Episode Four
“IS our way of life a joke to you, Mio?”
I had just established myself as the villainess. I was at the starting line finally. So why, just as I felt for the first time that I might actually complete my mission, did Kyosuke show up? This was the last thing I needed—the heir to the entire Sakurazaka fortune, who once said he would personally ensure my elimination should I sully Shizuki’s name, coming to make good on his word.
He was the one person I couldn’t afford to make an enemy out of. In retrospect, it irked me that I hadn’t anticipated this encounter at all. Taking on the mantle of a villainess meant engaging in dubious deeds—naturally, Kyosuke would come a-knocking.
But there was no point agonizing over what-ifs. It didn’t matter who he was. If he dared step in my path, I had to overcome him for Shizuku’s sake and Shizuki’s. Stand tall, Mio. You are a villainess!
“I’m sorry?” I countered. “Whatever could you be referring to?”
“Don’t play dumb with me,” Kyosuke snapped. “Your actions have earned you nothing but contempt, and you’ve dragged Shizuki’s name through the mud. You disgrace the Sakurazaka name.”
Those…were more direct accusations than I had anticipated. My usual defense of deflection and denial wouldn’t work on someone like him, but neither would a more straightforward rebuttal of his claims—not when they were absolutely true. Still, I forced myself to respond.
“Cousin, it was Shizuki who adopted me—”
“So, I have no voice in the matter? Do you presume to look down on me? You think ‘heir’ is just a title?”
This was bad. Kyosuke was every bit a formidable opponent as Shizuki made him out to be. But what was my alternative? Throw in the towel without putting up a fight? Tell Shizuku that her hope for a cure was dashed? And it wasn’t just Shizuku anymore. I had wronged many in my quest. Failing now would invalidate their suffering. I had to complete my mission—and afterward let those I had wronged exact their justice.
“Not at all, cousin. You’re entitled to your views. I was merely curious if you’ve thought about how it would reflect on Shizuki if I were to suddenly vanish without explanation.”
He shifted his stance. “Are you threatening me?”
His gaze seemed to penetrate my very soul. He was right, “heir” was not just a title. My shoe squeaked against the floor as I instinctively pulled back, feeling the sudden urge to escape, to cry out, why me? But I didn’t. I stood firm and clutched the fabric of my skirt as the thoughts of all those I had hurt, Shizuku, and Shizuki, steeled me against my fear.
“Perish the thought,” I managed. “I’m just asking questions, is all.”
“Just asking questions, eh?” A smirk appeared on his lips. How could he remain so composed? It felt like he was taking out the trash while I was confronting Death itself. “Then, Mio, let me pose one to you. You’re right. Ending your adoption would be a bad look for Shizuki. But…how many ways are there to skin this cat, I wonder?”
My voice faltered. There were many possible fates for a villainess that didn’t involve disowning me—cloistering, an arranged marriage, complete erasure from history. They were all grim options, and Kyosuke was dead serious—he had the means to enforce any of these.
This was dire. I needed to speak, to do something, or everything I’d worked for would go up in smoke. I needed to remain here, but how… How?!
“Well, well, well, what do we have here? A little family feud?”
A new voice cut through the tension. I turned, my breath catching at the sight of Ruki.
Ruki?!
Ruki had come?! Why?! Wasn’t he utterly disillusioned with me?
Catching my stare, he chuckled. “You’re always making that face, aren’t you?”
“What face?” I asked.
“Go look in a mirror,” he replied curtly, then turned his back to me—but only to stand between me and Kyosuke. “You know, when I heard the Sakurazakas had a prodigious heir, I expected someone with a touch more…vision.”
Kyosuke’s eyes narrowed. “Vision?”
“It’s true that all sorts of rumors are going around the school, painting Mio negatively. She’s guilty of failing to quell suspicious speculations about her character and…what else, exactly?”
“What exactly are you implying?” Kyosuke shot back, an eyebrow quirking.
I couldn’t help but be impressed. All my attempts to provoke Kyosuke had been ineffective, deflecting off of him effortlessly. Yet here was Ruki, piercing through his defenses in the opening gambit. True to form for the Yukishiro heir.
Suddenly, Kyosuke’s eyes flicked to me, then back to Ruki. “Taken a liking to her, have you?”
“I have,” Ruki replied instantly. “She’s interesting.”
“Interesting?” Kyosuke echoed, then shot me another glance, more quizzical this time.
No, I’m not interesting at all, I rebutted silently.
Then Kyosuke’s expression softened, and he hummed in thought. “Perhaps I have been too hasty in accepting these rumors as truth without subjecting them to further scrutiny.” Stroking his chin, he then looked at me. “All right. Mio, I’ll give you a chance to explain yourself.”
The situation was almost perfect. If Kyosuke and I were alone, I might not have hesitated to divulge everything. But Ruki’s presence complicated things immensely. The irony wasn’t lost on me that after handing me the perfect moment to clear the air, Ruki now stood as the largest obstacle to my confession. This might have been the best, maybe the only opportunity I had to plead my case, but how? Lie? No, Kyosuke would most assuredly follow up on whatever I told him and I’d be outed in an instant. Then what do I do? Tell the truth? In front of Ruki?
My gaze involuntarily drifted to Ruki’s broad shoulders. Was this his intention all along? To corner me into disclosing my plans under pressure? Uncertainty clouded my judgment, but one thing was clear: I needed to convince Kyosuke of my intentions as much as I needed to keep them hidden from Ruki. Now, how to achieve both?
Kyosuke was as sharp as a tack; Ruki was arguably sharper. Both were masters of reading the unsaid—of understanding the weight of words and the silence between them. How could I, against targets so wily, craft my words so cleverly that one would understand my true intentions while the other remained oblivious?
It seemed impossible. Panic began to claw its way up my throat. What do I do, what do I do, what do I do? Revealing everything to Ruki would spell the end of my run as the villainess. Fail to convince Kyosuke and it would be just as catastrophic. Either failure meant I wouldn’t be able to fulfill my promise to Shizuki—and Shizuku would pay the ultimate price.
No, no, no, no, stop panicking, I commanded myself internally. You made a promise to Shizuku. You swore that you would save her. That’s why you spent all that time learning to become a villainess, isn’t it? Remember what Shizuki told you. This isn’t a game—this is real life. If the paths before you led to dead ends, forge a new one! There must be something you can exploit!
There was.
The imbalance of information. Ruki had only joined the conversation midway; he lacked critical context that could work to my advantage. If Kyosuke and Ruki were astute enough to decipher subtext, I could use that same skill against them.
“Cousin,” I began, locking eyes with Kyosuke. “You asked me if I considered ‘heir’ merely a title.”
“So I did. What of it?” Kyosuke replied.
Perfect. He was following my lead, but Ruki, having missed the earlier part of our discussion, would be in the dark. “Allow me to address that. I don’t think of it as ‘merely’ a title. The world bends to your will, that is beyond dispute. It is my earnest hope, however, that the trajectory you choose mirrors your true intentions.”
Kyosuke’s concern for Shizuku was the root of his wariness toward me. The message I was trying to tell him was simple: he had every right to dispose of me, but he needed to weigh the consequences for Shizuku. Ruki, lacking the background, shouldn’t get any of this.
The vagueness, as well, was part of my plan. By not explaining the full reason, I left room for Kyosuke to interpret Ruki’s presence as the cause for my discretion. But that was just a sideshow. What mattered was that I had dangled Shizuki’s well-being before him. Given his protectiveness, I had no doubt he would tread carefully, using the vast resources at his disposal to uncover the truth instead of ridding me without a second thought. Of course, I couldn’t leave him to his own devices and just let him figure everything out, but I had least mitigated the immediate threat to my safety. I now had time to consult Shizuki for advice and plan the next steps. And who knows, maybe those next steps involved gaining Kyosuke’s trust and cooperation. We were technically on team Shizuki, after all.