Chapter 318: Political Marriage? With Whom?
The next day.
Shinomiya Kaguya and Hayasaka Ai set out to return to the Shinomiya family's main house.
The two took an early flight and arrived at the Shinomiya mansion before noon.
Shinomiya Oko occupied quite a large section of the main house.
Kaguya changed into a proper formal dress.
In the afternoon, she went to the tearoom she had arranged to meet Shinomiya Oko in advance.
It was a room overlooking a koi pond — the pond was full of rare and precious fish.
Beside it were a flower garden and a bamboo grove; an odd combination, yet under the gardener's hand, it blended together surprisingly harmoniously.
After waiting a while, Kaguya finally saw Shinomiya Oko again — it had been a long time since their last meeting.
He looked like a fox, his eyes always half-closed, deliberately creating a gentle appearance.
Shinomiya Kaguya turned her gaze away from the shiny bald head that stood out so much.
"Nii-sama called me back today — is there something you wish to instruct me about?"
Shinomiya Kaguya tried her best to maintain a polite smile on her face.
She was somewhat afraid of this older brother — having lived in the Shinomiya family for so long, she knew clearly how powerful he was.
Within the Shinomiya family, he could be said to hold power in the palm of his hand.
"It's nothing serious. You see, I heard from Un'yo that you and he have had a little disagreement lately." Shinomiya Oko narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone gentle: "I just didn't want my lovely little sister to be feeling upset, that's all."
"Not at all. Un'yo nii-sama is someone who greatly values the spirit of a contract." Kaguya shook her head lightly.
Immediately after, Shinomiya Oko's expression changed — his voice turned cold: "How can you say there's nothing wrong?"
Kaguya's expression showed panic.
"You made me lose an important piece on the board!"
"The Hayasaka family are my subordinates! Because of this incident, I had to let them leave the Shinomiya household, and that old man even turned around and blamed me — all of this is your fault, you bastard!"
At that moment, a chill ran down Kaguya's spine, and she instinctively lowered her head.
"Nii-sama… I don't understand this matter…"
She couldn't comprehend how Hayasaka Ai's resignation could have led to such serious consequences!
The news that the Hayasaka family had left the Shinomiya clan was something Kaguya knew nothing about.
Moreover, that had already happened before the New Year — so why was her brother suddenly furious about it now?
"If it were only about Hayasaka Ai resigning, I wouldn't bother discussing it with you. But the Hayasaka family has deep ties to the Shinomiya family. You should understand how serious this is."
Shinomiya Oko took a deep breath and calmed down.
He had personally witnessed Sakurai Saki turn Jiaolong to stone with a single glance, and so had immediately decided to abandon the Hayasaka family. But saying it was one thing — actually doing it left a sense of regret.
As a qualified capitalist, if something is lost, it must be compensated elsewhere.
"Hayasaka Ai has already made up her mind to leave the clan. I hope you can be generous enough to let it go." Shinomiya Kaguya spoke softly.
There was silence for a few seconds.
"Ha ha." Shinomiya Oko suddenly slapped his thigh and laughed loudly: "Don't worry, when I sent Hayasaka Ai to serve you, I never planned to call her back. I heard she even found herself a pretty good boyfriend. Truly, in this day and age, a woman's happiness is something she must seize for herself."
Lay a hand on Hayasaka Ai? He didn't dare.
But with Shinomiya Kaguya, it was different.
"Your grades are excellent. Which university are you planning to apply to?" He suddenly shifted to casual conversation.
Shinomiya Kaguya knew — the real part of the conversation was about to begin.
"I… want to enter Todai."
"Todai, huh? Not bad, not bad." Shinomiya Oko stroked his sparse beard and said calmly: "Though it might cause some unfavorable consequences later on."
"Why is that?" Shinomiya Kaguya asked, puzzled.
"Think about it — if you get married in the future, and your university is better than your husband's, the man's family surely won't be happy about that."
The moment he finished speaking, a phrase popped into Shinomiya Kaguya's mind — "arranged marriage."
That toxic relic of a feudal society's treatment of women — the most blatant symbol of patriarchal control.
This man sounded as if he were living in the Shōwa era.
"I'm only thinking of my dear little sister. Just imagining that you might miss out on love and happiness in the future makes my heart ache."
Shinomiya Oko clutched his chest, speaking with a face full of sorrow.
Shinomiya Kaguya said nothing.
She waited for him to get to the main point.
"Recently, the Shinomiya family has been in internal conflict with the Shijo family. The news has spread everywhere — you must have heard."
"Yes." Kaguya nodded.
"This can't go on forever, my dear sister." Shinomiya Oko, like a fox, stroked his beard. "You should start contributing a bit of strength to the Shinomiya family as well."
As expected — an arranged marriage. Kaguya mocked herself silently.
Living in such a family, it was no surprise she had to face things like this.
"You mean… you want me to form a political marriage with the Shijo family?"
"The Shijo family? They don't even deserve that!" Shinomiya Oko's voice carried undisguised contempt.
A family that had split from the Shinomiya clan trying to rise and take control?
"And then…?"
If it were the Shijo family, Kaguya felt she could still find a way to handle it — after all, Maki was the eldest daughter of the Shijo family.
But if it was a stranger, that would be another story.
"Madam Jinguuji — you know her, right?"
"Yes." Shinomiya Kaguya hadn't expected to hear the name of Sakurai Saki's mother at this moment.
"Madam Jinguuji holds a very high position in the religious community — she's an extremely important cooperative partner of the Shinomiya family." Shinomiya Oko's expression turned cold. "But recently, she's shown signs of wanting to cut ties with the Shinomiya family."
Behind the Shijo family stood a faction composed of individuals possessing supernatural abilities.
Those sewer rats had already begun playing their underhanded games.
Yet Jinguuji Tamaki — the one capable of opposing them — had no intention of acting.
The youkai under her command only obeyed her, the Shinomiya family couldn't command them, and bribery was useless.
This had caused the Shinomiya family to suffer repeated losses in the business world lately.
"What do you mean by this?" Shinomiya Kaguya had a bad feeling rising inside her.
"The relationship between you and Sakurai Saki is quite good, isn't it? He's Madam Jinguuji's adopted son." Shinomiya Oko smiled brightly, but his words were chilling: "A smart girl like you should already understand what I mean."
"But… he's dating Hayasaka Ai… I can't…"
"Then steal him!! Do I really have to teach you something like that?!"
Shinomiya Oko sneered with disdain: "You women — aren't you best at seducing men?"
"Once you win him over, Madam Jinguuji will definitely continue her cooperation with us."
Seeing Kaguya's face remain serious, Shinomiya Oko laughed again: "Don't feel guilty toward your friend. That guy isn't any kind of good man anyway — you'd be helping her escape from a sea of suffering."
"…I understand, nii-sama."
For the first time, Shinomiya Kaguya felt truly weak and powerless.
Even if she wanted to refuse… she couldn't.
Suddenly, a loud commotion sounded outside—
"...Oko-sama is in the middle of an important discussion with Kaguya-sama."
"Get out of my way!!" — Hayasaka Ai's voice rang out.
She had overheard everything through the bugging device — she couldn't endure it any longer!
"Ai-chan! You… why are you here?"
Shinomiya Kaguya watched as Hayasaka Ai strode toward her. At first, she felt surprise and joy — but that quickly turned into heartache.
Hayasaka Ai didn't even take off her shoes; she stepped straight into the Japanese-style living room.
"Don't be afraid — and stop bowing your head to trash like this!"
Shinomiya Oko narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharp as a venomous snake.
Hayasaka Ai took out a tiny listening device from Kaguya's hairpin.
"Kaguya, let's go."
Ai-chan said as she grabbed Kaguya's hand and pulled her out of there.
The atmosphere in this place made her not want to stay even a second longer.
"Wait, my shoes aren't even on yet…"
After the two of them left—
Shinomiya Oko sat in silence for a long time.
The seed of emotional discord had been planted — sooner or later, it would sprout.
No woman would ever want to share her man with another.
And no man would ever love only one woman forever.