Have a blessed Good Friday and Easter ~(≧▽≦)/~

『Good job, Kaya. You have Paranormal Vision. And good job to you too Kanoko, for giving birth to this child.』

That was Miyo's father's voice.

Miyo remembers. This took place earlier than the dream sequence from yesterday. It the memories from when they first discovered Kaya's Paranormal Vision.

Miyo realised this was yet another dream.

『Of course! She is my daughter after all!』

Her stepmother had a face of pride while her father nodded in satisfaction and her stepsister laughed joyfully.

That was a portrait of a happy family.

However, unfortunately for Miyo, there was never a place for her in that family. Because she was not family to them. Even before she became a servant, she could only watch from afar. No matter how hard she tried, that warm family was never hers.

『It seems like Kaya Ojou-sama's Paranormal Vision was recently discovered.』

『Isn't she only 3-years-old? That's amazing!』

『In comparison, Miyo Ojou-sama...』

『Apparently, it's already hopeless for her.』

『Despite having ability users for both parents.』

『How pitiful, she didn't inherit any.』

The voices of rumours resounded through Miyo's mind.

Miyo's place, her worth, were all gradually disappearing. She could even feel in on her skin. The air in the house turned into one of respect for Kaya, while her treatment only worsened. In a house where she only had Hana, although it was painful, she knew that once she acknowledged that, she would become unable to push on. As such, she threw it to the back of her consciousness as much as possible. 

Come to think of it, that was around the time when Kaya started looking down on Miyo. 

Those unhappy memories. After being reduced to a servant, while it was hard for her body to get used to it, it was even harder on her heart. The heart of young Miyo was constantly being hurt.

『I'm an unwanted child.』

(lilies: omgomgomg please don't say that I want you >~<>

She could still remember the times where she muttered those words to herself.

A young girl who was barely even 10, was. .h.i.t with the realisation that she was not blessed with an ability and nothing commendable about her. Despite being at the age where one would whine and act cute to their parents. 

When the servant Hana saw this, she almost cried. Speaking of which, how was Hana doing now? Miyo hadn't seen her since she was locked in the warehouse by her stepmother and Hana was fired.

Hana was still young at that time and Miyo hoped that she found someone good and lived happily.

Miyo woke up in tears again.

(lilies: I'm in tears)

How unlucky was it, to have nightmares two nights in a row. Was this an admonition? To remind her not to forget how worthless she was even leaving the Saimori family?

(I know)

She knew. How terribly mediocre and useless she was.

She couldn't recall the number of times she's wished to not have been born in that family, but in one filled with warmth instead. It didn't matter if it wasn't a famous family, it didn't even matter if life would be a little hard to get by. 

(...The current me can't be shown to Hana.)

For someone who cared deeply for Miyo like Hana, she would surely be very sad. 

Miyo quietly got out of bed, folded her futon and changed from her sleepwear to her everyday clothes. Then, she noticed that part of her kimono was torn. It was a plain, indigo kimono with some age to it. 

(Ah... it's reached the end of its lifespan.)

The seams at the back were torn. This was probably because the thread had grown weak with time and broke, resulting in a hole. Perhaps, it was also because Miyo had repeatedly mended the same spot with a needle and thread, causing the cloth in the region to become thin. It didn't look like it was possible to resew it back together and taking a closer look, a few other regions looked like they were about to come apart. 

This kimono was actually handed down to her from a servant of the Saimori family after they stopped wearing it. By the time it reached her, it was already quite worn out and there was nothing Miyo could do about it. However, for Miyo who had close to no personal items to begin with. When this kimono becomes unwearable, she'd have no other clothes left to wear. 

When she left the Saimori house, her father had given her some new kimonos. However, those were for going out so she couldn't risk dirtying them. In addition, those kimonos were a bit too fancy for everyday wear. 

That being said, Miyo pondered if it was completely irreparable while she thought about asking to borrow some sewing materials from Yurie. As contemplated to herself, she got ready and exited her room. 

When she reached the kitchen around the same time as yesterday, Yurie had arrived.

「Ah, good morning, Miyo-sama.」

「...Good morning, Yurie-san.」

Why was Yurie here even earlier than the previous morning?

Maybe her confusion wasn't properly concealed as Yurie smiled at her and said.

「I was very concerned about what happened yesterday morning, so I decided to come by earlier... What will you be preparing for this morning's breakfast?」

「Ah... If that's the case...」

With Yurie here as her witness, Yurie can prove that Miyo didn't put any poison in the food. Actually, Kiyoka had a talk with Miyo about this last night.

『Eh? Breakfast?』

『Ah ah, I'm sorry for not eating and leaving leftovers this morning... Will you make me breakfast again tomorrow?』

Kiyoka, who was out of the bath and changed into some light sleepwear, asked slightly awkwardly with his face turned away.

『But I...』

『It's alright. Though of course, I won't let you off if you really poison the food.』

Something like that was impossible.

Someone like Miyo would never receive an order to a.s.sa.s.sinate the head of the Kudou family. If her father really wanted to a.s.sa.s.sinate Kiyoka, he would prepare a better, more qualified a.s.sa.s.sin. 

In the first place, her father, stepmother and Kaya were all expecting her to be thrown out any time now.

And that's what Miyo told Yurie. That's the reason why she was preparing breakfast today.

「Aiya, Bocchan could've just said it if he wanted to try the food made by Miyo-sama.」

(lilies: yurie is so cute lol)

「...I-I don't think that's the case...」

「Fufufu, well then, Miyo-sama, please allow Yurie to help you.」

「Y-Yes, please.」

And the two of them starting preparing the food together.

There were a lot of differences between the way Yurie worked and the chef from back in the Saimori residence. This was probably what home cooking was like, Miyo thought. The work of a chef, regardless of good or bad, was of too high a quality and was oftentimes difficult for an amateur to imitate. As Miyo was not skilled at this, she could only watch and learn from the way Yurie worked. 

「Miyo-sama, you wake up very early.」

「Ah... yes. I always wake up this early back at my parent's house...」

Well, is that so? Yurie nodded to herself, impressed. 

「Erhm, Yurie-san.」

「Aiya, yes?」

「Are there sewing tools in this house?」

「Yes, there are. If you need it, I can bring it to your room later.」

「Thank you.」

It didn't seem suspicious as sewing was something the ladies of famous households often enjoy. Though... they definitely didn't sew to mend things.

As they chatted, food was still being prepared neatly and efficiently and it was eventually time for Kiyoka to rise.

Just like yesterday, the freshly prepared dishes were lined up on the table and brought to the living room. Coincidentally, Kiyoka had just arrived as well.

「Good morning.」

「Good morning, Dannsama.」

Standing before Kiyoka, who was in his military uniform, Miyo felt nervous again. Every time she saw that beautiful fiancé of hers, she loses confidence in herself. If she could be in his shoes, even just for a moment, she's sure she would feel self-a.s.sured.

(lilies: TT_TT aaaah the return of my iffyness i'm sorries) 

Then, they sat opposite one another in the living room that wasn't very wide.

「Then, I'll begin eating.」

「Y-Yes...」

Kiyoka looked bemused by Miyo who answered but did not move her chopsticks.

「You should eat too.」

「Y-Yes, I'm sorry... I-Itadakimasu.」

She silently picked up her chopsticks and began eating her food almost at the same time as Kiyoka.

The taste... was very ordinary. Miyo wondered if Kiyoka would be able to stomach this with his pampered palate. She was worried about how he felt after tasting the food and taking a sip of the miso soup.

「...Delicious.」

「...Eh?」

「It tastes a little different from Yurie's, but it's just as good.」

He said, in his usual tone which goes to show that he truly felt that way.

Delicious.

More than anything.

Just that one word, made her feel rewarded for all the trials1 she's gone through alone. It was the first time in years, since she had been recognised and praised.

Miyo could feel something well up from the bottom of her heart.

「Ah... Thank you very much.」

Her voice was shaking.

「...Why are you crying?」

Miyo did not know, but tears started falling from her eyes.

1. Written as 'その一言だけで、今までひとりで試行錯誤していた時間が報われた気がした' I think it's more of trial and error as she learnt to cook, but I felt like it wouldn't flow as well ↩

I swear, every time she has some flashback or dream I just...

Their food is served on small individual tables and not on like one big "communal" table. You can probably see what I'm referring to in the manga. Also, I don't know if it's clear but, 『』 is for flashbacks(?). I generally try to follow the author's formatting as much as I can...

Please feedback to me in the comments below if you find any typos or terrible grammar, etc that you think I should change. Or maybe you think my interpretation is completely off lol Help me help you have a better reading experience ahahah what a tongue twister XD

Thank yous!! (˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵)

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peace lilies~