31

Chapter 32 The car was parked outside the entrance of a large building which looked like a mansion. Its exterior was built entirely out of white marble bricks with beautiful patterns carved into each stone pillar that supported the roof of the main house; the roof itself stretched high above the surrounding buildings, creating a clear blue sky. The building looked very old and impressive, with the doors of its entrance seeming almost ancient, made of wood covered with golden decorations. As they drew nearer, she saw other carriages parked on both sides of the road. It appeared that every one of them contained more rich individuals waiting patiently for the gates to open. There weren't any guards stationed at the gates. They would usually stand watch while the carriage came to a stop, but apparently no one had been sent by Mitsuri today. Her mother turned down the volume on the radio before driving slowly through the gate, leaving the chauffeur behind to keep the other carriages occupied. The girls climbed off the carriage and waited patiently for the driver to return to collect their luggage from the boot. Once they stepped inside the building, they were greeted with a warm welcome from a young lady who bowed politely to her and escorted the three women to a room that was filled with expensive antiques. "Welcome home, Mrs. Yoshida-sama, and please enjoy yourselves," the lady said in an elegant tone. Her voice seemed to be full of genuine happiness. "I am glad that you've returned safe and sound. You'll find many of our maids and servants waiting for your pleasure. Please rest yourself until dinner, and I'll be sure to inform you as soon as we receive any important guests." "Thank you," Akane replied as she and the others began to unpack their luggage. "We appreciate it very much." The ladies left shortly afterwards to change out of their traveling clothes and meet with the maids for the evening meal, while Akane remained in her room unpacking her belongings and getting ready for bed. She lay awake for quite a long while, staring blankly at the ceiling with her fingers interlaced on top of her chest, trying desperately to come up with a solution to the problem that faced her. It wasn't until late into the night that she finally gave up her attempts and laid in bed staring into nothingness, her eyes burning in the darkness of her bedroom. At this point she was too tired to do anything else but cry; she wished there were someone she could talk to, someone who wouldn't tell her that she had absolutely nothing to worry about, and that the whole ordeal had only been a terrible accident. After a few minutes, the door of her room opened and closed softly. Akane jumped a bit as she noticed a silhouette standing by her bed, peering at her over the edge. A quiet sniffle escaped her lips and she hastily tried to muffle it, even though no tears dared fall anymore. "Mom...?" "I thought you might need some comfort in the middle of the night," her mother whispered. There was a hint of sadness in her voice, but also a sense of relief. Akane was glad she was there, whether she meant it or not, but it was strange that she hadn't asked her how things had gone earlier on in the week. It seemed like she was doing that on purpose: avoiding asking questions. Not that Akane minded; she really liked having her mother there with her. "Did you have a nice day with your friends?" "Mhm," Akane answered, smiling a little. "And, um... I met someone today." "Really? Tell me! Who is it? Do you think we'll get to meet her too someday? Or perhaps a relative? What does she look like? Does she have short brown hair and blue-green eyes?" Akane giggled slightly under her breath, "Yeah