Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon - Volume 1 - Chapter 13

Chapter 13 - Behind the ability

It's been a few days since the two went out together.

It was already past his working hours, yet Kiyoka was still seated in his leader's Office, reading a document alone.

Today, he received the information he requested from a trusted acquaintance from the Intelligence Department.

-—A report regarding Miyo's past.

Kiyoka had told the information broker that he wished to receive more details on the Saimori family if possible. As such, the process of intelligence gathering took longer than usual.

When they tried to talk to the current and former employees of the Saimori family, they all appeared glum and unwilling to talk.

"Well, I guess it's quite a common occurrence."

The information broker frown in such a way that he's brows became 7 Y-shaped.

After Miyo's biological mother died and the stepmother entered the family; since her stepsister won the birth lottery, Miyo lived her life in humiliation and abuse.

Simply put, it was extremely easy and common for such a thing to happen.

However, the difference in the treatment of the talented and talentless was much more pronounced in families of ability users.

In the first place, simply being born with an ability would make on highly valued. However, recently that number of births had been on a decline.

Additionally, it was also noted in the report that all the information they had gathered on the inner workings of the Saimori family were downright dreadful.

"A kimono my mother left behind was of a similar colour... ah no, even though it's not around anymore."

Kiyoka suddenly recalled what Miyo had said then.

How did she feel when she was abandoned and had her mother's keepsakes taken away from her? Left to fend for herself, all alone, surrounded by an abusive stepmother and stepsister, a father who turned a blind eye to everything and servants who simply watched on from the sidelines.

Now it all made sense. Why she was able to do everything, from cooking to cleaning, washing of clothes and sewing. Despite being a daughter of the Saimoris, she wasn't treated like one. She was treated as nothing more than a servant, even denying her of food.

Reduced to just skin and bones, the old and battered clothes she wore, the fact that she couldn't even smile.

Her family was the root cause of everything.

No, people like that couldn't even be considered family.

Towards the people who hurt her and burdened her so, Kiyoka could feel murderous rage surging within him.

Even Kiyoka, himself, had said harsh words to Miyo. Although he hadn't known all this information at the time, he was still filled with regret.

(...But now I understand everything.)

Miyo had no ability. She didn't even possess Paranormal Vision. Which was why she probably believes that the marriage between herself and him was impossible. It was also why she's always so overly reserved and distant; because she thinks that it was only a matter of time before she would be forced to leave.

However, to Kiyoka, it didn't matter whether or not she had an ability. Amongst all the marriage candidates he's met up til now, not all were ability users. Typically, he's had meetings with ladies that ranged from daughters of wealthy merchant families to the daughters of politicians.

And of course, all these candidates were proposed by the former family head—Kiyoka's father, that is to say, he's future wife needn't necessarily be an ability user.

All Kiyoka wished for was a woman who could look past his status and wealth and protect their little home with him33. And Miyo was the woman who could realise that.

Thus. He had decided to never let her go.

However, there was one other thing Kiyoka was worried about.

Miyo's mother was from the Usuba family.

Families like the Kudou and Saimori family with a long lineage of ability users have served as subjects to the Emporer since ancient times.

Abilities were essential to battle entities that couldn't be seen by the average person—- demons and spirits—it was critical for one to have abilities in order to defeat said entities. In addition to maintaining peace of the nation and ending wars... Regardless of the period, that power has been held in high regard.

There were various types of abilities.

The list goes on: telekinesis, starting a fire out of thin air, manipulating wind and water at will, instant teleportation to a remote area. Walking on air and being able to see through thick walls.

There were also quite a handful that possessed more than one of these abilities.

However, the Usuba family's ability stood out even amongst the many abilities and was by far the most dangerous.

The main reason why that family's ability was of particular concern was that they could manipulate people's hearts. They could manipulate people's memories, enter dreams, and read people's mind. But these were considered the least threatening. On other occasions, they are also able to erase one's sense of self with ease, brainwash people, present hallucinations that could mess with the human psyche. They even have to ability to completely destroy a person at their core.

The Usuba family knew full well how dangerous their abilities were. Depending on how it's used, it could bring more damage to this country than any offensive ability.

And so, although it's unclear when, they chose to lay low and hide away to live a quiet life.

They restrict their movement according to the internal rules they have set. They stay cautious of any information leak regarding their abilities and very rarely allow their blood to flow outside the family. To prevent their abilities from being taken advantage of, they've even rejected the will of the Emperor.

Even till now.

So it was extremely rare and unusual for this woman known as, Usuba Sumi, to marry into the Saimori family. And Kiyoka was worried about the circumstances which led to that.

"Hah..."

Kiyoka couldn't help but sigh.

Frankly speaking, there would be no loss for Kiyoka if Miyo were to marry him. Or rather, there was nothing more desirable than that.

However, the mysteries around the Usuba family sent a chill down his spine. It would be difficult, even with the Kudou family's power and influence, to try and get in touch with them. He didn't even know how to contact them. Even if he employed the help of the Intelligence Department, they would be just as lost.

"What should I do?"

Kiyoka threw the files on his desk and muttered to himself, but he couldn't come up with any ideas.

By the time he noticed, the sun had already gone down.

He got ready to leave, bidding the guard on duty goodbye on his way out.

Come to think of it, he's been leaving for home earlier these days. He just felt strangely comforted seeing Miyo greet him at the entrance and he really enjoyed mealtimes with her as well.

He didn't feel too good about it.

Ever since the night of the day they went out, he's been unable to maintain his composure, behaving strangely at times.

(I haven't been myself...)

Soon, the words of Keiko, the Madam of ^Suzushimayaj) , will turn into reality and that was terrifying. Whether he was attracted to her or felt affectionate towards her, following the tightness in his chest, he could already see himself giving the world to Miyo if she so wished.

He's had a few friends from his school days that have dated and gotten married and he couldn't help but nod his head in agreement to their words now.

Kiyoka was somewhat aware of the fact that he wasn't good at interacting with women.

He was tired of the sheer amount of women that chased him and just the thought made him want to recoil. He also hated his bad-tempered mother, who was obsessed with indulging in luxuries.

He was sick of the smell of thick powder and women cooing at him. When he was in college, he‘s had seniors complain about his attitude towards women. Hence, he tried to date a few women but all that did was further his impression that he was bad at dealing with women. Eventually, he‘s even had to find excuses to avoid the female servants.

Though of course, he didn't make it so obvious now and was able to deflect advances with an amicable smile. But other than Yurie and Keiko, who he's known for a long while, he was still very much on guard against all other women.

This was the main driving force of him deciding to move to that little house.

Seeing how it is now, if someone told the Kiyoka from a few years ago that he would be able to live under the same roof with a girl of similar age, he'd never believe them. Such a situation was completely unthinkable.

(But there's no going back now.)

Kiyoka thought to himself mocking before suddenly stopping in his tracks.

(Something is following me.)

Glancing behind him, he could feel that there were multiple things.

There was no sound of footsteps or breathing. It didn't appear to be human.

(Where on earth did this idiot emerge from, trying to seek out my location?)

Since they were using something non-human, it must be an ability user. They're asking simply to die.

Or perhaps, they're absolutely confident that he won't be able to find out their identity.

He couldn't sense anyone nearby and he was still in campgrounds. The guard by the gate didn't have Paranormal Vision and they didn't set up a barrier around the area. As such, inhuman entities could enter as they liked. However, this was a space created for people to fight these entities without worrying about being seen by others.

"...Ah, so dumb."

With the slight movement of Kiyoka's fingertips, a small object hiding in the shade was pulled out against its will.

It was shaped like a bird. The body was grey coloured and its size was about 5 inches. It appeared bigger with its wings spread open. It seemed like quite a few of these were prepared as they appeared in hordes.

However, all of them were now suspended in the air with their movements sealed.

It'd be useless to ask where it came from, after all, they were just bird-shaped shikigamis.

"Doing something so pointless."

Kiyoka lost interest in them immediately. He turned on his heel and left while the immobile bird-shaped shikigamis became ablaze with blue flames that reduced them to nothing.

To be able to use multiple abilities simultaneously with such ease was proof of Kiyoka's strength as an ability user.

(Although the opponent didn't amount to anything.)

Who on earth did something like that?

An unpleasant hunch clouded his mind as he got in the car and rushed home.