Chapter 60: Precipitation.

That afternoon after classes, Violet properly informed Claudia and the others about Mary-June and obtained their consent.

She would have loved to refuse outright without even asking, but that would only give her father more ammunition, including the argument she had made that morning. And though he had decided unilaterally, to that man the only thing that would register was that Violet had broken a promise.
The option of them refusing simply did not exist in his mind.

Of course, if any of them had shown the slightest hesitation, she would have withdrawn the idea on the spot.
Her father would dislike it, but that was nothing new. She was prepared to endure the scolding; after all, she was the one who had dragged everyone into this mess.

Fortunately—or unfortunately—Claudia and the others had readily agreed.

It was contradictory: being refused would have been troublesome, but being accepted meant she now had to study alongside Mary-June.
No matter which way it went, nothing benefited Violet.
The fact that she had grown used to that terrified her.

“Vio-chan, you okay? Want to take a break?”

“I’m fine. We only just started… thank you.”

Perhaps because Claudia and Mary-June were chatting so amiably right in front of her, Yulan had been fidgeting anxiously for a while.

She knew it was for her sake.
The old Violet would have marched between them, torn them apart, and screamed at Mary-June.

But the Violet who had seen the future knew how foolish that would be; how it would only tighten the noose around her own neck.
And perhaps because her feelings toward Claudia had changed, not a single spark of jealousy ignited.

“Mirania-sama, is this correct?”

“Hm? Let me see… yeah, that’s right. Good job.”

“Thank you.”

Thanks to Mirania’s presence, she didn’t have to direct questions at Claudia.
Of course Claudia ranked higher academically, but Violet herself was reasonably capable.
The only reason she was branded incompetent was the existence of the genius Mary-June.

“…Vio-chan, let’s take a break after all. I’m tired.”

“Eh…”

“Let’s go get some air outside… okay?”

“…Fine, if you insist.”

“Yay!”

“What about you, Mirania-sama?”

“I’ll… pass. I’ll let Claudia and the others know.”

They were in the same room, but the two were so absorbed they didn’t seem to hear.

Not just Claudia; Mary-June was a genius in her own right.
When talented people gathered, constructive discussion naturally followed.
The fact that Violet was inferior to Mary-June was an unchangeable truth at this point.

“…Thank you. Let’s go, Vio-chan.”

“Y-Yes…”

For a moment she thought a tense current passed between Mirania and Yulan, but it must have been her imagination.
Mirania’s smile never wavered, and the two of them had neither particular closeness nor animosity… or so she believed.

Urged by Yulan, she left the student council room.

Just stepping out made the tension drain from her shoulders.
Sharing the same space as Mary-June inevitably reminded her of the dinner table and darkened her mood.
To Violet, Mary-June was inextricably linked to their father.
Even though she resembled him more physically… perhaps it was because she could always feel his love surrounding Mary-June.

“Whoa… the rain’s really coming down.”

She looked up at the sky from the covered walkway crossing the courtyard.
Darker than a night sky, with no trace of clear blue; just a uniform gray.
The falling droplets blurred her vision; on a normal day she could see far into the distance, but now even a step ahead was hazy.

That sky reminded her of her own hair.

A cloudy sky was hated.
And that overlapped with the existence called Violet.

She hated rain.
She hated overcast skies.

“It’s a blessing rain, though.”

Yulan laughed softly and caught the droplets in his palm.
He showed no displeasure even as stray drops slipped past the roof and wet his bangs; his childlike smile almost looked like he was enjoying it.

“You like rain, Yulan?”

“Hmm, never really thought about it… but I like the slightly dark sky on rainy days, the sound, the smell.
It feels like the world is being washed clean and made new… It’d be nice if we could see a rainbow together after.”

He was just talking about the rain.
Yet to Violet it sounded like affirmation of herself; was that only because she wanted it to be?

Was it because he smiled so gently that she started dreaming such dreams?

“The rain doesn’t look like it’ll let up anytime soon.”

“That’s fine by me; it feels like we’re the only two people in the world, and I’m happy.”

The sound of the downpour blocked out distant noises; all she could hear was Yulan breathing beside her.
There were still many people left in the large school building, yet the rain erased their presence.

Just the two of us in the world… exactly.

A world with no one to deny Violet.
A world where only Yulan stood by her side would surely be incredibly comforting.

But it would be a world made only for Violet’s comfort.

Being alone with her would just be boring for him, wouldn’t it?

In a world where only Violet could find peace, did Yulan’s feelings have any place?
Wasn’t she sacrificing him just to feel safe herself?

The hair falling over her downcast face was the same color as the cloudy sky.
Darker in shadow, dull even in light; a large hand brushed it away.

In the opened view, she saw the sun shining through the rain.

“—I’d be the happiest person in the world.”

His smile, narrowed against the dazzling light, reaching out as if toward a wish, was more beautiful than gentle; a side of Yulan she had never seen before.

His eyes were faintly flushed, the golden irises gleaming with deeper luster.
The way he savored happiness was both childlike and mature; the innocence of dreaming the impossible, and the realism to accept it was impossible.

Just a hypothesis.
A fantasy that could never come true.
A world with only the two of them was a fairy tale that would never happen.

Yet for Yulan, it was the ultimate paradise.

Violet’s eyes widened like raindrops bouncing off leaves; stunned.
Yulan’s words had been too unexpected; she seemed unable to measure the many layers of meaning within them.

Seeing that, Yulan quietly redrew his own line inside his mind.

Little by little, he would change the “Yulan” that existed inside Violet.
His final destination was set; for now he still had to remain her little brother.
But if he clung too tightly to that role, when the time came Violet would never accept his protection as a man.

He would mix the feelings of a man into the little brother, bit by bit.
Just enough for a slight sense of wrongness that she would forget soon after.

He would let it accumulate.
Fill Violet with it.

And one day, when everything was ready; when the piled-up feelings of Yulan coursed through her entire body.

But that time was not yet.

“Well, that happiness will melt the moment we go back to the salon, though~”

He lightened his tone on purpose and softened his expression into the usual gentle, childish one; easy with a face like his.

He clasped his hands and stretched high above his head.
For someone as tall and long-legged as Yulan, the covered walkway felt a little cramped.
He hadn’t realized he was hunching, but his muscles had apparently been more tense than he thought.

“Let’s head back soon. If we stay too long we’ll catch a chill.”

“Ah… right.”

“…You don’t want to go back yet? Then somewhere else; the library, maybe.”

At her hesitant reply, Yulan’s first worry was Claudia, and Mary-June who was with him.
He didn’t know if it was both of them or just Mary-June that made her reluctant, but if Violet didn’t want to return, his course of action was decided.

Out here there was rain and wind, but indoors there would be no problem.

“N-No, that’s not… that’s not it…”

“…?”

Library, salon, anywhere farther from the student council room would be better…
Such thoughts were cut short by her somewhat flustered voice.

“It’s not that… I… I wanted to apologize to you, Yulan.”