Meeting The Worst Kind Of Person

Apparently, what made Yuti-san happiest as a souvenir was cookies from a Western-style confectionery a short distance from the café we had visited.

A little overwhelmed by the overly formal bows from so many employees, I left the café and walked alongside Aurora-chan, who was leading the way.

Unlike before, she showed no sign of rushing and walked at a natural pace.

“…Aurora?”

But then she suddenly stopped.

I clearly saw Aurora-chan flinch at the voice that called out from behind us.

When I turned around, I saw a lone woman standing there.

Her silver hair contrasted sharply with Aurora-chan’s golden hair.

Beneath her neatly trimmed bangs, gray eyes just like Shia’s and Aurora-chan’s peered out.

“…Tiara-obasama.”

Aurora-chan turned around beside me and addressed her as Tiara, but she made no attempt to meet the woman’s gaze.

Her head was lowered, so I couldn’t see her expression from where I stood.

“…Why are you in a place like this…? No, more importantly, who is that man beside you…?”

At the sound of her voice, I looked toward the woman Aurora-chan had called Tiara and found her staring intently at me.

Then, as though something had clicked into place, a smile appeared on her face.

It was an unpleasant smile. That was my immediate impression.

“I see. So you’re Nova Fols.”

“…Yes.”

“I am Tiara Ark Gate. Your wife’s aunt. A pleasure.”

“…A pleasure to meet you.”

That was what I said, but there was something about this woman that rubbed me the wrong way.

It wasn’t quite the same as Zeroad-niiue or Kairas-niiue, but broadly speaking, it felt similar.

“I certainly hope you’ll devote yourself to serving House Ark Gate. That is the duty of any man who becomes involved with House Ark Gate, after all.”

“…Excuse me?”

I didn’t quite understand what she meant, so I reflexively asked her to repeat herself.

Did she mean that I should be useful to Shia?

If that was all, I intended to do everything I could, but from Tiara-san’s tone, I could tell she meant something slightly different.

“…………”

Aurora-chan had also been silent this whole time.

“I’ve heard about you. The third son of our sworn enemy, House Fols, and a man with no power whatsoever. I’ll admit, I didn’t even know you existed until the family head told me about you. But now that you’ve become part of House Ark Gate, that changes things. I trust you’ll work yourself to the bone for us.”

“…Nova-onii-sama isn’t like that. Onee-sama didn’t bring him into House Ark Gate as a husband. Onee-sama was the one who married into House Fols. So… please stop speaking to him like that.”

Aurora-chan, who had remained silent until now, stepped forward and said that.

But Tiara-san merely snorted at Aurora-chan’s words.

“It amounts to the same thing. He has become a member of House Ark Gate. The family head married into House Fols? Hah, on paper, perhaps. But the difference between House Fols and House Ark Gate as they stand now is like heaven and earth. Nothing has changed from before. You know very well what kind of family House Ark Gate is, don’t you?”

“…But Onii-sama is different. He’s not like… the men of House Ark Gate before him…”

“…You’ve grown bold, Aurora. Has Neeue’s passing left you with nothing to fear? Or have you gotten a little carried away because the family head has taken a liking to you?”

“…………”

Aurora-chan clenched her fists, and they began to tremble.

Apparently encouraged by that reaction, Tiara-san took a step closer to Aurora-chan.

She loomed over her and bombarded her with words.

“Have you forgotten, Aurora? What you’re saying is a rejection of Neeue herself. Are you telling me that not only she, but even you, would deny our great Neeue? You, whom Neeue loved more than anyone else?”

“I… I…”

“Remember, Aurora. Who made you the person you are today? Was it the family head? Was it that man standing there? Or perhaps your useless father?”

“That’s… not… true…”

“Exactly. It was none of them. The one who made you who you are was our great Nee—”

“You’re really damn annoying.”

I stepped forward, moved in front of Aurora-chan, and shielded her behind me.

By placing myself between her and Tiara, I blocked Tiara from Aurora-chan’s sight.

“What the hell is wrong with you…? You’ve been droning on and on this whole time—is this really how you treat your own niece? What are you trying to accomplish by cornering Aurora-chan like this?”

I let the anger surging up from deep inside me spill into my words as I confronted Tiara.

I had no idea what had happened between her and Aurora-chan.

More accurately, I barely knew anything about House Ark Gate at all.

But I couldn’t forgive her for making Aurora-chan tremble like that… more than anything, I couldn’t forgive the person who had reduced her to this state.

“…An outsider should keep his mouth shut.”

“I’m one of those ‘men of House Ark Gate’ you were talking about, aren’t I? Then that makes me involved.”

“That is not what I meant. A man of House Ark Gate should be obedient to House Ark Gate and—”

“I said shut the hell up.”

Tiara still showed no sign of closing her mouth, so I sharpened my tone.

She really had been unbelievably irritating this entire time.

“House Ark Gate this, House Ark Gate that—you keep repeating it like an idiot… Listen to me. I didn’t marry Shia because she was an Ark Gate. I’m not spending time with Aurora-chan because she’s an Ark Gate. I’m with them because Shia is Shia, Aurora-chan is Aurora-chan, and Yuti-san is Yuti-san. Don’t lump them all together under the name ‘Ark Gate.’”

“…You bastard.”

“What do you mean, ‘a man of House Ark Gate’? I’m Shia’s husband, Aurora-chan’s brother-in-law, and Yuti-san’s brother-in-law. That’s all there is to it.”

“…………”

Seeing Tiara make a face as though she had bitten into something bitter made me feel just a little better.

With my head having cooled slightly, I continued.

“After meeting Aurora-chan and Yuti-san, I thought everyone in Shia’s family must be good people. Looks like I was wrong… At the very least, you’re the worst.”

“Please leave.”

Immediately after I said that, I felt something against my right hand at the same moment Aurora-chan’s voice rang out.

When I turned to the right, I saw Aurora-chan standing there with her head held high, staring straight at Tiara.

“Let’s pretend we never met here today. I won’t report this to Onee-sama either. So please, just leave.”

The trembling girl from moments ago was nowhere to be seen.

Aurora-chan stared directly back at Tiara with such a serious expression that she reminded me of Shia at times.

But the hand clasped with my right one was still trembling ever so slightly, so I instinctively squeezed her small hand tighter, pouring a single message into that gesture: It’s okay.

“…………”

“Leave.”

Tiara and Aurora-chan glared silently at one another for a while.

But Tiara had been biting her lip for some time now, and her expression had turned visibly frustrated.

It was obvious to anyone watching which of them held the upper hand.

“…It seems I’ve said a little too much.”

As Tiara looked around, I followed her gaze.

Because we had been arguing on the main avenue, several people had begun looking our way.

I didn’t think they could hear what we were saying at this volume, but if we kept going, we might attract even more attention.

“Excuse me.”

Tiara said that and started to turn away, but halfway through the motion, she stopped and looked at me.

“There’s no such thing as a good person in the Ark Gate bloodline.”

With a mocking laugh, Tiara said those words before finally turning on her heel and walking away down the main avenue.

As I watched her back grow smaller in the distance, I strongly hoped I would never have to see her again.