Spring break.
Yuzuru had returned to his family home.
Dressed in Japanese loungewear in place of pyjamas, he walked along the engawa—
“Moon-viewing drink, Father?”
“Indeed. The moon is particularly beautiful tonight.”
Holding up his glass as he replied was Yuzuru’s father,
Takasegawa Kazuya.
Inside the glass, clear ice clinked against amber liquor.
Though he was of mixed heritage, the sight of him in traditional clothing, seated on the engawa with a drink in hand…
suited him strangely well.
“If it’s moon-viewing sake, shouldn’t it be nihonshu?” Nihonshu means Japanese sake.
Yuzuru sat down beside him as he said that.
Kazuya replied with a slightly sulky tone.
“Come on, I prefer this.”
He poured a drink into another prepared glass
and handed it to Yuzuru.
“You prefer this too, don’t you? …If I recall, you like it neat.”
“Offering alcohol to your son who’s about to become a second-year in high school… you’re a terrible father.”
Yuzuru said it half-jokingly—
and took a sip.
Then he picked up his chopsticks and sampled the simmered dish in front of him.
After chewing and swallowing a piece of taro, he gave a wry smile.
“Simmered vegetables as a whisky snack, huh.”
“I was told to finish the leftovers if I was going to drink…”
“Haha…”
He could easily picture his mother pushing the leftovers onto his father.
It wasn’t that Kazuya was dominated by his wife, Ayu—
if anything, she respected him.
But in moments like this, he seemed unable to argue.
“I hear you gave Arisa-san an engagement ring. Amagi-san told me.”
Kazuya smiled faintly.
“And quite a fine one, at that. …It must have been hard on you?”
“Well… if I was going to give her an engagement ring, I thought it should be something proper.”
“Hmm. Well… what matters most is the sentiment, but the quality and effort of a gift are also indicators of that sentiment.”
Kazuya narrowed his eyes slightly.
Then he asked—
“Just to confirm… you do understand that, as the Takasegawa family, we’ll be purchasing a proper engagement ring, don’t you?”
“Of course. Arisa would want to choose one herself too. That one… I meant it as a proposal ring.”
Kazuya nodded, satisfied.
“As long as you understand. …After all, it wouldn’t reflect well if the heir to the Takasegawa family gave his fiancée an off-the-shelf item—even if it’s from a famous brand.”
The ring Yuzuru had given Arisa was by no means cheap.
In fact, for a high school student to buy it with part-time wages, it was absurdly expensive.
But for the “Takasegawa family”—
it was considered inexpensive.
“That kind of thinking is… how should I put it…”
“Dissatisfying?”
“Not exactly… but it’s not like expensive automatically means better.”
At that, Kazuya began speaking in a gently instructive tone.
“When it comes to something as important as an engagement ring for your most important partner—”
“A man who gives a cheap ring—would people really believe he’d fund them? Invest in them? They’d think the future heir is unbearably stingy. That’s the issue, right? I understand.”
Cutting him off, Yuzuru spoke first.
Kazuya’s lips curled upward, pleased.
“You understand well. When the money dries up, so do relationships. No one follows or helps someone who brings no tangible benefit.”
“Are there not relationships in this world that can’t be bought with money?”
Half in jest, half in defiance, Yuzuru said that.
Kazuya shrugged theatrically.
“I’m surprised. Do you intend to build deep love and friendship with politicians, investors, media figures, and bureaucrats? Well, I won’t stop you.”
“N-no… with those people, a purely financial relationship is fine.”
Yuzuru laughed awkwardly.
Kazuya, in high spirits, slapped his back.
“That’s for the best. Precisely because love and friendship aren’t severed by money, they’re valuable—and reliable when it matters. Treasure them.”
“I will, whether you say it or not.”
Yuzuru replied shortly and took another sip.
As the whisky rolled across his tongue…
Arisa came to mind.
“Speaking of the most important person—that would be Arisa.”
“That’s sudden. Feeling sentimental?”
“How much did you know?”
Lowering his tone slightly, Yuzuru asked.
Kazuya’s smile remained—but his eyes turned sharp.
“What do you mean, ‘how much’?”
“About Arisa’s home situation.”
For a moment—
the air grew taut.
“Her home life isn’t good. She’s being abused by her aunt.”
“…I see. And that’s true?”
“Don’t play dumb. There’s no way something I can figure out would escape you.”
Yuzuru replied coolly.
“She’s the one chosen for the heir to the Takasegawa family. Of course you investigated everything thoroughly beforehand. With Ryouzenji, it would be easy.”
There couldn’t be any “problems” with the future wife of the heir.
Height, weight, measurements, medical history, education, personality, beliefs, religion, past, relationships—
everything would have been investigated.
There was no way Kazuya—or his grandfather Sougen—had missed something even Yuzuru could notice.
“You knew… and said nothing. Did nothing.”
Yuzuru’s tone carried accusation.
Kazuya responded plainly—
“I assumed you’d figure it out without being told.”
He admitted it without hesitation, then gave a faint smile.
“Even without an investigation, it was obvious from her expression and behaviour. That she disliked the marriage. That she feared her guardians. It was clear at a glance… it would be stranger not to notice.”
Even Yuzuru, with his limited life experience, had seen it.
There was no way Kazuya hadn’t.
“You always told me to communicate properly.”
“Well, yes. …But I thought it might hurt you. We brought you a girl close to your preferences—even if not perfect—and to hear that she didn’t want to marry you…”
It was a parent’s concern, perhaps.
But still—wasn’t her abusive environment something that should have been shared?
Just as Yuzuru was about to press the point—
“Besides, I didn’t consider it particularly important.”
Kazuya said it casually, without guilt.
“What matters is that she’s Amagi’s daughter. …No, in truth, we don’t even need to insist on that. It’s not as though our dealings would collapse without this marriage.”
Kazuya personally liked Arisa.
As a person—and as his son’s fiancée.
But the value he saw in her lay in her connection to Amagi Naoki—
and in how closely she matched his son’s unreasonable demands.
“Not important… huh.”
“Of course, it would be a problem if Amagi-san himself disliked her or didn’t care about her. …At the very start of negotiations, when he suggested the daughter closer in age to my son, I thought he was underestimating us. As if he intended to push the ‘unwanted one’ onto us.”
From Kazuya’s perspective, Mei—the biological daughter—would have been more advantageous than Arisa, who wasn’t blood-related.
That was why he had initially requested Mei.
…Though Yuzuru’s specific preference had led to Arisa instead.
“But, astonishingly… he seems to believe he loves both equally. In a way, he’s rather clumsy. Still, it works in our favour. If it’s a one-sided ‘affection’ from Amagi towards Arisa… then we hold the advantage.”
Arisa was both a bridge—and a chain—between the families.
In such political marriages, both sides were usually bound.
But if Amagi cared deeply for Arisa—
while she held little attachment to him—
then it was highly advantageous for the Takasegawa family.
Because it reduced the chance of her acting in Amagi’s interest.
“Well, that’s my honest confession. So… are you angry?”
In response—
Yuzuru gave a slow nod.
“Is there anyone who wouldn’t be angry when someone they care about is treated like a tool? Even if it’s their own father.”
“…You’re right. I was entirely in the wrong. I understand how you feel. When my father treated Ayu like a tool, I was furious too.”
It was an apology—
but also, in a way, a statement—
You’re no different from me.
Yuzuru let out a quiet sigh.
“What matters isn’t apologising for the past. It’s the future. Let’s talk constructively, Father.”
“Hmm. And what would that be?”
“Arisa is the most important person to me.”
Yuzuru declared it clearly.
“I mean that in two ways. I never want to lose her—and I want to make her happy. With my own hands.”
“Hmm… go on.”
“The Takasegawa name comes second. Or it’s simply a means.”
Yuzuru met his father’s gaze.
Once, he had looked up at him—
now, he looked slightly down.
“So if you try to take Arisa from me, or make her unhappy—I’ll oppose you with everything I have.”
“Oppose me, hm… and how, exactly?”
“I’ll split the family.”
The smile vanished from Kazuya’s face.
They stared—no, glared—at each other.
“That would be a problem… a very serious one. A family conflict involving branch houses would be disastrous.”
“Exactly. There’s nothing more foolish or unproductive than internal strife.”
Kazuya nodded in agreement.
Then, touching his chin, he allowed a slight smile.
“Hmm… but conversely, as long as Arisa-san is here, you can’t oppose me either.”
“That’s right. And if you don’t want me as your enemy, then you’ll have to treat Arisa as family—and value her accordingly.”
Silence filled the space between them.
The tension stretched tight—
“…Heh… hah… ahahahaha!”
“—hah… ahahaha!”
Then, all at once, it broke into laughter.
Still laughing, Kazuya spoke.
“Yuzuru, let me say this. I’m not some heartless man. I want my son to be happy—to be with the person he loves. I’ll support your love. And if she’s my son’s fiancée, then of course I’ll respect her.”
Yuzuru, barely holding back his laughter, replied—
“Of course. I understand that well. …I respect you, Father. More than anyone in the world.”
Then, the two raised their glasses.
“To the prosperity of Takasegawa—”
“And to the eternal bond between father and son.”
Clink.
Glass met glass.
““Cheers.””
