「29」
According to Umeko, after seeing us leave Otomo-sama’s party, she had a run-in with Kikka-neesan.
Kikka-neesan had done a bit of work for the Fujiwara family and had become acquaintances with Umeko through that experience.
It was I hadn’t heard about until recently.
While they were speaking with the queen, a man came up to talk with my sister.
He seemed to be a the root of the problem.
Ichijō Hideaki.
The Ichijō family started as a branch family to the Fujiwara before they received their surname.
There was another house Ichijō, but the two were completely separate.
It was easy to confuse them because they shared the same name.
Umeko was caught off guard by Ichijō Hideaki’s beautiful face and calm demeanor, and she was in love with him by the end of their brief conversation.
Yes. It was a solid explanation.
Such things were possible for a maiden who dreams of love.
Of course, that was the result of Kikka-neesan’s investigation into Umeko’s preferences and taste as part of her strategy.
For my purposes, the encounter was meant to manufacture situations Umeko would like.
We’d caught the pure maiden in our trap.
Kikka-neesan had immediately agreed to support plan when I asked for her help.
My older siblings dotted on their little sisters too much.
I didn’t allow myself to be tormented by guilt for taking advantage of that fact.
I capitalized on their kindness with hesitation.
But, if the situation were reversed, I’d probably be disheartened that my own family used me in such a way.
Even I realized that.
As an adult, Kikka-neesan unitized her existing power base to calculate the various variables involved with my plan.
Umeko’s feelings for Ariwara steamed from her seeing his gentle smile. She’d been swept up in the fairytale dreams of princes and marriage.
Now that she knew what she felt for him wasn’t love, Umeko felt guilty for what she’d done to Ariwara.
She was at a loss for what to do, and somehow, the only person she could turn to for advice was me.
Ariwara spoke of me frequently after all.
For some reason, people always came to me for consultation.
That was why Umeko came to visit me today.
It was probably because of her innocence.
She was relying on a younger girl she just met for advice.
Creating a situation like this was why I’d relied on Kikka-neesan.
I felt terrible for doing so, but I held my tongue.
We were equally guilty in this endeavor.
My sister told me that Ichijō Hideaki was my stalker.
He’d heard that I’d be attending Otome-sama’s party and spoke to Kikka-neesan to confirm that.
Well, because I played into Otomo-sama’s hands, I spent most of the party playing billiards without meeting many people.
Kikka-neesan may have had something to do with that too.
She was the type of person that would strike a deal with Otomo-same to keep her precious sister away from a stalker.
My siblings protected me even if I didn’t know they were doing so.
In any case, Ichijō greeted the woman that was with Kikka-neesan with his best smile when he went to confront my sister.
For branch families, main families were comparable to the sun.
Their existence was dependent on the head family.
Even if they were given a surname and became separated, that fact remained the same.
For Ichijō, dampening Umeko’s mood would’ve been a grave crime.
Greeting her with a smile was the best option.
However, that simple action had severe ramifications.
For Fujiwara, who ran up against a wall in her pursuit of Ariwara, could easily capture Ichijō.
Shizuka Ariwara was fifteen-years-old. Ichijō Hideaki was twenty-five. It was apparent who was the more appropriate partner for the twenty-two-year-old Umeko.
No matter how prestigious the Shizuka family was, Umeko would be around thirty by the time Ariwara reached the marriageable age.
The Fujiwara family couldn’t allow such a delayed marriage to dishonor them.
I didn’t mind marrying later in life, but prestigious families concerned with their reputation didn’t share that opinion.
My way of thinking may have hearkened back to my commoner memories.
The common sense of a commoner was in opposition to the insanity of the upper class.
Celibacy is a prime example of that.
The reverse is true for cheating.
Cheating was frowned upon, in general, but unlike in the game, the children born from the affairs of the upper class might as well not even existed.
In that regard, the Sagara were the same.
The expectation was that you would only have one partner.
Well, that was a good thing. If Umeko showed romantic interest in Hideaki, the Fujiwara would start pressuring the Ichijō family.
A branch family could not refuse the head family.
With a single world from Umeko, the engagement could be set up within a few days.
For now, I soothed Umeko’s worries, advised her to be honest with her true feelings, and promised her we’d speak again.
After accepting her gifts, I accompanied her back to the lobby.
Although it was our first meeting, I smiled at the various embarrassing things I discussed with Umeko.
The status of the Fujiwara family was much higher than that of the Sagara family.
An open confrontation with them was out of the question.
My hotheaded siblings might try something like that, but I wouldn’t.
Safety was my top priority.
I can boast that I was the typical Japanese standard.
The final outcome was more important than singular victories.
I wasn’t against fighting. It’s just that situational awareness was an important factor.
“I’m sorry, Mizuki-sama.”
Umeko appreciatively lowered her head to me.
Such behavior is considered disgraceful for someone of her status.
“No. Listening to your stories was fun.”
Umeko blushed when a smiled at her.
She seemed to like my face.
It was something Yakumo-niisan also had trouble dealing with.
Depending on her preferences, she might have the same reaction if she saw my brother.
Although, Yakumo might be too much for the slightly androphobic Umeko.
Even though he had a face similar to mine, he was a carnivores man inside.
Umeko might come to fear him if the pair were to meet one another.
Conversely, I was an herbivore.
I had a stable personality that had little interest in love and didn’t get angry over trivial matters.
In that regard, my oldest brother would’ve been the best partner for her. Wait that wouldn’t do at all.
My eldest brother already had a girlfriend, and I didn’t want to worry about someone inflicting bodily harm upon those I liked.
Therefore, it was unreasonable to try matching those two up.
As I walked to the lobby, I was caught off guard by a person that suddenly sprinted passed the automatic doors.
“Ichijō”
Hideaki’s expression frozen into a mask when Umeko spoke his name.
He seemed frightened by what she potentially told me.
“Mizuki-san.”
Despite his pale complexion, he managed to speak.
“Umeko-sama is on her way home, did you come to pick her up?”
I smiled at Hideaki as I asked my question.
“That, I……”
Hideaki tripped over his tongue.
Did he realize that he was in Kikka-neesan’s trap?
Or, did he genuinely think I believed everything that Umeko had told me?
He seemed to realize that he was in a no-win situation no matter what excuse he made.
“Thank you for today, Umeko-sama.”
“Thank you for listening to my story and the advice you offered.”
Hideaki’s complexion worsened as he watched the two of us chanting.
Even with his lousy personality being speechless was in bad taste.
“Well then, see you next time.”
I saw Umeko off with a happy smile.
“Yes, let’s meet again.”
Hideaki’s sorrowful gaze lingered on me as he expertly escorted Umeko out of the building.
In any case, I needed to speak with Kikka-neesan about what happened.
Once the two of them were beyond the door, I immediately returned to my room and got in touch with my sister.
「29」
According to Umeko, after seeing us leave Otomo-sama’s party, she had a run-in with Kikka-neesan.
Kikka-neesan had done a bit of work for the Fujiwara family and had become acquaintances with Umeko through that experience.
It was I hadn’t heard about until recently.
While they were speaking with the queen, a man came up to talk with my sister.
He seemed to be a the root of the problem.
Ichijō Hideaki.
The Ichijō family started as a branch family to the Fujiwara before they received their surname.
There was another house Ichijō, but the two were completely separate.
It was easy to confuse them because they shared the same name.
Umeko was caught off guard by Ichijō Hideaki’s beautiful face and calm demeanor, and she was in love with him by the end of their brief conversation.
Yes. It was a solid explanation.
Such things were possible for a maiden who dreams of love.
Of course, that was the result of Kikka-neesan’s investigation into Umeko’s preferences and taste as part of her strategy.
For my purposes, the encounter was meant to manufacture situations Umeko would like.
We’d caught the pure maiden in our trap.
Kikka-neesan had immediately agreed to support plan when I asked for her help.
My older siblings dotted on their little sisters too much.
I didn’t allow myself to be tormented by guilt for taking advantage of that fact.
I capitalized on their kindness with hesitation.
But, if the situation were reversed, I’d probably be disheartened that my own family used me in such a way.
Even I realized that.
As an adult, Kikka-neesan unitized her existing power base to calculate the various variables involved with my plan.
Umeko’s feelings for Ariwara steamed from her seeing his gentle smile. She’d been swept up in the fairytale dreams of princes and marriage.
Now that she knew what she felt for him wasn’t love, Umeko felt guilty for what she’d done to Ariwara.
She was at a loss for what to do, and somehow, the only person she could turn to for advice was me.
Ariwara spoke of me frequently after all.
For some reason, people always came to me for consultation.
That was why Umeko came to visit me today.
It was probably because of her innocence.
She was relying on a younger girl she just met for advice.
Creating a situation like this was why I’d relied on Kikka-neesan.
I felt terrible for doing so, but I held my tongue.
We were equally guilty in this endeavor.
My sister told me that Ichijō Hideaki was my stalker.
He’d heard that I’d be attending Otome-sama’s party and spoke to Kikka-neesan to confirm that.
Well, because I played into Otomo-sama’s hands, I spent most of the party playing billiards without meeting many people.
Kikka-neesan may have had something to do with that too.
She was the type of person that would strike a deal with Otomo-same to keep her precious sister away from a stalker.
My siblings protected me even if I didn’t know they were doing so.
In any case, Ichijō greeted the woman that was with Kikka-neesan with his best smile when he went to confront my sister.
For branch families, main families were comparable to the sun.
Their existence was dependent on the head family.
Even if they were given a surname and became separated, that fact remained the same.
For Ichijō, dampening Umeko’s mood would’ve been a grave crime.
Greeting her with a smile was the best option.
However, that simple action had severe ramifications.
For Fujiwara, who ran up against a wall in her pursuit of Ariwara, could easily capture Ichijō.
Shizuka Ariwara was fifteen-years-old. Ichijō Hideaki was twenty-five. It was apparent who was the more appropriate partner for the twenty-two-year-old Umeko.
No matter how prestigious the Shizuka family was, Umeko would be around thirty by the time Ariwara reached the marriageable age.
The Fujiwara family couldn’t allow such a delayed marriage to dishonor them.
I didn’t mind marrying later in life, but prestigious families concerned with their reputation didn’t share that opinion.
My way of thinking may have hearkened back to my commoner memories.
The common sense of a commoner was in opposition to the insanity of the upper class.
Celibacy is a prime example of that.
The reverse is true for cheating.
Cheating was frowned upon, in general, but unlike in the game, the children born from the affairs of the upper class might as well not even existed.
In that regard, the Sagara were the same.
The expectation was that you would only have one partner.
Well, that was a good thing. If Umeko showed romantic interest in Hideaki, the Fujiwara would start pressuring the Ichijō family.
A branch family could not refuse the head family.
With a single world from Umeko, the engagement could be set up within a few days.
For now, I soothed Umeko’s worries, advised her to be honest with her true feelings, and promised her we’d speak again.
After accepting her gifts, I accompanied her back to the lobby.
Although it was our first meeting, I smiled at the various embarrassing things I discussed with Umeko.
The status of the Fujiwara family was much higher than that of the Sagara family.
An open confrontation with them was out of the question.
My hotheaded siblings might try something like that, but I wouldn’t.
Safety was my top priority.
I can boast that I was the typical Japanese standard.
The final outcome was more important than singular victories.
I wasn’t against fighting. It’s just that situational awareness was an important factor.
“I’m sorry, Mizuki-sama.”
Umeko appreciatively lowered her head to me.
Such behavior is considered disgraceful for someone of her status.
“No. Listening to your stories was fun.”
Umeko blushed when a smiled at her.
She seemed to like my face.
It was something Yakumo-niisan also had trouble dealing with.
Depending on her preferences, she might have the same reaction if she saw my brother.
Although, Yakumo might be too much for the slightly androphobic Umeko.
Even though he had a face similar to mine, he was a carnivores man inside.
Umeko might come to fear him if the pair were to meet one another.
Conversely, I was an herbivore.
I had a stable personality that had little interest in love and didn’t get angry over trivial matters.
In that regard, my oldest brother would’ve been the best partner for her. Wait that wouldn’t do at all.
My eldest brother already had a girlfriend, and I didn’t want to worry about someone inflicting bodily harm upon those I liked.
Therefore, it was unreasonable to try matching those two up.
As I walked to the lobby, I was caught off guard by a person that suddenly sprinted passed the automatic doors.
“Ichijō”
Hideaki’s expression frozen into a mask when Umeko spoke his name.
He seemed frightened by what she potentially told me.
“Mizuki-san.”
Despite his pale complexion, he managed to speak.
“Umeko-sama is on her way home, did you come to pick her up?”
I smiled at Hideaki as I asked my question.
“That, I……”
Hideaki tripped over his tongue.
Did he realize that he was in Kikka-neesan’s trap?
Or, did he genuinely think I believed everything that Umeko had told me?
He seemed to realize that he was in a no-win situation no matter what excuse he made.
“Thank you for today, Umeko-sama.”
“Thank you for listening to my story and the advice you offered.”
Hideaki’s complexion worsened as he watched the two of us chanting.
Even with his lousy personality being speechless was in bad taste.
“Well then, see you next time.”
I saw Umeko off with a happy smile.
“Yes, let’s meet again.”
Hideaki’s sorrowful gaze lingered on me as he expertly escorted Umeko out of the building.
In any case, I needed to speak with Kikka-neesan about what happened.
Once the two of them were beyond the door, I immediately returned to my room and got in touch with my sister.
