Chapter 4: The Lady and the White Roses
I was lost amid a sea of billowing purple veil-like curtains. As I struggled to push through them, they merely fluttered about in front of me. The longer I remained there, the harder it became to remember where I had come from in the first place.
Somewhere in the distance, perhaps in the land of the conscious, I could hear someone crying out, sobbing in lamentation.
It was so sad and heartbroken. I longed to let the person know I was okay, but my voice wouldn’t reach them.
Someone, please te...not to cry... Please, don’t cry...
My eyes fluttered open, as if someone had flipped a switch. It was so disorienting, leaving me unable to tell what was the dream and what was reality.
As I gazed up at the ceiling, I heard a sigh of relief as Lady Chouko’s wide eyes moved into view.
“Urara... I’m so...relieved,” she said, her brows wrinkling as she hesitantly touched my cheek.
There was no need to make such a fuss over me. I couldn’t seem to get the words out, so I tried to reassure her by placing my hand over hers. But when I did, pain shot through my shoulder.
“...!”
“Don’t push yourself... He twisted it horribly...”
That was right. I remembered then, about being stubborn and holding my ground against Shinmyou.
As I glanced down at my injured left arm, the scent of the poultice that had been applied to my shoulder filled my nostrils. My whole arm, right down to the wrist, had been wrapped in bandages, so I couldn’t bend it.
“Isn’t this a bit much?” I asked jokingly.
Lady Chouko, seated next to me, helped me into a sitting position. Leaning against the headboard, I could hear Izayoi’s voice thanking someone for the help.
I finally realized this wasn’t the nurse’s office at school. The nurse’s office at St. Delia’s was magnificent, especially compared with one at a normal school, but this stunning room put even the academy’s to shame. I remembered hearing that Izayoi’s family owned a hospital, so this must have been that hospital.
“His hand and nails left a nasty mark on your wrist. Luckily, your shoulder and joints weren’t damaged, but you still need to take it easy.”
“...Oh, it’s not that bad,” I said, touching my wrist with the opposite hand.
“It is bad. I can’t believe Sakutarou would do such a thing, but that doesn’t change what happened,” Izayoi said, his face sullen.
Lady Chouko nodded in agreement. “Urara, I cannot forgive him for harming you.”
“Agreed,” Izayoi said. “I intend to confront him as well...”
“Please don’t!”
I hadn’t meant to be so loud. I had definitely shocked the other two.
“The marks will eventually heal, right? I don’t want you to trouble yourselves any further over me.”
“But...”
I put a finger to Lady Chouko’s lips.
“I will be fine. So...don’t cry. Tears don’t suit you.”
As soon as I said those words, Lady Chouko’s translucent skin went red, as if she had applied blush; her breathing became ragged; and she balled her hands into fists.
“I’m not crying!” she protested loudly.
She wasn’t, huh? I thought someone had been weeping, but perhaps that was rude of me to say. I was about to apologize, but her childish outburst instead made me giggle.
“I’ve discovered a new side of you today, Chouko.”
I’ve seen her angry, seen her upset, seen her face contorted in pain as if my injury were her own, and seen her look like a child.
Her usual gentle demeanor was always welcome, but witnessing so many other emotions in her, perhaps those that made up her true self, made me happy. Maybe it was inappropriate at a time like this, but I simply couldn’t help myself.
Hearing my words, Lady Chouko grabbed her head with both hands and stiffened up.
Perhaps I went too far?
“...What can I say? I never thought I’d see someone get Chouko to act like this,” Izayoi said, a mixture of sympathy and resignation in his voice.
The two of them had a hushed exchange I couldn’t hear very well, then Izayoi turned to me.
“You really want us to leave Sakutarou be?”
“Yes. It’s all right.”
I couldn’t promise to forget about it. But somehow, I could understand why he did what he did to me.
“If not—”
“Huh?”
“—we wouldn’t be able to hold the contest, and I’m sure Aritomo would be very angry with me. And that’s much worse.”
Izayoi stifled a laugh.
“It’s not funny. Aritomo is terrifying when she’s angry,” I said earnestly, but someone else, near the door, burst into laughter.
“Wow, Urara, you really think I’m that scary?”
Oh? ...Aritomo is here... Somehow I jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Since I had missed all my afternoon classes, Shimozuru and Aritomo had brought my belongings to me. They happened to arrive just as I made that embarrassing statement, leading Shimozuru to start laughing.
The veins in Aritomo’s temple bulged in exasperation, but seeing as I was already injured, she elected to let it go for now. Shimozuru, now engulfed in a fit of giggles, was not so lucky.
We elected to lay the blame for my injury on an accident while wandering the deteriorating Building 3. Izayoi departed for the academy to inform Mochizuki. Lady Chouko still didn’t seem completely satisfied, but she respected my decision to not make a big deal of it.
With my injury attended to and our stories straight, Lady Chouko and the others insisted on taking me home as a penance for my injuries. I was grateful for their thoughtfulness, but I didn’t feel it necessary. I was trying to figure out how to politely refuse, when Aritomo made her own offer.
“I can have our driver take you home. Would that be better?”
“Are you sure?”
“It’s no big deal. We’re both going the same way, and that way, it won’t draw as much attention to you.”
She was right. Any one of them would have stood out, but with all three of them in a neighborhood like mine, I could only imagine what the neighbors would think. I gladly accepted Aritomo’s request.
Lady Chouko looked dejected, but after all that had happened, she elected not to push the issue.
“Well, I apologize for the trouble, but yes, I’d like to take you up on your offer, Aritomo.”
“It’s the least I can do. We’re in this together,” she said with a hint of pride.
...Now that’s a strange way to look at it. I’m pretty sure she was the one who dragged me unwillingly into this situation.
Before I could object, she helped me up and took me home.