Mamoru

Mahiru slumped down on the bed of the hotel and stretched out her limbs, visibly tired from the event at the Central Hall. Despite her butler handling all the irritating questions of the form “Who is this girl?” and “Which political party does she belong to?” from the other guests, talking to Kousei had still worn her out more than she could have anticipated.

Even now her cheeks still started to burn whenever her bold marriage proposal or her gift to him came to mind. She had collected a few more cornflowers before coming back to the hotel, which were now being put into a pretty vase by her butler.

“Thank you, Mamoru. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me today.”

“Madam Mahiru, it is my honour to serve you. Moreover, I believe the colour black suits me better anyways, if I’m allowed to say.”

Mahiru breathed a relieved laugh. Considering she had almost been prohibited to visit the West this morning, she couldn’t believe how smooth everything turned out in the end.

Frankly, it was all a little too smooth.

When she decided to put on her rebellious act earlier today by wearing a black dress, her father was furious. She had obviously expected this much, but it still came as a surprise when he said she wasn’t allowed to go with them and had to stay at home.

It was only thanks to Mamoru’s suggestion to accompany and watch over her that she was able to attend the event. To make her stand out as little as possible, Mamoru had offered to wear black as well. This obviously wasn’t enough to satisfy her father, but he trusted Mamoru’s judgement considering that he had served the Watanabe household almost his entire life. In the end, her father reluctantly agreed to the proposal, though Mahiru would likely still have to face her consequences once they got back home.

“Forgive me for being so shameful, Madam Mahiru, but were you able to make any advance regarding your plan?” Mamoru asked as he placed the flower vase on the bedside table, interrupting her inner thoughts.

When he said “your plan,” he obviously referred to her scheme to break out of the Watanabe household and escape to the West. It was a silly dream she had, perhaps even naive, but she was tired of being restricted to the ideals of her father.

All her life she had been told by him and her teachers how evil the West was for dragging their country into war, but she knew that was far from the truth. Her grandfather had told her everything she needed to know when she was still little. So she wanted to see the West with her own eyes, to experience their freedom her grandfather so nostalgically raved about.

But she knew that the only way to legally escape the East was…to marry someone from another state.

“I met this guy earlier when I went outside for a bit. I’ll see him again tomorrow morning.”

“Very well, I am sure your grandfather would be proud of you.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Absolutely. Akira wanted nothing more than for you to live in the West. He dreamt of you sharing in the joy he found there. He was a very happy man in the West, until his daughter decided to marry into the Watanabe house. Ah, it’s such a shame they all had to transfer to the East.”

“Tsk.”

Mahiru clicked her tongue, cursing her mother for what she saw as a betrayal. These days, her mother never intervened when Mahiru and her father argued. All she decided to do was to remain silent and not pick a side, hoping she wouldn’t get dragged into the conflict. Mahiru hated her for that.

“I’m sure that if Akira saw how hard you’re trying to reach the place he once called home, his heart would leap from joy,” Mamoru continued.

“Thank you, Mamoru. I really hope this will work out. This might be the only chance I will ever get.”

Mahiru was thankful for always having her butler by her side. She didn’t know much about Mamoru except that he had been serving in the Watanabe house his whole life and took particular care of her grandfather when he moved in. Still, she remembered Akira’s words clearly.

“You can always trust Mamoru after I die.”

In fact, he was the first person to look out for her when she was devastated because of her grandfather’s death.

Seeing how much the bond between Mahiru and Mamoru had tightened after that, her father appointed Mamoru as her personal servant. Mahiru never quite understood that decision.

Why would her father bring her closer to a person her grandfather was fond of? Maybe he wasn’t aware of that fact, or maybe he just didn’t care.

And then there was a small, reluctant voice in her that wondered if, just this once, he had done something for her sake without any ulterior motive, though Mahiru didn’t really believe in that hypothesis.

Either way, she was happy she had a person by her side who she could trust. The reason why he was by her side in the first place didn’t really matter to her.

“Should I get the papers for the marriage ready, Madam Mahiru?”

“...”

Mahiru hesitated for a second as her heart flinched at the word “marriage.” She still believed she was way too young for that, but in the end, it was the only choice she had.

“Please do, Mamoru.”

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Kousei wolfed down his breakfast before heading to the door.

“Mom, Dad, I’m going out! Hayato and I are heading to a café, I’ll probably be back by afternoon.”

He wasn’t sure if his parents would really buy his excuse given that he wasn’t exactly a guy to hang out with his friends on weekends, but they didn’t seem to be questioning it.

Yuuna was the only one who gave him a questioning glare, but it was immediately followed by a “Make sure to bring me my favourite latte please!” with a beaming smile. Her ability to change expressions at will when it came to food never ceased to amaze him.

With that out of the way, Kousei inspected the sky as he stepped out. It was somewhat cloudy, so he decided to bring an umbrella with him to be on the safe side. The café wasn’t very far away, but he still didn’t want to run through the rain later.

Letting out a long yawn, Kousei started to walk.

He didn’t sleep particularly well last night given that the encounter with Mahiru played in his head non-stop. Naturally, he didn’t tell anyone that he spoke face to face with the Watanabe daughter – that young woman who nobody in the West except for him recognised, but who was still called ‘princess’ by everyone.

The danger he would get into for revealing her identity was something he didn’t even want to imagine. He obviously didn’t know much about the Watanabes, but he heard some rumours from Hayato that the chief of state was extremely strict both in his education and in the enforcing of the laws. Although he once again questioned where on earth Hayato always got his information from, it was definitely not a risk Kousei was willing to take.

I really hope I can help that girl. But do I really have to marry her for that?

Sure, Mahiru seemed to be a beautiful woman from what he saw yesterday, and the way she went from irritated to kind within mere seconds was somehow also really cute. But Kousei still believed he was too young to think about marriage, given that he was only in his final year of school. However, a sudden thought then crossed his mind.

Maybe…it’s normal to marry at such a young age in the East? Is something like “marriage at first sight” a thing over there?

Kousei thought he had finally solved the puzzle. He hadn’t considered the possibility of a different view on marriage in the East before, but that would surely explain Mahiru’s bizarre behaviour.

Satisfied with his answer, Kousei was now in good spirits. If it was just a cultural misunderstanding between the two, they would surely be able to clear it up.

But when he approached the café, the shock wave shooting through his body made him drop his umbrella.