Chapter 64: A Heart-to-Heart Between Sisters
"Shinobu, did you… hear everything?"
Just as Shinobu knew her sister inside and out, Kanae also understood the complex personality of the younger sister she had watched grow up.
If this were any other time, Shinobu would have pounced on her the moment she walked through the door, a whirlwind of energy and affection. But now, she just sat there, a portrait of unnatural calm. Her voice, when she called out, lacked its usual overflowing joy and attachment. She hadn't even shown a flicker of confusion when Kanae had locked the door behind her.
Kanae knew this wasn't because their bond had suddenly frayed. On the contrary, it was because her sister's heart was in complete turmoil. A storm of conflicting emotions was tangled so tightly within her that the only defense she could muster was a fragile, paper-thin composure. If she allowed even the smallest crack to form, the dam of her reason would shatter, and everything would come pouring out in an uncontrollable flood.
Faced with Kanae's gentle question, Shinobu didn't respond. She simply watched, her expression blank, as her sister crossed the room, came to her side, and gently pulled her head into that incredibly familiar, warm embrace.
"Sister…"
"Mm, I'm here, Shinobu."
Leaning into the embrace she had relied on since she was a child, Shinobu finally let her cloak of forced calm fall away. The complex, chaotic emotions in her heart surged to the surface, and her voice came out raspy and thick with unshed tears.
"What should I do…?"
Kanae stroked Shinobu's dark hair with one hand and patted her back soothingly with the other, her voice a tender whisper in her ear. "Don't get tangled up in what's 'right'or'wrong.' Don't worry about other people or other things—and that includes me. When it comes to matters of the heart, you only need to see your own feelings clearly and follow them."
She held her sister a little tighter. "No matter what the future holds, I will always be here for you."
Kanae had originally intended to gently probe her sister's feelings, to see if her heart had been moved. Now, it seemed, there was no need for such a conversation.
Kanzaki-kun, you really are… quite the sinner, Kanae sighed inwardly, a faint, wry smile touching her lips as she continued to comfort her beloved sister.
On the other side of the estate, Kanzaki Akira had just finished writing the recommendation letter and seen Uzui Tengen off at the gates of the Butterfly Mansion. Before he could even turn around, a small figure launched herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist from behind.
"Brother! You're back!"
Kanao had actually seen Akira return much earlier. But just as she was about to run out and greet him, she saw him enter a room with her two older sisters, looking like they had important business to discuss. As she debated whether to approach, Shinobu had appeared and stopped her, gently telling her not to disturb Akira while he was busy.
However, as Shinobu walked away, Kanao was almost certain she saw her sneakily creeping back toward the room's door.
She had waited patiently. She finally saw Akira emerge, but then an unfamiliar man arrived to speak with him. Not wanting to face a stranger, Kanao could only continue to wait, her small form hidden from view.
Until now.
Now, she could finally be close to her brother again.
"Kanao." Akira smiled, easily turning and bringing her around to his front. He scooped her up by the armpits, her small body feeling light in his arms, and nuzzled his cheek against hers affectionately. "I haven't seen you for a few days. Have you been a good girl?"
Since Kanao was still a little girl, not yet ten years old, Akira felt no need to hold back his affection. He treated it as the natural closeness between siblings, a bond he cherished.
And Kanao loved this closeness more than anything.
After several months under the care of everyone at the Butterfly Mansion, she was already able to naturally express her thoughts and feelings to those she was close to, though she was still unaccustomed to—or rather, actively disliked—interacting with strangers.
"I have," she affirmed, her voice clear and bright. "I listened to everything Sister Shinobu, Aunt Hanako, and Uncle Sawaki said. Just now, when you first came back and went inside with Sister Kanae and Sister Makomo, Sister Shinobu told me not to disturb you, so I waited obediently until now."
She tilted her head, her expression one of pure innocence. "But… I think Sister Shinobu went to eavesdrop outside the door afterward."
Kanao's large, pinkish-purple eyes were filled with Akira's reflection, her gaze deep with an inseparable attachment. Her words, however, made the warm smile on Akira's face stiffen for a fraction of a second, though he quickly relaxed.
It didn't matter. Kanae had just headed toward Shinobu's consultation room. Even if Shinobu hadn't been listening at the door, she would almost certainly know everything by now.
"Did you say something to Sister Kanae and the others, Brother?" Kanao, with her keen perception, had caught his momentary stiffness and blinked in confusion.
After a brief silence, Akira looked directly into Kanao's eyes and spoke, his voice gentle. "Mm… We were talking about how all of us—me, Sister Kanae, Sister Makomo, Sister Shinobu, and you, Kanao—should all stay together. Forever."
"Really?!" Kanao's eyes, which had long since regained their lively sparkle, widened with pure, unadulterated joy.
This was the first time she had heard Akira say with his own lips that they would be together forever. As for the other people included in that promise, or the deeper meaning behind his words that she actually already understood, she didn't care in the slightest.
For Kanao, as long as she could stay with her brother forever, that was more than enough.
"Of course it's true," Akira said, his voice soft. "We'll all live a good life together."
He, however, assumed Kanao hadn't picked up on the hidden meaning—after all, she was just a child. A pang of guilt pricked his heart, as if he were deceiving this innocent girl. Looking into her eyes, so full of absolute devotion to him, he tightened his hold on her slightly.
"Yay! I love you the most, Brother!" Kanao cheered, hugging his neck tightly and rubbing her small face against his in a display of pure happiness.
After playing with Kanao for a while, it was time for lunch.
It was the first meal since Kanao's arrival at the Butterfly Mansion where she wasn't the center of doting attention.
During the meal, Shinobu uncharacteristically did not try to feed Kanao. In fact, she didn't look at anyone at all, her gaze fixed solely on the rice bowl in her hands. Even the side dishes that filled her plate had been placed there by Kanae.
She kept her head lowered, not uttering a single word. Once she finished her rice, she left the table in complete silence. From beginning to end, her slightly reddened, puffy eyes never once glanced at another person.
Kochou Hanako looked from her daughters, Kanae and Shinobu, to the similarly quiet Kanzaki Akira, and a knowing look crossed her face. She could roughly guess what had transpired.
Meanwhile, after noticing something was wrong with his daughter, Kochou Sawaki had been drilling holes into Akira with his gaze. The death stare he was giving the young man was intense enough to burn, and he made audible grinding sounds as he ate, as if he weren't chewing rice but the very bones of the boy who had managed to upset both of his precious daughters.
"Kanae, come with me for a moment."
Kochou Hanako stopped Kanae, who had been about to follow Shinobu. Kanae turned to look at Akira, who had already stood up. He gave her a subtle, reassuring nod, and she followed her mother out of the room.
Under Kochou Sawaki's predatory glare, Akira also stood and went after Shinobu.
Kanao looked at the fearsome Uncle Sawaki sitting opposite her, tilted her head in thought, and finally spoke in a small voice. "Uncle Sawaki, I'm going back to my room to read."
With that, she quickly scurried away, her light footsteps pattering down the hall. The usually gentle and scholarly Kochou Sawaki currently wore an expression like he wanted to devour someone whole, and it was, admittedly, a little frightening.
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