Chapter 72 - Kindness

Kazehaya House?

Hearing this, Emi felt weak. She closed her eyes as she laughed a burst of derisive laughter in her mind. If she did something bad, or if Miss Ara disliked her, she would be punished, and the punishment would be to be sent to the Kazehaya Household.

"Can't I be punished right now so I can go there?" Emi thought, but of course, she would never voice this idea out loud. Also, because of this, she would never dare make any mistake or displease the future lady of the house, because it would mean she was out to do them harm from the beginning. She didn't want that.

"Yes, Young Master. If this servant causes trouble please don't hesitate to punish me."

"Then so be it."

Closing her eyes, as she mourned at the lost opportunity, Emi smiled humbly and bowed. "Thank you, Young Master."

With everything finalized, they were dismissed by Homura Ryuu. Since she was no longer the Makura, Emi would naturally be removed from her house. She would have to live in one of the back houses with the rest of the servants, but she was surprised when she found out that she was allowed to have her own place, albeit a simple one.

"You are still a lady after all. It would be ridiculous if we let you mingle with the servants just because you are not going to be the Master's lover anymore," Yayoi told her apologetically.

The old lady was obviously upset about the setup. To her, Emi was like a toy suddenly discarded, although she couldn't also fault the Koutaishidenka for this.

"It's alright Yayoi. I'm already happy I have my own place. I did tell the Young Master I will work as a normal employee after all," Emi assured her with a sincere smile.

"But child…"

Emi shook her head. "Yayoi, I was offered luxury to leave the place. But I stayed. It's only natural for the Young Master to treat me as such. If not, Miss Ara would still misunderstand my position. I cannot be a servant and continue to live in that beautiful palace-like house and receive special treatment. It wouldn't have changed my status as a concubine."

It was the truth. For her to stay here at the Cedar Palace, the prince had to completely revoke her benefits as the Makura. It's the only way.

Emi was already thankful.

"Foolish child. You should have chosen to live elsewhere. You wouldn't have to suffer like a retainer here. I would have checked up on you to assist you if you needed anything," Yayoi reprimanded her softly, and Emi smiled.

"It's better that I'm here so there will be someone who will be your heir," Emi teased the kind old lady.

Yayoi shook her head at her but she was already smiling as well. "Take a rest today Miss Emi. Your lessons will start tomorrow," she told her before leaving.

Alone, at last, Emi walked across her new bedroom and lay on her futon. Her place was really small and her futon hard, but her heart was lighter compared to before.

Even if she was still at the Cedar Palace, she'd never felt so free like she did now. As for her former nannies, they were sent back to the servant's quarters. They would all be working as normal employees starting tomorrow.

Emi sighed, remembering what her punishment would be if she made a mistake.

"Kazehaya House, huh?"

If that was the "punishment", Emi would make sure she would never be sent there. Because if she was, it would mean she had failed and betrayed the Young Master's kindness.

She smiled sadly as she closed her eyes. She now truly believed that some things were really never meant to be.

==============

"Ara, are you already prepared for your trip?" Aki asked.

It was Sunday, lunchtime, and the siblings were having a meal together like they always did on weekends.

"Yeah. I'm all set. I packed my bag this morning," Ara answered as she asked the housekeeper for another helping of rice, extending her rice bowl.

"Ara, aren't you eating too much? You'll get fat," Aki commented, but his sister just grinned at him.

"I'm doing a lot of exercises these days. I burn a lot of calories," she assured her brother.

Of course, Ara wouldn't tell Aki how she had wreaked havoc in Roponggi again last night. There had been so many rowdy youths in the area since it was the weekend and many went out to party. Ara, as the fox god-masked supervillain had a great time throwing screaming drunks around 'til the wee hours of the morning.

"Don't overexert yourself. It's still less than a month since you got released from the hospital. I don't want you to have any relapse."

"I won't," Ara promised. Her body was actually in great condition.

Although she's still less powerful than she was in Ritz, she was already able to comfortably control her Divine Inheritance. The only thing missing was her familiar. Since transmigrating, she had not seen her lightning elemental yet. No matter how much she meditated, there was only silence.

"Where are you going with your class again?"

"Hakone."

"Oh? Why there? There's nothing much to see there but onsens," Aki wondered out loud.

"I don't know. Maybe it's because onsens are part of the Japanese culture?" Ara mused, and Aki shook his head with a smile.

"How are you going to get there?"

"We'll travel by the Odakyu Electric Railway."

"The Odakyu Romancecar?" Aki had heard about the train but never tried boarding it.

The said railway was the quickest direct route to Hakone from Tokyo Shinjuku Station, a major hub in Tokyo and the busiest train station in the world. The travel time to Hakone-Yumoto Station was about an hour and a half. Some versions of the trains have features such as observation decks and saloon seats.

"No. Just the normal one. The Romancecar's more expensive, and the school didn't want the students to spend a lot."

The difference between the normal and Romancecar tickets was around a thousand yen. It's big for normal families. So they took the normal one since they didn't really need luxurious seats and a transfer of trains at Odawara Station was not taxing to the students. They didn't need a direct ride.

Aki nodded. "You'll be there until Thursday, right? I can take you to the station, but I don't think I can pick you up when you return. There's an International Business Conference I have to attend from Wednesday to Friday."

"It's okay. Kou said he'll come to pick me up," Ara assured her brother who pouted.

"What is this? Why do I feel like you just bragged about having a boyfriend, huh?"

Ara laughed. "Well, you have to go get a girlfriend so you won't feel left out."

"I have a girlfriend," Aki answered. His face, however, became solemn all of the sudden.

"Ha? Why didn't I know that?"Ara had no memory of Aki having a lover.

"Because you didn't know. Ara, in this family, you were not the only one who was engaged since young – Ah! I don't want to talk about it," Aki complained, his mood had already darkened, and Ara wondered if Aki loathed being engaged to the unknown woman.

"O-okay…"