calls him that?”

“It’s infuriating, isn’t it? I’ve always disliked that part of her. For as long as I can remember, she’s only ever had eyes for my father, concerning herself with him and never showing any interest in me or Kiyoka.”

“…”

Hazuki’s smile was growing more and more terrifying.

“Oops, I went on a bit of a tangent. Anyway, I think you should practice calling him ‘darling,’ so it’ll come more naturally to you.”

Practice. Practice calling Kiyoka “darling.” How was she going to do that? Sitting by herself and saying it over and over again would be impossible for her.

“You can take your time with it, but make sure it happens sooner rather than later, okay?”

Faced with Hazuki’s harsh reminder, which made it sound like she couldn’t take her time at all, Miyo could only nod silently in agreement.

“Y’know…I reeeeeally don’t want to take over here.”

Godou’s pathetic voice reverberated through the office.

He was in the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit station. Currently, there were two desks inside the commander’s office. The first, which Kiyoka used, had always been there. The other was for Godou. The unit members had dragged the second desk out from somewhere and set it up for him.

Having just cried out in despair, Godou collapsed face-first on his desk.

“Those documents have nothing to do with taking over. Stop complaining and process them already.”

Not so much as glancing at his subordinate, Kiyoka kept his pen running across the paperwork in front of him.

His current workload had mainly returned to normal—handling matters that involved grotesqueries. However, since the Gifted Communion crisis had caused their normal caseload to pile up quite heavily, it was taking a significant amount of time and energy to process it all.

There’s no end in sight, is there?

At some point during the weeks following the incident, the view outside the window had completely changed from a scene of winter to that of spring. Hearing the slightly clumsy warbling of the nightingale off in the distance, Kiyoka happened to look up from his desk and gaze at the hazy blue sky spreading out toward the horizon.

Not much time had passed since the whole affair—Usui’s attempted coup—and yet the traces of winter that seemed to freeze both the body and the soul were already long gone.

“I still haven’t accepted it, okay?”

Godou grumbled sullenly.

“And do I need your acceptance to resign from my post?”

“You absolutely do. I’m sure I’m going to end up the next commander, right?”

Kiyoka didn’t answer him.

When Kiyoka thought about the role of unit commander, the final moments of Godou’s father, Itsuto, always flickered into the back of his mind. Itsuto had once commanded the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit and was killed in the line of duty after facing off against a powerful grotesquerie known as the Earth Spider.

Inevitably, Kiyoka would think of the words Itsuto Godou had left him with, too.

“Sorry for putting this on you.”

After saying this, the light had left Itsuto’s eyes. It was all still so clear—the wounds on Itsuto’s face, his trembling lips and voice, and his short, weak breaths.

He’d never said what exactly he was putting on Kiyoka. But even if Itsuto hadn’t spelled it out, Kiyoka had easily understood what he meant.

He knew that one of the things Itsuto was putting on him was the position of commander in the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit.

That was why despite graduating from the imperial university, he’d simultaneously taken the difficult officer service exam and started down the career path he had turned his back on once before—that of a military man.

Of course, that was what he was meant to do. Kiyoka thought as much, at least.

“I figured that Itsuto would be ready to let me off the hook by now. Really, he’d probably chew me out if I kept going without my heart in it.”

“…”

When Kiyoka turned to Godou, who had fallen silent, he saw that his subordinate was staring back at him, eyes wide and at a loss for words.

“What?” Kiyoka asked.

“I was just thinking it’s been a long time since I last heard you talk about my dad, Kiyo—er, Commander. Took me off guard.”

“And it’s been a long time since I’ve heard you call me that.”

He couldn’t help breaking into a smile. Far in the past, farther back than he could remember now, Godou, or rather, Yoshito, had often referred to Kiyoka this way.

Godou had been young when they’d first met, and since he had studied abroad after maturing, Kiyoka wasn’t that close with him. But during the occasional moments their paths did cross, such as when Itsuto would bring his son with him to work, Godou would stare up at Kiyoka with sparkles in his eyes and call him “Big Brother Kiyo.”

That being said, when they were reunited after Godou reached adulthood, Kiyoka had been met with a great deal of hatred from the man.

“I made absolutely sure that I wouldn’t ever slip and call you that no matter what, under any circumstances. Aww, shoot, maybe that means for all my groaning, there’s some part inside me that’s already accepted that you’re not going to be the commander anymore. Ugh, how frustrating.”

Still pouting and keeping his head down, Godou flipped through the documents on his desk half-heartedly.

“Keep your hands moving. Did you finish allocating the personnel like I asked you?”

“I’m still stumped about what to do.”

“Hurry up and get it over with.”

How much longer would Kiyoka spend his days like this?

He caught himself getting inadvertently lost in thought.

When Kiyoka became commander, he had never considered that his state of mind would change the way it had.

After joining the military, he’d assumed he would live the life of a soldier and die a soldier. He’d given himself over so completely that he hadn’t been able to envision life after the military at all.

However, the woman he loved was in a complicated position, one that he couldn’t attend to while devoting himself to the military.

Miyo may not have had any intentions of wielding her abilities, but as the Usui matter had made abundantly clear, the world at large wouldn’t leave the Gift of Dream Sight alone. Kiyoka didn’t think that would change anytime soon.

I can’t say for certain there won’t be a second, or third, Usui to come out of the woodwork.

When push came to shove, Kiyoka wanted to protect Miyo more than he wanted to be a military man. He wanted to be at her side so he could keep her safe and support her.

In other words, Kiyoka’s duties as a military officer had become an imposition.

“…You have it nice, don’t you, Commander? I’m sure you and Miyo are doing all sorts of stuff together back home, aren’t you?”

“Not this again.”

“I mean, how will I possibly be able to get married if I take over as commander?! I’ll be way too busy!!” Godou cried, tearing his hair out.

Unfortunately, Kiyoka couldn’t exactly refute what he was saying.

When Kiyoka first became commander, his new duties had taken up all of his time. He’d been so swamped that he started sleeping at the station.

“That all depends on how much effort you’re willing to put in.”

“C’mon, you’re clearly just brushing off my concerns here!”

Godou could complain all he wanted, but bringing up the topic of marriage and the like to Kiyoka had been a mistake to begin with. While he wasn’t necessarily proud of it, Kiyoka was so poor at being affectionate that he hadn’t be been able to find a partner until he turned twenty-seven.

“I bet you’re pushing Miyo down and sleeping with her, aren’t you?! How could anyone in your position understand how I feel here?!”

“Quit fantasizing.”

“Gaah, I’m so jealous! I can’t take it!”

Kiyoka heaved a sigh at his subordinate, who looked ready to jump up from his seat and start throwing a tantrum.

“Enough already. I haven’t done anything of the sort.”

“Huh?”

Godou looked over at him like he was witnessing the unbelievable.

“You haven’t? At all?”

“Nope. Forget about my private life and stop prying. And keep your fantasies to yourself.”

“Wait, Commander! Are you telling me you’re a coward?”

Even Kiyoka couldn’t stop himself from blowing his top at such a flagrant remark.

This was absolutely none of Godou’s business. As such, Kiyoka gave Godou a tongue-lashing the likes of which his subordinate had never heard before.

Finished with dinner, Miyo and Kiyoka brought their hands together.

“Thanks for dinner.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

The mealtime routine she had repeated with Kiyoka over the past year brought more solace to Miyo than anything else.

Just then, Miyo suddenly remembered a topic she had forgotten to bring up during their meal.

“…K-Kiyoka.”

“What’s wrong?”

Hazuki’s remarks from that afternoon flittered in the back of her mind and made her address to Kiyoka sound unnatural. Kiyoka responded with a somewhat suspicious look.

Sis has cursed me, hasn’t she?

There was no way she could possibly call him “darling” right off the bat, but there had been a moment’s hesitation.

As a result, Miyo had begun to act suspiciously every time she addressed Kiyoka, now wavering slightly when speaking to him.

“Um, well, tomorrow I’m going out with Sis,” Miyo told him, speaking rapidly in a panicked attempt to hide her quandary.

Incidentally, this wasn’t a lie; it was what she had originally wished to bring up with him.

“Where?”

Seeming a bit surprised, Kiyoka shifted his gaze before furrowing his brow. Miyo found his unexpected displeasure unnerving.

For a moment, she worried she might have angered him, but upon closer inspection, he didn’t appear upset.

Calming her mind, she maintained her composure and answered.

“To the home of a Mrs. Shioze, who has invited a chef from abroad to hold a cooking class. Sis asked me to tag along with her.”

“Ahh, the Shiozes… I guess that’ll be fine.”

Kiyoka sighed with a slight hint of discontent. It was a family Hazuki was acquainted with, so it was only natural that Kiyoka would know them, too. He seemed to accept the reply.

Apparently, he truly had just been worried for Miyo’s safety and nothing more.

I just hope he’s all right with the way I refer to him for the time being.

It was all but impossible for her to honestly explain to Kiyoka her hesitance at using a pet name for him.

“I will be back home after lunch. I’m going to learn how to make dishes with flavors unlike anything I’ve prepared before.”

“I’ve never felt dissatisfied with your cooking in the first place, though,” he said, before a conflicted look came to his face. “Cooking with Sis? Are you serious?”

Miyo was at a loss for words.

Kiyoka’s apprehensions were well founded. Indeed, Hazuki was a downright terrible cook.

Her culinary skills were beyond the realm of “terrible”—she was so unbelievably awful at making food that it was as if the gods themselves had stripped her of any ability in the kitchen to ensure she never cooked at all.

Miyo hadn’t experienced a meal from her firsthand, but she had gotten glimpses before.

When was it exactly? It may have been after Miyo first became acquainted with Hazuki, shortly after she’d first told Miyo of her poor cooking skills.

Last summer, while Hazuki was teaching Miyo all sorts of things about being a proper gentlewoman, Miyo had gone to make lunch for them both as a bit of a break, and she’d asked Hazuki to boil the somen noodles for her.

All Hazuki needed to do was heat the water in a pot, place the noodles inside once the water had come to a boil, and spin them around with a pair of chopsticks. At the time, Miyo figured that it would be impossible to mess up such a simple, short process.

How naive she’d been.

In an unbelievable turn of events, Hazuki wound up turning the somen noodles, which had been perfectly fine up until entering the pot, into a pitiful mess of scraps.

After Hazuki was done with them, the already thin noodles were absolutely shredded, turning into small white strips of flour. Miyo would never forget the shock of seeing them slip through the gaps in the draining mat and spreading out all over the kitchen sink.

“Y-you’re kidding… I can’t even boil noodles right?”

Even the usually cheery Hazuki had been dumbfounded and crestfallen at the sight.

Somen noodles didn’t need to be boiled long, either. During that time, Miyo had looked over at Hazuki on several occasions but hadn’t noticed her doing anything wrong, either.

And yet her noodles had ended up ruined.

Miyo hadn’t just been surprised by the results—a chill had ran down her spine. The phenomenon seemed somehow supernatural.

Hazuki’s ineptness in the kitchen was almost a kind of Gift.

However, Miyo had heard that for this upcoming cooking class, the participants would actually be quite limited in their chances to prepare food. They would be doing little more than divvying up certain tasks and practicing them for themselves.

That meant Hazuki wouldn’t have to get involved.

At last, Miyo responded to Kiyoka. “Um, the chef will be showing a demonstration as he explains everything, and I believe we’ll mostly be watching…I think. P-probably.”

Miyo felt bad for Hazuki, but she couldn’t help sounding unsure by the end of her sentence.

“That’s good to hear. My sister may be dreadful in the kitchen, but it’s not like she has a Gift that ruins other people’s cooking.”

Miyo felt strangely relieved by Kiyoka’s reply. Evidently, she wasn’t the only one who thought of Hazuki’s inability to cook as a type of supernatural power.

With the conversation reaching a conclusion, Miyo began to clean up after the meal.

After gathering the tableware and stacking the personal tray tables, she returned the large chabudai table that she’d moved against the wall back to its original position. From there, she carried the tray tables into the kitchen, boiled some water, and prepared the after-dinner tea.

Carrying a tray holding the teacups and teapot, she returned to the living room to find Kiyoka looking at an open notebook.

It was the collection of clippings that Hazuki had brought that afternoon.

Miyo had left it on top of a shelf after Kiyoka’s sister had gone home.

“Um, Kiyoka, that notebook…”

Miyo was sure that Kiyoka wouldn’t be pleased to see the articles filled with gossip and half-truths. She regretted that she hadn’t immediately put it away in her room earlier.

How would he interpret her hemming and hawing?

“I’m sure this is all Sis’s handiwork. Not again with this nonsense.”

Kiyoka merely sighed, looking bored as he flipped through the pages of the notebook.

“I’m sorry for showing you something so unbecoming.”

“Huh? I was the one who decided to look through it. That’s nothing that you should apologize for.”

Kiyoka took the notebook in his long fingers—beautiful, yet with the rigidity befitting a soldier—and flipped it closed. Even this simple action was elegant, revealing the quality of his upbringing.

The closer and closer their wedding came, the more conscious she grew of his every little movement. Each was so endearing.

“More importantly, are you all right with this, Miyo?”

“What?”

“You’re not used to this, right? Being looked at in such poor taste. It doesn’t make you nervous or uncomfortable, does it?”

A shade of anxiety rose in Kiyoka’s quiet gaze, and although this was inappropriate of her, she felt just the slightest bit happy about his concern.

Miyo smiled and shook her head.

“No. There wasn’t very much written about me. As long as none of it has offended you, then I’m just fine.”

The articles had revealed little more about Miyo than her age and the fact that she was the daughter of the Saimoris.

Miyo’s reply brought a tender, relieved smile to Kiyoka’s face.

“I’ve grown somewhat used to it all. Nothing’s going to offend me at this point. Besides…”

Suddenly, Kiyoka fell silent.

Curious about what was wrong, Miyo looked up from pouring the tea into their cups. She couldn’t help but widen her eyes in surprise at what she saw.

She was met with light vermilion cheeks and eyes awkwardly averted from her face. Kiyoka was wearing a look of embarrassment like that of a highborn lady, secluded in her estate. It was entrancing.

His next words struggled to escape his shapely lips.

“I don’t really care what anyone says about me…as long the people in my life and my fiancée know the truth.”

Normally, he wouldn’t put it all into words like this. Miyo was dumbstruck; she hadn’t expected him to say things so clearly, either.

Then her vision wobbled, as if from vertigo, and she felt herself slowly grow warm.

“Oh, I—I see…”

“That’s right—hey, you’re spilling the tea.”

“Eek!”

At some point when she had been staring, the tea she was pouring had passed the brim of Kiyoka’s cup and started spilling onto the tray.

Miyo quickly set the teapot down and wiped up the tea with a cloth.

It was then that she realized, however, that the pounding of her heart was unbelievably loud, and her hands were unsteady. She felt as though everything in front of her was spinning.

“Are you all right?”

“I-I’m…I’m fine!” she replied, even though her restlessness showed no signs of abating.

M-my heart isn’t going to st-stop, is it?

She loved spending time together with Kiyoka, and it served to soothe her. Yet why was it during times like these that she wanted to run away more than anything?

She wished someone, anyone, would rescue her.

“Give it here. I’ll wipe it up.”

“No, I’ll do it!”

Kiyoka, unable to bear watching Miyo lose her head, tried to take the cloth from her. But she couldn’t possibly make her husband-to-be do something like this.

Immediately, Miyo vigorously pulled the cloth behind her back. Chasing after her hand and leaning over to her, Kiyoka drew in far too close.

“Nh, heep!”

In that instant, a pathetic cry escaped Miyo’s lips.

The momentum sent her backward, but just before she fell on her back, Kiyoka shot out his arm behind her to keep her up—putting them in a strange position, halfway between embracing and being pushed down to the floor.

His face was so close. His body was, too… In fact, they were practically right up against each other.

“How are things? The ceremony’s coming up, and you and Kiyoka are under the same roof like this, so…have you both gotten even more passionate with each other?”

“No trying to escape the question by saying you’re too modest, either. It’s too late for that. So then, how is it? Isn’t it about time you sleep with your mattresses lined up next to each other?”

Her sister-in-law’s words echoed again in the back of her mind. But right now, she wasn’t in the state of mind to think on it too deeply.

“K-Kiyoka.”

“Isn’t it about time…?”

Paying no heed to Miyo’s meaningless address to him, Kiyoka brought his face even closer to hers. And then.

“You address me more intimately?”

Even though her simmering mind was barely functional, she could tell that these words meant the same thing Hazuki had discussed with her earlier.

Her breath caught in her throat.

“Erm, um, I—I just…”

Kiyoka gently laid Miyo on the tatami and looked down at her, his body completely hanging over hers.

His perfectly straight hair, like thin strands of silk, flowed down from his shoulders, casting a shadow. His eyes were calm as he stared at her, yet they still contained a faint heat.

“Won’t you call me ‘darling’? Like you did before.”

Every one of Miyo’s senses were focused solely on their respective breaths, despite not being heavy or rough at all.

She looked up at her fiancé’s handsome features in a daze. She could hear her heartbeat pounding like an alarm bell deep in her ears.

She wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, locked in each other’s gazes.

For some reason, out of neither sadness nor happiness, her vision slowly began to cloud with tears.

“Kiyoka…I—I…”

“Miyo?”

She let out a gasp as the tears pooled in her eyes and formed into droplets, falling down her temples.

In an instant, Kiyoka’s eyes widened, as if he had been doused with cold water.

Then, wearing an expression somewhere between sorrow and despair, he moved away from Miyo in all-too-plain panic and confusion.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“N-not at all.”

Based on his uncharacteristically hasty apology, even Miyo could clearly understand Kiyoka’s lack of composure.

She slowly raised herself up and wiped away her trickling tears with her hand.

“Miyo, I’m sorry… I was moving too fast.”

That wasn’t it. Kiyoka hadn’t done anything wrong. Miyo had simply been caught off guard.

She’d already been feeling bewildered and on edge after what Hazuki had said to her earlier that day, so hearing Kiyoka entreat her to call him by a term of endearment had thrown her entirely out of sorts.

Why? I don’t feel bad at all when Kiyoka touches me, so why…?

If anything, she was happy about it.

Miyo couldn’t reject Kiyoka, nor did she want to. She loved him, and the thought of them both growing closer, of feeling each other’s warmth for themselves, made her happy.

But now she couldn’t stop the tears from falling from her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Kiyoka. I’m sorry.”

Miyo was sure she had hurt him. She had burst into tears so suddenly that she might have convinced him that she was uncomfortable with his touch, and with calling him “darling.”

Though she wanted to explain herself, the tears kept coming, and she couldn’t get the most important words across to him.

As she sat with her hands covering her face, unable to speak, she sensed Kiyoka nervously coming up next to her.

“Sorry. Please don’t apologize. It’s okay. You don’t need to call me ‘darling.’ I shouldn’t have said that.”

His voice was wholly out of character, lacking any spirit and deeply ashamed.

Miyo couldn’t bear how disgusted she felt with herself for making him speak in such a tone.

How could she possibly clear up Kiyoka’s misconception? What did she need to say to assure him that her reaction hadn’t been caused by any discomfort?

Miyo was buffeted by her own thoughts, a jumbled mix of regret and embarrassment, and she stood up in tears.

“Miyo?”

She couldn’t let Kiyoka, gazing up at her with unease, see her looking so disgraceful. Miyo hung her head and covered her face with the sleeves of her kimono then turned around.

“I—I like you very much, Kiyoka…!”

Summoning up all her courage to leave this single sentence behind, she scampered out of the living room then made for the kitchen.

Although Miyo somehow managed to get through her chores without a hitch that night, she was unable to face Kiyoka, and she didn’t sleep a wink.

The sky was unfortunately pallid the following day.

Spring’s warm sunlight was obstructed by the gray clouds, and the blowing wind was a bit cold and damp.

“Miyo? Are you really, truly okay?”

“Yes…”

Hazuki looked more worried than ever as she turned to her, prompting Miyo to nod sluggishly.

She and Hazuki were currently in the Kudou family automobile, heading toward the Shioze estate, where there would be a cooking class.

After the incident from the night before, which had kept her from sleeping, Miyo still felt awkward come morning. She found herself unable to look Kiyoka in the eye and kept her conversation with him to the bare minimum.

When she looked in the mirror, she noticed that her face was in horrible condition, swollen from her tears and showing signs of her lack of sleep.

Judging by Hazuki’s concerned expression, it was clear that her makeup wasn’t concealing it in the slightest.

To make matters worse, she still hadn’t made up with Kiyoka.

“Um, I just want to make sure here, but this isn’t your Gift’s fault, is it?”

“That’s right. My Gift has nothing to do with it.”

“Oh, phew! Well, that must mean it involves Kiyoka, doesn’t it?!”

Hazuki clapped her hands together and spoke in an unnaturally cheery voice.

While it did concern her fiancé, it wasn’t anything to be pleased about. While it may have looked that way, the truth was that Miyo had ended up ruining it all.

Everything hung heavily on her, and she let out a sigh. Much to Miyo’s surprise, it was quite a substantial sigh, more than enough for Hazuki to pick up on it and frown.

“Ahh… Hm, well. Miyo? See, the thing is, I don’t really want to stick up for that fool, but even though he’s twenty-eight now, well, he still lacks experience. In many senses of the word.”

“…”

“So if he’s a bit clumsy with something, I hope you’ll let him off the hook a bit. At least, could you try not to get too angry with him?”

Miyo shook her head in response to Hazuki’s slightly misconstrued advice.

“That’s not it. Kiyoka didn’t do anything wrong; it’s all my fault.”

She had been so happy that the wedding was on the way, but after last night, everything had gotten so painfully awkward between them. No amount of regret would be enough.

“…Because I accidentally started crying.”

When Miyo had disclosed the truth, Hazuki gently took Miyo’s hand in hers.

“Was there something that bothered you? About Kiyoka?”

“No. It’s absolutely impossible for me to ever feel disgusted with him. But I just… My head and chest felt so full.”

She suddenly realized she was crying again. Her emotions had gotten the better of her and could no longer be contained.

Hazuki gently hugged Miyo across her shoulders. The warmth helped relax her stiffened body a bit, bringing her some relief.

“I get it. Right before the wedding, all that hope and happiness, along with the anxiety and nerves, surges in all at once, doesn’t it? Especially when it’s about a gentleman you fancy. I was wrong to stick my nose into things the way I did, too. Sorry.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong!”

“No, I did. After all, you have your own pace for things. It wasn’t good to urge you on. Take all the time you need. You’re not going to be able to immediately change your relationship on the day of your wedding, and it’s even more reckless to try changing it right now.”

Hazuki’s calm voice seemed to permeate into her desolate heart.

“Perhaps there was a part of Kiyoka that felt a bit worried as well. But after he ended up making you cry, I’m positive he’s chastising himself for it so severely that he probably wishes he was buried deep in the earth.”

“Deep in the earth…”

Miyo couldn’t help imagining Kiyoka sinking down into the ground and getting buried. It was such a funny image that she nearly burst into laughter.

Hazuki smiled gently.

“There’s no need to worry if you offended Kiyoka or not. Even that obstinate fool should understand that all the different emotions you’re experiencing have left you bewildered. No one’s at fault for anything. Try not to kick yourself too much over it all, okay?”

“…I won’t.”

“Well then, we’ll have to really enjoy ourselves this morning and shake out all the gloom! There aren’t too many participants, so there’s no need to worry. Act casually, smile, and you’ll be fine.”

Faced with Hazuki’s words of encouragement and her chipper laughter, Miyo felt her mood finally begin to improve.

She was right—for now, Miyo would put her worries about Kiyoka to the side and focus on the cooking class. She couldn’t let such a great opportunity go to waste.

Their destination, the Shioze estate, was a two-story Western-style manor that had white outer walls and an oxford gray roof, along with charming arched windows and a terrace.

While it wasn’t as extravagant as the Kudou main estate, the garden was spacious, and the property felt like it belonged to a prominent, affluent family.

The automobile passed through the Shioze estate gate and parked alongside the entryway.

“We’ve arrived.”

The driver opened up the automobile door, and Hazuki elatedly bounced out. Miyo continued behind her.

“Welcome, come on in.”

A plump, refined old woman wearing a mellow light brown dress came out to greet them. This was likely Mrs. Shioze.

“Hello, Mrs. Shioze. It has been a short while, hasn’t it? Thank you very much for the invitation today.”

Hazuki bowed politely in greeting to Mrs. Shioze, who smiled urbanely and nodded.

“And thank you for coming today, Hazuki. I’m so glad to see you.”

Mrs. Shioze turned to Miyo.

“Hazuki, may I ask you to introduce me to the adorable young lady beside you?”

“Of course. This is my soon-to-be sister-in-law, Miyo Saimori. I thought it would be a nice change of pace if she accompanied me.”

Miyo listened to Hazuki’s introduction and then took a step forward, slowly bowing to Mrs. Shioze.

“I am Miyo Saimori. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to participate today.”

“Oh my, how polite. Allow me to thank you for coming.”

Miyo let out a relieved sigh at Mrs. Shioze’s cheerful reception and raised her head back up with a slight smile on her face.

Although Hazuki had told her how nice Mrs. Shioze was, Miyo couldn’t help but feel anxious about their meeting.

“Now I’ll show you right to our kitchen.”

At Mrs. Shioze’s guidance, Miyo and Hazuki went inside the manor.

The interior décor gave the same impression as the outside; it was far from ostentatious and had a charming, endearing quality that excited the heart.

As they headed to the kitchen, Hazuki and Mrs. Shioze casually chitchatted together.

“How wonderful, the two of you look so close.”

“That’s true, wouldn’t you say, Miyo?”

“Yes. Sis has always been so kind and helpful to me.”

Mrs. Shioze broke into a smile at Miyo’s meek response.

“I’m jealous, truly. A bride getting along well with her in-laws is a fantastic thing. Oh yes, Hazuki, is Fuyu keeping well?”

“Oh, she sure is. So well, in fact, that she does nothing but cause me trouble every time we meet.”

“Oh-ho-ho. The same as ever, then?”

Miyo had heard that the Shioze family was quite prestigious and that it had once contained many Gift-users.

Apparently, one of Mrs. Shioze’s grandchildren was undergoing Gift training at the moment, but the number of Gift-users in the family had otherwise dropped dramatically. These days, they tended not to get involved where Gifts were concerned.

While the Shiozes’ thoughts on the matter may have differed, as far as Miyo was concerned, their position seemed similar to that of the Saimoris.

That aside, the important thing was that the Shiozes had passed on Gifts through the ages, and they possessed a friendly relationship with the Kudous.

“I believe you have already heard this, but today’s class is not very big. I’ve invited seven other young wives and ladies, as well as you two.”

“Tee-hee, I don’t suppose I’m the oldest one here then, am I?”

“Oh now, you may just be right.” Mrs. Shioze replied to Hazuki’s jest with a delighted smile.

If everyone was younger than Hazuki, then it really must have been a gathering of only young women. Miyo might be able to fit in among them, too.

After being shown to a different room to leave their belongings, Miyo and Hazuki entered the kitchen.

The Shioze family’s kitchen was completely different in every way from the ones Miyo knew.

It was equipped with the latest gas-powered cooking stove and a large oven that looked like it could bake anything. The brass water faucet sparkled bright, and the walls and floors were covered in new tile. The room itself was spacious enough to fit ten people at a time.

Inside the kitchen, there were already five young women, dressed in aprons and cooking wear, genially chatting among themselves while they waited for the class to begin.

“Oh?”

One of them broke from her conversation and looked over at Miyo and Hazuki after they entered the room. Following her, the other women all turned in their direction.

“Would these be the ones, Mrs. Shioze?”

Mrs. Shioze nodded at the woman’s question with a smile.

“Yes. Allow me to introduce them. This is Hazuki Kudou, and this is Miyo Saimori.”

Together with Hazuki, Miyo bowed and greeted the group. From there, Shioze offered the other five women an opportunity to introduce themselves.

The five women had the same mild-mannered and soft air about them as Mrs. Shioze, and this somewhat calmed Miyo’s nerves.

However, when Mrs. Shioze departed the kitchen to be a proper host for the class’s instructor, the women encircled Miyo in the blink of an eye.

“Ms. Saimori, you’re getting married very soon, yes? Congratulations.”

“Y-yes, thank you.”

“To the Kiyoka Kudou, no less. How lovely—I can’t help but be jealous.”

“A truly joyous occasion, isn’t it? Why, it’s the whole talk of the town lately. Everyone is saying how it’s sure to be a wonderful ceremony.”

“Th-thank you very much.”

Miyo grew flustered as they leaned right in close and pressed her spiritedly.

However, as expected of their proper upbringing, there wasn’t any harshness or nastiness in their tone, and Miyo could sense that their reactions stemmed from pure curiosity.

“We all grew so excited when we learned we’d have the chance to meet you here today.”

“We want to hear everything, okay? I want to brag to my friends all about it later.”

“Okay.”

Miyo nodded in bewilderment. This alone was enough to delight them.

The fact she felt so uneasy, when she should’ve been overjoyed to receive such honest blessings like this, made Miyo feel foolish and spoiled.

The truth was, she was currently experiencing the most happiness she’d ever had in her life, and though she had her doubts and her worries, it wasn’t like she’d had an argument or a disagreement with Kiyoka, either.

“Thank you all very much. It makes me very happy to hear your warm wishes.”

Miyo looked over at the women who’d spoken to her and thanked them with a well-mannered smile and bow.

“Oh my.”

The women looked at Miyo and let out a gasp of admiration.

“Of course, it’s only natural to celebrate such a joyous occasion. Isn’t that right, girls?”

“Yes, absolutely.”

“Naturally, indeed. You’re quite conscientious, aren’t you, Ms. Miyo?”

All the women seemed to have a favorable impression of her. The mood in the room instantly lightened.

After this, Hazuki joined in, and Miyo enjoyed chatting with everyone for a while.

During their conversation, the curious women asked her a great many things, but she responded happily to them, not especially bothered by it.

As the time for class to start approached, another missing participant arrived.

The last woman to come in entered right as Mrs. Shioze signaled it was time to call in the chef.

“Forgive me for being late.”

She was thin and wore a kimono dyed in a single mellow color that featured a beautiful and finely detailed pattern, giving her a clear aura of frailty. The woman’s eyes were slightly downturned, making her look even more fragile.

“Oh no, it’s still not time to start yet, so there’s no need to stand on ceremony. Everyone, this is Kimio Nagaba.”

“Hi, everyone. Forgive me for making everyone wait. I look forward to our class together.”

Kimio drew in her body and bowed. Miyo felt guilty just looking at her.

More than that, however, there was something that seemed to stick in Miyo’s mind.

Kimio… I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere…

The name flickered somewhere deep in the recesses of her mind, among far-off memories.

Miyo’s social network wasn’t very expansive. However, she had spent so much of her life isolated that she wasn’t sure if the name belonged to a forgotten acquaintance or someone she had read about in a magazine or a newspaper.

As Miyo racked her brain, Hazuki whispered in her ear, “Is something wrong, Miyo?”

“Oh, no. It’s nothing.”

“Really?”

Despite the curious weight on her mind, Miyo dismissed her feeling about the woman as a trick of her imagination. It was nothing worth consulting Hazuki about. Hazuki didn’t belabor Miyo’s reply, and with that, the topic was dropped.

All the participants had gathered, so it was finally time for the class to begin.

The person who Mrs. Shioze guided into the kitchen was a novel sight—a large foreign male chef with a thick beard.

Miyo couldn’t help gawking when she first laid eyes on the man, who was dressed in a pure white, double-breasted cooking uniform, along with a tall, equally white hat.

From what Hazuki had told her, all chefs abroad wore such clothes.

Though there was something that surprised her even beyond that.

Does this mean Mrs. Shioze will be able to interpret for him?

Sure enough, Mrs. Shioze listened to the words of the European chef, who was unable to speak the language of the Empire, then translated and relayed what he’d said to the rest of the group.

She eloquently spun the foreign words of the chef’s country herself, and she seemed quite at home in the conversation.

Incredible…

Mrs. Shioze was so vastly different from Miyo, who could barely introduce herself in another language. She was deeply impressed.

“Now today, Monsieur Jérôme here is going to teach us several dishes from his homeland. Why don’t we jump right into a demonstration?”

At Mrs. Shioze’s cue, Chef Jérôme began his cooking demonstration.

From the start, and for a long time afterward, Miyo was rapt with amazement.

Beginning first from his skills with a knife, Chef Jérôme used his hands in ways that seemed completely different from everything Miyo knew. The ingredients and the way he utilized them were unfamiliar to her as well.

Round bulbs of cabbage, vividly green asparagus, parsley, onions, and more, all changed shape one after another before her eyes.

Cheese quiche baked with vegetables and bacon over a pâte sucrée dough, made with plenty of cream and eggs.

Pot-au-feu made with vegetables and meat, seasoned with salt and spices and cooked over a slow, low simmer. Galette using a variety of ingredients encased in a thinly baked buckwheat flour dough.

A wonderfully delicious smell wafted up from each of the dishes, accompanied by hot wisps of steam.

Since Miyo and the other women were unfamiliar with foreign cooking, the chef had intentionally chosen dishes that they would find easy to grasp.

She and her fellow participants were all engrossed in the demonstration, peering at the chef’s hands and fervently jotting down the steps in their notebooks.

When something difficult to understand came up in the middle of cooking, Mrs. Shioze would carefully explain it to them as necessary, and the pages of their notebooks rapidly filled up.

“It looks delicious.”

“It really does. If only I could cook… Oh, how frustrating,” Hazuki replied to Miyo with chagrin.

No matter how simple the dishes may have seemed, they would be very difficult to learn for someone like Hazuki, who had a hard time just boiling somen noodles.

I have to make up for it.

Miyo swore to herself that she would learn them all to please Kiyoka and Hazuki.

“Now then, everyone, why don’t we sample a bit of each at a time?”

The sample dishes were divided into small portions to ensure no one would get too full, then they were passed around to everyone there.

When Miyo finally got to sample the food, she found that it was unlike anything she had tasted before. The flavors were somewhat mysterious, yet delicious all the same. Miyo, Hazuki, and the other participants were so deeply impressed that their exclamations didn’t even form into words.

It wasn’t only the cooking, either. They took their time with the taste testing to turn it into a bit of a break as well. Mrs. Shioze served some black tea she had obtained for the occasion, to which everyone let out another modest cry of elation. Mrs. Shioze’s tea appeared to be well regarded for its taste.

I’m happy to hear everyone’s well-wishes, but it’s a bit tiring…

After Miyo managed to weather the barrage of questions for the time being, Mrs. Shioze, Hazuki, and a few of the other women began pleasantly chatting among themselves, and Miyo took a seat on one of the chairs set along the wall, finally able to catch her breath.

Due to her lack of sleep the night before, her body felt heavy. It also took a toll on her nerves to be constantly surrounded by so many people’s voices.

This tea truly is delicious. It goes well with the food, too.

She rested for a moment, absentmindedly sipping the fragrant tea and taking bites of the foreign cuisine. After a brief period, Kimio Nagaba came up to the chair beside Miyo.

“Um, would you mind if I sat here?”

“Not at all.”

When Miyo nodded, Kimio looked relieved and thanked Miyo before sitting down in the chair.

Did she have something to say to Miyo?

Once again, Miyo began to analyze her nagging feeling that she knew Kimio.

But ultimately, she didn’t need to dig out the answer from her memories, as Kimio instead revealed a clue that helped lead her to the answer.

“Saimori…Miyo, I believe?”

“That’s right.”

Miyo’s reply to the sudden question brought a pleased and cheerful look to Kimio’s face.

“I knew it! Um, do you remember me? I’ve married into the Nagaba family, but my maiden name was Hongou.”

“Miss Kimio…Hongou.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Miyo felt the answer beginning to rise up in her throat. Still, it didn’t clearly come out like she wanted it to.

Kimio’s way of speaking suggested that they were old acquaintances.

In which case, the only time when Miyo had the opportunity to get to know anybody would have been when she was still allowed to come and go from the Saimori estate—her elementary school days.

Elementary school?

It was at that moment it finally flashed in the back of her mind. Of course. She remembered that a girl by the name of Hongou had been in her class.

“If I’m not mistaken, we were classmates in elementary school. Is that right?”

“Yes, that’s correct! I never would have thought we would meet again here.”

The previous meek and fragile-looking Kimio clapped her hands and clearly expressed her joy.

Strangely, once Miyo remembered who Kimio was, the memories of her time attending elementary school came flooding back into her mind.

Among those memories was an image of a young Kimio.

“It really has been a long time! You’ve become such a lovely gentlewoman that, at first glance, I wasn’t confident if it was you or not. But I’m glad it did turn out to be you!”

“It’s good to see you again, Miss Hongou! It’s wonderful to see you’re just as calm and mature as you were back then.”

Kimio broke into a smile, laying bare that she was truly and deeply delighted.

In all honesty, Miyo and Kimio hadn’t been especially close with one another.

At home, Miyo’s relationship with her stepmother and her half sister had always been bad, and she had struggled often, which meant she wasn’t very cheerful even at school, and she lacked any true friends of her own.

On the other hand, the Kimio she remembered had a meek personality and acted a bit more mature than the other kids in some regards, so Miyo recalled that she hadn’t made a lot of friends, either.

Basically, both Miyo and Kimio had spent a fair amount of time by themselves in the classroom, so they didn’t have much in the way of contact with each other.

Still, Miyo also believed that the only reason she was able to remember Kimio a decade later was because they’d experienced similar things inside the classroom.

The cheerful kids in class seemed to live in a completely different world… Even if I was reminded of their names, I probably wouldn’t be able to remember any of them.

Miyo was profoundly touched, learning for the first time that these sorts of connections were out there now that she was freely able to go outside. She felt an ever so slight bit of nostalgia for the time when she was young.

“You see, I actually learned about you a bit already,” Kimio began quietly.

“Oh…are you talking about my wedding?”

“That’s right. I read an article somewhere—maybe it was in the newspaper—about Mr. Kudou’s wedding. It said he was marrying a Ms. Saimori, and I thought, Maybe they’re talking about my old classmate.”

“That makes sense, then… Miss Hongou, or rather, Kimio, when did you get married?”

Miyo questioned, prompting Kimio to laugh.

“Oh, two years ago. Right after I finished girls’ school. Though the actual marriage talks happened while I was still at school.”

A complete change came over Kimio; she averted her eyes and grew vaguely melancholic. Her demeanor reminded Miyo of how ashamed and timid Kimio had looked when she first stepped into the kitchen.

Something about her seemed exhausted.

“I think this may be a bit rude of me to ask, but…,” Kimio prefaced, before continuing, “You haven’t been having any difficulties with your fiancé, have you? After all, there aren’t many good rumors about Mr. Kudou, are there? It sounds like there are plenty of young noblewomen who pine for him, but I’ve heard there are just as many he’s sent home in tears.”

In spite of herself, Miyo was at a loss at how to answer.

She could immediately deny the first part. While there had indeed been many troubles with her engagement to Kiyoka, the root of them all, if anything, had been Miyo herself. And she was sure that she wouldn’t have been able to overcome them all if Kiyoka hadn’t been by her side.

As for the second part, however…

It was true that there were many bad rumors about Kiyoka, and it was just as true that he had reduced many women to tears.

Hazuki had said that half of the rumors were deliberately started on purpose, but that meant the other half were simple facts.

“No. I have been…treated very well.”

Miyo replied, choosing her words carefully, and Kimio’s eyes widened.

“Really? He doesn’t say or do awful things to you, does he?”

“No. He’s a very kind man, so there’s been nothing of the sort.”

From the moment they first met, Miyo had never once thought that Kiyoka was actually the cold person the rumors made him out to be. She nodded firmly at Kimio as she felt her cheeks naturally soften into a smile.

When she did, she could have sworn that the look in Kimio’s eyes darkened slightly.

“Then I’m sure he must love you very much… I’m jealous.”

“Kimio?”

“So actually, I know a charm that’s perfect for newly married couples,” Kimio said, looking out of sorts for only a moment before her cheerful expression immediately returned.

“A charm?”

Of course, Miyo knew about the existence of such charms, and she understood they were often popular with young women.

But she had never actually had any experience with them, so she cocked her head in confusion as to what Kimio meant.

Kimio looked at Miyo’s reaction and began to explain this “charm” in a breathy voice.

“That’s right. It’s getting around that newlyweds who use this charm will grow happy, get along well, and enjoy a blissful married life together.”

“Really…”

“They say that calm follows a storm, don’t they? I heard about this when I got married, too, and it really did go well, so I’ll let you in on the secret. You just need to listen to the tale I’m going to tell you.”

“Just listen to you?”

“That’s right. The story I’m about to tell, well, it’s a bit like an old story, a fairy tale of sorts. But all you have to do is listen to it, and good luck will come to you.”

Miyo doubted that a charm that convenient really existed, but if all she had to do was listen, she supposed it would be strange to decline.

There should be no harm in hearing her story.

Charms were apparently a type of jinxing art.

However, this wasn’t necessarily always the case. If anything, most charms didn’t have any magical properties at all and were little more than childish pranks.

This was what her cousin, Arata Usuba, had taught her, regarding Gifts and arts.

“Can I begin?”

“Yes, please do.”

Above all else, Miyo didn’t want to bluntly refuse Kimio’s feelings of concern for her safety and her joy at their reunion.

After Miyo gave her the go-ahead, Kimio happily began to tell the old tale.

“A long, long time ago, there was a terribly infamous lord…”

The story was a relatively short one.

The lord was tyrannical and cruel, without any redeeming qualities whatsoever. One day, he discovered a very beautiful young lady.

The lord decided he wanted her at all costs, abducted her, and kept her at his side as his wife.

Of course, the young lady cried every night, wishing to go home. At a loss over what to do, the lord…decided to kill both of the young lady’s parents, burn their manor, and erase any place for her to return home to.

“…Um, I’m not really sure how to take this.”

In the middle of Kimio’s story, Miyo interjected.

Surely this story was a bit too frightening to tell a newlywed. At the very least, the way it was going made it very hard to imagine it would have a happy ending.

“I get it,” Kimio said with a strained smile, “but it’s just a simple charm, that’s all.”

From there, she continued to relay the story.

The young lady learned that the lord planned on killing both her parents.

To prevent this, she convinced the lord that she would end her life if he killed them.

Unable to endure the prospect of her dying, the lord canceled his plans and rescinded his orders.

When the young lady entreated him never to consider such a thing again and appealed to him to consider the pain of others, the lord had a change of heart and went on to become a proper sovereign.

The young lady stayed at the lord’s side and continued to support him.

“And they lived happily ever after. The end.”

Miyo could only manage a complicated reaction to Kimio’s tale.

That wasn’t happy in the slightest…

Her first impression of the story had been right. No matter how you spun it, nothing seemed happy about the conclusion.

If there was a single bright spot, it was that the subjects who had been oppressed by the lord were saved in the end. But the young lady remained forever unrewarded. After all, she was still forced to be the wife of the man who had planned to kill her parents.

A numbness, like a tingling pain, ran through Miyo’s chest.

“That poor young lady,” she murmured.

“…Yes, I feel the exact same way,” Kimio agreed.

Despite finishing with a “happily ever after,” Kimio seemed to share Miyo’s opinion of the story,

“It’s awful, isn’t it? I mean, people don’t change that easily, do they? Surely the lord’s cruel, tyrannical disposition stayed the same. When I think about the young lady having to live her whole life in fear of him, well…”

Kimio lowered her eyes, and her complexion seemed to grow much worse, perhaps due to the lighting.

The teacup in Miyo’s hands had completely lost all its warmth, and the black tea inside it had gone cold.

There are all too many examples of that type of relationship in real life.

Miyo couldn’t say what would have happened to her if Kiyoka had turned out to be the man he was rumored to be. It was possible she wouldn’t still be alive right now.

“I’m sorry. I brought up this weird story and spoiled the mood. Now that I’ve actually said it out loud, I realize it was a much more upsetting story than I had thought.”

“Please don’t let it bother you. These things happen.”

Kimio lowered her head in regret, so Miyo tried to say something to cheer her up.

Charm or otherwise, Miyo found it exciting to get an opportunity to casually chat like this with a former classmate.

It was almost as if she had reclaimed some of the time in her youth that she hadn’t been able to spend with any friends.

“I’m just really happy that I got the chance to chat with you, Kimio.”

“R-really?’

“Yes. Back when I was in elementary school, I never got the chance to converse with anyone else like this…”

Miyo’s world had been all too narrow and constrained when she was young. Since she’d needed to do everything in her power to protect herself, she didn’t have any energy to spare.

She was delighted that things had truly changed from how they were back then.

“I feel the same way. I’ve always wanted to have a conversation with you, Ms. Saimori. Getting a chance to see you again and chat together feels like a dream come true.”

Just then, Mrs. Shioze called Kimio’s name from elsewhere in the room. Kimio acknowledged her summons and stood up from her seat.

“Until next time.”

An unceremonious end to the conversation. Miyo let out a sigh.

Short though it was, the time she’d spent with her had been fulfilling. She hadn’t expected for a moment that she would be reunited with a former classmate on this outing. It put her in a strange mood.

Like Kimio had mentioned, there was something dreamlike about the encounter. Somehow, it had been a bit like the sensation of Dream Sight.

My classmates… I’m sure they’ve all grown up into splendid people.

What about Miyo herself, then? She didn’t feel she was splendid. She was still constantly at the mercy of her own emotions, and nothing went how she wanted it to.

“Miyo.”

“Sis.”

Hazuki had finished chatting with the other women and approached Miyo.

“It sounds like it’s finally time to practice making these dishes ourselves. Go on and give it a shot.”

“Okay, I’ll try.”

Now that Miyo was able to attempt foreign cooking for herself, anticipation began to swell inside her chest. Just the thought that this would please Kiyoka filled her to the brim with motivation.

Just wait, Kiyoka.

She was going to redeem herself from her failure of the night before. To do that, she would learn how to prepare new dishes and bring that knowledge back home with her.

“Someone’s raring to go… By the way, Miyo, you and Mrs. Nagaba were certainly chatting together for long time, weren’t you?” Hazuki asked with a slightly dubious look on her face. Miyo waved lightly.

“Oh, no, we weren’t talking about anything important really… It’s just that, Kimio was a former classmate of mine.”

“Really now, is that so? From elementary school?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t that great?” Hazuki said after Miyo nodded, first looking surprised and then getting a gleam in her eyes.

“How was it? Did you enjoy catching up with an old classmate?”

“Yes! It felt very refreshing.”

She’d had another novel encounter that filled her with all sorts of new feelings.

One that she would have gone her whole life without experiencing if she were still with the Saimoris, and if she still hadn’t changed at all.

Miyo became instantly engrossed in cooking practice once it got underway.

She had always enjoyed learning new things, and her hunger for knowledge was even more intense when it was related to a task that she enjoyed doing every day, like cooking.

“You are quite accustomed to preparing food, aren’t you, Ms. Saimori?”

“Look at those practiced hands! How wonderful.”

While it was a bit embarrassing hearing the women around her praise her like this, Miyo couldn’t deny that she was full of energy.

Conversely, despite her stubborn insistence earlier that she wouldn’t allow herself to participate in the kitchen, Hazuki ultimately crumbled against the pressure and put her cooking skills on display…

“Eeek!”

Tremendous shrieks erupted immediately.

“Oh no! The ingredients have all turned to mush!”

“The oven’s smoking!”

“The galette dough is in pieces!”

Scarcely any time had passed before Miyo began to hear the other women cry out in grief and panic.

“I’m sorry! Ugh, I knew I shouldn’t have tried to do anything.”

At the same time, she caught Hazuki’s words of apology and regret.

Miyo, who had been anxiously watching the situation as soon as she heard Hazuki was going to participate, could manage only a wincing smile at the fully anticipated chaos.

That night, it was still too chilly after sunset to open up the veranda windows and enjoy the moonlight.

Having finished her bath, Miyo was wearing only a thin haori coat over her shoulders on top of her sleepwear. She cracked open the sliding paper door and looked up at the sky.

Just for a few brief moments, to make sure she didn’t feel too cold right out of the bath.

The moon shined bright, and the countless stars twinkled uninterrupted. She felt renewed awe at the beauty of the nighttime sky.

“Miyo.”

Suddenly hearing her name called, she turned around to find Kiyoka lingering there quietly.

While he didn’t exactly look sad, there was a tinge of unease on his face, probably because of the events of the previous night.

During dinner earlier, they had both been busy gauging each other’s feelings and weren’t able to hold a proper conversation.

Miyo might have unconsciously avoided talking with Kiyoka before and after dinner to prevent another situation like the one from the night before from happening.

“Kiyoka…yesterday, I…”

Should she apologize? Or should she explain herself?

As Miyo’s gaze wandered, Kiyoka walked right up beside her, getting close enough for them to touch, then he went still.

“I trust your words.”

“What?”

Taken by surprise, Miyo looked up at Kiyoka. He was staring down at her intently.

“…You said you liked me very much, didn’t you?”

“I—I did…”

Having him reaffirm what she said went far beyond just embarrassment or shame.

Upon being reminded that she had given in to her impulses and said something so outrageous, she was seized by the urge to immediately cover her face with her hands and crouch down where she stood.

Kiyoka seemed somewhat embarrassed himself, and he turned slightly to the side.

“So, um, I wanted to, well, let you know that I understood… That you had gotten your feelings across clearly.”

Miyo didn’t know how to respond.

As ashamed as she’d felt about telling him that, she couldn’t be happier if Kiyoka was going to accept her feelings.

“K-Kiyoka.”

Why was it that she couldn’t get her words out? Her heart was pounding faster and faster, almost painfully so.

“Can I hold your hand?” he asked.

“Huh…?”

As she stood there frozen, unable to say yes or no, he slowly began to reach out to her. He placed both of his hands on Miyo’s own.

That instant, her throat, tongue, and lips all moved of their own accord.

“I—I…I lied.”

She couldn’t fathom what was happening. Her body seemed to be moving by itself, operating under a will other than her own.

“About what?”

“Wh-when I said, that, I l-liked you, very much…”

Kiyoka’s eyes widened to their absolute limits. His stunned bewilderment was written all over his face.

She hadn’t wanted to say that at all. She had been telling him nothing but the truth yesterday.

What? Wh-why am I saying this?

Her mouth kept moving of its own accord.

“…In fact, I…I h-hate you…!”

“What…?” Kiyoka mumbled in confusion. The strength left both his hands, and they fell limply to his sides.

Why? How could I say such a thing?

It was inconceivable that she would use a word like hate toward Kiyoka, now and for the rest of her life. She was in complete disbelief that those words had slipped from her own mouth.

Miyo felt unrest, shock, guilt…along with her anger at herself, and dejection. Her negative emotions all blended together, swirling and filling her heart.

“I’m angry.”

She didn’t feel the slightest bit of resentment toward Kiyoka. If she was angry at anyone, it was only herself.

Yet that didn’t stop statements that completely contradicted her true feelings from flowing right out of Miyo’s mouth, one after another.

“I didn’t take you for being so lecherous!”

“L-lecherous?!”

“You’re shameless! I can’t believe it!”

“…Sh-shameless…”

“I—I cannot…d-do such things with you!”

“Is that so…?”

Kiyoka’s voice gradually grew softer, and his shoulders began to slump.

Unable to stop the stream of words that had never once crossed her mind from spilling out, Miyo finally covered her mouth with her hands.

Why, why, why?!

Miyo didn’t understand how she could be saying things that would hurt Kiyoka, like calling him “lecherous” or “shameless.”

Her thoughts and emotions were blending into a chaotic mess, far worse than they had been last night. As she completely lost her cool, Miyo’s eyes spun in circles, and her vision went out of focus.

She could freely move her legs and feet. So why, then, could she not control her mouth?

Nearly in tears, Miyo abruptly turned around and ran off like a fleeing hare.