In Belmode's view, Keiko Hatoyama is a very special person.

Although she came from a Japanese family that was still very traditional at the time, she was completely different from the women of the family Belmode had seen before.

Her body does not give people a feeling of oppression, nor does she have that kind of numb conformity.

On the contrary, she has a lively personality that makes it easy for Belmode to talk to her without caring about the strange rules and etiquette.

At the same time, she also knows a lot about Western countries, whether it is literature or historical allusions, and she can always pick up the topic of Belmode, even if she has never left Japan.

This made Belmode very happy, because the ladies she had met before, no matter how much they could talk, as long as she mentioned these topics, they couldn't pick up at all.

In the end, it would only be her talking alone, and they would just sit there with confused eyes.

Therefore, Belmode, who had long been suffocated, immediately gushed about all the interesting things he could think of at that time when he found out.

Keiko Hatoyama is special.

Belmode was extremely sure of this, and at this moment she swept away the regret she had previously regretted.

She suddenly felt that her coming to Japan this time might not be entirely a wrong decision, at least she had met a good friend.

They talked to their heart's content in this small room, isolated from the bitter cold, from "the relationship between hemophilia and Queen Victoria in European royalty" to "why the United States of America was founded without the participation of the people at the bottom of the process......

Little did the two of them know at the time that a tragedy that would completely affect and change their future had quietly happened at this moment.

"Sister Keiko, are these all books you've read?"

Keiko Hatoyama took Belmode and opened a closet in the corner of the room, which was neatly arranged with a large pile of books.

Unlike the brand-new books that Belmode had often seen in the United States before and were used by their owners to fill their shelves, the books in this closet all showed signs of being flipped, not only literary works, but also many of them that were famous in society at the time.

"Well, because I rarely go out, and when I'm bored, I can only go and read these books."

Keiko Hatoyama nodded, and at the same time, while Belmode was not paying attention, she quietly stuffed a certain book on top into the corner.

"That's amazing...... If it were me, I wouldn't have been able to read so many books, no matter how boring I was. Belmode couldn't help but sigh.

"Hmm...... I was like this at first, but when I got to a certain level, I was able to see it. Keiko Hatoyama replied with a smile.

"Miss!"

At this moment, the voice of the old butler sounded outside the room.

"What's wrong?" Keiko Hatoyama turned around, looked at the blurred figure of the old housekeeper outside the shoji door, and asked.

"I ...... There is an important thing to tell you. ”

The old butler seemed to be in a hurry, and his tone did not have the calmness he had before.

Obviously, what he wanted to say to Keiko Hatoyama was definitely a very important and urgent matter.

But he seemed to be worried about Belmode, who was also in the room, so he didn't say it directly.

And Keiko Hatoyama also clearly sensed what he meant, and without saying anything more, she stepped forward quickly and opened the shoji door.

In an instant, the cold air outside rushed in again, and the snow drifted into the room with the wind.

"It's the White River ......"

At the door of the room, the old butler whispered quickly in Keiko Hatoyama's ear.

Belmode only vaguely heard the surname "White River".

I don't know what the old butler said, Belmode noticed that the expression on Keiko Hatoyama's face had changed drastically at this moment.

She subconsciously took two steps back, leaning against the shoji door, her face, which was already much fairer than ordinary people, was even more pale at the moment.

"Miss?!"

The old housekeeper hurriedly tried to hold her, but she raised her hand to stop her.

"Did you tell your grandfather about this?"

"Not yet, the head of the family is still discussing important matters with the head of the Karasuma family......"

Keiko Hatoyama didn't say anything more, she just leaned against the shoji door, and from her eyes, Belmode saw an extremely obvious emotion.

Fluster.

In her eyes, there was a panic that could not be contained.

"Sister Keiko?" Belmode looked at her worriedly.

What the hell is going on? 】

As if it was her shout that brought Keiko Hatoyama back to consciousness, she suddenly turned to look at Belmode in the room and reluctantly smiled at her.

"Karasuma-chan, I'm sorry, I have something to do and I have to go out for a while, so you can stay in the room for now, okay?"

Dropping such a sentence, Keiko Hatoyama walked away quickly, and behind her, the old butler followed closely.

The two of them just walked away, leaving Belmode alone.

Countless times later, Belmode imagined countless times that if she hadn't impulsively chosen to follow at that time, would she have taken a completely different path in the rest of her life?

But there are no ifs in life.

Perhaps it was the desire to help his new friend, or perhaps it was just a little curiosity in his heart, but at that moment, Belmode chose to follow, and almost did not hesitate.

She quickly put on the boots she had placed at the door, ran forward without a word, and caught up with Keiko Hatoyama and the old butler in front.

As if hearing her voice, Keiko Hatoyama glanced back at her.

"Sister Keiko, I want to help too." Met her puzzled gaze, Belmode plucked up courage and said.

This is actually a very naïve and irresponsible statement, because she didn't even know what Keiko Hatoyama had encountered, so she said that she wanted to help, without thinking about whether she could do it.

And Keiko Hatoyama just looked at her helplessly and opened her mouth, but in the end she didn't say anything.

The group of three left the Hatoyama Mansion in such a hurry.

It was still snowing lightly, and the caring old butler seemed to be prepared, holding a large umbrella and following closely behind the two of them, shielding them from the snow falling from the sky, while his own body was wet.

It should be because she rarely goes out, and Keiko Hatoyama's physical strength seems to be very poor, but after only running a short distance, she has begun to gasp violently.

Her chest rose and fell violently, and the white mist kept exhaling from her mouth, but even so, she didn't let her pace slow down the slightest, as if she couldn't slow down for a moment.

That said, the distance is not far, it is actually a few hundred meters.

In just three or four minutes, the three of them arrived at their destination.

It was an old house surrounded by several police cars on a side street in Tokyo's Old Town.

(﹃)

(End of chapter)