NOVEL NEXT Chapter 94 – Kaguya 01
I'm not sure what an engagement between two families should be like—especially considering that my partner comes from a big family like the Shinomiyas. But it doesn't seem like they're making this engagement into a big event or anything like that.
The three of us were invited to a traditional Japanese restaurant that looked very fancy, where we met three people from the Shinomiya family, namely Gan'an, Seiryuu, and also the girl who is my fiancée Kaguya. I didn't see the other family members. Seiryuu's presence was also due to the cooperation between him and Strawberry Pro.
Which once again shows how little importance Kaguya has in the Shinomiya family. Or perhaps they do not see my engagement as that important. Then, it could be that they do not attach much importance to an engagement between young children who are still in middle school. So it's not strange that it happened like this.
I don’t think I could remember Kaguya wearing a kimono when she was meeting with her father. But it looks like she is wearing a kimono for today. Honestly, I was a little stunned because I was used to seeing Kaguya wearing a school uniform. In this world, I usually see her wearing the white uniform, which is Shuchi'in Academy's color for the junior middle school section.
Kaguya sat upright and graceful in front of me while wearing a kimono with beautifully drawn hydrangea flowers. What seemed to make Kaguya look even more beautiful than usual was that she turned to me after both parents spoke to each other. Her hand touched the tatami mats and bowed.
“I’m Shinomiya Kaguya. Nice to meet you— Well, it’s not our first time meeting, right?” Kaguya said while staring at me with her eyes, which felt a bit complicated in my eyes since I could see a grateful and pure feeling. However, her eyes still felt cold and dull.
Even wherever you look at it, Kaguya at this moment was quite an ice and cold-type person. But she was still a beauty nonetheless. She had a different aura from Ai and Ruby, too—
How do I say— she had more much like Nadeshiko or Japanese beauty than the two.
“Un, I’m Hoshino Aquamarine since it’s a long name to say. You can call me Aqua.”
Seeing her act quite politely, I followed her as I returned her greeting as politely as I could. While it was still very awkward between the two of us, our guardians had already started talking to each other. Although much of the conversation was between Seiryuu and Ai, Gan'an only spoke once in a while, especially when he was seen talking to Ai as if trying to figure out what the Hoshino family was like.
Before Seiryuu said to the two of us, "How about you two get to know each other while admiring the garden view at the restaurant?"
There was no reason for either of us to refuse Seiryuu's words, so I went to the park with Kaguya. I basically didn't know this place, and it felt like it was Kaguya who led me to see the scenery of this garden, which was truly amazing, so it could be said to be worthy of a noble family like the Shinomiya.
“Ano— I’m sorry for my rudeness last time.” Kaguya finally began to speak as she lowered her body.
"Oh, yes. It's okay. It's not a big deal."
“But—”
"Ah, I wonder if anything different has happened in recent times?" I couldn't resist asking her about it. I at least wanted to know what happened to her after my conversation with Gan'an.
“Well— That’s. It’s not that much different. No, I think my father is starting to talk to me more than ever. I guess. It’s because of you— right?”
“Well, I just told him to at least give you a letter or something once in a while. It looks like he did more than that. Can you tell me about it?”
“Really— I'm really grateful for all the things you've done. However, I wish for you not to get too involved with my relationship with my family."
“Eh, why? Not that it's good because you can be closer to your father— Ah, or perhaps you're afraid of a change in the status quo within the Shinomiya family. In other words, did your brother have something to say? Or there’s someone who doesn't like it since they lost their pawns."
Kaguya glanced at me but didn’t say anything this time.
“Well, it seems that what I said has some truth to it.”
“Haaaah—” Kaguya sighed. “Yeah, after my father told us about our engagement. You could say that the person who used to take care of me turned into Seiryuu's older brother. He always said I need to make you really fall for me so I can manipulate you or something.” She told me with such honesty.
“That sounds horrible. But I felt like I want to see how you do it—” I responded while laughing softly at the thought that what Kaguya did in the anime might be done to me.
"I'm not joking."
“Hahaha, it’s fine. It’s not like I truly like you or anything. In the end, I want Shinomiya’s connection.”
“That’s so.”
Kaguya spoke as if what I said was something she was sure was happening.
“Isn’t that pretty obvious? I don’t know why you can convince my father to do something like this— I can’t help wondering how you do that?”
“Errr— Is that really important? Aren't you glad that you are becoming closer to your father?”
“Of course, I’m happy. But—”
"That's a relief, then. It's just that there seems to be one thing that's bothering you. It's like one of your older siblings is curious about how I could get your father to agree to such an absurd thing in their eyes."
Even though it was only an instant, I could easily see Kaguya's trembling body. She seemed to be surprised that I could guess what her brother was asking her. Well, it feels very easy to guess the thoughts of a small villain like them.
"Honestly, I didn't do anything special and only talked to your father. It's just a coincidence that the conversation between Shinomiya-sama and me was something he approved of. Therefore, it is not strange for Shinomiya-sama to follow my request. However, it is likely that your brother will not believe me. But it’s fine if you want to know about it. You can ask your father about it."
“But that’s—”
It seemed that even though Kaguya got the letter and started talking to her father. She remained hesitant to show at least some greed or spoiling attitude to her father. So, I felt the need to give this girl a little talk.
"Although I said that I did this for the sake of having a connection with the Shinomiya family. That doesn't mean I'm thinking of manipulating or anything like that. Instead, I hope that I can help you and also perhaps make you happier. Which I think is in line with your father since he agrees with my words for you to at least have some freedom as an illegitimate child. Because it seems that your father is quite caring and affectionate towards you; it's just that because of his position, he can't show that publicly."
“That’s— really, true,” Kaguya spoke as if she still couldn't believe what I was saying, and also, perhaps she was afraid that everything that happened recently would be easily lost. It's natural, considering that things happened probably too fast in her mind.
"Well, at the end of the day, we're all just kids. We shouldn't have to think in the interests of adults. It's good for children our age to be still spoiled by their parents. And if you think that you're an illegitimate child and therefore think that you don't deserve to be spoiled by your father. Then that is a big mistake because nothing that happens is your fault. In the end, you being an illegitimate child is your father's fault. Therefore, you still have a right to what your father has. Therefore, it is okay to ask for small things like inviting your father to dinner and the like."
Well, I was talking like that to Kaguya. I hope that she basically only wants small things like that before getting bigger and bigger as she grows older so that it can help me to take over the various fortunes of the Shinomiya family in the future.
It feels like I am trying to make Kaguya become more selfish in this world. To the point, she may wanted some of Shinomiya's fortune.
