Hina woke up with a slight headache as she recalled the dream she had. Rather than a dream, it was more of a memory. A sad memory that she had probably locked away somewhere in her subconscious mind. All this while, Hina had been living off of her recollection of the original novel, trying to avoid certain events and characters. However, this was the first time she had gotten an actual memory of her past as Hina. An unfiltered memory free from the author's storyline. A memory that entirely and truly belonged to Hina's being.
She could still remember the sadness and betrayal that she felt when her mother screamed such terrible words at her. The emptiness she felt when the woman walked away. The coldness in her father's eyes that showed no love for her.
[To think that I had loved mother so much despite all the things she did to me]
For so long, since Hina woke up in this new world as her fourteen-year-old self, she had gotten so used to seeing this world as nothing more than a fake one. A fictional story in which she was a character. She had taken it as a challenge of some sort, trying to navigate how the book would go and how to avoid the tragedies of the coming pages. She was never bothered about the fact that she couldn't recall any memory before waking up in that cold bed nor the fact that she was not the main character; it was not important.
But now she found herself wanting to know more. To uncover the side stories and hidden memories of this world and herself, those which were never written in the novel.
"Lady Hina, are you okay? You've been spacing out.." Suki looked at her with worried eyes, wondering why the lady had not yet eaten from her sanpeijiru.
With the cold days and the lady's weak health, Suki felt the need to pay extra attention to the lady's diet.
"Is it not to your liking?"
"I-It is! I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind"
"Ah, my lady is much too young to be worried about serious things. My lady shouldn't think of anything that'll make her stressed out"
"Okay" Hina tried to smile at her thoughtfulness.
Hina finished her salmon soup to Suki's delight.
With a free day ahead of her with nothing on her schedule, Hina decided to read a book for a while. She didn't enjoy the typical hobbies other young ladies liked such as embroidery or knitting, so she spent her time reading. In her perfect solitude, she sunk into the comfy chair by the sitting area. She had been reading a cliche romance book for a while now and found it surprisingly interesting. She assumed it was because she was very bored.
As she flipped to one of the last pages of the book, her alone time was interrupted by the double knock on the door.
"Come in" she shifted her attention to the door as Aoi walked in with an excited smile. Hina sat up, brushing her scattered hair backwards with her hand.
"Lady Hina, the lord has requested of My lady to make some time to have brunch together in the gardens"
[What does he want to talk about this time?]
"Okay"
"I'll help you get ready, My lady"
"Alright"
Hina sauntered towards the dressing mirror, placing her book on the shelf and hoping that she gets the chance to finish the book by nightfall. Aoi brushed Hina's hair neatly and the two soon departed for the gardens. They both walked through the bright corridors and eventually arrived at the white pavilion in the white roses garden where the merchant was.
"You called for me, dear" she turned on her acting skills to fit the situation.
"My dear Hina, come and sit with me"
Hina approached the pavilion alone as the merchant gestured for Aoi to leave. She sat down beside the merchant under the beautiful pavilion to shade away from the sun. The day was one of the warmest days Hina had experienced in a while and she liked it. She enjoyed the feel of the sun's warmth on her skin.
The table had been decorated with different snacks that Hina liked. The three-tiered tray stand was filled with cupcakes, cookies and dorayaki, just a few of Hina's favourites. A maid had served some lemon-ginger tea to the merchant and milk tea to Hina, before leaving the two to enjoy their brunch.
Hina took a sip from her tea, trying to make herself comfortable despite the suffocating awkwardness.
"I assume it must've been boring being cooped up in the estates for over a month"
"It's been okay. Everyone has been very warm towards me. I also went into the city a couple of times, so it hasn't been boring" As she spoke, Hina stole a glance at the merchant's expression to make sure that he wasn't angry to hear of her outings, although she assumed he would have heard of it from the head maid already. He had a warm smile on his face as he sipped on his tea.
"That's great. As long as you've been enjoying your time, then it's fine"
"Yes, I have. Thank you"
"Aside from that, there is something more important I'd like to discuss with you, my dear Hina" despite his soft tone, he sounded very serious.
"Now that I've returned from my business trip, we should properly consummate our marriage"
[W-what?!!]