Part 5: Dining Room

BGM: Novelette

The old bastard pressed us to sit. Only the places where we would sit were empty at the long table, which only made us feel our tardiness all the more. The seat at the head of the table, called the Incipient's Chair, was for the most highly ranked, reserved for Grandfather. It was still empty. He was probably planning to come in last to ham it up.
The seating order, looking at the Incipient's Chair at the head of the table, went from left to right with the lower ranking seats progressing in rows of two further away from it.
So, on the left-hand side of the first row, closest to the Incipient's Chair, was where uncle Krauss, ranked at number two, should have sat. It looked like he hadn't arrived yet, so that seat was empty.


Going like this, you might think that the next ones to come would be their husbands and wives, but... It's weird, but the next left-hand seat in the third row, meaning number six, was Jessica's seat. Opposite her was George-aniki. Then, next to Jessica, was me, And opposite me was Maria. Then, finally, next to me on the left-hand side of the fifth row was number ten, aunt Natsuhi.
Opposite her was uncle Hideyoshi. Next to aunt Natsuhi, in the sixth row and in the final seat on the left-hand side, was Kyrie-san. The seat opposite to Kyrie-san was empty even though everything had been set out. According to this ranking system, that spot was the seat where aunt Rosa's husband should be sitting. Even though he wasn't supposed to be coming, his place was made up.
These kind of ranking orders usually recognize the status of the spouse, but the Ushiromiya family had an original kind of ranking. Maybe it's a leftover of male chauvinism. If the system is predicated on the idea that a woman's womb is just a borrowed thing, then the children of direct descent would have a much higher ranking, and the grandchildren would come next. Meaning that the spouses, with no blood ties, are considered the last in line. It's terrible, but according to that ranking order, Grandmother, when she was alive, would have been in a position even lower than mine.
In their youth they obey their father; after they get married, their husband; after aging, their children. There's the old saying, 'Women, whether in their past, present, or future, have no home'. Long ago, when I was still incapable of figuring all this out, I'd thought it was so great that we could all chat, with the adult siblings in their group and us cousins in ours. However, now that I can reexamine the seating order after growing up a bit, it stirs up some very complicated feelings in me...
Aunt Natsuhi, married to the eldest son of the family and number two in managing the house, sat to my right, which meant that she was two steps lower than me in the ranking order. It was difficult to guess what was going inside her head. That's why I made a small apologetic gesture before sitting down.




Natsuhi, after a moment, gave a small laugh, but it seemed she couldn't quite figure out what she was supposed to be laughing at.

She never got into our kids' circle, and she always looked difficult to get along with. And it didn't help that she gave the impression that she was at odds with the other parents. The fact is that having barely ever exchanged words, I hesitated a lot about how to approach her, and I ended up empty-handed.
The silverware had been tidily set up on the table, but the meal itself hadn't been brought in. In essence, until the man at the head of the table had taken his seat, the meal wouldn't start. So, as long as Grandfather, the highest ranked, didn't come, lunch would be indefinitely on hold. Not even the appetizers would come. So, while our parents withstood their hunger, the silence of the dining room would still wait for Grandfather to come.
It's just that the Grandfather I remembered, when we ate together like this, always showed up at the right time. He was supposed to be the kind of person that would never be so late that he'd keep everyone waiting, even though they were all present.



After being scolded by her mother, Jessica faced the other way, sticking her tongue out. No way around it. Nothing to do but wait for the host to arrive. When I glanced at the clock, I saw that it was almost 12:20...

Video: Master of the House
If the last video made you question listening to this game's voice cast, at least give this one a try first.
Kinzo: Mugihito
Genji: Masato Funaki
Krauss: Jurota Kosugi
Nanjo: Akihiko Ishizumi
The clock showed noon, but he didn't even attempt to get up. Putting his spectacles on, he piled up one by one beside him old-fashioned books with elaborately designed bindings, and immersed himself in their reading. It definitely didn't look like it was for his leisure; on the contrary, he exuded impatience, crisis, as though every minute, every second were precious.
The inside of the sealed room, where dense dust danced, stagnated, steeped in the suspicious stench of smelly medicine. Somehow, sweet, heavy. For anyone with an good nose, the first thing they'd do after entering would be to open a window and ventilate the room.
The knocking against the study door had been going on for a while. A voice calling 'Father' sometimes mingled with the knocks. As Kinzo heaved a deep sigh, he snapped the old book he had in his hands shut and slammed it on the table. Then, he yelled at Krauss who was still knocking on the door.

"...Father. Isn't today the annual family conference? Everyone's gathered down there. Please come out."
Krauss called out to his father through the door. Kinzo always shut himself up in the study and hated it when even his family entered the room. For that reason, Krauss had no choice but to call out thus from the corridor...

...Before the door, Krauss, Nanjo and Genji kept waiting for the master of the house, who would not come out.

He himself hadn't really believed his father would answer his calls. However, as it was the duty of the eldest son, he had formally made the request.


Kinzo slammed the old, heavy book on the table over and over. The racket obviously indicated his highest displeasure. He put his spectacles down and flew up from his chair. He spread his arms wide open, as if to sing to a packed opera house, as if appealing to someone, and yelled.







Choking coughs continued to pour from the study...

Krauss spun on his heels. He looked at his wristwatch, mumbling and acting as though he had wasted time doing something he knew would be in vain.



Without waiting for Nanjo, Krauss went downstairs.
Genji urged Nanjo to go and eat. Nanjo looked first to Krauss's back as he disappeared down the stairs, then to the study door, and he let out a deep sigh.






Nanjo gave a small duck of his head and descended the stairs... Genji saw him off, and knocked at the study door.



Kinzo returned to his seat in the study and pressed an old-style switch on the table. After a small delay, the heavy sound of the door unlocking could be heard.
Kinzo believed that his family might try to break in his study. Perhaps someone once opened the window for some air and scattered important documents and other stuff? Is that what made him so nasty? Now, Kinzo had placed a secure lock in his own room, making it so that without his permission nobody could enter, and locking himself in the dungeon he'd created.
Genji, who he trusted the most, was relatively free to enter the room, but that was also not absolute. If Kinzo was in a bad mood, even he wouldn't be able to enter. Anyone else would be limited to holding a conversation through the door, not even seeing his face. And most of the time, they wouldn't even get a real conversation.
However, that didn't become a big problem for the family, because going to the trouble of speaking to the aged Head, who was impossible to please, completely immersed in his odd research, and always locked up in his hideaway, just wasn't worth the effort. They were happy that he didn't come out of his study and, putting him in the hands of the servants, they themselves also tried to avoid him.


Genji headed to a corner of the study. There, a suspicious-looking bottle boasting a venomous color was displayed. It was actually liquor, but, considering that it was placed in this suspicious-looking room, one begins to doubt whether it isn't actually some kind of ghastly poison.
Inside the study, the mysterious collection of books that Kinzo had gathered had grown into a mountain. They were bizarre ancient or banned books, all of them either forbidden, cursed, or sealed.

There were many mysterious objects, like a candle suspiciously melted and molded into a strange shape, which probably had something to do with black magic. The constellations drawn on a certain celestial globe contained quite a few dots that a person who knows the night sky well would tilt their head at. The illustrations inscribed in old, casually opened books were all full of religious, or possibly demonic, grotesque arcana, as well as the weird shapes of various magical circles.
And above all, the sweet, poisonous smell that filled the room profoundly assaulted those who entered for the first time in their sense of sight and smell, then all their senses, making them lose their grip on reality... Inside that study, Genji, with his well trained hand, prepared Kinzo's usual drink. If you didn't know that the ominous dark green liquid that filled the complexly designed bottle was liquor, you really wouldn't want to put it in your mouth. He poured a small quantity of the spirits into the glass. After placing a cube of sugar in a strangely shaped spoon, he then poured water from a pitcher over it. Strangely, when the transparent water was poured, the dark green liquid turned a cloudy white.
It was a strange optical illusion, as though the water had caused a chemical reaction and made the drink become even more unrecognizable as liquor. It improved the original flavor Kinzo liked and adjusted the taste. There was no recipe. Its success was measured only by Kinzo's mood swing when he drank it, and he had learned how to make it only after many decades.
Genji placed the glass in the tray, and faced Kinzo. Kinzo was now gazing out the window.


Kinzo, now unrecognizable as the man who was shouting, screaming and yelling just before, regained his composure. In that man's back dwelt a dignity and intelligence made plain simply by how he tilted his glass and gazed down at the scenery beyond the window. Genji, in order to allow Kinzo to set down his glass any time, motionlessly waited behind and to Kinzo's left, as though he were a living sideboard.
Thereupon, while Kinzo looked out the window, he stuck out only the glass. There was just a mouthful remaining. It was not a gesture intended to set it upon the tray, as Genji expected, but was an motion to hand the glass over to Genji.




Genji respectfully received the glass and inclined it a little to taste its contents. After that, he agitated it.



Kinzo smiled at his loyal subject who refused to put aside rank even when asked to. However, he was not making fun of him; it was relaxed, like a smile at a close friend's unriddable bad habit.









After howling, Kinzo choked once again. Genji set the tray and the glass down and patted his master's back... his facial expression did not change.
...It was always like this.


The outburst, like his previous agitation, had calmed, and Kinzo regained his composure again. His change of stance was like seeing two different people, a wild Kinzo and a composed Kinzo, living together inside one body.




Kinzo looked up to the sky outside the window. He spread his arms as if appealing to someone up in the skies.

...His nonsensical yells segued into a scream...and then into a wail. Kinzo folded over onto the bed, and tore it with both hands. Genji had no choice but to wordlessly watch over his master's lament...







Rudolf shrugged. Apparently, even though Rudolf seemed to resent the way his father did whatever he pleased... he'd rather avoid seeing his father's face if he could help it.




She'd planned for her complaint to be heard only by her cousins, but it had reached even Krauss's ears. Scolded, Jessica scowled and turned away, sulking.



Part 6: Dining Room II

October 4th, 1986, 1:30 PM

BGM: Doorway of Summer
However, because the sons and siblings had been lent a great fortune, in the Ushiromiya family, which considers only those that achieve success in business adults, it literally was a conference.
How much of the fortune was invested? What kind of business was conducted? How much was earned? As a result, how much of the fortune borrowed from the main family can be repaid? Or, possibly, how much will be borrowed for future business ventures? What lessons have they learned, and what could they learn from their mistakes? It seems that topics like these had been discussed very seriously in the past. My dad called it a bed of nails.
Apparently, it used to be a very serious family meeting, bathed in harsh and angry voices. Even on a good year, it was common for someone to get slapped. However, that had become a thing of the past. Now, with everyone pursuing their own business ventures and achieving success, it was a normal yearly get-together.
Even so, hearing about Grandfather's condition caused a significant amount of stress, so while to us grandchildren it was nothing more than a simple meeting, to our parents it was still a real stomachache. I guess that since the ringleader was absent for various reasons, today's lunch was even more delicious. The phrase 'while the demon is not around, everyone can relax' comes to mind.
Well then, let's introduce Jessica's father, whose face I hadn't seen for six years. The man sitting to my father's left was his older brother and the father of Jessica, uncle 阡オ閾シ.

Just like with aunt Natsuhi, I didn't have many memories of speaking with uncle Krauss. He had never been one to talk to children, and I felt like he was always talking with the adults, just like aunt Natsuhi. From my father's gossip, it seems that he was a pretty spiteful and unreasonable person. If what my father said is true, he used to be very domineering as the oldest sibling, and was hated by aunt Eva, aunt Rosa, and the rest of the family.
Huh? It looks like he's having a friendly chat with the rest of the family, doesn't it? Oh, well. Even if their relationship was bad when they were children, sometimes when people grow up and go their separate ways, their relationship changes. That's probably what this was. After all, they all had children of about the same age. By sharing the same family environment, they probably profited by exchanging opinions. Maybe because of that, a short while ago the circle of parents began to discuss the exams Jessica and I were taking.
Jessica, in order to escape the discussion of exams with my father sitting on her left, purposefully faced right while firing off a rapid series of comments, so as not to show any weaknesses.
Moving on, let's look at the end opposite from Krauss and the others. In the very last seat at the table, an old gentleman with a sturdy physique sat facing Kyrie-san. This was my first time meeting him.

He had known Grandfather since the very beginning when the mansion was first constructed on this island, and had built up a relationship over several decades. I thought that he might be Grandfather's companion in his suspicious hobbies, but, surprisingly, it seems that he is Grandfather's chess partner... I see. That kind of hobby seems very like our Grandfather with his love of western style.
You could probably say that he was the only person who could enter Rokkenjima and was neither a family member nor a servant. He gave an impression of a calm old gentleman as he listened to Kyrie and the other women's conversation. After staying by our short-tempered Grandfather's side for so long, his big heart was nothing to laugh at.
Still, even if he was the head physician, having anyone outside the Ushiromiya family attend the family conference was a little odd. I imagined that because Grandfather's condition had grown much worse, it may have become one of the major topics of discussion. George was just saying it, too. Reports that Grandfather's remaining life was very short had been appearing continuously since around a year ago.
It was a nasty story, but Grandfather was an extremely rich man. At the time of his death, his wealth would suddenly be released, along with our parents' stomach acid, and would probably lead to ulcers. With this kind of thing, the greater the share, the more trouble would be caused. This would probably also be included in the family conference. Oh well, it's not like it had anything to do with us children.
Finally, even though he was absent, let me introduce our Grandfather.

As you can probably guess from the topics that have been raised, he was a frightening person with an extremely short temper. Because I was one of the grandchildren and hadn't met the family since elementary school, I had no memory of being beaten, but it seems that our parents were raised with an iron fist. That earlier conversation between my father and uncle Krauss about who should go try to convince Grandfather to come out seems oddly funny if we take this into account.
In order to tell Grandfather's story, you have to first go back and recount that episode that occurred before the Showa era (1926-1989). Until the Meiji (1868-1912) and Taishou (1912-1926) eras, the Ushiromiya family was great and prosperous. They owned several spinning mills, so while they just laughed heartily every day, the money kept rolling in, making them very wealthy.

BGM: Rose
Even so, during the Great Kanto earthquake in the year Taisho 12 (1923), the mansion owned by the Ushiromiya family in Odawara was flattened. The spinning mills in Tokyo were all burned down in a huge fire, and the Ushiromiya family lost most of its wealth and family members in an instant. It then became a matter of who in the main family would become the heir, and it seemed as though no one except the branch family, which included Kinzo, was left. Kinzo himself later said that it was such good luck, it was as though fate itself had been turned upside-down.
With that, Grandfather's normal life did a 180. He was entrusted with reviving the wealth that the dying Ushiromiya family had almost completely lost. Naturally, just because he had been entrusted with this task didn't mean he could accomplish it. It seems that the surrounding people weren't really expecting much.
However, from this point on, Grandfather began displaying his extraordinary talent and good luck. Grandfather used all of the family funds and everything from the hair on his head to his toenails as collateral to borrow a massive amount of money, created a gigantic supply of funds and soon revived the family's business. It was like tumbling down a hill on a bike without any brakes. And then, jumping onto a neighboring bike, and then another one! Just like some crazy street performance. Probably, anyone would have thought that Grandfather had no business ability.
Even so, with an unbelievable amount of good luck and miracles, with coincidences piling up and every chance taken advantage of, before anyone knew it, he began to make connections with the occupying forces. At that time, McArthur and the GHQ were in charge. Grandfather, in a twinkle of the eye, began succeeding in business under the protection of the occupying forces, quickly becoming very rich. At this point, it was no longer luck but information that won the day. He must have made some seriously thick connections with the occupying forces... Grandfather knew beforehand about emergency demands that would be made for the Korean War. No, on the contrary, he must have foreseen these special procurements from the very beginning and started eating into his businesses.
As we read in the history books, all of Japan made a large profit off of the emergency demands for the Korean War, but in actuality that didn't happen. Only a very limited number of the super rich played the money game and made an easy profit. Most of the citizens remained poor. In other words, Grandfather was an extremely lucky member of this group of winners.
This all happened... during the year Showa 25 (1950), I think. And, since the year following the Great Kanto Earthquake was Taisho 13 (1924)... That means Grandfather was able to revive the near-dead Ushiromiya family in only about 20 years to a level even higher than it had been before. With that, you'd think that he would revive the main family in Odawara, but for some reason, he went and did something as crazy as buying an entire small island in the Izu archipelago.

After the war there were prevention measures against food shortages, and, furthermore, having the sponsorship of the GHQ meant that nobody could oppose him. It seems that Tokyo Metropolis had almost no money at the time and offered this land. Later, Tokyo made difficulties by telling Kinzo to return the land, but the pushy GHQ intervened.
Anyway, it seems as though under the table bribes worked perfectly. In the end, the city gave up in frustration. Grandfather, with considerable skill and blessed with good luck, managed to weather the stormy seas of that period, obtaining a vast fortune and his own island.
Of course, it wasn't all luck. He was skilled with English, and this was cultivated by his western obsession. Using this as a weapon, he was able to take a bite out of the GHQ. A mansion was immediately built on the island. That would be this mansion. Grandfather, with his western style, made this once uninhabited island, Rokkenjima, a canvas upon which he could realize his dreams to his heart's content. With the western mansion that he had always imagined, overflowing with emotion, to the beautiful garden where various roses had been planted, and a private beach where nobody other than himself would ever be permitted to leave a footprint.
...If a boy could have this much, it would be a dream come true. After that, making good use of his huge fortune, he became a large stock holder in the extremely stable iron and steel industry and was able to live an easy and comfortable life just using the dividends. Well, he's just that incredible.
This kind of person usually has the ability to foresee and predict the future, or at least that is how they are portrayed. Grandfather denies all of that, repeatedly saying that he was simply blessed with extraordinary luck...
Anyway, even a lord like that, with all of his dreams made real, can't help but grow increasingly odd when locked up alone on an island.

Did his love of black magic begin way back when he became fascinated with everything western, or, possibly, did his miraculous stretch of good luck which allowed him to revive the family cause him to feel a mysterious power in himself? At some point, Grandfather began to make the research of black magic his life's work. He filled his study up with suspicious books, chemicals, and magical items as he became increasingly bizarre.
I heard that, as a successful man, he had the right to decide how he wanted to live the rest of his life, and those surrounding him warmly watched over him, but... That's definitely a lie. They probably were just driven away, thinking 'that's disgusting, I don't want to get involved.' Well, that agitated period was like a big gamble, with both opportunities and risks.
Let's say Grandfather was born in this time period. He would've had no opportunities and would probably have advanced like a chess piece from mandatory education to college at a leisurely pace, never becoming more than an average salary man. If that happened, he'd probably have sat somewhere, happily talking behind his boss's back. No, no. Not in a mansion's dining hall. More like a table at some bar. If that were the case, I'm sure that this would be a more comfortable family conference.

BGM: Novelette


Everyone let out a big laugh. Damn it, you say that even though you love those cheap pubs.


Gohda lowered the empty plate and, without losing his smile, began to recount his own uneven past.


...Oh man, why does aunt Natsuhi always have to speak so frankly. If only she spoke more gently, she might give off a different impression.
Shannon-chan and Kumasawa-san entered from the hallway with a serving cart.


Gohda-san and the others laid out the beautifully adorned dessert. I guess it's true when they say you have another stomach for dessert. I'd thought that being fed all that delicious food had totally filled me up, but as soon as I laid eyes on the dessert, my stomach started yelling 'More!'
I don't know much about desserts, but this looked really good. A white pudding-like substance was garnished with two shades of red sauce, and elegant rose petals adorned the dish. With such magnificent food distributed in front of everybody, it was time for the chef to extol the virtues of his creation. However, Maria, who was completely indifferent to this strict rule, got excited by this beautiful and delicious looking dessert and jumped into the fray as soon as it was placed before her. Aunt Rosa scolded her, calling it bad manners, but George responded by saying 'Now, now, it's alright.'

Maria exclaimed as she sampled the two colored sauces.

Apparently the sauce was a blend of sweet and sour. Despite it being bad manners, I also stuck my little finger in and licked it. Whoa, half of it was sour enough to make you pucker up. If it were yellow, I'd have suspected lemon, but I couldn't guess what kind of sourness would be red. I decided to ask Shannon, who was putting away the serving cart behind us.

Maybe she was just setting the table and doesn't really know. Man, she's at a total loss... did I ask something wrong? Or did they use something that we'd be better off not knowing about?
While aunt Natsuhi acted as though she had a headache, Kumasawa-san, who was setting the table at the opposite seat, began to laugh with a 'Hoh-hoh-ho'.



Kumasawa-san leaned across from the other side of the table. I leaned forward too when she asked me to listen. Their interest caught, Jessica, George-aniki, and, of course, Maria also put their ears closer.


"""HAAAaaahh, mackerel?!?!"""
"That's crazy," we all thought, horrified. Only Maria accepted it, nodding with an 'uh-huh'.

""...ha, Wahahahahaha...!""
When Maria started clamoring that mackerel were sour, the adults were unable to contain their laughter. Only aunt Rosa, her face red, told Maria that mackerel is sour only once prepared, in a small voice.



Gohda looked a little put off about his masterpiece being laughed at in such a strange way, but after clearing his throat once, he introduced the dessert to us.

...Ha... Man, I almost want to applaud before eating. Just like with medicine, reading the instructions seems to work better than just drinking it. As Gohda-san elaborated on the details of this dessert, it started to feel even more appetizing.
Seriously, should you call him subtle or just talented? The dessert was probably planned from the beginning, but taking the hint when we all stopped in front of the rose garden earlier today, he displayed an incredible and timely awareness by just adding a few rose petals from that garden. This combination of sweet and sour was also exquisite. If it was just sweet, you'd just get used to it and bored halfway through. But if you reached the sour sauce at that point, you'd get a really vivid taste. And then, once you returned to the sweet sauce, all of the sourness in your mouth would be replaced with an enjoyable sweetness. I'm sure everyone else felt the same way.
Every time Gohda-san passed by one of the seats, someone praised the taste and his creation.











Kumasawa-san often claimed that mackerel had a precious nutritional value that could do things such as prevent aging and make people smarter. It seemed that while it couldn't stop the outward signs of aging, it helped prevent aging on the inside. Since she was still healthy enough to tell these kinds of jokes at her age, that benefit must be the real thing.




"""Wahahahahahaha!!!"""
Kumasawa-san, together with Shannon-chan, bowed and pushed the serving cart away. Amusingly, Gohda-san, who looked just as though his stock had been stolen from him, explained very seriously that tonight's dinner would actually be calf steak.


Kumasawa may have played dumb, but she had obviously understood and saved Shannon in the nick of time. Back when Battler had asked for the details of the dessert, Shannon had unfortunately hesitated. There may have been several ways to dodge the question, but all of them would have been tricky.
Shannon, who hesitated when hard pressed for a response, was always suffering because of this small weakness. If only Shannon, like Gohda, had a little of the craftiness needed to skillfully shake off a mistake, her days would be a little more comfortable. As far being able to flawlessly handle her work, this weakness was especially unfortunate. Naturally, those whose knew of Shannon's meek nature and her inability to gloss over a mistake and deceive people would understand this. Therefore, Kumasawa came to her aid without hesitation.




To Shannon, Kumasawa was like a mother among the servants.

BGM: Steady Pace
Maria insisted that she also wanted to drink the black tea, but was rejected by the old bastard, who told the children to go play outside.












The children flew out of the parlor. They were replaced by Genji, who pushed a serving cart in and prepared the black tea. The parlor was filled with a sublime aroma which entertained everyone while they waited to appease their thirst...



Natsuhi answered coldly. With that, the conversation halted, and the parlor became silent.
Possibly because he couldn't stand it anymore, Hideyoshi broke the silence with an exaggerated gesture.









Rosa smiled with an uncertain face. Whether she agreed or disagreed, she knew that she would earn the displeasure of her brother or her sister. It was a bit of worldly wisdom she had needed to learn as the youngest sibling.

BGM: At Death's Door





Nanjo, standing by the window and staring out at the rose garden, let out a single cough when he realized that he was being called.















Krauss laughed sarcastically, and Eva, smiling sweetly, returned an identical chuckle.






Nanjo sighed deeply. The purpose of an examination was to determine what medical treatment was appropriate. Receiving an examination and then not following the advice given made the whole thing pointless...










As Natsuhi resentfully responded in a low voice, the already dark atmosphere grew even more hostile...

Hideyoshi, tried to smooth things over by glancing at both with a forced smile, but it only resulted in making the hostility between Eva and Natsuhi even more intense...

After the doctor had exited and his footsteps had disappeared into the distance, Krauss recrossed his legs.


Rosa shot a glance at Eva and Rudolf. As the youngest daughter in the family, being cross-examined by the eldest was harsh.













Natsuhi's forehead creased as she rose from the sofa. Eva, paying this no heed, stared at Krauss with a confident smile. Krauss, who also maintained his confident appearance, told Natsuhi to sit down.





































Natsuhi, who had already reached the limits of her anger, shouted at Eva in a rage. She then pointed alternately at Eva and the hallway, indicating that she should leave.
Eva took out a folding fan and fanned herself with it, glaring maliciously at Natsuhi as though silently daring her to repeat what she'd said. However, her mouth was still smiling, curved in the shape of a crescent moon. In that unpleasant silence, Rosa gulped.



Eva folded the fan with a snap and rose powerfully. Compared to the elegance and playful behavior she had shown until just now, she was unimaginably aggressive.


There were a hundred ways Natsuhi wanted to respond. However, her anger and sorrow crushed her throat, and not one of them managed to make it to her mouth. The anger which had lost any place to go became a single hot tear which slowly dripped down...

Eva faced her with a provocative gaze. However, Natsuhi's fist was shaking; she trembled all over, unable to do anything...
Krauss quietly broke that powder-keg tension.



Natsuhi was already unable to hide her tears. She flew from the room in that state. After that, all that remained was an somewhat embarrassed mood about the parlor...
When the sound of footsteps grew distant and silence returned, Krauss shrugged his shoulders slightly.



Natsuhi flew into her room and bent over the bed, lamenting... Those heartwrenching sobs reached Kumasawa in the hallway...

There is a deep enmity between her and and Eva-sama. Explaining their relationship would be very tiresome for a woman such as myself...
The Ushiromiya family held blood in high regard, but if someone married outside the family, they were normally removed from the family hierarchy. Thus, under normal circumstances, Eva-sama should have been removed when she married Hideyoshi-sama.
However... this was not anyone's fault. Madam definitely bore no guilt. There's no way to say it other than calling it a whim of god. Krauss-sama and Natsuhi-sama were not blessed with children for some time.
Anyways, this was the male dominant Ushiromiya family. A wife was just a tool to create a heir. If that wife could not fulfill her only duty, she would not be treated as a human. It is painful to remember how much the Master tortured Madam during that time...
During that time, Eva-sama and Hideyoshi-sama's wedding was discussed. Eva-sama was sly. Taking advantage of Madam's inability to become pregnant, she gained the favor of the Master. She inspired him to allow her to marry and give birth to a successor herself, making sure to avoid transferring her name out of the Ushiromiya register. There was a vast difference in the Ushiromiya hierarchy between Madam, who married into the Ushiromiya family and was treated like an outsider, and Eva-sama, who was related to the family by blood and whose husband took on the Ushiromiya name. And beyond that, Eva-sama was the first to give birth to a boy...
As for how much weaker Madam's position was compared to Eva-sama, I believe you could see for yourself... I'm sure Madam is tormented by the thought that if only she had gotten pregnant earlier, the Master wouldn't have accepted Eva-sama's request to keep her last name after marriage, and Eva-sama wouldn't have been permitted to act as arrogantly as she had today... However, that was not Madam's fault... All of the blame lies with god's whims and the stork that delivered Jessica late...
Even so, Madam won't allow herself to see things this way... She probably can't help but cry bitter tears at her inability to carry out the duties expected of a wife...
