Then he turned his head and looked at Munakata Rurie with a blank expression.
Madam Rurie looked nervous as she stammered and asked, "H-how… how is it?"
"He's dead," Hikari said.
Madam Rurie's beautiful eyes widened immediately, her face filling with horror.
With a clang, the heavy pure copper lotus lamp slipped from her hand and fell to the ground with a crisp sound.
Madam Rurie kept waving her hands as she shouted in fear, "I… I was just worried that Hikari-kun might get hurt by that guy, so… so I only wanted to help him! I… I didn't mean to kill him!"
Hearing her words and seeing how nervous she looked, Hikari comforted her, "Mm, I know."
"Madam Rurie, this was just negligence on your part. At most it's accidental. There's a reason for it."
"Don't worry. When the time comes, if you need a witness in court, I'll definitely step forward and testify for you."
Hearing Hikari's words, Munakata Rurie's face instantly lost all color, turning pale.
Panicked, Munakata Rurie said, "If… if it goes to court like this, I might end up in prison!"
"There's still such a big household that needs managing, and Nakoto hasn't even grown up yet. I can't abandon her now, I can't go to prison!"
Thinking of this, grief suddenly welled up inside Munakata Rurie. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked pitifully at Hikari.
Seeing this beautiful noblewoman looking so delicate and pitiful, tears shimmering in her eyes, Hikari immediately asked, "Then… what does Madam Rurie want to do?"
Munakata Rurie lowered her head, seeming to struggle with the decision for quite a while.
Those charming and captivating eyes stared tightly at Hikari's young, handsome face, as if she had finally made some kind of decision.
After thinking for quite some time, Munakata Rurie finally raised her head with reddened eyes. Her tear-glimmering gaze carried a pleading look as she said to Hikari, "I… I hope Hikari-kun can help me keep this matter secret. C-can you?"
"Help you keep this matter secret?", Hikari frowned slightly.
Munakata Rurie grabbed the corner of his clothes and said pitifully, "Hikari-kun, my home is located deep in the mountains and forests."
"And just now I also heard Tani Ichiro say that he's actually a fugitive wanted for embezzling public funds. The Metropolitan Police Department is still hunting him."
"So even if he dies, no one will care. In fact, we might even be… getting rid of a scourge for heaven."
"So… so please help Auntie keep this matter hidden."
"We… we'll just quietly bury him."
"And treat it as if this never… never happened. What do you think?"
Hearing what she said, Hikari showed a thoughtful expression.
"Well…"
Seeing his hesitant look, Munakata Rurie reached out her soft hand, grabbed his, and wrapped it tightly.
With tears welling in her eyes, she pleaded, "Hikari-kun, please help Auntie…"
Hikari lowered his head and glanced at Tani Ichiro, who was already completely dead.
Then he looked up at the beautiful mature woman who was almost leaning against him, nervously holding his hand tightly, looking so pitiful.
Tears were even sliding down her cheeks, dripping into the snowy white cleavage.
He seemed somewhat unable to harden his heart.
Finally, Hikari gritted his teeth and nodded, "Alright. Then I'll agree, Madam Rurie. I'll help you keep today's secret."
Hearing this, Munakata Rurie immediately showed joy.
"Thank you! Thank you so much, Hikari-kun! Auntie will definitely repay you!"
As she spoke, Munakata Rurie excitedly pulled Hikari's head into her embrace.
Hikari felt a sensation like being buried in soft warmth.
It wasn't until his breathing became a little difficult that the excited Madam Rurie finally let him go.
"Madam Rurie, I can help keep today's secret. But what should we do with this guy's body?", Hikari asked, looking at Tani Ichiro who was still lying in the pool of blood.
"Well… my backyard is very large, and there are lots of trees and open ground. We can dig a pit and bury him," Munakata Rurie said nervously, with a questioning tone.
She looked like a noblewoman who had never encountered such a scene before, both nervous and frightened as she asked pitifully.
"Alright. Burying him is fine," Hikari had no objection.
"Oh right, Hikari-kun… c-could you help Auntie deal with his… his body?"
"Auntie alone… can't move it…", Munakata Rurie pleaded pitifully.
"Sure. Since I promised Auntie, I'll do my part."
As if already prepared to become an accomplice, Hikari agreed directly.
"Thank you, Hikari-kun!", Hearing his agreement, Munakata Rurie let out a huge sigh of relief.
Then she said again seriously, "Hikari-kun, you've helped Auntie so much. Auntie will definitely repay you properly."
Because she spoke with such emphasis, Munakata Rurie's hair and her impressive curves swayed slightly.
The grand and imposing sight even made Hikari glance at it involuntarily.
"Cough! Cough!"
Noticing this, Munakata Rurie's pretty face reddened slightly as she turned sideways, though she showed no sign of blame.
Next, with Hikari's help, Munakata Rurie wiped the blood clean from the floor.
Then the two of them lifted Tani Ichiro's body together and carried it to the spacious courtyard behind the Munakata residence.
After digging a deep pit at the spot Munakata Rurie indicated, they buried Tani Ichiro's body inside.
Carrying the corpse, digging the pit, and then filling it back up afterward, this entire process consumed a great deal of physical strength.
After finishing everything, Munakata Rurie was breathing heavily, fragrant sweat covering her body. Her limbs felt weak, and she collapsed directly onto the ground, her chest rising and falling violently.
"Madam Rurie, are you alright?", Seeing her suddenly sit down, Hikari asked with concern.
"I'm… I'm fine. Luckily Hikari-kun helped me, otherwise I really couldn't have handled it alone," Munakata Rurie said with a grateful smile, shaking her head.
"It's dirty here. Let's go back and rest properly," Hikari reminded her while looking at the pitch-black backyard.
"Okay. Please pull me up, Hikari-kun," Munakata Rurie reached out her hand.
Hikari immediately grabbed her soft hand and pulled the exhausted noblewoman to her feet.
"Ah!"
Just as he pulled her up, she seemed unable to stand steadily and suddenly fell into Hikari's arms.
The plump and soft body, like the finest jade, fell against him, and Hikari's heart wavered instinctively.
"Madam Rurie, be careful," Hikari reminded her.
"O-okay!", Escaping from the young man's warm embrace, the mature noblewoman seemed shy. Her pretty face in the darkness was burning red.
On the way back from the courtyard to the house, Munakata Rurie secretly observed him.
Seeing that Hikari didn't seem very tired, the noblewoman couldn't help feeling a little surprised.
After all, burying a corpse was quite labor-intensive.
What surprised her even more was Hikari's expression.
From carrying Tani Ichiro downstairs to filling in the final shovel of soil, Hikari's expression had hardly changed. He remained calm and composed the entire time.
Even though he was only a student, he handled things with such composure.
Munakata Rurie's gaze toward him couldn't help gaining a trace of strange admiration.
Meanwhile, Hikari had actually been secretly observing Madam Rurie the entire time as well.
After watching her for a while, he discovered that this beautiful and charming noblewoman was clearly suspicious.
Based on her earlier behavior, Madam Rurie appeared to be the kind of aristocratic lady who had never done manual work, with fair and delicate skin.
Yet this noble beauty had casually smashed someone to death with a lamp.
Even if she claimed it was accidental, that coincidence was a little too perfect.
And from killing someone to burying the body, although Madam Rurie kept acting nervous and frightened, she handled everything quite efficiently.
That pitiful expression of hers felt more like something deliberately put on.
'Not simple at all.'
Hikari kept thinking to himself.
'When my "Pure Love Radar" first alerted me to come to the Munakata residence, the danger level warning was actually quite high.'
'But Tani Ichiro himself didn't seem very dangerous. It even felt like Madam Rurie could have handled him alone.'
'And now he is indeed dead.'
'Which means there are probably other dangerous elements inside the Munakata residence.'
'And this likely has a close connection with Madam Rurie.'
'I will have to stay alert.'
Just like that, the two people walked side by side back to the house, each with their own thoughts.
"Hikari-kun, my clothes are all dirty. I'll go take a bath first," After returning to the house, Madam Rurie tugged helplessly at her sweat-soaked dress and said to him.
"Alright. I'm dirty too, I should wash up as well," Hikari nodded.
The two separated.
———
Hikari returned to his room and washed off the dust he had picked up while burying the body.
After cleaning up, he wrapped himself in a towel and walked out of the bathroom.
He lay down on the bed, about to go to sleep, when suddenly he heard a knock on the door.
"Who is it?"
"Hikari-kun, it's me," Madam Rurie's voice came from outside.
Hikari had no choice but to tie his towel securely, walk to the door, and open it.
Sure enough, standing outside was Munakata Rurie.
She had clearly just finished bathing as well. A faint fragrance of shampoo drifted toward him, and a thin mist of moisture still seemed to rise from her body.
Munakata Rurie usually kept her hair pinned up, perhaps because as the mistress of such a large estate it made her appear more dignified and elegant.
But now, after just taking a bath, she had let her silky black hair fall freely over her shoulders.
Though it looked a little messy, it seemed to give her more feminine charm and make her even more alluring.
Perhaps because she had just bathed, her usually jade-white mature face was now slightly flushed, making her look both stunning and a little cute.
But what surprised Hikari the most was her current outfit.
The noblewoman was actually wearing a pink deep-V halter nightgown.
It was made of a silk-like, slightly transparent gauze material. From any angle it looked extremely cool and revealing.
It could even be said to be a bit too revealing.
Looking at Madam Rurie in this outfit, paired with her full and curvy figure, Hikari didn't know where to place his gaze in order to maintain proper gentlemanly manners.
"Hehe~ Hikari-kun hasn't gone to sleep yet, right?", Seeing his eyes on her, Madam Rurie said with a smile.
"Not yet for the moment. But Madam Rurie, it's already so late. Do you still need something?", Hikari asked, puzzled by the sudden visit from the beautiful noblewoman.
"Hikari-kun worked hard just now helping Auntie deal with Tani Ichiro. It was all physical labor, so tiring. Your stomach must get hungry easily."
"So Auntie just cooked some noodles and wanted to invite Hikari-kun to eat a little…"
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