𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 || 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

19.

*SWEEP SWEEP*

"Oh, (L/n), sorry to bother you, but, do you mind if you could move these boxes upstairs?" Two girls stood beside each other as you looked up from sweeping the cold wooden floors. 

"Hmm? Oh...Yeah, no problem," You said as you put the broomstick aside. 

"Thank you! Sorry, we are short-staffed and the boxes are heavy...Well...And you have such muscular arms," The girl said as you paused momentarily, looking down at your arms. 

'Is it...Really that noticeable...?' 

"Oh! We are not saying that it is a bad thing!" The girl said frantically as you picked up the 5 boxes. 

"Thank...You?" You said in an awkward tone as you carried the boxes upstairs. 

"Bruley arms are nothing to be ashamed of! After all, you're beauty makes up for it...After all there is a reason why the House Madam brought you in out of nowhere..." The girl shouted from downstairs as her friend turned to her. 

"What a shame she wears a mask...Surely the rest of her face is gorgeous," She muttered as your brows slightly furrowed, making your way down the corridor

"...And have you noticed some of the other girls running away, committing Ashinuke??" A high, younger voice whispered from the room you were entering. 

"Hm? What's Ashinuke?" You asked, trying to get any information for Tengen as you placed the boxes down. 

 "Oh? That's a lot of gifts to carry on your own," The girl said as you shrugged off the comment. 

"I assume it's gifts for the Orian, Koinatsu," You said as she turned to you. 

"You asked what is Ashinuke? Well, I guess it's a good thing you haven't really heard of it...It means to run away without paying your debts, some people do it to run off with a man that they love...It's...Really bad if you get caught," The first said as the other girl next to her perked up. 

"Oh, just like Orian Suma did the other day," The girl chimed in as your eyes slightly narrowed at Tengen's wife's name. 

*SHHH* 

"It's is not very kind to make up rumors...You both know better than that...No one know's what really happened to Orian Suma..." The fusuma opened as Orian Koinatsu stepped out. 

"You brought these up yourself? Thank you...Here," She said as she took a step towards you and took your hand. 

"Your arrival has every girl in this house excited...I hear them all mentioning how quickly you turned the House Madam's head...That's a real compliment...Take these as a welcome and thank you," She said as she placed a cloth full of candy in your hand. 

"Hey! I want some!" The little girls whined as Koinatsu smiled, patting them both on the head. 

"Uh...Did Orian Suma really commit Ashinuke?" You asked as you tucked away the candy in your kimono. 

"May I ask why you're so curious about that?" She asked with her guard up as your brows raised. 

"Oh uh...She and I used to be...Uh-....Sisters...And it sounds very unlike her to commit Ashinuke..." You said, slightly choking on your words.  

"What?!" The little girls shouted as Koinatsu's eyes softened

"Ah, I see...You were sold not too long after Orian Suma disappeared...To be honest, I thought it was out of her nature too...She was so well-behaved... We also thought she was never infatuated with a man...But we ended up finding her diary and in there she had written about running off," Koinatsu said as you looked at the ground to think.