"Hayasaka, do you know what you're saying?"
Oko's face instantly turned fierce.
He had just received word from Tokyo that the Fujiwara family had actually dissolved the engagement with the Shinomiya family.
Oko was already irritated, and Hayasaka's words were undoubtedly badly timed, making his anger flare up even more.
That fierce expression made Hayasaka's heart pound. Her mouth went dry, and she lowered her head in fear.
Although Oko's abilities were not particularly impressive, he did have one advantage, he was ruthless and cruel enough.
From the way he had wiped out the branch family of the Shijo family, it was obvious how strong this man's lust for power was, and that he would stop at nothing to eliminate anyone who opposed him.
Hayasaka had always feared him.
At this moment, Hayasaka was also filled with regret. If she had known this would happen, she should not have brought up resigning at a time like this.
She should have waited until Oko was in a better mood. Then the chances of success might have been higher.
But the words had already been spoken, and it was too late for regret.
Hayasaka gritted her teeth and said firmly, "Yes, Oko-sama, I've decided to resign from my work with the Shinomiya family and focus on my studies."
This was the excuse Hayasaka had come up with for her resignation.
"Focus on your studies? Are the resources the Shinomiya family gives you not enough? Given the Shinomiya family's current treatment of the Hayasaka family, you no longer have the qualifications to study at Shuchiin Academy. It is only because of the Shinomiya family that you are allowed to attend there."
"Shuchiin Academy is a famous high school in Japan with excellent teaching resources. Is that still not enough for you to study properly?"
Oko snapped angrily.
Hayasaka pursed her lips. "Oko-sama, in order to take care of Kaguya-sama, I have to get up at 5 a.m. every morning and go to sleep at 12 a.m. every night."
"My daily sleep time is less than six hours, and I'm very tired."
"On top of that, I also have to spend energy studying, and my health is getting worse. If this continues, I'm afraid my body will be worn out in less than two years."
Hayasaka was not afraid of being tired, nor was she the kind of person who would give up over a little hardship.
Her real goal was to leave the Shinomiya family.
This was also something her parents had privately suggested to her.
Because her parents had fallen heavily into debt, they had no choice but to work for the Shinomiya family without pay. But Mr. and Mrs. Hayasaka did not want their daughter to be controlled by the Shinomiya family for the rest of her life and become one of their playthings.
Oko suddenly stood up and raised his hand.
Hayasaka was so frightened that she closed her eyes and shrank her neck, but Oko's slap never came down.
Oko glared at her viciously and said, "Does your Hayasaka family no longer want to repay its debts?"
"Oko-sama, my parents will repay those debts. Those debts have nothing to do with me."
Hayasaka forced herself to say it.
"Good, good, good. Even you want to leave the Shinomiya family now, is that it? How has the Shinomiya family wronged you? Your annual salary is as high as ten million yen, which already puts you in the high-income class in Japan."
"How are your salary and your job not a perfect match?"
Hayasaka fell silent.
What Oko said was not wrong. An annual income of ten million yen was absolutely middle class by Japanese standards, and could even be considered the highest-income group below the capitalist class.
From the standpoint of income, the exhausting nature of her work was indeed proportional, and countless people would probably rush to take this job.
But Hayasaka truly did not want to keep working for her enemy.
If it were not for her close relationship with Kaguya, Hayasaka would have wanted to leave the Shinomiya family long ago. Even if life became a little harder, she would still have been willing.
At that moment, Oko seemed to think of something and said, "I can allow you to resign, but you have to do something for the Shinomiya family first."
Hayasaka asked, "What does Oko-sama want me to do?"
"You heard it just now. The Fujiwara family has dissolved the engagement with the Shinomiya family."
Hayasaka nodded, though deep down there was a trace of joy she could barely hide.
Young Master Fujiwara and Kaguya-sama were no longer engaged!
"The Shinomiya family is currently facing some problems and urgently needs the Fujiwara family's support, but that useless Kaguya can't even handle such a small matter."
"I told her to build a good relationship with Toru-kun, but she hasn't taken any initiative at all. Even though they were engaged before, they never even went out together."
The moment Kaguya was mentioned, Oko flew into a rage. What a useless woman.
Hayasaka inwardly complained. Kaguya-sama really was a little passive by nature, always wanting the other side to take the initiative first.
But the reason she had no contact with Young Master Fujiwara was because the Shinomiya family kept her under such strict control, not even allowing her to leave the house except for school.
Under those circumstances, how could Kaguya-sama possibly have had the chance to go out and spend time with Young Master Fujiwara?
"Hayasaka, if I remember correctly, you have a pretty good relationship with Toru-kun, right?"
Oko's expression suddenly softened.
Hayasaka's heart skipped a beat. She forced herself to stay calm and said, "I occasionally have contact with Young Master Fujiwara."
After a brief pause, she added, "...The last time I went to the aquarium, I even ran into Young Master Fujiwara and spent the whole day with him."
It was just that the way they had spent that day together had been a little intense, like a bazooka firing at an airplane, something Hayasaka had experienced for the first time.
Hayasaka's carefully chosen words made Oko say happily, "Not bad, not bad. In that regard, you're better than Kaguya."
"Hayasaka, the last time I spoke with Toru-kun, he said he had a good impression of you. Although the engagement between the Shinomiya and Fujiwara families has been dissolved, my personal relationship with Toru-kun is still intact."
"You signed a three-year contract with the Shinomiya family last year, and there are still two years left."
"I'll transfer your contract to Toru-kun. You'll continue working as a maid, but serving a different person, from Kaguya to Toru-kun."
"After the contract expires in two years, you can leave the Shinomiya family."
Toru's past background could easily be investigated, and according to that information, he was someone with an extremely chaotic private life.
For Oko to send Hayasaka over was essentially the same as handing over a woman in order to maintain his relationship with Toru.
What Oko feared most was that Toru might have no interests at all. Since Toru liked women, then he would cater to that preference.
If it were not for the fact that the women around him had nearly all been used up already, and Toru probably would not even like them, Oko would have wanted to send all of his mistresses over.
In Oko's eyes, women were simply objects, and passing them around was perfectly normal.
"Me... become Young Master Fujiwara's maid?"
Hayasaka's beautiful eyes widened. She had not expected something this good to happen when she came here to resign.
"That's right. Are you unwilling?"
Oko's voice turned cold again.
Hayasaka quickly lowered her head. "No, I'm willing to do it."
Only then did Oko smile in satisfaction and say, "Very good. As long as you do your job well, and can maintain my personal friendship with Toru-kun as well as the relationship between the Fujiwara and Shinomiya families."
"Then I'll also transfer your parents back to Japan so you can be reunited with them."
Forcing Mr. and Mrs. Hayasaka to leave Japan and work alone overseas, preventing father and daughter and mother and daughter from meeting, had originally been Oko's method of control and punishment.
He was also using these words to imply to Hayasaka that if she wanted to be reunited with her parents, then she had to make sacrifices.
Hayasaka lowered her head and said, "I will do my best, Oko-sama."
"Hm, let's go. Come see Kaguya with me."
With that, Oko left the room.
Hayasaka hesitated for a moment, feeling somewhat resistant inside. She did not want to see Kaguya right now. She felt as though she were betraying her.
But faced with Oko's urging, she had no choice but to follow him to Kaguya.
Oko and Kaguya did not live together. After getting into the car, they drove all the way there and arrived at Kaguya's residence in Tokyo about half an hour later.
...
At this time, Kaguya was in her luxurious room, fiddling with the laptop in front of her and learning how to use these modern devices.
When she saw Oko and Hayasaka arrive together, she froze for a moment, then stood up and said, "Big Brother, why are you here?"
Oko's face was cold, and the more he looked at Kaguya, the more displeased he became, and the deeper his disgust grew.
Kaguya did not understand why her big brother was treating her like this, so she remained cautious and did not dare say much.
"Kaguya, Hayasaka and I came here to inform you of something."
"Inform me... of what?"
For some reason, Kaguya suddenly felt her throat go dry, and even her heartbeat started to quicken. An inexplicable fear rose in her heart.
"Not long ago, Father sent me a message. Old Master Fujiwara went to see him."
"The family head said that you do not meet the Fujiwara family's standards for choosing a daughter-in-law, so the engagement has been canceled."
Kaguya felt as though her head had exploded. All the blood in her body turned cold, her mind spun, and she nearly collapsed to the ground.
She looked at her big brother in shock, momentarily suspecting that she had misheard him.
How could the engagement be canceled just like that?
She had only just begun to have feelings for Toru-kun. She had been diligently learning how to use smartphones, computers, and other modern devices, and she had already made up her mind to actively pursue Toru-kun.
And now Big Brother was telling her that the engagement had simply been called off?
Her first love had shattered just like that, and the pain of heartbreak felt like ten thousand ants crawling all over her body, making her itch all over and leaving her unable to breathe.
And Hayasaka's next words made Kaguya feel as though she had fallen into an ice cellar, as if she were experiencing the greatest betrayal of her life.
"Kaguya-sama, I just told Oko-sama that I want to resign from my position as your personal maid. I am extremely sorry."
Hayasaka bowed and apologized.
Oko snorted coldly and said, "After this, I'll send Hayasaka to Toru-kun. Kaguya, I'm truly disappointed in you."
"There's no closeness at all between you and Toru-kun, but Hayasaka has a better relationship with him. What you can't do, Hayasaka will do instead."
Kaguya could no longer hear what Oko was saying.
She only stared blankly at Hayasaka.
Even Hayasaka, has she betrayed me?
(To be continued.)