(2/5)

  "!"

  Nao, seated on the sofa, almost let her shock show at this moment.

  "This… this is going to pletely crush Master Oko's dignity underfoot," she thought.

  When she saw Oko at the door, she already khat Miss Kaguya wasn't going to let things end easily this time.

  But seeing this unfold now, she realized how na?ve her earlier thoughts were.

  Miss Kaguya didn't just want to win, she wao utterly trample everything Oko stood for.

  "!"

  Oko, of course, uood her words.

  Kneel.

  In his mind, he had always seen Kaguya as nothing more than a tool, something tthen the family's power. And now, this tool was demanding that he kneel before it.

  Kneel before her.

  "What's the matter, big brother? Don't you uand pin nguage?"

  "Ah, I suppose that makes sense. You've always been so proud, how could you possibly uand the words of a mere tool?"

  Kaguya's voice dripped with mockery, her sneer cutting deeper than any bde.

  "In that case, let me rephrase it in simpler terms, so even you uand."

  "Do you choose ynity, or do you choose the survival of the Shinomiya family?"

  "It's a simple choice."

  "In your eyes, isn't the Shinomiya family the most important thing of all?"

  "Surely, you wouldn't allow the honor of the Shinomiya family to be severed here."

  "Of course, if you insist on keeping ynity, then I, as your younger sister, will respect that decision."

  "But I wonder… will the people ing to kill you after the Shinomiya family colpses also respect your decision?"

  "..."

  Oko's shoulders trembled.

  He knew—he had no choice.

  "Plop!"

  He dropped to his khe sound eg through the room, his emotions unreadable as he k before his you sister.

  As Oko obediently plied, the ess on Kaguya's face began to dissipate, bit by bit.

  "Since big brother insists, I'll take over the burden of the Shinomiya family."

  "Oh, and by the way, since Sanzenin is bag me, the Shinomiya family will fully submit to Sanzenin."

  "After all, this is necessary for survival. The Shijo family is already making moves in the shadows."

  "This is the only path for the Shinomiya family to endure."

  Her words were impeccably crafted, ed in the guise hteousness, ensuring she seized the moral high ground pletely.

  Behiood the banner of Sanzenin, fluttering high.

  But for Oko, it was all over.

  The Shinomiya family's submission to Sanzenin was irreversible.

  Likewise, the position of heir was now unshakable. As long as the Shinomiya family wao avoid plete destru, there was only one viable heir: Shinomiya Kaguya.

  "Big brother, do you have any objes?"

  "… No, all…"

  Oko khat his era had e to an end.

  With Sanzenin supp Kaguya, the glory of the Shinomiya family could tinue. But from this moment on, the title of heir was beyond the Shinomiya family's trol.

  Its future was now set in stone.

  At this moment, the proud head of Shinomiya had been crushed to the ground by Sanzenin's overwhelming force.

  And with Kaguya now standing tall, there would be no ce for the Shinomiya family to rise again under someone else's leadership.

  "Hayasaka, escort big brother out."

  "Yes."

  Kneeling on the ground, Oko stood up sluggishly, moving like a soulless zombie as he left Kaguya's home.

  Hayasaka followed him, silently esc the 40-something eldest son of the Shinomiya family outside.

  Not a single word oken during the process.

  She simply walked him to the door.

  "Hayasaka Ai…"

  Abruptly, Oko's footsteps paused, aurned his head slightly.

  "What happeo Kaguya?"

  "I'm not obligated to answer your questions, Master Oko."

  "… Have you told Kaguya everything? About all the times you betrayed her? And she still fave you?"

  Realization dawned on him. Hayasaka had already fessed her betrayals to Kaguya.

  And Kaguya had chosen tive her.

  For Oko, this was utterly inprehensible.

  Perhaps, this was the greatest mistake of his life, uimating the boweewo.

  "I see… I see…"

  "Kaguya's ability to misjudge someone's loyalty… that was the key to my downfall."

  "..."

  Hayasaka offered no response.

  Oko looked up at the starry night sky, his eyes filled with exhaustion.

  "The sky is so vast… I haven't looked up like this in a long time."

  "There may still be many opportunities iure."

  After saying this, he shook his head and tinued walking forward.

  But the defeated figure of Oko, retreating into the night, seemed destio bee the perma state of the once-proud eldest son of the Shinomiya family.

  ---

  There were so many matters to discuss that Nao, who had initially po return home, had no choice but to stay ht.

  The issue of the heir o be announced as soon as possible, there was no time to dey.

  Sure enough, by the m, the Shinomiya family held an official meeting and made an annouhat shocked everyone.

  From that day forward, Shinomiya Kaguya would be the official heir to the Shinomiya family.

  At the same time, the family decred its plete submission to Sanzenin.

  The decision was so abrupt that almost no one in the family could process it.

  But that wasn't all.

  Immediately afterward, Shinomiya Kaguya revealed a mountain of evideailing instances of bribery involving several key members of the Shinomiya family.

  This explosive move swept away numerous high-ranking members, leaving critical positions vat.

  And those positions? They were promptly filled by members of the Hayasaka family.

  In one fell swoop, the Hayasaka family secured trol over much of the Shinomiya family's internal operations.

  Additionally, the Hayasaka family formally selected Hayasaka Ai as their heir, signaling their full allegiao Shinomiya Kaguya.

  There was no dissent within the Hayasaka family regarding this decision.

  Why? Because Kaguya offered them more power than anyone else ever had.

  Under Oko's leadership, he had tried to hoard everything for himself.

  But under Kaguya's leadership, she handed out power freely, unwilling to g to it herself.

  And with the Sanzenin family bag her, the Hayasaka family's path forward was clear.

  At this point, Hayasaka Nao and Hayasaka Masato were no longer ordinary executives within the Shinomiya family, they were now embers holding real authority.

  ---

  Ohe issue of the heir had been resolved, Sanzenin's suppression of the Shinomiya family ceased.

  Iurn, Sanzenin formally accepted the Shinomiya family's submission.

  Thus, the internal power struggle within the Shinomiya Zaibatsu ended with Shinomiya Kaguya's rise to power and the family's allegiao Sanzenin.

  This outade the Shinomiya family a ughingstoe, but for others, like the Shijo family, it was a bitter pill to swallow.

  The Shijo family, long searg for weaknesses in the Shinomiya family, was left floundering.

  Why?

  Because Kaguya had simply thrown all those weaknesses into the fire.

  She exposed everything, sending those responsible to prison and handing over the evideo the authorities.

  In a single move, she closed off every possible vulnerability the Shinomiya family had.

  And with Sanzenin standing behihe Shijo family's hopes of striking the Shinomiya family down were crushed.

  Tet Shinomiya now would be tet Sanzenin directly.

  And that… was a game they simply could not win.

  As a result, the Shijo family fell silent, g defeat in the wake of Kaguya's rise.