Editing Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume12 Chapter4 3 (section)

=== <noinclude> The Rich Princes and Princesses. </noinclude>Part 3 ===

"Thank-you very much."

After getting out of the back seat of the red sports car, Yumi bowed towards the driver's seat. They were in front of the white plate with the house's street number. She'd arrived by car, taking the super-express to the Ogasawara's summer house. 

"I'm always happy to help you, Yumi-chan."

Kashiwagi-san laughed. The ginkgo prince had been sipping coffee at a cozy cafe when one of his juniors had charged in and demanded that Kashiwagi-san take his older sister to a holiday house. Indeed, his only real option was to laugh it off.

"Because I can always get Yuuki to pay for it."

"Wha!?"

Yumi panicked and looked at her younger brother, still sitting in the back seat of the car. Yuuki waved it away, indicating that it was all fine. Kobayashi-kun was also in the car, so he probably wasn't about to get jumped right there and then.

"Good luck, Yumi-chan."

Kashiwagi-san said, sticking his head out the window.

"Okay?"

"Oh, it's just a hunch that you'll need it."

"With what?"

She was thankful to Kashiwagi-san for bringing her here, and while she didn't dislike him as much as she once had, she wasn't particularly fond of his brand of anxiety-inducing teasing.

"I don't know, but it feels like a storm's brewing. You're the away team here, so it's going to be rough. Well then, see you around."

The away team.

Kashiwagi-san and Yoshino-san had both said the same thing. 

Leaving her with those words, the car returned the way it had come.

Brrrm.

Yumi remained there until the sound of the car had faded to nothingness, then entered into the villa grounds.



It wasn't clear how much Kashiwagi-san had foreseen, but patiently waiting for Yumi to return was a series of events that brought his words sharply to mind.

"I'm back."

She heard the sound of laughter when she stepped into the entry. It was quite lively laughter, since it had echoed all the way down the hall from the terrace.

"Ah, welcome back, Yumi-sama."

It looked like she'd arrived just in time for tea, as Kyo-san was pushing a tea cart loaded with a teapot and teacups.

"It seems quite lively."

"Yes, the young ladies from the Ayanokouji, Saionji, Kyougoku and Matsudaira families heard that Sachiko-ojou-sama had arrived, so they came to visit. They've all been spending summers together here since they were little."

"So that's it."

"Why don't you go and join them, Yumi-sama? It's perfect timing, since the tea's ready too."

"No, it's okay."

She didn't want to intrude on their fun. Yumi loitered in the entrance, still holding her parasol, thinking that she'd sneak up to her room.

"Yumi, is that you?"

Now that she'd been discovered by her onee-sama, there was no way she could run away. Reluctantly, she set her parasol down and followed Kyo-san out to the terrace.

"I just got back."

The laughter, which sounded like the chirping of small birds, stopped instantly when she approached. Sachiko-sama beckoned her over, put her hands on Yumi's shoulders and positioned Yumi in front of her.

"Everyone, this is my petite s&oelig;ur from school, Fukuzawa Yumi. She'll be staying here until Monday, so I hope you all get along well together."

"P-pleased to meet you."

She mustn't embarrass her onee-sama. She had to greet them properly. &ndash; Thinking these thoughts, Yumi bowed deeply. Then, when she raised her head and got her first good look at the visitors, the image seared itself into her brain as she was assailed by waves of regret.

The visitors, all of them, were colorful swallowtail butterflies.

Bright, tailored clothes in all colors, coupled with equally striking features, and faces brimming with confidence.

In contrast, she wasn't even a white cabbage butterfly at the moment. She wasn't sure what her T-shirt and jeans could be likened to, but it definitely wouldn't be a butterfly, it'd be some other sort of insect.

"A pleasure to meet you, Yumi-sama."

"How lucky for you, becoming Sachiko-sama's petite s&oelig;ur and all."

"Splendid. I just know we'll get along well together."

The butterflies smiled, showering her with flowery words. But there was one butterfly that remained silent, watching on with a displeased expression.

"Touko-chan . . ."

"Gokigenyou, Yumi-sama."

Touko-chan smiled faintly.

She hadn't even realized that Touko-chan was here until that exchange. But, thinking back, Kyo-san had indeed said, "Matsudaira."

"What about Canada?"

Perhaps not wanting to touch on that topic, the young lady from the Matsudaira family looked away and replied, "I changed my mind."

"I see."

Her attitude towards Yumi was as cold as ever. Even so, Yumi was glad that Touko-chan was there.

For Yumi, on the away team, it was a relief just to see a familiar face. That wouldn't change, even if Touko-chan was on the home team. It could be called sentimentality, perhaps.

With the basic introductions completed, tea and cakes were served. Yumi had thought that she would withdraw after greeting them, but the butterflies wouldn't let her leave. In the end, she was forced to join their tea party, chatting with them as she drank tea and ate sweets. Unfortunately, Yumi found it hard to join in the conversation of these rich young girls.

One of them said that their favorite shop was such-and-such and they went there every month, and when Yumi asked where it was she was told it was in Paris, France.

Another one said that her parents had bought her a horse as a birthday present.

One of them was spending all of August on a luxury cruise liner. It was like they were from another time, and another place.

Yumi vaguely remembered a song she'd heard a long time ago. It started with someone claiming they owned multiple ships, then after a long series of back-and-forth discussion it turned out they were a complete liar, so you should watch out for them &mdash; that sort of song.

But the things the girls were discussing were probably all true. Assuming a world like theirs existed, those sorts of things would just be part of everyday life. Yumi felt like she'd got lost in a foreign country.

At times she'd felt as though Sachiko-sama was a space alien, but perhaps Sachiko-sama was really the earthling and Yumi herself was the alien. Majority rule was, in this case, quite terrifying.

"By the way, did you hear what happened with widow Higashiyama-sama, from Kamakura?"

"Yes, I was surprised by how audacious she was."

When the conversation turned to gossip, Touko-chan suddenly stood up and said, "I should be leaving now."

"Touko-sama?"

The three young ladies &mdash; Ayanokouji, Saionji, and Kyougoku &mdash; all stared at Touko-chan in wonder.

"I'm not particularly fond of making fun of other people. Besides, I wouldn't like other people to slander me without knowing my situation, so I refrain from doing likewise."

"We're not slandering anyone."

"Right . . ."

The trio exchanged glances, but didn't offer up any logical rebuttal.

"That's perfectly alright. Why don't we end our tea-party here for today?"

Sachiko-sama said. In truth, it felt like she was troubled by that sort of conversation too, but the other girls were her guests so she couldn't scold them.

"Yumi-sama, while you're staying here, you absolutely have to come and visit our summer house."

Saionji Yukari-sama said, grasping Yumi's hand, just as she was about to leave. Her invitation was quite enthusiastic, perhaps because they were both in second year of high school.

"Yes, thank you for the invitation," Yumi replied politely, probably because she'd been addressed politely.

With that, the three young ladies returned to their respective summer houses.

"Gokigenyou Sachiko-onee-sama, Yumi-sama."

Touko-chan was the only one to tarry a while before leaving. Curious, Yumi chased after her and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Since I stopped them in the middle of their gossip session, I just thought I'd give those poor girls some space so they could bitch about me."

"Hmm, how mature."

"Now's not the time for admiration. As soon as they get home, they'll start spreading rumors about you, Yumi-sama."

Touko-chan purposefully stopped walking as she offered this warning. No, based on her tone of voice, it was more like a threat.

"They've all admired Sachiko-onee-sama for so long, there's no way they'll say good things about her newcomer petite s&oelig;ur."

"I see, so there's three more lined up behind you, Touko-chan."

Before Sachiko-sama had introduced Yumi, they'd only spared her a single glance. Indeed, their expressions had seemed to say, "Who's this?" as they sought to shut her out.

"How does it feel? A bit terrifying, right?"

Touko-chan laughed and dashed off into the woods, leaving Yumi with those words. That had been quite the tough conversation.


Sachiko-sama was waiting for her in the entry when she returned.

"Did you have fun in town?"

"Yeah, but . . ." Yumi rested her head on Sachiko-sama's shoulder. "It's more fun to be with you, onee-sama."

Here and now, in front of her onee-sama, had she been able to return to her happy self?

This was what Yumi thought as she felt the warmth of Sachiko-sama's hand gliding across her hair.