Chapter 353 - The Pragmatic Daughter

"Where am I going again?"

Maki Yuuka glanced around her and realized that she had wandered too far from the house. She could still see the old traditional building where she came from earlier, but the distance made it appear smaller than it was. The ground within the Cedar Palace was huge. She was reminded of the Imperial Palace in the heart of Tokyo not far from this place.

"Well, at least I'm not lost," she murmured as she trudged on.

She was not worried anyway. She had a fairly good sense of direction – or so she told herself. But the reality was the exact opposite. If she didn't remember just going into one direction she wouldn't be able to go back. She just hoped she'd meet someone along the way later when she needed to return. For now, she would like to bask in the beauty of the place as she tried to sort out her thoughts.

Soon, she found a gazebo and the comfortable-looking bench enticed her to go and sit there. She was normally a very elegant and poised lady, but at this moment, she didn't care. She slumped onto the seat and leaned her back against the bench with her arms spread over the backrest. She stared into the ceiling, noting the traces of vines that started to climb on the roof, creating an intricate pattern, and a sigh escaped her lips.

Her head throbbed a bit from all the information she had to deal with. Who'd have thought that just a week ago, she was just a carefree spoiled miss who was looking forward to her engagement announcement? Now, not only wasn't she engaged, apparently, there's a huge possibility she'd end up being an orphan as well.

Remembering Gin's words, an ache pinched her heart and she inhaled deeply to fight the pain.

Her family was infected by a virus that turned people into monsters!

There was nothing she wanted to do right now other than to go back to her house. But she knew that would be a very foolish move. Just as what Ara – Alinea said earlier, she would not only be putting herself in danger, she would also hinder the Homura House from stopping this infection from spreading. If she warned her parents and they turned out to be infected, they'd sure flee, and who knew how many other people they would pass the infection to.

She was torn. She was upset at both herself and with her situation. At times like this one, Yuuka wondered what she would have done if she weren't the practical woman she knew she was.

She was too… realistic.

She had no idea how she turned out to be this way, but she knew that it was because, from the beginning, she had vowed not to be a burden to anyone. As to why she thought like that, she had no idea. As far as she could remember, she just had the feeling that she didn't want the people she loved to suffer or have any ill feelings because of her or towards her.

It was why as soon as she started to understand, she did everything that was expected of her. She was an only child – the only heir to a huge business empire. From the moment she realized what it meant, she did everything in her power to be a good one. She studied well; she learned everything that her parents asked her to. She did piano, she did etiquette class, and she did business – everything that would make her a good heir.

Oh, it wasn't all that bad. She could still get away from doing things that were really miserable for her. For instance, attending cultural shows and anything related to reading. As long as it was something trivial, she'd allow herself some selfishness. But for those that mattered, she did her part well.  She even agreed to marry for business.

"And now the pragmatic princess declared she'd like to try and marry for love," Yuuka told the ceiling followed by an ironic laugh.

Her face then turned defiant as her eyes turned red as they filled with tears. She could still remember how livid her father had become when she told Eito that she didn't want to be engaged to Aki anymore, and instead wanted to be like him and would like to find someone she'd fall in love with.

It was the very first time since forever that she had expressed something so selfish. Her father had called her delusional. He told her that she was just upset because of Aki's betrayal of the contract. The old man couldn't accept that his usually pragmatic daughter would suddenly disobey him.

The image of her angry father flashed in her mind, and Yuuka's eyes turned redder as more tears came out. Her lips trembled and nose flared, turning crimson as well, while her ċhėst started to heave in silent sobs.

"Dad, I'm so sorry…" she whispered.

"I will marry another businessman that you want me to marry except Aki. Just live…"

Suzuki Aki was a lost cause since he already had Chiaki. But she's willing to be matched with someone else to form greater connections for their family business. She didn't care to find romance anymore. She would become the level-headed miss she used to be. "As long as you are both okay…"

As if a dam broke within her, she wept like she hadn't wept in a long while. She didn't know how long she cried, but she stayed there until her tears ran dry.

When her sobs finally abated, Yuuka took out a small pack of wet wipes she always kept in her pocket and rubbed her face. She knew she must look horrible as she had cried a lot. She waited a while to let the swelling of her face to subside before she stood up, ready to go back.

This time, however, she opted to take the longer route back into the house. She went to the opposite direction of where she came from so she could circle and go back via the other side – or so she thought that was what she did. When she realized she made a mistake, she was already lost.

Uh-oh…

Yuuka sighed miserably as she turned and saw a lone, cherry blossom standing in the middle of the yard. Its huge size and position made it look extra majestic. It's become warmer a lot earlier that year, and so the cherry blossom was already in full bloom with its pinkish-white petals.

She didn't know why, by Yuuka suddenly felt an urge to go there, and she did. However, as she came nearer, something white on the ground caught her eye and she stopped, her eyes widening in alarm

It's a human!

Checking the person's position on the ground told her that it's someone who might have fainted. Realizing that it could be a medical emergency, Yuuka rushed towards the tree and bent over to the individual on the ground only to freeze in shock.

He was a beauty!

Although the man's appearance was too beautiful to be considered human and mostly looked androgynous, Yuuka could still discern that he's a man. Why?

"Kazehaya Gin?" she asked as she studied the doppelganger of Homura International's CEO lying on the ground. But then she frowned because she realized it couldn't be Gin. Just the man's coloring and the aura the man emanated even with his eyes closed and lying still was different.  Gin was a carefree golden boy. This man was a silver beauty basked in mystery.

In any case, even if it's already spring, the wind was still chilly, making the ground moist. With the man's very thin white Kimono, he could definitely catch a cold – if he weren't already sick.

With determination, Yuuka took a deep breath before leaning over to gently shake the man's shoulder with her hand. Soon, the man started to stir awake.  

"Hey mister, are you alright?" she asked when she saw the man's eyelids started to lift, and she couldn't help but gasp involuntarily when he finally opened his eyes and stared at her.

A pair of clear eyes the color of amethyst locked with hers without speaking, and it took a lot for Yuuka to gather her brain cells and attempted to talk to him again. "Mister, are you alright?"