Damian carefully carried Marin to the bedroom. He laid her gently on the bed, tucked her in up to her neck, and left a soft kiss on her forehead before leaving.
He started the car again, but instead of heading to Yukino's house, he drove to a quiet spot surrounded by trees near his home.
He knew the situation within the Yukinoshita family was complicated. The matriarch, her mother, was extremely strict and controlling toward her two daughters. Having cats or dogs was absolutely forbidden. That was why Yukino had been forced to rent a small apartment and live alone.
That large orange cat, for various reasons, had ended up living freely around the area.
When Damian parked, he saw his target immediately. Yukino was crouched down, bathed in sunlight, with a carton of milk and a bowl of food in front of her. She smiled faintly as she petted the cat, who was eating contentedly.
Damian approached silently. Yukino was absorbed, her fingers sliding gently through the cat's fur.
"Tsk, tsk." Damian leaned down and grabbed the cat by the scruff of its neck, lifting it effortlessly. "It's no wonder people say orange cats are heavy, huh, Yukino-san?"
"Miaaau!" the cat screeched, waving its paws in the air.
Yukino's head shot up, and she stretched out her arms. "Put him down!"
Damian didn't. Instead, he raised the cat a little higher and gave it a playful shake. "A stray this round and well-fed… that doesn't sound very healthy."
Yukino frowned and tried to take it back, but he dodged her attempt. He looked at her with amusement, and that slight blush on her face only made her look more beautiful… more human.
"What does it matter to you? Put him down!" Yukino snapped, glaring at him.
The cat recognized the man holding it. It narrowed its eyes in a look that clearly said, "You again, damn biped," and stopped struggling, adopting a proud posture that seemed to say, "Hurry up and release me."
Damian laughed, set it down on the ground, and crouched beside Yukino.
As soon as the cat touched the ground, it turned its back on him with pride and continued eating, its tail swaying triumphantly.
"Pff." Yukino couldn't help but let out a small laugh.
Damian bumped her lightly with his shoulder. "If you're going to feed it like that, you should take it home and care for it."
She wobbled slightly and gave him an annoyed look. "I'm not a superstar with her own house. In my tiny apartment, the landlord strictly forbids pets."
Damian stroked the cat's tail. "Aren't you afraid your mother will find out you're feeding it here, this close to home?"
Yukino's expression darkened instantly. She petted the cat's head and answered calmly, "...She wouldn't come to a place like this."
The cat, oblivious to the tension, rubbed against her hand and began to purr.
Damian noticed her change in mood and extended a hand toward her, palm open.
Yukino looked at him in confusion, but when she saw his smile, her cheeks flushed. "Idiot." Still, she placed her hand over his.
Damian intertwined his fingers gently with hers. "Secret relationships don't usually last long, you know?"
Yukino sighed. "It's my fault for taking too long. I let Marin get ahead of me… and you, idiot, accepted her confession."
Damian wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. "Yeah, yeah, I'm an idiot. I just want to support her, that's all."
"Excuses…" Yukino pouted but didn't pull away. "An idiot is still an idiot."
Silence spread between them. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, and the cat calmly licked its paws.
Then Damian murmured, "Yukino, you and Marin... will both be mine."
!
Yukino lifted her head sharply, her brow furrowed. "Do you have any idea how stupid that sounds?"
"I do."
"Then how can you say something like that?" she shouted angrily, pulling away from him. The cat, startled, perked its ears and hid behind a rock.
Damian slid his hands into his pockets. "Because I don't plan on giving up on either of you."
Yukino's chest rose and fell rapidly, she was so furious she couldn't speak. But suddenly, Damian reached out and pulled her firmly against his chest.
"Let me go!" she yelled, hitting him with her fists, but he didn't move. Instead, he held her even tighter.
"Idiot…" Yukino muttered, her voice muffled against his shirt as her punches grew weaker and weaker.
Damian lowered his head and rested his chin on her hair. "I know I'm greedy…" he whispered. "But if I see you sad, it hurts me more."
Yukino's fists loosened, and her hands ended up clutching his shirt, wrinkling it between her fingers. The cat, watching the scene, let out a soft "meow."
"...My family will never accept it," she said quietly. "The world's eyes will crush us."
"No," Damian replied calmly. "Your family will accept it. And the world won't see a thing."
He paused before adding, "You already know what I'm capable of. I'm not an ordinary man. Even if I have both of you, there will be those who can justify it."
"..."
Yukino stayed silent for a few seconds before murmuring, "...I won't agree to it."
Damian smiled, brushing her hair lightly with his chin. "You already have."
Yukino quickly lifted her head and glared at him, anger burning behind her eyes. "When did I ever agree?"
"Right after Marin confessed to me," he replied, leaning down to place a kiss on her forehead. "When you decided to stay by my side, even if it had to be in secret."
Yukino froze, her cheeks burning red… Yes, she had thought that—but hearing him say it aloud was something else entirely.
"Idiot!" she exclaimed, burying her face in his chest and hitting him out of frustration.
Her muffled voice came from against his chest. "This is all your fault…"
Damian smiled and held her tighter. The cat yawned beside them, swishing its tail across Yukino's leg.
As he played with a lock of her hair, Damian asked, "Why don't you move in with us?"
Yukino shook her head immediately. "No. I can't… I can't accept living under the same roof with all three of us… at least not for now."
"Oh, really?" Damian chuckled softly, the sound rumbling in his chest near her ear. "You should know Marin is already thinking about expanding the family."
"What?!" Yukino pulled back abruptly, her eyes wide. "How could she… how is that even possible…?"
It was Marin Kitagawa! Damian's "official girlfriend"! The woman millions of female fans despised with every fiber of their being!
Damian watched her calmly. "She, just like you, has seen things that go beyond logic."
"With the money I've earned, she understood that accumulating power takes time, and in the future, the family will encompass everything."
"..."
Yukino was left speechless.
She recalled the abilities she had witnessed in him, his growing influence, and the expansion of his financial empire.
'Marin had seen further… into the future.' A true and powerful lineage was taking shape in Damian's hands.
Her thoughts drifted to her own home. Her grandfather, a respected man, had multiple residences and women outside his marriage.
Even Kaguya's father, the head of the Shinomiya family, was no different. Didn't he also have illegitimate children? Wasn't Kaguya proof of that…?
"So," Damian's voice pulled her back to reality.
"Yukino," he said, brushing her cheek with his fingertips, "are you really content being a hidden lover who will never see the light of day? Or perhaps…"
He paused deliberately, looking her straight in the eyes. "Do you want to stand by my side, together with Marin?"
!
Yukino's heart suddenly went out of control.
Not content?
Those words pierced her like needles.
Why… why did she have to hide? Why could Marin…?
Her hands clenched tightly around the fabric of her skirt. Her lips moved, but the word "no" refused to leave her mouth.
Damian noticed the confusion in Yukino's eyes and decided to tease her a little more.
"Do you know why Gan'an Shinomiya keeps insisting that Kaguya invite me to his dinners?" he said with a calm smile. "Even knowing what she feels for me, he never keeps her away."
Yukino, still lost in thought, looked at him in confusion.
"Because people like him understand things that ordinary people can't," Damian continued. "In a society as distorted as ours, everything is measured by power and convenience."
He leaned in close to her ear, his warm breath brushing against her skin. "He knows that if Kaguya were to become my woman, the Shinomiya family would reach a new level."
!
Yukino's heart skipped a beat. She was about to respond when Damian added quietly, "Including… the distinguished lady standing behind you, wearing a kimono."
"What?!"
Yukino's pupils contracted sharply, and she turned around abruptly.
Just a few steps away, her mother, always impeccably dressed and stern in demeanor, Kikuko Yukinoshita, was standing silently.
Her expression was serene, her smile polite, and her calm eyes were fixed on them.
Yukino felt the blood drain from her body. All her anger and thoughts vanished, replaced by the deep fear her mother always inspired in her.
She tried to move away, but Damian held her firmly, his hand sliding down to her waist.
His face showed not the slightest hint of nervousness at being caught; on the contrary, a calm, even amused smile appeared on his lips as he met Kikuko's inquisitive gaze without flinching.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Yukinoshita," he said with absolute composure. "What a coincidence to find you here."
Kikuko barely moved the sleeves of her kimono before slowly bowing in a perfect gesture. Behind her, two attendants did the same, bowing in complete synchronization.
"I wish you a pleasant day, Mr. Damian."
Her mother's voice echoed in Yukino's ears. She couldn't believe what she was seeing—her mother smiling, that same smile reserved only for the most distinguished guests of the family.
The orange cat had disappeared into the bushes, leaving only the tip of its tail visible.
"It seems that the relationship between my daughter and you is quite intimate…" Kikuko's gaze settled on Damian's hand, which still rested on her daughter's waist.
It was only then that Yukino realized she was still half leaning against him. She tried to pull away, but his hand held her firmly in place.
"Yes," Damian replied naturally. "She's my girlfriend."
!
Yukino lifted her head, completely stunned. How could he say that so calmly? In front of her mother?
Kikuko observed him in silence, and to Yukino's astonishment, her expression softened.
"Then," she said with a genuine smile, "it is an honor for my daughter."
Yukino felt as if the world was spinning.
Her mother's severe face, the torn sleeves from her childhood, the years of strict discipline—all of it crumbled in an instant. Instinctively, she clutched the collar of Damian's shirt.
"I heard that Yukino's father has encountered some difficulties with his candidacy for the prefectural council." Damian suddenly changed the subject, his fingers calmly tracing the small of her back.
Kikuko's face tightened almost imperceptibly. "...Since my father's passing, yes. Some opportunists have appeared…." She paused perfectly, like an actress.
"Contact the Gojo family," Damian interrupted directly. "Tell them Nero asked you to reach out."
"The family of Gojo Satoru-sama!?" Kikuko's voice rose before she could stop it. Yukino, astonished, noticed her mother's fingers trembling.
That family of sorcerers whose power was a secret in both political and business circles? The same one even the Shinomiya family treated with respect?
Damian nodded and leaned toward Yukino, whispering close to her ear, "See? I told you the rules of the world can't bind us." His warm breath brushed her skin, sending shivers down her spine. "Right now, your mother is already thinking about how to convince your father."
Kikuko bowed again, the obi of her kimono gleaming under the sunlight. "I appreciate your generosity."
When she raised her head and her eyes met Yukino's, Yukino saw something she had never noticed before—satisfaction.
"Yukino," her mother said with gentle sweetness, "remember to come for dinner this weekend. Your father will be delighted to hear this news."
Only when the sound of wooden sandals faded into the distance did Yukino collapse against Damian's chest, trembling. "What… what did you do to my mother…?"
Damian smiled and kissed her forehead. "I didn't do anything. Your mother simply… finally understood everything."
He pointed toward the distant Yukinoshita mansion. "She knows who can offer the family greater opportunities. And you…"
His fingers slowly slid down until they rested on her chest, which was rising and falling rapidly. "You will be by my side, together with Marin."
A rustle came from the bushes. The orange cat rolled through the leaves and bumped against Yukino's leg. Damian picked it up and placed it in her stiff arms. "A new member of the family. Take good care of it."
Yukino looked down at the cat purring peacefully, oblivious to everything, and suddenly realized that something far more dangerous than her mother's approval had begun to bloom within her—a seed called hope.
________
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