"Um, two young ladies, could you please not argue anymore? G-good friends shouldn't fight..."
Beside them, the shrine maiden who had been unable to get a word in edgewise weakly spoke up to remind them.
Just when she thought the two before her might start physically fighting the next second, she saw Mitsuba and Butterfly suddenly laugh together.
"Hahahaha! What the heck! I always thought little Mitsuba spoke so gently and quietly—I didn't know you could argue so fiercely too..."
"Hmph, likewise..."
Turning her head away, glancing at Butterfly who had laughed until tears came out, Mitsuba said indifferently:
"What? Now that you've seen my true face, does someone feel disillusioned?"
However, although her tone sounded calm, if one listened carefully, they could still faintly hear the trace of nervousness hidden beneath.
Clearly, she was actually very afraid that Butterfly would give an affirmative answer.
Yet this was an answer that Butterfly before her would never give.
"Not at all!"
Her tone extremely certain, without a moment's hesitation, Butterfly stepped forward and carried the basket on her back again, sitting back on the stone stool, saying:
"Rather, the current you, Mitsuba, is what feels most real to me..."
"What, do you mean I was very hypocritical before?"
With her back to Mitsuba who had shrunk back into the basket, Mitsuba asked jokingly.
"Not hypocritical, but false."
Her expression slightly dimmed, Butterfly lightly sighed and said in a low voice:
"The previous you, Mitsuba—many times, even the smile on your face felt fake to me.
Before tonight, I had almost never seen you truly smile from the heart.
Every day with that stern young lady expression, whether happy or sad, keeping everything bottled up inside—I really don't know when you would crush yourself to death..."
"I see..."
Both fell into silence for a moment.
The evening breeze blew, and Butterfly once again picked up that horse-shaped wooden plaque in her hand. After thinking seriously, she raised her brush and wrote on the back of the plaque—
[May Mitsuba be happy forever.]
Perhaps Butterfly should have written "safe."
But as a physician with excellent medical skills, she was clearer than anyone about Mitsuba's current physical condition.
Mitsuba could no longer be safe.
So the only thing she could wish for was that Mitsuba could be a bit happier during this final time of her life.
And this was also her purpose for taking the risk to bring her out tonight.
"Hm?"
Suddenly feeling as if someone was fiddling with her hair behind her, Butterfly subconsciously wanted to turn to look, but was suddenly pressed down by Mitsuba's hand.
"Don't move."
Saying this, Mitsuba finally took out that butterfly hairpin she had obtained at the ring toss game earlier and carefully inserted it for Butterfly.
"Done."
Reaching up and feeling the shape of this hairpin with one touch, Butterfly was slightly stunned, then smiled:
"I was wondering earlier why our young lady would suddenly be interested in such ordinary-quality trinkets—so it was meant as a gift for me?"
"Your name is Butterfly, and besides, I only have you as a friend by my side. If I don't give it to you, who else would I give it to?"
Mitsuba asked very directly in return. She looked Butterfly up and down, then nodded in satisfaction.
Seemingly unable to bear Mitsuba's suddenly changed direct attitude, Butterfly subconsciously averted her gaze.
She raised her head, her line of sight falling on that green leaf hairpin on Mitsuba's head.
Since the two had known each other, Mitsuba had always worn this hairpin—not particularly exquisite in craftsmanship, even somewhat plain—never changing it.
Standing from her identity and position, this was somewhat inconceivable.
This hairpin must certainly have some special meaning for Mitsuba.
"This is the only thing my mother gave me while she was alive."
Noticing Butterfly's gaze, Mitsuba proactively explained.
She raised her hand and removed the hairpin, her long hair cascading down.
At this moment, the bright moon was high in the sky—between the shrine, the courtyard, the stone stool, the swaying tree shadows, and the kimono beauty before her bathed in moonlight...
This should have been an extremely beautiful scene, but everything was ruined by Mitsuba's drooping shoulders and her face hidden in shadows.
"When I was young, Mother always compared us three siblings to green leaves."
Lowering her head, her fingertips gently caressing the three green leaves at the head of the hairpin, Mitsuba spoke in that low and slow tone:
"She always said, I was the leaf in the middle, with my two brothers on either side of me. Only if I pulled them hard, making us three siblings work together with one heart, could we jointly support the future of the Tsugikuni family.
At that time, I felt overjoyed at Mother's emphasis on me, but never thought that the responsibility of this 'green leaf' would be so heavy—even betting my entire life, I couldn't fully bear it.
Fate is sometimes so marvelous. Though I tried hard to patch and mend, in the end I still couldn't truly prevent its collapse, as if everything was long predetermined..."
As these words fell, silence once again fell between the two in the courtyard.
Butterfly finally understood that this green leaf hairpin which Mitsuba had never changed was not a gift at all, but shackles.
These were shackles personally placed upon her head by her mother while she was alive. It was they that trapped Mitsuba in this small town, leaving her to slowly rot in that dark and cold castle tower.
So that's how it was... So this was the true source of those abnormalities in Mitsuba?
Clearly having a completely different true heart, yet always forcing herself to pretend to be another appearance.
Clearly responsibilities that shouldn't be hers to bear, yet always forcing herself to take them all upon herself.
Under these layers of heavy pressure, gradually twisting her inner self into another appearance, even gradually feeling it was only natural herself...
All of this was because Mitsuba's mother had already placed these shackles upon her head when she was young, using them to bind her entire life.
Everything was explained.
Butterfly suddenly understood why Mitsuba always loved listening to her stories of traveling everywhere in the past.
Why when listening to these stories, she would always look at her with envious eyes.
Because Mitsuba was the Butterfly who had never escaped her own family.
And Butterfly was actually the appearance Mitsuba had once wanted to become.
Mitsuba had also longed to be able to escape this castle tower that bound her, like her, and freely do what she wanted to do.
But in the end, she could only remain in that cold Tsugikuni family, slowly walking toward her already brief life's end.
"I'm sorry..."
Her eyes suddenly somewhat moist, facing Mitsuba before her, Butterfly slowly lowered her head.
"Mitsuba, I'm sorry..."
Unable to understand Butterfly's sudden reaction, Mitsuba's expression was puzzled.
"Why... are you saying sorry to me?"
"I'm sorry, I lied to you..."
Both hands tightly clutching the hem of her skirt on her thighs, tears continuously falling on the back of her hands, Butterfly kept her head lowered, her voice carrying a hint of sobbing.
"I've been lying to you all this time. I actually... always knew what illness you had. The first day I saw you on the street, I knew your illness was incurable.
But I still wanted to try, so these past few years I've been lying to you saying I could cure you, wanting you to continue believing me, willing to accept my treatment...
I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to deceive you... It's all my fault. If I had told you the truth earlier, let you know all of this sooner...
Perhaps, perhaps it could have let Mitsuba you come to terms with all this earlier, not dragging it out until now still..."
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