Chapter 39: Troubled
"Shall I help the lady change clothes?" Rika asked, but I shook my head.
"Let me rest in my room for a while." I’ll drink the medicine Tomoe gave me to make me feel better. I slammed my body on the bed and snuggled with my pillows. I’m glad I don’t have any club activities tomorrow and the next day because of the sports festival. "I can rest a little."
I still need to study, though. Ah, that’s right! "I forgot to ask El’s contact number." I sighed as I stared at the ceiling. How will he know what time to go to our school? Should I really accept the help he’s offering? To be honest, it’s still weird. If it was the past me, I’d brush these thoughts off and just think El’s a kind person. But now, I’ve become wary of people and the purpose why they’re approaching me. I’m scared of being fooled again.
I’ll just take a quick nap.
The quick nap wasn’t quick at all! "Young miss! Please wake up. It’s time for dinner." I heard Rika’s voice which woke me up. When I looked at the wall clock, I saw it was already 7 pm. I instantly got up and got help from Rika, combing my hair while I washed my face. "The oyabun and lady Tomoe are already waiting in the dining room." Tomoe will probably scold me because of this!
After tidying myself, I rushed toward the dining area, and Kaoru was the one waiting outside. ’Where’s Kenji?’ I thought.
"The young miss has arrived."
Kaoru opened the door, and I bowed to grandpa Kenta as soon as his eyes landed on me. "I apologize for being late," I said. ’Please, don’t scold me. I already had enough scolding.’ Is what I thought while I walked with my head down to my seat.
"It’s fine, dear. I heard you were sleeping. It’s fine even if you skip having dinner with this old geezer." Grandpa Kenta said, which caused me to feel flustered. "You’re not pushing yourself too much, aren’t you? Maki won’t feel good if he learns you’re always tired." He chuckled as he drank the tea in his cup.
"I-I’m fine, grandpa."
"I see, I see. You’re tenacious like your father." He said with a proud laugh. "Prepare the food now," Grandpa told the servants, and that’s when Tomoe’s attendants placed the plates in front of me. They’re serving me too much food again, and just thinking about how I need to finish this makes me want to barf again. Since Tomoe taught me some of their basic table etiquettes, I assume it’s also wrong to waste food. It is always wrong and wasteful. She might scold me if I don’t finish all of these.
I put my hands together. "I-Itadakimasu." Grandpa Kenta smiled after seeing me do that. Does it make him so proud already? We started eating, and I could see how graceful Tomoe eats. While on the other hand, I keep letting go of my chopsticks and can’t eat properly.
"If you’re having trouble using chopsticks, you can use a spoon and fork, my dear." Grandpa Kenta said. "Bring Ellie a spoon and fork." He ordered one of the servants, and they immediately brought it to me. I gulped as I glanced at Tomoe, but she still focused on her food. ’I-Is it okay for me to use these? Tomoe will scold me.’
Even after thinking about it thoroughly, grandpa forced me to use it. He told me that I can take learning chopsticks easily and didn’t need to learn them forcefully. "On another note, have you learned the yakuza’s code of ethics and our values?" I blinked many times as I glanced at Tomoe, but she was not looking at me.
"I-I still haven’t, grandpa."
When I thought I’ll receive a scolding from grandpa for being a slow learner, he just chuckled. "Is that so? Take your time, my dear." He said, comforting me with his laugh and gentle words. How come this guy is Night’s grandfather? Where did Night get his lousy attitude from? "What about the tutoring? Are you learning well from Night?" I gulped after hearing that. How will I tell him I’m not attending that study session anymore?
"Y-Yes, grandpa." I lied. My lie made Tomoe look up at my face. ’Now’s the time she’s going to look at me?!’ I thought as I averted my gaze. "T-The special examination is next week; I think I can pass it." Trying to change the topic didn’t work on grandpa.
"Is that so? I hope Night’s being good towards you."
Oh, he sure is. He makes me cry and constantly threatens to use brute force if I keep pissing him off. "Of course, grandpa. Night and I are getting along well." Let’s just put on faces in front of grandpa. He’ll probably scold Night if he learns that his grandson is being mean to me, seeing that he’s more gentle towards me than his grandson.
No matter how much I try to finish my food, I don’t think I’m getting there. ’Why did the servants put too much food on my plate?’ Nothing will happen even if I complain, so I decided to swallow it all up without chewing. "Let’s have dinner again next time," Grandpa said as he left the room. Tomoe followed soon after, and I could finally breathe.
"Young miss, please don’t force yourself anymore," Rika said as she grabbed my arm to stop me from putting the food in my mouth. "Kaoru, please take these foods back to the kitchen." She told Kaoru, which he quickly obliged. "Let’s go back to your room, young miss."
Rika helped me go back to my room, and the moment I got inside, I rushed to the bathroom and barfed again. ’Shoot, this is bad.’ I thought as I puffed while holding onto my stomach. "Please get me some stomach medicine from Dr. Tricia."
"Yes, young miss!"
When Rika left my room, I started barfing again, and it hurt. The pain made me cry while barfing. I shouldn’t have forced myself and just let Tomoe scold me later. "This is what I get for putting up faces when I can’t handle it well." After barfing almost everything, I went to bed, but I noticed my dress was already wet. I should probably go take a bath before studying. Also, I’ll brush my teeth since I can still taste puke, and it’s disgusting.
"Young miss, I have brought the medicine."
"Thank you." I drank the medicine after brushing my teeth. "Please prepare the bath for me."
"Yes, young miss."
I sat on my chair and placed my notes on the desk. I’ll read some of this before taking a bath; I can’t waste time. "Huh?" My forehead creased after seeing my notes marked. Someone marked the most important details, and there’s also a note. When I read it, a smile quickly formed on my face. It was Ace. She marked the parts where she thinks will appear in the exam. "I really love her," I muttered as I read everything and tried to memorize it. My only problem now is mathematics.
"Young miss, the bath’s ready."
After taking a bath, I went back to my routine. Studying in the middle of the night makes me a little hungry, but I can still feel my stomach aching. "I should probably go eat something warm." That’s why I stood up from my chair and went towards the door to call Rika, but she was not there.
"Is she in the kitchen? Or maybe restroom?" I shook my head. I can get food on my own. I shouldn’t rely on Rika every time; I’m no longer a child.
But where is the kitchen?
Even after living here for almost a month, I still don’t know where the kitchen is. I don’t go there often since Rika always brings me my food. Oh! Maybe she’s tending to Night’s father again, like that one time. Where’s that room again?
"Rika?" I called for her name while minding not to wake anyone up since it was already near 11:40 pm, and they must be asleep now. I feel bad for Rika because she always needs to stay up. After all, I’m also staying up. I want to promise her that we’ll sleep well after I pass this exam.
"Rika?" Where did she go? Should I just call for Kaoru’s name? "Kaoru?" I did but still no response. That’s why I decided to walk in the hallway, trying to remember where the kitchen was. Should I just go to sleep feeling hungry? No, that’ll hurt my stomach, and I can’t skip studying tomorrow.
"This won’t do." I rushed towards Night’s father’s room. I knocked gently. "Rika?"
While waiting for the door to open, someone slammed their hand on it and made me flinch. "What are you doing here?" I turned to my behind, and there I saw Night with blood in his suit and dead tired eyes. He’s dripping with blood coming out of his forehead.
"I asked you what you’re doing here."
