Tale of the Moon Waiting for the Night - Chapter 1 (pt. 3)

The following day—July 4, Thursday.

Early in the morning, Yohana rode her bicycle in her school uniform toward the Yashiro Family mansion.

A white plaster wall ran parallel along the long, straight country road. Just when the unchanging scenery started to feel endless, it abruptly stopped, and a massive gate appeared.

It was a magnificent yakui-mon gate with four thick wooden pillars supporting a black tiled gabled roof and a double door—clearly old and wide enough to let a car pass through.

Everyone in the area, from young children to the elderly, knew this was the gate of the Yashiro Family’s main house.

“I’m so fed up with this…”

Dismounting her bicycle, Yohana sighed as she looked up at the overly large gate.

She’d half-hoped that her grandmother might change her mind by morning, but, of course, she hadn’t. If anything, while they were eating breakfast together, her grandmother had gone as far as to say,

“You don’t have to come home tonight. Go and win over one of the Yashiro men.”

She’d said it with a smug expression. It was, by any measure, not something a grandmother should say to her underage granddaughter.

In the end, Yohana found herself working on a weekday morning, not even going to school.

Would she be paid for this? At the very least, getting some compensation would make it bearable, but if this was unpaid work, it would be too cruel.

There was only one figure standing near the gate.

Yohana pushed her bike and approached the person.

An elderly man with a looped tie clasped with a vivid green stone around his neck caught her eye. When he noticed Yohana, he smiled kindly.

“Young lady, is something the matter?”

“Oh, yes. My name is Yohana Sakaki. I’m here to help with today’s banquet.”

Feeling slightly nervous, Yohana introduced herself, wondering what to do if her grandmother hadn’t informed them about her. The old man’s smile deepened.

“Sakaki-san. Yes, we’ve been expecting you. Thank you for coming.”

Yohana let out a sigh of relief at his response.

“Thank you for having me.”

“And thank you as well. Now, right away, could you park your bike near the garage? Then, go to the main entrance and seek instructions from the woman inside.”

“Understood. Thank you.”

Nodding, Yohana passed through the gate.

Inside was a neatly paved stone path, with a beautiful garden planted with pine trees and other greenery lining it.

Just inside the gate, there was a path that veered to the left. Admiring the striking garden as she walked, Yohana parked her bike in the designated area and then returned to the stone path that led to the main entrance, finally reaching it.

(Finally… the distance from the garage to the entrance is way too far.)

This was her third time visiting the mansion, and its size made it a chore to navigate every single time.

(Huh?)

A faint, fresh scent reminiscent of citrus brushed past her nose.

What was that smell? Was it Mandarin? Or maybe orange? It could have been Yuzu or Kumquat. It was a refreshing, summery fragrance, with a nostalgic quality to it.

Come to think of it, she remembered smelling a similar fragrance faintly when she visited this mansion twice in the past—once when her paternal grandfather died and again when her father passed away.

“Right.”

She told herself to focus. Complaining wouldn’t help. Even if she disliked this family’s mansion, she should take her work seriously now that she’d decided to do it.

Yohana straightened her gaze forward, clenching her hands firmly.

“Are you still cleaning that area? Finish it up and come help over here, will you?”

“Yes!”

“We’re not using that ornament today. Look for it again.”

“Understood!”

“We’re short one tray. Quickly prepare an additional one.”

“Right away!”

Yohana responded energetically, scurrying around the mansion.

The preparations for the banquet were in full swing.

There were only about ten staff members who regularly worked for the Yashiro family, and even with the helpers, including Yohana, there were only seven present.

And the helpers who had been called in were mostly women around twenty, sporting full makeup and perfectly polished nails, barely working at all.

They openly admitted they were there to get close to promising members of the hierarchy. It was hard to tell if they were students or working adults, but showing up on a weekday was surprising enough.

The result was that a lot of the menial tasks fell to Yohana, who was earnestly working.

Just cleaning the vast wooden mansion was demanding, let alone checking the event hall and necessary items, which kept her spinning in circles.

(It’s hard to move in a kimono…)

While carrying trays down the wooden corridor, Yohana swallowed a sigh.

All the helpers were dressed in plain scarlet kimonos with a sash, like waitresses. Moving in the unfamiliar attire made her steps clumsy, significantly lowering her efficiency.

Apparently, tonight’s banquet had something to do with the selection of the next head of the Yashiro family.

They called it the “Succession Ceremony” or “Succession War,” a rite marking the start of a battle among the ranked members vying for the successor’s position.

It was no wonder they insisted on such strict attire, considering the banquet’s importance.

After delivering the tray to the kitchen, an elderly female servant stopped her right away.

“Are you Sakaki-san? Could you next clean the windows in the eastern corridor?”

“Yes. Um, but wasn’t that area assigned to some of the other helpers?”

“If we leave it to them, it’ll never get done.”

“Oh…”

Yohana looked into the distance with a resigned expression.

(I’m just destined for the short end of the stick, aren’t I?)

Living with her overbearing grandmother, she’d gotten used to being ordered to cook meals, clean, hang up laundry, and then hearing her grandmother’s verdict, “No one would marry someone like you.”

Keeping up with those demands left her like this.

Some people praised her for being hard-working, but she often felt that it was more trouble than it was worth. Being convenient meant never being anything special.

(…I thought things might change, even if just a little.)

Moving down the corridor, she glanced out the window at the garden.

There was a pond with crystal-clear water, sending ripples across the surface with each gentle breeze.

That day, when she fell into the lake and saw that strange dream… She had briefly dared to hope, but nothing had changed at all.

(No, no. I can’t afford to keep daydreaming. I just need to live sensibly.)

Turning her gaze away from the window, she picked up a heavy bucket of water and a rag and headed for the eastern corridor.

Sure enough, the women in scarlet kimonos were there, working sluggishly.

They would give the window a quick wipe, take a small mirror out of their pockets to adjust their bangs, twist the rag once, and then gaze at their flashy nails.

When Yohana asked to join them, they responded indifferently with “Oh” or “Sure,” as if it didn’t concern them. “Well, good luck,” they said, as though it were someone else’s problem.

(Don’t get mad, don’t get mad)

Plastering a smile on her face to show she wasn’t harboring ill will, Yohana diligently set to wipe the windows.

Naturally, the women’s conversation drifted into her ears.