Reina of Hanneau (English)

A CHILD’S FEELINGS

“Do not get the wrong idea. My father never saw Reina’s heritage as a hindrance. Also, he wholeheartedly accepted the joint governance. More than anyone, he hated wars and senseless deaths.”

Kayomi instantly added to her previous statement. People might easily get misled just seeing her family on the outside. Reina alone is enough to make anyone think otherwise. 

“Oh, is that so?’ Shiro nods in acknowledgment. Still, that didn’t answer the confusion that has been going through his mind. “Then what seems to be the issue?”

Kayomi turns around and sits on a slump nearby. After hearing herself defending the subjects of her troubles, the turmoil inside her became more evident.

She is upset. But she didn’t wish to say anything bad towards Reina or her father. In a way, she knows and understands why her father is now all over Reina. Just like everyone else in Hanneau, it also came as a surprise to her. Her father never behaved that way until now. 

Perhaps, despite his denials, he must have gradually developed feelings for Reina. Hence, it was easy for him to drop his guard and act like a real couple.

As for Reina, she has been considerate of her from the start. It sent her to tears when Reina awaited her approval before deciding to marry her father. It’s like she respected her. And she is but a child. Usually, children have to follow the adult’s decisions whether they like it or not.

Both Reina and her father aren’t selfish people.

Kayomi took a deep breath before looking up to the clear blue sky. Now, she feels pathetic for walking off like that. 

“I’m feeling a bit left out. They are having a baby soon and maybe I might end up ignored like what our mothers did. But unlike you, I have no one to rely on when that happens.”

“What rubbish! People are different. You said it yourself, your stepmother has been nothing but nice to you while her relationship with Mr. Sou has been going smoothly. I saw my mother struggle with her last pregnancy alone since my stepfather was too busy with his work. Mr. Sou is just probably worried, thus, he is always beside your stepmother. However, that doesn’t mean that they had forgotten about your existence.”

Kayomi smiles and turns her gaze to Shiro. "Perhaps you are right. But I've been wanting to tell my father something vital for a long time. But every time I approach him, he completely blocks me. It felt as if he didn't want to talk to me at all."

Shiro’s eyes meet her sad face. He takes a deep, walking towards the troubled miss’ direction. Not even the slightest idea comes to mind to make her feel better.

“I honestly don’t know what to say to you. But ever since you were born, Mr. Sou has had this anxious expression on his face. It became more evident when he held you the first time. You were over a year older then but he still looked afraid. Thinking about it now, he must have been disturbed by something, too.”

Kayomi falls silent from Shiro’s confession. These observations by him are unfamiliar to her. She never saw her father acting worked up concerning her.

Just by looking at her, Shiro can already tell that Kayomi got slowly recovered from her previous ill feelings. He smiles at her as he offers his hand towards her.

“So, why don’t you give it another go? You know, waking up to him seriously to talk.”

“Alright.”

Meanwhile…

Reina has been wandering around the house for quite some time and has found no trace of Kayomi. It is the weekend, and Kayomi is always eager to work. Perhaps she's still at the lodge working with the others.

Regrettably, she hasn't been able to join everyone in the lodge since she felt awful the moment she awoke. She recalled going to bed as normal, then waking up with a headache. Apart from that, she was sick to the point where she felt like she'd collapse to the ground if she tried to stand up.

It was a good thing that Mitsuei decided to stay with her the entire day. Just remembering how he prioritized her today makes her heart flutter in joy. 

‘Focus, Reina!’ 

Gently slapping herself, Reina continues her search for Kayomi. She doesn’t have the luxury of contemplating love right now. 

It is nearing dark already, and she never saw Kayomi in the house all day. She only heard Kayomi leave early morning while she was still taking her time to get up. 

She felt better after lunch, so Mitsuei finally had the time to settle work in Hanneau. After being left for hours, she noticed that Kayomi has been absent for a while. Even Kiyoko told her that Kayomi wasn’t in the lodge since lunch when she came over to bring her snacks.

It is gradually getting dark. Plus, she is worried about Kayomi. 

She decided to go to the lodge to at least check, or if Kayomi still isn’t there, she can inform Mitsuei and the others for help.

She walks through the narrow path connecting their house and the lodge. It’s a rather convenient bridge that is only accessible for the family members and the staff. The end of the walkway is linked to the receiving desk of the lodge. 

Kiyoko should be there once she arrives. However, she noticed that the reception seemed deserted the instant she came in. 

Kiyoko doesn’t usually leave the reception area unless it was between hours like after check-in or check out, or times after meal hours. That is why she usually gets to eat early or late, holding the fort for everyone until they finish with their breaks. 

And since the hallways also seem empty, Reina decided to go straight to Mitsuei’s office. They barely have guests coming in in the past few days since it’s the time after summer. People tend to get busy during these times because of work and other business-related stuff. In a while, students also need to return to school after a short vacation.

“Hmm, where is everyone?” Reina asks herself in wonder.

She has been walking for a while now, but she never met anyone in the hallway. 

‘Is something going on?’

It is almost unsettling. She has entered a deserted location that is supposed to be filled with either employees or a few visitors.

But before she could think of anything that might scare her, she saw a glimpse of Mitsuei further down. He seems to be in a rush because he doesn’t usually run on the hallways. The possibility of running into someone is high in an establishment such as theirs.

She wanted to catch up to him and run, but she suddenly felt dizzy nauseous again. She takes a deep breath to calm herself and holds on to the wall beside her. She needs to pull herself together since there might be an emergency, considering how frantic Mitsuei looked in a glance.

“Reina!” 

Reina jumps in surprise as she heard Mitsuei’s thundering voice. When she finally turned to him, he was already in his way towards her direction. 

“What are you doing here? Should you be at home to rest?”

“I’m fine. So, can you tell me what is going on right now? I can’t get a hold of anyone here.”

Mitsuei contemplates if it is really necessary to inform Reina or not. He is concerned that it might affect her current condition if he tells her about his present ordeal.

“Is it about Kayomi? I haven’t seen her all day,” Reina insists, sure that Mitsuei was trying to lie to her.

Mitsuei sighs in desperation as he brushes his face. He pulls Reina towards him, securely locking her to him. 

“Kayomi has run off somewhere, and we couldn’t find her.”

“What? What happened? How long has she been gone?”

“Calm down, Reina. She went to my office this afternoon, wanting to talk about dropping out of school so she can work full-time in Hanneau. I thought I did the sensible thing as a parent by rejecting her idea. She seemed mad and ran off. No one has seen her since then.”

“Oh, God. How long has she been missing?” Reina bursts out crying. 

Mitsuei grunts, annoyed at himself. He is afraid that Reina might break down after hearing what happened. But then, he didn’t want to lie to her. 

He wipes the tears on the corner of her eyes and looks straight at her face. He badly wants to assure her to ease her worries.

“Everyone is looking for her. You don’t need to worry much because I’m sure we will find her in no time. You need to focus on yourself for now. You seem a little pale, so you can stay in the office to rest.”

“No. I want to look for her myself,” Reina stubbornly implores.

It makes her more anxious if she remains sitting in some empty room. Moreover, she wanted to see for herself Kayomi’s present condition. She might be hurt or in pain. 

Mitsuei groans in defeat, seeing how her eyes beamed with determination. He knows she would refuse to stay. The worst thing that could happen if he insisted is that she would also run off to on her on to look. 

“Fine. But you ----”

“Owner! We found her!”

Reina and Mitsuei both turn their heads in the direction of the voice. Yoshi and Rio, with glowing expressions, stand at the end of the corridor.

“Where is she?” Reina inquires.

“She is in the stables, Mrs. Sou. Unfortunately, she refuses to come back if not for the boy who dragged her back here,” Yoshi states, catching his breath.

“A boy?” Mitsuei exclaims.

“Yes. He claims to be an old neighbor of yours, Mr. Sou. He is currently convincing the young lady but still refuses to go home,” Yoshi further explains. 

“I want to see her,” Reina declares, gripping Mitsuei’s hands that held her close.