My new wife discovered my past

Saotome Hazuki, wearing a comfortable home outfit, walked down the stairs.

She seemed to be strolling leisurely, but her slightly stiff movements and the fatigue left between her brows, especially the almost unconcealable limping posture due to muscle soreness when walking, all showed that the "hard work" she experienced was not false.

"Ah~ Hazuki-chan~!" When Kiko saw Saotome, her eyes lit up and she waved happily.

Saotome Hazuki also smiled, walked down the last few steps, came to Noriko, gave her a gentle hug, and said with just the right amount of resentment in her tone:
"Kiko-chan, it was so lively at noon, and you invited Hoshimi Miko and Sakuraba-san to have lunch together, but why did you leave me out?

"If I hadn't woken up in the afternoon and looked out from the balcony to relax my eyes, and just happened to see them leave, I would have been kept in the dark!"

Upon hearing this, Noriko just laughed and said, “How could I possibly miss Hazuki-chan!

"At noon, I asked Tetsuya-kun to go up and call Yeyue-chan, but unfortunately Yeyue-chan was sleeping at that time, so I had to return empty-handed~"

"Oh?" Saotome Hazuki raised her eyebrows in surprise, then turned her gaze to Watanabe Tetsuya beside her, with a hint of inquiry and amusement in her eyes, and asked:
"Really, Mr. Watanabe?"

Facing Saotome Hazuki's seemingly casual but actually slightly tentative and dissatisfied questioning, the gentle smile on Watanabe Tetsuya's face did not show any flaws.

Watanabe was too lazy to even take his eyes off Noriko's face. He looked at Noriko and responded slowly in a lazy tone that was almost doting and a bit self-evident:

"I did go upstairs once, but you were sleeping so soundly that I didn't even respond.

“Maybe I’ve been too busy dealing with family affairs recently?
"It was obviously your fault that you missed the chance to have lunch with us. You can't force the blame on me, right?"

Watanabe Tetsuya spoke in a calm and gentle tone. He spread his hands and his tone sounded very innocent.

The man's words were like a layer of cotton wrapped between the lines. They seemed soft and harmless, but in fact they were just pushing away the responsibility without any fuss.

Watanabe Tetsuya's calm and composed attitude, as if everything was under control, made Saotome Hazuki feel angry.

At the same time, Saotome certainly didn't believe Watanabe's nonsense!

She was not on the second floor of the attic this morning and noon. Instead, after two o'clock in the afternoon, she heard that Hoshimi Haruka and that Sakuraba Mihime were still eating in Watanabe and Noriko's room and had not come out yet, so she hurried back to her room on the second floor.

Does Hazuki Saotome want to go in?

Of course I did!

But she didn't have Watanabe Toru's permission, and Hoshimi Haruka and Sakuraba Miki were eyeing her covetously. Once Saotome Hazuki broke in regardless, she would be treated with the most disgusting hatred by Watanabe Toru, and her body would probably suffer in the future. At the same time, Hoshimi Haruka would always target her!
Didn’t you see that group of evil women were all thinking about finding out what was going on but no one dared to take the initiative to be the first to step forward?
They all used the excuse that the pain in their bodies didn't allow them to make large movements, hoping that others would take the initiative to do it while they could just watch from the sidelines.

The most important thing is that the three most important women, Kujo Sakura, Hidaka Mari and Tsukimi Ryosaki, have not received any instructions yet, let alone any evil woman who would do something thankless!
Saotome Hazuki thought so too.

But she knows better than the other villains that Watanabe has formed an alliance with Hoshimi Haruka and Sakuraba Miki, and they are definitely discussing important matters!

Saotome thought, could it be that Watanabe specially restarted the game this morning just to keep her from getting out of bed, so that she could reject Noriko's invitation and kick her out, and then plot something big with the other two women! ?

As expected of Saotome Hazuki, her brain is quite useful sometimes and she figured out the key point in no time!

Thinking of this, Saotome Hazuki felt a sudden surge of depression and jealousy in her heart. She took a deep breath and forced herself to suppress it.

Even though she was very unhappy, Saotome quickly adjusted her mood, waited for an opportunity, and prepared to test the waters and take a small revenge.

She didn't dwell on whether Watanabe had called her or not. Instead, she walked to the other side of Noriko and held her arm affectionately, as if the questioning had never happened:

"Okay, okay, let's not talk about this anymore, let's continue walking to digest the food~
"Don't stand here in the wind all the time, even if it's summer. Jizi's health is not good right now. It would be bad if she catches a cold..."

Saotome supported Noriko gracefully, as if she were a caring and intimate sister.

The three of them once again walked slowly along the bluestone path in the courtyard in the last glow of the sunset.

After walking for a while, Saotome Hazuki seemed to remember something inadvertently and her eyes moved away.

Saotome looked at Noriko, her voice filled with just the right amount of warmth and expectation: "Speaking of which, Noriko-chan, didn't we make an appointment to go to town to watch the fireworks display tomorrow?
“I heard that the fireworks display at Ameminaka-cho is one of the best in Kansai. Such a rare summer festival must be packed with people and very lively, right?
"Wouldn't it be a bit lonely if we went alone?

"How about... calling Hoshimi Miko and that Sakuraba-san up to watch the fireworks display?
"Leaving aside Mr. Watanabe, we are all women, and women... it's more fun to go shopping together, right?"

When Noriko heard Saotome's suggestion, she immediately showed more obvious guilt and a little panic on her face:

"Ah, this...

"Yueyue-chan, I'm so sorry!

"When we were having lunch at noon, we... made an appointment with Xiaoyao and Yuji to go watch the fireworks display together tomorrow.

"I was planning to tell Yeyue after she woke up, but we just met and before I could even think of it, ..."

"Eh? Have you made an appointment yet?"

Saotome Hazuki pretended to be very surprised and covered her mouth, but then immediately put on a smile that showed complete understanding and even a little self-deprecating.

Saotome gently patted the back of Noriko's hand and advised: "Oh, it's okay, it's okay! How can I blame Noriko-chan? It's all my fault..."

When Watanabe Toru heard what Saotome Hazuki said, he could only sneer in his heart and lied without any guilt at all.

Thinking about how he had behaved in a similar disgusting and dirty manner in front of Kiko over the past few days, Watanabe was speechless for a moment.

Neither Saotome nor Noriko seemed to notice that Watanabe was not in the right mood at the moment. Saotome just kept saying that it was all her fault:
"It's all my fault that I slept too long. When I woke up, it was already four in the afternoon. At that time, I was looking out from the balcony to relax my eyes, and I happened to see Hoshimi Miko and Sakuraba-san leaving the first floor.

"I suddenly realized that I seemed to have missed something, and I felt very regretful!
"By the way, Noriko-chan, what did you and Mr. Watanabe do with them?"

Saotome Hazuki asked questions like a machine gun, her eyes slightly narrowed, a gleam of light flashed across her pupils imperceptibly, and she observed Watanabe Tetsuya's reaction calmly.

Watanabe Tetsuya immediately realized that it was Saotome Hazuki who was testing the waters. But Noriko didn't notice anything unusual, she just recalled it honestly with some embarrassment.

She told Saotome Hazuki that she played cards for a while after lunch, then shook her head and said, “I was so sleepy around two o’clock that I fell asleep leaning on Tetsuya-kun.

"I think it was Toru-kun who carried me to bed. I don't know what happened afterwards..."

"Behind..." Toru Watanabe took over the conversation at the right time and very naturally.

His voice was still calm and without any emotion, as if he was just stating a dull fact: "There was nothing special about Jiko after she fell asleep.

"We just sat together in the living room, aimlessly changing a few TV channels, got bored after a while, and played a few rounds of poker.

"The two of them saw that Ji Zi was sleeping so peacefully and soundly, and they were embarrassed to make any more noise to disturb your rest. Seeing that there was really nothing to worry about, they said goodbye and left."

Watanabe responded casually, and his impatience towards Saotome increased a little.

This Saotome not only disturbed the world of two between him and Noriko, but also brought up sensitive topics such as time, Hoshimi Haruka, and Sakuraba Miki at this time.

If it weren't for Watanabe Toru's meticulous mind, he would have anticipated that Saotome Hazuki might ask this question in advance. Not only had he already reached a consensus with Hoshimi Haruka and Sakuraba Miki, he also informed Noriko in advance after she woke up to reassure her.

Otherwise, if Saotome suddenly attacked on the spot like she was doing now, Watanabe would probably be forced to reveal some flaws by her seemingly harmless questioning.

Watanabe also realized that Saotome's words and actions were clearly intentional.

She must have known that she had ulterior motives in preventing her from getting out of bed in the morning and in deliberately allowing only Hoshimi Haruka and Sakuraba Miki to come and have lunch together at noon.

Watanabe could also guess that Saotome probably still thought that she was being excluded.

Saotome was very unhappy with this kind of exclusion, so she deliberately jumped out to stir up some trouble and make her presence felt.

Watanabe Toru was also aware of the motives behind Saotome Hazuki's little actions. It was precisely because she was so emotional, had great mood swings, and her mind was occasionally not quite normal that Watanabe did not believe her.

This evening's walk has further confirmed Watanabe's decision not to bring Saotome into the core plan...

Seeing that Watanabe and Noriko both gave reasonable explanations, even though Saotome had a lot of doubts in her heart, she knew that asking further questions would only make her seem unreasonable and annoying.

She was very tactful and changed the topic back to tomorrow's fireworks display. She and Kiko enthusiastically discussed details such as what to wear, what to bring, and route planning. In the end, they agreed to meet at the attic door at 9:00 a.m. and set off.

Afterwards, Kiko immediately informed her younger sisters Xiaoyao and Mihime of the matters that had been discussed.

The matter was settled. Saotome stretched her back with just the right amount of fatigue on her face.
“I’ve been busy dealing with family affairs these days, which is really too exhausting.

“Even after sleeping for a whole day and night, I still feel very tired physically and mentally…

"Kiko-chan~ I won't disturb you and Mr. Watanabe's rest at night~ You should also go to bed early!

"I'll go upstairs and take a hot bath, then lie down and go to sleep~!"

After saying that, Saotome put her face close to Noriko's before turning and leaving. However, the woman's back was filled with a subtle sense of loneliness...

◆

7:27 p.m. on July .

An independent attic located deep inside Hidaka Shrine, allocated to the Sakuraba family for temporary use.

When the wooden door of the bedroom closed with a "click" behind him, completely isolating all light and sound from the outside world, the bedroom returned to its original isolated silence.

Until this moment, Sakuraba Miki's nerves, which had been tense all day and strong all afternoon, suddenly relaxed as if all the strength was drained away in an instant.

She couldn't even reach the bed before her body softened uncontrollably and she almost stumbled and fell onto the cold, smooth wooden floor at the entrance.

The girl... no, the woman's slender and tender back leaned weakly against the cold door.

It was not until the moment she collapsed that Sakuraba Miki could barely feel the reality that her body still existed.

At the same time, the aches, numbness, and unspeakable fatigue that had been suppressed for so long all over her body suddenly came rushing over her like a flood that broke through a dam, drowning her in an instant.

It felt as if all my limbs and bones no longer belonged to me. Deep within my muscles I felt a fine and persistent dull pain, as if I was being repeatedly pierced by countless invisible needles.

Even...even on the tatami in the living room in the afternoon, Teacher Watanabe had been as gentle and restrained as he could be, even with a kind of care that was almost pity.

But for Princess Sakuraba, it was still unbearable.

After sitting on the cold floor and clearing her mind for a while, Sakuraba Miki relied on her strong willpower to support her sore body and moved step by step to the bed.

The woman fell limply on the soft and comfortable bed again, burying her hot cheeks deeply in the soft quilt that exuded a mixed fragrance of sunshine and clean soapberries.

After a long time, when the feeling of fatigue slowly faded away and control of her body seemed to be back in her hands, Sakuraba Princess finally sat up.

With an almost pilgrimage-like piety, she carefully took something out of the exquisite calfskin handbag she carried with her.

The white cotton towel that she had carefully folded and neatly stored away.

The towel still maintained its pure white color, but in the very center, there was a clear small mark that had completely dried and solidified, and turned a dull reddish-brown color.

This is the most important treasure and proof of Princess Sakuraba's life... (End of this chapter)