The Maiden Club was usually a cheerful place. The cousins always gathered there on resting days, chattering about new drink flavors, embroidery patterns, perfumes, and whatever gossip drifted through the estate. The air was soft with laughter, and the cushions were arranged neatly around the low tables.
Today, Rin barely heard any of it.
She sat with them, but her mind was far from their conversations. Her eyes kept drifting toward the refreshments table at the corner of the room. That was where Akari sat. Alone. Shoulders lowered. Head moving slightly from side to side each time she reached for another drink.
Her cup was already empty twice.
Rin kept watching her, silent and tense, wondering why she was drinking so much drinks than usual.
"Cousin Rin, is everything alright?" Suki asked as she leaned closer. She finally noticed Rin's distant stare. The other girls followed her eyes and saw Akari. Their cheerful expressions faded.
"What happened to Cousin Akari?" Koko whispered. "Why is she drinking a non good drink?"
Rin blinked, confused. "What do you mean non good drink? What is she drinking?"
Hana pointed gently. "It is one of those mixes that tastes awful but makes your chest warm. Like rice wine, except flavored. People drink it when they are sad, stressed or heartbroken."
The cousins nodded in agreement.
Rin processed the words slowly.
"So that is what you all call alcohol. Non good drink." Her brows furrowed. "And Akari has been drinking that since we came here?. Great."
The moment she said it, Rin stood up. Her chair scraped lightly across the floor. She walked straight toward Akari with determined steps. The others watched in silence.
Akari lifted her cup again. Her eyes looked tired. Her hair was slightly messy. Her cheeks were red from both crying and drinking.
"Cousin Akari," Rin said softly as she reached her. "You need to stop drinking this before you regret it. And plus you are fifteen, you need to be eighteen to drink such."
She tried to help her up. Akari barely moved.
"Look, it is getting late. Let us go home, alright?"
Akari pulled her arm away, shaking her head.
"I do not want to go home," she said. Her voice sounded small and broken. "I want to forget today. I want to forget everything that happened. I do not want to go home."
Rin bit her lip. She had never seen Akari like this. Even the cousins grew uneasy and slowly walked closer.
"What happened to her?" Mai whispered as she knelt beside the table. "Why is she like this?"
The others looked at Rin again, as if waiting for her to explain. But Rin did not know what to say. She only knew that Akari had been silent and pale ever since Rei left the Ant Queen's chamber.
Akari rested her forehead on the table. Her hand gripped the cup tightly.
"My Sun left me," she said. Her voice quivered. "She left me all alone. She told me she would never leave my side. She said she would be there. Always. And she lied."
Koko gasped and covered her mouth.
"Oh no. Did Rei Akarawa dumped you?"
"Is it because of what Cousin Shion did? That is too cruel," Hana added as she reached forward to pat Akari's back.
Rin tried again to lift her up. "Please help me get her up. I want to take her home."
But Akari pushed all of them away.
"I said I do not want to go home," she repeated. Her voice cracked. "That place does not feel like home to me. It never did since Mom died. My father is the worst. I have to look after Mother's first fruit. Everything has fallen apart, Rei was my escape plan."
Then she turned toward Rin.
Her eyes were blurry with tears. Her face twisted with pain.
"And you, cousin."
She pointed a shaking finger at her.
"All of this is your fault."
Rin stiffened. The cousins froze too.
Akari's voice rose with each word.
"If you never called my so called father that night, the night Rei and I were supposed to leave Kaida, then Shion would still be the perfect daughter to her father. Rei's papa would still be alive. None of this would have happened. I would be with Rei right now. We would be far away from this rivalry, this endless fighting. We would be building a family somewhere peaceful."
Her breath hitched. She wiped her face with her sleeve.
"I would not have to pretend to be the weak daughter so Father would only focus on the first fruit. Rei Akarawa…" Akari's voice softened for a moment. "All she wanted was happiness. A peaceful life with me. That was all."
She swallowed, trembling.
"That day, if only I never included you in our plans. If only I never told you about it."
She pointed again, her hand trembling violently.
"Then none of this would have happened. All of this is your fault. You are responsible for everything."
Rin's heart dropped.
The words hit her one by one, heavy and sharp. Her breath caught in her throat. She looked down as her vision blurred.
"You are right, Akari," Rin whispered. "This is all my fault. Everything that is happening is my fault."
The cousins panicked, trying to calm Akari down and trying to reach Rin too, but Rin barely heard them. Her mind felt like it was sinking.
She pushed herself to her feet, her legs shaking.
"If I did not go to that address," she said quietly. "If I just accepted the ending… none of this would have happened."
Rin placed her hand against her chest. Her fingers curled into her clothes as she fought back the ache.
"All I ever wanted was to help two people who loved each other. Despite their upbringings. Despite the rivalry between their families. You were both willing to fight the world to be together. I only wanted to help you."
Her voice trembled so much she could hardly speak.
"But in the end, you met a tragic ending. Just like my parents did."
She swallowed hard.
"I wanted to give you and Rei the happy ending I could not give them. I did not mean to create more conflict."
Her tears fell freely now.
"I am sorry. I just wanted a happy ending, I didn't mean for all of this to happen."
Rin turned and walked out of the club. Her footsteps were unsteady. Her breath was shaky. She covered her ears with both hands as she walked, trying to quiet the voices in her head, but they only grew louder as the door closed behind her.
The cousins stared after her in silence.