A year ago, a girl named Kohakugawa Ruri happily decided to die.
Truthfully, she had no compelling reason to die.
She had neither debts nor terminal illness; on the contrary, she enjoyed what could be called affluent material conditions.
As the illegitimate daughter of the Kohakugawa family, she was not only brought into the household but was even adopted by the kind madam as a foster daughter. She never lacked for food or clothing and really had nothing to complain about.
To outsiders, she might even seem incredibly fortunate, as the Kohakugawa family was a genuinely old and prestigious clan. Merely being shrouded in this aura was enough to make others envious.
But some things are incomprehensible to outsiders: although she was legally adopted as a foster daughter, she never truly became a member of that family.
Her father, a man who had married into the family, had an affair to vent his frustrations. The child was merely an accidental product, never publicly acknowledged until he brought her back home at the age of ten.
The madam tolerated the mistress's daughter in her home only to display her own tolerance and generosity to the outside world. As if to deliberately retaliate against her husband, she subjected Ruri to a "strict education."
Her siblings either ignored her or treated her like a servant. Their pranks, disguised as play, were like grains of sand in a bowl of rice, causing unexpected, sharp stings.
If her grades were better than her siblings', she would attract jealousy and malice; if they were worse, she would be strictly disciplined by her "mother."
If one had to be precise, she never suffered any horrific abuse. She simply couldn't see any joy in life, nor any value or dignity in being human.
But she was a very smart girl. She knew how to protect herself and knew that she needed sufficient patience to escape from despair—which meant nothing more than waiting.
However, when she used the funds she had secretly saved and went to great lengths to find her birth mother, the woman explicitly refused to live with her.
"It would have been better if I'd never given birth to you"—that esteemed lady had said.
It was understandable, perhaps. After all, she was still young at the time, and had only gotten pregnant due to being a bit frivolous and unlucky. Worse, her plan to use the child to threaten the man had backfired; she had failed to become his legal wife.
Wanting both to rid herself of this burden and to get enough compensation to start a new life, she dragged things out until the child grew up. The once-fashionable young woman had been worn down into a single mother. From her perspective, she was the one who had lost the most.
So when the Kohakugawa family came knocking, she didn't hesitate for a second!
The man who had abandoned her had finally had a change of heart and taken the child back, and she had conveniently received a large sum of compensation. That day was practically a rebirth anniversary for her~
Now, after several years, her daughter suddenly shows up, talking about how she'd worked so hard so they could finally live together... Was this a joke?
So she very seriously refused Ruri, her expression one of utter bewilderment, as if she were looking at a complete stranger and not her own daughter.
It was only then that the girl realized she had never received her mother's love as a child. Those warm, fuzzy memories were nothing but illusions created by her subconscious, beautified to trick herself into holding on.
When she was taken away back then, her mother hadn't watched her go with a sad, reluctant face... In reality, her eyes had been fixed on the check, not on her daughter.
For the girl, the truth was that her birth was welcomed by no one, her very existence was an unnecessary burden to everyone, and her future was most likely to be a trivial piece in a political marriage alliance.
...What more was there to say?
Ruri was in the literature club in middle school. Having read so many famous domestic works, she was deeply inspired. Combining that with her own situation, she felt there was no need to force herself to live any longer. Instead, she ought to research methods of dying.
She was a girl, after all, and wanted to look beautiful in the end, no matter what~
She had prepared everything:
To avoid troubling others, and to spare her "family" too much suffering, she chose the traditional method of charcoal suicide. To ensure everyone could pass away peacefully in their sleep, she also obtained a sufficient dose of sleeping pills—she was a kind girl, after all.
She couldn't remember which author had said it, but people who die from charcoal burning look as if they're asleep, their skin as pink as cherry blossoms.
However, the plan was not carried out that day.
Because the family business was struggling, they had invited several socialites over as guests, also hoping to attract investment. It just so happened that a certain remarkably perceptive person was among them. Over the course of the banquet, after only meeting a few times, he saw through all her painstakingly laid plans.
Then, that boy, the center of everyone's attention, did not expose her. Instead, he said this to the Kohakugawa family:
"This girl, she is more valuable than all your assets combined."
And so, that day, she was "sold" and became this man's property.
Renamed "Rurikawa Tsubaki," nicknamed Ruri-chan, the maid was born~
—Time returns to the present.
Once again, after a long, long time, Ruri had the thought of "wanting to die."
A maid must not fall in love with her master!
It was acceptable to be forced, to be threatened, and then to yield reluctantly, halfway consenting. But to "actively" fall in love with her master was absolutely forbidden.
Because a certain cluelessly arrogant chunibyo girl, upon entering the Kuse household, had once said something like, "You can have my body, but you'll never have my heart."
And Ryu had gentlemanly complied, making good use of her exquisite girlish body... in all sorts of jobs and tasks.
Ruri belatedly realized that what he had meant by "her value" back then was probably her "surplus value."
...I really want to go back in time and slap my smitten self!
"This is by no means an indecent act."
Ruri's mouth moved as if it were wound up: "Although it might violate Article 11 of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act for Men and Women (prohibition of sexual harassment), so-called 'improper conduct' refers to the bullying and coercion of female employees. It only includes males in a broad sense, and in actual court rulings, cases of male harassment are almost nonexistent. The employer has an obligation to take preventative measures in the workplace and explicitly prohibit improper gender-based conduct, but this isn't a workplace, and I'm not the employer, so I have no responsibility or obligation—"
As she spoke, Ruri covered her face, her finely sculpted shoulders trembling slightly.
"It's not like that... I just... It's not what you think!"
Chika's mouth hung slightly open, her expression one of someone who was impressed but utterly confused. Her brain had temporarily ceased to function.
But upon seeing Ruri's distress, the clever little imp immediately walked over, placed a hand on the maid's shoulder, and soothed her in a "benevolent" tone.
"It's okay, I won't tell anyone."
"R-Really?"
A flushed Ruri lifted her face, peeking at Chika through the gaps between her fingers.
"Yup! We're good friends, of course a little thing like this is no problem~"
Chika giggled. "Actually, I've wanted to do this for a while, I just never had the chance."
"..."
Hmm?
Ruri instinctively narrowed her eyes, and her voice dropped. "Miss Chika has the same idea?"
"Because I just can't help it~" Chika squirmed bashfully. "It's Ryu-chan, after all. Anyone would be tempted, wanting to mess him up completely!"
Does this woman have no shame?!
—And Ruri had actually held a somewhat favorable impression of her just before this.
Although on the topic of a "spouse," Ruri had once recommended Chika, now that the person in question was actually expressing interest, she found herself becoming displeased... This, perhaps, is what it means to be a woman.
"It's... reassuring that you feel this way, but something like this really depends on whether Lord Ryu likes it or not—"
"What are you talking about? Of course he won't like it."
Chika tilted her head. "His wishes are irrelevant. Even if he doesn't like it, we have to force our way through."
"Huh?" Ruri froze.
"Don't worry, I'll be gentle. I won't hurt him."
"Huh? It'll hurt? Boys can get hurt too?" Ruri covered her small mouth in terror. "So, Fujiwara-san is the 'carnivorous' type?"
"Why the honorifics... Ruri-chan?"
Chika pulled out her phone, confused. "Weren't you going to pinch his cheeks and take pictures of his funny faces to keep as blackmail material on Ryu-chan?"
".........Hmm?!"
Ruri looked at Chika's mischievous smile, her brain short-circuited for a moment, and then a flash of inspiration struck.
"Yes! That's exactly what I wanted to do!!"
"Your voice, your voice is too loud, Ruri-chan!"
Chika walked to the bedside with happy steps, bending over like a little duck to carefully observe Ryu. The former prime minister's granddaughter couldn't stop giggling foolishly.
"Ryu-chan has always acted like a grown-up since kindergarten, always putting on a cool act. I've wanted to mess up this cool-type handsome guy for a long time~
Before, you were always watching, Ruri-chan. Now, I've even turned the guards to my side. It serves Ryu-chan right to suffer this calamity!
Ruri-chan You pinch his cheeks, and I'll take the pictures"
It wasn't you who "turned" them, Ruri thought silently.
"I'll send you a copy of the photos afterward."
"Alright! Let's do it!
As expected of Lady Fujiwara, daring to do what others won't. I'm in awe, I adore you!"
"So why are you using honorifics?"
...A few minutes later, Ryu opened his eyes. He frowned slightly at first and subconsciously touched his lips, but felt nothing out of the ordinary. Assuming it was just combat feedback from the [Demon Brain], he paid it no mind.
"This one, give me this one❤!"
"You really like taking pictures together, Ruri-chan~ Whoa, in this one you're practically stuck together. A little dangerous... but I guess I'll send it to you anyway."
"Mhm, mhm!"
"Hehe, from this angle, you two look just like a couple~"
"Lady Fujiwara is amazing! Let's be best friends forever!"
—When did these two get so close?
Ryu turned his head to see the two high school girls with their backs to him, excitedly gesturing at a phone. He was plunged into deep confusion.
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