Deep within the Shinomiya estate, the air in the tea room felt as heavy as ice.
Kaguya Shinomiya sat rigidly in her chair, her posture straight as a blade, like a statue carved from frost.
Her usually flawless, delicate face was expressionless, save for her deep crimson eyes, which glinted with a chilling intensity.
This was Kaguya at her coldest—her "Ice Kaguya" persona fully in control, stripped of all pretense.
Across from her, sprawled casually on the tatami mat, was a man.
His kimono hung loosely, his bald head gleamed under the light, and his meticulously groomed mustache and goatee gave off an air of deliberate nonchalance.
This was Shinomiya Kogane, the eldest son of the Shinomiya family, the one who held the reins of the family's vast business empire.
He appeared relaxed, but his eyes were sharp, like venom-tipped needles, pressing invisibly yet heavily on Kaguya.
Kogane leisurely lifted his delicate sake cup, downing it in one go.
The cup clinked sharply against the low table, the sound piercing the silence of the tea room.
He tilted his head slightly, a discomforting smile curling his lips as his gaze slithered over Kaguya's icy face like a snake's tongue.
"So, Kaguya," Kogane drawled, his voice laced with mock concern, "you've invited that Gaio… what, three times? Four? Why hasn't he shown up even once?"
He leaned forward slightly, the lazy facade giving way to an oppressive intensity, his smile widening. "Is your charm… not enough? That doesn't sound like my 'perfect genius' little sister, now does it, Kaguya?"
Each word was a sugar-coated dagger, aimed at the icy wall Kaguya had built around herself.
Her hands, resting on her knees, tightened imperceptibly. She lifted her gaze, her crimson eyes locking onto Kogane's probing stare. Her voice was calm, devoid of any ripple, almost mechanically polite:
"You jest, dear brother. Mr. Gaio is a busy man with his own considerations. Whether my charm suffices is irrelevant to the success of an invitation. He'll respond when he sees fit."
Her words were airtight, polished like a rehearsed script, but the phrases "his own considerations" and "when he sees fit" carried a faint trace of detachment—and a simmering, barely acknowledged frustration at being rejected.
Kogane tilted his head further, his narrow eyes glinting with curiosity, his tone still lazy but now dripping with deeper amusement.
"Oh? Is that so? Busy schedule… considerations…" He chuckled, his fingers idly tapping the table. "Funny, though. I heard our red-hot celebrity has been finding plenty of free time lately, hasn't he?"
He paused deliberately, savoring the slight stiffening of Kaguya's icy mask.
"That prickly little Yukishita girl," Kogane continued slowly, "seems awfully close to him. And even Kikuko, that stuck-up woman, has been… unusually respectful toward him, don't you think?"
Kaguya's eyes sharpened, the cold beneath her icy exterior surging like a storm.
Her hands clenched tightly on her knees.
Kogane's words were like a frigid key, unlocking the emotions she'd been suppressing—Yukino! Yukino Yukishita! And her haughty mother, bowing to Gaio…!
The Ice Kaguya persona struggled to contain the blaze of jealousy, resentment, and humiliation threatening to break free.
She forced her breathing to steady, her chest rising and falling slightly.
"Dear brother," her voice remained cold, but a faint tremor betrayed the first crack in her icy facade, "who Mr. Gaio associates with is his own business. The Yukishita family's actions are irrelevant to the Shinomiya family. As for me…"
Her crimson eyes locked onto Kogane, sharp enough to cut through his fake smile, each word deliberate:
"I am merely tasked with extending the family's goodwill. Mr. Gaio's decisions are not mine to influence, nor do I need to speculate on them."
The last words were spoken with crystalline clarity, carrying a stubborn pride.
Kogane's smile deepened, a flicker of cold satisfaction in his eyes.
He'd finally pried open a crack in his sister's perfect, steely mask.
Leaning back against the cushion, he resumed his lazy posture, as if his earlier pressure had never happened.
"Ha…" The tense silence didn't last long before Kogane broke it with a dismissive chuckle.
"Say, Kaguya, do you know what decision was passed at the governor's residence today?" He picked up his sake cup, pretending to study its intricate patterns with great interest.
Kaguya didn't respond, her crimson eyes fixed on her venomous brother.
Kogane didn't care. Setting the cup down, he looked at her, his tone dripping with disdain. "That useless Yukishita son-in-law? He's set to become a Chiba Prefecture councilor next year."
He leaned back against the chair, smirking. "Tch, who would've thought? Soon we might have to bow and call that freeloader 'Councilor, sir.'"
Kaguya's brow furrowed slightly. She knew her father's campaign for the Chiba council had hit multiple snags, with plenty of enemies stirring up trouble.
How had it passed so smoothly this time?
Kogane tilted his head back, his smile widening as if he relished the confusion rippling beneath Kaguya's icy exterior.
"Curious, aren't you?"
He sat up abruptly, his movements sharp and deliberate, his eyes slicing into her like a blade. "Because of the Gojo family! That untouchable Gojo family!"
He spat the name, then relaxed back, his face brimming with unmasked scorn. "The Gojo family, who never meddle in politics, stepped in! For a measly prefectural council seat!"
He laughed derisively, twirling the sake cup in his fingers. "Ridiculous, right? You know what this means. Even the big shots in parliament, even the Prime Minister's office, tread carefully around the Gojo family!"
He continued, half to himself, half bombarding Kaguya's psyche. "A family at the pinnacle of supernatural power, suddenly caring about a Chiba council seat… Ha, isn't that interesting?"
Kaguya's knuckles whitened, veins faintly visible beneath her pale skin.
It wasn't the councilor position itself—it was the weight of the name Gojo family!
As a core member of the Shinomiya family, she knew all too well the suffocating influence the Gojo family held in Japan's shadowy underbelly.
They stood apart from the world, rarely interfering in mundane politics. Their power was a different kind of terrifying.
For the Gojo family to make an exception… the influence and connections behind it were anything but ordinary! The Yukishita family couldn't possibly wield that kind of pull on their own!
Kogane stretched his neck, feigning discomfort from sitting up, his face twisting into an exaggerated grimace. His tone turned flippant. "And guess who we have to thank for all this? Your little crush—Gaio."
"Gaio… kun?" Kaguya's body trembled slightly.
The name hit her like a molten stone plunging into her frozen heart, cracking the fortress of her Ice Kaguya persona.
Kogane nodded, his lips curling in mockery as he mimicked her, dragging out the syllables. "Yes, Gaio-kun. Tsk, 'Gaio'—the 'king' of the heavens… Ha, that name's starting to feel scarily fitting, don't you think?"
Kaguya's crimson eyes contracted, her mouth parting slightly.
In her mind, Gaio was a dazzling star on stage, maybe a savvy investor.
But to move the Gojo family, a force at the apex of supernatural power? That was beyond her wildest imagination. Who was he?!
Kogane watched the shock and doubt in her eyes, his cold smile deepening.
He leaned forward, his voice like a serpent's hiss. "Now do you get why our 'wise' father keeps pushing you to invite your precious Gaio-kun to our family dinners, no matter what?"
Kaguya froze.
She'd thought her father's interest stemmed from Gaio's influence in entertainment or his business potential. She'd never imagined it involved power on the level of the Gojo family!
Kogane's voice dropped, each word like an ice pick chipping at her wavering defenses. "Kaguya, you're the Shinomiya family's princess. The family has given you everything. Now it's time to give back."
He paused, his gaze slicing across her face like a cold blade. "If you can't even handle this 'small task,' then our 'perfect princess'… might just be worthless."
He didn't finish, but the unspoken implication cut deeper than words—nobody will want you.
"I understand, dear brother," Kaguya's voice was low, colder and harder than before, as if her earlier waver had never existed.
The Ice Kaguya persona surged back, locking away all her turbulent emotions.
"I will make sure Gaio…"
Her words were cut off by a clear, rhythmic knock at the door, shattering the suffocating silence of the tea room.
Knock, knock, knock.
Kogane's eyes flashed with irritation at the interruption. Kaguya's crimson gaze snapped to the closed shoji door.
The door slid open gently. A man in a sharp suit, hair slicked back, stepped inside.
His eyes, perpetually narrowed like a fox's, swept over the tense atmosphere, silently reading the room.
This was Shinomiya Yuntaka, Kaguya's third brother, the one who'd overseen her elite education since childhood.
Yuntaka stepped into the tea room, his movements deliberately calm and composed.
He gave a slight bow to Kogane, who lounged against the cushion. "Dear brother," he said, his tone respectful but devoid of warmth.
Kogane's cold, calculating demeanor vanished instantly, replaced by a warm, brotherly smile, as if the man who'd been pressuring his sister moments ago didn't exist.
"Well, well, Yuntaka! What's up?" he asked with exaggerated warmth, like a doting big brother.
Yuntaka wasn't fooled. He knew Kogane's true nature too well—the twisted calculations hidden beneath that friendly mask.
Maintaining his polite facade, he straightened, his gaze flicking briefly between Kogane and Kaguya before settling on Kogane. "Mr. Gaio is here."
The icy tension between Kogane and Kaguya shifted subtly.
Kogane's forced smile froze for a moment before stretching wider, his eyes glinting with genuine intrigue and a hint of staged surprise. "Oh?"
Kaguya's eyes widened, and she shot to her feet.
Kogane's amused smile deepened. He stood slowly, casually adjusting his loose kimono, his gaze drifting to the wall clock—7:55 PM.
"Ha…" He let out a cryptic chuckle, turning to Yuntaka. "Quite the rare guest. The Gaio we couldn't get to show up no matter how many times we asked… just shows up uninvited?"
His tone carried unmasked curiosity and a touch of annoyance at having his rhythm disrupted.
Kaguya's sudden movement only made his eyes gleam darker.
Yuntaka nodded calmly, his gaze shifting to Kaguya, who stood rigid. His voice was clear as he delivered the key detail: "Kaguya, Mr. Gaio is here to see you."
The words hit like a boulder crashing into a still lake.
Boom!
Something exploded in Kaguya's mind.
Her heart, forcibly frozen by her Ice Kaguya persona, began to pound wildly.
Kogane's oppressive pressure, his cold calculations, the stinging "worthless" still echoing in her ears—she'd been on the verge of being forced to commit…
And now Gaio's arrival, like an unexpected beam of light, tore through the suffocating darkness.
He… came to see me?
At this exact moment?
Did he… hear something? Or… is he here to save me?
The thought surged uncontrollably, shaking her to her core with an absurd, overwhelming hope.
The hard shell of Ice Kaguya cracked wildly under this sudden "possibility."
Kogane's gaze coiled around her like a serpent, catching every flicker of her shock and vulnerability.
His lips curled into a deeper, colder arc.
"Oh?" He dragged out the word, his eyes darting between Kaguya and Yuntaka with calculated scrutiny. "Here specifically for our dear Princess Kaguya?"
He sank back onto the cushion, his posture relaxed but his eyes sharp as a hawk's, locked on Kaguya. "Well, what are you waiting for, Kaguya? Go 'greet' your honored guest. This is your chance to prove your value, after all."
The word "value" was deliberately emphasized, stabbing into the ripples of Kaguya's heart.
Her body tensed further, a storm raging in her crimson eyes.
She took a deep breath, forcing her Ice Kaguya persona to suppress the chaos—at least on the surface.
With a stiff bow toward Yuntaka and Kogane, her voice was cold and unnatural: "I… understand."
Kogane's fake smile grew more genuine.
Her "I understand" was like the final, perfect note in a symphony he'd orchestrated, satisfying him completely.
Yuntaka's brow furrowed. He didn't buy Kogane's supposed concern for Kaguya. Those eyes held nothing but naked calculation.
The idea of pushing Kaguya out like a gift to appease Gaio sent a chill through him.
At that moment—
"Understand what?"
A voice, calm but commanding, cut through the frozen air of the tea room.
Kogane's smile froze.
Yuntaka's head snapped up.
Kaguya's rigid spine trembled, her icy crimson eyes turning toward the source.
All three gazes locked onto the open window of the tea room.
There, perched on the windowsill, was a man.
The night breeze ruffled his bangs. His sleek black leather jacket hugged his frame, one long leg resting casually on the sill, the other dangling slightly.
In his right hand, he held a sleek full-face motorcycle helmet, its edge faintly damp with night dew.
His brow was slightly furrowed, his gaze cool as it swept over the three of them, finally settling on Kogane's frozen face with a scrutinizing look.
Gaio.
The tea room plunged into a silence heavier than ever before.
The air was thick.
Kogane and Yuntaka's minds screamed alarms: How did he get in?!
The Shinomiya estate was a fortress—guards at every post, countless servants patrolling the halls. Just minutes ago, Yuntaka had received word that Kaguya's second brother, Shinomiya Seiryu, was personally waiting at the gate to "welcome" Gaio!
Yet here he was, appearing without warning, without a sound, on the windowsill of the innermost tea room—like he was strolling into his own home!
No one had noticed! No one had reported him! This was a blatant slap to the Shinomiya family's security!
Kogane's face twitched, his carefully crafted smile crumbling into shock and a flicker of rage at being openly challenged. He wanted to demand answers, but his throat felt choked.
Yuntaka's shock ran deeper, his eyes scanning Gaio—no signs of a struggle, his breathing steady. He'd breached their defenses like they were nothing! A chill crept up Yuntaka's spine.
And Kaguya—
The moment Gaio's figure entered her vision, the moment his "Understand what?" hit her ears, the ice encasing her heart shattered with a deafening crash.
He was here.
At the exact moment her pride was about to be crushed.
Did he hear?
Was he… here to stop it?
A fragile thought surged, shaking her reason with overwhelming force. The Ice Kaguya persona teetered, the cold mask on the verge of collapse.
She gripped her sleeves tightly, nails digging into her palms, using the pain to maintain her last shred of composure.
Gaio's gaze slid over Kogane's ugly expression, past Yuntaka's furrowed brow, and settled on Kaguya, standing like a frozen statue.
His eyes lingered on her face for a moment, as if reading something.
Then he spoke, his brow still furrowed, his tone casual yet heavy enough to shatter the stifling air:
"Hmm?" he said. "Who's messing with you?"