Chasing You

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I was no stranger to the capital.

Having once been chased around the city by that old priest for more than three months, I'd gone to all the places I needed to go and been to all the places I needed to be; there wasn't a thing left for me to be curious about.

I was anxious to find Kacchan, but since I didn't want him to know I was so attached to him, I didn't dare to look for him in the open. It hadn't been long since he was recommended to be an official. As it was still the beginning, he must be having a hard time with little fame to speak of.

I took to the streets to ask around, but no one had any information to offer. There were times when I thought to go to the palace to find him, but the imperial family was surrounded by such resplendent royal air that it suffocated me, and so I could only give up the idea in the end.

After debating back and forth, I decided that during the day I would wait for luck to smile on me, and then at night, go to high-ranking officials' homes to search for Katsuki's whereabouts. I had thought at first that looking for Kacchan in person would yield better odds than trying to wait around for luck, but my luck ended up surprising me with its remarkable felicity.

That day, the capital was filled with sunshine. I was idly walking down the streets as I rhythmically tapped a bookmark onto my romance novel. Suddenly, I heard a commotion ahead where groups of people were beginning to amass. In a moment of curiosity, I stuffed the bookmark into my place, stowed the book in my pocket, and walked over to catch the show.

This show turned out to be a rather interesting one. It was very dramatic: a boy rejecting a girl's public confession story was unfolding before my very eyes.

In this case the boy was precisely my husband Katsuki, and the girl, if I wasn't wrong, should be the general's beloved daughter, Ochako Uraraka.

How did I know? Well, mainly because her accessories weren't too shabby. I'd been making and selling a lot of jewelry to pass the time these days, and hers fetched in the most money.

Ochako was sprawled dejectedly on the ground. Her ankle seemed to be injured. She was looking up at Kacchan with a pair of pleading eyes streaming in tears, but Katsuki's gaze just indifferently swept past her before he turned away.

Then, Ochako lurched forward to grab his clothes. Unfortunately, Katsuki avoided her as quick as a flash, leaving her to flop back down on the ground and causing her beautiful face to be smeared in dirt.

The crowd of onlookers gasped in surprise at Ochako who lay sprawling on the ground in embarrassment, stubbornly biting her lips with reddened eyes. She looked so pitiful that it made me feel sorry for her. Yet Katsuki remained emotionless. Without giving her one single glance out of the corner of his eyes, he walked away.

Hmm. I rubbed my chin, thinking. Kacchan had never given me such a rude attitude since the day I fostered him when he was nine. I hadn't thought he'd be such a cruel-hearted man away from home. But the young lady was very stubborn. After Katsuki left, the others tried to help her but she would not let them, instead choosing to stand up by herself.

Thinking that she who liked Katsuki must certainly be a good-hearted girl who knew right from wrong, I conjured a healing spell and treated her injured ankle. Paying little attention to the surprise on her face, I turned around and chased after my Kacchan.

● ▬▬▬▬▬๑۩۩๑▬▬▬▬▬ ●

Katsuki was entering a small tavern. I stopped under a weeping willow next to the building, unable to take another step further, for the tavern had become different today. It was exuding the same intense royal air as did the imperial palace. I stared up to the second floor where a man dressed in blue was leaning against the window and drinking by himself.

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