Kourin had a hard time staying still in her room. Many things played in her mind that made her unable to just sit and rest. But how could she even think about resting when Seiichi was still in trouble? And not just any trouble. It was trouble related to the Dark Rose. The one trouble that she had tried to prevent Seiichi from dealing with since the beginning.
And now, she felt as if she failed in doing so. How could she haven't done more to prevent the kidnapping? Honestly, she wanted to cry due to her frustration. But she knew more than anyone that crying had not helped her achieve anything. Yes, her frustration started to get the best of her and she wasn't liking it at all.
But at this point, she needed to do her best to calm down. It was needed just so she could think clearly.
"You'd end up getting wrinkles at an early age if you keep worrying like that, my lady."
Kourin turned to the source of that voice. But she frowned at the sight of Shuji bowing to her and then looked at her with a crooked smile on his face.
"Are you okay?" was the first thing she asked, seeing his worn-out expression.
Shuji shook his head and placed a hand on the back of his neck. "You know well that I failed. Now Seiichi is at the hands of the enemies. And I even promised your brother that I'd protect his best friend. Look what's happening now."
Of course, he'd beat himself up like this. She should've known. She looked at Shuji intently once again before taking a deep breath and motioning for him to enter her room. "I've never known you to easily berate yourself like this, even when you rarely show up at the old mansion."
"Lady Kourin..."
"I don't blame you if that's what you're thinking. I know you can't be in two places at once. By the way, where were you when it all happened? I was sure you were far away."
Shuji sighed and sat on a stool next to Kourin's study table. "Still looking for clues about the Ascension Swords. But I kept coming up with blank results. Honestly, I'm not even sure if I could still keep up doing this."
The clan princess could only look at Shuji as he complained like that. She would rarely see him in such a state, to be honest. Then again, this guy would rarely show up in the mansion for her to notice more of him. Or could it be that... he was hiding more about himself from her?
"You have to know one thing about my older brother, Shuji-san. He doesn't give orders to anyone who doesn't have the skill to fulfill it for him," Kourin stated, her tone graver than usual. She wouldn't usually use that tone of voice to anyone unless it was necessary. "With a task such as the one he gave to you even before the attack happened, it could only mean that he was aware of a possible situation that could truly test the Shrouded Flowers to its limits. He'd been preparing me for it, even before he brought you to the mansion for the first time. Only I wasn't aware of the signs, and so I failed this way."
Kourin sighed as she tried to hold back her tears upon remembering Hitoshi.
"Lady Kourin..."
"But I've been given a second chance now. And it's the chance I decided to use to restore the Shrouded Flowers' honor. As I did all that I could to achieve that, however, I failed to realize that other people nearly lost their lives and some already did. I'm making it a part of me to remember the sacrifice as I continue their battles. I'll do just that until I see the end of the Dark Rose with my own eyes."
To be honest, Kourin doesn't remember herself being this resolute, even when she took up the mantle that her father left and prepared herself to be the next leader of the Shinomiya clan and of the Shrouded Flowers. But she had to start maintaining that resolution within her if she was to fulfill her family's last wish for the group and her clan.
"For now, we have to think of every possible way to save Seiichi from the Dark Rose. I know the Knights were doing the same thing, but I don't think I can just sit here and watch things unfold even with the uncertainty that he would be saved or not," Kourin continued and sat on the edge of her bed. Not long after, she heaved a sigh and faced Shuji. He still wasn't talking and just remained looking at her. "I'm weird, aren't I? Blurting things out like this, especially in front of you who's not even my subordinate..."
At this point, Shuji chuckled which caught Kourin's attention.
"What's so funny?" she asked.
"You are. I never thought I'd hear it again after your brother died."
She frowned. "I don't know what you mean."
"Lord Hitoshi complains a lot. Do you know that?"
Kourin shook her head but looked at Shuji to urge him to continue.
"Before I decided to become his shadow guardian, he would always meet up with me. Out of all the people I met, he was the only one who truly believed that I could make it big as a travel blogger. He said that my navigation skills and also my survival skills could take me farther than I expected. In the end, though, I only proved him wrong. I never made it big that way."
"It's because... you chose a different path than what he was expecting. Is that it?"
Shuji nodded. "I chose this path when I found out who he truly was and he told me that he knew the truth of where I came from. Our goals were, in some way, aligned with each other. So I chose to follow him, no matter how much he'd complain to me as to how things weren't working in his favor. I felt that... he'd rather do that to me than to anyone who doesn't work under him."
"Why do you have to make it sound as if you're in love with him?" Of course, she couldn't help joking around like that. She couldn't get used to Shuji acting this seriously.
"Not really. But I do wish your brother had a girlfriend before he died. Probably that way, he wouldn't be so cranky all the time."
Kourin smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I guess at this point, I'll let the Knights do what they can to save Seiichi. I know, to most of them, he was just my brother's former friend. But to know that it was the Dark Rose who took him like that, it should be enough for them to realize that something's already wrong."
"But it would also raise suspicions to the Knights. Lord Hitoshi had nothing to do with Seiichi's capture. So why would the Dark Rose do that to him? Does he have something that they need to take the Shrouded Flowers down?"
'Honestly, I don't know.' Yet even if Kourin would say that out loud, her mind couldn't stop coming up with more scenarios -- possible answers to Shuji's questions. The fact that the Iris Sword was in Seiichi's house appeared to be the starting point of it all.
What were the things that her brother knew about Seiichi that she didn't?
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