âI wonder if Arisa will accept my confessionâŠ.â
Yuzuru suddenly started to say something vulnerable.
Soichiro and Hijiri offered appropriate words of encouragement to Yuzuru
âIâm sure Yukishiro-san likes you, no matter how you look at it.â
âEven from my point of view, she seems to be in love with you.â
âThatâs right⊠No, I know that, butâŠâ
Yuzuru sighed as he rolled the food with his fork.
âThat means sheâll be really engaged to me⊠and weâre going to get married in the future, right?â
This means that she will be married into the Takasegawa family.
And the Takasegawa family is not an ordinary household.
âWonât she think it will be a hassle?â
âWell, it does sound that wayâŠâ
âBut apart from that, since you are rich, Iâm sure sheâll be very happy to marry you.â
It was Soichiro who agreed with Yuzuruâs concern while Hijiri denied it.
For Arisa, there seemed to be no reason to refuse, since it would be a so-called âjade palanquinâ.
ââI mean, is marriage a prerequisite?ăI think itâs fine for you guys to leave marriage aside and just be lovers.â
Yuzuru replied clearly to Soichiroâs words.
âI want to marry Arisa⊠No, I will definitely do it.â
âThen, isnât it fine?â
âWhat are you worried about?â
âNo âŠItâs not like Iâm not worried about anything.â
No matter what the means, Yuzuru wanted to marry Arisa.
If she says, âI donât want to use the surname TakasegawaâŠâ, he will appeal to the good qualities of Takasegawa and get her to become âArisa Takasegawaâ no matter what.
Thatâs why he had no worries.
But he was uneasy.
âIf you want to get married so badly⊠at worst, canât you just leave the household like Soichiro?â
âHnâŠâ
Yuzuru choked at Hijiriâs words.
For the current Yuzuru, between the position of Takasegawa heir and marrying Arisa⊠The latter was more important.
Although,
âI âŠwas born and raised to be an heir.â
Itâs not that he really wanted the legacy of the Takasegawa family.
But Yuzuru was born to succeed the Takasegawa, and his parents gave birth to him for that purpose.
That is the mission and life that Yuzuru Takasegawa has been given, and he cannot deviate from that path.
This is why Yuzuru wanted to do as many things as possible while he was still in high school or college since that was the only time he could be free.
Thatâs why he didnât want to get engaged at this stage.
It would be a problem if he found someone he liked.
âThat being said, well⊠It is because I am succeeding the Takasegawa, I can marry Arisa.â
âCome to think of it, you guys are âfianceesâ.â
âYouâve already got the outer moat and the inner moat filled, havenât you?â
In other words, the only thing left to do is to attack the main castle.
All that is required is Arisa to say â yes â.
âNo, Iâm glad I was born to the eldest son of the Takasegawa family ⊠Otherwise, Arisa would have been like an unreachable flowerâ
But, even if he was a normal high school student, he was going to pursue Arisa. And even if she had a âfianceâ, he was going to make her his.
âArisa flower⊠thatâs cuteâ
âI heard thatâ
âIâm pretty sure heâd do anything if Arisa sweet talk him.â
âThatâs why he climbed the tree and fell off.â
âShut up. Iâll kill you.â
Yuzuru got angry when they dig up his black history.
Soichiro and Hijiri were laughing at the memory.
âWell, itâs okay. Youâve got a pretty good face, your personality isnât as garbage as some peopleâs, and youâve got money.â
From a womanâs point of view, heâs a prime candidate as a partner.
Hijiri nodded to himself.
Soichiro also nodded his head in agreement.
âI donât know what you mean by some people, but If I were a woman, Iâd want to marry him.â
âDisgustingâŠâ
âIsnât that awful?â
And, well, that was just a joke between them.
âSpeaking of which⊠frankly, are you going to take over in the future?â
Soichiro asked Hijiri.
In other words, will Hijiri take over the family business of Ryozenji, and is he the next successor?ăThat was the question.
âHmâŠItâs not that I hate to take over the business, butâŠâ
âBut?â
âBut Iâm pushing my cousin brother for it.â
Hijiri Ryozenji⊠is supposed to be the heir of the Ryozenji family.
But that is not an official decision.
There are other âcandidatesâ for the heir.
âI see. Well âŠAs for Takasegawa, Iâll just tell them not to break it offâ
âThatâs great. Even we donât want it to be broken off.â
Most of the time, the decline of a house is due to internal discord.
Of course, there are succession disputes or branch family disputes.
Conflicts also occur between the previous head of the family, the current head of the family, and the next head of the family.
(âŠso, in that sense, my father canât offend me.)
For Kazuya Takasegawa, the current head of the Takasegawa family.
The greatest enemy is not the branch family, the Tachibana family, or political enemies.
It is Yuzuru Takasegawa.
Only Yuzuru could possibly overtake his position.
And also for Yuzuru, his father is a troublesome opponent.
The reason was that as the next head of the family, he could not go against his father.
(As for Arisa, I have no intention of giving up on her.. Well, he should know that already)
There are only two people in the world who are capable of interfering with Yuzuru and Arisaâs love.
His father Kazuya Takasegawa and his grandfather Sogen Takasegawa.
However⊠Yuzuru has no intention of revolting against his father.
Likewise, Kazuya has a certain level of trust in his son.
In the first place, both of them really donât want to get into a bloody fight, let alone if itâs just a father-son quarrel.
Aside from the troublesome titles of current and next head of the family, they are just normal, friendly father and son.
âSuppose your cousin takes over, what will you do?â
âI donât know. Well, the royal road is to get a job at an affiliated company..â
âThatâs vague.â
Yuzuru will take over the house.
Soichiro does not take over the business but becomes a son-in-law to Tachibana.
Both of them had decided on a career path, while Hijri seemed somewhat vague.
âWith all due respect⊠itâs normal to be vague.â
Hijiri said and bit into a chicken wing.
And then he calmly admonishes his two friends, who are out of touch with the world at large, about common sense.
âYouâre the only ones who decide at fifteen or sixteen what youâre going to do, who youâre going to marry, and beyond that.â
âWell, sure.â
âI canât argue with that.â
Yuzuru and Soichiro honestly acknowledge Hijiriâs point.
At the age of fifteen, there are probably a relatively large number of people whose future is undecided.
Even if it had been decided, it was only a âdreamâ at best.
In addition to their future, Yuzuru and Soichiro have already decided who they are going to marry, and from Hijiriâs point of view, they may seem to be living too fast.
âWell, unlike you, we donât have a long history. It doesnât have to be me âŠItâs also true that me taking over would be a good fit.â
After he said that⊠Hijiri suddenly changed the subject abruptly.
âThis Monday⊠is Valentineâs Day, right?â
âYes, it is.â
âValentineâs Day, huh?â
Until last year, Yuzuru had only a limited number of people who could give him chocolate.
His mother, his sister, and Ayaka, who attended the same junior high school as him.
Of course, all of them were probably obligatory.
This year, he probably wouldnât get chocolates from his mother or sister (they probably wouldnât deliver them to him).
And Ayaka will probably give it to him as usual, and Chiharu might give him obligatory chocolate as well.
He was not sure about Tenka⊠but since she didnât forget the Halloween candy, she might at least send Yuzuru some store-bought chocolate.