Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon - Volume 1 - Chapter 29

Chapter 29 - Rescued

Suddenly, a thunderous sound shook and echoed through the Saimori residence.

It even reached the warehouse which was located in a remote area.

"What was that...?"

Her stepmother and half-sister had a surprised look on their face.

As they turned their attention away, their grip on Miyo loosened and she fell onto her knees.

"Go and see what happened."

Kanoko ordered the servant who had been waiting quietly by the side.

Her voice sounded awfully distant—Miyo's consciousness was very hazy.

The shoulder that she crashed on just now had already become numb and she could no longer feel any sensation coming from her arm. And perhaps, because of the impact of the strong blow to her cheek, her mind was also becoming foggier as time passed.

"What did you do?"

Miyo's stepmother shouted at her.

This all happened because of you—that line appeared somewhere in the corner of her mind.

"I-I--"

What on earth was that? How could she do anything when she was the one who was bound and held captive?

"Okaa-sama, hurry, tell Onee-sama—"
"I know. You, say: 'I refuse the offer of marriage with the Kudou family.'"

As she thought, her stepmother's voice sounded really distant.

"N-No..."

Miyo's head was all sluggish and she could hardly think about anything anymore, but she still continued to refuse.

Don't nod—that was the one thought that held Miyo together, sustaining her unprecedented rebellious attitude.

"Enough is enough! I'm telling you to know your place!"

With her face flushed red in anger, Kanoko finally put her pale hand on Miyo's neck.

In the back of Miyo's mind, the word 'death' appeared, before fading away. She couldn't feel any pain, but if this grip on her neck were to continue tightening, she would soon draw her last breath.

Oh, come to think of it, didn't she used to always look forward to the end of her life?

She had so much suffering and unhappiness in her life; she had grown weary of living lying to herself. And that was because she thought there was no place that would shelter her in the world. However, that was not the case. She did have a place where she belonged—by that person's side.

"Urgh... I will never say that."

Hearing Miyo's words, Kaya's expression twisted even more as her irritation grew while Kanoko increased the strength of her grip.

(Danna-sama, I never gave in; I didn't even utter a word of apology, I don't want to leave your side; I don't want to die yet.)

"Danna... -sama..."

"Miyo!"

When she heard a voice calling out her name in that dimly lit warehouse, she thought it was an auditory hallucination. It was Kiyoka's voice; the voice she had been waiting for so long; the voice she wanted to hear most.

"Kudou-sama..."

Dumbstruck with terror by Kiyoka's appearance, Miyo's stepmother released her hands on Miyo's neck and Miyo collapsed onto the ground again.

"Miyo."

Kiyoka could no longer see the rest of his surroundings as he rushed up to Miyo and undid the ropes before picking up her battered and injured body.

—Ah, he really came. He came all the way to this place for her.

Miyo felt so terribly relieved as she coughed violently, her eyes wet with tears.

She never once doubted Kiyoka. She believed that, as gentle as he was, he would definitely come to her rescue. That's the kind of person he was.

"Dan...na... -sama..."

"It's alright now."

Was that pained and tearful expression on his face because of the terrible state Miyo was in?

(If that's the case, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for showing you something unseemly.)

However, those wounds she suffered were most certainly not ones to be ashamed of. For the first time, these were injuries Miyo could take pride in for not yielding to the unreasonable demands. It was proof of the first time Miyo stuck to her own will, against her family.

Kiyoka carefully picked up his precious fiance who lay unconscious in his arms. Despite the fact that she was wearing a kimono with considerable weight to it, she was still very light.

The swelling of her cheeks must've been due to a beating. It looked really painful and he was hesitant to even caress it.

Ah, but the source of all these were standing right here.

"...What did you do for it to end up like this?"

"...Ah"

In the face of his calm questioning, the shoulders of Mrs. Saimori and her daughter trembled.

Did they think that they could get away with no repercussions whatsoever after doing all these things? Seeing them lose colour in their faces, Kiyoka was both appalled and enraged.

"What were you trying to do, to inflict so many wounds on someone who couldn't even resist?"

"That, I..."

Frustrated yet seemingly unable to come up with a response, Kanoko fell silent bitterly. However, it seemed that Kaya hadn't given up yet.

"I... didn't do anything wrong."

Kaya looked up and stared at Miyo who was in Kiyoka's arms.

”I just wanted to right the wrong......That's all I wanted to do."

"The wrong?"

"That's right... because it's completely absurd for Onee-sama to be accepted by the Kudou family. It's a mistake no matter how you think about it.

There's nothing that Onee-sama can do. She doesn't have Paranormal Vision; she's not smart; she's not pretty. She's not useful even as a servant. How can someone like that, who can't do anything, be better than me? That's laughable. There must be some kind of mistake."

"..."

"Unlike Onee-sama, Chichi-sama and Okaa-sama all say that I'm the best. If that's the case, then it's only natural that I should be the wife of the head of the Kudou family. Tatsushi Oji-sama said the same thing as well."

Kaya seemed to be really exasperated by the situation. She was not in the wrong—that was not a rebuttal. She was insisting that she was in the right and she doesn't doubt that for even a second.

Even if she felt resentment towards Miyo, she concluded that it was not by any means a misdirected personal grudge, but rather because she was deprived of her natural rights.

While she deserved sympathy for having such distorted perceptions instilled in her, the flames of Kiyoka's rage was not lukewarm enough for him to forgive her.

"Kudou-sama, I can definitely be of more use to you than Onee-sama. I'm better than her in every way, that's why—"

"Shut up."

"!"

Being sent a piercing, icy glare from Kiyoka, Kaya swallowed the words that were about to leave her mouth, seemingly out of fear.

It was an absurd joke he didn't want to hear any more of. More than trying to justify her actions, it was even worse that she truly believed that she was not wrong and tried to appeal her point of view to him.

"It's a waste of my time to listen to you talk any more."

"Why...! Why don't you understand!? You're horrible!"

Just who was it that was being horrible?

Kiyoka was so disgusted he didn't even want to point it out anymore. Above all, it's only a matter of time before the fire in the mansion spread to the warehouse, so they couldn't continue this pointless discussion here.

"Oku-sama! Kaya Ojou-sama! There's a fire! The fire is spreading over...!"

A servant, who seemed to be the one that was previously sent to check the commotion, ran towards them in a panic.

Then, Kouji, who had been silent all this while, approached Kaya.

"Kaya, we can't stay here. Kanoko-san as well, We have to get out of here."

"...The mansion... No way... It couldn't be..."

Kanoko seemed to be terribly shocked that the mansion was on fire. She stumbled out of the warehouse and screamed at the sight of the main building which was covered in black smoke.

"No way... How could it be... My house...!"

Kiyoka no longer cared about what was happening around him and was about to leave the old warehouse with Miyo in his arms. However, just then, Kaya grabbed the hem of his clothes and held him back.

"Please wait! Kudou-sama, please—"

Kiyoka shook off her hand and scowled at her with killing intent.

"I've had enough of your pointless arrogance. Whether it's your face or your talent, I don't care for any of it. There's no way I would choose a conceited woman like you even if the world turned upside down. Move."

Then, without looking back at Kaya, who backed away in fright, Kiyoka walked ahead briskly. Subconsciously, she still reached her hand out to him, but Kouji stopped her.

"Let us quickly evacuate as well."

"I hate this... Why? Why did I end up like that?"

"Forget about that, let's hurry."

"Don't touch me!"

Kaya became agitated the moment Kouji tried to forcefully pull her away.

"How did it turn out like this!? I'm not wrong!"

"Kaya..."

Outside the warehouse, Kanoko's voice could be heard above the clamour.

"It's all because of that girl that this happened!"

Kouji was getting sick and tired of it already. He sighed and forcefully dragged Kayla along with him. Ignoring his fiance's rampage-flailing and shouting that she didn't like it-Kouji forcibly grabbed Kanoko, who was screaming outside, as well.

"Let go of me! I hate this, just leave me alone!"

"Shut up!"

"...What's this huh, Kouji-san, isn't Onee-sama the one that you like!? You should just leave me be and quickly get out of here!"

Kouji felt a sudden rush of blood to the head. This was so irritating. Yeah, why did he have to save this woman?

However—

"Ah, right. It is exactly as you say, the most important person to me is Miyo! Of course, she is. But even if it's you, Miyo will be sad if you died and there will be more scars on her heart! All because you are family!"

He didn't want to see Miyo be hurt and cry because of this trashy family ever again.

Therefore, Kouji did what he could do, even if he hated them, he would help them, if it could help give Miyo a peace of mind.

When faced with the anger of Kouji, who was usually mild-mannered, Kaya slumped down in silence. And after that, she didn't utter a single word until they escaped the burning mansion.