☾☾☾
“THAT’S it. That’s what they say in Moonlight Beauty ~Be My Bride~ when you’ve reached the climax of a love interest’s route. It’s even in the title. That’s how the game ends. With the player getting a proposal.”
“Why would he say that to me, then?!”
“And also, every character has a lovely CG, but there was never one for Tsukuyomi,” Shizuku said with a laugh as she rode along on Roselila. “Maybe he was a secret route saved for the fandisc or DLC.”
I was sitting on Galileo’s back. The two of us were out for a leisurely horseback ride and chatting about the otome game’s events in secret.
After that proposal, I was so confused, I couldn’t answer him. Just then, everyone else came to the White Lily Room at the same time, and we were dragged back to the banquet hall to mingle.
I had been relieved to have a chance to think, but being introduced as Kogetsu’s girlfriend immediately after he returned from study abroad thrust me into the spotlight. Many people wondered how Kogetsu could have met and become entangled with a commoner like me while abroad. He told them we met through Chouko and had been pen pals ever since. What an apt response.
Honestly, it wasn’t surprising that, as a commoner present among so many upper-crust families, I would be subject to their curiosity and jealousy.
Still, perhaps it was a shortcoming of mine, but I did so want them to like me. At least in a time like this, my upbringing as a noble helped me get by.
✦ ✦ ✦
☾☾☾
“SO? What did you say to his proposal?”
We were on our way back to the clubroom after returning Galileo and Roselila to the stables when the topic reemerged.
“Well, about that...”
“What? You’ve proposed to her every day since then? Kogetsu, you can’t take a hint.”
We could hear Mikazuki’s laughter the second the clubroom door opened. It seemed the same thing was on the boys’ minds.
“Give it a rest, Ui. Urara’s just timid. So shut up about it.”
Kogetsu’s answer came easily. That wasn’t what bothered me. I wished they would take this conversation elsewhere.
“Ohh,” Shizuku said with a knowing grin. This was incredibly embarrassing.
Ever since the new semester began, Mikazuki had taken over as club president of the equestrian club. He had also revised the club rules. Thanks to that, some of the old members departed, and Shizuku and I were able to officially join. Naturally, Kogetsu and Shimozuru also joined.
That was why Kogetsu, Mikazuki, and Shimozuru being in the clubroom itself wasn’t a problem. It was just...
“You’re the one who needs to give it a rest. And is that how you thank me for taking your place in the wedding ceremony? Huh?” Mikazuki pressed.
“You had it easier than I did. I had to dance in front of everyone dressed like a woman during the Return to the Moon Ceremony,” Shinmyou shot back. “So be quiet, Ui.”
“I had to do the Parting Ceremony, so don’t talk to me about it.”
“Shut up! I had it worst of all, having to dance with you filthy worms in platform shoes!”
For some reason, Mochizuki and the others who weren’t club members had also joined in.
Though it wasn’t as if I couldn’t understand their complaints.
As it turned out, Shinmyou and the others had all taken Chouko’s place at different points in the ceremony. They told me they did that to give Kogetsu the time he needed to shed the Chouko likeness and reemerge as Kogetsu.
“She’s supposed to be studying abroad for five years. Like hell I was gonna go!” Kogetsu muttered, and I trembled at his words.
I had missed him so much over just two weeks, the thought of five years made my heart ache.
That was why I was so grateful to the others. Because of their efforts, he was right here by my side.
“How long are you guys gonna go on like that for? You should learn from Oboro!”
“It’s only natural for us to help our friend, though, right?”
Instead of taking part in his friends’ quarrel, Shimozuru had appeared naturally next to Shizuku, accompanying her like a gentleman. He was so quick.
The next second, Kogetsu was at my side as well. I was quite surprised.
“That’s because Oboro had it the easiest. He was Chouko for the Proposal Ceremony.”
“Saku, I don’t wanna hear it from you. You couldn’t decide what to do until the last second,” Shimozuru said, causing a wry grin to break out on Shinmyou’s face as he glanced over at me and shrugged.
In the end, he came to like me a bit better, and even though the bad blood between him and Kogetsu hadn’t completely dissipated, I still had to wonder what led to his change of heart. Kogetsu glanced at me with a complex look on his face.
“Don’t worry about it,” he whispered.
In that case, it was best to listen to him and let it go. To lighten the mood, I went to prepare tea for everyone.
“Yaaay! Urara, I want tons of milk in mine!”
“I’ll have Darjeeling.”
Kogetsu’s mood soured further as everyone shouted their requests.
“You guys shouldn’t bother Urara lik—”
“Kogetsu,” I cut him off, and everyone immediately looked at me.
I knew it wasn’t very good manners to interrupt someone while they were speaking, but I wanted to try it at least once. It garnered me a lot more attention than I anticipated, so I tried to deflect with a cough.
“Could you please help me?” I asked with an innocent smile.
“Of course.”
As he made his way into the kitchenette, I could hear the others behind him.
“No way.”
“She’s got him whipped.”
Was it really that big of a deal?
✦ ✦ ✦
☾☾☾
ON our way back from the clubroom, Kogetsu and I strolled along the twilit path. The banality of it all, how normal it felt, made me happy. As did the feeling of Kogetsu’s warmth, his hand in mine.
I had always wanted a carefree life, and yet I ended up embroiled in a rather absurd situation and fell in love with someone whose status far exceeded my own, creating a commoner life that was light years away from anything I ever anticipated. The path that lay ahead might be fraught with challenges. But I won’t run away.
After all, I have a family that cares for me, friends I can count on, and someone I love from the bottom of my heart. They are all my most precious treasures. I won’t let them go, no matter what.
“What are you thinking?”
“How blissfully happy I am right now.”
“Me too. So why don’t we make ourselves even happier?”
As he said that, Kogetsu stood in front of me and took my hands in his.
“Urara, will you marry me?”
This was today’s proposal.
I gazed into Kogetsu’s face, so full of hope, and gave the same response I always did.
“No. Not yet.”
I felt we still had so much left to do. I wanted him to wait, just a little longer, for me.
“Well, I suppose that’s that, then.” Kogetsu smiled back at me, adding, “I’ll simply have to ask you again tomorrow.”
He was so tenacious, but I couldn’t say yes so easily.
Besides, I had much more of a backbone than I had when Shizuku and Chouko pulled me into their competition.
I had grown considerably since then.
And so that was how this former count’s daughter found herself forced into the plot of an otome game. Though I would say the result was a happy ending for all of us.