May 12th, Friday afternoon.
Chiyoda Ward, Shinomiya Residence.
A golden-haired maid with an expressionless face and a single ponytail bowed slightly to her mistress, who had just returned home:
"Welcome back, Lady Kaguya."
"I'm home, Ai."
Kaguya Shinomiya, equally expressionless and accustomed to the routine, casually handed her schoolbag to Ai Hayasaka and strode toward her bedroom, asking along the way:
"How is the investigation into Fujiwara-san's situation progressing?"
Taking the bag, Ai Hayasaka calmly followed Kaguya and replied: "There's no concrete information yet. However, according to the granddaughter of the Minister of Defence, the Fujiwara family does indeed have plans to arrange a marriage with a certain high-ranking figure in the SDS."
As a maid, Ai Hayasaka attended the same school as Kaguya—Shuchi'in Academy, a former institution for the nobility.
Given that Shuchi'in was a school for the children of conglomerate heirs, government elites, and other upper-class families, uncovering high-level secrets was relatively easy for those who sought them.
Today, under Kaguya's direction, Ai had approached the daughter of the Minister of Defence and confirmed that the Fujiwara family had indeed spread rumours about a potential marriage alliance with a prominent SDS figure.
Based on these whispers and the intelligence Lady Kaguya had gathered, Ai felt the situation was likely true.
At the funeral of the Sawamura family head, Chika Fujiwara had indeed introduced her fiancé to Lady Kaguya for the first time.
Hearing Ai's response, Kaguya paused mid-step. Though inwardly uneasy, her face remained cold and impassive:
"So, Fujiwara-san really did bring her fiancé to see me last time..."
"Judging by the information we've received, it seems to be the case."
Ai didn't give a definitive answer, leaning toward confirmation but leaving room for ambiguity in case of the slightest possibility of error.
"Did Lady Kaguya confirm this with Fujiwara-san today as well?"
"..." Kaguya immediately fell silent.
Witnessing this, Ai's eyelid twitched slightly before she deadpanned:
"Don't tell me the plan Lady Kaguya mentioned this morning—about extracting all of Chika Fujiwara's secrets within 10 minutes—failed?"
"I-it's not exactly a failure," Kaguya replied, her icy demeanour cracking slightly as she spoke with visible guilt.
Ai could tell Kaguya was lying at a glance, so she didn't hesitate to press further:
"So, have you obtained a direct admission from her?"
"Of course I've gotten the answer," Kaguya insisted stubbornly, forcing herself to maintain composure. "It's just that some final verification is still needed."
Ai inwardly scoffed but maintained a blank expression as she asked:
"And by 'verification,' do you mean waiting for Chika Fujiwara to send you a wedding invitation?"
Upon hearing this, Kaguya Shinomiya froze: "At that point, would confirmation still be necessary?"
They'd already sent out wedding invitations—would anyone still need to verify whether Chika Fujiwara had a fiancé? Even an idiot wouldn't do something like that.
"Didn't you say: 'We need final confirmation'?"
Ai Hayasaka said expressionlessly:
"After the three-day school closure due to the ice disaster, when you personally tested Fujiwara-san on the first day back, was the answer you got really 'still needs final confirmation'?"
"Well, no." Kaguya inexplicably felt a twinge of guilt. "Fujiwara-san invited me to visit Luo Shu's workplace this Sunday. I'm still considering whether to accept."
"Sunday, meaning the 14th of May?" Ai Hayasaka sighed helplessly. "But this isn't yielding any results at all, is it?"
She'd long known that Kaguya, being in a different class from Chika Fujiwara, could only interact during lunch breaks and the two-hour club activities after school, making information gathering extremely difficult.
But judging by the current situation, it seemed Fujiwara-san was thoroughly playing Kaguya.
Ah, perhaps Kaguya had cautiously probed with all sorts of obscure questions, only for Fujiwara-san to deftly evade each one with her uncanny skill.
Ai Hayasaka could easily picture the scene—Kaguya tiptoeing around with indirect questions, only for Fujiwara-san to casually steer the conversation elsewhere.
No doubt Kaguya had spent the whole day internally cursing Fujiwara-san for being 'all boobs and no brains' and refusing to answer properly.
Faced with Ai Hayasaka's sigh, Kaguya paused before her bedroom door and began defending herself:
"At the very least, I secured a chance for us to meet, didn't I?"
"And given the current circumstances, isn't this exactly what I wanted?"
"Not only can I directly probe the two parties about their engagement over the weekend, but I can also follow Elder Brother's suggestion to approach that young Director of the Hidden Management Department and extract information about him. Isn't this killing two birds with one stone?"
"Even if you say that..." Ai Hayasaka remained impassive. "But wasn't your goal today to make Fujiwara-san spill all her secrets within 10 minutes?"
Kaguya: "..."
Too deflated to respond, Kaguya pushed open the door, strode straight to her bed, and flopped facedown onto it, burying her head in the pillow.
Seeing Kaguya like this, Ai Hayasaka sighed in resignation and said:
"In this state, I doubt you'll be able to complete Oko-sama's task."
"Let that Elder Brother go die!"
Kaguya cursed without restraint in front of Ai Hayasaka.
Ai Hayasaka showed no reaction, even thinking Kaguya's insults were rather amateurish.
"Such words hold no meaning against Oko-sama."
Hearing this, Kaguya snorted into her pillow:
"I know exactly what that Elder Brother is thinking."
"The moment he ordered me to approach that man named Luo Shu, he already had plans to offer me up, didn't he?"
"Really, he's all too eager to trade his own family's women for his benefit!"
"It might not just be his own family, you know," Ai Hayasaka said calmly.
Kaguya started, turning her head to look at Ai Hayasaka in surprise:
"Ai, have you heard something?"
All of Ai Hayasaka's family worked for the Shinomiya family, whether directly or indirectly, holding certain positions within the organisation. Thus, it was perfectly normal for her to hear certain news.
Regarding this, Ai Hayasaka didn't conceal anything and calmly stated:
"I just happened to hear that Lord Oko exchanged some shares of Shinomiya Heavy Industries for some entertainment industry shares with Lord Un'yo."
"Apparently, Lord Oko intends to select some talented women from the entertainment industry to curry favour with a certain important figure."
"What?"
Upon hearing this, Kaguya Shinomiya immediately sat up from her bed, her face filled with shock:
"Elder brother would actually go this far?"
The Shinomiya family's assets were vast, but the shares of Shinomiya Heavy Industries could be considered one of their core assets—a privilege typically granted to the eldest son, Oko Shinomiya.
Meanwhile, Un'yo Shinomiya, as the third son born of an affair, had only management rights over peripheral businesses such as entertainment, agriculture, and food industries - none of which were core assets.
Yet now, the eldest brother, Oko, was trading core industry shares for the third brother, Un'yo's, entertainment holdings. This was practically exchanging gold for dirt - utterly absurd.
Thus, Kaguya realised that Oko Shinomiya must be deadly serious this time.
If she, the youngest sister, failed, he would offer carefully selected entertainment idols instead...
'To make eldest brother go this far... just who is this man?'
Thinking this, Kaguya maintained her elegant smile as she addressed Ai Hayasaka:
"Ai."
"What if I were to leak this information to Fujiwara-san..."
"Lady Kaguya, the risks would be too high for you if we did that."
Though Ai privately supported Kaguya's idea, the flaws in this approach were too obvious.
Even if it could cause trouble for Oko Shinomiya.
"You're right, the method is indeed too crude."
Kaguya quickly adjusted her thinking, then smiled charmingly:
"But if I were to actively pursue that Mr Luo Shu, even at the cost of falling out with Fujiwara-san, while 'accidentally' revealing it was Eldest Brother's idea..."
"I see. Deliberately provoking his hostility while demonstrating your innocence? Simultaneously making both Director Luo Shu and Miss Chika Fujiwara sympathise with your plight?"
Having lived together for ten years, Ai instantly understood Kaguya's meaning:
"It seems you already have a plan."
"Ai, you'll help me, won't you?"
"Yes, Lady Kaguya."