I Will Go To Paradise

Chapter 1: The Intruder, Pucci

[Normal] and [expected]—what are they?

The girl gazed at the dim spring light filling the courtyard, asking herself this question.

After her mother's death, Togawa Sakiko's life seemed to have paused.

The strength she had feigned at the funeral had vanished, and the sorrow she had cried dry on her pillowcase had seeped into every corner of her life. The bright spring day was tinged with grey, and the tea she usually loved tasted only of tears.

Life always presents countless partings, always demands moving forward, but at this moment, the girl only wanted to stop... no, she wanted to curl up in this sorrow.

"Saki, move."

"Mutsumi..."

Her green-haired friend had appeared beside her at some point. The fresh scent both slightly reassured Sakiko and pulled her back to reality.

From the balcony, she looked towards the slowly opening distant gate. The butler was confirming the schedule while arranging the welcoming ceremony.

"The child Mother adopted, then..."

Sakiko's thoughts returned to the day of the funeral, the first time she had seen that unfamiliar brother.

Enrico Pucci, 16 years old.

[Excellent] was everyone's first impression of him.

At a young age, he was recognized by the London Theological Seminary and exceptionally became a priest. His outstanding performance during his probationary period and his unique insights into 'Heaven' were even reported by the news media. His ancestors were also a prominent Venetian family, with an important figure in the religious field appearing in the 18th century.

If not for that plane crash, Enrico Pucci might have become a rising star in modern theology.

Now, he had changed his name to Togawa Fuuki and become a member of the Togawa Family.

Therefore, when the head of the Togawa Family proposed that this young man preside over the funeral, no one in the family objected.

However, even though his presiding that day was flawless, his sorrow while mourning his mother and his sincerity while comforting relatives did not seem fake.

[Indifference] was the only emotion Sakiko experienced from him.

Wakaba Mutsumi, who had grown up with Sakiko and was practically her other half, seemed to sense Sakiko's complex feelings about that brother and tried to offer comfort.

"When Auntie Mizuho closed her eyes, only he was there..."

"Don't say it!"

The girl clenched her fists, the tremor in her heart almost causing her delicate face to break down.

Before Mutsumi, realizing her mistake, could apologize, Sakiko grabbed her shoulders, her eyes filled with determination.

"Mutsumi! Go tell grandfather for me—"

"Today, I, Togawa Sakiko, will personally welcome him."

============

Cherry blossoms outside the car window fluttered past his golden hair, shattering like pale snow on the shoulders of his dark blue suit. Togawa Fuuki pressed his fingers against his temples, and the emerald green pupils reflected in the rearview mirror glinted coldly.

The spring sunlight was like a fine glass knife, dissecting the fragments of memory lingering on his retina.

In the days after his family's plane crash, he would always dream of another self, a brilliant yet desperate Enrico Pucci.