Chapter 4 Chosen Path

This hurt I sustained is nothing compared to the hurt I'm going to feel if something happens that will endanger you... -- Florence Joyce

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Kourin took a deep breath after hearing what the 12 Knights were talking about in Mari's study room. She knew that up until that moment, her older sister was still guilty because of what happened at the Shinomiya mansion. She wasn't there at the time. She came late because Mari had one more mission to complete. That mission nearly took her sister's life if it wasn't for Shiro and Ryuuji's help.

Those two men were both Kourin's cousins. Shiro was her paternal cousin while Ryuuji and his sister Akemi were her maternal cousins. Those two were trained and had become some of the strongest warriors her clan ever had. She was very grateful that they were not killed on the night of the attack.

"Lady Kourin, why are you here?"

Kourin looked up when she heard that. She saw Miyako ー one of the 12 Knights that Mari had just talked to ー approaching her.

"I guess the meeting's over, huh?" said Kourin and then left her position against the wall near the study room that she was leaning on. "Will you do everything to end this just the way my sister wanted it?"

Miyako didn't say a word for a while. Instead, she approached Kourin and laid one of her hands on the clan princess' head. "We have no choice, my lady. This is the only way now. We've lost too much that night and we can't afford to let it happen again. I know that you don't want to do this but ー"

"I understand. It already came to this so we have no choice but to fight back. It's just that... I can't help thinking about the possible worst-case scenarios because of this," Kourin admitted and started walking away from that place.

Miyako went with Kourin and she even heard her sigh. Honestly, she always heard that from most of those she would meet in that house.

"But my lady, you must remember that our clans had always been destined to face battles like this. It so happened that we've become negligent of some other important things that it came to this tragic ー not to mention disastrous ー moment. We've never anticipated this at all. And it was our fault." Miyako's voice was full of remorse for what had happened.

Kourin didn't say a word because Miyako had a point. Destined to face battles like this ... She really couldn't understand why they still had to face this kind of life where many were dying. The battle they were facing was still very secret to the public. But some were not ignorant of the abilities of the family including her and Miyako.

But for Kourin to help her sister and the 12 Knights to stop this once and for all, she thought her dead brother knew the way for them to do that. All she had to do at the moment was to discover that reason. For her to do that, she must do her best to recover her lost memories. According to Dr. Shingo Yanai, one of the family doctors of the Shinomiya clan, she suffered from selective amnesia ー possibly due to the shock upon witnessing her own father's death. Although he still clearly saw in her mind the murder of her father, that was all. Even those memories from a year ago were retained in her mind somehow. Other than that, she could no longer remember other events from her childhood.

"Are you alright, Lady Kourin? You're spacing out," Miyako whispered to her.

Kourin just nodded and continued walking until they reached the garden of the Yumemiya mansion. Although not as big and beautiful as she was used to in the Shinomiya mansion, she still saw enough of it to calm her down somehow.

"Is there something that bothers you at the moment?" then Miyako asked.

Kourin faced Miyako after a while. "Is it okay if I ask you a favor?"

"A favor?"

Huminga muna si Kourin nang malalim bago muling nagsalita. "I want you to find someone for me. Someone you already knew from before. He went to the Shinomiya mansion a year ago so I know you know him. "

Miyako frowned for a moment. Then she nodded slowly. "I think I know who you're talking about. The boy named Yasuhara Seiichi, wasn't it? Lord Hitoshi's best friend?"

"Yes. I want you to know what happened to him after he visited the mansion a year ago. I just want to know ... what his life was like after that. " Kourin couldn't hide the sadness she felt at the moment. "I know that the news about my brother and Shinomiya Kourin as two of the many casualties of that attack had already reached him. I just want to know... how he was able to handle it. " After that, she looked at Miyako." Can you do it? "

Miyako stared at Kourin for a moment as if analyzing whatever she could see in the young lady's eyes. But if there was one thing that Kourin had learned from her brother and her older sister at a young age, it was about turning her expressions and eyes blank in an instant. She just wasn't sure if she was already doing that at the moment. Her chest was still full of inexplicable pain and grief.

Soon after, Miyako sighed and nodded. "Don't worry about it, Lady Kourin. I'll do it."

"Just... don't let my sister know."

"Why?" was Miyako's confused question.

"Somehow, this attack held more than just an act of delivering a simple grudge to our clans. I remember the one thing that Hitoshi-niisan told me before. Not all of our family's secrets have been completely discovered. And our opponent has long wanted to use whatever that secret was to completely overthrow the Shrouded Flowers. I'll do whatever I can to uncover those secrets ー whatever they are. But for me to do that, I need to make sure that the people I cared about, especially those that couldn't protect themselves from the dangers that our clans faced ー are protected to the extent of our abilities."

"Now I get it. You will help us continue and end the battle from the shadows by discovering whatever legacy was left for us to find," Miyako stated.

Kourin nodded. "Roses... I even remembered that he said something about roses."

"Roses?"

"Weird, huh? But that's my brother for you. He always said the weirdest things, but definitely, some of those weird things could become the most important information for us. It's just that my sister could be such a killjoy sometimes. And worse, she would never let me do any work at all."

"That only proves she cares about you, my Lady."

"I know that. But I can't remain depending on her or anyone else now. They chose me as the next leader. Now I have to do what I can to fulfill that duty and hopefully, uphold what was left of the Shinomiya clan's honor. This is the burden that I must carry from now on." Kourin looked up to the blue sky. "This is the path I've chosen to take whatever happens."

That's right... I've already chosen this. And no matter what happens, she would do whatever she could to protect that person. Even if it was just from the shadows, she'd gladly become his shield.