Chapter 12

Unable to read the true intention behind Asahina’s frequent visits to the Mizushima residence, Yuriko exhaled a sigh.

Even if it was to meet her older brother, wasn’t it a bit too many times?

However, Yuriko didn’t hate or dislike spending time with Asahina.

Rather, she started looking forward to his visits.

There was a peroid of time when bachelors of distinguished families would personally visit Yuriko, but now they have stopped visiting entirely.

Their talks only consisted of bragging and bragging, which wasn’t fun at all for Yuriko. If you aren’t going to come, it would have been better not to come at all.

Besides, their attitude towards her daughter, Tsubaki, wasn’t good either. It could clearly be seen how rudely they treated her.

With what happened with Kurahashi, Yuriko kept vigilant eyes towards the opposite sex, especially towards men who only pretended to be gentlemen on the outside.

While Yuriko herself didn’t intend to remarry so soon, but as the young daughter of the Mizushima family, she knew she had to marry again and had prepared herself for it.

That’s why she hoped that the other person would at least treat both her and her daughter fairly.

And that’s where Asahina appeared.

Not only was he a gentleman towards her, but Yuriko also noticed him playing amicably with Tsubaki several times.

Moreover, he had an honest personality and would seriously listen to all of Yuriko’s troubles. Spending time with him, gave her a sense of calmness. Owing to all this, Yuriko started feeling attracted towards him.

At the same time, Yuriko thought that it was not good to get deeply involved with him.

That’s because he already had an unrequited love of nearly 15 years towards another woman.

If you request using the Mizushima family name, getting married was possible. However, she knew if she did that, it might lead to the same result as with Kurahashi.

Asahina would never face Yuriko again. Rather, if she used the family’s influence to forcefully marry him, he would only come to despise her.

She wanted to avoid that at all costs.

As for the lady who was the object of Asahina’s unrequited love, Yuriko had a guess.

She could only think of one woman who could capture Asahina’s heart. It was his childhood friend and her older brother Haruki’s wife, Ichinose Risa.

If that’s true, then she understood why Asahina would visit the Mizushima residence so frequently.

Kyousuke, who is Risa’s son and Yuriko’s nephew, resembled Risa a lot in terms of looks. Asahina probably visited to see his lost love’s shadow through Kyousuke.

So Yuriko predicted that he was using her just as an excuse to visit the Mizushima residence in order to see Kyousuke.

If that’s true, Yuriko has no chance of success.

On the other hand, Yuriko also felt relieved.

Asahina was saying that he would keep on loving that woman till his death. In other words, he won’t be taken by anyone else.

As soon as the thought passed Yuriko’s mind, she realised how shallow and ugly her emotions were and felt depressed.

If you think dearly of someone, you should wish for their happiness.

While Yuriko was worrying by herself, the door was knocked softly.

After Yuriko gave the permission to enter, the servant informed of a phone call for her.

“From whom?”

“It’s from Yakumo Emily.”

Yakumo? Although the surname made Yuriko confused for a moment, hearing the first name immediately made her realise who it was.

Yakumo Emily, formerly Asahina Emily, was the younger sister of Asahina Kaoru, and was Yuriko’s friend since elementary school.

Even though she was aware of Emily getting married, she was too busy with her own entanglements and so they didn’t have enough chances to talk. That’s why, Yuriko had completely forgotten that her surname had changed to Yakumo.

Yuriko took the receiver from the servant and answered the phone.

“Hello.”

“Oh, Yuriko? It’s been a long time! How are you?”

“I am fine. I hope Emily-san is also doing well.”

“Yeah yeah, I’m fine. That aside, congratulations!”

Listening to her ever cheerful friend, Yuriko felt herself smiling.

“Congratulations?”

“That’s right! Congratulations on getting divorced with that trash. You’re still young, so please enjoy your newly single life!”

Yuriko did not expect that she’d be congratulated on getting divorced.

It could be seen that even people who weren’t involved could tell that Kurahashi’s personality was no good.

Was it only her who was blind towards this man? Yuriko once again realised how naive she was when it came to judging men.

“Even if you say that, I am the daughter of the Mizushima family. I will have to remarry with someone someday.”

“It must be hard being a Mizushima.. That’s it! How about my brother? Recently, he keeps showing his face at your place, doesn’t he? He might not look reliable, but he is the third son of our family who also earns properly. He is a relatively good choice, don’t you think?”

Although Emily said it lightly without any bad intentions, Yuriko couldn’t help but fall into silence.

“What happened? …don’t tell me, that stupid brother did something!?”

“That-that’s not it! Asahina-sama didn’t do anything! Rather, he keeps worrying about me… yes, that person is always kind…”

As Yuriko’s voice gradually faded, Emily’s woman’s intuition kicked in and she opened her mouth.

“Nee Yuriko, what do you think about my brother?”

Yuriko wondered how to answer that question.

If she spoke to Emily, they might be able to develop a better relationship.

But she had already decided to wish for the other’s happiness.. Will it really be alright to overturn her decision so quickly? She couldn’t help but wonder.

“Do you dislike Kaoru nii-san?”

Emily once again asked Yuriko who had been silent for a long while.

” … I don’t dislike him..”

While those weren’t her true thoughts, but it wasn’t a lie either.

“Thank goodness. I wonder what I’d do if you disliked him.”

“But doesn’t Asahina-sama have someone he longs for? The person himself said so.”

“EEEeeh!?”

Surprised at Emily’s sudden loud voice that came through the phone, Yuriko held the receiver away from her ear on reflex.

Emily apologized for her loud voice and asked Yuriko what she really meant.

“What do you mean?”

“Ummmm.. When I asked Asahina-sama if he had someone he loved, he answered that he had been pining for someone for nearly 15 years.”

” … how did that question even come up?”

“S-sorry.. I never thought it would turn into such a heavy topic.”

Yuriko guessed that it was definitely a bad topic, if Emily’s reaction was anything to go by.

“No, it’s not necessarily a bad thing …. By the way, who do you think is Kaoru nii-san’s beloved person?”

While Yuriko wanted to deny the answer to Emily’s question from the bottom of her heart, she still replied solemnly.

” … Isn’t that.. Risa-san?”

” … “

Hearing Emily’s silence in response to her own guess, Yuriko confirmed her suspicion and felt despair.

” … can’t help but feel pity..”

“Emily-san?”

“It’s not something I should say, but I’m definitely sure that the person my brother fell for is not Risa!”

“Ehh?”

“Ugh! That stupid big brother! I will kick his ass the next time I visit my home!”

Yuriko was perplexed at Emily’s troubling words. But the more important thing was, if Asahina’s beloved person wasn’t Risa, then who was it?

However, thinking about the previous converssation, Yuriko had a faint idea that Emily won’t tell her even if she asked.

Yuriko answered Emily’s questions with a distressed heart.

“If I wasn’t so busy with my work, I would have visited you right away.”

“Are you busy preparing for the trial? I have a lot of time, so feel free to come see me whenever you can.”

“Well, it’s a case that will surely raise my reputation as a defense lawyer after all! I’m also pretty excited for it.”

“Medical error, was it? I hope it’s not too troublesome.”

“I can’t say much due to confidentiality, but it’s a lot of work. There are not many cases like these after all.”

Yuriko could feel how serious the case was, just by listening to the tone of Emily’s voice. She was worried that Emily would overwork herself to the point of collapsing.

“It’s fine to strain every nerve, but don’t break your body to the point of no return.”

“It’s alright since I have my family backing me up! Ah, it looks like my daughter woke up, so I’ll have to hang up soon. Well then, I will call you again later.”

“Yeah. Thank you for today. It was fun talking to you after such a long time. Well then, gokigenyou. ” { ご機嫌よう (gokigenyou) = very polite greeting, usually used by older people or private school girls. Reika fans might be familiar}

“Gokigenyou.”

A young girl’s voice calling for Emily could be heard through the receiver. Hearing it, Yuriko smiled.

If she wasn’t wrong, the girl should be the same age as Tsubaki. Yuriko thought it would be nice if the two girls got along and became friends, just like their mothers.