Several days later, Keiichiro returned to the estate at dusk when the scent of rain hung heavily in the air. Having finished his business trip, he could finally relax at home. He would have Hina apply his medicine again. She would brew him medicinal tea so he could sleep soundly—with these gentle expectations in his heart, he stepped through the entrance. Yet, he felt an inexplicable unease when he noticed no one had come to greet him.
“…Where is Hina?”
He called out to a passing maid, but she kept her eyes downcast and did not answer.
The oppressive silence was as if she feared something. Keiichiro frowned.
Then, from deeper inside, the head maid Yamane came hurrying over.
Her face was visibly stiff with tension, and she clutched something in her hand.
“Master… Hina left… this…”
What Yamane held out was a container of ointment.
Without even time to leave a note, Hina had entrusted only this medicine as a final gesture of concern.
“…What is the meaning of this?”
Keiichiro’s voice dropped low.
Yamane’s gaze wavered as she answered hesitantly.
“The arranged marriage… has been called off.”
At those words, Keiichiro inadvertently let out a sigh of relief.
Hina had fulfilled her purpose. Even at the cost of herself, she had severed the engagement.
Since the other party had been him, he felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
But the words that followed from Yamane’s mouth poured cold water over his heart.
“However, the mistress was furious about it… Hina, feeling responsible… is no longer… here…”
Before she could finish, Keiichiro turned on his heel and headed toward the inner chambers where Kiyoe resided.
“Mother! What is the meaning of this?!”
He flung open the sliding doors, his voice raised in anger.
But Kiyoe, indifferent to her son’s rage, answered in a calm tone.
“The marriage arrangement is off. That girl declared herself impure. Lord Shinomiya was most displeased.”
For Hina, it must have been a resolve to relinquish her future.
Keiichiro clenched his fists in his heart, his soul aching under the weight of what she had shouldered because of him.
“The investment talks have, of course, been nullified as well.”
“Investment…?! Don’t tell me you were using Hina for a political marriage?!”
Unable to hold back, he demanded an answer. Kiyoe merely shrugged, a cold smile playing on her lips.
“What are you saying, Keiichiro? This is nothing new. Whose efforts do you think have kept Saotome Pharmaceuticals prosperous all this time…? You still didn’t realize?”
“Don’t tell me… all this time…!”
The faces of the maids who had been pushed into engagements flashed through his mind.
Kiyoe had always claimed she simply enjoyed matchmaking. But behind it lay a ruthless intent to protect the company.
—His mother had calculated everything.
Even as he shuddered at this realization, Keiichiro’s heart returned to a single question.
“…Then, where is Hina now?”
At this, Kiyoe’s brow furrowed slightly. But her tone remained as cold as ever.
“She must have felt responsible. She packed her things and left on her own.”
The moment the words reached his ears, a cold sweat ran down Keiichiro’s spine.
Hina had left the estate of her own will—that reality struck him with an overwhelming sense of loss.
“…I’ll gather my men immediately and search for her. The town, boarding houses—it doesn’t matter. We’ll find any clue to where she went.”
“Why are you in such a hurry? Oh, is it about the medicine? That wound of yours only responds to her medicine, doesn’t it?”
Kiyoe’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
“But don’t worry. We had the formula copied.”
“…Copied?”
Keiichiro’s breath caught.
Hina had once said she could never easily part with that medicine’s formula. It was her pride, her family’s legacy to protect. He couldn’t imagine her permitting something so important to be taken so lightly.
—Did you get Hina’s permission?
The question rose to his throat, but he couldn’t bring himself to voice it.
He already knew the answer would be no. He was afraid to hear it.
To think his own mother was capable of something like this—.
“Forget about that girl, Keiichiro. As long as we have the formula, that’s enough, isn’t it?”
Kiyoe’s icy words stabbed through him like a blade.
But Keiichiro spoke firmly.
“…I will find Hina.”
At this declaration, Kiyoe’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“I’m telling you it’s unnecessary. You don’t have time for that. We must proceed with your own marriage arrangements soon, after all.”
Keiichiro gritted his teeth.
“How much she has devoted to this household… You know that as well, Mother. This isn’t about the marriage. Leaving her alone now would be far worse—it would be a sin.”
After a brief silence, Kiyoe twisted her lips.
“…Do as you like. But even if you find her—that girl will never set foot in the Saotome household again.”
Keiichiro offered no reply to this pronouncement.
He simply bowed his head silently, turned, and left the room.
The moment he stepped into the hallway, pain shot through his back, forcing him to drop to one knee.
Perhaps because of the approaching rain, his old wound throbbed.
But this was no time to stop. Not until he found Hina—.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Keiichiro stood and summoned the steward, issuing rapid orders.
Immediately, the entire estate sprang into motion. The quiet night suddenly grew hectic.
Yet, no matter how many days passed, Hina’s whereabouts remained unknown.
The search expanded beyond the town—to the tenement where she had once lived, temples, churches, even factory laborers—but Hina was nowhere to be found.
One evening, as cold rain fell, Keiichiro found himself stepping into the garden on impulse.
The herb garden Hina had once tended with such care.
Now, the neglected plants drooped under the rain, withering as if in mourning.
The untended flowers seemed to be waiting for something—and Keiichiro was overcome with an indescribable loneliness.
(Hina… where did you go…?)
With chilled hands, he gently touched the flowers.
In his palm, he could still faintly feel the lingering warmth of her touch.