The curtain of night hung high in the sky, and warm-toned lights filled the entire space, setting off the villa as warm and peaceful.
Since they had eaten their fill while shopping, Ren Katsuragi didn't make dinner.
After feeding the three cats, he returned to the living room, turned on the TV to a random variety show, and began flipping through a book on how to raise children that he had bought this morning.
Mahiru Shiina's current situation was complex if you looked at it one way, but simple if you looked at it another. Long-term companionship could certainly open the girl's heart, but the effects of that method were simply too slow.
For a little girl craving love, silently accompanying her and giving her love in a subtle way wasn't as effective as a direct display that struck straight at her soul.
Praise the child more to train the child's self-confidence.
His fingertip slid across a note of caution in the parenting manual. Ren recalled everything he had done while shopping today.
Mn, I praised her.
Ren heard the door open and quickly slid the parenting manual back into the cabinet, then kept watching TV.
Mahiru noticed Ren watching TV in the living room and walked over in the pink bunny slippers they'd bought earlier that day.
She hadn't changed into pajamas upon returning home. Wearing the outfit that both Ren and the shop assistant had called "so cute," she sat down next to Ren.
Mahiru didn't say anything. She pressed her hands between her knees and rubbed them together, nervous.
The girl seemed to want to say something but didn't know how to say it.
"Does Mahiru want to ask why I'm so good to you?"
Sensing the uneasiness in Mahiru's heart, Ren picked up the remote, paused the TV, and turned to look at the girl beside him.
Mahiru nodded gently.
From childhood to adulthood, Mahiru had never been treated like this. Everything Ren did for her made her feel unfamiliar.
A thick, solid palm landed on the top of Mahiru's head. Ren's tone was somewhat lazy.
"Because Mahiru is my fiancée."
"Mahiru is so cute and so excellent. If I don't spoil you a little, what if you get kidnapped by others?"
"What do you think? My fiancée."
Taking the hand rubbing her head off, Mahiru locked eyes with Ren, her gaze extremely serious. "Ren, am I really your fiancée?"
Mahiru wasn't stupid. Her mother said she had found her a fiancé. But if it was simply just a fiancé, shouldn't the normal process be for the parents of both sides to bring the children to meet first, and then wait for their feelings to warm up slowly?
But what did Sayo Shiina do?
She told Mahiru she had a fiancé in a commanding tone, secretly canceled the lease on the apartment Mahiru lived in, and didn't tell Mahiru any information about Ren.
Since that phone call, her parents hadn't called her a single time to care about whether her relationship with Ren was harmonious, as if they had vanished from the face of the earth.
Everything indicated to Mahiru that perhaps her identity wasn't Ren's fiancée, but just a "doll" sold by her parents.
"Mahiru wants to ask me if your parents sold you to me, right?"
Seeing through the little thoughts Mahiru had hidden away, Ren chose to snuff out the last shred of hope in Mahiru's heart. "My answer is: Yes~"
After all, that pair of parents Mahiru had couldn't be called parents. Rather than letting Mahiru still hold onto hope, it was better for her to give up completely.
Hesitation leads to disaster; better to rip the bandage off.
Only by cutting ties cleanly could Mahiru truly gain a new life.
I was... sold?
As Ren spoke the cruel truth, the light in Mahiru's eyes dimmed.
Although she already had this conjecture in her heart, when the conjecture was truly confirmed, it still caused immense pain.
Drip, drip...
A line of tears slowly flowed from her eyes, dripping onto Mahiru's thighs.
Feeling the wetness on her thigh, Mahiru looked down in confusion. With this downward glance, the tears fell even faster.
So strange...
Why am I crying?
Isn't all of this within my expectations...
Mahiru looked at the water stains on her thigh in confusion, then moved her hands to wipe her eyes.
At this moment, Ren clamped Mahiru's arms with both hands, stopping her from wiping her eyes. He stared at Mahiru, whose tears were flowing ceaselessly. "Don't rub. They'll be swollen tomorrow."
"Ren, I have no parents anymore. I was sold. I have nothing left."
"Tell me the truth, Ren."
"Am I a toy you bought home?"
Feeling the strength of Ren clamping her hands, Mahiru knew she couldn't break free, so she didn't resist. She just wanted to know the truth now—the truth of why Ren was so good to her.
Is Ren so good to me because I am an toy?
"Not a toy. Mahiru is indeed the fiancée my family selected for me."
Ren's eyes were extremely serious; Mahiru couldn't see any flaws in them.
"Mahiru is beautiful and excellent. Just because Mahiru's parents didn't cherish you doesn't mean others won't."
"Mahiru is worth being loved, and even more worth being loved by me."
"After all, Mahiru is my fiancée~"
Having her inner thoughts hit dead-on by Ren, Mahiru broke down completely. Taking advantage of Ren loosening his grip slightly, she broke free and threw herself into Ren's arms. The tears, flowing as if they cost nothing, rapidly soaked Ren's clothes.
Ren didn't speak to comfort her; he silently patted Mahiru's back gently, helping the girl catch her breath.
Crying was a good thing. After crying enough, she would think things through.
As for Mahiru saying she had nothing left? That didn't exist.
Ren was already thinking in his heart that later he would ask Mahiru if she had any hobbies. He would raise Mahiru personally and let Mahiru possess assets that belonged solely to her.
This was Ren's unique "rebellious" character.
Father thinks Mahiru has no one to rely on and can only rely on himself in the future?
Then Ren would ensure Mahiru had her own assets in the future, so she could speak with confidence instead of blindly obeying him.
The little girl had pretended to be a good child for over a decade; there was no need to continue pretending now.
She shouldn't be the Mahiru Shiina who chose to disguise herself as a good child to get love from her parents, nor should she become the Mahiru Shiina who had no one to rely on and could only be obedient to Ren in the future.
Mahiru Shiina was Mahiru Shiina, and could only be Mahiru Shiina.
Perhaps tired from crying, Mahiru's breathing gradually stabilized in Ren's arms.
It looked like she had fallen asleep.
Picking Mahiru up with gentle movements, Ren prepared to carry the girl back to her room. After taking off her shoes and tucking her in, just as he was about to leave, he was grabbed by Mahiru in her sleep.
"Ren... don't leave me."
Just as Ren was feeling troubled.
Meow~
Mochi, who had been following at Ren's feet all along, let out a soft cry.
Well done, Mochi.
You came just in time!
Lifting Mochi by the scruff of her neck with one hand, he stuffed Mochi into Mahiru's arms.
As if sensing the familiar kitten in her arms, Mahiru released the small hand holding Ren's shirt corner and hugged Mochi instead.
Ignoring Mochi's resentful little gaze, Ren left the room quietly.
At the moment the door closed, Mahiru, who had curled up on the bed once again, murmured softly.
"Ren... I only have you left."
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