Chapter 13
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Volume 1: First Performance: A Tragic Love Story Of A Young Lady And Spring Cherry Blossoms
Chapter 13: The Cross-Dressing Boy Falls Into A Trap
“…Sorry, Karen. I’ll bring profit to the Hananomiya family as Kaede Kisaragi, but I have no intention of returning to the acting world as Fuuma Yanagisawa. No matter what threats you use, that won’t change.”
“…I see. That’s… quite a pity.”
After she muttered this, she let out a short sigh and lowered her eyes sadly.
And then, when I opened my eyes, Karen gave me a sharp look.
“Honestly… despite the fact that the talented young actress Akane Tsukishiro has such strong feelings for you, you don’t reciprocate? If the men of the world saw you now, they’d surely raise a cry of resentment.”
“No, she doesn’t have any feelings for me. She’s just persistently viewing me as a rival.”
“This man… I can’t tell if he’s smart or just dense. From a woman’s perspective, you’re the worst kind of man.”
Karen took a sip of her tea, then placed the cup back on the saucer with a clink.
At that moment, the sullen-faced maid who had been silent until now spoke up from behind her.
“…My lady. It’s about time.”
“Oh, is it that time already? I haven’t heard all of Yanagisawa-kun’s report yet… well, I suppose it can’t be helped.”
Karen stood up gracefully, picked up the school bag that had been on the chair beside her, and slung it over her shoulder. She tilted her head slightly and gave me a smile.
“Well then, Yanagisawa-kun, I’m leaving now.”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, right. There’s a family dinner tonight at the Hananomiya main residence with all the relatives. Do you want to come?”
“There’s no way I’m going! If I went, I’d obviously be met with great disapproval, since I’m hated and called an outcast!”
“Yes. But Aunt Airi might be happy about it.”
“W-What!? What are you talking about? That aunt hates me more than anyone else!”
“Huh?! What are you talking about? Aren’t I the person that aunt hates the most?!”
“I don’t know. She love the things she hates the most.”
Muttering those words softly, Karen picked up the empty cup and left the terrace with the maid in tow.
“She loves what she hates the most…? What the heck does that mean?”
There’s no way that aunt doesn’t hate me.
After all, every time we meet, she calls me a sewer rat. No matter how you look at it, there’s not a single trace of affection in that, right?
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[Karen’s Perspective]
“My lady, you seem to be in a very good mood.”
As I walked down the hallway after parting with Yanagisawa-kun, the maid—Reina—spoke to me from behind.
I turned my face toward her over my shoulder and quietly opened my mouth.
“Do I?”
“Yes. You’ve been skipping since earlier.”
“Oh no, it was unconscious. …You should have stopped me if you noticed.”
“My apologies.”
“But… yes, you’re right. I am quite happy right now.”
I closed my eyes.
What comes to mind is the image of my younger self, playing alone with dolls in a dark room.
The only source of light in that dark room was a large, probably 55-inch flat-screen TV.
The TV constantly played variety shows, dramas, and anime, day and night.
To the young me, every program was just a meaningless imitation.
Everything was a fabricated world, with lies so transparent you could see right through them.
My world was the same as that.
Neither my parents nor my relatives truly loved each other.
As a child, I had already realized that this entire world was built on falsehoods.
But—.
But his acting was different.
There were no lies visible in his performance.
Everything was real.
‘…Fuuma Yanagisawa…’
A child prodigy with an extraordinary level of acting skill. His deep blue eyes, filled with unfathomable depth, struck fear into those who watched.
His screams shook the souls of those who saw him.
His performance made the audience forget that the story was fiction.
His terrifying talent earned him the nickname “The Demonic Monster”—Fuuma Yanagisawa.
I opened my eyes.
And in a voice that no one could hear, I quietly muttered,
“…Yanagisawa-kun. I don’t know why you gave up on acting. But…I will never give up on you. Akane Tsukishiro isn’t the only one who hopes that you will return to acting.”
Muttering this, I walked straight down the long corridor, and headed towards the entrance.
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After parting with Karen, I headed to the cafeteria counter to buy lunch.
The food served in this school’s cafeteria was on a different level compared to the average high school cafeteria, with a menu akin to high-end French cuisine.
Every dish looked incredibly delicious… but unfortunately, the prices were ridiculously high.
The average price for a dish was over 3,000 yen, reaffirming that this school was indeed for the wealthy.
“Damn it, Hananomiya family… What kind of pricing do they set for the school cafeteria…? It’s not like they have to make us spend money here…”
Muttering to myself, I walked away from the counter and headed towards the vending machine nearby.
The vending machine seemed to be a lifeline for poor students like me, offering instant noodles and cheap bento boxes.
Looks like I’ll be relying on this vending machine for my lunch from now on, I thought as I approached it… but I noticed a girl standing motionless in front of the vending machine.
The girl had long, wavy orange hair and green eyes, looking almost like a foreigner.
She was staring at the vending machine, muttering something to herself.
Curious, I decided to speak to the foreign-looking girl.
“Um, you’ve been standing here for a while. Is something wrong…?”
“…Huh? W-Whoa!? A foreigner!?”
“Ha ha ha… I’ll return those exact words to you.”
“Oh, that’s right. Haha, haha!”
Laughing heartily, the girl scratched the back of her head and smiled.
“You see, the prices in this cafeteria are ridiculously high, right? So I came over to the vending machine, but I can’t decide which cup noodle to choose. Should I go with the safe choice of ‘Donkichi’ or should I be adventurous and pick ‘Natto Ramen’…? Hmm, tough decision… What do you think?”
“I think you should just go with Donkichi. I can’t even imagine what Natto Ramen would taste like…”
“Hmm. Yeah, you’re probably right! Okay, I’ll go with Donkichi! Thanks, foreign lady!”
With that, the orange-haired girl pressed the vending machine button, retrieved the Donkichi, and left, waving her hand.
Well, to me, you look like a foreigner too…
I watched the girl leave and then stood in front of the vending machine.
As I was deciding what to buy… I realized that most of the buttons had a “Sold Out” sign on them.
And the only thing left was ‘Natto Ramen’.
“…You’ve got to be kidding me…”
I should have made that girl buy the Natto Ramen…
Regretting it deeply, I reluctantly pressed the Natto Ramen button.
