True Identity

Coming outside the study room Miyajima Tsubaki knocked on the door lightly.

Dong Dong——

"Is it Tsubaki? Come in."

Hearing the angry response from inside the house, Miyajima Tsubaki opened the door.

The first thing she saw was an old man in a black bathrobe sitting cross-legged on the tatami under the soft light.

There was a photo album and a cup of hot tea with smoke rising on the table in front of him.

With a straight spine and clear eyes, the elderly man displayed little of the frailty typical of his age.

Now, seeing his daughter kneeling in front him, Miyajima Kiichiro's expression softened and he smiled gently: "Tsubaki, what is it that you want to discuss?"

"Yes," The latter responded, and knowing her father preferred direct conversation, she asked directly, "Father, have you ever encountered someone who could perform the 'Tsubame Gaeshi' sword technique?"

Hearing her words, Kiichiro's fingers paused on a photograph and his smile briefly faded as he pondered and asked, "Why do you ask?"

Then without waiting for her reply, he continued, "Do you remember when you were in school and I asked you to come back home to get engaged?"

Hearing this, Tsubaki's mature and charming face twitched slightly at the memory before she nodded, "I remember."

Kiichiro then pushed an album towards her, pointing at a photo of two people.

One was her father in his younger days.

The other was.. somewhat familiar.

Though she didn't recognize him, he seemed to be the father of the young man she was arranged to marry.

Looking at his daughter examine the photo, Kiichiro took a sip of tea and explained, "I don't think I've ever told you this, but this man grew up with me, practically in the same pants.

"Our families have been close for generations. My father, your grandfather, was as close as brothers with this man's father."

"They made a pact back then," he continued. "If they each had children of opposite sexes, those children would marry."

"Your grandfather took it very seriously, they even wrote up a marriage contract, which is still around here somewhere," he said, nodding towards a box on the bookshelf.

"If either of them had only sons or only daughters, the pact was to carry on the marriage arrangement to the next generation."

"That led to the situation with you."

As her father brought up that event, Tsubaki lowered her head like a child who had made a mistake.

She was fiery and rebellious in her youth, unlike the gentle and soft-spoken woman she had become.

She was only 16 years old at that time, the age when she disobeyed discipline and acted wantonly.

So when she suddenly learned about her betrothed whom she had never met, she exploded in anger against her father.

The arguments were intense, with her proclaiming, 'I should decide my future,' and 'You can't dictate my life.'

Her father, Kiichiro, who was not known for his patience, also slammed the table and roared, "You have to get married even if you don't want to, because you are the daughter of the Miyajima family." '

Faced with such determination from his father, there would be no room left.

Miyajima Tsubaki, who was originally hesitating whether to obey his father and break up with the boyfriend she had just dated, suddenly lost her temper.

She knew that it was not easy for her father to support her alone, so although she did not obey discipline and often quarreled with her father, she rarely disobeyed him.

But when it comes to quarreling, once it gets over the head, there is no sense left.

Arguments are seldom rational, and it was the first time her father had shouted at her.

So after the quarrel between the two parties, not wanting to obey her father's wishes and marry someone else, Tsubaki Miyajima, fueled by anger, sought out her boyfriend of just three days — who would become her husband, Miyajima Sosuke.

To spite her father, at a subsequent meeting arranged by the elders, Tsubaki and her now-husband presented a pregnancy test report, slapping it down on the table in front of them.

After that, the elder had a big fight with her father.

Although she couldn't remember exactly what the quarrel was about, but she vaguely remembered words like 'You didn't keep your word', 'You're insulting our family like this'.

Then, that elder took his son, Tsubaki's intended fiancé, and left their home.

She never saw that elder again.

Facing such reckless behavior from his daughter, Kiichiro was furiously upset. In the prime of his life, he nearly choked on his rage.

But what was done was done, and he couldn't very well kick his own daughter out of the house.

So, he had no choice but to accept the man who had impregnated his still-schooling daughter.

Of course, he wasn't about to just hand over the family's dojo, which had been passed down through generations, without any conditions.

So, Kiichiro set a condition.

If the young man could defeat his daughter in swordsmanship, he would give the dojo as a dowry.

Otherwise, the young man would have to marry into the Miyajima family.

This was both an opportunity Kiichiro gave to the young man and a way to find out if his daughter truly loved him.

After all, the Miyajima family might not be a great swordsmanship lineage, but due to their connections with the 'Sasaki' family, their own style wasn't too shabby.

Unless his daughter deliberately lost, that young man, with his level of swordsmanship, couldn't possibly defeat his daughter who had practiced from a young age.

And if his daughter really loved him, he wouldn't mind giving the dojo to the young man, as long as he treated Tsubaki well and did not mistreat her.

After all, Tsubaki was his only daughter.

But what moved and disappointed him was that Tsubaki did not hold back in their duel.

Of course, he knew she didn't want to burden him with the decision.

After all, it was a sword dojo that had been passed down for generations.

But it was precisely because of this, Kiichiro Miyajima was even more embarrassed.

Because through her actions, she had cut off her own future happiness.

In this country, for a man to take his wife's surname was considered a blow to his dignity.

Even if they didn't have conflicts at first, their relationship was bound to develop cracks later.

Especially since Tsubaki was the cause of it all.

When they got married, he had had foreseen that one day Miyajima Sosuke would come to resent and despise his daughter.

Just like now.

Although he wasn't aware of the specifics of their relationship.

But judging from the fact that over the years, they only had one daughter which was born years ago when she was still in her rebellious phase and got pregnant, the state of their marriage was quite apparent...

Life, after all, is made up of a series of choices.

And when making choices, the worst thing you can do is change your answer before seeing the results, wavering undecidedly.

If Tsubaki had stuck to her beliefs, not turning back until hitting a wall, she might have been far better off than she is now...

With a heavy sigh, Kiichiro lowered his gaze to the amber-colored tea, reflecting his aged face, and said, "Although I don't know why you suddenly asked about 'Tsubame Gaeshi'."

"But if you're asking who could perform 'that move', it would definitely be from their family, the young man you were engaged to back then, he was the only remaining descendant of that swordsman, though it's been many years since anyone has mastered it."

"Um…"

Hearing this, Tsubaki, kneeling on the ground, was momentarily speechless, opening her mouth but finding no words.

The man she had taken a liking to as a son-in-law was the son of her once-fiancé… this...

But compared to these, there was another news that was more important, but..

Tsubaki hesitated, unsure if she should tell her father.

Seeing his daughter's hesitance, Kiichiro sipped his tea and asked, "What else is there?"

Biting her lip, after a moment's hesitation, the latter murmured softly, "Today, when I visited Chiakko's house, I encountered…"

After detailing her meeting with Sasaki and their conversation and duel.

Tsubaki kept her head low, not daring to look at her father's expression.

But from the slight lifting of her eyes, she could see her father's trembling body and the occasional tears that fell.

Feeling her father's suppressed sorrow, she bowed head sank even lower, almost burying into her chest.

Although unspoken, from the fact that Sasaki's grandfather had long passed away and Sasaki had never met him, one could infer the timing of his grandfather's death.

Perhaps the most fundamental reason did not lie with her.

But at this time, Miyajima Tsubaki felt that the reason should be attributed to herself.

If only she had not been so headstrong… If only she had been more calm…

Regret caused by her father's silent sadness filled Miyajima Tsubaki's heart, making her blame herself more and more.

.

.

.

Knowing that his old friend had always been in poor health, he had been worried, but without any news, it was just concern.

Now, hearing this sudden bad news from his daughter, although Kiichiro was somewhat prepared, he still felt a darkness before his eyes.

But since it had been so long, even though his heart ached, he did not lose his composure.

Looking at his daughter who was kneeling in front of him, full of regret, Miyajima Kiichiro's eyes were slightly red and he asked in a slightly hoarse voice: "Is his...his grandson doing well now?"

His old friend's son and daughter-in-law had already died in an accident.

He couldn't let anything happen to his only grandson.

Otherwise, once he passed on, he would be relentlessly scolded by his old friend…

Recalling the scenes of being scolded and bullied by him from childhood, Kiichiro's tear-streaked face showed a bitter smile.

Looking up at his father's somewhat stooped back and dimmed face, Tsubaki bit her lip and nodded.

"It's good… it's good…"

Seeing her nod, and Muttering to himself, Kiichiro exhaled, "Let him come over sometime, we're his family too…"

"Yes."

With a nod, Tsubaki shifted slightly and poured her father a cup of tea, "I thought… maybe he and Sakura could get to know each other…"

Opening his mouth, both hopeful and anxious, the old man sighed deeply, "What does Sakura think?"

"Sakura… she didn't object…"

Miyajima Kiichiro, who was psychologically affected by this kind of thing, was silent for a moment and then said, "As long as Sakura is willing, I have no objections."

"Thank you, Father."

Hearing her mother's response from inside the room.

Leaning against the door, Sakura, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation between her grandfather and her mother, tightly covered her mouth, not making a sound.