Uzuki no longer had to attend high school in Shinjuku Ward. The moment she became the family head, even if she had never set foot in a school, she would eventually have a bright and impressive academic record to stand behind her.
After waking at five, Uzuki quickly went to the bathroom to brush her teeth, wash up, and apply light makeup.
She could no longer wear her favorite high school sailor uniform; now, in most situations, she had to wear a secretary’s uniform. She slowly pulled on black stockings, then paired them with a blouse and a short skirt. Yet even in attire that emphasized maturity, Uzuki’s face still radiated a strong student aura.
Was the her in the mirror truly any better than yesterday?
If things went on like this, would she really be able to help Sijin escape Cousin Rio’s devilish claws?
She stared at the delicate face beneath her blunt bangs, her confidence draining away.
That was how learning worked—the more you knew, the less simple the world seemed. Whenever she thought of Cousin Rio’s perpetually unruffled poise, Uzuki felt intimidated.
“Hang in there, Uzuki.”
She hastily pan-fried a slice of bread with butter, drank a glass of milk, and set off for the Tsukiyuki Group building.
The moment she stepped out of the stairwell, her phone buzzed. Uzuki glanced at the screen—the sender was Katakura Eiko. Eiko had also been part of the reason Uzuki had found the courage to take this path; it was after Eiko had privately told Uzuki of her resolve to help Gao Sijin that Uzuki had decided to do what she believed was right.
Regards: I heard you aren’t going to school anymore?
Black Cat: I’ve decided to become the next head of the Tsukiyuki Family. A lot of what they teach in school isn’t useful.
Regards: Are you still writing?
Regards: The illustrations for your characters are almost done.
Regards: Come visit me sometime. It’s been a while.
Black Cat: Once everything is over, I’ll come see Miss Eiko and Kazue again.
Black Cat: For now, I’ll stop writing. Family matters have me completely tied up. As for everything else, just leave it to me. In short, I can’t cause Miss Eiko any more trouble.
Uzuki closed her phone.
The path to rescue Gao Sijin from Cousin Rio’s grasp was destined to be fraught with difficulty, even life-threatening. Dragging Eiko into it would only burden her.
As for Eiko’s kindness, Uzuki silently committed it to her heart.
“Sijin, it’s five in the morning. You’re probably still asleep, aren’t you?”
It wasn’t just Gao Sijin—the cars on the street were pitifully sparse. Except for the 24-hour convenience store, everything was shut. Uzuki walked down the road entirely alone.
Her next stop was a French lesson.
As she walked, she silently recited the pronunciation of thirty-five phonemes, along with the masculine, feminine, and neuter genders of nouns.
Oh, she’d mixed them up. French doesn’t have a neuter gender—Russian does.
She also kept confusing the number of common tenses with Spanish’s.
Forget it. She might as well review the Chinese she’d studied before. If it came to personal interest, Uzuki preferred Chinese—perhaps a case of loving the house and its crow, as they say.
After the morning language lesson, she would have to accompany Grandfather Kyoichi to a social engagement. The uncles and aunts from the major financial conglomerates all spoke elegantly, but one slip of attention and you’d be taken advantage of.
It was truly exhausting.
Yet so that Sijin could live happily in the future, Uzuki accepted all of it willingly.
Gao Sijin didn’t get out of bed until nine-thirty in the morning.
He was now confined by Rio inside the palace, though Rio did leave every morning to attend classes at the University of Tokyo.
“Sigh.”
The night before, he had once again been forced to make love with Rio and sleep in her embrace.
Yet almost every night, Gao Sijin would open his eyes and stare at the moonlight seeping through the gap in the curtains. No matter how uninhibited the passion between a man and a woman, in the end, they just lay in the same bed dreaming different dreams.
“Gao-kun…”
Even though Rio had left early, Gao Sijin’s ears still rang with her voice, as if he were hallucinating.
“Good morning—another wasted day.”
Gao Sijin slowly rose from the bed, drew back the curtains, and let the sunlight fall on his face. Outside the window, he could see the maids trimming the gardens. The fountain in the Marble Courtyard shot a column of water more than three meters high. Beyond the courtyard lay the forest; driving from that forest to this palace back then had taken at least forty minutes.
Judging by distance, it was at least fifteen kilometers to reach the city. At the courtyard gate stood twelve maids—immobile, fixed sentries. Another thirty-seven maids patrolled the perimeter. As for surveillance, it covered every angle without a single blind spot.
Even though Tsukiyuki Rio wasn’t in the palace right now, Gao Sijin still felt a suffocating bitterness.
He wanted to escape?
He felt that the odds of escaping with his own ability were as close to zero as could be.
“Breakfast, Sijin.”
The knock on the door made Gao Sijin jump. He turned to see Yu Qingxue in a long maid’s skirt, grinning merrily with her head tilted as she watched him.
“It’s almost noon—has Rio gone out again?”
“That’s right. Abandoned her hubby and gone off to fool around by herself.” Yu Qingxue clicked her high heels as she walked gracefully to Gao Sijin’s side and naturally linked arms with him. “I’m the good one, always staying by your side.”
“Well, yes, but don’t you get any ideas about me committing a moral offense. I’ll have you know I’m utterly loyal to Rio. I would never give in to a female rogue like you.”
“Hahaha, give it up, little lamb. Just surrender to your big sister here.”
Yu Qingxue’s skin carried a refreshing, heart-soothing fragrance.
“Smells quite nice. Perfume?”
“It’s my natural scent.” Yu Qingxue’s bright smile shone, her mood apparently wonderful.
Treading the soft carpet, surrounded by priceless oil paintings, it felt like stepping into a fairy tale.
“Sijin, just asking—do you like the sea?”
“The sea? Yeah, I quite like it.”
“I love the sea too. Having a slightly humid sea breeze blow against your skin is incredibly comfortable.”
Yu Qingxue walked shoulder to shoulder with Gao Sijin; in her high heels, she stood at roughly equal height with him.
“Why are you suddenly asking this?”
“I’ve been thinking about taking an impromptu trip lately. Even though I’m a maid to Young Lady Tsukiyuki, I do get vacation days every year, and when I’m on vacation I travel all over the world. Next, I’d like to go somewhere with a sea.”
“There are plenty of places with a sea. Pick a nice one.”
Humming a light tune, Yu Qingxue arrived at the dining room with Gao Sijin.
The breakfast was so lavish it rivaled court cuisine, and the maids attended to him in every possible way.
“Master, please enjoy.”
The maid from Istanbul placed her slender hands on Gao Sijin’s shoulders and gently kneaded. The moment soup dripped from the corner of his mouth, the maids were there to wipe it away. The potatoes, roasted to a delicate golden-brown on the surface, were perfect; the cream stew with a sprinkling of black pepper also hit the spot.
Idle and lacking vitality—it couldn’t be called good, nor could it be called bad.
The kitty gently chewed on raw meat, mewing at Gao Sijin’s feet.
