Kaguya, who had been tossing and turning in bed, was startled by the sudden voice.
She quickly sat up and looked toward where the sound had come from.
At this moment, Kaguya was wearing a thin nightgown, her long, smooth black hair draped over her fair shoulders.
Because she was alone at home, she had not paid any attention to how much skin she was showing.
The neckline of her nightgown was wide open at the chest, revealing a stretch of fair, delicate skin. One could even vaguely see the color of her black and red underwear.
The color of her underwear did suit her personality, but how to put it, in Toru's opinion, underwear in that color was still a little rare.
The sudden male voice made Kaguya fail to recognize who it was for a moment.
She subconsciously covered the exposed skin on her chest with her hands, looking vigilant.
But when she saw who had come, she immediately froze on the bed, her expression filled with disbelief.
"Toru... Toru-kun? Why are you here?"
Toru was sitting on the windowsill, his back leaning against the window frame, a faint smile playing on his lips.
The scorching summer wind blew in from outside, stirring Toru's sideburns and hair, and also captivating Kaguya for a moment. She widened her beautiful, ruby-like eyes and stared blankly at him.
"Can't I come?"
Toru asked with a smile on his lips.
"No, it's not that."
Kaguya panicked. She shook her head repeatedly and stammered,
"...I... I mean, Toru-kun, how did you get in? This is the third floor, and there are so many people outside."
There were many bodyguards in the mansion where Kaguya lived, but rather than saying these bodyguards were protecting her, it would be more accurate to say they were guarding Kaguya to stop her from leaving.
Oko knew very well that an engagement with Mikado could not save the current Shinomiya family, but he was already desperate, willing to treat a lost cause as if it still had hope. He wanted to try and grasp even the last straw.
According to Oko's thinking, what if this matter succeeded? Even if it failed, it would only mean sacrificing the useless Kaguya. The Shinomiya family would not suffer much of a loss.
Kaguya knew even more clearly that Toru, especially Toru, could not possibly walk openly into this house.
Just like Chika before, he would definitely be driven out by the people of the Shinomiya family.
To a certain extent, the Fujiwara family was now considered an enemy of the Shinomiya family, but the Shinomiya family did not want to openly make too many enemies, which was why they had not stated this clearly.
"Whether this is the third floor or the thirtieth floor, if I want to come, no one can stop me."
Toru leaned against the window. His arms were crossed over his chest, one leg resting on the windowsill and the other hanging over the side. He looked at Kaguya, who was sitting on the soft bed in a seiza-like posture, and seeing her beautiful face, he said,
"You were already very thin, Kaguya. Now you are even thinner than before. There is hardly any flesh on your face, and your eyes look dull."
Hearing Toru's words, Kaguya, who had been quite shaken just now, calmed her expression.
She suppressed the turbulent emotions in her heart, trying hard to maintain the demeanor of the cold Kaguya, and said stiffly, "You are not welcome here, Toru-kun. There is no longer any relationship between us."
"I believe Toru-kun must also understand what the Fujiwara family has done to the Shinomiya family. We are enemies now!"
Toru ignored Kaguya's feigned coldness. He smiled and said, "Oh? What did the Fujiwara family do? Break off our engagement?"
Kaguya bit her moist red lip and whispered, "Besides the engagement, the Fujiwara family is also kicking the Shinomiya family while it is down, making trouble for the Shinomiya family in all kinds of ways."
As a political family, the Fujiwara family could not compare to the Shinomiya family in terms of financial resources, but the Fujiwara family also had its own methods.
People from the Fujiwara faction held positions in many departments within Japanese political circles. They could cause trouble for the Shinomiya family in all kinds of ways.
For example, checking your accounts today, or having the court send you a subpoena tomorrow, saying you have been sued, or using tax issues to keep you overwhelmed.
Under normal circumstances, the Shinomiya family could easily deal with such matters. A zaibatsu of this size could not possibly have no one in Japan.
But at this time, in the eyes of many people, the Shinomiya family was already at the end of its rope, and everyone was waiting to take a piece of the pie.
Even those who had been loyal to the Shinomiya family in the past were now standing by and watching. No one wanted to come and help.
And the main reason for this was actually related to Oko.
True loyalty is seen in times of hardship. A large family like the Shinomiya Zaibatsu should have people supporting it even during its most difficult period.
But even now, no one supported the Shinomiya family. Everyone around the Shinomiya family was either an enemy or someone watching the show. From this, it could be seen that this was fundamentally an internal problem of the Shinomiya family.
That's right, it was Oko, the man who had once driven away the Shinomiya family's branch families, who had no morals at all and loved breaking promises the most. He himself was not well liked.
In the past, the Shinomiya family, relying on its vast wealth, wielded considerable power. Even if someone like Oko was disliked, everyone could only keep silent, or even come and grovel.
But when the Shinomiya family began to decline, the things Oko had done became the last straw that broke the camel's back, plunging the Shinomiya family into an absolute crisis.
Although Kaguya was under house arrest, she was well aware of the situation the Shinomiya family was currently facing, which was why she said that the Fujiwara family and the Shinomiya family were now enemies.
However, Toru did not care about these things and would not get angry over them. He just smiled and asked, "Kaguya, do you really care about the Shinomiya family?"
"Or rather, in your heart, do you actually hate the Shinomiya family?"
Toru pointed at his own heart with his hand. That was his way of asking Kaguya.
You should ask yourself whether you truly have feelings for the Shinomiya family.
Toru's direct words silenced Kaguya and shook her.
Because this was also what Kaguya feared the most. She actually had no feelings for the family. Toward the family and her three brothers, the deeper emotion in her heart was actually hatred!
It was true that the Shinomiya family had given her a privileged life, but it had also taken away her freedom, stripped away Kaguya's individuality, and turned her into something like a cold puppet without a self.
Just as Kaguya's heart trembled, Toru spoke again.
"Kaguya, why don't you try to change your own future?"
"You have another path you can choose. You are a smart person, a genius in many people's eyes. At the very least, you are much stronger than your three brothers."
"You cannot just sit and wait for death anymore. You should stand up, defeat them, and make yourself the head of the Shinomiya family."
"That way, everything you have lost will be taken back by your own hands, and no one will be able to restrict your freedom anymore!"
(To be continued.)