Odina Florence wept uncontrollably.
He cried over the fact that his younger sister Miyako Florence had let him sleep soundly through the night without waking him (on the living room floor) after he collapsed.
Over the warm meal she prepared for him.
Over the warm open-air bath heated with hot stones.
Over the slow, rural time free from the torment of long work hours.
Viva slow life.
“Miyako. Big brother’s going back home for a bit. I’m done playing the struggling worker character!”
“Eh……”
Miyako was taken aback by his sudden appearance and his overly free-spirited declaration.
Or rather, she was stunned to learn that the incident of their carriage being stolen in the mountains at midnight was actually Odina’s doing. When her brother scratched his head and said, “Well, I thought someone had just abandoned it…” Miyako was dumbfounded. More than that, she was astonished to learn that his method of transportation from the royal capital to the Attica region had been “dashing.” Just how physically resilient was this brother of hers?
When she glanced at Fuuka, she saw that Fuuka’s eyes were wide with surprise at Odina’s utterly innocent words and behavior.
“A lovable fool.” That was Odina Florence.
“Well, I do have work, so I need to report to Lord Klaus. But I’m gonna slack off just a little. Cover for me, okay, Miyako!”
“Y-yes… Be careful, brother.”
She’d heard he was serving the Reinhardt family in the royal capital, but she was deeply concerned about whether he was actually doing his job properly.
Well, at least she was grateful he wasn’t interfering with her life with Fuuka.
Since the carriage had originally been borrowed from Shanly, it ended up being left with Odina. Umi watched with keen interest as the horse happily munched on its feed. The way its tail swished back and forth was exactly like a cat’s.
Having fully recovered his energy, Odina departed into the twilight. Miyako had asked him to keep it a secret from their parents that she was using this villa without permission. Since Odina was enthusiastically planning to slack off at work, he readily agreed. It’s good to have a brother who’s both easygoing and familiar with hardship.
“That guy sure makes people work like crazy just because he’s high-spec himself.”
“That guy” referred to Miyako’s former fiancé, Duke Klaus Reinhardt. As evidenced by how eagerly Fuuka’s family, the Hamilton Counts, had pursued Klaus’s “bride-taking,” he came from a good family and was excellent at his work as a knight serving at court. However, he was slightly… or rather, quite narcissistic with a tendency to misunderstand things, which was his one flaw.
Well, to be honest, Miyako’s target had been Fuuka all along. Honestly, she hadn’t paid any attention to Klaus at all, so now that she’d started living with Fuuka, she couldn’t really recall his face clearly, but she thought he was probably good-looking. Probably.
“If Lord Klaus has sent a messenger, it’s only a matter of time before our whereabouts are discovered,” Fuuka remarked while preparing medicines for the villagers who would likely come again tomorrow.
It seemed Fuuka had acquired not only fresh medicinal herbs but dried ones as well, as she was grinding medicine in her mortar with a gori-gori sound. Watching her serious profile, Miyako thought: I like this profile much more than the flawless villainess Fuuka Hamilton who used to be like a perfectly dressed doll moving according to high society etiquette in the royal capital of Aude. —That’s why.
“Hmm, I’d rather avoid being roughly taken back. More importantly, Fuuka-chan! I want to stay with you more!”
“Your voice is too loud, Miyako.”
“S-sorry. But we should do something before brother wakes up, right?”
“Do something?”
Stopping her medicine grinding, Fuuka stared intently at Miyako.
“Do you really think, we can keep running away forever?”
“That’s…”
Fuuka said.
“Surely impossible. Because no matter what, we’re still women. No matter how hard we try, no matter how much we struggle… even if we try to meet our fathers’ expectations…”
“Fuuka-chan,”
Miyako said.
“If it’s you and me, Fuuka-chan, we’ll be fine. We can live happily together.”
Nyafu. Talking about a love escape, nyaa? I like those, zo.
“Besides, we have Umi too.”
“Miyako…”
Fuuka’s eyes grew moist.
The truth was.
The truth was, Fuuka had noticed too.
Life with Miyako was very enjoyable, and unknown things and things she’d never done before made her excited. The white magic she’d studied continuously as “a lady’s accomplishment” helping people she’d never met and being greatly thanked for it was also a fresh experience. It made her feel very warm inside.
But precisely because of that, she lacked confidence.
Was it really okay to continue such a happy life?
Could two women really live happily together like this?
Was Miyako’s decision to take her away like this, truly not just a momentary lapse of judgment?
Such things made her anxious.
That she was happy.
That living like this with Miyako made her happy.
That single phrase was something she couldn’t bring herself to say.
“Fuuka-chan!”
Miyako took Fuuka’s hand, her expression worried.
The remaining time to make her say “I’m happy” was short.
She didn’t want to leave things undone.
She wanted to remove everything that made Fuuka anxious.
“Um, let’s go on a picnic!”
She wanted to absolutely fulfill every promise they’d made to each other.
“I’ll make lots of delicious boxed lunches. We’ll bring tasty tea too, and go see a really beautiful flower field!”
“…Miyako.”
“It’s not a picnic for someone else—it’s for us, for you, Fuuka-chan. I’m sure it’ll be super fun!”
Miyako’s hand, wrapping around Fuuka’s, was warm.
Seeing Miyako’s desperate expression, Fuuka felt her cheeks grow hot.
I’m sure it’ll be super fun.
If Miyako said so.
Then surely, absolutely, it must be true.
“…Very well. I suppose we have no choice. Let’s go—on the picnic.”
That she could believe this felt strange to Fuuka.
And comforting.