Villain: Your Heroines Were Delicious - Chapter 126 - 47

Chapter 126: Chapter 47

Kobayashi Estate.

The night air was crisp, carrying the scent of pine and distant rain.

Kobayashi Rindou sat perfectly still on the dark wood of the balcony, her small frame silhouetted against the vast, star-speckled canopy.

Her breathing was slow, synchronized with the rhythmic chirping of crickets in the garden below, but her mind was anything but calm.

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw him.

She saw the sharp line of Seijirou’s jaw, the warmth of his breath lingering on her skin, and the gentle way he caressed her in a way that would cause her heart to jump.

She grabbed her chest, feeling her heart ache, an ache that transcends emotional and is almost biological, as if it was a physical sensation that tugged at the very center of her being.

’He’s out there somewhere, pushing himself to the brink,’ she thought, her fingers digging into the fabric of her yukata. ’I need to be stronger. I need to be a blade that never dulls, so I can stand beside him and protect him.’

Just then, the sound of soft, measured footsteps on the tatami behind her broke her reverie.

Rindou turned her head slightly to see her mother, Kobayashi Hanako, stepping onto the balcony.

Hanako was a mirror of what Rindou might become in twenty years—petite, but possessing a mature, refined charm that demanded attention.

Her black hair was pinned up in an elegant bun, and her deep blue kimono was perfectly pressed.

As one of the city’s most formidable lawyers, her eyes held a razor-sharp intellect that could dismantle a witness in seconds.

“Is Dad already asleep?” Rindou asked, her voice soft.

“He is,” Hanako replied, settling into a graceful seiza beside her daughter. “The firm is handling a massive merger. Your father is practically living on black coffee and sheer willpower lately.”

The two sat in silence for a moment, watching a shooting star streak across the horizon.

“You’re thinking about him again,” Hanako stated. It wasn’t a question. “The Kageyama boy.”

Rindou nodded, her expression turning dreamy and vulnerable. “I want to see him, Mom. It feels like every second we’re apart is a slow poison. Is this what love is supposed to feel like? This… desperate need to just be in his presence?”

Hanako looked at her daughter and let out a long, weary sigh. The legal mind within her found the situation illogical. “I truly don’t understand what that boy did to scramble your brains so thoroughly. You offered yourself to him so easily, Rindou. Don’t you know the world’s oldest rule? Men rarely treasure what they can get without a struggle. Aren’t you afraid he’ll abandon you?”

Rindou didn’t look offended. She offered a small, knowing smile that looked far too ancient for her face. “He won’t. He isn’t like other men.”

There was no hesitation. No flicker of doubt in her eyes. She believed in Seijirou’s loyalty as surely as she believed in the sunrise.

Yes, she believes, just like in their past life, the two of them will still be together in this life.

Huh? She shook her head, confused. Past life? Where did that come from?

Hanako stared at her daughter, feeling a chill of realization. She had seen countless couples in her line of work—bitter divorces, betrayals, and fleeting romances.

But she had never seen this level of absolute, terrifying confidence. It was as if Rindou believed their souls were already fused together.

“I promised you and your father and I wouldn’t interfere,” Hanako said, rubbing her temples. “But please, Rindou… use some common sense. Don’t go overboard and turn me into a grandmother before you’ve even finished high school.”

Rindou’s entire body stiffened, her eyes darting to the side.

Hanako’s maternal instincts, and her lawyer’s intuition, flared instantly. She lunged forward, grabbing Rindou’s shoulders. “Rindou! Tell me right now! Are you pregnant?!”

“What?! No! Of course not!” Rindou waved her hands frantically, her face turning a deep shade of crimson. “I promise! I’m really, truly not!”

Hanako squinted, her gaze becoming a high-pressure interrogation. She searched for the slight twitch of a lie, the dilation of pupils, or the stutter of a heartbeat.

She found nothing but genuine embarrassment.

“Good,” Hanako exhaled, slumping back. “That’s good. I don’t care if the two of you are acting like a pair of rabbits in heat, but please, for the love of everything, be sure you’re using protection.”

Rindou went quiet again. She scratched her cheek, her gaze drifting back to the stars, a sheepish, wry smile on her lips. “Ah… about that…”

Hanako felt her blood pressure spike. She felt like her daughter was actively trying to send her to an early grave. “You… you don’t use any?! Rindou, it’s a statistical miracle you haven’t started nesting yet!”

“But he doesn’t like the way they feel!” Rindou protested, her voice rising in a mix of embarrassment and defiance. “What am I supposed to do, Mom? Tell him no when he looks at me like that?”

“Yes!” Hanako barked. “That is exactly what ’no’ is for!”

“But I don’t want to say no!” Rindou countered, her eyes sparkling with a stubborn, devoted light. “I want him to have everything he wants! If he wants to be that close to me, why would I stop him?”

“Rindou!” Hanako groaned, burying her face in her hands. “You are a lawyer’s daughter! Where is your sense of risk management?!”

“My risk management is in Seijirou’s hands,” Rindou replied with a giggle, finally standing up to head inside. “Goodnight, Mom! Don’t worry, I’ll let you know if I need baby clothes!”

Hanako sat alone on the balcony, staring at the moon and wondering how she was going to explain this to Rindou’s father without him having a literal heart attack.

*

*

*

At this moment, the atmosphere inside Seijirou’s residence was heavy with tension.

Kageyama Hakari, the matriarch of the Kageyama clan, sat upon the designer sofa with an air of absolute authority that made the spacious living room feel small.

Himejima Yuko, Haruka’s mother, moved with the invisible grace of a career servant, placing a cup of steaming gyokuro tea and a small plate of wagashi on the table.

Once her task was finished, she retracted into the shadows behind Hakari, standing with her hands folded, embodying the perfect maid.

Haruka, meanwhile, stood in the center of the room, her posture stiff, her face a mask of emotionless neutrality.

Hakari took a slow, deliberate sip of the tea, the steam fogging her sharp, analytical eyes.

After a sip, she set the cup down with a soft clink and looked directly at Haruka.

“So,” Hakari began, her voice smooth but carrying the weight of a mountain. “You successfully awakened a Karyoku? Quite an achievement for someone of your standing.”

Haruka’s breath hitched, her red eyes momentarily widened in genuine shock, her pupils dilating before she forced her expression back into a state of calm.

She offered a shallow bow. “Yes, Lady Hakari. I have.”

“Don’t be so surprised,” Hakari hummed, leaning back against the cushions. “The Kageyama family isn’t nearly as simple as we appear on the surface. Business and politics aren’t the only things we are in control of.”

Hakari leaned forward, her eyes scanning Haruka with the clinical detachment of a jeweler examining a diamond.

After a long silence, she gave a slow, satisfied nod. “Your potential is exceptional. Alright, I’ve decided. You no longer need to serve as a mere domestic for Seijirou. I have a position for you in our elite security detail—the Kageyama ’Shadows.’ You will have status, wealth, and power. Your mother will be well-cared for in our main estate. I will handle the explanation to my son personally.”

Yuko, standing behind Haruka, felt a flicker of hope for her daughter’s future, but Haruka didn’t move.

She remained rooted to the spot, her fingers twitching at her sides.

“Apologies, Lady Hakari,” Haruka’s voice was a low, steady whisper as she lowered herself into a deep, formal bow. “Please allow me to refuse. I… I want to remain by his side.”

Hakari’s eyes narrowed, a flash of genuine interest crossing her features. “Raise your head and look at me, girl.”

Haruka complied. As she looked up, the mask of the emotionless doll finally shattered.

Her red eyes were glassy, filled with a raw, desperate longing that bordered on begging.

It was the look of a creature that had finally found its sun and was being told it must return to the dark.

“Why?” Hakari asked, her voice dropping to a cool, inquisitive tone. “Why would you choose the life of a servant over the life of an elite warrior?”

Haruka closed her eyes, her chest heaving as she searched for the words. “I… I feel like he is incredibly important to me. I don’t know who I am without him. I don’t want to be apart from him. I want to be the one who guards his sleep, the one who watches his back, the one who… belongs to him.”

Hakari was silent for a long time, the only sound in the room being the ticking of a grandfather clock.

Suddenly, a soft, amused smile played on her lips.

“You make the third,” Hakari murmured, more to herself than to Haruka.

“Third?” Haruka tilted her head, her brows furrowed in confusion.

“You are the third person I have seen today who wears that specific expression the moment my son’s name is mentioned,” Hakari said, standing up with effortless grace. “The first was that girl, Suzune. The second was Fujiwara Touka. And now, you. All of you look as though the world would cease to spin if Seijirou stopped breathing.”

Yuko quickly stepped forward, draping Hakari’s designer jacket over her shoulders.

Hakari turned toward the door, stopping only when she reached Haruka’s side.

She placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder, not as a master, but as a mother who recognized a devoted heart.

“Very well,” Hakari declared, her voice firm. “I will allow you to stay. I will not separate a blade from its master. Protect him. Care for him. Love him. As long as my son is happy, you may do as you wish with your life.”

With a final, regal nod, Hakari walked out of the house, her heels clicking sharply against the tile.

Haruka remained standing in the living room, her heart hammering against her ribs.

She took a deep, shaky breath, her heart flickering with a newfound warmth.