The Disgrace Of An Exorcist Family (1)

The water pouring steadily from the faucet was just a little colder than it had been yesterday. The surface of the basin gleamed, reflecting Mei’s gloomy expression.

The morning sunlight, which until just recently had still carried traces of summer, had grown considerably weaker.

It was still bearable for now, but in another few weeks, standing in the kitchen at this hour would become nothing but misery.

“Haah…”

Startled by the sigh that had escaped her on its own, Mei hurriedly covered her mouth with both hands.

She quickly looked around, but fortunately, no one had come into the kitchen yet at this early hour.

(──Thank goodness. If anyone heard me sighing, who knows what they’d say this time.)

Gloomy, creepy, useless, good-for-nothing, failure.

She still had not grown accustomed to the insults and cruel treatment that had been heaped upon her since childhood.

Cleaning the entire house and doing the laundry from early morning were simply expected of her, and even in the dead of winter, she was forced to use water drawn from the well. If she failed to keep the whole house spotless every single day, they would sigh and call her useless.

There had been a time when she desperately worked herself to the bone, hoping they might acknowledge her even a little. Some days, she enthusiastically cooked because she wanted them to eat something delicious, or washed and changed the bed linens, doing everything she could think of. But…

‘I’m not in the mood to eat this today. If you’re going to cook, make something lighter.’

‘If you have time to create extra laundry, then air out the kimono in the shade. I told you to have that finished before summer, didn’t I?’

Her family, beginning with her mother, never praised Mei for anything she accomplished. They only pointed out what was lacking and what she had failed to notice, criticizing her for everything she had not done and telling her that was why she was no good.

It had happened just after she started high school. Once, Mei had begged her parents to let her go to the summer festival held at a nearby shrine. She had overheard the girls in her class making plans to go together. She insisted that she did not need any spending money; she just wanted to see it, even if only for a little while.

When they frowned and asked who was supposed to make dinner, Mei desperately promised that she would finish everything first.

They had told her that would be fine. Yet on that very day, her parents—who rarely invited outsiders over—gathered the neighbors and began holding a banquet. Mei was made to cook without a moment’s rest, and by the time everything was over and she finally stepped outside, the shrine’s lights had already gone dark.

‘You really are slow, aren’t you? We went to all the trouble of saying you could go out.’

They stared at Mei as though she were garbage and hurled the words at her with deliberate malice, intent on hurting her. She could not even cry.

Simply remembering all the days that had led up to today made her chest tighten painfully. She had long since stopped thinking, Why is it always me? Now, only resignation and misery filled her.

Her own face, twisted as though she were about to cry, appeared on the surface of the basin.

Her black hair looked heavy, and her pale, washed-out skin hardly tanned. She was often told that the slight downward slant at the outer corners of her eyes made her look weak, and that just looking at her was irritating.

The navy dress covering her slender body was one she had worn for years. She had mended the frayed hem so many times that, on closer inspection, it looked terribly shabby.

With a white apron on and her long hair tied back with an elastic band, she must have looked far too plain for a girl her age.

Even though she was about to turn eighteen, she was not allowed so much as a touch of makeup, nor was she given enough money to buy clothes for herself, so of course she dressed plainly. Everything she wore was either a hand-me-down from her mother or relatives, or something she had made herself by taking apart old clothes.

(──I have to hurry.)

In this household, Mei handled every duty related to running the home.

Preparing meals, cleaning, laundry. She was not trusted with shopping because they claimed that giving her money might tempt her to do something unnecessary, but aside from that, every task that could broadly be called “housework” belonged to Mei.

When Mei was small, there had been people who seemed to be household helpers, but at some point they had all disappeared.

Her adolescence had passed without her even being allowed to leave the estate except to attend school.

Since graduating from high school last year, she had not passed through the gate leading outside even once.

She still longed for freedom. She had once dreamed of what life might have been like if she had not been born into this family. But now, she no longer had even the energy for dreams like that.

(──The rice is done, and the soup is ready. All that’s left is the rolled omelet…)

She kept her hands moving while arranging the menu in her head.

The best thing Mei could do was finish her work and leave the kitchen before anyone woke up. If she ran into someone, there was no telling what they might say to her again.

If they found fault with her and held her up, it would interfere with the rest of her work.

Realizing that she had taken longer than usual because she had been lost in thought, she hurriedly carried the dishes.

“You’re still not finished? You’re as slow as ever, Nee-san.”

Just as she reached the point where all that remained was setting out the chopsticks, Mei drew a small, sharp breath at the voice behind her.

“Good morning, Io.”

When she slowly turned around, her younger brother Io was standing there, leaning against a pillar as he stared at her. His hair, grown long enough to just cover his ears, swayed softly as he narrowed his eyes in displeasure. His faintly irritated expression and tense air made it obvious that he was in a terrible mood.

“You mean, ‘Good morning.’ Who do you think you are, speaking so casually to me, Nee-san?”

“S-sorry.”

The apology escaped Mei almost by reflex, and she bowed her head to Io.

Io, her younger brother by one year, was treated very differently from Mei and was deeply cherished by the family. Because everyone expected him to inherit the family business someday and carry the household on his shoulders, his standing was far above Mei’s.

She was not permitted to defy him or talk back.

Even so, Io was still Mei’s precious little brother.

(──Io looks thinner again.)

Io had always had trouble putting on weight, and whenever his busy schedule made him neglect his meals, he lost weight immediately. Seeing that his face looked just a little more gaunt than it had a few days ago, Mei pressed a hand to her chest.

“Do you want to eat first? If it’s now…”

“No. Seeing your face killed my appetite.”

“But… you should eat at least a little.”

The arm she reached out as though trying to stop him was roughly slapped away by Io.

“Don’t touch me.”

At the cold rejection in his voice, Mei felt her strength rapidly drain away and froze in place.

“Hm? What’s that? A flower? You, of all people, are wearing one, Nee-san?”

“Ah!”

Io reached for the cord that had been tying Mei’s hair.

The little flower ornament had been something she made idly from a scrap of fabric, and she had liked its cute blue appearance.

With an unpleasant snap, the flower ornament was ripped away.

“Wow, that’s lame… Don’t you think you’re forgetting that you’re a member of West Suo, Nee-san?”

“I’m sorry.”

For Mei, who was not permitted to buy even a single accessory, it had been the best attempt at dressing up she could manage, but apparently Io found even that unpleasant.

The flower he had snatched away was crushed in Io’s palm. She doubted she would ever get it back.