"Oh? Oh? Oh? You two are back already? That was fast. You are sold out for today," the Golden Queen said as Rin and Akari stepped into the chamber.
For two weeks straight, Rin had been distributing honeydew to merchants and households. Every morning she woke to the same routine, and every night she waited for news from the Clan Lord. She was still waiting for his final decision about Shion after the tragedy. And in those two weeks, she always brought Akari with her. Rin refused to leave her alone, especially now that Rei had not shown herself since Daichi's death.
Rin had been avoiding Shion completely. After that incident, she would not speak to her at all. Butterfly or not, Rin was still angry. She was also angry at Selene, who still refused to explain what she had done with Ice. Even the Golden Queen was angry. She had not seen her friend for weeks and none could not understand what Selene meant by giving Ice a timeout.
Since Selene would not explain, Rin refused to stay near her.
If Selene would not tell her where Ice was, then Rin would not give her company.
Selene insisted that Rin would be the one to come searching eventually.
Rin told her she must be daydreaming.
"Oh, Gary, I am hungry. Will you prepare something delicious to eat?" Rin asked as she stepped deeper into the chamber.
Gary stared at her, offended and confused, like she had suddenly appointed him as her personal cook. As far as he knew, his loyalty belonged only to his Queen. And with Ice gone, Gary had been the one filling Ice's role while the worker ants focused on production. Cooking for Rin was not written in his duties, yet she spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Oh, Lady Akari, what will you be reading today?" the Golden Queen asked cheerfully as she brought out several books.
Rin grabbed one from the pile without caring what it was and lay down to read on her usual soft patch of moss. Akari took a book more politely and sat near the Queen. The Golden Queen settled in her favored spot and opened her own book with excitement, as if she had been waiting all morning for this moment.
This had become their daily routine,
Rin reading alone in her corner.
Akari reading quietly beside the Queen.
The Queen narrating passages aloud whenever she found a story she liked.
The chamber was peaceful. The air smelled faintly sweet from fresh honeydew. The workers moved quietly around the walls. Everything felt calm.
Then a familiar shadow appeared at the chamber entrance.
It was Rei.
Everyone froze. Even the ants stopped their work as if time itself had paused.
Rei walked forward without hesitation. She stopped in front of Akari and lowered herself to her knees.
"Lady Akari," Rei said softly, her voice steady and clear. "Will you marry me, Rei Akarawa. Let us live as one."
Akari's eyes widened. It was too sudden. Rei, who had not stepped outside in fourteen days, was kneeling before her with a marriage proposal.
"Rei… are you alright? What happened to your father should never have happened. I am so sorry for everything you are going through," Akari whispered as she hugged her. Rei remained kneeling, waiting for an answer.
"Akari, I will be fine if you come with me," Rei said quietly. "I do not care about anything else right now. As long as you stay by my side, I will be fine. Just say you will marry me, and we will leave Kaida for good."
Akari looked at her, overwhelmed. Everyone in the chamber watched with open mouths. Even the Golden Queen forgot how to blink.
Akari finally nodded.
"If you want me to come with you, I will, Rei Akarawa. Anything to make you happy."
Rei breathed out, as if a weight had been lifted from her chest. She rose to her feet and pulled Akari into a tight embrace.
"Thank goodness. Now you will be an Akarawa. You will bear my name instead of that wretched one."
Akari stiffened.
"But I am a Hoshino. You cannot change that. It is who I am."
Rei's expression sharpened at once.
"You are not a Hoshino, Akari. You are an Akarawa. I forbid you to carry that name. That name took everything from me. But if I still have you and my father, I can endure everything else."
Akari stepped back and faced her directly.
"Rei Akarawa… will you be with me regardless of my name, Akari Hoshino? Because I cannot change it for anyone. It is who I am. I am a Hoshino. If you accept me as I am, then I will follow you anywhere, even to the end of the world."
The chamber fell silent. Rin lowered her book. The Queen's antenna trembled.
But Rei's face did not soften.
"How can you expect me to accept you as a Hoshino… when a Hoshino killed my papa?"
Akari's expression broke.
"So you will not accept me for who I am?"
Rei did not answer with hesitation or confusion. Her voice was flat.
"As long as you bear that name, I cannot."
Akari lowered her head.
"Then I cannot accept your proposal, Rei Akarawa. I am sorry," she whispered.
Rei stared at her as if something inside her had snapped apart. Her voice grew colder.
"All my life, I never took anything seriously. Papa always told me to live happy and enjoy things. But that person is gone. And it is because of the Hoshino Clan."
Her eyes shifted toward Rin.
"Rin Kisaragi. You once asked if I knew why the Akarawa and Hoshino clans were rivals. I said I did not know. I never looked for a reason."
She looked back to Akari.
"I still do not know why our clans hated each other. But now, as the new Clan Master of the Akarawa, I have my own reason. The Hoshino Clan killed my papa. They killed our guards. They shed blood without mercy. I will get my revenge. And anyone who tries to stop me, I will destroy immediately."
Rei turned around and left the chamber.
The moment she disappeared from sight, Akari collapsed to her knees. Tears spilled down her face as she tried to breathe through the pain. Rin hurried toward her at once and held her. The Golden Queen still sat frozen with her mouth open, looking like she had witnessed a tragic love story unfold right in front of her.
Rin held Akari close and tried to calm her trembling.
Her two favorites, the two she wanted to protect the most, were now enemies.
And Rin did not know how to save them.