While speaking quietly with Miyajima Sakura, Sasaki followed Tsubaki Miyajima around the training ground, through a courtyard with a pond and bamboo, into a spacious guest room filled with an elegant and serene ambiance.
In the hall, filled with a faint fragrance, two men were seated on tatami mats, drinking tea and playing a game of go.
The steaming hot tea on the rosewood table and the occasional sound of pieces being placed on the board made people unconsciously calm down and slow their steps.
However, the two men weren't fully focused on their game.
When they noticed the group approaching, they put down their go pieces.
Observing the young man with a handsome face and upright posture standing behind Tsubaki, Miyajima Kiichiro, dressed in a black kimono, saw the young man's image blur and overlap with a figure from his memory and couldn't help but murmur, "So similar… so very similar."
Recollecting himself from his memories, Miyajima Kiichiro leaned forward slightly, his strong frame straightening, and asked, "Child, what's your name?"
Hearing the question, Sasaki raised his slightly lowered eyes to look at the elderly man with black hair streaked with white, a face marked by age but full of vigor, and respectfully replied, "Sasaki Fuyumi."
"Fuyumi… Fuyumi… That damn old man from the Tohsaka family…"
After Sasaki responded, everyone present could clearly see Miyajima Kiichiro's furrowed brow and hear his subsequent frustrated yet amused muttering.
Noticing the gazes of those around him, the latter quickly cleared his throat, the displeased expression on his face disappearing, replaced by a kind smile as he gestured to Sasaki and said, "Fuyumi, come sit down. No need to be formal.
Your Aunt Tsubaki should have told you about my relationship with your grandfather.
Treat us as your family; there's nothing wrong with that."
After everyone had taken their seats, Miyajima Kiichiro took a heavy photo album from the tatami mat beside him, placed it on the table, and began recounting his long-standing relationship with Sasaki's grandfather.
Once he had explained the bond between the two families, the old sipped his tea and casually asked, "Fuyumi, I heard from your Aunt Tsubaki that you've never met your grandfather?"
With his hands resting on the rosewood table, holding the tea Tsubaki Miyajima had poured for him, Sasaki nodded and said,
"Yes, ever since I can remember, I've lived here.
My mother told me that my grandfather passed away shortly after I was born."
Even though he already knew this from Tsubaki, hearing the confirmation from Sasaki made Miyajima Kiichiro take a deep breath.
And seeing this, Tsubaki Miyajima, who was sitting next to Sasaki, felt even more guilty and quickly went to her grandfather's side, gently patting his back.
After calming himself, Miyajima Kiichiro asked again, "Do you know who named you?"
As he rubbed his thumb over the smooth tea cup, Sasaki, unsure of why the old man was asking, truthfully answered, "I asked my mother when I was little. She said my grandfather named me. That's how I learned his name."
"I see."
Hearing this, a smile appeared on Miyajima Kiichiro's face, etched with the marks of time.
He nodded and looked at his granddaughter, "Sakura…"
Knowing that her father was going to talk about that matter, Miyajima Tsubaki, who didn't want her daughter to have no choice at all, quickly interrupted her father.
"Father...let Sakura stay here."
To be honest, Kiichiro Miyajima didn't really want to get involved in these things, but he sincerely hoped that the two families could reconcile.
So, after sighing, he turned to look at Miyajima Sosuke.
Feeling that the old man might exclude him from the discussion, the latter, who had almost no say at home, quickly said, "Father-in-law, I am Sakura's father. I think I should stay here."
Kiichiro's eyebrows twitched involuntarily, and he turned away, ignoring him. Instead, he addressed his granddaughter, "Sakura… your mother told me that you don't have anyone you like at school, is that right?"
Miyajima Sakura, who had eavesdropped on their conversation, knew what her grandfather was going to say.
So, suppressing her gaze towards Sasaki, she sat on the tatami, lowered her eyes, shyly scratched her black sword hakama, nodded and replied softly:
"Mm."
Nodding with a smile, Miyajima Kiichiro asked Sasaki, who had already guessed his intention, "Fuyumi, how do you feel about Sakura?"
Although Sasaki had previously guessed this might happen, facing it directly still felt somewhat surreal.
After all, arranged marriages were something he had never experienced.
However, he only felt a bit strange about it, and was not repulsed or resistant at all.
After all, the girl in question was a beautiful young lady with both a good figure and appearance.
Sasaki wasn't so peculiar and stupid as to find fault with such an arrangement.
As for the notion that they had no feelings for each other at their first meeting, he didn't see that as an issue.
Feelings could be nurtured over time.
The phrase "affection grows over time" existed for a reason.
Glancing at the blue-haired girl standing two steps away, the boy responded to her shy gaze with a gentle smile, then turned to Miyajima Kiichiro and, somewhat embarrassed, said:
"Grandpa Kiichiro, although I haven't spent much time with Miyajima-senpai, I can tell that she is a wonderful person, cultured and elegant..."
As he spoke, Sasaki glanced at her blushing face and continued with a smile:
"Well... although it might sound a bit frivolous, I really think Miyajima-senpai is very beautiful... If possible, I would very much like for Miyajima-senpai to become my wife."
After his words, Sasaki gradually withdrew his warm smile, using a tone of regret and disappointment:
"But I already have a girlfriend.
While she may not be as elegant or as beautiful as Miyajima-senpai, but she treats me very well, takes good care of me, and I like her very much. So... I'm sorry, Grandpa Kiichiro."
Sasaki elaborated on many praises for Miyajima Sakura, expressing how beautiful he thought she was and how much he liked her, but unfortunately, he already had a girlfriend, making the situation regrettable.
But if listened to carefully, it would be clear that Sasaki was conveying that he really wished Miyajima Sakura could become his wife, but it was a matter of timing and circumstances.
If Miyajima Sakura had any feelings for him, even if today's matter didn't work out, there was still a chance to develop their relationship further, leaving room for future possibilities.
As for whether Miyajima Sakura had feelings for him?
Sasaki was confident she did.
After all, her previous actions showed no signs of rejecting him.
Additionally, it seemed she was aware from the beginning that they were meant to be introduced to each other.
Otherwise, there was no reason for her to be so warm towards him at their first meeting.
Of course, it was possible she was simply infatuated with his face, but Sasaki believed it was more likely she knew in advance about their arranged introduction.
And knowing this in advance and still not rejecting it indicated she was a traditional woman from a martial family, placing great importance on her parents' wishes.
However, regardless of how traditional she was, she was still an individual with her own thoughts and desires.
If she had a good impression of Sasaki, she wouldn't easily retreat just because they met under less than ideal circumstances.
Giving up on a good option in favor of an unknown was not a common choice.
Thus, after Sasaki expressed his thoughts, he felt confident that Miyajima Sakura would choose him.
Yet, contrary to Sasaki's expectations, Miyajima Kiichiro didn't show any signs of regret or disappointment.
He remained kind and nodded with a smile.
He didn't speak further, instead silently lowering his gaze.
Unable to discern what this meant, Sasaki didn't know what more to say and subtly observed the others.
Seated beside Miyajima Kiichiro, Miyajima Tsubaki clearly displayed a look of disappointment, but within that disappointment, Sasaki also saw a faint sense of relief.
This mix of contrasting emotions left him puzzled.
If she hoped for him to be with Miyajima Sakura, why did she seem relieved upon hearing his situation?
Unable to figure it out quickly, he turned his gaze to Miyajima Sosuke, seated opposite Miyajima Kiichiro.
Knowing from Miyajima Tsubaki's brief explanation that Sosuke was married into the Miyajima family, Sasaki saw the middle-aged man with a square face, who looked rather unapproachable, glaring at him with obvious displeasure.
Dissatisfaction...
Very understandable.
After all, it's normal for an old father to be upset when his tender daughter is about to be taken by someone else.
So, Sasaki didn't pay too much attention to him.
As for Miyajima Sakura, who was sitting not far from Sasaki, her expression was as he expected.
After a brief moment of disappointment and sadness, her face turned resolute.
The silence lasted for less than two minutes.
As if giving his granddaughter time to react, Miyajima Kiichiro asked:
"What does Sakura think of Fuyumi?"
Having already decided that she would become Sasaki's wife no matter what, and as a traditional martial family woman, Miyajima Sakura was much more accepting of her husband having multiple wives than modern women.
Therefore, after hearing the boy's words and knowing that she wouldn't be the only one, she only felt slightly disappointed for a while before adjusting her mindset.
"Grandfather's decision is mine."
Knowing that her grandfather didn't want to hear her praise Sasaki but wanted to know her attitude, Miyajima Sakura softly responded and then, blushing, lowered her eyes without saying anything more.
"Mm~"
Nodding, Miyajima Kiichiro smiled warmly at the increasingly surprised Sasaki and said:
"You two should get along well in the future~"
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