Chapter 10: Will the Heir and the Lady Tie the Knot?

“Today is an auspicious day──”

……

Isn’t that the standard phrase from wedding ceremonies?

With that thought running through my mind, I’m sitting in formal seiza position, dressed in my best suit. In this spacious Japanese-style room, facing me across an impressive low table is──

“Kiyomiya-san, you don’t have to be so tense. Please, feel free to relax your legs.”

“…Thank you for your concern, Anri-san.”

Maritsuji Anri sits across from me, wearing a bright cherry blossom-colored kimono, her long black hair—usually flowing down her back—tied up elegantly at the nape of her neck.

Anri-san, huh…

I’m still not used to calling her Maritsuji without honorifics in front of others, let alone addressing her by her first name with -san attached. But in this setting, it can’t be helped. Though it does bother me that she’s still calling me “Kiyomiya-san” as usual.

“Just as my daughter says, please make yourself comfortable, Keiji-san. Our plans have changed somewhat anyway, so feel free to relax today.”

“…Yes.”

This is a Japanese-style room in a high-end hotel in Tokyo, overlooking the garden. I’ve had plenty of experience meeting people at hotels since I was a child, but Japanese-style rooms are surprisingly rare. I was just forced to sit in seiza at the Maritsuji residence the other day, and now this again. For now, I bow my head slightly to Rina-san.

“I apologize, Rina-san. My father suddenly couldn’t make it.”

“Not at all, the same goes for our side—my father-in-law, the head of the family, was supposed to come. After all, in situations like this, the family heads should be the ones to discuss matters.”

Situations like this, huh…

Why on earth did I end up in a “situation like this” so suddenly? Just a few days ago, I got a rare call from my father saying that a meeting with the head of the Maritsuji family had been arranged, and that I should come too. From my perspective, there are more important things I need to discuss with my father. But when we arrived, neither the Kiyomiya nor Maritsuji family heads were present, leaving me with Maritsuji Anri and her mother—what a hellish lineup.

And on top of that.

“I’m terribly sorry, madam. For someone like me, a complete outsider… I was just the driver.”

“No, Reizen-sensei is Keiji-san’s homeroom teacher, right? You’re welcome here.”

Sitting next to me and bowing to Rina-san is Reizen Miyabi-sensei. She’s my class’s homeroom teacher, and since she’s like a sister to Sayaka, she occasionally comes to visit the old Kiyomiya residence. Today, of all days, her visit to the old residence was just bad luck. My father had an unavoidable urgent matter and couldn’t arrange a car right away, so I ended up asking Reizen-sensei, and she lent me her beloved car, the Reizen-go.

“But it’s been a while, Reizen-sensei—no, Miyabi-san. Was the last time we met when you were in high school?”

“Huh?”

I let out a strange noise without thinking and look toward Reizen-sensei.

“Reizen-sensei, you know Rina-san?”

“Hey, Kiyomiya! I’ve been wondering since earlier—who do you think this person is!? She’s the wife of the next head of the Maritsuji family, born into the Senjou Family, a branch of the Maritsuji!”

Reizen-sensei glares at me with a stern look I’ve never seen at school. At school, isn’t she the kind, gentle teacher everyone calls “Mama”? Her tone has become more masculine, like her true self.

“Don’t scold him, Miyabi-san. The Kiyomiya family is known for being unconventional, even among the noble families.”

“Eh? That’s not really the case.”

I inadvertently counter Rina-san.

“No, it is. The Kiyomiya family was the first to move to Tokyo during the Meiji Restoration. They also pioneered the trend of nobles venturing into business rather than politics.”

“I-Is that so?”

The Kiyomiya family isn’t just prestigious; they operate various businesses and possess immense assets. Among nobles, they’re often said to have “mingled with the mundane world and cleverly made a fortune”…

“Compared to that, our Maritsuji family is quite pathetic in reality. We proudly call ourselves the ‘house of song,’ but just maintaining that vast estate takes all our effort.”

“Just having that huge mansion is enough to make my Reizen family pale in comparison…”

“And it’s on prime land in Tokyo. That’s plenty rich. Is she humblebragging?”

“Miyabi-san, Keiji-san, is something wrong?”

“No.”

Reizen-sensei and I shake our heads at the same time.

Nobles are surprisingly sensitive to insults, aren’t they?

They seem to have an image of constantly trading sarcasm… Has nothing changed since the Heian period?

“I see. Then, let’s get this straight first.”

Rina-san glances at her daughter before fixing me with an intent stare.

“Kiyomiya Keiji-san. A marriage proposal has come up between you and my daughter, Anri of the Maritsuji family.”

“A marriage proposal? A marriage proposal!?”

I stand up without thinking.

“We’re in the middle of a conversation, y’know. Standing up is bad manners.”

“Ah, yes.”

I sit back down, bowing my head.

Scary, scary—Maritsuji’s mother slips into Kyoto dialect too.

And hers has more of a native flavor and intensity than her daughter’s.

“What are you so surprised about, Keiji-san? What else did you think we called you here for?”

“I thought I was going to get chewed out for my rudeness the other day…”

“Hah?”

Rina-san lets out an openly displeased sound.

“Ah, no. Of course, it wouldn’t be anything violent. After all, you’re of noble birth too. Please refrain from such barbaric Eastern warrior-like thinking.”

“Haah…”

Amazingly, these dignified folks from Kyoto still think of Kanto as the land of barbaric warriors.

“Let me say it again, Keiji-san. We called you here today to discuss a marriage proposal. It’s stranger that there hasn’t been a single marriage talk between the direct lines of Maritsuji and Kiyomiya until now.”

“To be blunt, I’m not in a position to receive marriage proposals. I’m an illegitimate child.”

“I won’t lie and say it doesn’t bother me, but this has been approved by the current head of our family.”

“Huh?”

The old fox of the Maritsuji family in Kyoto… no, Maritsuji Anri’s grandfather?

I thought he was some haughty old man, like a reincarnated noble from a thousand years ago. Wouldn’t he dismiss someone like me, an illegitimate son?

“My role is simply to convey this to you, Keiji-san. Miyabi-san, I’ll have you responsibly inform the Kiyomiya family head as well.”

“Yes, I’ll stake my life on it.”

“Are you a retainer or something?”

Besides, Reizen-sensei’s response sounds like something from a samurai family.

It seems this is a matter that the adults need to convey responsibly, not me…

“Well then, my role is finished.”

Clap clap, Rina-san claps her hands, and the sliding door opens smoothly, revealing a young woman in a suit.

“Miyoshino, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Yes, madam.”

The woman called Miyoshino sits in seiza by the door and stares at me intently.

Wh-what does “leave the rest” mean—what’s going to happen to me?

“I-It doesn’t suit me at all…”

“No, it looks good on you, Kiyomiya-san.”

Maritsuji chuckles softly.

The hotel’s Japanese garden—I’m strolling with Maritsuji Anri. And to make matters worse, I’ve been made to wear traditional Japanese attire. That suited beauty, Miyoshino, helped me get dressed. A deep indigo kimono with a light black haori—it’s comfortable and surprisingly easy to move in. Of course, it’s not my first time wearing traditional clothes, but no matter how many times I do, it feels like I’m “being dressed,” which is somehow embarrassing.

“There are many young people who look good in kimono, but I’m definitely not one of them. I look better in a suit and tie.”

When I say that, Maritsuji chuckles again.

No, seriously, it doesn’t suit me at all.

After all, as a commoner who doesn’t inherit the Kiyomiya blood, it’s no wonder it doesn’t fit. Though it’s not like inheriting noble blood automatically makes it suit you—

“The kimono suits you, Maritsuji.”

“I don’t wear them often myself, but I don’t dislike it. It helps brace both body and mind.”

The bright cherry-blossom-colored kimono suits the graceful beauty Maritsuji Anri perfectly. She says she doesn’t wear them often, but she’s clearly accustomed to it; even just by walking, her movements are worlds apart from mine.

“You’re not athletic, yet you walk so smoothly in a kimono.”

“What about my athletic ability?”

“Uh, so, Maritsuji. You knew about this marriage talk when you came, right?”

“No, it was news to me too. Though I had a vague feeling.”

“……”

If you had a feeling, you could have refused beforehand… is that asking too much?

“This must have come out of the blue for you, Kiyomiya-san. I apologize for my mother being so forceful.”

“All the adults around me are pretty forceful. But still, this is way too sudden.”

Besides, we were tossed out into the garden with a “now the young ones can talk” and left to ourselves. I can’t shake the feeling that things are progressing rapidly.

“Does ‘marriage proposal’ mean we’re engaged?”

“Normally, yes, but in our case, it’s still at the discussion stage. If you’ll excuse my saying so, it’s probably because of the circumstances on your side of the Kiyomiya family.”

“I see.”

Indeed, my status as an illegitimate child is likely the obstacle in this proposal.

Good, let it be as much of an obstacle as possible.

“It’s weird enough for high schoolers to have marriage talks, and now it’s me and you, Maritsuji?”

“There’s nothing particularly strange about it. The Maritsuji and Kiyomiya have a daughter and son of the same age. It would be stranger if we didn’t marry.”

“No no, we could update that to more modern thinking. A political marriage in this day and age, and on top of that, we’re only first-year high schoolers.”

“It’s not too early, you know?”

Maritsuji cutely tilts her head.

“It might even be late. The other day, I asked some of my friends, and about half of them are already engaged.”

“…This really drives home how bizarre Sōshūkan Academy is.”

Perhaps because I interacted a lot with the staff, I’ve managed to retain some commoner sensibilities. In upper-class households, many servants are from branch families or fallen former nobles. But in the Kiyomiya family, there were many people born and raised in ordinary homes, like the former Self-Defense Force member who taught me how to fight.

“It’s about time for me to decide on a future partner, too.”

“Even if it’s inevitable for you, it’s not for me.”

“Not like the Toyohara, but the Maritsuji have a good relationship with the Kiyomiya. Relatively speaking.”

“Relatively…”

No, I get it.

For both the Kiyomiya and the Maritsuji, it’s practically an obligation for direct descendants to marry. It’s not unusual to decide on a partner during our teens. But I’m—the child born between an unmarried man and woman. Setting aside the secret of my birth, that’s how it appears on the surface, and I’ve grown up being looked down upon for it.

If someone like me were to marry a true lady like Maritsuji, what would happen—?

“Are you perhaps worried about me?”

“…I don’t want to see you become unhappy, Maritsuji.”

I’m the illegitimate son of the Kiyomiya, and Maritsuji is the daughter of a prestigious family. If we got together, wouldn’t Maritsuji just end up being viewed with contempt too?

“Let me say this: I don’t choose a partner based solely on family background.”

“Don’t you value family status, Maritsuji?”

“Things aren’t that simple. After considering various factors, I decided that Kiyomiya Keiji-san, the illegitimate son of the Kiyomiya family, would be an acceptable marriage partner.”

“……”

That’s an arrogant way to put it again, but Maritsuji probably means no harm.

It’s been that way since ancient times: those of noble birth can come across as insensitive from a lower perspective. Even I, having been raised that way, probably have my arrogant sides.

We well-bred folks cross a short, red bridge in the garden.

“Since we can only live in ‘this world,’ we should seek ways to be happy within modern noble society.”

“It’s not like we absolutely have to stay in this world.”
お嬢様
I stare intently at Maritsuji. She’s a born Ojou-sama, raised to befit her status, and she herself has never neglected to put in the effort. A girl who’s lived in the same society as me, but in a completely different way—

“Then, will you take me away to some far-off place, Kiyomiya-san?”

“…I couldn’t do something that irresponsible.”

This isn’t a TV drama.

Take Maritsuji away from her stifling society and live together in a cheap apartment?

“Right. I probably couldn’t adapt to another way of life. I’ve lived with things like a tea room in my home, and it’ll be the same from now on.”

“You never know what life will bring.”

Like how the secrets of my and Sayaka’s births were revealed.

“That sounds interesting too—but Hisaka-san isn’t here today, is she.”

“What, so suddenly? Well, Reizen-sensei came along instead.”

Actually, Sayaka offered to accompany me, but Reizen-sensei stopped her. A sudden meeting between the Maritsuji and the Kiyomiya can’t be anything good—it’s wise not to get involved, apparently. Well, even if Sayaka had come, there probably wouldn’t have been any danger, and not much for her to do.

“This is a good opportunity. I need to settle things while the obstacle is away…”

“……”

Maritsuji is muttering something ominous under her breath.

“H-Hey, Maritsuji…”

“Ah, pardon me. I sometimes get lost in my own world.”

Maritsuji smiles brightly and, for some reason, strikes a pose with both arms spread wide.

“By the way, I can do my own kimono dressing, you know.”

“Hm? Oh, impressive.”

“So, even if it gets undone… I can fix it myself, you know?”

“What are you talking about!?”

Isn’t she the daughter of the highest-ranking noble family?

Alright, time to swiftly change the subject.

“I have no confidence I can put on traditional clothes by myself. Miyoshino-san, was it? It was embarrassing having her help me… Wait, does that mean Miyoshino-san will help me change back into my suit too?”

In that case, maybe I should just go home in the kimono—but these aren’t my clothes. If I accidentally went home in such expensive traditional attire, it’d be a huge problem.

“Then, shall I help you change? I’ve never dressed a man in traditional clothes, but I know how.”

“I’d rather have Miyoshino-san do it!”

“Or will you have Hisaka-san do it when you get home?”

Maritsuji narrows her eyes and stares at me.

“…Sayaka doesn’t know how to do kimono dressing.”

“That won’t do. There are normal occasions to wear traditional clothes, so if a servant of the Kiyomiya family can’t even do that… perhaps you should fire her?”

“Don’t casually try to get me to cut Sayaka loose.”

“It’s a joke. I no longer mind that Hisaka-san is working at the old Kiyomiya residence. It seems you two aren’t going to develop ‘that kind of relationship.'”

“Wh-what kind of relationship?”

From our earlier conversation, Maritsuji won’t tolerate mistresses.

“Still, I can’t be completely at ease. That chest size is a concern… As long as you don’t get swayed by those, Kiyomiya-san.”

“Did something happen between you two in the bath?”

Sayaka’s chest size is noticeable even over her uniform, but the way Maritsuji says it, it’s like she confirmed the size more clearly…

“That’s a secret between maidens. But it’s strange, isn’t it? Living under the same roof with such a beautiful woman, and you haven’t gotten intimate yet.”

“I-Intimate… What an old-fashioned word.”

“What’s the reason? Hisaka-san seems like she’d accept being bedded if it were part of her job.”

“What do you take Sayaka for?”

She’s not that kind of girl.

“Or is there a reason you can’t make a move, Kiyomiya-san? Do maid outfits not excite you…?”

“Speculate all you want, but there’s no particular reason, okay?”

“Either way, it seems Hisaka-san might be worth investigating more thoroughly.”

“Wait, wait, Anri-chan! It’s not right to pry into people’s affairs!”

Bad, bad—if Maritsuji takes an interest in Sayaka’s background, it’ll be absolutely bad!

“Gathering information has been a noble specialty since the Heian period. Instead of using force, nobles scheme and plot.”

“In modern times, privacy is emphasized… Besides, digging into others’ secrets is just tacky, right?”

“T-Tacky…! M-Me, a Maritsuji…!”

Oh, she’s more shocked than I expected.

It was a word that came to mind on the spot, but for the refined Maritsuji, it seems to have been a shocking term. Alright, I feel a bit bad, but if this makes her back off, it’s a relief.

How extensive is the Maritsuji family’s information-gathering ability?

I don’t think they’d go so far as to discover that Sayaka is Kiyomiya’s biological child… No, it’s entirely possible. Hospitals were involved in my and Sayaka’s births, and it’s likely that Kiyomiya servants helped with the baby switch. You can’t keep people’s mouths shut forever. Moreover, Sayaka resembles Wakura Honoka. If there are hints and a hypothesis is formed, they might find evidence…

“Ah!”

“Wh-what is it now?”

“No, it’s nothing. It’s a waste to talk about other wo—women when I finally get to stroll through the garden alone with you, Kiyomiya-san.”

“I’d accompany you on a walk anytime.”

“Comments like that might give girls the wrong idea, you know.”

“Eh?”

Maritsuji gives me a rare, scary glare.

“But it’s not bad. Strolling with a handsome, dignified gentleman who looks good in traditional attire—it’s not something a girl born into the Maritsuji family gets to experience often.”

“…I see.”

Maritsuji probably lives a much more constrained life than I do, having been mostly left to my own devices.

In that case, as her old acquaintance—

“Anri-chan, let’s take it slow. Maybe we can take some photos as a memento. I’m not great at selfies, though.”

“It’ll be a nice memory. I’ve never taken selfies, so I’ll leave it to you.”

Maritsuji smiles brightly—and I wanted to capture that very smile.

A marriage proposal like this isn’t realistic, but the man who marries Maritsuji Anri will surely be happy.

Probably, that person just isn’t me.