"I'd like to speak to my father."
"Oh—"
"What—"
"Young Master—Okay—"
"Huh?!" The servants in the Akashi estate had never heard their young master ask to see his father and were in a state of panic, dropping all the items in their hands. They wanted to grant his request at their earliest convenience and frantically searched for Masaomi, muttering all sorts of incoherent guesses about what the two workaholics would talk about.
"In the fifteen years I've worked here, finally the Young Master would like to speak to his father…" Just as the head butler sobbed into a handkerchief, Masaomi exited his office to inquire about all the noise in the hallway.
"What is all of this racket?"
"I would like some of your time, Father." Masaomi was also surprised, although he was able to manage his expression much better than the rest of the members of his estate. When he glanced at his desk full of invitations from private instructors that wanted to become Seijūrō's private tutor, Masaomi felt that the present moment was not the right time for a chat.
"... Not right now, Seijūrō." His servants silently scolded him for dropping the ball that Seijūrō clearly casted on his side of the court.
"It pertains to this evening's masquerade ball. Please give me some of your time, Father." The last conversation that Seijūrō initiated pertained to Himeragi Azusa and Masaomi had no doubt that she'd be the main topic of today's conversation as well. If it had to do with the masquerade ball, then Seijūrō must have wanted to clarify the "stand-in fiancé" business.
"Come inside. I only have ten minutes so you must make it quick." Contrary to Masaomi's expectations, Seijūrō didn't speak immediately or even in a straightforward manner. Only after glancing at the picture of his mother on Masaomi's desk, did he speak.
"After making it clear that you only love Mother, what expectations do you have for my marriage?"
"If you're asking about whether I care more about a marriage of love or a marriage of convenience, my answer would be the latter."
" 'Something about the greatest desire is to desire the world, and in order to obtain the world, first you must not desire anything, and not fight over small benefits, that is the rule to becoming King.' This one of the rules listed for the Akashi family's heir." Masaomi nodded in agreement and surprisingly, his son was looking at him, square in the eyes. " 'In order to succeed, do not depend on others, not everything can be dependable forever, because things are forever subject to change. Therefore, you should depend on your own beliefs, constantly training and increasing your socializing ability and adaptation skills.' I understand that these statements outline my duty to this family but I cannot uphold these lonely beliefs."
"... What?" Masaomi recalled past reports from his guards that the younger Seijūrō would do all of his assigned work with a stoic expression, with very few sighs mixed into the process. He recalled times when the head butler told him that the young master was holed up in his room reviewing material. He even recalled moments when Seijūrō would answer his commands at dinnertime with the slightest tremble in his hands. But Masaomi never heard him say he couldn't do something. "Tell me, what made you change? What made you admit to such a weakness…?!" When Masaomi thought about the topic some more, he was convinced that there was only one person that could influence his son.
"I plan to ask the Himeragi family for their permission to properly court Azusa and to also let her decide the status of this engagement. Even if it's without your consent, I want her by my side."
"Hold on, Seijūrō. That is not for you to decide alone."
"Father, this is a decision that I indeed made without your approval; however, it is not a decision contingent on your approval. I understand that the Himeragi family will also not give their blessing but I still want to venture down this path."
"For a mere girl…" Masaomi was inexplicably angry and Seijūrō's calm expression was only adding more fuel to the fire.
"Our ten minutes are up. I know you have a meeting so I will leave now, Father."
"Seijūrō!" The maids were shocked by Masaomi's yell. Although he treated his son strictly, he had never yelled at him before. Seijūrō's unperturbed reaction gave off the impression that nothing was wrong but everyone in the general vicinity knew something happened. When he saw Seijūrō walk down the hallway, Masaomi didn't chase and instead, rested his eyes, feeling deeply upset by his son's first rebellious action. It was even more upsetting that it was for Himeragi Azusa, who had a history of going against Masaomi's ideals.
"You were hasty." Bokushi heard his former half reprimand his way of handling the situation and his first response was a smirk.
"I'm very possessive."
"You say that but you're not sure if you will confess tonight."
"Even if I don't go through with my plan, this step was necessary." Oreshi was quiet for a while, pondering their entwined thoughts. He agreed with Bokushi that arguing with his father was inevitable but he was unsure of how to make up with his equally stubborn father, without giving up the chance to court Azusa.
"It's all up to you." Seijūrō rolled his eyes when he reached his own room because Oreshi was stating the obvious. "We both enjoy arguing, much more than we let on." Oreshi's last comment left Bokushi to smirk once more, while looking at the white suit he planned to wear to the evening event.
"Shachou, is everything alright?!" His secretary came running into the home office, to see Masaomi pinching the bridge between his two eyes. It almost seemed as if the president aged in the few minutes the secretary was out gathering information.
"Just what is it that attracts him to her…" While Masaomi pondered the question, his secretary didn't understand his drift, shooting out questions about his schedule, until he landed on the question about the masquerade ball. "Prepare a disguise. It seems I have something to ascertain with my own eyes."
"But Shachou! You have four meetings back to back and a Happy Hour to attend with high level executives in the financial advisory industry!"
"Cancel all those obligations, now." Today was yet again, another rough day for the Akashi Conglomerate's executive secretary. In a place quite close to the Akashi estate, another family was having an intervention.
"You want to get in Seijūrō-kun's way by doing what?"
"If he even tries to say the words 'engagement,' 'like' or 'love,' this program will create an alert on Azusa's phone!"
"Isn't that the program Azusa made? This is a whole new level of shamelessness, Kazuki."
"You're the one that wanted to use that shrill recording of someone saying 'Aomine' on Azusa's phone, Father…"
"Can you two cut it out?" Rina rolled her eyes in annoyance. All four of the Himeragi family members were scheduled to attend the party and since the moment Yamato confirmed Seijūrō's attendance, the duo didn't stop thinking of ways to obstruct Seijūrō's way. "Please make this quick, I have places to be. Azusa-chan is picking her dress right now." The men felt betrayed by what Rina was thinking about and continued droning on about how to protect Azusa.
"How about we just set really high standards and a deadline for when Seijūrō needs to successfully make Azusa like him [I doubt this is possible though]?" The trio finally had a decent idea on the table to ponder over, before Azusa knocked on the door with news that she received a letter.
To Himeragi Azusa,
You are my once in a lifetime.
Please meet me at the courtyard fountain at 8 PM. I'll be waiting.
"The fountain, eh? Let's get rid of it!"
"Look at this punk trying to shoot his shot…! Bring up the deadline to the start of the fall semester!" Rina and Azusa gave up on persuading them otherwise and decided the color of Azusa's dress without their input. The decision came easily to Azusa because it was a color she had worn frequently in the previous week. When the family was finally ready to set out to the venue, Yamato and Kazuki were a bit upset at how amazing the a-line, with appliques pleats long sleeves evening dress looked on Azusa. The light colored, lacy long sleeves were cut in a floral pattern that made her look like an eye catching fairy with a beautiful, right-sided side swept braid.
"If you wear that color, I can't help but keep my hopes up." Seijūrō and Masaomi had arrived at the party much earlier than the Himeragi family but showed no interest in socializing. Seijūrō's maroon hair was concealed under a black wig and he put in a red color contact to even out the colors of his irises. His father stood a few feet away and exuded frighteningly gloomy air because his son did not apologize or attempt to resolve the earlier situation.
"Shachou, if you're upset at the Young Master, you can speak with him… Please don't look so intimidating at a social event…" Masaomi wasn't listening because he was tracing his son's gaze into the crowd, to see a girl with black hair, blue eyes and a white masquerade mask. Her posture reminded him of the way Azusa curtsied to him when he invited her family to his home, for Seijūrō's past birthday. It was also not surprising that his son recognized her immediately.
"Is Azusa-san really more important than resolving differences with your own father…?!"
"He looks like he's flipping out too, because Seijūrō keeps looking at Azusa." Yamato and Kazuki were calm at the moment and they pitied Masaomi, who wore a youthful-looking blonde haired wig, that couldn't hide how haggard he became from worrying about his son.
"Come along, Kazuki. We need to set the ground rules before that brat takes liberties." Rina was onboard with their ideas but also looked unperturbed by how Seijūrō looked at her daughter. After confirming that guards were watching Azusa and that they would do everything they could to keep every guy at least six feet away from her, the trio joined the Akashi family's members in a private suite.
"I'd like to preface this talk with the fact that I am in favor of discarding the 'fake engagement' scenario and finding someone else for my son." The Himeragi family were shocked, not because Masaomi was speaking so bluntly in front of Seijūrō but because they thought the former knew that he couldn't dissuade Seijūrō from chasing Azusa.
"... Do you really not know how stubborn Seijūrō is when it comes to Azusa?"
"The stubbornness is only temporary. Soon enough, you'll understand that this was not the right choice for you."
"I want to confirm that statement and it seems the Himeragi family would like to as well."
"For starters, why do you like Azusa-chan?" Rina pledged loyalty to no cause besides Azusa's self-chosen happiness and the two sitting by her sides hoped she wouldn't change up their original game plan.
"Someone who gains information and uses it appropriately by assessing the situation and conditions that led to it, is very valuable. Knowing someone has such talent, isn't it natural to want to make that person mine?" Although it was more of an argument to convince Masaomi, the Himeragi family really thought that Seijūrō said fanciful things that could be rephrased into one simple sentence.
"In my humble opinion, Seijūrō fell in love with Azusa at first sight…" Kazuki's dissatisfaction was written all over his face and he knew that his follow-up question would also have an unsatisfactory answer.
"So… Do you love Azusa?"
"I don't know what love is." Kazuki wanted to punch him so badly but Rina told him to settle down, as she knew about Seijūrō's split personality and how he didn't believe in love. "However, I definitely want Azusa to continue smiling. Rather, I definitely have an attraction to her." Seijūrō said phrases that pointed to the fact that he liked Azusa, without mentioning the most important thing and that made Kazuki's blood boil.
"So we have two things that need to happen for this engagement to be real." Yamato said, looking unusually calm. "Seijūrō has to admit that he loves and will take care of Azusa and Azusa has to love Seijūrō romantically."
"The first condition is already ridiculous, is it not?" From the way Yamato phrased the two requirements, it made it seem like Azusa loving Seijūrō was the bigger hurdle. Yet Masaomi was still hung up on his son putting in the effort to court someone that he didn't exactly love.
"I agree to the conditions. How long do I have to fulfill the requirements?" For the second time in the day, Seijūrō ignored his father's protests and proceeded on with the Himeragi family's conditions, which were unfavorable to him. Masaomi heaved in a deep breath and thought about things not related to the current discussion, for the sake of his blood pressure.
"How about we make the deadline Azusa-chan's birthday?" Her birthday was in three months but even Seijūrō was having trouble against her iron wall. The more Rina looked at Seijūrō pondering the idea and searching for a respectful way to ask for more time, the more she wanted to give him a hard time. As Azusa had said before, the wrinkle in between his eyebrows was "rather endearing."
"I am not proposing this because I'm onboard with Seijūrō's audacity but what do you think of extending the deadline to Seijūrō's birthday, Rina-san?" Rina thought about it and remembered the incident that happened the day after Seijūrō's birthday the previous year. To add to the memory, the slightly confused expressions Masaomi exchanged with his son were quite entertaining. Her family hadn't factored in neither how much Masaomi cared for Seijūrō nor how Seijūrō was willing to oppose his father to be with Azusa. Given both of these new factors, Rina believed it was going to be a road full of tears for her boys.
"You've convinced me. The deadline shall be the night after Seijūrō-kun's birthday. Please make Azusa-chan fall in love with you by then or else this engagement will be nullified, for good." Although she granted the request, the Himeragis felt Masaomi's dissatisfaction because he was still against the pairing. "This also allows for time for Masaomi-san to get to know Azusa-chan, of course without the use of his guards." The Akashis felt Rina's dissatisfaction and silently agreed that they'd better think twice before attempting to intimidate Azusa.
"Master, someone is bothering the young lady!" All of the Himeragis sprang to their feet and ran out of the room and just when Masaomi wanted to take the chance to set the record straight with Seijūrō, he also bid him goodbye. For the nth time in the day, Masaomi wanted to reprimand Seijūrō for not paying attention to him. Azusa was in the middle of the ballroom and from her positioning within the crowd, they realized she was in conflict with a wealthy middle aged woman that flaunted her gold jewelry.
"Your apology is not good enough. You almost spilled soft drinks on my limited edition dress." The waiters and other male attendees looked exasperated, as if to say that the woman was making up the complaint. No one had the guts to go against her because she made it glaringly obvious that she was the wife of the owner to Japan's largest jewelry chains.
"How would you like to settle this?"
"I demand compensation from your family."
"I apologize, that can't be done."
"Because your family is so poor? To not even have a necklace, you and your family set you up to be embarrassed at this kind of party." A few attendees laughed with, with the majority of the crowd feeling uncomfortable about the confrontation between two women with a large gap between their ages.
"If you already knew that my family is poor, why would you ask for compensation? What can we give you that would match your limited edition Dior handbag?" Rina stopped her family from interfering and Masaomi was a few feet away, observing the situation. It was a tough situation for an unknown girl in the business world, to be face to face with a difficult and rich woman.
"Watch your mouth."
"Then please tell me a realistic way to resolve this situation." Azusa's attractive appearance and calm demeanor made the crowd swoon. The middle aged woman was further upset by her lack of reaction and snapped her fingers to request laptops from her guards. If it was not because her family was wealthy, then this young girl must have had desirable intelligence.
"Nothing is for free so I will discipline you, using this stock simulator software." Yamato and Kazuki were angry at the provocation; it was obvious that the older woman was using her knowledge of investments to deliver a crushing defeat to a student that had no background in making investments. It was completely unfair. "Using the one million and the next fifteen minutes, gain the most profit for the client. This should be easy for a sponsored student like you, no?" Azusa took a quick look at the computer screen to analyze the controls of the stock options.
"Is the winning party allowed to ask for anything from the losing party?" Azusa's smirk unnerved her opponent but no one had any idea of what she was thinking in that crafty brain of hers. "Before we begin, may I make two quick Google searches?" The request was granted and the looks the guards exchanged looked extremely uneasy. That peaked Masaomi's interest, as he also took notice of Azusa's searches: one pertaining to the pattern of the golden needle dip and one pertaining to a jewelry distributor's streams of revenue. "One final question: the goal of this assignment is to gain the most profit within the next fifteen minutes, not necessarily to give the best financial advice, correct?"
"I don't understand the question. Are they not one in the same?"
"Alright, that answers my question. Shall we begin?" Neither contestant stopped to think and immediately began to quickly type on their laptops. From Azusa's search history and the keys she pressed, Masaomi and Yamato deduced her victory.
"She is quite resourceful. Not only did she think about how to win against someone else but she also thought about how to completely ruin her opponent's reputation." Masaomi spoke softly but Seijūrō could hear every word. For the very first time in a very long time, Masaomi thought about Seijūrō's feelings, about how much his son advocated on behalf of someone else.
"Time's up!" The guards were shocked because the readings for net profit were extremely high. However there was a clear winner, with $16,115 in recorded profit.
"T-The winner is this young lady…" Although the older woman had helped the client gain $15,088 in profit, the difference between the two numbers was more than a thousand. There was no dispute as to who won.
"How can this be…"
"Securities' prices were trending downward today and therefore the better short-term method of investment was short selling, not buying long. Although the candlestick chart of these specific securities did show the pattern of the golden needle dip, the lowest point before a security's price will trend upward, the goal of the simulation was to make the most profit, not be the better financial advisor." As Azusa had implied, the prices for all of the securities were increasing from the lowest point, which was achieved just a minute after the competition had added.
"Ma'am…" The woman refused to verbally admit defeat and wiped the mortifying look off her face when she glanced at Azusa. Even more so now, because the odds were in her favor, Azusa's cerulean eyes looked electrifying.
"Like you said, nothing is for free. So this is the request I'll make of you." When Azusa privately mentioned "the Himeragi Tycoon," her opponent's face paled. When she continued on to request the that Himeragi Tycoon fulfill the jewelry corporation's online subscription orders, Azusa said it with every intention for her family's business to take a third of the revenue from that operation. Considering there were six locations in Japan and three overseas, that was a hefty sum of money being transferred to the already prosperous tycoon.
"Young miss, your request is—"
"Oh please don't fret. If that was too much, I had another option. How about giving up 30% of the revenue made from third party retailers?" It should have been a family secret that their second highest revenue stream was from third party vendors as the older lady's face paled. The fact that Azusa whispered it, showed that she knew the secret and could easily have exposed it but didn't, because she was expecting the latter to choose from one of the options given.
"I'll see to it that the Himeragi Tycoon handles the online subscription services." She gave up, making Himeragi's face brighten.
"My, what a wonderful idea! Thank you so very much, Ma'am!" Everyone else could only see her as an innocent young girl with sparkling blue eyes and they couldn't have imagined in their wildest dreams that she just closed a trade deal. Seijūrō looked on in amusement, as it was a sight to see: a haughty woman that always gave other businesswomen a hard time at networking parties hanging her head low because of a mere girl.
"Oh my what a beautiful little ranunculus. May I please have this dance?" Ranunculus flowers were well known as round flowers that were curled into a bud. Was he backhandedly calling her round or did he not know how to use pickup lines?
"In the language of flowers, a yellow ranunculus symbolizes that the giver is charmed by the recipient."
"Yes indeed."
"Sir, with all due respect, you are old enough to be my father. I see your wife glaring at you from over there so please quickly go back to her." The other ladies gasped in shock, as they agreed with her sentiments. She sent the next challenger away as well, noting that he was too tall for her standards.
"Too tall? That is preposterous!" As the other ladies gossiped that he was being too aggressive with a young girl and he ignored it, Azusa decided to settle matters then and there.
"I'm sorry, I have a specific requirement for who can dance with me. As I am cautious of making sure both I and my dance partner won't suffer from a stiff neck, I must have a dance partner that is within fifteen centimeters of my height. For reference, my current height is 161 centimeters so anyone 176 centimeters and above is disqualified."
"A stiff neck? Lady—"
"If you insist, I can throw a few bruised toes in there as well." Even with her mask on, he could tell from the glint in her eyes that she was talking about his toes and it was a threat she'd follow through with.
"Is my daughter not amazing?!"
"Just go, Seijūrō."
"Who said we're letting him dance with—" Masaomi caught both Yamato and Kazuki in the bends of his elbows and his son took the chance to walk toward Azusa.
"May I have this dance?" Seijūrō exuded a very refined air, unlike the rest of the suitors that wanted to dance with Azusa. Because he was the breath of fresh air that all the women were looking for, many stepped in to ask him for his hand to dance. Azusa's parents cheered her on as she made her getaway and Kazuki was the unfortunate person being held in an arm lock by Masaomi, who was upset that his son was upset.
"Can you make up your mind, Sir?! Do you want Seijūrō to be with Azusa or not?!"
"Who cares about that? I just want Seijūrō to not have to go through those struggles!"
"... Why didn't you just tell him that?" By now, Seijūrō was too faraway to hear his father's actual feelings and all Kazuki wanted was to not be involved in their unnecessary arguments. Ideally, Kazuki would be able to catch up with his younger sister and dance with her under the stars but since she was out of sight, he settled for snickering at Seijūrō's misfortune.
"You know, Kazuki-chan, I heard the order to close down the courtyard did not go through."
"Say what?!" Yamato and Kazuki had been paying enough attention to know that Azusa was heading there. The most important question, that is, whether or not Azusa knew who sent her the card was still unanswered.
There were many folks that were interested in what Seijūrō had to say to Azusa and these folks all camped out in the bushes a few yards away from the highlight of the courtyard, the immaculate fountain with funnily, a sculpture depicting two childhood sweethearts. Azusa looked at the scene in front of her and smiled, letting her dress sway in the wind. Seijūrō hadn't taken off his facial disguises and when he looked at the girl he had been looking at all night, up close, he nodded his head.
"Good evening, Lady." He was the same person who she couldn't personally reject earlier because other girls swarmed him but with the moonlight shining on his black hair, Azusa admitted he was extremely handsome.
"Are… you the one who sent this message?" The uncertainty in her voice also implied that she didn't know his identity, despite the spectators making it quite obvious that they didn't (and still don't) approve of this male lead.
"Yes I am. Himeragi Azusa, you are my once in a lifetime."
"I don't think we've spoken before…?"
"We haven't spoken like this. That is true but whether or not you are disguised, I can find you." His hints and his voice were starting to register in Azusa's mind but she made no move to let him in on that understanding.
"Is there something you want to tell me?"
"Before that, I have a question for you." Rina and Kazuki were fighting in the background because one wanted to turn off Azusa's phone and the other wanted to make sure an alarm got in the way of this romantic scene. "I quarreled with my father. How do you suppose I navigate the situation?"
"Why did you quarrel with him?"
"For love. I chose someone he didn't approve of."
"Oh, that's quite the tricky situation…" Seijūrō thought Azusa's hand on her chin and her engrossed in brainstorming expression was adorable and leaned closer. "Have your lover and you agreed to do all that you can to gain your father's approval—Say, what are you doing?"
"Well then, my lover, are you willing to do all that you can with me, to gain my father's approval?"
"Sir, this is the first time we've met. I respectfully decline your invitation to be your lover." The response was expected and Seijūrō wanted to see how much more he could push her until she realized who she was chatting with.
"How do you suppose, with your crafty mind, that I resolve our differences?"
" 'Differences…?!' Seijūrō, how could you say that?!"
" Please make up with your father, on your own."
"I'm a cutthroat person who often shows no remorse." The people that had no business being in the background fumed with anger when Seijūrō held Azusa's hands. Even if his mask obscured his eyes, his desire for Azusa wasn't any less evident. "I asked to use your name as a stand-in fiancé, without your consent. I made you cry on multiple occasions because I wavered. There was even a point in time when I was willing to hurt you, in order to isolate myself. I can't even spend as much time as I like with you. But even so…" When he felt no resistance from Azusa, he felt a bit more confident in his decision. The fountain added more romance into the air, as water flowed from the pair of childhood sweethearts, to the bottom of the fountain. "As much as I'm regretful of my actions and against all odds, I want to be together. As much as it's not meant to be, I want to believe it was because I met you." Instead of reciting those words borrowed from the web novel, Seijūrō said those words with conviction. Typically, Azusa would have had a comeback and would certainly speak her mind but she was chillingly quiet, with no visible reaction on her face.
"Wanna take guesses on what's going through Azusa-chan's head right now?" All of the men told Rina to stop making things worse but she still thought the situation was hilarious. When Azusa grabbed Seijūrō by the collar, they all held their gasps in.
"I've been debating whether to grab you by the collar, whack you on the head or do nothing. From you mislabeling yourself as a psychopath to you shamelessly confirming my suspicions about your engagement, I think I have every right to a refund on all the tears I shed for you." Her anger was justified but Seijūrō didn't expect her to be so frank about him upsetting her. He wasn't the least bit uncomfortable with her holding him by the collar and also would have consented to being hit by Azusa, if it relieved her anger. Seijūrō chuckled quite a bit, prompting Azusa to ask him what was so funny.
"You truly are my once—"
"I think it's best that you don't anger me further, if you still want to make a request of me."
"It seems I still have the leeway to make more than one request of you."
"Just because you ask, does not mean I will accept." It wasn't an affirmative answer Seijūrō wanted to hear; he wanted to hear her state that she would choose for herself, not for him. After hearing the words he wanted to hear, he smoothed out his slightly wrinkled collar and kneeled on one knee.
"I want to propose an engagement based on trust. I don't want to withhold information from you, under the guise that it is to your benefit. I would like to be properly engaged to you with an option for you to leave once you find someone you love." Clearly the odds were in her favor and Azusa picked up on unspoken information.
"In other words, you would like me to give you the chance to use you as my shield. But doesn't that also mean that I will be giving you the liberty to do as you see fit, in a situation where we will need to pose as fiances?"
"Yes, I will use my best judgment if we fall into those situations. Saying yes to this offer is essentially consenting to acting as a couple." Azusa filled in the rest of the blanks. The duration of this couples act was up to her because she had the choice to end the engagement when she found someone she liked. It wasn't a bad offer because she would be safe from public exposure with the Akashi family backing her up.
"Why are you giving me options out?"
"Because you don't love me."
"You don't love me either."
"Are these two really trying to differentiate 'like' and 'love' right now…" For extremely rational people like Seijūrō and Azusa, "like" and "love" were the same emotion that would lead them to like few, if not just one, person in their lifetime. Their parents couldn't understand why they were making the distinction when they both could probably sense each other's feelings.
"You are the person closest to me. You're the best choice, Azusa."
"What is this frustrating conversation…"
"This sounds rather transactional, not like a proposal for a formal relationship." Azusa immediately regretted her comment because it almost seemed as if she wanted him to romantically propose a formal relationship.
"Would you like me to tell you the reasons why we should go through with this plan?"
"How many reasons are there?"
"Three."
"Three?! Do you have a death wish?!" Kazuki and Yamato were about to trample the bushes and hold him by the collar too, before Masaomi glared at them. Since the conversation already made it this far, it would be counterproductive to let the two of them delay Azusa's answer.
Reasons (if you were curious):
1. They were each other's first & second kisses.
2. They've been to each other's room.
3. Seijūrō has seen Azusa in her nightgown.
"I will come back from the depths of hell for you. Would you like me to?"
"Well, it sounds like you want me to go to the depths of hell with you…"
"Do you want me to confirm that assumption or?"
"I don't."
"You can ask any other questions you still have but will you promise to give me an answer to this proposal afterwards?" Again, Azusa read into his underlying intentions. They both knew she didn't have any urgent questions and it was his way of quickly asking for her answer, because he had another request. The slightest trace of blush on his unconcealed cheeks was also unfair. How could he have the audacity to blush after glossing over how this entire time, he had been using her name as his fiancé's?
"If I find a loophole—no, another reason you deem valid, I can also end this engagement, yes?" It was cute for Azusa to think that she had a way out when she was already one foot into the lion's den. Seijūrō nodded anyway.
"Yes, if you find another reason that negates the purpose of this arrangement, I'll accept it." (Un)fortunately for Azusa, Seijūrō knew what valid reason she had come up with: if she didn't need protection anymore, the engagement would end with no hard feelings. Since he proposed a plan, he was not going to allow anyone, even her, to spoil it.
"Then… I accept this engagement based on trust. Just to be clear, I am treating it as a trial relationship, with an expectation that you will be extremely reasonable when we need to act like a couple." Seijūrō quickly grasped her right hand and kissed the back of her hand, displaying a swoon worthy smile.
"May I have this dance, as the first act of our relationship?"
"Trial relationship." It irked Yamato and Kazuki that Seijūrō equated "relationship" and "trial relationship" when he didn't even properly confess his feelings but they were even angrier that he was holding both of Azusa's hands. "There's no music…" Rina and Masaomi gestured to a duo of musicians. They used their best judgment to choose a fitting song for the couple and the result was a violin and cello version of Canon in D. While she was still unaware, the chosen song was indeed a very special song to the both of them. As they waltzed without restraint, Yamato and Kazuki's composure were in shambles.
"H-Hands…!" The same duo that had a problem with the scene from the very beginning began to crumble into messes from seeing Azusa's hands on around Seijūrō's neck and his hand on her waist, in an impromptu slow dance. Even if Azusa only agreed to slow dance for a minute, the fact that she even agreed made them upset.
"I know that your best judgment right now, is taking advantage of the situation. I'll let it slide for today because you look exhausted." Time and time again, she showed him sides of herself that he came to be attracted to.
"I must criticize Seijūrō's execution. If he truly wanted to be with Azusa-san, I wouldn't have objected." At this point, Masaomi's concession was drowned out by all the other noise, made by people that objected to the trial engagement.
"That was clearly not how the conversation panned out, Masaomi-san."
"..."
"Thank you for saying yes, Azusa." When he kissed the top of her head, Azusa glared at him, stating that he shouldn't push his luck. However, his mischievous smile was as beautiful as it was playful and even his father's heart melted at his son's childishness.
~10 minutes prior to the "confession~"
"Were you looking forward to seeing Seijūrō-sama, Lady Azusa?"
"The answer is so simple that we've all overlooked it."
"The answer to what question?"
"Why did I wear the color gold?" Needless to say, her guards were horrified by her revelation. It felt much more real when she, herself, confirmed their suspicions. "It's not time yet so you will keep this a secret, right?"
Yes, indeed, Azusa does actually like Seijūrō but she still believes that the path of being lovers, is not the path they should take. So, how will Seijūrō convince our little blockhead?