It had been three days since we arrived at the Domeki residence. I had been running myself ragged, taking care of Karen, doing errands, and handling housework. I was so exhausted I could have collapsed at any moment.
“Say, onee-chan! How about this dress? Does it suit me?”
“It does.”
“Ah, but maybe this one’s better! Maybe I’ll wear both and do an outfit change halfway! Hmm, but this one’s cute too, and so is that one, ugh, what should I do?”
Karen was choosing what dress she would wear in her wedding today. One of the Domeki mansion’s rooms was overflowing with a white sea of wedding dresses, as if a snowstorm had blown through. Karen tried on one after another, twirling and chattering, giddy with excitement.
Then, from beyond the sliding door, Saiichi’s voice called out.
“Lord Loki has arrived. May I open the door?”
Karen was already wearing a dress, so I told him it was fine.
The door slid open, and Loki appeared. The moment his eyes fell on Karen, they melted with affection.
“Karen, have you found a wedding dress you like?”
“Aww, but there are so many beautiful ones that I can’t decide! Which one do you prefer, Loki?”
Still in her gown, Karen ran into his arms. Naturally, it was my job to lift the long hem slightly so she wouldn’t trip.
Loki caught her easily and gently kissed her forehead.
“You look beautiful in anything. Wear as many as you like.”
“Really? That’s great! I already have thirteen that I really like... and I feel like that number might increase!"
“Then wear them all.”
How many hours is this wedding supposed to last? I thought wearily.
At the doorway, Saiichi stood watching, his usual insincere smile fixed in place. I wondered what he really thought of this scene. Quietly stepping away from Karen, I approached him.
"Is something the matter? The restroom is that way,” he said with fake politeness.
“That’s not it. I just wanted to ask… Saiichi-san, what do you think of Karen and Loki?”
“You should refer to them as Lady Karen and Lord Loki.”
“Huh?”
“You are merely an attendant here. Show proper respect, to me and to the bride.”
Behind his glasses, his eyes were cold and sharp. I bit the inside of my cheek, forcing myself to stay calm, then smiled and rephrased my question.
“Saiichi-sama, what do you think of Lady Karen and Lord Loki?”
“Why, of course, I believe their union is something to be celebrated.”
A dull, meaningless answer. My question must have been too vague. I persisted.
“Lord Loki seems rather indulgent toward Lady Karen. From a human perspective, it’s almost sickeningly sweet.”
Saiichi’s expression went blank.
“Onis love their brides with singular devotion,” he said flatly. “The stronger the oni, the deeper that devotion becomes. For someone as powerful as Lord Loki, the head of the Domeki family, it is only natural.”
“I see… so that’s how it is.”
I knew onis were devoted to their brides, but I hadn’t realized it was to that extent.
Saiichi continued in a lower voice, his face still expressionless.
“An oni never chooses the wrong bride. No matter what others may think or how it may appear, their choice is always correct.”
Then he smiled faintly at me.
“Do you understand?”
“Yes, perfectly,” I replied, returning an equally polite, practiced smile as I bowed.
◆◆◆
“And… that’s how I’m still somehow alive right now.”
“Miharu! Geez, I was so worried about you!”
It had been five days since I came to the Domeki estate before I finally managed to call Nao. Every night I was too tired to even keep my eyes open.
“Only nine days left until Karen’s wedding, huh? I hope it ends quickly."
“Tell me about it... Well, at least I have my own room here. Small, but better than being hit.”
“Seriously, once the wedding’s done, come stay at my place! I’ll come pick you up myself if I have to!”
Her voice filled me with warmth. I smiled softly. “I can’t wait to see you again, Nao.”
“I can’t relax until I see you safe and sound! Karen’s wedding’s on a Saturday, right? I’ll head to that Domeki guy’s mansion afterward and fetch you. Then you can stay at my place at least till Monday!”
It sounded like the best idea I’d heard in days. Spending a weekend at a friend’s house wasn’t strange at all. I gripped my phone tightly and swallowed the surge of emotion welling up inside me.
“Alright. Let’s do that then.”
“Great! It’s settled then! I'll prepare everything you need, so just make sure you come back in one piece, Miharu!"
Her lively voice gave me strength. I murmured into the phone, “Nao… thank you so much. I’m really glad I met you back in middle school.”
“Wha—what’s with that all of a sudden? You’re making me blush! …But yeah, me too. If I hadn’t met you back then, I don’t think I’d be who I am today.”
Her nostalgic tone made me close my eyes. I could clearly picture the scene of that day when we first became friends.
◆◆◆
Nao had been a transfer student. She came to our school in May of our second year, an awkward time to start fresh. She didn’t seem to fit in with the class, and as for me, since Karen had been chosen as an oni's bride, everyone avoided me like the plague.
One day in art class, our teacher assigned us to draw portraits in pairs. I had no partner. No one wanted to pair up with me, until Nao walked over and spoke to me.
“If you want, would you like to draw together?"
To me, she looked like an angel sent from heaven. I nodded eagerly, and we began sketching face-to-face.
“Say, Ozenji-san,” she asked after a while. “Are you related to that Ozenji Karen?”
It was a small school. Of course, even as a transfer student, she’d heard about my sister being the oni’s bride.
“Yeah. Karen’s my little sister.”
“Wow, you two don’t look alike at all.”
Those casual words hit me like a knife. Since I was little, I had heard the same thing countless times.
Karen looks so much like your mother, she’s adorable. But you, Miharu… you don’t resemble anyone, do you?
I somehow managed to force out the words, “I get that a lot.”
"But, isn't it better not to resemble anyone? I think it’s more painful when people say you look like someone,” Nao continued.
“Painful?”
That was something I hadn't even considered. Especially for someone like me, who had been wondering if I would have been loved more had I resembled my mother, or Karen.
“Yeah. When siblings look too much alike, people project things onto you. They expect you to act like the other person. But you’re you. Still, everyone thinks, ‘Oh, since she looks like that one, she must be the same.’ It’s exhausting.”
“…I guess that’s true.”
If I had looked like Karen, maybe our mother would’ve loved me. Or maybe not. Either way, it was something I’d never know, not with this face I was born with.
Nao continued, “Besides, Karen’s the bride of an oni, right? If you looked like her, wouldn’t you start wondering, ‘Why wasn’t I chosen instead?’ That’s such a pointless thing to torture yourself over.”
“Is it really that… pointless?”
“Of course it is. There are way more fun things to think about.”
Then she grinned.
“I’ve got an older sister who looks exactly like me. She’s smart and good at everything. Me? I suck at sports, I can’t sing, and I bomb tests. So my family’s always like, ‘You look the same, so why can’t you do this?’ I’m sick of it. I’ve got my own things I want to do too, you know.”
“Things you want to do?”
“Yeah. I love drawing, so I want to go to art school. That’s the one thing I think I’m as good at as my sister. But my dad’s against it, just because my sister didn’t do it. I sometimes wonder if I didn’t look like her, maybe convincing him would be easier.”
Nao’s pencil moved smoothly across her sketchbook. When I peeked, I met the gaze of a girl with determined eyes, her drawing of me.
“Wow, you’re very good at drawing!”
“Hehe, thanks.”
She scratched her head shyly, and something inside me clicked into place. Maybe not resembling my family wasn’t such a bad thing after all, at least it allowed me to be me.
“Um… you can call me Miharu,” I said quietly. “I want to call you Nao too.”
I looked at the girl with a completely different way of seeing the world, and she seemed to shine.
Nao’s eyes widened, then she broke into a bright smile and nodded.
“Okay. Nice to meet you, Miharu.”
And that was how we became friends.
◆◆◆
“Onee-chan! Come here already!”
My recollection was shattered with Karen’s shrill voice. She was calling for me. Nao must’ve heard it through the phone because her voice turned somber.
“The bride-to-be’s calling you.”
“Sorry, I have to go.”
“Don’t sweat it! I’ll come for you on the wedding day, don’t forget that!”
That promise was my only hope. I thanked her again and hung up, reluctantly heading to Karen’s room.
“What is it, Karen?”
“I’m thirsty! Hurry up and bring me some tea!”
That's all? On the low table where Karen was sitting, there was a glass pitcher full of tea. The empty glass was right by Karen's hand. Suppressing the thought that she should do it herself, I poured tea into the glass and set it on the low table.
“Here.”
Karen watched me, giggling in that grating way of hers.
“Sigh, onee-chan… I’m having so much fun. I’m an oni’s bride, you know? I’ll be the mistress of this house. Just by being chosen, just by being loved, I get all of this. This huge mansion, beautiful men… everything.”
“What are you even thinking, Karen?” I frowned.
She smiled at me, her eyes glinting with mockery.
“I’m nothing like you, onee-chan. I’m loved by everyone, cherished by everyone. Unlike the pitiful you who wasn’t even loved by our own parents.”
“Is that so? Maybe I am worthless to our parents, and to you. But I know there are people who care about me. And that’s enough for me.”
“Heh? Someone who cherishes you? You mean that friend of yours, Katsuragi Nao, right?”
“That’s none of your business, Karen.”
“Hehe, I was right. So the only person who cares about you is that one friend? How pathetic. You’re clinging to some high school friendship as if it’ll last forever. Once you graduate, you’ll go your separate ways and lose touch. That ‘let’s be friends forever’ stuff is just empty words. She’ll forget all about you eventually.”
That was it. All I could see now was red. Nao’s face flashed in my mind, her voice, her kindness.
Yes, that's true. A day might come when we grow distant. Everything now might become a memory, and though her face might sometimes come to mind, the promises would be erased by the complicated routine of daily life, and a day might come when I forget everything.
But I refused to let Karen trample on what we had now, the sincerity, the connection, the truth of it.
Nao had once said we’d grow old together.
Through her, I’d learned what it meant to be happy as myself.
Even if she forgot someday, even if we grew distant, the fact that she’d once said those words would remain. As long as I remembered, as long as I kept living, the moment I was cherished as someone of worth would never lose its meaning.
That truth would never change.
And this girl—this woman—had just stomped all over it.
Heat rushed through my body. My vision turned red. Trembling, I glared at Karen as she smiled mockingly.
“You think being loved is your birthright. You think it’s eternal.”
“Of course it is. I was born under a star of love. Who wouldn’t adore a girl this beautiful, this sweet, this perfect?”
“Oh really? Can you still say that even after seeing this?”
I held up my phone. On the screen were photos of Karen with male classmates, holding hands, kissing, cuddling. The evidence I’d received from the girl who’d asked me for advice. The photos were stamped with dates showing they were taken even after Karen had become an oni’s bride.
Karen’s face instantly turned pale. Eyes wide, lips trembling, she spoke in a low, trembling voice.
“Hand your phone over.”
“Did you say something?”
“I said, hand that over!”
“I can’t quite hear you.”
I met her eyes and laughed softly. She lunged at me, trying to snatch the phone, but I dodged easily.
“How did you even get that!?”
“Who knows? Why don’t you think about it yourself?”
Karen bit her lip furiously. I slipped the phone into my pocket, fully ready to fight.
I wasn’t backing down. Nao had copies of the photos too, and I’d already asked her to make them public if anything happened to me, but I didn’t want to drag my best friend into this.
This was my battle. My own to finish.
“Why would you… someone like you, onee-chan…” Karen muttered, clawing at her perfect hair until it was a mess. Her lovely face twisted in rage, then curved into a hideous smile.
“Heh… hahaha! You think you’ve won, onee-chan? Just with something like this? Don’t make me laugh!”
I stayed silent, watching her warily. I had no idea what she would do next. Her greed knew no bounds, her actions no restraint, she always managed to go beyond anyone’s expectations.
“Listen here, you know I’m the bride, no?” she spat. “You’re just a mere attendant. And this is an oni's mansion, yet you dare look down on me?”
Saying that with a sneer, she clapped her hands to call someone.
“Someone, come here! Get this woman out, and throw her in a prison!”
