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FINISHING the story of my past life, I noticed that Shizuku was clutching a tissue box as she blew her nose loudly and dabbed at her tears.
“Hang on a second, I’ll... Just give me a moment...”
She pulled four or five tissues out and pressed them to her face.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes. I’m fine, really... I mean, you’re the one we should be worried about, Urara!”
“Perhaps.”
It was the story of my past life. Not necessarily my past.
“But that second crown prince, though. Urara, you loved him, didn’t you?” she asked, still blowing her nose.
“Not me. Annerosa. And yes, she pined for him. However, if you had asked her about her feelings, it would be difficult for her to have said yes,” I responded honestly.
I had affection for him, but I also couldn’t risk coming off as disrespectful, so I had always tried to strike a balance between the two.
“Really?”
“Yes. He was four years younger, and the difference in status between us was so great, I had to let that dream go. And it was so long ago anyway.”
My life as Annerosa had come to such an abrupt end. I couldn’t say I wasn’t sad about it. But actually talking to Shizuku about it like this made me realize I had mostly made my peace.
Why had I wanted to be a commoner so much? And why had I come to see love in such a negative light?
“I was always just trying to find a way out.”
I was finally able to acknowledge it.
And in doing so, I realized that, more important than my past life, there was something in this life I had to do.
That’s right. What I wanted to do most of all...
“I want to tell Chouko how I feel.”
Naturally, those feelings, and the emotions associated with them, were overflowing.
“I love Chouko, I do. So much so that I’m jealous of anyone else who would have him.”
After I finally gave voice to my true feelings for Chouko, it felt as if sunlight had broken through the gloom hanging heavy over my heart.
It was like seeing those canals from my past life in Lacrofine sparkling once more.
There certainly was a sense of irony that I would come from a past life where, as a noble, I was refused the opportunity to mingle with those from lower social statuses, to this life where I, a commoner, would fall in love with someone all but untouchable to me.
But I realized there was no way around it.
Now that I had bared my heart and soul, my face lit up in a brilliant smile.
As I did, Shizuku, who had been dabbing at the corners of her eyes, grabbed me by the hair and shouted in her usual tone.
“You dummy! Save your big dramatic confession for Tsukuyomi!”
“...Oh, yes, you’re right.”
I felt a little embarrassed after she said that to me. My face grew hot, and I covered it with my hands to cool it down. As I did, Shizuku muttered.
“Now that I think of it...that name Chouko doesn’t sound right. He’s a boy, right? Do you know his real name?”
“No. But gender is irrelevant. Chouko is Chouko to me, so I don’t think the name is strange at all.”
Well, maybe a little. After giving it some deep thought, Shizuku slapped her knees.
“All right, why don’t we go over there? We might be able to find something out.”
“Huh? Go where?”
“Come on, you know!” she said, disregarding my question and essentially making hers the final word. She led me to her family’s car, and we were off.
“Ta-da! The Arrows boutique!”
Mr. Agatsuru’s shop.
“Why are we here, exactly?”
She merely replied with a “Why, indeed” and blocked out my field of vision. “Well, he knows Chouko but isn’t too close like the guys from school. Honestly, the grizzly man was the only person I could think of.”
Uh, he hadn’t been “the grizzly man” for a long time. He’d shaved his beard ages ago.
Still, he was a famous designer. Would he really be all right with us visiting out of the blue? Just as I was about to ask, a voice called out to us from behind.
“Oh, how’ve you been? You’re looking well as always, Shizuku. Oh, and Urara!”
“It’s been awhile, Tendou. Aritomo.”
We weren’t surprised to see Mikazuki and Izayoi standing there after hearing them greet us so formally and yet in such playful tones. They looked the same as always. It felt as if we had been whisked back in time to when we were preparing for the horseback riding challenge.
Sighing in relief, I turned to them.
“Yes, it has been a while, Mikazuki, Izayoi.”
“I’m so glad Dum-Mi isn’t with you. Long time no see, Ui-Ui, Shirazu.”
Shizuku, honestly...not that again.
Mikazuki couldn’t help but laugh at the blunt way she greeted them.
I never had a chance to properly apologize for running out on them at the dance contest. As the cause of that incident, I found myself so embarrassed, I was begging for a hole to curl up and hide in.
We followed the pair into the Arrows boutique. Along the way, we greeted the two female designers who had helped us before, then made our way to the salon.
While the two boys used the changing rooms, we sipped tea. During that time, we learned that, unfortunately, Mr. Agatsuru was out of the shop on other business.
“I’m so sorry for the sudden, unannounced visit.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Make yourselves comfortable.”
We decided to take them up on their generous offer.
We learned that Mikazuki and Izayoi were there for their new tailcoats.
“Yeah, ours still weren’t ready.”
“That’s to be expected. I mean, Mitsuru and the others pushed for theirs for the danc—cough, cough, I mean, they needed theirs first.”
So our dance partners had rush-ordered brand-new tailcoats as well, then.
Everyone at Arrows had gone to so much trouble for our group. Now I really did feel sorry.
I kept my feelings quiet, but I wondered why Mikazuki and Izayoi needed new tailcoats soon when they hadn’t needed them for our dance contest.
It sounded as if the boys were preparing for some kind of group event. I was beginning to marvel at how different their lives were when, suddenly, they turned their attention to us.
“So, why are you two here today?” Mikazuki asked.
“Um, it’s a little embarrassing to explain,” I said. What I meant was, There’s no way I can tell you two.
Close friends would certainly be the best sources for finding out Chouko’s true name and identity. But now that I had realized I was in love with him, I couldn’t bring myself to ask them with any sort of composure.
Asking someone older like Mr. Agatsuru would have been difficult enough, but questioning two guys around my age, let alone guys who were extremely close to Chouko, would have been impossible.
I looked to Shizuku, hoping for salvation, but for some reason she had furrowed her brows and had a sour look on her face.
“Is something wrong, Shizuku?”
“...Ugh, dummy.”
“What?”
Her eyes had landed on Mochizuki, who had just arrived and stood in an elegant pose. I should have expected no less from someone who called himself the Prince. I remember thinking how rude he was during the dance contest, but I kept quiet.
After sizing Shizuku up, he suddenly approached her with a broad grin.
“Aritomo, good to see you. You haven’t responded to any of my messages. Are you doing all right?”
Oh, Shizuku, you didn’t respond to him?
The way he addressed her might have been fine, but his attitude certainly wasn’t.
“Don’t be stupid. How am I supposed to respond to that onslaught of cat pictures?”
...I take that back. Shizuku was the rude one here. Apparently Mochizuki’s kindness was easy to miss.
“Her name is Bergamot. There are many facets to her. Her grace. Her refinement.”
“Maybe her tiny, flat nose is cute in an ugly sort of way, but how could I tell you that over text?”
Mochizuki merely watched her sour reaction with amusement.
“H-Hey, Urara? Has Mitsuru...been sending pictures of Bergamot to Shizuku?” Mikazuki asked me after appearing totally out of the loop.
“Yes he has. Apparently every day,” I responded.
“Oh brother,” he said, covering his face with his hands.
Izayoi ran his fingers across his forehead and hung his head.
“Oh no, this is bad. Shirazu, what do we do?”
“Don’t ask me. Diplomacy is your area of expertise, Ui.”
“There’s no stopping Mitsuru once he’s on this path. Not even Oboro could hold him back now!”
Um, what exactly was going on here? I had no idea what deep, dark secrets these photos of Miss Bergamot were hiding.
Mikazuki must have noticed my baffled expression.
“You see, Bergamot is Mitsuru’s most prized cat. He only shows that cat-loving side of himself to people he’s taken an interest in. He’s never once sent those pictures to a girl. Do you get what that means?”
“Uh-huh. I think so. Mochizuki has really taken a shine to Shizuku and... What?”
Wait, whaaat?! Had Shizuku ended up on Mochizuki’s route? Even though the Ojousama Challenge had such a poor ending, even though we thought the otome game was over, it was all coming true...?
I had heard about something like this from Kirara, but wow, otome game heroines really were something.
“Why is Mitsuru even here? Did you contact him, Shirazu?” Mikazuki asked.
“No, I had no idea. What about you, Tendou...?”
“N-No. We just ran into him by accident. We came here on a whim.”
“Spooky! I don’t even want to know how he knew she was here,” Mikazuki gave a little shout and grabbed his head, then turned to me and whispered, “Please, Urara. Can you please take Shizuku and get the heck outta here?”
“Oh, all right. I mean, I don’t mind, but...”
Mr. Agatsuru, our reason for coming in the first place, wasn’t here, so it was no issue for us to leave now. And Mikazuki’s question from earlier felt so vague.
I started to urge Shizuku to leave, not even looking at Mochizuki, who had sat himself next to her, when the sound of the salon door slamming open echoed throughout the boutique.
“Aritomo!” Shimozuru panted.
“Oboro!” Shizuku responded, taken aback. “Why are you here?!”
“Why am I here? I mean, Ui told me to come...”
I glanced at Mikazuki out of the corner of my eye and saw that look of terror on his face. Shimozuru noticed Mochizuki had taken up position next to Shizuku. Little sparks were popping up all over the salon. Oh no, was this one of those battle climax scenes? As a beginner to all the ins and outs of romance, I was finding it difficult to breathe.
“And why are you sitting there, Mitsuru?” Shimozuru snarled, his tone making clear he was ready for a fight.