絆 | bond | gojo satoru

よんじゅうろく | forty six

絆 | kizuna | bond

46

[Season 2]

Suguru

I COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT I WAS HEARING. "So you're related to the Royal family?" I asked, my voice tinged with shock.

Utahime chuckled softly, a sound that carried both amusement and a hint of bitterness. "Not really related," she replied, her tone casual yet laden with an undercurrent of history. "We're far relatives. There's just a little bit of royal blood in me, but not too strong. Just enough to make things complicated."

I stared at her, trying to process this new information. The revelation was unexpected, and it added layers to the person I thought I knew. "Complicated how?" I asked, my curiosity piqued despite myself.

Utahime sighed, her eyes distant as if she was looking back through time. "Being a distant relative means I'm not part of the main line, but the expectations and politics still touch me. It's like having a shadow that follows you, no matter how much you try to escape it."

I couldn't shake the curiosity bubbling inside me. "So, you're a distant cousin of the Princess they keep talking about?" I asked, my voice steady but laced with intrigue.

Utahime nodded, her expression a mix of resignation and acceptance. "Yes, I am. Distant, but still related."

"That must be... complicated," I ventured, trying to grasp the implications of such a connection.

"It is," she admitted, a small sigh escaping her lips. "Being connected to the royal family, even distantly, brings a lot of unwanted attention and expectations. People assume things, make judgments. It's exhausting."

I watched her closely, noting the way her eyes seemed to darken with the weight of her words. "How do you deal with it?"

She shrugged, a rueful smile tugging at her lips. "I try to stay out of the spotlight as much as possible. Focus on my own life and duties. But it's hard to escape the shadow of the royal family entirely."

I nodded, understanding more than she probably realized. "It must be especially difficult with everything happening right now," I said, referring to the recent events and the chaos surrounding the Princess.

"It is," she repeated, her voice tinged with frustration. "Yuri... she's caught in the middle of all this madness. It's not fair to her."

"Do you know her well?" I asked, genuinely curious.

Utahime hesitated before answering. "Not as well as I'd like. Our paths didn't cross often growing up. She had this expression as if she was alright with everything dictating to her, like she just accepted everything because she was bound to take the throne, being the heir. She always seemed so composed, so resigned to her fate. I remembered the times I had seen her crying alone, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. I was hesitant to approach her, afraid of intruding on her vulnerability. But when I finally decided to, she wiped her own tears and brushed them off as if nothing had happened, then walked away. Quite fierce, even back then. Going against everyone now," she continued, thinking of the recent events. "She's grown up, hasn't she? She's no longer just accepting her fate; she's fighting back."