At the Makoto mansion on the edge of town.
It was already past noon when she went to see Soujiro. Sumire hadn't realized how long she spent in Evan's place. She found the man doing paperwork in his office in his mansion like usual.
"It is unladylike to just barge in."
Sumire, however, didn't bother with those words and walked over to him until she stood opposite. She removed the documents from his hands and slammed her hand on his desk.
"Why did you make contact with Evans?"
"What are you talking about?"
Sumire took out a small slip of paper from her bag. It seemed Evans had kept the note to show her. "This, you were the one who sent it, correct?"
Soujiro scanned the note; he paused for a moment before nodding. "That is right."
"Why did you interfere?"
Soujiro sighed. "It is not like I did anything harmful. I simply paid back the favor you owe that man for helping you out."
"But Soujiro by doing that-"
"By doing that, I declared to the other elites that we were still in contact with each other. Even though I had no confirmation that you were alive, then I understood the consequences."
"You know I can't marry you," Sumire mumbled. "Whether it was the past or even in the future or the present day, our engagement was only for mutual benefits. I am the only member of the Ibuki family now. I do not care about the benefits I will receive from the Makoto family."
"But you still shamelessly cling to this title because you can use it as a shield."
Sumire flinched when she heard his words, and Soujiro sighed. He stood up and walked over towards the balcony. Sumire took a deep breath before she followed him over.
"I told you before that while this is an engagement of convenience, you can rely on me for anything that would trouble you."
"I know. I am sorry for not contacting you much sooner. After I settled in, I figured I would contact you and tell you I am alive. But then Aki-san told me that it was far too dangerous considering how we still didn't know who caused the fire. There was a time frame where I didn't attend school for a while because I was hiding away."
Soujiro shook his head. "That decision was the correct one."
"If you helped Evans, that means you knew my connection to the Nagawa family. You knew about Sano and me."
"Yes. It took me as a bit of a surprise since there were rumors that you liked Terashima Yuhi."
Sumire laughed lightly at those words. "I see, so you already knew back then that I would have turned you down."
"It seems you are implying I have feelings for you."
"You don't?" Sumire questioned.
"That is not the topic you came to discuss."
'What a clever way of dodging the topic. But he is right. I didn't come here for this.'
"If you helped Evans-san out, does that mean you have some information on the Nagawa family?"
If it is, information Soujiro gathered, she could trust it to be helpful.
"I have. I shall give it to you."
Eh, wait, where is the catch? Then again, he is not the type of person to refuse to assist her. Even back then, when she held little power, he still agreed to her selfish whims.
"That would help." Her gaze fell on the pitch-black skies. She ought to head back soon; she does not want Yuhi to worry about her. But if she left right away, that would be rude to Soujiro.
'Being a considerate person is way too difficult for me.'
But she has not seen this person in quite some time. It will not do any harm to spend some time with him. Neither of them is good at conversing, so for a while; there was nothing but silence. But something was comforting about this silence. How odd, whenever it is quiet with other people, she finds it awkward. However, with Soujiro, it is nice.
Her thoughts broke off when Soujiro draped his cloak around her shoulders. "You shall catch a cold."
"Thank you." Sumire trailed off. "I know you have been worrying about me."
Soujiro sighed deeply. "Indeed, your actions cause me quite the headache. But since you came back in one piece, I assume that you saw him?"
Sumire briefly closed her eyes as the memory of her first night in the facility returned to her. They drugged her quite heavily, so she was barely conscious, but she knew he came to see her.
'Ki, the truth is I never wanted you to get together with Yuhi. I wanted to steal you away. But with my illness, I knew I could never give you happiness.'
'Please cope with this pain just for a short while. I will make sure nothing bad happens to you.'
'I will protect you like always.'
"Mm, I saw the idiot who spouted nonsense about protecting me without asking how I feel."
"You must understand where he is coming from. Even if he has loved you for a long time, it would have been cruel of him to tell you his feelings."
"But I-"
"You fell in love with him. But you weren't in love with him from the start; it was a mere coincidence."
Soujiro's words were blunt, but they cut deeply like a knife. Indeed she knew she couldn't deny that.
"I feel troubled whenever I think about this matter. Ru is alive, and I am very happy about that. But what happens next? Do we get back together? I can't just leave him alone, can I?"
She is happy Ru is alive; nothing pleases her more. He is alive, so she can finally tell him the words she could not do back then.
"Do you still have feelings for him?" Soujiro asked.
"Initially, I thought I did, for a while after I came here, it was like that. Even when I accepted Yuhi's confession, but at some point, I realized the only thing I have left towards Ru is feelings of guilt. I could not tell him that I loved him, which caused a huge mental strain on me. He died without ever hearing my feelings, even though he treated me so well."
During the first time they did it, Ru looked at her with such kind and gentle eyes. Even though they had been fighting, she could have told him then because she had already fallen for him, but she held back.
"I missed my timing, and that led to this situation. But even if I told him, it wouldn't have made a difference. Ru was very stubborn; he knew that I liked Yuhi even before I did."
She simply thought it was mere admiration and respect. But one day, Ru confronted her and said. 'Don't you have feelings for him?' When he asked her that question, she couldn't deny it.
Soujiro nodded. "I see, but Sumire, you have to remember something. Your parents raised you as a member of the elite. With our customs, it is only natural not to recognize love since we do not need it."
'But all of that sounds like an excuse..' She used it as an excuse didn't she? She used it as a shield to avoid what was right in front of her.