Reina of Hanneau (English)

REACHING AN AGREEMENT

Mitsuei groans while looking at the pale face on his hands. Reina closed her eyes shortly due to reasons he cannot fathom. He only wants answers, honest answers from her, so they can fix whatever is needed to be fixed. 

Her soft and cold cheeks seem out of place in his calloused hands. And her lips. Her rosy yet quivering lips do nothing beg for him to taste. He suddenly has this urge to kiss those lips. 

“If you’d allow it, I want to hold a job.”

Mitsuei is confused as to why Reina keeps insisting on having a job. 

He can provide for her and the child even without her working. Her demands are unreasonable. 

Who knows what might happen if he allows her to travel long distances every day. Her career as a teacher is vital to her, but her health is more important to him.

With a heavy sigh, he releases her face. Reina immediately opens her eyes, looking bewildered for a brief moment.

“You seem to forget that you are pregnant,” Mitsuei replies with a rigid expression. He wants to emphasize the reason behind his decisions. 

Reina clenches her fists, trying to stop herself from saying things that can only make the situation worst. However, she also intends Mitsuei to understand her part. His demands are entirely irrational. 

“I only have a baby in me. Not some kind of incurable disease that renders me motionless.”

Reina raises her chin. She wants to give an impression that this isn’t just a child’s play. She means business here. Though, it takes a lot of her courage to look straight into his eyes. 

Instead of cowering to the corner, this only fueled Reina’s desires to settle things with her so-called husband. She will be living with this man for the rest of her life, so she needs to overcome her fears and intimidation. 

“Do you find my house unpleasant that you’d rather travel back and forth for hours every day?”

Reina’s face wrinkled in confusion. He isn’t making a lot of sense. 

“Which part do you dislike so I can make changes right away.”

Reina takes a deep breath. She is starting to feel irritated with his nonsense. 

The issue isn’t the house. If he listened to her properly, they could have solved these issues in an instant. What would it take for this man to listen to her?

An idea popped into her mind. It worked well for her earlier through the brief moment of enchantment made her shy when she realized. 

She raises both of her to his face, seemingly pulling his face to hers. The intention was to cup his face as he did to hers, but sadly, her small hands aren’t exactly the like his that can hold an entire head. 

Instead, she focuses all of her strength in her hands, squeezing his cheeks like a baby’s bum, making his lips look like a duck’s beak.

Reina can’t help but smirk at the outcome of her actions. She briefly forgot that she is facing Mitsuei to settle their problem. 

“Shall I take it that you are not taking me seriously?”

Reina shakes her head profusely. She snaps from her daze, but she refuses to let go of his face. Holding him close is the only way she knows that can make him focus his attention on her.

“No. What I want is for you to hear me out to the end since I also want this to work out.”

Reina implores him while maintaining a solemn expression on her face. She hopes this time he will share his thoughts and feelings with her so they may better understand one other. If he is willing to do so, that is.

“Is -- is that okay?” Reina stutters, worrying that she might sound condescending.

Mitsuei’s eyes never left hers, as if all of his attention is now directed to her. No expression. No objection.

'Was he listening?'

Just then, Reina hears Mitsuei sigh, straightening his back. 

His feet turn in the garden’s direction. He set one foot down, then the other. Now, he is seated on the corner of the outdoor walkway.

“Let’s hear it.”

‘Calm down, my heart.’ Reina takes a deep breath, happy to have finally received Mitsuei’s compliance. 

Reina sits beside Mitsuei, with only a short distance separating them while they both stared at the beautiful moonlight. 

It went quiet for a while like they were both wanted to savor the view before them. It is indeed a rare night. The sky is clear. Moon burning like the sun. And Mitsuei accepted her words. A touching moment.

“So, what is it that you want?” Mitsuei challenges Reina with his usually stoic face. 

He leans backward in a relaxed position, stretching his entire body as she waits for her reply. 

Despite the raging tension building up in her being, Reina can’t help but be amazed at how tall Mitsuei is. This is the first time she gets the time to examine him up close.

Not only is he tall, but his arms and legs are long. His body is full of old scars. They all could be deep, considering it is still present even if he had retired years ago. And his hands, she discovered earlier how big and worn they are. 

He may seem aloof, but he is undeniably good-looking. Even the scar across his brow can’t be considered a flaw. As a matter of fact, it only added to his appeal. 

“Are you bored already with your plants?”

Reina gasps loudly, realizing that Mitsuei found out about the flower pots she hid by the bushes near the pond. 

“You knew about it.”

“Not only can’t you lie, but you are terrible at keeping a secret. That already reassures your faithfulness."

Mitsuei smirks, amused by the sudden changes in Reina’s expression. Her wide blue eyes flicker under the moonlight. 

He noticed it several days ago, but he never mentioned it to her. Her sloppy work at keeping it off his sight told him that she doesn’t intend to let him know. It is just a harmless hobby without her needing to reach higher places that might cause an accident. The pots are also too small to be considered heavy. 

Reina takes out an exasperated breath. There is no use in denying it since he already discovered it. But judging from his pleasant face, it is something that he can allow. 

“If you have seen, then you at least know how lonely I am here. Kiyoko won’t allow me to do chores as it is your directive. I can’t go anywhere without Rio. As days pass by, I only imagine myself as a fattening hog waiting to be butchered.”

“And that leads you to clean the library?”

“Yes. I didn’t mean to disorganize your things. I only wanted it to be more comfortable if you ever need to bring work again.”

“You do realize what you were trying to do is dangerous, right? What if the books that you were reaching fell on you? Worse, the entire shelf falls into you.”

Reina strongly disagrees with his statement. That is impossible since the shelf is as sturdy as his personality. Was that how careless she seems to him?

“Okay. I understand where you’re coming from. So if you don’t like me going back and forth to Haran, then at least let me help around in the lodge. It’s only a few meters away. Are you not afraid of what might people think of the wife you took?”

“They’ll think that I am taking care of her properly.”

That may be how the people will perceive his actions, but not everyone will share the same opinion. They will probably come up with concerns just to badmouth her. After all, Mitsuei married a woman who could be seen as an outsider. There are also lots of women willing to step in.

“No. They’ll think you married a good for nothing foreigner. Figuratively.”

“I don’t see why they should call you that.”

As time goes on, Reina is growing more and more frustrated with how the conversation is leading. They simply don't see things the same way.

She slumps her shoulders, leaning her back to the pillar behind her. She feels weak having to tell Mitsuei of her sentiments. The sense of failure she gets from talking to him makes it worse. And she wants to give up already and retire for the night. 

“I just don’t want others to slander you or Kayomi just because you married me. You know how people perceive me just because I am a foreigner. You did plenty enough protecting my reputation and the baby. So I at least want you to have pride in choosing me and help out in the family business.”

Reina covered her face after she finished her speech. She wants to hide her blushing face. The last sentence sounds more like a whisper. The words just leaked out with no restrain. It was too late when she realized what she was saying. 

However, embarrassing as it was, they are a family now.

She braves herself to see Mitsuei’s reaction. She took a glance to her side, peeking at what might be his expression. However, before she could determine his facial appearance, Mitsuei stood up with his back facing her.

“Travelling to Haran every day is still off the table. However, I’ll tell Kiyoko to guide you with Hanneau’s operation. Make sure you wake up early tomorrow so she can show you around before the visitors come in.”

Reina’s eyes lit up in glee. She is happy that they have finally understood each other. She cannot stop grinning from ear to ear. The luminous moon did wonders tonight. 

“Of course, I’ll see you tomorrow, then. Have a good night.”

Reina leaps on her seat and runs in the direction of her room. Her heart feels warm from reaching a better conclusion. Her recklessness paid off somehow, and it turned out pretty well. She only hopes that their relationship will gradually improve. 

In the end, they will all live together for a lifetime.