Reina of Hanneau (English)

UNEXPECTED REVEAL

Reina stares at the bright moonlight in the sky. The shining stars didn’t even outshine the beauty of the moon. In fact, it stands out even more with the stars twinkling alongside it. Truly one of the wonderful creations in the world.

Reina closes her eyes as the night breeze whispers on her ears. The cold didn't concern her, she just want to enjoy the peace.

The entire house is quiet. Everyone went to bed at exactly nine in the evening. A habit of their family.

She went to her room at the same time, however, in the end, she still has trouble sleeping.

The day was exhausting, yet she could barely bring herself to sleep.

“Reina, darling. Why aren’t you in bed yet?”

Reina jolts in shock upon hearing her mother’s sudden voice from behind. Helen was about to head to the kitchen for a glass of water when she noticed that the door to the living space was slightly open.

At present, it’s already twenty-two minutes past ten in the evening. Everyone should be asleep by then, but for some reason, Reina finds her mother still awake.

But then for Helen, she expected such actions from Reina. Due to what happened earlier, anyone should be bound for a sleepless night.

Their sweet daughter returned late for the second time. She had always been obedient to them. However, suddenly, she has been acting out of character for the past few days.

Although the second time the host sent a messenger informing them about the dinner, neither Ryouta nor Haru received the news well. They didn’t like the news of her spending time with the father and daughter. All of them are starting to get suspicious of the sudden progress of their relationship.

It is way too sudden. Without any of them noticing, Reina grew closer to the older Sou. She had always been friends with the younger brother since they are close to age. Even the little girl Kayomi is also fond of her. Part of that is because she was able to attend Helen’s school for a couple of years before moving to a higher grade school in Moulen.

“Mother. Why are you still up?”

“I asked you first, didn’t I?” Helen smirks as she takes a seat beside Reina. Her eyes also follow the source of the moonlight. “Are you still troubled about what your brother and father said?”

Reina heaves a sigh, recalling what occurred in the sunroom a few hours ago after Mitsuei and Kayomi brought her home.

“I’ve been seeing you around here lately, Sou Mitsuei. Care to tell me what’s going on?”

Reina gulps upon hearing Ryouta’s words. Not only are his words delivered with a reprimanding tone, but his eyes are also glued to Mitsuei, who remained still on his seat. The expression on his face didn’t even falter as he met the older man’s piercing eyes. The man before him looked like he will launch at him anytime.

Mitsuei braces himself as he contemplates what’s going to happen next. He should mind his words, considering the people surrounding him were skeptical of his intentions.

“I want to make sure that Reina returns home safely.”

Something inside Ryouta must have snapped when he heard the man call his daughter casually. It is the first time he had addressed her like that. They barely had some sort of interaction before, but he would always hear him call her 'Miss Asai'.

Reina can feel the hair on the back of her neck raise when she saw her father’s eyes intensify. She isn't sure what compelled Mitsuei to address her like that in front of her family, but one thing’s for sure, none of them was happy to hear him calling her by her given name.

“Since when have you been that familiar with my sister, Mister Mitsuei?” Haru interjects with a furrowed expression.

Maya who is seated beside her husband, roughly nudges his side, giving him a castigating look. He only brushes her off and continues to stare at the man sitting calmly while sipping his tea.

It was a good thing that the kids were outside to play for a while. Kayomi invited Miki to check on their horse earlier, so it’s a good thing they didn’t need to witness the adults trying to intimidate each other.

“Now, now. Can we all talk like mature adults? Doing that will only encourage them not to talk. We won’t get the answers that we need if we keep on pressing them like this.”

Helen joins in with a smile directed to Reina and Mitsuei. Even with the smiling expression, her eyes were giving off different feedback. It never showed any amusement.

Reina starts to grow uneasy about the situation. And looking at all of them right now, the didn’t problem didn’t lie on the dinner invitation. But rather, it is about Mitsuei himself. Reina feels bad for getting him involved with all her troubles.

“Father, please,” Reina asks with pleading eyes. “Mister Mitsuei only wanted to ---,”

“I’m talking to Sou Mitsuei, Reina,” Ryouta states firmly.

Reina flinches at the tone. She glances back at Mitsuei beside her, yet he seems unnerved by the situation. His expression didn't change by the slightest.

Mitsuei turns to Reina. All the while, she keeps playing with her fingers while her forehead is building beads of sweat. And when their eyes meet, he can sense remorse from her. Perhaps she is being sorry for getting him into trouble. But then, he anticipated this already.

“I think it is only appropriate that I take her home. After all, I am also concerned about her well-being.”

“And why is that?” Haru questions, sounding more irate.

And then, an unbelievable thing happened. Mitsuei smiled. A genuine smile.

“We are together after all.”

Reina closes her eyes as the mixed emotions from earlier came back to her. She didn’t predict that he would reveal the relationship to her family like that. She was and is still embarrassed and shocked. But at the same time, she can’t help but be happy about it. He just convinced her of his willingness to help her.

But then, his statement didn’t make any of them feel better. Haru and Ryouta exploded in anger as they continually refuse to acknowledge what they heard.

Reina was left dumbfounded, she had been speechless for Mitsuei's sudden revelation. She isn't mad at his actions, just utterly confused.

“Reina accepted my marriage proposal, so please, mother, father, allow me to visit again next week. I hope we can come to an agreement, and I pray you to accept our relationship. Both Kayomi and I are thrilled to have her in our family.”

Reina groans as she curls on the floor. She can feel herself reddening at the remembrance. She got more flustered when he mentioned the marriage to them. She was planning on going slowly, warming up to her family before finally informing them of the marriage. But Mitsuei dropped it like a bomb.

Helen breathes a sigh. Looking at her daughter now, she can tell that she might be recalling the events from earlier.

However, when she expected her timid child to cry and mop for a long time because she was scolded, instead, she is acting too self-conscious.

And it seems like she didn’t mind being scolded either. A behavior that neither of them had seen before.

“Do you love him?” Helen asks, giving Reina a side glance.

Reina goes motionless for a whole minute. It is a question difficult to answer. Before, she can only see him as Tomohisa’s older brother. They hardly talk to each other aside from greetings or with regards to Kayomi’s education. Then suddenly, they are getting married.

No wonder why her family reacted violently.

“There is nothing to dislike about him. He is considerate and a gentleman,” Reina murmurs under her breath. She tries to give a satisfying response.

Despite his intimidating appearance, Mitsuei is kind. Too kind, in fact. And slowly, every time they met, she can see different sides of him. Even if they don’t have romantic feelings for one another, she will be the best companion. And she will do her best to return their kindness.

“And here I thought you were in love with the younger brother.” Helen slumps on her shoulders and exaggeratedly sighs. “But you know, part of me is happy you didn’t end up with Tomohisa. That man is loose. I’ve seen him grow and he’s definitely not like the Sou family I met. He’s reckless and selfish.”

Reina laughs awkwardly, trying not to meet her mother’s eyes. It was a good thing she kept their relationship to herself. Things could have gotten worse if they knew she was pregnant with his child, knowing he can't take responsibility. Worst-case scenario, he might be forced into marrying her to which she imagined would be chaos. Judging from his lifestyle, they won’t be a family.

‘I just pray Mister Mitsuei won’t grow tired of me and the baby eventually. I’ll make sure to work hard to reciprocate his generosity.’ Reina utters to herself.

That's the only way she can acquire his favor and avoid being ousted from the house. After all, not every man would be delighted to look after another man's woman and child.

Mitsuei must have pitied her. His brother, a womanizer. An unborn child with an inept father. And a bunch of judgmental people in her surroundings. She truly is a pitiable woman.

“We are just worried about you. Marriage is not all sunshine and rainbows, it could get rough along the way. Of course, we want a person that would stay with you even on those hard times.”

“I understand, mother. I’m sure we will be happy.”

"But you know, if not for this shenanigans, I would not have witnessed how your facial expression abruptly changes. A rare right! He seems to have awakened things in you that any of us haven't."

Reina exclaims at her mother's remarks. She is unaware of such things. "That's not true, mother."