Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon - Volume 2 - Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - Call me Onee-san

At daybreak, still tugged under the covers, Miyo slowly opened her eyes in a daze.

She felt really uncomfortable as the skin on her face felt tight after the sweat and tears dried.

And also, because... she had a nightmare again.

It's been a few months since she came to this house from her maiden home, the Saimori mansion. The seasons had passed from spring to summer. And in time, Miyo had been plagued by nightmares virtually every night.

Sometimes, she would be able to remember her dreams vividly, while other times, she would forget what she had dreamt of immediately.

In the beginning, those nightmares were often painful memories from the Saimori mansion, but recently, that's not all she dreamt of. She would have dreams of being shouted at and belittled endlessly by strangers, being locked up in a dark, small place, being chased by terrifying monsters, people dying, and so on...

"It's just a dream..."

Kiyoka and Yurie would sometimes appear in her nightmares as well. On those days, it made her heart ache even more.

Although she was already used to waking up in tears, the fear of nightmares kept her from going to sleep. As a result, she began to sleep less and less, and her health began to deteriorate from the sleep deprivation.

Her body which once regained vitality and was healthy thanks to Kiyoka's care was now going downhill again.

(...I'm worrying Danna-sama.)

And she still had a lot of things to do, she couldn't afford to collapse or rest at this time.

Miyo briefly rubbed her face with her hands before changing her clothes as per normal and hurried to the kitchen.

"I'm off."

"Yes. Have a safe trip."

Miyo saw off Kiyoka's dashing figure as he left for work and sighed softly.

Although it was just a casual action, it caused Yurie's brows to furrow slightly as she looked at Miyo.

"Miyo-sama, please don't overdo it if your energy is low due to the summer weather."

"I-I'm alright."

She hastily denied and went into the house.

Both Kiyoka and Yurie looked out for Miyo and they were often quick to catch on as well. Miyo knew better than anyone just how lucky and happy she was to have people who cared about her; however, she can't just be spoiled and rely on them all the time.

She was sleep deprived but that didn't mean she did not rest at all, so Miyo wasn't that affected by it, she's just a little sluggish that's all.

(I just have to endure it for a bit and it'll be alright soon.)

Miyo said to herself internally as she went back to the kitchen to quickly wash the dishes.

She's been doing this for so many years that it didn't matter even if her focus had waned a little; the movements had already been ingrained into her and her body simply moves automatically.

After tidying up the kitchen, the next thing to do was laundry.

On a summer's morning, the sensation of cold water against her skin felt really good. As she scrubbed the clothes in the tub, she felt as though the haze on her mind was being washed away as well.

Once she was done with laundry, she would have to drain the clothes well before hanging it on the clothesline. Even though she did this every day, she still felt a sense of accomplishment when all the clothes are hung up.

"Huu..."

It was starting to get a little hotter.

Today was the day Hazuki was coming over again to teach her. Before her class with Hazuki, Miyo wanted to do a little preparation with the books the former lent her yesterday.

"Yurie-san, I'll be going to my room to do a little preparation before my lesson with Hazuki-sama"

"Oh, yes, yes, please go ahead, just leave the cleaning to Yurie."

When Miyo came back to inform Yurie while hugging the tub in her arms, the latter gladly nodded her head in response.

Although Miyo felt really apologetic for burdening Yurie, she could only go back to her room to pick up and read through the teaching materials before her lesson.

It seemed that the book was about the basics of housekeeping. Right from the very first page, the book went on at length about what it meant to be a "Good wife and wise mother" What it meant to be a wife; what is the role of a mother; how can one support her husband and home, the list went on... Miyo earnestly tried to imprint this information which seemed to be just a matter-of-fact into her mind.

(I don't like this...)

Miyo could feel the anxiety inside her well up.

She wanted to be a wife worthy of Kiyoka. Was this what it meant to be a good wife and wise mother? Was the perfect lady just one who could take care of her husband's daily needs such as his dressing and food? If so, then what different was it from what she was doing now?

To Miyo, the image of the wife of a prominent family she was most familiar with was that of her stepmother, Kanoko. So, she wondered if she should learn from her stepmother, imitate, and do things as Kanoko did.

(Although I don't think there should be anything wrong with doing that...)

The ideal wife, one that was worthy of standing by Kiyoka's side—ideals linger at the back of Miyo's mind, casting a shadow on the heart of Miyo who lacked confidence in herself.

And just like that, time passed in a blur.

After a while, Hazuki arrived as planned and it was time for her lesson.

"Well then, Miyo-chan, what shall we start with?"

Hazuki was just as beautiful today with a dazzling smile on her face.

For Hazuki who had a bubbly personality, she gave off a very vibrant impression, but when one took a closer look, they would realise that every one of her mannerism was very graceful. Miyo was not at all confident that she would be able to take one step closer to being like Hazuki just by attending a party.

Hazuki lowered her eyes as she felt a sense of gloom slowly envelope Miyo.

"Don't look so uneasy. From what I've seen, the way you carry yourself is elegant enough."

"I-Is that so..."

"That's right. You've had some lessons when you were younger, haven't you? It seems that you have learnt some of the basic etiquettes."

That was indeed the case. Even after she was treated as a servant in the Saimori household, she was always careful to behave in a manner that would not bring shame to the family name. The things she learnt in her lessons back then were useful...

Miyo felt like tearing up just at the thought that what she had learnt could be of some use to her despite those difficult days,

"For the time being, tea ceremony and flower arrangement will have to be put off to later to prepare for the party. Kiyoka also said that it was fine to just skip the part about housekeeping... so our top priority would be etiquette and socialising."

With that, Hazuki briefly rummaged through the mountain of teaching materials she had brought with her yesterday.

Seeing her sudden somewhat childish behaviour, completely different to her leisurely grace from before, the tears that welled up in Miyo's eyes virtually flowed back into her tear ducts.

"U-Um... H-Hazuki-sama..."

As soon as Miyo called out to her, Hazuki's movements stopped abruptly and her eyes rounded as she turned to look at Miyo.

"What did you just say?"

"Eh?"

Hmm? Did she say anything strange?

Hazuki lightly raised a hand to her lips before pointing at Miyo whose head was tilted to the side in confusion.

"That... the way you addressed me."

"Ah... Oh, Hazuki-sama?"

"That won't do!"

Taken aback, Miyo jumped a little at her exclamation.

"Ah, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to make such a sudden outburst."

"I-It's alright."

Hazuki sighed saying "That's just how I am..."

Being denied with such a strong tone caused Miyo's memories of the past in the Saimori mansion to resurface and it deeply frightened her.

Based on her observation of Hazuki, Miyo could more or less guess that the former had heard what kind of treatment she had gone through before coming to this house from Kiyoka. That's why, she was certain Hazuki must have noticed her slight fear.

However, rather than finding Hazuki nosy, if anything, Miyo felt sorry for causing her needless worry.

Hazuki whispered another word of apology, then as if she had been refreshed, she took Miyo's hands in hers with a smile.

"You see, Miyo-chan... if possible, I'd like you to call me Nee-san."

"...E-E-Eh?"

Miyo was dumbfounded by her sudden proposal.

"I've always wanted an adorable little sister like Miyo-chan, but all I got was a younger brother. A younger brother like Kiyoka is not cute at all; I'm so tired of him!"

"Um..."

"Miyo-chan, not only are you adorable, you're also a good girl; you really are the best. I thought Kiyoka was just an uncute, pig-headed, and stupid younger brother, but I guess I could give him some credit for choosing Miyo-chan."

"...Huh?"

Hazuki's eyes gradually lit up and she went on and on passionately, leaving no room for Miyo to even interject.

"I want to get to know you better. From now on, we're a family, so I want you to rely on me more and act spoiled to me to your heart's content. Even though Kiyoka is unfriendly and rather taciturn, making it hard to know what's on his mind, I'm sure he feels the same way."

"Family..."

"That's right, so you don't have to be so reserved; I'd be elated to hear you call me Nee- san. Ah, but of course, I wouldn't force you if you don't want to."

"O-One..."

Onee-san.

If she were to address Hazuki in that way, Miyo was sure that she would definitely be over the moon with a bright and innocent smile on her face. But...

"Onee-sama."

For a long time now, Miyo would turn stiff every time she heard that, that was how afraid she was of that term.

Although that child was no longer here, it still haunted her11. A shadow seemed to flash before Miyo's eyes—Miyo's only younger sister. That image made her hesitant to say those words.

"Um... may I call you Hazuki-san?"

Hearing Miyo's words, Hazuki simply smiled and said "Of course."

She was grateful to Hazuki for her thoughtfulness in not showing a hint of disappointment.