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"Shihou, before you got mad. I have something important to tell you!"
Shihou halts in his step, sighing before looking at her, annoyance still on his face.
"What is it about?"
"There's still a way for you to take Mayumi-sama back...."
~~~•••~~~•••~~~•••~~~
"W-Wait, what did you say just now?! She's pregnant?! How and Who?!" Rokuhiko asks, bewildered by what's happening.
Who wouldn't be when he saw no guy Hikari interacting with other than Shihou? The possibility of her having a lover is something obscure about her. He only snaps back to reality when Beni smacks him in the head.
"Putting that aside, Himari told me a piece of precious information!"
"Is this information you're talking about connected with the engagement between Mayumi and Miya-san?" Beni asks, getting a nod in return.
"Eh?! So what is it for? Will this help?" Rokuhiko asked with concern, and doubt filled his voice.
He is hoping that they can take Mayumi back. She's a significant person for him. She's always there for him; it'll be his turn this time.
"Apparently, yes, it will help me. But it all relies upon Mayumi's decision." He said dejectedly.
He remembers how Mayumi broke up with him and what happened. It will affect Mayumi's decision, and Shihou still wonders if Mayumi already knows the truth.
But the truth is that Shihou is still upset and disappointed that Mayumi did not even ask for his explanation before she started jumping to conclusions.
"If you explain, I'm sure she will listen to you, Isami-san!" Beni said, reassuring Shihou's mind.
What is happening differs from what he expected in his last high school year. He did not even expect that he would fall in love. Somehow fate likes to play with people's lives.
But somehow, he thinks all of it will be worth it in the end because after being together. He no longer knew what it felt like to go through his life without her by his side.
"Hey! Shihou, what's the plan?" He looks at Rokuhiko and sighs.
"I must step down as a part of the main family!" the statement makes their eyes widen, not expecting what he said.
"Eh? What do you mean?" Rokuhiko muttered out of surprise, still not believing what he had said.
Being a part of one of the families is a challenging feat. Those who belong to the families receive abundant excellent treatment from everyone surrounding them. In exchange, with a lot of rules that they must follow without complaint.
But not only the great families who experience it. The branch, nobles, upper society, and commoners also experience it. The number of rules differs depending on the status.
"The laws of the 12 families, you may be able not to abide it by being part of the branch family. The branch families are the only ones who can void a Miya's engagement."
"Suppose the love interest of a Miya is already in an engagement with a person from the branch family. They can't force them to be with them or agree to the proposal. But it still depends on the person, if they decide who they want to be with! It is an absolute rule for them and branch families alike. It's like the great families giving way for the branch families!"
As Shihou began to explain the rule, he found Himari exceptional. Children from great families need to learn all the rules but a minority of rules just like this one. Most of them no longer take the time to learn, as they don't find it necessary.
But Himari knows about it. He should know as Himari has high intelligence. Learning all the rules is the one thing Himari thought of as a way for her father to notice her.
"So it means you'll step down being in the main family? But how will you do that?" Rokuhiko asks, confused.
"It will be easy for me to do that, considering I originally came from the branch family. But Mayumi is the key to the plan to become successful!"
He needs to talk to her, but from what he heard from her friends. He might need to halt his plan because Mayumi and Tennou are currently on leave from school. They ask permission for a week of absence, which Mayumi won't do.
She doesn't even like being absent from school. So, this is all Tennou's idea. If he managed to make Tennou remember his lost memories, would he stop his advances? But how will he do that?
"It's good to see you, Shihou, Rokuhiko, and Beni-san!" A girl with red hair and blue eyes spoke.
All three look at her, Shihou gasps, and the other two look confused, wondering how they knew them.
"Himari?" The other two look at Shihou in surprise and look back at her.
"Hikari?!" the other two exclaim after hearing Shihou, to which the said girl reply with a smile.
"Can I talk to you for a minute, Shihou?" He slowly nods, and they both walk off and excuse themselves from the two.
"Aren't you scared you'll affect the baby by constantly changing your hair color?"
"I asked the doctor, and he said it was fine! That there's nothing to worry about!" She said, smiling slightly, but sadness lingering in her eyes.
"So? What do you want to talk about?"
"I already told the Ame's about my pregnancy, as expected. They took it very seriously. They told him that he no longer will be able to cancel the engagement because we were expecting. So far, it's all going along my plan that it hurts me when I see the look on Yuki's face," She trails off sadly, looking down.
He looks at her; he still can't somehow accept it. All because of Tennou's accident, everything changed. Himari moved abroad, and Tennou stopped talking to him. The time that they spoke to each other again was when they became classmates in their second year.
"What did he look like?" Himari looks at him, tears streaming down her face.
"He's crying tears of joy. He is thrilled. He said he's delighted that I'm the one who bears his child, and he's thanking me for not aborting it in secret. He was pleased; everything he said to me came from his heart. But somehow, there's something wrong. Like something is not in place, the looks on his face are genuine; I can tell it! He's delighted, but somehow I don't know. I can feel something is wrong! I don't know if it's just me feeling guilty about what I did to him. But I don't know anymore!"
Himari continued to cry; Shihou couldn't do anything but listen to her, for her to let out all of her pent-up feelings.
"I'm happy everything's going smoothly, but why do I feel like this? I don't understand how I feel. Is it guilt? Do I feel guilty because I plan all of this to get rid of this stupid title the families gave me!"
"Why? Why Shihou? I'm innocent! I have done nothing! But why am I the one who suffers for their mistakes?! When Tennou learned about my past, he did not care and even said he'd do anything to remove my title. But he forgot about me, and he started to pursue someone."
Shihou looks at his friend, still not saying anything. He knows Himari has a hard life, but she never says it. This time, all of this is her pent-up frustrations against the system.
Shihou hugs Himari, providing comfort as the girl continues to shed tears and pour her feelings out in the open.
"When he learned about my past again, he used it against me! I got mad at him to the point that, that I suddenly accepted Yuki's proposal without a thought. Then I began this stupid plan of mine! Now I feel guilty this late in the game?!" Himari ranted, tears flowing down, not stopping any second.
Shihou looks at his friend with sadness lace in his eyes as he hugs the poor girl.
"Because of me! You and Mayumi-sama broke up! I don't even know how I'll be able to forgive myself!" she whines, clutching Shihou's shirt out of frustration. At the same time, he patted her on the back to somehow calm her down.
"I just... I can't take it anymore!"