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     FOR THE FEW DAYS that naoya wasn't home yet, hanako made sure to stay within her room's vicinity. she also familiarized herself with some of the staff that brought her food and the surroundings, with the help of rin.

she also took this time to emerge herself into the role that she had been training for: naoya's wife.

"lady hanako, I must say, you look absolutely stunning!! dare I even say, you look the best out of the other ladies", rin complimented, whispering the last part.

     "you're too kind, rin. and there's no such thing. anyways, thank you for helping me around these past few days. I would've been lost without you", hanako smiled, as the maid had finished styling her master's hair.

     "not at all, lady hanako. it's my pleasure to be serving under you".

     hanako simply stared at her reflection, as she never thought she'd be wearing a white shiromuku, much less partaking in a wedding based on her status.

     though she supposed since she was representing gojō's household, that her value might've increased a little.

     "it's about time, lady hanako. we should start heading towards the main hall".

     nodding in agreement, the two traveled towards where the ceremony was being held. many other aristocrats, including the gojō, inumaki, fujiwara, and even kamo clan arrived.

     hanako briefly met gojō's gaze, to which she wasn't sure whether they held a tinge of pity, regret, or both.

though all was done, and there was no going back.

"may the ceremony begin!", the head servant announced.

throughout the entire ceremony, hanako failed to meet the eyes of her new husband. she was last to commence the tea ceremony and such, as the order was suzume first then koyuki.

hanako thought that this was perhaps just a way of naoya subtly disrespecting gojō, as with his ranking, she should've been wed first.

though all didn't matter, for once the ceremony ended, the wives were to patiently await for their husband in their respective rooms.

     it was somewhat of a shame that hanako couldn't go out to socialize even on her own wedding night, but she supposed that she preferred the peace and quietness over the rambunctious political men outside.

     a sigh had suddenly escaped the pale woman's lips, for she had been waiting hours upon hours.

     'perhaps he won't be coming tonight. not a surprise, since him and satoru have opposing political views'.

as soon as that thought had entered into hanako's mind, rin had walked in, seemingly to feel a little uncomfortable.

"u-umm...lady hanako?"

"oh, rin! is master naoya on his way?"

"actually...h-he's staying over at lady koyuki's for tonight..."

worried that hanako might throw a vase at the poor girl's head, she was pleasantly surprised to hear a soft chuckle.

     "l-lady hanako??"

     "no need to be so worried, rin. that just means that I get to enjoy this table of food with you".

     rin's eyes seemed to light up, as hanako ushered the maid to hurry over and take a seat.

     "thank you, lady hanako!!"

     "no need for the formalities when we're alone, rin. and please, eat whatever you like".

     rin simply nodded, as she took a few bites of the sea bream and red rice. grateful that hanako was such an open-minded lady, she promised herself that she'd serve hanako to the best of her abilities.

     and that had meant attempting to get naoya to notice hanako first.

❉᯽❉

     "greetings lady fuyuka", the three new brides curtsied.

     "you may rise. thank you to everyone for arriving on time especially since some of us had to accompany naoya-sama last night".

koyuki's face flushed a little, as she fiddled around with her new golden bracelet.

fuyuka kept a smile on, whilst suzume seemed a little irked. after all, the latter was from the fujiwara family, who was even more prestigious than the inumaki clan.

"anyways, thank you sisters for the morning greetings. you may all return for now, except for lady hanako".

hanako perked up at the mentioning of her name. whilst the other two had excused themselves, hanako and rin had stayed behind.

"lady hanako, would you mind taking a walk with me around the gardens? I heard the cherry blossoms are finally blooming".

     "of course, lady fuyuka. I'll be in your care then", hanako respectfully replied, before following the seishitsu towards the main zen'in garden.

     true to her words, the cherry blossoms did bloom wonderfully. each and every branch was decorated with luscious pink petals, and no signs of wilting.

     "beautiful aren't they?", fuyuka questioned.

     "indeed, but they're not even comparable to lady fuyuka's beauty".

     fuyuka softly chuckled, before plucking a petal from one of the nearby branches and twirling it between her thumb and pointer finger.

     "lady hanako sure is good at flattery. though that won't get you far in this household", fuyuka stated.

"you're pretty, lady hanako. you're very bright too. though what naoya-sama wants isn't a colorful personality, but rather an object that he can proudly show off".

hanako intently listened as she wondered why fuyuka was telling her all this. and it's as if she had read her mind, fuyuka had then said, "I'm telling you all of this because I wish for you to succeed here. it won't be long until he casts me aside, and when that happens, I—"

     "you want me to help you when that time comes, when he casts you aside".

     "correct", fuyuka smiled.

     "I'm afraid that if lady suzume or lady koyuki were to gain master naoya's favor, things wouldn't look good on my end. so what do you say, lady hanako? how about we form a mutual partnership for now?"

     hanako wasn't exactly in any position to decline. after all, it didn't seem like naoya was going to willingly see her anytime soon.

     "it'd be my pleasure", hanako agreed, "I look forward to being partners, lady fuyuka".

❉᯽❉

     "lady fuyuka was so nice to gift you the koto, hanako!"

"indeed. shall I play it for you? after all, it doesn't seem like naoya-sama will be visiting tonight either", hanako smiled.

rin just huffed whilst carrying the musical instrument towards the petite pavilion outside hanako's room.

"I don't understand why master naoya won't even come once. what's so great about lady koyuki anyways", the young maid muttered, "it's been a month!!"

"patience is a virtue, rin. and plus, I'm sure our turn will come soon".

rin just sighed as she took a seat in front of her master, enjoying the sounds of the koto.

"you play so wonderfully, hanako".

"thank you, rin. why don't you sit back and relax? you can even have some freshly washed grapes", the dark-haired woman offered.

nodding, rin had happily plopped some grapes into her mouth. this was probably the best month in her entire time working at the zen'in estate. usually everyone was so uptight, and rules were even stricter for those that were born female.

though halfway through a piece, rin's body had straightened itself and immediately kneeled onto the floor.

curious as to rin's unusual behavior, hanako had promptly stopped playing and turned around.

"n-naoya-sama!"

     quickly standing up to curtsy, naoya had ushered the maid to go away.

     "you may rise".

     "thank you", hanako softly mumbled, still not meeting the zen'in heir's eyes.

     naoya harshly gripped hanako's chin, tilting her head upwards so that he could get a good look at her. a soft gasp had promptly escaped her lips.

     apparently zen'in males had a habit of doing that.

     "is this your way of getting my attention?", naoya grinned.

     "p-pardon?"

     "I could hear your playing from the other side of the walls. is this your way of getting me to come over?"

     hanako darted her eyes away from the male's almost intimidating stare. she recalled gojō informing her that naoya preferred weak and obedient women.

     "if that's what it takes...then I'd be willing to play for my lord every night", hanako smoothly flirted.

     naoya raised a brow at the woman's bold statement. he originally was going to head towards koyuki's, but after spending so many days with her, he had somewhat gotten bored. suzume wasn't exactly on naoya's radar either, for her looks weren't up to his standards compared to his other two concubines.

     though the real reason was he was hesitant on coming over to hanako's was because he had thought that gojō had perhaps hired an assassin or spy to butcher his chances of becoming the next head.

     however, it seemed like he may have overthought it for now.

     "go on then. play something for me, but if it's bad I'm heading straight back to koyuki's", naoya honestly stated, whilst taking a seat where rin previously sat.

     bowing her head, hanako immediately took a seat at the gifted instrument. this was only one of the many things that she had to master, according to gojō.

     as soon as hanako started strumming the strings, naoya had found himself closely observing the woman's calm expression.

     'I thought she would've been more nervous'.

     surprisingly, another piece then another and another had ended. yet naoya never left.

     one could say he was just simply enjoying the music that hanako provided. but another could say that he was enjoying hanako herself.

     her complexion was comparable to the moon, contrasting her silk-like ebony hair that was meticulously bundled up to suit naoya's taste in style.

     her fingers were nimble, quick to pluck the strings with much accuracy. and her nose was perfectly sloped, leading naoya's eyes to wander down to the woman's lightly tinted lips.

     naoya wasn't sure what had gotten into him. it was like the music was hypnotizing him, causing his heart to skip a beat or two.

     simply put, he was aroused.

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