"Yes."
Arata's eyes drifted to Midori's pale face, and then to the tattoo on Kiyoshi's chest. Eyes shining with a dangerous light, he trembled from head to toe from extreme rage.
"Do you still wish to arrest me?" Kiyoshi tilted his head to the side with a mocking grin.
Instead of providing an answer, Arata tightened his fingers around his katana. To be exact, he wished to beat Kiyoshi up.
His eyes wandered from Kiyoshi's fearless face to the samurai sword that hung at his waist.
"I heard that you practice kendo regularly," Arata said through gritted teeth. "Draw."
He unsheathed his own sword and pointed it at Kiyoshi's face, the sharp blade reflecting the moonlight that fell upon them.
Midori let out a sharp gasp.
Kiyoshi remained calm in the face of the challenge.
"I guess that is unavoidable."
Kiyoshi put his hand around the hilt of his sword, intent on doing the same. But then a pair of small, soft hands pressed against his hand urgently.
"No!" Midori cried out frantically. "Onii-chan, don't! You can't!"
Arata glared at Midori.
"Step away, Midori-chan. This man dishonored you. It is my job as your elder brother to defend your honor."
"Technically, I am offering to honor her by making her my wife," Kiyoshi quipped. "But if Brother-in-law wants to have a clash of steel beforehand, I am not entirely opposed to it."
"No! No, absolutely no!"
Midori put herself between Kiyoshi and Arata and spread her arms like wings.
"I don't want a duel for my sake!"
Midori's gesture served as an attempt to preserve Arata's life, because how could he continue living if he dared to even cut a single hair off Kiyoshi Matsumoto's head?
Forget his shining career, he was going to be banished from Tokyo for sure!
Arata, on the other hand, completely misunderstood Midori's actions.
"Midori-chan, why are you protecting this guy?" He snapped. "He is a careless rascal! A shameless scoundrel who did not bother to step forward until we came here to apprehend him!"
Midori gave Arata a beseeching look.
"For heaven's sake, Nii-chan, please stop talking! Don't you know that you are going against the protagonist???" She screamed in her head.
Kiyoshi's gaze met the unwavering point of the blade, his features unreadable. As someone who led a life bathed in endless sycophancy, he never encountered such stark pronouncements, or even people who openly opposed him this way.
And yet, instead of the expected discomfort, or even anger, a hint of curiosity flickered in his dark eyes. There was something oddly compelling about this raw honesty, a challenge etched in cold steel.
His guards, naturally, did not share the same sentiments. They jumped out of their hiding, comically a little bit late to protect their young master's life.
"Drop your sword!" They cried out.
Sounds of blades leaving their scabbards filled the air, and suddenly Arata had at least ten swords pointing at his neck from all directions.
"Protect Kiyoshi-wakasama*!"
Not that Kiyoshi needed their help to defeat Arata, the former thought to himself.
With a soft sigh, the man shifted his katana's position at his waist and gently shoved Midori out of the way.
"Leave," he told the guards. "Nothing is going on here."
"But Wakasama..."
"Now."
Kiyoshi's tone allowed no defiance to stand in his way. In the end, the guards retreated as swiftly as they emerged.
"Again, I am not against a duel of any sort," Kiyoshi said. "But you are a police officer, Brother-in-law. Shouldn't you actively reject violence?"
Midori turned around and glared at Kiyoshi.
"Have you had enough, Kiyoshi-san???"
Kiyoshi passed Midori a weak smile.
"Apologies," he said, but he clearly did not mean it.
"Do not think that you can use Midori-chan as a leverage against the law," Arata hissed. "I will not hesitate to swing the blade of justice around your neck if I find you guilty of the crime."
"Ah."
Kiyoshi crossed his arms and grinned.
"That's the correct word to use in this situation. 'If'."
Midori slapped a hand against her forehead.
"Arata-Niichan, I am sorry but... Can I talk to Kiyoshi-san, alone?"
Arata stared at Midori.
"Midori-chan, the last time you were alone with him, this beast violated you."
"... He won't do it again," Midori argued.
Demanding support, she turned to glare at Kiyoshi again. "Right?"
Kiyoshi passed her a wider smile.
"A party is all about good companies and great conversations."
"I give you twenty minutes," Arata said. "And then I am going to take Midori back home. Midori, I will be waiting in front of the building."
Twenty minutes???
But she had only gained one out of 100 necessary Red Love Points!
Also, what's with this cheapskate? Midori shot resentful gazes at Kiyoshi as Arata walked away and left them alone.
"Twenty minutes is not much time," Kiyoshi observed. "What do you wish to tell me, Midori-san?"
"There is only the two of us in here," Midori watched the man before her with a solemn look. "Tell me what you really want."
"Isn't it obvious?" With a thoughtful stroke of his chin, he studied Midori, piecing together an impression from her posture and attire.
"I wish to take you as my wife, and establish our baby's rightful status as the heir of the family."
---------
Author's note :
*Feels like I am partly giving a Japanese language lesson through these notes, LOL.
Wakasama and bocchan both mean young master, but wakasama is a very formal title, as opposed to bocchan.
Update : Everyone, this book just went premium, thus the next chapters are in locked status right now.
Book is still updating daily, but I set 2 privilege tiers - 2 and 10 chapters. That means that your reading pleasure will be interrupted for 10 days. Please be patient with me ʕ´• ᴥ•̥`ʔ
Thank you!