"I'll be sixteen next year. The same age my mother was when she was wed into this family."
"Wh-What!?"
'Kaoruko-san was married off that young!?'
"So please...! I'm begging you...!"
Her anguished plea hammered against the walls of his conviction. His mind reeled. 'Rena... What should I do...'
Lost in the tempest of his indecision, the strength in his hands wavered. He felt her draw closer, her soft, trembling lips inching toward his.
"Sensei... Mm..."
Toka's eyelids fluttered shut, her face tilting up to meet his in a kiss—
Knock knock... Clatter...
The sound of a knock, followed instantly by the door sliding open, shattered the moment like a pane of glass. Yoshida's hands tightened, shoving Toka back just as Kaoruko stepped inside, a tray laden with tea balanced in her hands.
"The tea is... ready... I..."
Kaoruko's words died in her throat. Her gaze swept over the scene—her daughter, half-naked in nothing but her pure white underthings, and the tutor frozen mid-push, a tableau of thwarted seduction.
"Ah... Hmm... I see..."
A mask of icy composure slid over Kaoruko's features. She placed the tray on the table with a soft, deliberate clink before speaking again.
"Toka. For the time being, remove yourself from Hirokazu-sama's person and put your clothes back on."
"But, Mother!"
"Toka?"
"...Yes."
At the subtle, steel-laced shift in her mother's tone, Toka's defiance crumbled. She backed away and stooped to retrieve her discarded dress.
Yoshida suppressed a shiver; the quiet authority in Kaoruko's voice had been terrifying.
After a brief, tense explanation of what had transpired, Kaoruko let out a long, weary sigh and bowed her head deeply toward Yoshida.
"Hirokazu-sama. I offer my deepest apologies for my daughter's utterly discourteous behavior."
"N-No! Please, raise your head. She's at that age... an interest in such matters is only natural. And... I understand Toka-chan's feelings."
Yoshida forced his voice to remain gentle, carefully choosing words that wouldn't betray his own inner turmoil.
"Hirokazu-sama..." Kaoruko lifted her head, a small, enigmatic smile gracing her lips.
Then, rising to her feet, she moved toward the door and called out, her voice now carrying a sharp, carrying edge.
"Kotaro. You are there, I presume?"
'Ha! I am at your side!' A disembodied voice answered from seemingly nowhere.
"What Toka just did is not to be spoken of to anyone. Am I understood?"
'Ha!'
The easy warmth was gone from Kaoruko's voice, replaced by a chilling undercurrent of menace. Yoshida felt a fresh jolt of surprise.
"Furthermore, from this moment until I personally give the order, no one—no one—is to approach this room. That includes Genan, and it most certainly includes yourself."
'B-But, my lady! In that case, your own safety!'
"Are my words somehow unclear?"
'...! Ha! Should anyone approach within a ten-meter radius, I shall immediately turn them away!'
A visceral shiver crawled down Yoshida's spine. That single, quiet question had radiated the absolute, crushing weight of a true family head. For the first time, he truly believed the rumors his university friend had whispered were real.
"Good. You are dismissed."
'Ha!'
With that, Kaoruko slid the door shut once more. She turned back, her expression instantly softening into its usual gentle smile.
"Fufufu... Now, there will be no further interruptions."
She glided over to where a dejected Toka sat on the floor, sinking down beside her and pulling the girl into a comforting embrace.
"Mother..."
"Toka? Do you love Hirokazu-sama?"
"Ah...! Yes! I love him with all my heart! Enough that I would wish to spend my entire life by his side!"
"Is that so..."
Kaoruko listened, then a satisfied, almost proud smile bloomed on her face as she stroked her daughter's hair.
Toka's confession filled Yoshida with a bittersweet ache. Her feelings were genuine, profound... but he already had someone he intended to spend his life with. Rena's smiling face flashed in his mind's eye.
"Hirokazu-sama."
"Y-Yes!"
The sound of Kaoruko's voice snapped him to attention, his posture rigid with apprehension.
"I understand that this is an utterly presumptuous request, especially after the scene that has just occurred. However, would you be so kind as to consider granting Toka's wish?"
"Mother..."
"Kaoruko-san... But, I already have..."
He wanted to grant Toka's desperate plea. But to do so would be a betrayal of Rena. The two choices hung in his mind like weights on an impossible scale.
"I am fully aware. I know you have a woman you love. Yet... I beg you to take pity on Toka's feelings, to understand their depth..."
"Th-That's..."
Her earnest gaze sent another tremor through his resolve.
"As you heard from Toka, I was married into the Hojoin family at the tender age of sixteen. It was a match decided when I was but a child... at the time, I accepted it as simply the way of things. My late husband was a good man; I had no cause for complaint…"
"However, once I became a parent myself, I began to agonize over whether it was right to condemn my own child to that same, harsh destiny." She continued.
"Mother..."
Kaoruko spoke with a wistful smile, her fingers gently stroking Toka's hair.
"My husband agreed with my convictions, and we made it our mission to systematically dismantle every last marriage proposal that came her way. To free her from those archaic shackles, he implemented sweeping reforms. Think of it like a corporate reshuffling of personnel. Under his leadership as the sitting head at the time, a fresh wind began to blow through the Hojoin household. But... his body had always been frail. In the end, he departed this world..."
"Father..."
A flicker of grief crossed Kaoruko's features as she spoke of her late husband, and Toka, stirred by the memory of her own father, pressed into her mother's side with a forlorn expression.
Kaoruko simply pulled her closer, a soft, sad smile returning as she held her daughter tight.
...
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