Villain: Your Heroines Were Delicious - Chapter 180 - 45

Chapter 180: Chapter 45

The moon had already hang itself on the night sky, and the street lights casting long, bruised shadows across the manicured lawn of the Kageyama household.

The air was cooling rapidly as Seijirou and Haruka crossed the threshold of the front door, the heavy oak swinging shut with a solid, echoing thud.

“We’re home,” they called out in unison, their voices drifting through the high-ceilinged foyer.

Almost immediately, the rhythmic sound of footsteps approached from the kitchen as Yuko emerged, wiping her hands on her apron, her face lighting up with its usual maternal warmth.

“Welcome home, you two. I was just—” She paused, her eyes widening slightly as they drifted to the figure standing just behind Seijirou’s shoulder. “Ara~? Erina-chan? You came with them?”

Erina, leaning slightly on her cane but maintaining the regal posture of a well-bred heiress, offered a soft, graceful bow as a small, polite smile touched her lips.

“Sorry for the intrusion, Miss Yuko. I hope I’m not causing any trouble by arriving unannounced.”

“Oh my, no worries, no worries at all! Come in, come in,” Yuko chirped, gesturing for them to enter the living room.

In fact, she seemed genuinely delighted to have another guest, though a look of slight motherly concern crossed her face as she glanced toward the pantry. “Unfortunately, I haven’t prepared enough for a full dinner for three guests, and we’ve already run out of the fresh ingredients I needed. Let me go and buy some groceries first. Dinner might be quite late because of the trip—is that alright with everyone?”

Erina immediately looked apologetic. “Ah, you really don’t have to trouble yourself on my account, Miss Yuko. I can just order some food and have it delivered. It would be much faster—”

“None of that, Erina-chan,” Yuko interrupted, her voice firm but kind as she placed a hand on her hip with a playful mock-sternness. “I will not allow guests in this house to eat delivered food when I am perfectly capable of cooking a proper meal. It’s a matter of pride!”

Seijirou, who had been listening silently while removing his shoes suddenly stood up straight.

“I’ll go with you,” he said, his eyes flicking toward the window where the sky was already dark. “The streets are rather dangerous these days. There’s been talk of… incidents.”

Yeah, he wouldn’t risk these girls going out alone at night especially when a pervert who can erase his presence was on the loose.

That is why he had Rei and Touka inform their parents that they will be having a study session with Suzune in her home, just to make sure they are safe.

As for the other girl…yeah, those creeps should be the one worried if they ever tried anything to those girls.

Yuko’s expression softened into a bright, appreciative smile. “Alright. I’d appreciate the company, Seijirou-sama.”

“Lemme go change real quick,” Seijirou muttered, heading upstairs.

In the privacy of his room, he stripped out of his school uniform, the heavy fabric of the blazer hitting the bed.

He then pulled on a simple black t-shirt that hugged his frame and a pair of gray joggers.

Satisfied with the casual look, he headed back downstairs and saw Yuko was already waiting by the door, having swapped her apron for a light cardigan.

“Ready?” Seijirou asked.

Yuko nodded before she turned back toward the living room where Haruka and Erina were settling in. “We’ll head out for a bit. Take care of the house, girls. We’ll be back before you know it.”

With that, the two stepped out into the twilight.

The walk toward the supermarket was quiet at first, with the evening air feeling crisp, and the neighborhood was settling into its nightly lull.

Yuko, however, couldn’t keep the questions at bay for long.

Her heart had been heavy ever since she saw the look in Erina’s eyes back at the house.

She knew that something must’ve happened to her.

“Seijirou-sama,” Yuko began softly, her voice barely above a whisper. “Does Erina-chan have problems at home? Did she get into a fight with her family? She seemed… more fragile than usual today.”

Seijirou let out a long, weary sigh, his hands tucked into his pockets. “Well, from what she told me, her father claims to have found another powerful ally to support their family’s failing business. The catch is that she might be married off to that ally to seal the deal.”

Yuko’s breath hitched in her throat as she looked down at the pavement, her expression clouding with a mixture of sadness and disbelief. “I see. I suppose those kinds of things still exist today… and not just in the dramas on TV, huh?”

“It’s still pretty prevalent today,” Seijirou countered, his voice sounding older than his years. “Especially for families of old lineage or those desperately trying to claw their way back to the top. Marriage isn’t always about love in those circles; it’s a transaction.”

“That must be… pretty sad,” Yuko murmured, her eyes shimmering with empathy. “Not being able to be with the one you love, but being forced to live with someone arranged by your family like a piece of property.”

“Not really,” Seijirou said, his tone turning objective, almost cold. “Heirs and heiresses of those families enjoy the privilege of being born rich and influential. They live in luxury their whole lives. Therefore, they must also shoulder the heavy responsibilities that come with that birthright. Sacrifice is the tax they pay for their status.”

Yuko looked at him, realizing the weight he carried himself. “That’s… understandable. But it doesn’t make it any less lonely.”

They fell into a comfortable silence after that.

It wasn’t an awkward quiet, but a shared space of reflection as they moved through the darkening streets.

*

*

*

While peace reigned on the walk to the store, the Kurosaki manor was a scene from a nightmare.

“Damn it! Where is she!?” Kurosaki Kirei screamed, his voice cracking with a mixture of pain and hysteria. “Where!?”

He swept a row of priceless Ming vases off a shelf, watching them shatter into a thousand porcelain shards. “Where is Erina!? Why didn’t she come home!?”

“M-Master… Please, calm down…” A trembling servant was kneeling on the floor amidst the wreckage.

And although his head was bleeding from where a heavy paperweight had struck him moments before, he remained perfectly still.

“A-According to the latest reports, s-she has been found to have returned with the Kageyama Heir… She is currently at the Kageyama estate.”

“What!?” Kirei’s face turned a violent shade of purple. “Then call the police! Now! Charge him with kidnapping! Have the boy arrested and dragged through the mud!”

“I-Impossible, sir, w-we tried,” the servant stammered, his voice shaking with terror. “B-But the Chief Superintendent Kobayashi h-has gotten i-involved personally. An official order was issued… n-no operations regarding the K-Kageyama heir can be approved without his direct signature. They’ve blocked us.”

“What!?” Kirei roared, his eyes bulging. “Since when did the Kobayashis get involved with the Kageyamas!? That shouldn’t be possible!”

The servant trembled, unable to provide an answer, his eyes fixed on the floor.

“Tsk!” Kirei clicked his tongue in pure disgust.

He walked over and delivered a brutal kick to the servant’s head, sending the man sprawling as he screamed, “Useless! All of you are useless! I’m surrounded by idiots!”

He stormed out of the room, his footsteps thudding heavily against the polished floorboards.

He traversed the long, dark hallways of the manor, his mind a fever dream of rage. Erina, why can’t you just be obedient? Why can’t you just follow my orders?! Just be a good girl and sacrifice yourself for the sake of our family!

Is that too much to ask for the name you carry?

With those toxic thoughts swirling in his head, he arrived at the end of a service corridor.

He stood before a set of massive, reinforced double doors leading to the basement.

He fumbled with a heavy key due to his broken wrist, even though it was already healed by the Mister, but it was still pulsing with a phantom heat.

And as he unlocked it, the doors groaned open.

Inside, the basement had been transformed into a cold, industrial warehouse as hundreds of iron cages were stacked along the walls, illuminated by the flickering glow of overhead fluorescent lights.

Inside those cages sat the women of the Kurosaki family—cousins, aunts, distant relatives—all rounded up like livestock to be delivered to the Mister.

Although many were adults and teens, there are also some who still looked like a middle schooler and a grade schooler!

As Kirei stepped into the room, the silence of the basement was instantly shattered by a chorus of screams and sobbing.

“Bastard! Beast! How dare you do this to your own family!?”

“Kurosaki Kirei! I hope you rot in hell for this!”

“I wish you die a horrible death, you beast! Look at us! We are your blood!”

“You bring shame to the name Kurosaki! Your father would spit on you!”

Kirei ignored them all, his face as cold and impassive as stone as he walked past the cages, the insults bouncing off him as if he were encased in armor.

He reached the very furthest cage, situated in a dark corner where the shadows were deepest.

Inside that cage, a woman sat, and unlike the others, she remained silent.

She sat elegantly on the cold floor, her posture straight, her long purple hair cascading down her back like a silken waterfall.

Her deep purple eyes fixed on Kirei as he approached—eyes that looked like a more mature, world-weary version of Erina’s.

This was Kurosaki Akane, the wife of Kirei and the mother of Erina.

Kirei stood before the bars, staring at his wife.

“Don’t look at me like that, Akane,” he hissed. “I know you can understand why I had to do this. It’s all for the family.”