Chapter 52 – Princess Kanade Jingū

To avoid interacting with Jingū Akira any more than necessary, Jingū Kanade deliberately chose to come in the afternoon.

She had received his address from Akira's father and, like an ordinary girl, she took the subway, transferred to a bus, and walked the rest of the way guided by her phone's map, finally arriving at Akira's current residence.

Looking at the modest home tucked away in a remote part of town, Kanade was a little taken aback.

Ever since she had been raped by Jingū Akira, her perception of him had completely changed. She had once believed he was a promising young man. Now, she saw him as nothing more than a degenerate second-generation heir abusing his family's power to get away with anything. Weren't people like him supposed to drive luxury cars, live in lavish mansions, and flaunt their wealth to seduce women?

The fact that he lived alone in a place like this caught her off guard.

But it was only a fleeting surprise. If it were that easy to change her view of him, it would have happened long ago.

Standing at the door, she hesitated for what felt like forever. Disgust twisted deep in her chest, making her feel like vomiting up the lunch she had just eaten. The memory of that day was still vivid. Every time she recalled the brutal violation, Kanade felt an ache—physical, yes, but also something much deeper in her soul.

It was just a doorbell. Something so simple. But for Kanade, pressing it felt like sitting for a national university entrance exam. One mistake, one wrong move, and she might be ruined forever.

Her trembling hand slowly reached up. Goosebumps ran across her skin. Her behavior—standing frozen at someone's doorstep—was already drawing curious glances from passersby. Some elderly people were even debating whether to call the police.

"Woof woof!"

Suddenly, a dog's bark jolted Kanade so hard her boots left the ground. Perhaps standing there too long had triggered a response from the puppy inside. Though still young, the Labrador sensed something off and let out a low, growling bark, as if warning her to leave.

But that bark snapped Kanade back to reality. Since she'd already been noticed, there was no turning back. She had to be brave.

Biting down on her pale lip, she finally pressed the doorbell.

The sound of the bell echoed inside the house, triggering an even louder barking from the Labrador. Kanade tensed all over. Her head lowered, and her body trembled. She had no idea how she should act once she saw her fiancé again.

If he tried to violate her again... should she scream for help? Or should she keep swallowing the pain, letting him do whatever he wanted?

Her thoughts grew more chaotic by the second. Her heartbeat quickened. But even after a long wait, the door didn't open.

For some reason, she felt relieved. Her whole body lost strength, and had she not been outside, she would have collapsed right there for a much-needed nap.

It was late spring—not too hot—but Kanade realized she had broken into a nervous sweat. She pulled out a clean, cute handkerchief from her small bag and wiped her forehead. After a moment's hesitation, she gave herself a mental push and rang the doorbell again.

More waiting. More barking. Still no response.

"It's Saturday. He must be out," she muttered to herself.

Weekends were prime time for playboys like him. Maybe he was off somewhere, driving his sports car and hitting on girls.

Kanade felt no jealousy. No concern. Just calm indifference. She didn't care how many women her fiancé fooled around with—so long as he didn't flaunt it in front of her.

Glancing at the time on her phone, she hesitated. Maybe she should just leave.

But then she remembered Akira's father's order. With a sigh, the imperial princess gave in to her fate. At the very least, she had to see him. That would be enough to say she'd fulfilled her duty.

She looked around. The area was filled with small standalone homes—a typical Japanese rural neighborhood. There wasn't a café in sight. Her gaze wandered to the cherry blossom trees in the yard. Even though the season had passed, a few pink petals still scattered across the soil, and an overwhelming sense of loneliness washed over her, as if she had been cut off from the world.

She pulled a tissue from her bag and wiped the stone steps at the entrance. Knees together, hands holding down her sailor skirt, Kanade sat on the step like a fool. Hugging her adorable purse, she pulled out her phone—pink case and all—and began to browse.

Thank goodness she lived in an age of mobile communication. Sitting here alone all afternoon without a distraction would've driven her insane.

She opened her browser and navigated to a site she'd been frequenting lately—a personal blog called Kamigami. The layout was a bit rough, clearly new. When she saw that a novel titled Love Sky had a new chapter, her eyes lit up and a beautiful smile bloomed on her face as she opened the latest update.

A classmate had introduced her to it. At first, Kanade only read it out of politeness, intending to skim a few lines. But once she started, she couldn't stop.

"If I hadn't met you that day..."

She softly read the opening line in a gentle voice. Just that one sentence was enough to stir something deep inside her.

It was a mobile novel with relatively few chapters, but Kanade found herself deeply moved by its quiet, beautiful love—and the sorrow woven beneath it.

"Even if it ends in tragedy, at least the heroine knew happiness once..."

She held the phone above her head with both hands, gazing up at it from below.

But me? Maybe I've never even known what happiness feels like…

The author, "Kamigami," had posted a link to their Twitter. Kanade was about to follow the account, until she saw the username: Jingū Akira.

She thought it was just someone with the same name, but even so, her interest instantly vanished.

That name… she wanted to erase it from her memory.

As long as the story was good, that was all that mattered.

In this lonely afternoon, Kanade reread the unfinished novel from the beginning, even diving into another one by the same author titled The Garden of Sinners.

Eventually, unable to resist, she left a comment under Love Sky:

[If this gets published, I'll definitely buy a copy to keep forever.]

Not long after posting it, many replies came flooding in—people upvoting and agreeing with her comment. Seeing all those strangers echoing her sentiment brought a dazzling smile to her lips.

Even online, the feeling of being supported and validated was something precious.

Without realizing it, time slipped away as she scrolled through the comments. And when she finally returned to herself—

—she noticed someone was standing beside her.