Five years have passed; Shihou is now 23 years old, while Mayumi is 21 years old. She is now at a marriageable age, which is Shihou's current problem. His family has pestered Shihou in the past few weeks when they'll get wed. Also, Rokuhiko and Benihime are about to be married next month, which only causes his family to bother him more.
They are already engaged, so marriage is the only thing left, but apparently, Shihou and Mayumi haven't settled for a day yet. It caused some of his family members to grow tired and kept pestering him.
They may be already engaged with each other. But still, Shihou wants to propose properly before they get married, so that's his main problem. He doesn't know how he will propose to her, so he asks someone for help.
He thought these people would be the ones to help him because they had far more experience than him. But they're still no help after all.
"So you have no idea what to do?" Rokuhiko asks, teasing him.
"I won't be sitting here and asking you if I do!" He yelled in annoyance.
"Ha! The both of you have been together for five years, and you don't know what to do?" Tennou pointed out as he crossed his arms and leaned back. Both Shihou and Rokuhiko look at him blankly.
"Yeah, let's put that aside. How are you and Yuri, huh, Tennou?" Rokuhiko teasingly said, knowing how the other boy would react.
Yuri is Tennou's wife. They married five months ago, but no love is swirling in their relationship, which has become apparent to others. The reason is that Tennou did not love her at all. He only married her because she was the one Arihiko recommended to him.
He had no choice because he already reached his time limit. He no longer cares who he ends up with. For him, there's no point thinking it over when the girl he loves can't be chosen anyway. When Arihiko recommended her, he did not hesitate to accept the offer.
Kaminari Yuri is from one of the noble families, so there really won't be any problem marrying her, so he accepts. A marriage without love is how Tennou sees their relationship. Unbeknownst to him, Yuri has feelings for him; it's noticeable to Shihou and Rokuhiko that they pity the girl.
Tennou gave Rokuhiko an annoyed look and answered.
"My marriage is none of your concern! Our current topic is to help the birdy with his love life!"
"Stop it, Rokuhiko, he's right! My business should be the one we should focus on!"
Rokuhiko sighed as he gave up on Tennou.
How about asking her what she thinks about the proposal? Shihou looks at Rokuhiko, confused.
"What do you mean?"
"I have an idea!" Rokuhiko said grinning
Mayumi and Benihime are currently hanging out at the mall; it's been a while since they both hang out.
"Hey, Mayu, what do you think if Shihou-san suddenly proposes to you?"
"Eh? A proposal?!" Mayumi glances at her, surprised by her sudden question.
"Shihou's proposing? Hmm...but aren't we already engaged? I don't see the point," she asks, blushing.
"But didn't you even think about it? Unlike me, you never receive a proper proposal! So, I wondered what you would think if Shihou-san suddenly proposed. Will you be happy?" Mayumi, blushing, nods her head. She's far too embarrassed to speak. Benihime smiled at her, finding her actions cute.
"Is a simple proposal good for you? Or maybe you want to see much more effort, like a grand one?" she asks, insisting to keep the topic alive.
Thinking about Shihou proposing to her makes her blush. The thought never crossed her mind. Of course, she also wanted to experience receiving a proposal like what happened with Benihime. But they were already engaged, so she did not see any reason for him to propose.
But imagining him proposing to her brings butterflies to her stomach. Whether Shishou decides to propose or not, they'll get married anyway, so either way, she's happy.
"A simple proposal would be good! It's the thought that counts, after all!" She replied, smiling with a blush on her face.
"But the proposal thing aside, I don't think we'll get married anytime soon..."
They've been together for five years already. Yes, they have a good and strong relationship, but marriage is something that they still haven't talked about. Mayumi wants to ask Shihou about it but can't find the perfect time.
"Why are you saying that?"
"I'm wondering if Shihou still wants to marry me..." She said sadly as she looked down.
"Of course, he wanted to marry you! What makes you think that he's not?"
"The topic of marriage seems not to have reached his mind yet! Well, I'll gladly wait for him if he's still not ready!" She said, smiling. She may seem cheerful, but the looks in her eyes tell her that she's sad. Benihime smiles sadly and decides to change the topic.
"Then how is Hikari-san? You said she finally contacted you, right?" Mayumi's eyes widened as her sudden question took her aback, but she still smiled at her nonetheless.
"Oh, Himari? She's doing fine! I'm glad for her! Oh, she posted a photo 3 days ago! Here, look!"
Quickly taking her phone, she shows Benihime the photo she was talking about. It was Himari in a Christmas outfit with the caption, "He asks me to wear this since it suits me, but it's not Christmas yet...".
"He? Who is she talking about?" Benihime asks, confused. Does Hikari already have a boyfriend? Isn't that strange since she loves Tennou so much? Then maybe she has already moved on? Benihime asks in her mind.
"Oh, she is talking about her boyfriend!"
When Himari broke the news to her, she was surprised. She didn't think Himari would have a relationship with someone after everything happened to her. Or maybe she only did this after hearing about Tennou's engagement. She did not know the truth, so she didn't know what to tell Benihime. She searches for the profile of Himari's boyfriend, and when she finally finds it, she shows it to her.
"Here, this is her boyfriend!"
"Makoto Kumori? Kumori...he is from one of the noble families?!"
"Well, he is only from a branch family and not from the main family. That's what Himari said. She said that she's glad that he isn't! I hope she's happy!" Mayumi said, smiling.
Since Himari left Japan, she has cut off her connections with everyone. Mayumi only managed to talk to her a year ago when Himari finally messaged her. She told her she was now a model there and had met an actor, who had become her boyfriend. She's happy for her, but there's this feeling inside Mayumi. It feels like Himari is still conflicted about something.
"Anyway, let's go home now. It's getting late!" Mayumi smiled as Benihime nodded her head in agreement.
It's been a week since Mayumi and Benihime hang out together when she noticed something. Shihou's been acting differently for a few days now, which is making her worried. Did something happen? What should she do if he suddenly breaks off their engagement? Is it possible or not? She sighs and continues to cook food.
She's currently cooking dinner at Shihou's home. It's also been a while since she last came. She just became the head of her family recently. She got so busy because of it but does not mind. Mayumi happily hums as she cooks, ignoring her uneasiness about Shihou these past few days. She continues cooking without a care in the world when she hears coughing behind her. She looks behind her, only to gasp in surprise and loosen her hold of the spatula. Shihou is kneeling on one knee with a box of a ring in his hand.
"Amagi Mayumi, will you marry me?" A simple proposal is what she wants to get from him. Oh, now she understands why Beni asks those questions. She smiles with tears in her eyes as she hugs him and said
"I do!"