Chapter 47
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Volume 1: First Performance: A Tragic Love Story Of A Young Lady And Spring Cherry Blossoms
Chapter 47: The Cross-Dressing Boy Faces A Showdown
“If we were to set up surveillance cameras, it would likely be in this locker and, well… the classroom of the first-year drama department. What do you think, Hanako? Do you think you can set them up?”
“It’s Francesca-san, there’s no problem. However, I would need a few days before I can lend you the cameras.”
Hanako, standing in front of Akane’s locker, turned around to look at me and Ginjou-senpai with an expressionless face.
Ginjou-senpai touched her chin, tilting her head slightly as she addressed her.
“How long would it take?”
“I believe it would take about a week and a half to two weeks at the longest. I apologize, but the small cameras are currently out for repair.”
“I see… Well, I don’t know anyone else who has cameras… During that time, I’m afraid we might be putting Tsukishiro-san through some tough times.”
“Yes… It’s just that a week and a half to two weeks is quite close to when we’re scheduled to perform ‘Romeo and Juliet’…”
I had wanted to resolve the issue of Akane’s bullying before the day of the performance, but it seems that borrowing Hanako’s cameras is our only option for now.
Until the cameras are repaired, it seems like we’ll have to do everything we can to take care of and support Akane ourselves.
“Once the cameras are back, I’ll immediately contact you, Kisaragi-san. Regarding our terms of trade… Uh, how exciting ~ ★ Kaede Kisaragi’s Gravure Photoshoot ~ Maybe even a little slip-up might happen ~♥… I’ll be in touch about the schedule for that. Well then, see you!”
“Why did you switch to a moe voice just for the gravure photoshoot part!? And—there won’t be any slip-ups, okay!? Absolutely none!”
In my case, it’s not a slip-up, but rather something else. No, now’s not the time to be thinking about that.
Hanako didn’t respond to my retort, simply turning on her heel and leaving through the school entrance.
Watching her retreating figure, I let out a big sigh without realizing it.
“A gravure photoshoot… Even if we resolve Tsukishiro-san’s situation and finish the ‘Romeo and Juliet’ play, it seems like there are still plenty of problems left to tackle…”
In July, there’s also the swimming lessons.
I had thought things would get easier once the stage rehearsals at the end of May were over, but honestly, it seems like there are still a lot of things giving me headaches.
I’m already yearning for summer vacation, where I can break free from cross-dressing and enjoy peaceful days…
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“Ginjou Haruki is Kyoichiro Yanagisawa’s niece…”
At 6:30 PM, in the living room of her apartment, Karen murmured this while holding a cup of tea.
I sat on the sofa opposite her, clasping my hands together on my lap before speaking up.
“Yeah. I never would have guessed that handsome girl was my cousin. I had assumed she was the child of my shitty father’s mistress or something.”
“Yes, that did seem like the most likely possibility. But this works out well. I’ve also gathered some information myself. Would you take a look at this?”
Saying that, Karen tossed three sheets of paper onto the table.
“What’s this?”
“It’s the report from when I directly ordered my people to investigate Ginjou Haruki’s background.”
I picked up the papers and started to read through them.
[――――Report Results.]
To report the conclusion, Ginjou Haruki is not Kyoichiro Yanagisawa’s daughter.
Her mother is actually Kyoichiro Yanagisawa’s sister, Kei Yanagisawa. Her father is Ginjou Kosuke, a Hollywood actor who was a classmate and rival of the young Kyoichiro at a drama school in France. Both of Ginjou Haruki’s parents passed away in a traffic accident eight years ago.
At the age of twelve, Kyoichiro Yanagisawa took Ginjou Haruki from the orphanage and adopted her. Since then, she has been living with Kyoichiro――――
“I see… What a dramatic life that handsome girl has led.”
She’s about two years younger than me, so it was around the time I was abandoned by Kyoichiro that Ginjou-senpai was taken in as that man’s adopted daughter.
Placing the papers back on the table, I grabbed my forehead with my fingers and let out a long sigh.
Karen quietly observed me, lowering her gaze and lightly shaking her teacup.
“…Are you okay?”
“Yeah… That shitty father just abandoned us and took in a new daughter, that’s all. I don’t feel anything about it anymore.”
“You… You can’t forgive your father, can you?”
“What?”
“You always seem so cool, almost like you’re bored with the world, as if nothing interests you. But when it comes to Kyoichiro Yanagisawa, you suddenly become visibly irritated… It’s like you revert to being a child. It’s strange.”
Karen tilted her head, smiling gently like a mother.
I pouted my lips at her, running a hand through my hair in frustration.
“Haruki said something similar to me today… I guess I’m still immature. Whenever my father is involved, I can’t seem to hold back my anger.”
“It’s fine. At least you’re still able to feel anger. I don’t feel anything anymore when it comes to my father and mother.”
“Do you have a complicated family situation too?”
“Yes. You understand, don’t you? The Hananomiya family is filled with people who only think about their own gain, utterly corrupt and ruthless. Five years ago, when you and Rurika were adopted by the Hananomiya family and first came to the estate… The treatment you received from them must still be fresh in your memory, right?”
I touched the old scar on my abdomen through my clothes, frowning.
“Were you there too, back then?”
“Yes, I was watching from a distance.”
“I see…”
Five years ago, when I was ten, Rurika and I were abandoned by Kyoichiro and went to stay with the Hananomiya family, who were relatives on our mother’s side.
At that time, I was called to a family dinner, where I was mercilessly beaten by the members of the Hananomiya family with things like canes and bamboo swords.
They claimed that because Kyoichiro had run off with my mother, they had lost their connection to the company president she was engaged to, resulting in hundreds of billions of yen in losses for the Hananomiya family.
They called me a cursed child born of filthy blood and said I would have to spend my life making up for those losses caused by my mother’s broken engagement.
As I shielded my crying sister, I was brutally lynched by the Hananomiya family members.
The scar on my stomach from that time hasn’t faded and is still there.
“I don’t know what to say… but I’m sorry. Even though I’m the daughter of the main family, I could only stand there, scared, watching you get beaten from afar…”
“No, don’t worry about it. You were just a kid back then, like me. There wasn’t anything you could’ve done. Besides, I knew the Hananomiya family had a grudge against my father. I expected something like that might happen.”
Hearing my words, Karen looked pained.
Seeing her expression, I couldn’t help but smile.
“Karen, you really are a good person. If it were up to me, I’d want someone like you to inherit the Hananomiya family.”
“What…?”
Karen blinked in surprise, looking at me with wide eyes.
I smiled at her and spoke again.
“Rurika and I plan to eventually escape from the Hananomiya family and live a free life. But I doubt the current head of the family or the other blood relatives would ever let us go.”
“……”
“They want to use Rurika and me as tools for diplomacy by marrying us off to other powerful families. I’ve even heard from my aunt that Rurika is supposed to marry a company president from somewhere after she graduates from high school. If we stay here, we’ll be trapped birds in a cage. But――――”
I stood up from the sofa and extended my hand to Karen for a handshake.
“If you become the head of the family, you wouldn’t do that, would you? After spending these past few days with you, I’ve realized that you’re different from the other members of the Hananomiya family. If you promise not to harm us, I’ll do everything I can to help you become the head. I’ll work harder than ever to make the academy thrive as Kaede Kisaragi.”
“…”
“Let’s join forces, Karen Hananomiya.”
As I spoke those words, for some reason, Karen began to tremble.
“I… I…”
Karen, usually so cool and composed, suddenly looked distressed, her eyes welling up with tears.
As I tilted my head in confusion at her reaction, Karen began to speak, her voice quivering.
“I’m… I’m not as good a person as you think I am――――――”
At that moment, the door to the living room suddenly burst open, and a girl with red hair appeared.
“Fuuma!! I’m here again today!! Let me eat your food again… wait, wh-who is that black-haired woman!?”
Karen and I both opened our eyes wide and were dumbfounded, our mouths hanging open at the same time.
