Eternal Melody

“What does she want to do? It’s strange.”

He silently observed the girl for a few minutes and stopped when he saw her flushed gaze.

“I think she just discovered or rather admitted to herself at last that Terashima Yuhi is important to her,” Soujiro concluded.

When they had that talk a few nights ago, Soujiro recalled her expression whenever she brought up her feelings for Terashima. She makes it way too obvious.

At this stage, the two will marry. That man is relatively slow. By that man, he was referring to Kusaji Atsuro; he was the first one he contacted when he heard the possibility Sumire was alive. 

‘Do not seethe with rage when she ends up in someone else’s arms and not yours.’ 

It has surprised him how the redhead has remained silent this entire time. In the next half year, Terashima and Sumire will marry.

Yet despite these thoughts, the third Prince knew something like that would not happen. After all, Kusaji Atsuro is still someone whom his fiance needs. That is something he cannot deny.

Many men are in love with Ibuki Sumire, but only a few stood out out out of all those guys. Nakara Shin, Nasaki Hino, Nagawa Sano and that researcher called Eli. He still doesn’t know if he can include Kusaji in this count, considering his movements since she arrived in Tokyo.

But there is no doubt that these men will play an important role in her life.

He watches as she pauses and begins to check the manual, yet even more, confusion fills her face, and he notices the mistakes beginning to show. The brunette suddenly stands up and chucks it on the ground, and stamps on it. 

His sweatdropped. ‘I knew it; she has no patience for stuff like this. With her personality, I found it odd that she even attempted this.’

“I don’t want to knit anymore. I’ll just go out and buy it!”

Sumire claps her hands.”I know I’ll bake some cookies. So odd, why do I suddenly want to do these things?”

The woman beside him looked ill, like she was about to pass out due to terror. Soujiro, you need to stop her.” 

True, he wouldn’t deny that. However, it was his first time seeing her this cheerful, even for another man. Somehow just seeing that smile on her face made it all worthwhile. “It’s fine to leave it be. It’s getting interesting.”

After Tsueno Mamoru’s accident, Soujiro decided to come and meet with her. But when he did, she was a shell of her former self. ‘I don’t think she even remembers that we met. For Sumire, the first time she has seen him in so long was after she came to Tokyo.’ 

The Sumire he met then was exactly like a doll; she had no emotions.

Her expression only started to come back when she came here to Tokyo and met Terashima Yuhi again.

‘I believe I should discuss that time with either Terashima or maybe even Momoi Futaba. There was something dangerous about her current state then. I fear it will resurface if she returns to the entertainment industry properly.’

Just thinking of dealing with the pink hair girl, though, caused his face to break into sweats. On second thought would be a bad idea. Besides, she genuinely seems to be happy now, so it should be okay before it seemed like she was suppressing her feelings for Terashima. 

Soujiro watched her for a while longer, and her peculiar behavior continued. But he decided that since she was fine, he would return to his office.

He was working peacefully for the next few hours and occasionally received reports on her next actions.

So from singing randomly to looking at magazines to cooking. He hears the girl all way from his office. Goodness gracious, she really has gone ahead and done it. Doing feminine things once in a while for her, though, isn’t a bad thing. 

‘But wait a moment, baking?’ Sumire can only cook regular food and cuisines. She cannot bake! Yet he realized that too late since he heard a large explosion come from the kitchen.

By the time he arrived there, dust and fire covered the kitchen. Aletheia was desperately trying to take out the fire with the fire extinguisher. “Fire! This is terrible.”

It was only a minor fire, not large enough to set off the alarms in the manor. But it was still a fire nonetheless. He spent the next few minutes helping to put out the small fire, but it did not go down before turning to the culprit.

Soujiro’s eyes twitched, annoyed as he glared at Sumire, what are you doing?”

The knitting, and other weird things aside, this was crossing the line.

“I’m sorry!”

Honestly, he pulled the brunette into his arms and ensured she wasn’t inhaling the fumes. Soujiro lifted his hand, and a white light appeared, and the fire disappeared within a single second.

Once they were out in the lounge, Soujiro proceeded to lecture her, “Please explain, how come baking cookies will cause an explosion?”

‘I know she is bad at baking, but this is the first time anything has exploded; last time she tried, she burnt the food, yes. But nothing exploded; that damage is going to be troublesome to clear up. I could ask the servants, but I sent most of them away because I know how uncomfortable she is around so many people.’

“I thought that flour was yeast,” Sumire said innocently.

At that comment, he hits her lightly across the head.”Stupid girl.”

He was no master cook himself. As members of the elite, there is no need for them to learn things like cooking. He only learned because he recalled those late nights after the Ibuki family manor caught on fire. He stayed up all night wondering where she was? Was she safe? Or did her body turn into nothing? 

“Even so, it shouldn’t have blown up,” Altheia mutters. 

Good grief, she was too happy that she didn’t remember what he told her the last time. He supposed when people are happy; they do stupid things.

“I advise you, unless you get a teacher, do not bake. If you want to gift cookies, for now, just buy them.”

“Okay!”Sumire said, raising her hand as though she was reciting something, as she repeated his words. “Hmm, it’s odd though I can make normal meals, like french cuisine. I am good at that.”

Aletheia turned to him with questioning eyes, and he confirmed her thoughts with a nod.

“How on earth did you teach her that?”

“It’s a secret.” 

Or rather, in Sumire’s words, it is something far too embarrassing for anyone to know. Since she would rarely pull such an expression for him, he allowed it to slip. 

Sumire stood up. “Alright, next, I’ll bake a cake.”

The servants who he entrusted to watch over her during her stay tried to persuade her against it.

Soujiro glanced at the retreating duo. This fiance of his, is she serious? Ordinary people would stop after such a disaster. She doesn’t think when she’s happy; well, he supposed it was alright.. Even though it is clear that she is doing this for another man, it does not bother him in the slightest.