The Reincarnated Villainess Whose Romantic Trauma From Her Past Life Is Too Strong Is Sweetly and Painfully Doted On by the Prince of the Neighboring Country - Chapter 40

In the end, I sat down with the colleague who had confessed his feelings and properly explained my situation. “I’m sorry, but I cannot go out with you,” I told him.

He was a sincere, truly wonderful person.

Even after I rejected him, he continued to treat me exactly as he had before. If anything, he would subtly step in to help whenever I was in a bind.

I’m sure I would have been happy if I could have been with someone like him, I thought. But having long since given up on my own happiness, I pushed those feelings down and went about my days.

Occasionally, my grandmother would say something jokingly, like:

“I’d really love to see you in a wedding dress while I’m still healthy enough to enjoy it.”

I always brushed it off with a vague, non-committal smile.

Then came a certain day. Ryuto was a third-year in high school, and I was bracing myself for another struggle over the topic of university. A certain individual stopped me on my way home from work and asked to speak with me.

“…Eh? Ryu-ku… Ryuto is…?”

“Yes. A definitive conclusion depends on the results of a DNA test, of course. But we believe there is almost no doubt.”

On my way home from the office, I had been approached by a stranger who said, “There is something I wish to ask you regarding your younger brother,” and led me to a coffee shop. Now, holding the business card I’d been handed, I found myself at a loss for words, stunned.

The card in my hand read: Koshiro Tachibana, Legal Counsel for the HAWK Group.

“I… I had only ever heard from my father that he was the son of an acquaintance…”

“We believe that the ‘acquaintance’ your father knew was likely Ryuto-kun’s mother. She passed away from a drug overdose just before he was taken in by your family.”

I could only feel shock at the facts being presented by the lawyer, Mr. Tachibana.

To put it simply, his explanation was this: Ryuto was the illegitimate child of the Takamiya family, the clan that managed the HAWK Group. Now that this had come to light, there was a movement within the family to officially take Ryuto in.

“Of course, if he is indeed confirmed to be of Takamiya blood, we intend to offer you a suitable reward. It is thanks to you, and no one else, that he has been able to grow up safely until now.”

So, first, we would like you to obtain his consent for a DNA test—

Hearing this, I unconsciously rubbed the corner of the business card.

(Ryuto is the scion of a major corporation?)

I recalled his face from this morning when he left the house. A face that still held a trace of boyhood. Now that it was being pointed out, it wasn’t entirely surprising. He had a refined cast to his features, a composed manner, and high intelligence.

If we do the DNA test. If it turns out Ryuto really is a child of the Takamiya family…

Compared to staying in the financially struggling Makita household, his life would be filled with a vast array of choices. Surely, that would be better for him.

—But.

(If I say this the wrong way, I’ll deeply wound his heart.)

I knew. I knew that somewhere deep down, Ryuto blamed himself for being a jinx.

The past abuse from his mother.

The fact that after he was taken in by the Makita, the family fell into ruin.

In reality, these were events for which Ryuto bore no responsibility, but he had a tendency to believe that “everyone becomes unhappy because I’m involved.”

(I don’t want him to see this as us getting rid of a burden. I just want him to choose the path where he can be the happiest.)

Precisely because he was the child I had raised with such care. I wanted him to be happy.

I envisioned the dream I once held for Ryuto’s future again.

A future where he meets a wonderful woman and finds happiness. A future where he marries someone who loves him and is blessed by everyone. A future where I am holding his adorable baby, feeling like a mother or a big sister.

If Ryuto really was the child of a prestigious family.

If he was taken into that house.

I likely wouldn’t be able to see the future I had hoped for.

—But.

(It doesn’t have to be right in front of my eyes. As long as Ryuto can be happy.)

That was my own greatest happiness.

With that thought, I took the story I heard from Tachibana home. I spoke to Ryuto carefully making sure he understood that this was for his own future and that I didn’t find him a nuisance.

—A few weeks later.

The results of the DNA test proved beyond a doubt that Ryuto was a child of the Takamiya family.

After that, through one ordeal—no, about three ordeals later—it was decided that Ryuto would be taken in by the Takamiya family.

“…Chieri. I will definitely come back for you.”

So until then, don’t get married. Wait for me—

I couldn’t quite grasp the true meaning behind those words he left me with. I could only stand there in silence, holding back my tears as I watched him go.

Once Ryuto was gone, the Makita house became lonely, as if the pilot light had been extinguished. My grandmother, having lost her spark for life, developed dementia shortly thereafter.

For the next several years, I spent my days alone, devoted entirely to caring for her.