Reina of Hanneau (English)

CHANGING MOODS

Dancing trees. 

Fragrant breeze.

Reina stares at the nothingness while her mind drifts elsewhere. 

For some reason, Mitsuei has been avoiding her for a few days now. And it bothered her since. 

She expected that their short time spent together shopping necessities would improve their relationship. But it seems that it only made matters worse. 

At first, she thought that he was being his usual aloof self. However, she then noticed that he would avoid her gaze. More often than ever. 

For instance, when she comes up to him for small talk, he would pretend he is busy. Or like every time they met in the hallway, he would suddenly turn around halfway. Even when he was home, he would lock himself up either in his room or library. 

As days pass by, she less likely has the chance of seeing him. 

The workers in Hanneau took notice of the predicament, too. Mitsuei cannot keep on a straight face and lie like usual. He would turn back and walk away whenever he was interrogated. And as for her, she is totally clueless about the problem.

Everyone at work and home can sense the tension.

‘They must be all blind to think I was special for Mitsuei to put his guard down around me.’ 

Reina bites her lips as the thought crosses her mind. 

Everyone was fascinated by her. In their eyes, she had tamed the stoic and aloof beast of the mountains. In truth, she could not even pass through the first barrier towards the beast’s den. 

‘Why? What may have irritated him to the point of acting in this manner? ’

‘I never touched his things in the library. Nor have I gotten any complaints from guests.’

‘Is it because I slowed him down during the trip to the shopping district? Am I being a burden after all?’

‘Oh no! How can I apologize when my pathetic self has no idea of my mistakes?’

'What would I do if he's had enough of me?' 

Reina tightens her grip on the railing. Her anxiety only intensifies by the minute. She is the type of person that would worry endlessly for no reason. 

But with the current situation that she is in, she cannot help but panic. Mitsuei giving her the cold shoulder only makes her thoughts worse. She hated the idea of him sending her back to Haran.

She will become a divorced woman in an instant! And pregnant to a boot!

Somehow, the idea of returning to Haran gave her an odd feeling. Her chest tightened like it should be wrung dry. The heat on her cheeks suddenly went to her eyes. And that same heat stung her eyes to tears. 

“Oh, dear. I am such a mess.”

Reina smirks as she wipes the tears off her face. She only took a short break from her task. She hasn’t been feeling well since she noticed Mitsuei’s change in behavior. 

Well, it isn’t like he changed at all. He is being his usual self. Reina just got too arrogant after hearing the staffs’ naive words. Or was it her who has been naive?

“What seems to be the problem, Reina?”

Reina straightens her back as soon as she hears someone approach her. The tranquility she had been enjoying on Hanneau's fish pond had abruptly turned sour. She wishes to be alone right now with her thoughts.

"Mister Leonard. It's nice of you to come to our establishment again," She acknowledges, despite her reluctance.

The man she met in the shopping center appears to have developed a strong attachment to her. This must be his third visit to Hanneau in less than a week. After learning that she was of foreign ancestry, he must have felt a strong attachment to her. And she understood the feeling.

When she and Haru were younger, she would often wonder why they appear different from everyone else. And unlike with the other children, the elders would rather frown than smile at them. 

Leonard must have felt lonely for all those times he spent in a new place with no one to rely upon. Meeting a person of similar descent to him must have been surreal, especially in a town far from the capital city. 

“Enough about me, Reina. You seem to be troubled standing here all alone. If it makes you feel better, you can tell me your problems. Who knows, maybe I can help you.”

“No, please. Our guests visit here for relaxation. I’m sorry to have disturbed your afternoon walk.”

Reina excuses herself, slightly bowing at the man before leaving. However, before she could take another step, Leonard hastily grabs her by the arm. 

“I’m sorry for my persistence, but I cannot just let you leave like this when you were clearly tearing up a few moments ago.”

Meanwhile…

Kayomi notices the man standing on the edge of Hanneau’s garden, watching her stepmother from a distance. 

The young man seems to be fighting back his urges to approach the seemingly lonesome woman. 

She only passed by a few seconds ago, so she isn’t sure how long Reina was standing there. Nor how long was the man contemplating his next action. He seems troubled yet eager.

Decisiveness that neither Reina nor Mitsuei had. 

She is not blind to not notice the building tension between them. 

As days went on, she is beginning to think that the problem is on her father’s part. Reina always appears clueless and sad when Mitsuei evidently avoids contact with her. Unlike the previous events wherein she was the one avoiding him.

It didn't take long for the man to decide to approach Reina and speak with her. She can sense he's troubled by something about Reina even from distance.

His face clearly shows concern for her.

The two seem to have known each other, considering Reina didn’t reel back from the conversation. 

‘Is he a relative?’ Kayomi asks herself in wonder.

She shrugged her shoulders before leaving for her father’s office. She has more important matters to attend to. 

Something she has been thinking about for a long time.

If she doesn’t let these thoughts out, she is afraid that she might lose her cheery facade. 

She will be continuing her education at a higher level in a few months. And she has long made up her mind about how she wants to live her life, including her education.

She loves Hanneau. Working with everyone has been a great joy for her. And if she has to choose between Hanneau and school, then she would rather choose to work full time in Hanneau. She wants to learn more from it and working a few times a week isn’t enough.

After graduating from middle school in a few years, she wants to work full-time in Hanneau and focus solely on contributing to the betterment of the family business. 

Ever since she started working in the lodge, she fell in love with the place and so she wished to dedicate her life there. 

However, if she wishes to walk on that path, she will need her father's approval.

Not long then, she arrived in front of her father’s office. She has been taking deep breaths for a while now but it seems she can’t muster up the courage to open the door and open up to her father. After all, he may or may not like the idea she has in her head.

However, before she could open the door before her, it swung open. The suddenness made her leap on her feet, taking a step back. 

“Kayomi.”

“What is the matter, father?” 

Kayomi flinched when Mitsuei grabs her by the shoulders with an intense look on his face. A face she hasn’t seen in a while.

He may appear stoic to the untrained eye, as he would to any stranger right now, but she can tell he is very disturbed about something.

“Have you seen Reina? She hasn’t returned from her break.”

“Oh. I saw her earlier with a foreigner by the fish pond. He might be her relative, considering they talked like they knew each other.”

“So, he dropped by again.”

Has she said something wrong? She didn’t expect quite a reaction from her father. 

But then, Kayomi decided to shrug off the concern as her father’s usual bitter mood. Moreover, he hasn’t said anything more for a while now. So perhaps he only wanted to know about Reina’s whereabouts.

“Um, father. I have something to talk to you about.”

“You said they are by the pond, correct?”

“Huh? Uh, yes. They are,” Kayomi answers in confusion. 

Aside from the fact that her father completely ignored her, he is more concerned about Reina talking to another man. 

Kayomi swears on her anxious heart that she heard her father click his tongue. It is as if he is displeased by the thought of Reina accommodating that particular customer. And judging from his reaction, the stranger who approached Reina was no relative of hers. 

“We shall discuss your concern at a later date. I need to leave for the moment.”

“Why, father? Is there something wrong?”

“I only need to attend to some business.”

And without explaining further, Mitsuei turns his back at Kayomi. He left her dumbfounded for a second before she realized what was happening. 

Her small steps try to follow behind but to no accord.

”Wait, father. When will you return?” Kayomi screams to at least reach her father.

“You may stay in my office if you wish,” Mitsuei response with a voice enough for Kayomi to hear.

Still confused, Kayomi is left to contemplate what is going on. All she sees right now is her father rushing somewhere with an irked expression. 

Did he have to deal with an obnoxious client? 

Were there any drunk people on the premises? 

Were the sales a shambles? 

Are there any complaints?

Kayomi has no choice but to ponder on these thoughts with no answers. Reacting that way from discovering Reina talking to a customer is one thing, but for him to completely shove her to the side and ignore her gravely hurts her feelings.