"Is your father alright with this?" Ichiro who was utterly shocked to see Nana in front of him asked."Yes, my father has given me his permission to come and visit you," Nana replied politely.
Ichiro"s brows twitched upon listening to this. He somehow had an idea on what was going through Akihiro"s mind when he allowed her to go. He must be crying inside, among his children it was always the daughters who loved leaving the house so much.
He was then reminded about Suzuki who would also be leaving home in the near future, he just wanted to cry. "My friend, why are we riding on the same boat?" he thought as his eyes look outside the window as if asking Akihiro himself who was miles away from him.
"Your highness?" Nana asked upon sensing the changes on Ichiro.
"*clears throat* Anyway, do you have your lodging now? There are so many open rooms in the castle, you can stay there as much as you like."
"No, no, no, I came here as a compet.i.tor, that is why I shall be staying in one of the inns of your kingdom. Plus I really wanted to hide my ident.i.ty as much as possible before that woman gives up," Nana instantly rejected his idea.
"That woman?" the thought came to his mind at the same time as the image of Diane. He then glanced at his daughter who was suddenly whistling and admiring the view outside the castle.
His eyes went to Natsuki who"s ma.s.saging his temple as he shake his head.
Ichiro could only sigh, it was his daughter"s fault. She had nothing else to do and so she had decided to make Diane miserable.
"Then, since I have already came and greeted his highness. I shall be staying in the inn until the day of our duel," Nana having nothing else to say decided to bid her goodbye.
"Natsuki, create a map for me. I want to know where to go two days from now. And I suppose you have extra weapons on that place right? I brought mine but I really didn"t want to use it in such useless matters," she then face Natsuki as she deliberated.
Natsuki sighed as he looked at her knowing that no matter what he says she won"t listen at all.
"You could have just said your t.i.tle and I could have just said that you are the one I"ve chosen then you wouldn"t have to go through such useless matters," he replied.
"No, no, no, I will defeat all my opponents by my own hands without relying to any t.i.tle or anyone"s help. Of course I only meant it when that includes you and other girls. If it was about something else then surely your help will be my greatest a.s.set."
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wh- what"s going on here? What duel?" Ichiro suddenly felt like he was watching a show and the things being talked about does not include him at all.
Nana nonchalantly explained what had happened, the reason why she came and how she wanted to deal with it. As she explained, he felt like his having a stronger headache.
"Akihiro must know that this was her plan right? I will not get in trouble for having his daughter fight in another kingdom, right?" his thoughts once again wondered.
*****
"ACHOO!!" Akihiro who was doing his duty properly suddenly sneezed.
"Are you sick?" Haruka who loves staying by his side, asked worriedly.
"No, someone must be talking about me," he tried to think but no one comes to mind.
*****
After greeting Ichiro, Nana returned to her inn as she tasked Natsuki to send the map. Emphasizing that it must not be him who sends it. She didn"t want anything reaching "that woman"s" ears before the battle.
"She"s here but it feels like she"s not," Natsuki sighed as he said to the knight he was giving the map to. This knight also knew of Nana"s ident.i.ty.
The knight could only smile as he accepted the map from him, "Her sister is someone who likes doing things she puts her mind into. I think princess Nana could also naturally have that trait as well, your highness."
Natsuki once again sighed, he didn"t know just how many times have he sighed during the time from Nana"s arrival to now.
"I"ll just return to my duties for now. She"s all grown up, she"ll be fine on her own," he convinced himself before returning to his duties.
After another hour, Natsuki"s brows are twitching as he sat behind his desk.
"We really apologize your highness," two attendants are apologizing in front of him.
He had just received the news that Nana went out of her inn and started walking around without her attendants and currently she is missing.
"Geez, she was so bold coming here on her own," he complained but still stood up and left in order to search for her.
Despite asking for help from the other knights who knows her while telling them to do it discretely, there was still no news. It was already afternoon when Nana arrived, currently it is already closing to sun down.
His irritation somehow started becoming worry, Nana didn"t know this place. Not everyone knows her, those who knew were mostly dispatched to check the borders.
"Just where the h.e.l.l did you go?" he thought as he hurriedly searched around.
("I"m really sorry. My sister, I may not know her that much and between the two of us, you were longer by her side than I am. But one thing I knew, she is a cry baby but cares deeply for those who are important to her. If there would come a time where you don"t know what to do with her, just try to think how was she when you are together. Surely you will find the answer to that.")
He once had a talk with Eureka and that is how she had described Nana.
"How she was when we were together?"
("Natsuki, look, look the b.u.t.terfly is so beautiful.")
("Natsuki, hey Natsuki, Natsuki.... *cries*")
("Let"s go eat some ice cream.")
("Natsuki *sniffs* I had a nightmare last night *sniffs*)
His mouth twitched as he remembered all her childish acts.
"*sigh* How am I supposed to know where she is with those?"
("Natsuki *looks at him warmly with a smile* someday I want to visit your mother.")
He then remember the report of the attendant, how Nana was looking intently at the map before she decided to have a walk.
Without much thought he walked towards the garden up in a hill after the city. It was maintained in such a way for it was created as the cemetery for the royal blood.
Just as he arrived, half of the sun were already hidden by the land.
"That is how I and your son became a couple. I"m really childish and all but he was able to keep up with me. And that is also why I love him so much. So you don"t have to worry, I will take real good care of Natsuki. I even took all my lessons seriously so that no one would complain once I marry him."
That was what greeted him as he got close to his mother"s grave.
She was sitting there right before the tomb, moon flowers were placed on top of it.
("My mother loves the moon so much that is why a part of my name means Moon. She said that when I was born there were so many moon flowers blooming.")
Without him realizing it a tear dropped from his eyes. The simple chats they had, she had actually remembered the simple details.
Moon flower aint as beautiful as the roses but seeing a whole bunch of it close to Nana as she smiled, talking to his mother. Made it seem like it was the most beautiful flower out there.
"And then-"
"I love you."
Nana was about to struggle when someone suddenly hugged her from behind when Natsuki spoke choking in the process.
"Wh- Why are you crying? I just promised your mother I will do my best not to make you cry and yet you already are. You"re making me look bad in front of your mother"s grave," she complained nonetheless she still held unto his arms.
"She understands the reason behind these tears, you won"t look bad at all."
He let her go and kissed her forehead, "I was worried when I received that you suddenly disappeared and I couldn"t find you at all."
"Oh, I was delighted when I saw that the place where your mother sleeps was actually walking distance so I just up and go. I"m sorry, I guess my attendants went to you."
Natsuki could only shake his head, "You really loves moving around. I must say, that is indeed a trait of you siblings. Come on let"s return, I bet they have already bought some dinner while anxiously waiting for you."
Nana grinned, "Come to think of it, I really am hungry now."
She then looked back at the grave, "We shall be taking our leave now. I will return to have a chat again."
Hand in hand they descended the small hill, returning to the city.