EPILOGUE

“Argh… Everything hurts…”

“You can do it. I’m in a lot of pain myself…”

Ryouta and Shiren came to school wrapped in bandages. Their new home was also next to the castle, so it took them longer to get to school.

Even though they had fallen straight to sleep from exhaustion, the movers had come at six in the morning and woken them up to take their things to the castle. They had been somewhat excited to start a life of luxury, but once they got there, they found that a house that looked exactly like their old one had been built beside the castle. It just barely fit within the grounds.

To Ryouta, this felt like Ouka-style spite.

But they were glad they’d borne the pain and come to school anyway.

“Oh, Fuyukura—I mean, Sarano, congrats.”

“Hey, c’mon, you gotta be polite to the Emperor’s sister!”

“But isn’t it just weirder if we put her on a pedestal?”

“Morning, Shiren!”

There were a lot more students openly greeting Shiren—maybe word had already gotten out to some that the Emperor had made amends with her sister.

It seemed her friendless situation would be solved a lot quicker than Ryouta thought.

When they entered the classroom, Tamaki was there, too.

“I’m so happy for you two. What are the bandages about, though? Don’t tell me…you two were planning on burning yourselves alive…? I’m sorry; I can’t believe I crossed the line and talked about your past…”

“My past isn’t that dark, so don’t worry about it.”

“I do worry. The only person whose blood I know the taste of in this class is Ryouta.” After that strange admission, Tamaki hurriedly turned to look away.

That on its own was okay, but for some reason, Shiren stomped on his foot.

“Don’t worry about it. I just got a sudden urge to step on you,” she said. That didn’t make any sense, but neither did she sometimes.

The atmosphere at school was different from usual, but the school bell rang when it was time, and the homeroom teacher entered the class.

“Erm, we have a transfer student today.”

When he heard that, Ryouta got an awful sinking feeling in his stomach.

And he was right on the money.

“It’s lovely to meet you all. I am Kiyomizu Jouryuuji. I am Sacred Blooded. And I am the wonderful Ryouta’s lover!” Kiyomizu calmly strode into the classroom.

“Hold on! No way, no way this is happening!”

“I will always be by your side, even if I have to take on a false persona. It’s all right. I won’t hurt any of your classmates.”

“You just said you have a false persona!! At least keep that much under wraps!”

“What else can I say? The only truth in this world is my love for you, Ryouta, my dearest. Oh, that was a wonderful thing to say, if I do say so myself!”

“There’s nothing wonderful about it! You can’t just decide it is and tell everyone!”

“Awww, I’m sure we all want to coo over Jouryuuji’s words of love, but keep that on hold a moment. We have more transfer students.”

The teacher was not very good at finding a segue.

“Well, come in…new students.”

The two who came into the classroom were none other than Ouka and Sasara Tatsunami.

“Greetings, subjects. I am your emperor. Kneel before me. Lick my boots. Oh, and you, sitting next to Ryouta, get up out of your seat.”

“Hello, everyone, my name is Sasara Tatsunami. Please remember that any slight toward Her Imperial Majesty will result in your erasure.”

Nobody had ever introduced themselves this way. Ever.

“Oh, I believe I just saw that boy over there making eyes at the Emperor—you’re expelled.”

“Hey, come on, you two, give it a rest! You can’t just do that!” Ryouta, of course, couldn’t help but comment.

“What? We used to be classmates, Ryouta, so joining you in school shouldn’t be a problem at all. You narrow-minded boy.”

“Now that the Emperor is coming to school, I must accompany her as her Imperial guard. It is not for you! It is definitely not for you!”

“I know. You don’t have to emphasize it like that…” Ryouta was certain this arrangement would bring nothing but trouble.

“Good luck, Shiren. Let’s make this a fair fight.” Ouka gave Shiren a suggestive smile.

“That’s just what I was hoping for, Big Sis!”

That was the first time he saw Shiren so defiant.

Ryouta, alone in the uproarious classroom, thought to himself—Maybe I should go back to Japan.