Chapter 1051. Blossoms of Nobility / Way Back Home

Ruriko told Kaan Momoko-neechan

「 Oh, our car is ready. They’ve been waiting for so long. I feel sorry for them now 」

Momoko-neechan came over to the Kouzuki house using their own house’s car.

Then, the driver has been waiting in the guest parking lot.

「 Well, their job is driving so it can’t be helped 」

「 We’ve sent over tea and snacks for them to relax 」

Rei-chan said.

「 Oh, Kouzuki SS did? 」

「 Yes. Kouzuki house wants even the drivers of the guests to have some comfortable time spent in this place 」

Ruriko replies.

「 We have a dedicated break room for drivers but Kaan house’s driver said that he will not leave the driver seat to make sure that if Momoko-oneesama contacts, he can drive immediately 」

Rei-chan seems to have received reports from the subordinates before coming to this room.

「 Oh, that’s… 」

Momoko-neechan smiled wryly.

「 I was thinking of leaving the place and return home if you suddenly break down. Just in case that things lose their cool. Fortunately, it didn’t happen, but… 」

Haa…in the end, it reached the critical moment.

Momoko-neechan was fuming for a moment there.

「 Ah, here are souvenirs. Take it 」

Mana brings over a bag from the kitchen.

「 What’s this? 」

「 Sweets Ruriko-oneechan and I baked 」

「 And we have the same thing here 」

Nei brings over bite-sized cake on plates from the kitchen.

「 Try getting a bite, Momoko-chan 」

「 Mana-chan and Ruri-chan are good at making sweets! It’s delicious! 」

Mana, Nei, and Agnes all recommend it…

「 Then I’ll take one 」

Momoko-neechan picks one and eats it.

「 Delicious. This is pain d’épices, isn’t it? 」

「 Ah, I knew that Momoko-chan can tell what it is! Hehehe 」

Nei smiled.

「 It’s a traditional baked sweet from France. Have some too Onii-sama 」

Ruriko recommends it to me too.

I take a bite. Wow, everything other than the center is unexpectedly springy. Furthermore, it has a thick taste.

「 It has some spice and honey in it…an adult taste, right? 」

Mana smiled.

「 It goes well with hot wine! 」

Nei said.

「 We have two different flavors and so enjoy this with everyone in the Kaan mansion 」

「 Thank you Ruriko, I’ll enjoy this with my family. Sebastianus! 」

「 Yes, Momoko-ojousama 」

Yamada Umeko-san receives the sweets in a wrap for her Master

「 You should try out at least one too 」

Edie takes one and pushes it to Yamada-san’s lips.

「 I-I… 」

Yamada-san tries to refuse but…

「 Also, when are you free next week? 」

Edie smiles.

「 ?! 」

「 I won’t give you a duel but a match is okay 」

「 It would be a big problem if the bodyguard of Kouzuki and Kaan house fight but with me, there should be no problems 」

Edie belongs to the Kuromori house, and she’s not even a bodyguard in due form.

「 I don’t even carry a school behind me 」

Edie’s skills were assassination skills she learned from the cult in New Orleans, but…

Edie already cut off her relationship with that organization.

It doesn’t matter who she fights.

「 Then, why not? Play with her. However, fight without trying to injure each other so there’s no grudge left 」

Momoko-neechan said with a smile.

「 What do you think? 」

Yamada-san nipples through the sweets presented to her lips.

「 Very well. Let’s settle this 」

「 You can use the Kouzuki SS facility as your venue. 」 We have prepared a location for the bodyguards of the young ladies to train together 」

Rei-chan said.

「 Rei-chan, you mean that dojo in the old training building? 」

I asked.

「 Err, that’s… 」

The dojo where Haiji beat Tendou Otome.

「 Thursday, no how about Saturday afternoon? That way, we can invite everyone from other houses too, right? Like Kuromiya Motoko-san, she would come out of interest 」

Momoko-neechan said.

Kuromiya Motoko-san…oh, that combat young lady who uses a spear.

「 So, you good? 」

Edie asks Yamada-san.

「 Anytime 」

Yamada-san glares at Edie

「 Reika…I’ll ask you to deal with the rest 」

「 Got it. We’ll have the remodeling of the old training building finished by then. All to make sure that the young ladies can use the place for mingling 」

「 Thank you, Reika-oneesama 」

Misuzu thanked Rei-chan.

One week after the party yesterday, the young lady’s self-defense lesson, and the bodyguard martial arts exchange…that should be good enough.

「 Bring this 」

Edie grabs some of the pain d’épices and hands it to Yamada-san

「 I-I already took one 」

Yamada-san said, but…

「 Not you. Give one to your driver too. You’re useless as a bodyguard if you don’t give them such consideration 」

Edie smiled.

「 Take this too 」

Ruriko tells Yamada-san with a smile.

「 Can I get a little more of that? I’d like to pick them up on the ride home 」

「 Sure. Here 」

「 Ruri-oneechan, I’ll bring over aluminum foil from the kitchen 」

Mana starts running.

Then.

「 Then, see you later. Kou-chan, that was fun. Also… 」

「 Agnes 」

「 The cute Agnes-chan and that Mana-chan 」

「 And I’m Nei-chan 」

「 Yes, I remember it now. See you later 」

Momoko-neechan smiled.

「 Danna-sama, we’ll send Momoko-oneesama off 」

Misuzu stands up

「 Then, I’m coming with you 」

「 No need, Kou-chan, stay here. Sebastianus, let’s go 」

「 Yes, Ojou-sama 」

In the end, Misuzu, Ruriko, Yoshiko-san, and the bodyguard of the Kouzuki ladies, Michi;

They all went to see Momoko-neechan off.

「 Mariko, see you tomorrow in school 」

「 Yes, Momoko-oneesama! Good night! 」

「 Yes 」

Mariko’s staying.

Well yeah, this is the Kouzuki mansion.

Either way, the entrance is a long way to go.

Momoko-neechan’s car is probably waiting at the front entrance, outside the private area where everyone other than the family is banned.

If Mariko, who isn’t from the Kouzuki house, or us, sends her off, it would seem weird to the servants of the Kouzuki house.

「 Then, goodbye everyone 」

「 Bye-bye! Let’s meet again! 」

「 Yeah, later! 」

「 Eat the snacks okay? 」

「 Bye! Momoko-neechan 」

Agnes, Nei, Mana, and I greet her off.

Edie’s just smiling.

Momoko-neechan turned around and waved her hand. Yamada Umeko-san bowed her head.

Then, they finally left the room.

Misuzu and the girls went with them.

「 Haaaaaa 」

I sighed loudly.

Still, that was some heavy pressure.

Kaan Momoko-neechan has a lot of pressure in her.

「 It’s amazing to think that you even had Momoko-oneesama bring handmade souveniers 」

Mariko told Nei.

「 Well of course. It’s not a message just for Momoko-chan but for the Kaan house as well 」

Huh?

「 Instead of an oral report where Momoko-neechan says that she got along with the Kouzuki house and there were no problems, it’s clearly easier to understand what happened if she brings Ruri-chan’s handmade sweets 」

Oh, right.

Momoko-neechan’s father and Grandfather know that she came to this place.

Naturally, they’ll worry a lot.

「 An ordinary souvenir doesn’t work on wealthy men, see? But since it’s personally made by Ruri-chan, it has it’s meaning 」

A sign of friendship.

「 Nei-oneechan, I did the same work though 」

「 Sorry about that Mana-chan. 」

Nei apologized to Mana.

「 It’s okay. Momoko will surely talk about Mana back at her home. That also includes Agnes 」

Edie…

「 Minaho’s selection is the best. An irregular “ordinary girl” who isn’t a daughter of nobility, but, their beauty is extreme, that’s why she listened to Mariko and us 」

「 What does that mean? 」

I asked.

「 Momoko who doesn’t know anything other than the world of nobility is her first cultural exchange. This is Momoko’s first time talking to someone who isn’t from the nobility 」

「 I think that’s right 」

Mariko looked down.

「 Momoko knows that even girls who aren’t young ladies aren’t idiots, that they’re earnest. She learned that they can become friends 」

From the conversation earlier…

「 But, we needed three girls who are far too beautiful to crush Momoko’s prejudice on ordinary girls 」

「 Momoko-oneesama loves cute girls after all 」

R-Right, Mariko.

「 First, she had to take interest 」

「 But, the Takakura sisters can’t approach Momoko-neechan but still. Haiji, Eri, and Rie were cute enough 」

Well, they’re not like Nei and the exceptionally beautiful girls. But still…

They’re girls who exceed the definition of beauty.

「 Well, there’s a problem of elegance 」

Edie smiled wryly.

「 Huh, but. Mana speaks aloof, Ya-chan’s doing the usual, and Agnes is Agnes 」

「 Agnes! 」

They don’t speak elegantly at all, I don’t think.

「 It’s not about how they speak. But how they behave. The three of them move elegantly 」

Oh.

Mana’s origin is from the Shirasaka house.

Nei’s father is a trading company employee who’s dispatched to America, so she speaks a rough but her behavior is refined.

Agnes is going to Misuzu’s school from now on, and so she’s trained to act elegantly all the time.

「 Right. If Kaan Momoko-sama were to find someone at the same table eating messily, she won’t be able to hold it and leave her seat 」

Rei-chan said.

「 She would mind it too much that she will be fed up with it. Isn’t there an old saying in Europe that the soup slurping sound breaks up couples? They can’t bear to be in the same place anymore 」

「 Reika’s right. Momoko’s been observing us how we eat the ice cream and how we take our drinks 」

Right, we all ate ice cream after taking a bath.

I looked at the tableware left.

Oh, everyone had a clean plate. No unnecessary stain on the plates.

I mean, my plate is the messiest of them all.

「 Then, am I in a bad spot? I didn’t eat that cleanly 」

I think that I’m raised the worst compared to everyone here.

「 Darling’s a guy, so you’re a wild card. Rather, Momoko finds it interesting 」

「 Why? 」

「 Well, that’s because Kou’s never been nervous in front of Momoko-oneesama 」

Mariko said.

「 Ordinary men would feel nervous dining together with Momoko-oneesama. Doing all their best to control themselves, making sure that they don’t make mistakes in their etiquette 」

「 Papa just ate food deliciously 」

Well yeah, it’s cold, sweet, and delicious

It cools down my tired body.

「 It’s okay, even if Kou’s a bit dull. You have your guts to sit it out, that’s your charm. Just continue to stay unfazed like that 」

Mariko said.

「 But, Edie-san’s presence is actually influential I believe 」

Rei-chan said.

「 Me? 」

「 Yes. You haven’t noticed it yourself but Edie-san, you’re quite a beauty too. Besides, with the half-foreign Agnes-chan and the American Edie-san with her brown skin, it’s plenty international, isn’t it? I think that Kaan Momoko-sama minds those things 」

「 If you’re saying that then it applies to you too, Rei-chan 」

Nei laughed.

「 Rei-chan is the adult who’s watching over. Remember Momoko-chan’s bodyguard, the girl wearing male clothing? 」

Right, Yamada Umeko Sebastianus-san wears male clothing.

「 I think that she’s mimicking the old Rei-chan, right? Meaning, she’s a Rei-chan fan 」

「 Me? 」

「 She probably saw Rei-chan wearing that British Gentleman suit at a party somewhere. Then, she became a fan since then! 」

Kouzuki SS is a bodyguard company specialized in nobility.

Momoko-neechan should’ve met her at some point.

「 I never heard of this. Where did you get that info? 」

Mariko is curious but…

「 No, it’s not information but just intuition! 」

Intuition.

「 Minaho-oneechan’s intuition too 」

Nei said.

「 There is an artist named Kenneth Clarke in England. There was a hunch that this man discovered Botticelli’s forgery. “This face looks like the American actress Jean Harlow,” he said. How could an Italian Renaissance writer know a Hollywood movie actress? 」

Edie said.

「 Looking at Yamada Umeko-san’s male clothing style, it would seem like she’s imitating the old Rei-chan 」

「 I think so. Well, even if the intuition is off the mark it’s still okay. We know that Momoko-neechan isn’t cautious of Rei-chan 」

To Momoko-neechan, Kouzuki SS are people who serve the nobility.

She didn’t resist compared to the other adults. She didn’t act weird when she sits with Misuzu and Ruriko.

「 But, if our intuition is correct, we have more points of dominance! 」

「 Haa, that’s quite the schemer of you 」

Mariko’s impressed.

「 I’m the eldest sister after all! 」

Nei speaks brightly.

「 Right, changing your personnel creates different results 」

「 That’s right, Yo-chan. People are like that. It’s not about what to talk about but who 」

Yeah.

「 For now, giving Momoko-neechan the otherworld cultural exchange is enough. As long as Momoko-neechan accepts the people who aren’t from the world of nobility, then that’s good enough. Asking for more would be too much. What’s left is to slowly repeat the exchanges 」

「 Right 」

「 Much less asking Momoko-chan to have sex with Yo-chan. That would be a huge problem 」

「 Huh? 」

「 Look. Momoko-chan’s father and Grandfather would be waiting in their homes thinking “What kind of face will our daughter return with” 」

O-Oh.

They’re all worried about the relationship with the Kouzuki house.

「 It’s easy to find out if one lost her virginity or not you know 」

Oh, that’s definitely bad.

If done poorly, Kouzuki and Kaan house could be at a total-war.

「 That’s why it’s the right choice to stop it today. Put it to a later date 」

「 We left the ball in Momoko-oneesama’s hands so soon enough, Momoko-oneesama will say that she wants to experience sex soon enough 」

Mariko.

「 That Momoko-oneesama will never want to be left behind on something that seems so fun. But, Momoko-oneesama has a status so I don’t think that she will take the bait today or tomorrow 」

Then that means.

「 It’ll take at least a month before it takes effect 」

Mana said.

「 With her personality, she’ll probably say “I thought about it a lot but since it seems fun, I don’t mind experiencing it too” 」

「 Really? 」

「 Really. Girls are interested in sex too, and if presented with a chance where your partner cares about your body, no need to worry about pregnancy, and your parents nor the society doesn’t know anything, then they’ll surely take it 」

「 I agree with Nei-san’s opinion 」

Mariko said.

「 Oh well… All we have to do is wait 」

Edie smiled.

「 Anyway, good job today. Darling. You’re done with the turning point of the Kouzuki house 」

Oh, all the problems are finally taken care of.

What’s left is to return home and take care of tomorrow’s products.

Oh.

「 Oh right. We’re going back home but, Mariko, you’re staying here to join the conversation with Yoshiko-san, right? 」

That event is still pending.

「 Yes. That’s right. I’ll stay over. 」

「 Err, are you going to be okay alone? 」

I…

「 I wanted to stay over but I have to go back home, I still have work for tomorrow 」

Timewise, it’s impossible.

「 But, since you girls are having a discussion, why don’t Ya-chan and Mana-chan remain? Instead of just the young ladies of the Kouzuki house, I think that an outsider’s opinion would be good 」

Then.

「 Darling, you don’t get it 」

Edie sighed.

「 Well, knowing the opinion of those from other nobility like Momoko is good. Mariko too 」

「 Yes, I’ve met people who aren’t living in the world of nobility in this mansion yesterday and today and learned a lot 」

Mariko said.

「 But, Yoshiko’s different. She’s always been living our life 」

That’s…

「 Yoshiko-san’s biggest problem right now is that Ruriko’s always with Darling for the past six months that she can’t have a conversation that doesn’t have Darling in it 」

Me.

Oh, true.

「 That means that if I’m present, Yoshiko-san can’t drop all the pretense? 」

「 Correct! Of course, it is! 」

Edie said.

「 That’s why the conversation has to be just the daughters of Kouzuki house, and Mariko who knows a lot about the world of young ladies. If Yoshiko-san feels our gaze, she won’t be able to talk 」

Right.

Of course.

Yoshiko-san needs the world of nobility right now.

Half a year ago, I, who come from a separate world, took Ruriko away from her.

「 Well, even if it’s complaints or outright throwing out emotions I’ll do my best 」

Mariko said with a smile.

「 Yoshiko-sama has amassed a lot I believe 」

「 Good luck, take care! 」

Agnes smiled as she tells Mariko.

「 Yeah. 」 I got this 」

Then, the girls who sent off Momoko-neechan has come back.

「 Thank you for waiting, Danna-sama 」

Misuzu, Ruriko, and Yoshiko-san who has a gloomy face. Then, Michi.

「 Okay, it’s time for us to leave too 」

I boot up my heavy body.

「 What’s left is for Misuzu to take care of 」

「 Yes, Danna-sama 」

「 Michi too 」

「 Yes, Master 」

Michi replies.

「 Tomorrow, I’ll return to the Kuromori mansion 」

Ruriko said.

「 Mana will take care of the housework for Ruri-oneechan 」

「 Okay, let’s go back home 」

「 Everyone, good night 」

Finally.

We’re going home.

「 Then, let’s go to our vehicle 」