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BY the time we arrived at the Mochizuki family banquet hall, the sun had long since set and the building was dimly lit. Our driver called from beyond the privacy curtain to let us know we had arrived. He then opened the door for us, and a cool breeze caressed our cheeks.
Taking a step out of the limousine, I realized this place was completely different from last time.
Bathed in the light of the chandeliers at the building’s entrance were hordes of people. Everywhere. And all of them clad in their finest evening attire.
And thanks to our driver letting us out right in front of the main entrance, we quickly garnered the curious attention of many of those guests.
“Whoa, what is this? This is crazy.”
“Shizuku, stay quiet. Place your hands in front of you. Straighten out your back and jut your chin out just a tad,” I advised, then allowed my face to ease into a graceful smile.
What an incredible sight. We truly looked like the long-secret daughters of some rich family. The curious glances being sent our way quickly shifted from mere curiosity to something else. As they did, the man from last time, Mr. Yamanashi, appeared before us and welcomed us.
“Miss Aritomo, Miss Tendou, allow me to show you to the White Lily Room. This way, please.”
“All right,” we said, but our voices were drowned out by the din around us growing even louder. I was too afraid of making a spectacle of myself to look around.
I turned quickly to the source of the loudest voices, gave a brief smile and bow, and followed Mr. Yamanashi. The person I had bowed to was likely getting even more upset, but I had decided to pretend not to see her, and I continued making my way inside.
“That was them, wasn’t it? Hattori and her groupies?”
Ah, my suspicions were confirmed. I wondered if they were worked up because they knew we had been granted the White Lily Room.
This room, however, was different from the one we had last time.
“This place is incredible too, but— ...But wasn’t the White Rose Room ritzier?”
“Yes, definitely. I think that room is for higher-ranked individuals. Based on the placement, the size, and even the furnishings,” I said, using logic from my past life.
“Well, why was everyone so shocked we were getting this room, then?” Shizuku asked. “Is there something we’re missing? Like…it’s haunted?”
I think you’re overthinking it, Shizuku.
“Pff, haunted! Hahaha!” someone cracked up laughing.
“Your brainless prattling never ceases to amuse me,” a voice chided, not from beyond the door but from inside the room.
“Shut up, Saku. I like that side of her!”
“Oboro! Wait, how long have you been here?”
“Uhh... Shizuku, I’m glad I finally got to see you again. You’re as lovely as ever.”
I was taken aback by our surprise reunion, but what shocked me even more was the way Shimozuru seemed to notice only Shizuku. Still, she was lovelier than ever. He approached and took her hands in his. Smiling, he appraised her dress. The way he was acting was enough to make even me swoon.
But more importantly, how and why were Shimozuru, Shinmyou, and Mikazuki, who was practically rolling about with laugher, in here with us?
“I suspect you’re wondering how we managed to get in here,” Mikazuki teased. “Do you really want to know?”
“Yes. You couldn’t have gotten in through the door, right?”
“This room and the Royal Lotus Room are connected through a secret door. It’s complicated to unlock the door, and only close family know its secrets.”
That made sense. But why were they so surprised to see us here? I tilted my head quizzically.
“Well, this room is only for either our fiancées, or candidates to be our fiancées,” Mikazuki answered without hesitation. “Now do you get it?”
“To be honest, no one save for the staff have ever even entered this room.”
“What?! I can’t have that!”
If Chouko even thought that I was one of their fiancées, it could ruin everything.
“Is that bad?” Shinmyou asked.
“Yes, for me it is.”
“Then tell us,” Shinmyou said. “Tell us who you really are. Tell us everything. If you refuse, then I’ll announce to everyone here that you’re going to be marrying me.”
I held my breath without realizing I was doing it. What was he thinking?
“...What ar—”
“What was that?! How could you do that to her?!”
It had been ages since Shizuku interrupted me, but it was unnecessary. I could stand on my own now, so I cut her off.
“Shinmyou, I cannot do as you ask.”
“Why not? It would not be good for you to have rumors circulating about you.”
“No, it wouldn’t. But neither would me giving in to your threats anymore. If those are my choices, I’d rather leave right now than have Chouko think I betrayed him.”
He raised his eyebrows, but he wasn’t ready to relent just yet. “If you leave now, you won’t be able to see Chouko. What a pity that even after you begged Mitsuru, you’d throw it all away.”
“I know where Chouko’s room is.”
Shinmyou’s shoulders jumped in shock. I could already tell my guess was likely spot-on.
“The White Rose Room. While the accommodations in this room are fine, the White Rose Room is something different entirely. So it’s only natural that an upper-echelon family like Chouko’s, one that prizes social status, would have him in that room.”
That, and I remembered the rose garden Chouko had taken me to. There, he gave me a white rose. I couldn’t help wondering if the flower that bloomed in that special place wasn’t the signature flower of the Tsukuyomi family.
“If you insist on playing games, then I will wait in front of the White Rose Room until I am allowed to see Chouko face-to-face. How does that sound?” I turned to face Shinmyou, determination hardening my expression.
The air in the room had become icy. Shinmyou finally exhaling seemed to release all that tension.
“You really are constantly full of surprises,” he muttered. Staring straight into my eyes, he began to explain. “Tonight is the Full Moon Ceremony, where the eldest son of the Mochizuki family is to wed the eldest daughter of the Tsukuyomi family. If you don’t want to be kicked out of here, then I suggest you stay put until everything is said and done.”
I couldn’t breathe. His words were such a shock that I couldn’t seem to breathe.
My brain wasn’t processing his words properly. Somehow, finally, I managed to formulate some of my own.
“You mean Mochizuki and...Chouko?”
“Yes.”
“Saku! Don’t say anything else!” Shimozuru shouted.
However, Shinmyou met his demand with a response. “I’m sure everyone here knows the story. The marriage proposal, the marriage itself, the parting, and finally, the return to the moon. That has been the fate of the emissaries of the moon, the Tsukuyomis, for hundreds of years.”
My mouth was agape. This ritual, which sounded like the plot of “The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter,” the story of Princess Kaguya, had been going on for hundreds of years? I turned back to Shizuku with a confused glance. Had she known? She vigorously shook her head, so passionately that her entire body seemed to be denying it.
“A rising family like the Aritomos wouldn’t have known all of this,” Shinmyou said. “Nor would they have been invited to a hallowed ceremony like this, one steeped in centuries of tradition.”
“Hey, you don’t have to...”
“Still, only a handful of people present are aware that Chouko isn’t a girl. The only one in our generation besides us who knows is Kiyoharu.”