Yayoi Natural's physical recovery wasn't exactly smooth. Due to her previous severe exhaustion, she still needed several more days of hospital observation before considering discharge.
With Mr. C.B. unable to visit daily—the duty of taking care of Yayoi Natural fell to Sakura Chiyono O, who hadn't even officially debuted yet.
Arriving at the hospital room, Chiyono O first replaced the flowers in the vase as usual, then took a seat by Yayoi Natural's bedside. "Yayoi-san, would you like me to hold Mochizuki for a while?"
"Yes, thank you."
Saying this, Yayoi Natural handed the child in her arms over to Chiyono O.
Unlike Mr. C.B., Chiyono O was skilled at taking care of infants, so Mochizuki didn't fuss or cry.
After confirming the baby in her arms would remain peacefully asleep for now, Chiyono O turned her attention to Yayoi Natural.
After these past few days together, Chiyono O could confidently say Yayoi Natural was a kind person—gentle would also be accurate.
But…
Every time she saw Yayoi Natural, the questions in Chiyono O's mind multiplied unavoidably.
Most of these questions came from wondering how anyone could abandon someone this wonderful, while a smaller portion came from curiosity about the nature of the relationship between Yayoi Natural and Maruzensky.
However…
Watching Yayoi Natural quietly staring out the window, Chiyono O felt this wasn't exactly an easy question to bring up.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
As if sensing Chiyono O's gaze, Yayoi Natural turned and looked back at her.
"Ah, nothing!"
Quickly shaking her head to deny any thoughts, the girl instantly lowered her gaze toward the infant in her arms.
The baby wasn't fussing, just quietly calm—just like her mother.
Noticing this similarity, Chiyono O slowly raised her head, only to realize Yayoi Natural was still looking directly at her.
"Ah..." With her face heating up slightly, Chiyono O felt suddenly shy.
But the next second, Yayoi Natural spoke up naturally: "Sorry for troubling you so much lately. Later, I—"
She paused briefly, realizing she really had nothing suitable to offer as thanks, before finally continuing, "Chiyono O, is there something you'd like as repayment?"
"Yayoi-san, you don't have to do something like that! Wouldn't that be a big burden on you?"
Chiyono O swiftly refused Yayoi Natural's offer, and rightfully so—after all, she'd already seen that Mr. C.B. was the one who'd paid the hospital fees. Understanding this, she immediately realized Yayoi Natural probably wasn't in good financial shape.
Thus, without hesitation, Chiyono O rejected the offer.
Listening to Chiyono O's words, Yayoi Natural didn't press the matter further.
After all, her financial situation wasn't just "not good"—it was practically nonexistent.
So Yayoi Natural decided not to linger on this issue, instead gently making a new promise: "Then let me thank you properly another time in the future."
Chiyono O nodded in acceptance.
It was only now—when the distance between the two had subtly narrowed—that Chiyono O finally mustered up a little courage.
"Yayoi-san…"
"Yes?"
"How did Yayoi-san end up in this kind of situation?"
Her cautiously asked question wasn't immediately answered, unlike before.
Glancing over at Yayoi Natural, Chiyono O noticed the other woman was quietly looking downward, deep in thought.
Chiyono O began to panic slightly, thinking she might've asked something inappropriate—something Yayoi Natural might not be willing to answer.
But reality differed somewhat from Chiyono O's imagination: although Yayoi Natural indeed hesitated to answer, the main reason was that she wasn't sure how to explain clearly.
If she were to directly say it was Rudolf, perhaps…
Yayoi Natural glanced up at Chiyono O, deciding on how to answer. "It's… not something too serious, just that I encountered a heartless scoundrel."
"A heartless scoundrel…"
Observing Yayoi Natural's calm, unchanged expression, Chiyono O… decided to believe her.
"Yes, a heartless scoundrel. And due to my health, I couldn't hold onto him, so it ended up like this. It was rather difficult at the time."
She spoke plainly, like an uninvolved outsider.
And in truth, she essentially was—after all, Yayoi Natural wasn't exactly telling the whole truth, since she didn't really want Chiyono O to get caught up in the matters between herself and Rudolf.
But even with this watered-down story—
Chiyono O's eyes quickly filled with tears as she gazed at Yayoi Natural: "Yayoi-san is so pitiful…"
"It's not actually that miserable. After finally giving birth to Mochizuki, I met Maruzensky-san. She's treated me very kindly. Thinking of it that way, if those events hadn't occurred, perhaps I wouldn't have met Maruzensky-san."
Yayoi Natural gently comforted the nearly crying Chiyono O, continuing her slightly adjusted narrative.
In this retelling, even though she'd encountered a heartless scoundrel, Yayoi Natural still retained considerable freedom and choices—vastly different from her real circumstances.
"Then… Then how did Yayoi-san meet Maruzensky-senpai?"
Still holding back tears, Chiyono O managed to ask another question.
"That? Well, that day, I had run out of money for rent, so I was wandering alone on the street, and then Maruzensky-san, who was about to go street-racing, picked me up."
Adjusting the details of that day's events, Yayoi Natural offered a version of the story that sounded quite pleasant.
And reality was more or less similar.
As for what happened afterward…
Seeing Chiyono O's expression, as if she was on the verge of tears again, Yayoi Natural decided against sharing the rest of the real story—after all, it probably wasn't suitable for her to know.
So Yayoi Natural simply smiled at Chiyono O again, gently adding:
"But if you ever consider marrying a human in the future, Chiyono O, don't have poor judgment like mine. If you encounter a heartless scoundrel like that, even your whole life might not be enough to recover."
"Mm!"
Chiyono O nodded resolutely, fully convinced by Yayoi Natural's words.
And just as Chiyono O was about to ask even more—
The hospital room door suddenly opened.
"Natural, are you feeling better now? The doctor said your recovery seems to be going rather wel—"
The voice abruptly halted. Mr. C.B. had noticed Chiyono O's teary-eyed face and Yayoi Natural looking at her with her head tilted.
Seeing this scene, Mr. C.B. went quiet for a few seconds before suddenly coming to an apparent realization:
"I want to join in too!"
Faced with Mr. C.B.'s inexplicable misunderstanding, Yayoi Natural tilted her head even more:
"?"
The response she got from Mr. C.B. was precisely the same expression:
"?"