Sleeping Beauty and the Queen’s Attendant.

“So, what’s that person doing?”

“What’s this, all of a sudden? Have your online classes finished?”

“Finished.”

Evening.
I was lying in wait for Natori-san in the corridor.

“More importantly, I’ve come back and I haven’t seen her at all. I want to say what I need to say and get out of this place as soon as possible.”

That person, my mother, I still haven’t seen her.
It’s already been a week since I reluctantly came back home.
Father’s away on some trip or other, and I need to persuade that person quickly.
To my question, Natori-san replied nonchalantly.

“That’s a strange thing to say. This is your home, isn’t it?”

“No, it isn’t.”

This isn’t my place. Nowhere in this pointlessly vast, luxurious house is there a spot where I can feel at ease.
The children’s room filled with furniture mismatched to my height, the overly tidy and unwelcoming living room, the garden blooming with unfamiliar flowers – all are filled with cold tension and a gritty unease I can’t stand.
　It’s always been like this. Always.
Truth be told, there’s only one place in the world where I can sleep soundly.
Thanks to that, I haven’t been sleeping at night either, and the dark circles under my eyes were terrible.
Absolutely dreadful.

“If you wish to go out, you’re free to do so. I’m not locking you in a prison cell, after all.”

“And if I really did run away, you’d do something terrible to Shigure-san’s company, wouldn’t you?”

“Well…”

Ugh, it’s infuriating.
She could at least make a sarcastic face, but Natori-san remains completely expressionless. Her voice and attitude are utterly matter-of-fact, which is precisely why you never know what she might do.
Or rather, this woman would probably do anything for my mother.
She’s always been that sort of person.
The one who looked after me instead of my mother when I was little.
To be honest, even now, I can’t bring myself to dislike her. Even after being subjected to something bordering on blackmail, nostalgia is still just barely winning out.
But that’s a different matter entirely.

“Hey, Natori-san, why did you call me back now? When I left to become an idol, you said to do as I pleased, didn’t you?”

“That’s correct.”

“Then leave me be.”

“It became impossible to do so.”

“I don’t know anything about their circumstances.”

“That won’t do. Nobody can simply shirk their responsibilities.”

“Responsibilities?”

“The responsibility of being born into the Miyazono family.”

Who cares about that?
I was so irritated my head started to ache. The back of my temples throbbed as if being pricked by needles.
I was familiar with that sticky discomfort clinging to the inside of my skull. Not that I wanted to accept it, though.

“I do keep up with online news, you know. Like the chairman change or the share buyout. The current chairman is that old chap who used to visit our place, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“And the chairman is your father.”

“Yes.”

“Is the company about to be taken over?”

“That won’t happen, so please rest assured.”

“Chairmen can get sacked, you know. At board meetings or shareholders’ meetings or something.”

“You’re quite knowledgeable.”

“I wish it would happen.”

For the first time, Natori-san’s eyebrows moved. Behind the iron mask, it seemed as if emotion had stirred.

“…Such a situation won’t arise, and I won’t allow it.”

“And bringing me back, is that related?”

“Not that it’s something to be done immediately. It’s just that you’re eighteen now, Ibara-san.”

“So what?”

“Eventually, you will inherit your parents’ shares. Or rather, the man who becomes your husband will, perhaps.”

“…Listen, this is starting to make me feel sick.”

“We are currently vetting potential partners, but regardless, if you get too wild at university, it will tarnish your record. We’d prefer you obtain your degree within our sight, and perhaps become engaged during that time.”

“Natori-san, are you serious?”

“Ah, of course. A nominal engagement will suffice. What’s needed is to increase the number of allies for your mother.”

I pulled off the slipper I was wearing and hurled it at Natori-san’s face.

“Don’t dodge it!”

“That is not part of my job.”

My eyes burned. My vision blurred, my lower lip trembled.
I take back what I thought about not being able to hate her.

I hate her with everything I have.
Natori-san, and my mother, and my father, and every single thing clinging to this house like a ghost.

I scrambled up the stairs in one slipper.
I bolted myself inside my childhood bedroom, stumbling to my desk and clutching it.
On the tabletop lay a chocolate box adorned with a princess.
‘Rêve’. Shigure-san had given it to me when we parted.
I’d been eating it carefully, bit by bit. Like sucking on hard candies from a glass jar one at a time on gloomy rainy days. So it wouldn’t disappear too quickly.
And yet.
The moment I turned the box upside down, I had a bad feeling.

“No way.”

I pulled out the inner bag. Truthfully, I’d understood the moment I took it. Still, I tore the bag open as if praying. It was as I’d feared.
The box was empty.
　Nothing remained.

“…No, no…”

My throat trembled, and fire lit behind my eyes.

“Noooo…”

Through blurred vision, only the princess who resembled me remained unchanged, smiling serenely.