The third morning after their arrival came. Mirai yawned lazily. It would be the last day of her stay in Shida manor. Her smile appeared. The dreadful visit had turned out to be a family reunion, thanks to that crazy scenario Ryosuke played out. Remembering him, she looked around the chamber. Once she did not find the person, she frowned.

He did not return again last night.

Ryosuke had been missing every night. He always said that he had to do something and would return later. He did return, but only in the morning after. She had wondered where he was sleeping the last three nights.

Was he avoiding her again? Why should he? She thought that after the birthday surprise, something had changed between them. At least, he had been a bit more talkative. Or he might felt uncomfortable to stay in the same chamber with her? He could just tell her about that. And it was not like they never encounter the same problem before. So, why should he feel uncomfortable?

The questions went on until Mirai ruffled her hair in annoyance. He was just too mysterious. And he is just unpredictable. She remembered her conversation the evening after her sudden sparring with Ryosuke.

“Are you alright?” Hikaru asked after sheathing his sword. He reached out to Mirai and pulled her to her feet.

Still in her trance, Mirai could only nod.

“Did he hurt you?” Hikaru searched for any sign of wound on her.

Mirai shook her head. “No.”

Hikaru eyed the sword on her hand. “Whose sword is that?”

“It’s mine, Sir,” a third voice suddenly spoke. Yuto had approached them to retrieve his sword. Mirai handed it to him without any word.

“Your prince was so careless! How could he attack Mirai when she was not ready?” Anger was still evident in Hikaru’s voice.

Mirai shot her head up, surprised that her brother took the scene wrong. “Nii-chan…”

“Please don’t misunderstand His Highness’ intention, Sir. He only did it to help.” Yuto defended.

“Who…”

“It’s alright, Nakajima-kun,” Mirai interrupted Hikaru. “I will explain it to my brother.”

Yuto bowed and left them after that.

“Nii-chan.”

Hikaru turned to her, the fierce still in his eyes but now tinted with confusion. “I don’t understand. What would attacking you be a help?”

“But it did help.”

“Who?”

“Us.”

Hikaru blinked. “Us?”

Mirai put her arms around Hikaru. Hikaru tensed all of a sudden.

 “Thank you, Nii-chan.”

“For what?” He was confused.

“For not deceiving me all this time. I thought that all your care was just a lie when you… when that happened.”

Understanding what she referred to, Hikaru analyzed the recent event. After put it together, he finally caught up. “So, that’s why he asked me to come here. What happened just now was done purposely for this?”

Mirai pulled away and looked up to her brother, smiling. “It seemed that he did it so we could make up.”

Seeing Mirai smiled, Hikaru realized how long it had been since the last time he saw her smile like that.

“Oh no!” Hikaru exclaimed suddenly, dreadful.

“What’s wrong, Nii-chan?” Mirai grew worry.

“Should I be scare, Mi-chan? I have just threatened to kill a prince!” A mischievous glint was in Hikaru’s eyes.

Mirai giggled before faking a cry, “And it would be my fault. How is it, Nii-chan? We just made up, should we separate again so soon?”

And with that, they laughed together.

Mirai giggled remembering that scene. She took a deep breath. It was really good to have her brother back as usual. Seeing how he had defended her against the prince of their kingdom, she had been sure of something.

They are hurt as badly as you are. What Ryosuke said was right. When she encouraged herself to look them on their eyes, she could tell that they mirrored her sorrow. Father, brother, mother; they had indeed broken one of their promises, but they never faked their love for her.

Mirai buried her face onto her pillow. Ryosuke just met her family for a short time, but he could figure them out clearly. Did he always like that? Had he read her, too, that he planned such unpredictable act just to prove her about her brother’s true feeling?

The eyes tell us what’s inside a person’s heart.

Ryosuke had said that. But why she could not see anything in his eyes? His eyes only showed her darkness and cold, like a limitless depth that she would not be able to dive in. It frustrated her. Though he said that they did not need to be friends, she still needed to understand him. He said that he had known everything about her, but she did not know anything about him. It was just unfair. And the way he behaved…

“No need to thank me. I just gave you a little push because you were too afraid to admit the truth,” Ryosuke dismissed her gratitude when she talked to him after the dinner two days ago.

"But still, I thank you for everything.”

“You know, I didn’t do it for you.” He coldly said.

Seeing Mirai’s confused look, he added, “My lady, I have ever warned you to not jump into conclusion with everything I do, haven’t I?”

“If not to help me, then what was your reason?”

He looked into her eyes, “I don’t have to tell you. Beside, you still have your father to think of. ”

She frowned, “You don’t need to tell me. I know.”

“Good then,” he started to walk away.

“Where are you going?”

He halted and turned his head to look at her, “Just need to do something.”

“When will you return?”

“Later. No need to wait me.” He strode away completely.

He always denied the gratitude. He always convinced her that he did everything for his own advantages. Why was he so bothered if she thought that he was kind?

“My lady,” Miru’s voice interrupted her thought.

Mirai pushed herself to get up from the bed, “Come in.”

Miru entered carrying the usual stuff. Seeing her, Mirai narrowed her eyes. Why did she not think about it before? Miru knew a lot about Ryosuke, right? Why didn’t she ask her?

“Eh, why do you look at me like that?” Miru noticing the unusual look Mirai gave her.

“Miru-chan, tell me about him,” she asked straightforwardly.

“Who do you mean?”

“Prince Ryosuke.”

“Eh, didn’t I give you his profile report back then?”

“Really? I don’t remember anything about it,” Mirai tried recalling.

“I gave it to you two weeks before the wedding.”

Mirai hardly remember anything from that period of time because she was too upset about the wedding to care about any other things. She suspected that she threw the report away even without reading it.

“Can you hand me a copy of that?”

“Of course. But it may take a day to finish it.”

“Just make sure it’s finished before we depart tomorrow,” Mirai instructed.

“Alright. Do you need anything else?”

Mirai thought for a while before answering, “Do you know where my brother is?”

Before Miru answered, they heard someone knocked.

“May I come in?” That was Ryosuke’s voice.

“A minute, please,” Mirai bellowed while quickly fixing her attire.

When Mirai gave her approval, Miru opened the door.  Mirai gasped once she saw Ryosuke’s state.

He walked in looking… dishevelled. Mud was on all over his attire, even on his hair. His sleeves were ripped on some parts.

“What happened?” She hurriedly approached him.

He placed his sword on the nearby table and stripped off his outer vest. “Just training.”

“Could you prepare a bath for me?” he turned to Miru while rolling up his sleeves.

“Yes, Your Highness,” Miru bowed and left.

Mirai observed the cut on his left forearm. “I’ll get a remedy.”

“No need,” he stopped her. “It’s just a small cut. I’m use to it.”

Catching a glimpse of the tray Miru brought previously, she offered, “At least, let me clean your wound. It may get infected.”

Ryosuke stared at her for a while. “Just give me that, I’ll do it myself.”

Mirai handed him the water basin and the towel. She was watching him when Ryosuke suddenly spoke, “Your father has never changed.”

Mirai blinked in confusion before a comprehension came, “You were training with Father just now?”

“Aa. With your brother, too.” He answered without stopping his ministrations to his arm.

“Eh?” She widened her eyes. “But, weren’t you going too far for training?” She indicated to his wound.

Ryosuke looked up, his brow went up. “You sound like it is such a big deal.” He had finished cleaning the wound and walked to retrieve a change for his attire.

Before he stepped outside toward the bathhouse, he looked back to Mirai, a smirk on his face, “It was worth it anyway, because I won through in the end.”

That was the first time Mirai saw the smirk on his face was pure of joy, not a mockery or smugness. Unfortunately, Ryosuke did not see that he drew a smile from Mirai in return.

**********

“That boy is surprisingly strong,” Hikaru sank on the chair in exhaustion.

General Shida wiped his dirty sword, “He has been my best student not for nothing.”

“Unfortunately I didn’t cross path with him during his study under you, Father. It’s when I preparing my council debut, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, and if I’m being honest, he has grown beyond my expectation.”

Hikaru exhaled, “At least, we won’t have to worry about Mirai’s safety.”

“I’m not worried about her physical safety. It’s more about her mental state.”

Hikaru frowned hearing his father words. “You said that you believe in Mirai, Father.”

“Of course. I believe in her. But we can’t be careless. You saw them yourself, didn’t you?”

Hikaru recalled how Mirai and Ryosuke interacted during their stay. They had acted like they got along well, but the stiffness between them denied all their acts. “Yes, Father.”

“The marriage hasn’t work as we expected. More important, our intelligent reported that Okamoto have made a move, though we can’t decipher their plan till now.”

“Is Kota being Prince Ryosuke mentor for his council debut has anything to do with it?”

“We don’t know for sure.” General Shida reflected, “Okamoto Kota. He will be one of the strongest pillars of this kingdom if only he doesn’t put his loyalty to his family.”

Hikaru mulled over his father’s words. Indeed, Kota had been the brightest among his peers.

“But,” General Shida added, “Ryosuke will be the strongest among all if we succeed in this plan.”

“Father,” Hikaru dawdled. “You have always told me that the marriage is for Hakumei’s sake. I believe in your judgment though you never tell me the real reason. But please tell me one thing, if Mirai’s marriage doesn’t work, how bad the effect will be?”

General Shida delayed his answer to take a breath. Once he opened his mouth, the light of his eyes turned darker. “The worst is….it may cause Hakumei’s fall.”

**********

Ryosuke had just finished taking a bath and on his way back to the chamber when suddenly someone bumped into him. He had not even staggered, but the other person fell on her . Ryosuke looked down to the figure. She was a child, not more than eight he assumed. By the outfit she wore, he was sure that the child was one of the maids or the maids’ child in the manor. Seeing her struggling to stand, Ryosuke reached out. She only stared at his hand for a moment, but grabbed it eventually.

“Are you alright?” Ryosuke crouched down in front of her after she stood, observing the possibilities of her injured.

The little girl seemed nervous. She nodded shyly. “Forgive me, Sir.”

Standing, Ryosuke put a hand on her head, his eyes softened. “Be careful next time.”

The girl bowed before running away and Ryosuke resumed his walk.

A few distances from the spot, Lady Akemi was watching the scene since the beginning. A small smile appeared on her face.  He may have turned colder, but I still can see Lady Umi’s warmth in his eyes.

“Mother!”

A voice called and she turned to face the person. She could see her daughter run to her direction. Yet, seeing Mirai’s appearance, a frowned formed.

“Mirai, what did Mother tell you?”

Not understanding why her mother scolded her, Mirai tilted her head in confusion.

Lady Akemi sighed at her daughter denseness. “Look at your appearance! Tracksuits? Pale face? Untidy hair?”

Mirai scowled, “Mother, I have just been jogging. What else would I wear?”

“Mirai, your husband has finished prepare for the morning, how could you still in this state? You are a wife now, so you should be ready even before your husband wakes up.”

Mirai’s scowled deepened. He would not care anyway.

“Mother,” Mirai whined cutely, “If you continue to lecture me, it will get even longer for me to prepare. Come with me, please? It’s been long since you comb my hair. How? How?”

Lady Akemi sighed and smiled at the same time. “You’re really hopeless, you know.”

Mirai grinned, “It’s not everyday I get to be spoiled by Mother after all.”

The two ladies walked arm in arm toward the chamber Mirai shared with Ryosuke. Just when they about to turned to the hallway, Mirai halted, causing her mother to stop as well.

“What’s wrong?” her mother asked.

Mirai put a finger in front of her lips then pointed to a direction. Lady Akemi followed where Mirai’s finger pointed. There she saw a figure sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of Mirai’s chamber. When she looked more carefully, she recognized that the figure was Ryosuke and a cat comfortably curled on his lap.

“This is the first time I see him like that,” Mirai muttered to herself, but Lady Akemi heard it nonetheless.

While watching Ryosuke the cat’s fur, Lady Akemi chanted, “Sure, there will be a lot of firsts between you and him,