My Happy Marriage (LN) - Volume 2 - Chapter Ep

  EPILOGUE  

The fish sizzled as it grilled.

When she took off the lid of the warm pot, the fragrance of miso soup rode the escaping steam to fill the kitchen.

Freshly cooked rice and a miso soup composed of Japanese ginger and tofu. Placing the aromatic dried mackerel that had just finished cooking on the plate, she garnished it with glossy and beautiful-colored boiled taro, added some of her homemade pickles, and placed them on the serving table.

At the same time, she filled a large lunch box with side dishes.

She had challenged herself to cook one of these “croquettes” that were en vogue, and they had turned out pretty well.

All done.

After quickly glancing over the finished breakfast and lunch box, she carried the serving table into the living room.

Yurie was off again today.

Since she wasn’t getting any younger and Miyo had grown fully accustomed to life in the house, they had started asking Yurie to come later in the day as a way of giving her more time off.

While Miyo thought she might be dismayed because of the loss in wages when they broke the news, Yurie instead said, “My, how both Miss Miyo and the young master have grown.” If anything, she’d been happy about the arrangement, as though the two were her own children setting off on their own.

“Good morning, Kiyoka.”

“Morning.”

Kiyoka wasn’t wearing his military jacket, reading the newspaper in just his shirt.

It was the same scene as every morning. The Kudou household had completely returned to its everyday routine.

“Breakfast is ready.”

“Looks delicious as always.”

When he brought his eyes up from the paper, Kiyoka’s broad smile was so enchanting that it flustered her.

As Miyo stuttered and avoided his gaze, he took the serving table out of her hands.

“Time to eat.”

“Oh, uh, of course.”

The two of them clapped their hands together, gave their thanks for the food, and brought the freshly prepared breakfast to their lips.

“This taro is amazing.”

“Really? I’m glad to hear it.”

“…That’s right, today’s when Sis comes over, right?”

“Ah, yes, it is.”

Her sessions with Hazuki had decreased in frequency, but she was still continuing with her lessons. They were only two or three times a week, but she enjoyed the time she spent learning about new things, and she was happy to chat with Kiyoka’s sister.

“Must be fun.”

“Huh?”

“Your face. You’re beaming.”

Miyo reflexively put her hands on her cheeks, but she couldn’t really tell herself.

Seeing her reaction, Kiyoka let out a small chuckle.

“Ah well, it’s fine either way. Just don’t push yourself.”

“I absolutely won’t.”

“Really? Then go ahead.”

At that point, Miyo had learned that nothing good came from pushing herself too hard.

Nothing was more precious to her than their daily life, the time they spent idly chatting with each other over a meal.

For some reason, her nightmares had ceased as of late. Miyo wondered if it was because she had awakened to her Gift.

Whatever the reason, she was glad that she hadn’t given up at that pivotal moment. Instead, she’d chosen this house—chosen Kiyoka—for herself. She was glad she had done something. Miyo was truly grateful that she hadn’t lost this routine of theirs for good.

“Have a nice day.”

Once breakfast was finished, Miyo saw Kiyoka off. He was fully dressed in his military garb.

A slight chill hung in the morning air, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The classic early autumn weather made her conscious of the changing seasons.

She got the impression it had been scorching hot just a few days ago, but the passage of time seemed to have sped up ever since she’d arrived at the house.

“I’m off. I’ll be back in the evening, but… Give Sis my regards.”

“Okay. Oh, Kiyoka.”

“What?”

“Your hair tie is loose. Crouch down and I’ll do it again for you.”

“Thanks, sorry.”

He stooped down, and she tightly retied the loosening cord.

The purple hair tie she’d gifted him was serving its purpose on yet another occasion. Kiyoka wore it every day, so she had secretly resolved to make him a new one.

“I’m finished.”

“Thanks, I app—”

“Hnh!”

She gasped.

“…………”

“…………”

Kiyoka had casually turned around to bring his face far closer to hers than she’d expected. Close enough to feel each other’s breath on their cheeks, the tips of their noses almost touching.

The pair both stayed stock-still, at a loss for words.

Miyo’s heartbeat pounded in her ears.

Surprised at the unexpected turn of events, she stiffened up. She couldn’t even lift a finger.

They both simply stared at one another. But why did she feel so on edge?

“Miyo.”

Kiyoka slowly brought up his hand and touched her cheek. Then—

“Ahem!”

Suddenly, the sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted them.

Both Kiyoka and Miyo had been off in their own world, so they practically jumped up before automatically putting some space between each other.

Now she felt too awkward and embarrassed to look at Kiyoka’s face. She averted her eyes.

“Pardon me. Standing here silently watching you two was a bit too much to bear.”

To their surprise, the person walking up from the street as he spoke was none other than Miyo’s cousin, Arata Usuba. He’d been the one to interrupt them.

Sporting his high-quality suit and usual disarming smile, Arata was the same clean-cut, handsome young man as ever.

“Arata. What are you doing here…?”

“Good to see you again. Though I suppose it hasn’t been that long, really. Hello, Miyo.”

It had been over a month since the day Kiyoka regained consciousness, and she hadn’t heard a word from the Usubas since.

Takaihito had told her not to worry, but that had been in regard to the emperor’s punishment. The question of whether or not the Usuba family as a whole would be penalized for Arata’s violation of their code of conduct was a different matter entirely.

She had been told the consequences for breaking their rules was severe, so she’d been wondering about how he was holding up.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t act like you just saw a ghost,” he said, shrugging. “Just look at all the energy I have.”

“I mean, um, I was worried, since I thought maybe you were punished somehow.”

“I was. Voluntary house arrest, for about three weeks.”

“Voluntary?”

He must have meant he’d shut himself away on his own. That wasn’t quite what she’d imagined.

“That’s right. Well, a lot happened in the end. But everything ended up involving the Gift of Dream-Sight, and Prince Takaihito himself went out of his way to visit our home to say he would try rethinking our family’s current way of life. I think there’ll be changes to our code before long, too.”

“I see.”

Their current regulations did strike her as a bit strict. It was only natural that, just as society and the laws continued to change with the times, the rules imposed on their family would change, too.

In contrast to Miyo’s look of relief at understanding the situation, Kiyoka’s gaze was ice cold.

“Well, what did you come here for?”

“Please don’t get mad. I wouldn’t just swing by without a proper reason.”

“And I’m asking what that is.”

His brusqueness was a clear indication he considered Arata a nuisance.

The obvious impatience her fiancé showed made Miyo tilt her head. Did Kiyoka really despise Arata so thoroughly?

“Shouldn’t you be getting to work, Commander Kudou? You’re going to be late.”

“You think I can go off and leave you two behind like this?”

“I don’t have a problem with that.”

“Well, I do.”

For some reason, sparks were flying between the two men.

“Quite the worrywart, aren’t we? I simply came to make a proposal.”

When he heard Arata’s words, a deep wrinkle carved itself into Kiyoka’s brow.

“What kind of proposal?”

“Let’s see. To put it bluntly… Will you hire me as Miyo’s bodyguard?”

“Huh?!”

“What did you say?”

Miyo let out a gasp, which was quite atypical for her.

To be fair, anyone would be astonished to suddenly hear someone offer their services as a bodyguard.

“I think it’s a pretty good idea myself. From here on out, Miyo will have to get on well with her Dream-Sight. There could be scoundrels out there who want to abuse that power for themselves. You spend a lot of time away from her because of work, don’t you? Even if it’s only for when you’re not there, wouldn’t you say it’d be helpful to have someone around who could protect her?”

“…………”

“Plus, I’m Miyo’s cousin, so you don’t have to worry about anything vulgar happening with me at her side, right? Well? I’d say those are pretty good terms, wouldn’t you?”

“But what about your career? You’re a negotiator, aren’t you?”

“My job affords me a fair bit of freedom. I don’t actually work for any particular company in the first place, and I really only accept negotiating gigs if they strike my fancy.”

Ever the salesman, Arata had smoothly laid out all the benefits of the arrangement and given them the impression that there were no drawbacks at all.

“I’ll think about it. I’m reserving my answer for now.”

“Suit yourself. Normally, I’d have you decide things on the spot, but I get the feeling if I did that, you’d only dislike me even more.”

“You’d be right.”

Watching the two exchange terse words, Miyo was relieved that things appeared to be ending peacefully.

Just then, the sound of an automobile engine drew closer. It was the car belonging to the main Kudou residence with Hazuki in tow.

“Well, now,” Hazuki commented after stepping out from the automobile.

“If it isn’t Miyo’s cousin. You’re here, too?”

“Hello. My name is Arata. I’d prefer if you’d use my name.”

“Really now? Then, in that case, feel free to use mine, too.”

Hazuki and Arata genially exchanged words.

“Great, another loudmouth.” Kiyoka sighed, putting a hand on his forehead with a haggard look of exhaustion on his face.

A thought struck Miyo.

What sort of words did the wives of the world offer their husbands at times like these? Or what sort of things did they say to console them? Unfortunately, she was not privy to such information.

Nevertheless, as his betrothed, she felt a bit reluctant to see Kiyoka off as drained as he was. When push came to shove, it was the wife’s job, after all, to support her husband in his personal life.

Something that’ll make Kiyoka happy… Something that’ll cheer him up. It’s no use. I haven’t got a clue.

Though Miyo didn’t know what to do, she was keenly aware from firsthand experience that if she didn’t demonstrate her feelings somehow, nothing would happen.

O-okay then.

Her mind made up, Miyo whispered quietly to her fiancé.

“Kiyoka. Um, could you kneel down for me one more time?”

“Hmm? Ah, like this?”

She reached out to his lowered head. Then she gently placed her hand there and tried moving it—in other words, Miyo was patting Kiyoka’s head at the moment.

Actually, hold on. Are grown men happy to get stroked on the head?

She slowly grew worried about Kiyoka, who had fallen into silence and abruptly widened his eyes.

Children were obviously thrilled to be patted on the head, and Miyo herself felt incredibly warm inside just from Kiyoka lightly tapping on hers. So it stood to reason, then… Well, that was what she’d thought, but it was possible she had gotten a few things wrong.

“Kiyoka?”

“…Miyo.”

“Yes?”

He mumbled to her as he stared vacantly at something off in the distance.

“Why’d you—why’d you choose that?”

“Huh? Uh, well, I don’t know if I, um, chose it, but…I thought maybe if I did this, you’d, um, you’d cheer up a bit… Oh, d-do you not like it? I’m s-sorry.”

“I don’t mind it.”

Miyo abruptly removed her hand, but he immediately grabbed hold of it and drew her entire body toward him.

Oh…

Something soft touched her forehead.

But it was truly for just a brief moment; before she could understand what was going on, he had already released his grip on her hand.

Still unclear about what exactly had happened, she brought a hand to her forehead. There, she thought she could feel a slight warmth left behind.

“That did cheer me up. I’ll be off, then.”

“Y-yes, of course… Have a nice day…”

Miyo watched Kiyoka dash off jauntily, a refreshed and cheerful smile on his face.

As Miyo stood there in a daze, both Hazuki and Arata watched over her together, huge grins across their faces.