My Happy Marriage (LN) - Volume 4 - Chapter Ep

  EPILOGUE  

Miyo placed the soba noodles in the boiling pot.

She stirred the contents of the pot with cooking chopsticks, sending warm steam floating into the air.

Today was so much fun.

They had returned from the luncheon gathering at the Kudou main estate, and now the sun had almost sunk below the horizon. Miyo was in the kitchen, preparing their dinner to ring in the new year.

There hadn’t been that many people at lunch, but she had a great time.

The spread there had been delicious, filled with all sorts of rare types of western cooking, and it had been exciting to freely move around and converse with a variety of different people, so Miyo felt it had been a very fulfilling afternoon.

“Oh no.”

She had a hunch that if she got absorbed in her thoughts, she’d overcook the noodles. Miyo frantically took the pot off of the flame and sighed with relief.

Scooping up one of the hot soba noodles, she cooled it off before putting it in her mouth. If she was going to be using them for soup, it might have been better to keep them a little firmer, but they were still acceptable.

We need to have dinner before they get soggy.

Miyo swiftly loaded the soba noodles into two porcelain bowls and poured hot soup over them. On top, she placed the already fried pieces of tempura, and garnished each with a small topping of green onions.

The tempura mostly consisted of cod, shrimp, and vegetables.

“A pretty good job, I would say.”

It was her first time making New Year’s Eve soba, and she was glad that she had asked Yurie about how to make it ahead of time. Though, it didn’t give her much trouble, as she simply boiled the noodles, and the tempura was no different from the tempura made countless times before. The soup flavor was Yurie’s secret recipe.

In addition to the New Year’s Eve soba that night, she had also prepared boiled root vegetables—carrots and daikon among others—pickled Chinese cabbage, together with an exceptional bottle of refined sake.

The kitchen looked like a colorful cornucopia simply from all the different dishes.

“Tee-hee.”

The mere fragrance of the soup broth wafting in the air filled Miyo with relief.

Reality wasn’t all fun and games; it also brought plenty of anxieties, along with mental fatigue that arose from the turmoil of daily life.

However, today was New Year’s Eve, and tomorrow was the beginning of the New Year holidays. She wanted to at least enjoy the short time in peace. She wanted Kiyoka to spend the time in mental tranquility, too.

“Kiyoka, dinner’s ready.”

“Got it.”

When she popped her head into the living room, Kiyoka was passing his eyes over some documents with a scowl.

Hazuki had invited them to spend the night in the main estate, but Kiyoka didn’t wait a second before turning her down. Miyo was sure these documents were one of the reasons why.

Though he was supposed to have a few days off from work for New Year’s, there was still a small number of reports coming in due to all the unresolved issues on his unit’s plate at the moment. He must have wanted to get them out of the way before things got out of hand again.

Miyo spoke up while she arranged the plates on the table.

“…Um, why don’t you take a bit of a break?”

“Right, right. Sorry.”

Initially giving a half-hearted response, Kiyoka noticed the dinner lined up in front of him and began gathering together the wide spread of documents in front of him.

Miyo turned once again to face Kiyoka as he went about and bowed her head.

“Thank you, Kiyoka.”

She sensed that he was slightly taken aback, wondering where Miyo’s sudden gratitude was coming from.

“For what?”

“For Kaoruko. You helped her, didn’t you?”

Miyo thought back to Kiyoka and Kaoruko’s exchange at the Kudou main estate.

Kiyoka had seemed cold and indifferent, but Miyo could tell it essentially meant that he had forgiven her. She wasn’t conceited enough to dare think her appeal was what made him forgive Kaoruko. Nevertheless, she was happy that in the end, she hadn’t lost her first-ever friend.

“There’s no need to thank me.”

Kiyoka turned away, but there wasn’t the slightest tinge of anger in his eyes.

“Our fight against the Gifted Communion is only going to get more intense from here on out. We can’t afford to lose firepower.”

Alarmed to hear the words “Gifted Communion,” yet another new wave of anxiety welled up in her.

“Has…has something happened?”

“No. If anything, the reports say there hasn’t been any new developments. It’s just that there might be something inside of them that could serve as a lead or clue.”

“……So the Gifted Communion is nowhere to be found?”

“That’s right. We don’t even have an idea where exactly the emperor ended up, either. They’re staying quiet right now, but that’s all the more reason to think about the possibility that they’re hatching something big.”

Usui had raided the station and been fought off by Kiyoka. However, at the time, the man’s demeanor hadn’t looked particularly upset, and not at all like someone who just had their plans foiled.

Something awful was on the horizon.

Even a layperson like Miyo could feel it in her bones.

Kiyoka sighed slightly, and gently gripped Miyo’s hand.

“It’s okay. I’ll try to do something about everything as fast as I can. Don’t let it worry you… Though, I’m sure that’s asking the impossible.”

“I’ll try.”

Encouraged by his gentle palm, Miyo managed a slight smile.

The last night of the year quietly wore on.

The two had finished eating their New Year’s Eve soba and were relaxing for a spell when snow came fluttering around outside.

“Started coming down, did it?”

When Miyo opened the sliding door connecting to the outer corridor, Kiyoka’s face brightened at the scene he saw peeking through the crack.

The light from the electric lamp in the living room spilled out onto the veranda, illuminating the white petals dancing through the air. A thin layer had already settled over the courtyard, like a sprinkling of sugar.

“Snow……”

Miyo hadn’t been fond of either snow or winter itself.

Without a brazier in her cramped room back in her old home, every year the terrible cold was torturous. However, looking at the white scenery from inside a warm home, she found it whimsical, a vibrant yet soundless sight.

“Miyo.”

Turning at hearing her name, Miyo saw that Kiyoka was drinking from his sake cup as he gazed outside.

“Come here.”

“Okay.”

She sat down beside him.

“This year was a good one. Because I was able to meet you.”

Beside her, she heard his soft, gentle voice.

But, in that case, it was even better of a year for me…

At this time last year, she never would have imagined it. That a winter would come where she wouldn’t be wishing for herself to freeze to death in the cold.

That she’d have the chance to meet someone so dear to her, so inseparable.

“Yes, um, I—I……feel the same way.”

The instant she replied, her body was pulled toward his—and their lips brushed against each other.

Her second kiss had the faint aroma of sake.

The temple bell rang.

The last vestiges of the year gave them a silent, snowy embrace and passed on into the next.