The night hadn’t even passed that long. Pero mukhang hindi pa natatapos ang pag-uusap nina Kourin at Shuji kay Hayato. In fact, hinintay pa nila itong matapos maglinis ng sarili nito bago nagpatuloy ang pag-uusap nila.
It was a good thing that the man seemed to be in the mood to continue their conversation. Pero mukhang nakahalata na rin ito na hindi sila makakatulog hanggang hindi nasasagot ang ilang mahahalagang tanong na meron sila.
“Aaminin ko rin. Kahit ako, ang dami kong hindi maintindihan sa mga sinasabi ni Lord Hitoshi pagdating sa mga plano niya sa ‘yo. Pero sino ba naman ang mag-aakala na… may alam na siyang posibleng mangyari sa ‘yo at gumawa na siya ng paraan para masiguro ang kinabukasan mo.”
“I guess that future also included my supposed betrothal to someone I’ve never met.” Kourin couldn’t help sighing after saying that. Kahit naman siguro sinong tao na basta na lang malalaman na ipinagkasundo siyang ikasal sa isang taong hindi pa nakikilala ay ganoon ang mararamdaman.
“Knowing your older brother, I had a feeling that at some point, he might have done something for a meeting with your possible fiance to happen,” Hayato said. Ilang sandali pa ay inilapag nito ang isang baso ng hot chocolate sa coffee table sa harap ni Kourin.
Tumango si Shuji makalipas ang ilang sandali. “Yup. That’s definitely possible, kung ikokonsidera ko ang mga naging kilos ni Lord Hitoshi over the past few years before the attack.”
“Pero bakit wala man lang siyang sinasabi sa akin? Why didn’t he give me a heads up or something? Kailangan ko rin naman ng preparation period pagdating sa mga ganitong bagay, ‘no?”
Kourin couldn’t help feeling frustrated over that realization. Minsan lang siyang maglabas ng ganitong klaseng saloobin kaya hindi na siya nagulat sa naging reaksyon ni Shuji nang harapin niya ito. Napangiti na lang siya nang mapakla.
It wasn’t long before Hayato spoke again. Dito naman nabaling ang atensyon niya.
“Para sa kanila, bata ka pa para maintindihan ang mga plano nila para sa ‘yo. Of course, alam kong parang tinatanggal na rin nila ang kalayaan mo dahil sa engagement na nangyari na hindi mo man lang alam. But I’m sure you know that your father would do anything to ensure his children’s safety. And your older brother would do the same thing —- and would even go beyond his means —- just to make sure you’d stay alive and maybe continue everything for them.”
“That’s a heavy responsibility for me to bear at this age, you know.” Kourin smiled sadly afterwards.
“At lalong naging mabigat ang responsibilidad na iyon mula nang mangyari ang pag-atake. But there would still be questions about your actual duty since Lord Ryuuki and Lord Hitoshi kept on referring to you as the ultimate clan leader.”
Iyon pa ang isang ipinagtataka niya. Bakit ganoon na lang kataas ang tingin ng sariling ama at kapatid na lalaki pagdating sa kanya?
“Hindi ko pa rin maintindihan kung bakit nila nasabi iyon. My brother was supposed to be the one who was next-in-line in the position of being the Shinomiya clan leader and also as the leader of the Shrouded Flowers. And yet…”
Walang salitang namagitan sa kanilang tatlo matapos niyang sabihin iyon. But to her surprise, despite the questions that kept popping up in her mind, she felt calm.
“Mr. Hayato, puwede n’yo po bang sagutin ang ilang itatanong ko sa inyo?” tanong ni Shuji na pumutol sa katahimikang nakapaligid sa kanilang tatlo ng mga sandaling iyon.
“I supposed that those questions had something to do with the Yasunaga clan. Maaari kong sagutin ang mga tanong mo. Pero nakadepende pa rin iyon sa mga detalyeng maaari kong sabihin sa ‘yo.”
“Then that means there are other things that you have to keep as a secret in the meantime,” sabi naman ni Kourin. Alam niyang hindi ito basta-basta papayag na lang na sabihin sa kanila ang lahat. Pero naiintindihan niya kung bakit.
“Para na rin iyon sa kapakanan ng mga taong dapat kong protektahan. The Yasunaga leader was killed along with his wife before we could even prepare ourselves and his supposed next-in-line to the position. Not to mention, there were other members who were not even aware of their affiliation with that supposed annihilated clan.”
“Is it okay if… you could tell me and Shuji things about the Yasunaga clan? Aaminin ko man o hindi, wala po talaga akong alam pagdating sa kanila. I only got to learn more about them when the Dark Rose started attacking us again nang magawa na nila kaming sundan dito.”
This was a chance. At least, she had to take it. Para na rin sa kapakanan ng isipan niyang patuloy pa ring nagiging magulo dahil sa dami ng mga nangyari. Kahit pansamantala lang
“Then it’s true. The trauma you suffered from that attack had erased parts of your memories. Dahil kung walang naging ganoong klaseng epekto ang trahedyang iyon sa ‘yo, tiyak na may maaalala ka pagdating sa Yasunaga clan.”
“What?” Ano’ng sinasabi nito?
“May alam din si Lady Kourin tungkol sa kanila?” hindi na napigilang itanong ni Shuji. Mukhang pati ito ay nagulat sa pahayag ni Hayato.
“Kung hindi ako nagkakamali, ang Lola Mina mo ang minsang nagkuwento sa ‘yo ng tungkol sa amin, sa kanila. She might have been from the Miyuzaki clan. But she did have an extensive knowledge about the clan because of her maternal grandmother na hindi kabilang sa kahit na anong angkan sa Shrouded Flowers at sa ibang prominenteng angkan sa Japan noon.”
“So… are you saying that my second great-grandmother was a commoner?”
“In a hierarchical standard, yes. She was a commoner. But her advantage among the other fiancee candidates of your second great-grandfather at the time was that she was a lady-in-waiting of a noblewoman that once belonged to a descendant of a surviving member of the Yasunaga clan.”
‘Woah! For real?’ Hindi na napigilang reaksyon ng isipan ni Kourin pagkatapos marinig ang mga iyon.
“That's new information to me. Pero bakit siya ang naging asawa ng isang miyembro ng Miyuzaki clan?”
Ilang sandaling hindi umimik si Hayato na nagbigay ng kaba sa kanilang dalawa na nakikinig lang dito. Pero matiyaga silang naghintay na magpatuloy ito sa gusto nitong sabihin.
“To act as another type of bridge between the Shrouded Flowers and the Silhouette Roses.”
“Another type of bridge? Ano po ang ibig n’yong sabihin doon?” nagtatakang tanong niya rito.
“There were, in fact, two kinds of people that mediated between the Shrouded Flowers and the Silhouette Flowers even since the foundation of the original Four Families that later formed the Shrouded Flowers. The first one was called the Ethereal Sky. Pero natatangi lang ang title na iyon sa mga taong ipinanganak between a member of the Shinomiya clan and a member of the Yasunaga clan. Collectively, the people born between members of the Shrouded Flowers and the Silhouette Roses were called Phantom Bridges.”
“Bakit po ganoon ang tawag sa kanila?”
Pero imbes na si Hayato ang magsalita, inunahan na ito ni Shuji. “Sa minsang sinabi sa akin ni Lord Hitoshi, they were called Phantom Bridges because no one truly knew the extent of their duties between the two groups. Much like the role of the 13th Knight.”
“You mean, like keeping their real existence and identity a secret from the world?”
“Something like that,” tugon ni Hayato. “Pero isa na rin doon ang rason na isang tao lang sa bawat grupo ang talagang nakakaalam ng pagkakakilanlan nila.”
‘Just like my father and my grandfather. The only common factor between the two was that they were the leaders of the Shinomiya clan in their time.’ Could that be their pass that they could use to actually know the identity of the Ethereal Sky?
Iyon ba ang dahilan kung bakit kailangan pang umabot sa ganitong sitwasyon na makikita niya sa mga wooden sculptures ang pinakamalaking sagot na kailangan niya?
“I was already chosen as a leader even before my brother died. That’s why even when they were making me live a normal life, they were still telling me things.”
“Things like what?”
“About the real reason why they had to hide things from me in the meantime. But even so, someone within the clan would still be my guide. Ngayon ko lang naalala na ang ‘guide’ na sinasabi niya ay may kinalaman sa Ethereal Sky. May kinalaman sa isang partikular na taong kilala ko.”
“Ano’ng ibig mong sabihin, Lady Kourin? Kilala mo na ang guide na iyon? You know who is the Ethereal Sky?”
Wala nang ibang nagawa si Kourin kundi ang tumango sa mga tanong ni Hayato sa kanya. ‘That person’ was a part of both the Shinomiya clan and the Yasunaga clan. That means, may karapatan din si Hayato na malaman ang isang importanteng bagay na na-realized niya.
As soon as that thought crossed her mind, she faced the Shichi RaiRyuuKen master.
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