Himeouji 11 (Patreon)

11 - The Tradition of a Certain Family (2)

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In front of Yuuma who had just asked a reasonable question, it was not Daidouji-shi who started talking, but the madam.

“Hanyuu-san... I was the one that married into this family, but didn't you find it strange that I was well-informed about the situation?”

Hearing that, Yuuma opened his eyes wide in surprise.

Certainly, either one of the parents will be a person from outside the family, so if you think calmly, it's strange that both parents know.

And if that happens, it’d be strange that the parent who doesn't know the circumstances will be convinced of raising a child as a different gender.

Even if they were convinced, as long as they knew the child's gender, the curse——who knows if it's correct to call it that, for breaking the tradition should have an impact.

In other words——there is a way to prevent that from happening, and the madam embodies it.

“——Did you notice? In short, this is not a matter of the legal system, but a problem of feelings, so to speak…”

“If you become a relative, there is no problem even if you know the secret. That’s what it meant right?”

Guessing what she was about to say, Yuuma continued it.

Most likely, even in childbirth, a midwife will be selected from among relatives and the baby will be delivered by that person.

“I'm sorry that I got you involved——but, to you who sincerely protected my daughter, I couldn't help but tell you the truth.”

Putting his hands on the tatami mats, Daidoji-shi bowed his head, and the madam next to him followed suit.

“P-please stop doing that, that kind of thing——”

“This is not ‘that kind of thing’. Listening to this girl… to Ryou-san’s selfishness is a natural thing to do as a parent.”

Hearing those words, Yuuma turned his attention toward Himeouji.

“Ryou’s… what do you mean?”

“Yeah, uh... see, Yuuma said that, right? You said you had a distrust of women.”

While lowering her eyebrows apologetically, she put her hand down in the same way.

“... I'm sorry, Yuuma. All this time, I've been tricking you... If you can no longer trust a woman again because of this, I'll do whatever it takes to make amends.”

“N-no, you don’t have to do that, I don’t——”

On the contrary, the distrust of women inside Yuuma has been somewhat dispelled by the fact that a straightforwardly virtuous person like Himeouji was a woman.

He tried to convey that, but the kimono-clad beautiful girl bowing in front of him said something even more surprising.

“Even so, please let me say this——I like you, Yuuma.”

“Wha——eh, EEeeh!?”

As he was wondering what she was about to say, the unexpected words caused his head to go blank.

“...I'm not saying this just because you’re the only one I can believe in, Yuuma.”

When she looked up, her faintly crimson cheeks and moist eyes——and in front of her upturned eyes, Yuuma’s thoughts were completely lost.

“Of course, that's part of it… because Yuuma’s consideration, always… made me, really happy——I’m saying this because, I’ve seriously come to like you, Yuuma.”

With a bashful smile, she continues.

“It can't be helped if Yuuma can't trust me… a woman. I’m really sorry that I deceived you even if it’s only as a result, … but that's exactly why I didn't want to lie anymore.”

Even though she knew what would happen if she revealed this secret——.

“I (boku)——no, I (watashi) wanted Yuuma to know my true self… and my feelings.”

“Wh… why, that…”

“Because I’ve decided, that is——”

She loosens her lips fascinatingly, and speaks with a captivating expression.

“——Because, I want to marry you, Yuuma.”

At her words, his head was completely overheated.

The good-looking boy he thought of as his best friend was actually a peerless beautiful girl, the daughter of a family that ruled Japan, and she was in love with him——wait, which web novel is this?

The sudden news made Yuuma feel bewildered, but, inside his head that finally started to turn one lap late, Yuuma calmed down and analyzed the situation.

(Wait… no, really, wait… this is, isn’t this a checkmate?)

Realizing the meaning of the daughter's selfishness that the madam had just said, Yuuma gazed at the girl’s beautiful face.

“...By the way, what will happen if I refuse?”

When he asked with a stiff face, Himeouji replied with a sweet smile.

“Hmm... since the family will decline, it's going to affect the group too. Probably not anything we can’t recover from, but it's going to be a hell of a struggle.”

“...What will happen to the Japanese economy?”

“Well——overall, it'll be the worst slump. The so-called Great Depression?”

“Isn’t it!?”

I’m completely trapped——Yuuma thought, as he involuntarily held his head.

He has never heard of a marriage proposal where the Japanese economy was held hostage.

(No, what should I do... I mean, I don't even have a choice...)

This seems to be what she meant when she replied that he was only half right about the question he asked in the car whether she was the son of the Daidouji.

By the way, the other half is that she wasn't a son, but a daughter.

“...I guess, it was a nuisance after all.”

Just as he was thinking about something useless, Himeouji apologetically said something completely off the mark.

“If you are worried about the family, you can just get married for the sake of it. If so...Yuuma, Reiko-san seems to be your type… I think it's fine to marry Reiko-san.”

“Wait, why did you mention Reiko-san——”

No——he immediately guessed.

The reason she was taking care of Himeouji at her apartment was because she knew her gender.

So, since she knew, she must be a relative.

“Yeah... Reiko-san is my attendant only in form, legally speaking, she became my big sister. That's why, even if you marry Reiko-san, it’s totally——”

“I said wait! Even if I did, there's still Reiko-san's feelings to——”

“I don't mind. If it's Yuuma-san, who protected ojou-sama, I would give my body and soul. By the way, my bust is 101 cm.”

“Could you please be quiet for a bit!?”

Even though his head was dizzy at the temptation of more than 1 meter, Yuuma managed to regain his composure and turned to face Himeouji once again.

“...My bad, I was confused about a lot of things, and I was trembling at the size of what I was burdened with.”

A situation where the Japanese economy is falling because of his own choices is too heavy a burden for a mere high school student.

“But——in the end, that’s all it is. I liked Ryou enough that I wished we could be friends forever… even the fact that you’re a woman is also, you know——”

Made me happy——.

When he told her in a whisper, she smiled so widely it reached her ears.

“What? Hey, what did you just say?”

“Aah geez, you’re noisy! I said it was a happy happening”

Back when Yuuma thought Himeouji was a guy, back then he thought he was so beautiful that he thought he was a woman.

No, she was actually a woman——but that’s beside the point.

There were moments where he was fascinated by her, and it would be a lie if he said he never had any strange feelings for her.

He can't help but be happy that such a person is actually a woman and to hear that she was conscious of him as the opposite sex.

“...I can't imagine that I will become the leader of Daidoji in the future or something like that…”

“If that's the case, it’s fine if it’s me. After all, there are a lot of talented people in the group, I think they'll support us.”

Even if the top management is only in form, it still works——if they’re not that kind of group, they wouldn’t have made it here as a large company, and as a clan.

“Also... you can’t compare it to student council activities, but even there, Yuuma was really trusted, right?”

It's not something he’d want to remember too much, but there is no doubt it is true——should be.

“I'm sure that evaluation would include things like seriousness and sincerity. I think those elements are more important for the top management of the Daidouji.”

That’s why I’m sure you can adapt, if it’s you, Yuuma——she said.

When she grabbed his hand, he felt a shock.

“But——don't worry about the family or anything like that. Like my mother said, this is just my selfishness.”

Yuuma has carried her on his back before, but this is the first time he held her hand like this.

The hand was much smaller than it looked, and it was soft and warm.

“I want Yuuma to stay by my side... that's a selfishness that I can’t help. Because there's no one I can trust more than Yuuma.”

Himeouji’s words were also directly applicable to Yuuma himself.

Precisely because of having been rejected and distrusting of women, he knows that feeling painfully well.

In the same way she thinks of Yuuma, the only person of the opposite sex that Yuuma can trust is Himeouji——Ryou.

(If that’s the case, next is——)

“See, that’s why——”

“——All right, let’s be together, Ryou.”

“————Eh?”

Having made up his mind, Yuuma grasped her hand back, and looked into her eyes.

“Ah, eh… um, that——”

“I'm the same. I can believe in Ryou... I will continue to believe in you. I don't have the confidence to support you yet... but I want to be by your side, Ryou.”

“Re… real,ly?”

Ryou's eyes opened wide in disbelief as a single tear spilled out of it.

“It’s impossible to do it right away——but let's get married, Ryou.”

The moment he said that, large tears overflowed as if chasing the previous tears.

She put her hand on her cheek and tried to wipe it with her finger, but it was too late, and her face was wet with the scattered tears.

“Fuh, guh… uwaa, aaaah… yo-you’re, serious right?”

“Aah——no, if you say that you’re actually a man after this, as you’d expect, I’d be troubled.”

“I won’t say that, are you an idiot!?”

Messed up with tears, she rubs her head against Yuuma's chest with an expression that makes it hard to tell whether she's laughing or angry.

“I’m so happy… thank you, Yuuma…”

“Well, that’s… I too, I mean, it was a timely offer… that’s how it is.”

“...Idiot… Isn't there a more, romantic word or something...?”

“Are you expecting that from me…?”

Like that——as they were arguing like a couple, they heard a coughing sound of someone clearing their throat from the side, surprised, the two of them quickly distanced themselves with great vigor.

“...I’m sorry, even though we were in front of your parents.”

He awkwardly turned his head away and told her, but the madam was happily smiling instead.

“No, no, it's okay, Hanyuu-san. As long as it’s out of sight, you can keep doing more and more… right, Husband?”

When his wife fished for information from him, Daidouji-shi also gave a strained smile, but he did not deny it.

“Well, that’s how it is. Until you’re an adult, it’d be difficult to be lovers, let alone engaged… but please get along while doing your best to not be seen.”

Daidouji-shi, who said so happily, but also lonesomely, slowly stood up.

“Well then, we’ll leave the two young people be... Shall we go back?”

“Yes. Well then, Hanyuu-san, please enjoy yourself... Rei-chan too, don't get too close for a while, okay?”

And so, the parents and Reiko-san left, leaving the room quiet and only slightly awkward.

However, that too was only for a moment——

“Then——though I’m incompetent, I look forward to working with you.”

Ryou's prank-like words diverted that atmosphere.

“I’m incompetent too you know… well, we can't be open about our relationship, but let’s get along——Uoh!?”

As if to hide her embarrassment, the instant Yuuma replied, his kimono-clad girlfriend hugged him.

“——You are not incompetent, Yuuma. To me, you’re more considerate and gentle than anyone else... a wonderful husband that I don't want to hand over to anyone.”

(T/N: this line ‘though I’m incompetent’, is often said when people decide to get married, I think. The incompetent part is usually translated as inexperienced, but that doesn’t fit here.)

“!...You know, you really… should stop——”

Saying such things without any shame——.

Yuuma wanted to give a payback, but seeing her bright red face up close made him at a loss for words.

It's been a year and a half since they’ve become acquaintances, and a little over a month since they've been close.

He’d have seen her beautiful face many times during that time, but it might be the first time he saw her face look so embarrassed and with such a feminine aura.

“...With a person who you thought of as a man until just recently, I wonder if you’d be in the mood for it.”

A stunningly beautiful woman, close enough to feel her breath, put her arms around his neck, and hugged him for a snuggle——.

Is there even a man who wouldn’t be in a mood for it after being whispered like that?

Nay——that kind of man can’t possibly exist.

“...Ryou is, no matter how you look at it, a woman. That’s why, um… it’s that, you know.”

“Which one?”

With a flirtatiousness that made him wonder where she learnt it, she tilted her head, and his feelings of being conscious of her had a sudden rise.

Yuuma wrapped his arms around her slender waist constricted by the obi, and embraced her body, but of course Ryou didn’t resist.

“To be honest, back when I thought you were a man, ...just once in a while, it's been making me feel weird. I myself was feeling pretty uneasy.”

“Uwaaa… that rumor, it’s actually true?”

“...You know——why did you take it that way?”

“Eh——Nnn…”

To prevent her from escaping, he takes her completely in his arms and lays his lips gently on hers.

After taking about ten seconds to fully enjoy its softness and warmth, when he took his face away from her, her face was dyed bright red like autumn leaves.

“We were talking about how I was conscious of Ryou as a woman right?. That finally paid off…”

“Yeah… you, know… I’m so, happy… yes.”

After stroking Ryou's cheeks, as she was squeezing herself in and trying to put her face down in embarrassment, he asked her to slowly lift her face once again.

“——From now on too, best regards, Ryou.”

“Nn… Yeah, best regards——Yuuma.”

This time, the kiss was firm, and she pulled closer to him——.

——

(T/N: that’s the end of the main story.)

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