Nobody had come out to send the two away, and nobody had been sent to accompany the mother-and-child pair to the manor which they had been banished to.

Fuyuki tightly held her daughter’s hand.

As if sensing her uneasiness, Fuyuki gave her a small but reassuring smile.

She bent down to meet the child’s eyes, “Don’t worry, Airi. Mother will protect you.”

Airi—named after Fuyuki’s deceased mother—nodded reluctantly. She smiled to her mother in return, hoping to show that she was a brave little girl.

After the little pep moment, the two continued to walk on the dirt path. At some point, the path disappeared, causing them to reach the secluded courtyard later than they expected.

The house was dirty and unkempt. Clearly, no one had bothered to clean it for them.

Fuyuki exchanged glances with her daughter, a helpless smile gracing her pale countenance.

“…Well, should we get to work? After resting, that is,” she chuckled.

The two braved themselves and entered the tattered place.

Although Fuyuki said she would clean the house after resting, upon discovering that the inside of the house was worse than she had expected, she opted to begin cleaning immediately.

By the time the sun went down, the two were finally able to relax in the now-cleaned living room. Luckily, the house was small, so the cleaning was easier. There was only the small kitchen, living room and single bedroom inside the house.

The two huddled together in the living room, trying to build a fire to keep themselves warm for the night.

Fuyuki may not have been welcomed in the clan, but she was still raised like any other pampered young lady. To have to live independently like this was actually quite tough on her. Despite that, she still continued to smile for the sake of her young daughter.

“Airi, can you help Mother with unpacking?” She asked. The two of them did not have many belongings, but their two big bundles of luggage still needed to be unpacked and put away.

“Mm!” Airi eagerly agreed. She had always liked to help her mother around, so she did not voice any complaints.

She dragged one of the luggage closer to the fire, then began to unpack the luggage.

She took out the items one by one, careful not to damage them.

Fuyuki could not help but smile at her daughter’s serious look. Seeing that face, she was reminded of the time when she was around the same age as her daughter; back then, she, too, had sported that very same look as her mother instructed her on how to make paper fans.

Just as she was thinking about it, Airi carefully picked up a paper fan out of the luggage and placed it to the side.

The paper fan seemed old and yellowed, but Fuyuki had still kept it with her.

Fuyuki nostalgically picked it up, observing it.

With a gentle snap of her wrist, she opened the fan, admiring the artwork within.

It had been a painting personally painted by her mother. The artwork was simple yet exquisite, highlighting the scenery of a still pond and lotus flowers.

“Mother?” Airi perked up, watching Fuyuki with interest.

Fuyuki snapped out of her thoughts and smiled at her daughter. Then she closed the fan and placed it down. “What else did we bring again?” She asked, urging her daughter to take out more things.

With a happy grin, Airi continued to pull out items after items, dwindling the size of the luggage.

Finally, the very last item was taken out.

It was her father’s trusted katana.

Fuyuki eyed the item longingly, lightly caressing it.

The sword had been given to her by the Head a long time ago, and it had now became the family heirloom. She ran her fingers over the familiar crest engraved on the sword’s sheath; apparently, it had been personally bestowed by the Emperor to her father.

“Father, Mother…” Fuyuki quietly murmured. She closed her eyes in prayer, hoping that her parents were resting in peace wherever they were.

“Mother?” Airi called out again. Fuyuki had always looked so sad whenever she looked at the sword.

Fuyuki wiped away her tears which were beginning to form. Smiling again, she patted Airi’s head. “Come, let’s get ready for bed,” she says.

“But the luggage—“ She looked at the remaining bundle.

“No matter. We can take our time and unpack that one tomorrow, okay?” Fuyuki says gently.

“Okay!” Airi smiled at her brightly.

It was now dark, and the young girl could no longer fight off the urge to sleep. Soon enough, she drowsily yawned.