The Enot River was a large river that ran through the land to the north of the capital city Ode.
The river’s source was on the sacred mountain Abukust, north of the capital, and it fed into the great sea east of the capital. Grand canals, constructed many generations before, carried its water to the capital. With pleasant weather and a full river, the water looked graceful. Yet, the river could be violent, particularly downstream.
The land in the region around the watershed where the river forked boasted excellent soil, but the floods every couple of years left the crop harvest unreliable. Crops would not grow without water from irrigation, so whenever the river flooded, nobody could harvest crops.
Many had tried to control the Enot River, but neither engineering nor magic had yet overcome the scale and difficulty of the task. For that reason, on occasion some called the Enot River “The Pajan Empire’s Sole Surviving Dragon.” In the face of that gigantic natural calamity, the people came to hold a certain ceremony, essentially for their own peace of mind. They called it “The Maiden’s Prayers.”
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“In the names of the glorious Marquis Reinhardt and Count Hamilton, I hereby offer my prayers to the river.”
At the large watershed of the Enot River, the river swelled from the rain that had started the night before. The muddy current collided with the watershed and writhed like a giant two-headed snake.
Fuuka Hamilton stood in the center of all of that. The river threatened to break from its course and engulf her at any moment, but she continued to sing her prayers solemnly. In her mind were thoughts of Miyako.
How happy I would be if Miyako came here to save me... But if I do this right, Miyako will be free. I have to see it through.
If Fuuka succeeded in pacifying the river, the Reinhardts would look favorably on the Hamilton family, and one of Fuuka’s sisters might become Klaus Reinhardt’s wife. Even if she were his wife on paper only, that would be enough to allow Dan to achieve his goal. If that came to pass, Miyako wouldn’t have to worry about Klaus resenting her or chasing after her in his obsession.
In the end, even Klaus was just a piece in play on the board of high society. A larger piece than others, perhaps, but a piece nonetheless.
Fuuka raised her eyes to the riverbank. Above the towering heights of the bank, there was a safe zone, beyond the reach of the river. She saw drenched servants holding up large tents and umbrellas. Her father and Klaus Reinhardt sat beneath their protection. Klaus was letting his gaze wander in boredom. He didn’t even try to conceal his yawns.
I expect he doesn’t care in the least what happens to me. And even if he snubs his future wife, that’ll probably just be played off as the “fun and games of an heir to a great family.” Really, can you think of anything more ridiculous?
Whatever the case, I can’t run from here. No, I won’t. Because that’s what I decided, and that’s what’s best for Miyako, thought Fuuka.
Fuuka’s recitation of the prayer resounded through the air. The muddy torrent rumbled and thundered, almost but not quite drowning out Fuuka’s voice.
The members of the Reinhardt and Hamilton families watching from the safe zone lost all interest in observing the ritual and began to enjoy a banquet. To them, this ceremony was about politics and improving their family’s standing.
The skies were gray, and the wine passing between the families was red.
Fuuka caught sight of a great rampaging snake. No, what she had thought was a snake was actually the surging torrent from the Enot River, the largest yet by far. The amount of water and its violent force were like a flash flood.
Fuuka shut her eyes at the sight of the overwhelming deluge racing downstream. Ah, this is the end. The current would surely engulf the altar Fuuka stood on and the sandbank around it.
Perhaps a first-rate mage could have resisted the colossal flow, but a mere noble lady like Fuuka had no chance.
Could Fuuka have avoided this if she had made the most of her dedication to the intellectual pursuit of white magic and chosen a path of independence as a healer or a doctor? Regardless, it was her own choice to carry the hopes of the Hamilton family as the villainess on a stage of political marriages. She had rebuked the other ladies for their lack of effort and exploited the insurmountable difference in power to crush them.
If Fuuka had run somewhere far away with Miyako, would she still have ended up standing here? Regardless, it was her own choice to set Miyako free. Fuuka returned to the capital for the sake of the first person who held out their hand to her.
She thought that everything had been her own choice, but Fuuka realized now how few choices in her life she had actually made for herself. They were all for someone else’s sake. Is there really nothing that I’ve chosen to do through my own will and for my own sake?
No, there is one, and only one thing I took for myself: Miyako’s hand. Fuuka’s auburn-haired rival had shown up unannounced in the Hamilton mansion, by the window where the curtains shook and the morning light shone through. Taking her hand, Miyako’s hand, I’m sure that’s the first and only thing I’ve ever chosen for myself.
Goodbye, Miyako.
Fuuka Hamilton closed her eyes.
Just then.
“Fuuka-chaaan!!!”
A voice rained down from above the bustling riverbank. Fuuka opened her eyes, and before her—
“Fuuka-chan, sorry for the wait!!”
“...Huh?”
—stood Miyako Florence, wearing a crimson dress elegantly embroidered with ribbons and lace. Her face was beautifully made-up, and her chestnut hair was arranged in a delicate up-do.
Miyako grasped Fuuka’s hand tightly.
“Miyako, why are you here?! And what happened to the river...?!”
“My word, my master really knows how to put a water spirit to work.”
“Umi!”
“A tiny little stream like this is but a mouse’s tail to me,” said Umi with a yawn.
Having carried Miyako here on her back, Umi stood in the path of the river in her true form, her mane of watery fish fins fluttering on her translucent body. The muddied flow halted before Umi, as though time had stopped.
“Umi, go on!”
“Nyaa, very well.”
Umi tapped the motionless river with the tip of her nose. When she did, the maelstrom of a river reverted to a gentle stream with a silly sploosh sound, without even causing any spray.
The complete shattering of the laws of physics took Fuuka’s breath away. The same could be said of the members of the two families looking down on Fuuka from the riverbank.
“W-Who the hell are you?!” yelled Dan Hamilton. He stood up, his face dark with rage at the sudden turn of events. The red rash on his neck had spread further.
“I’m Miyako Florence! I’ve come to save Fuuka-chan!!” shouted Miyako back at him, sending her crimson dress swirling.