Kanjuro's words were like poisoned bait with hooks, accurately piercing the most secret corner of Toyama Ayame's heart that craved to be filled. The sentence 'I'll stay to accompany you tonight' was like a key, instantly opening the floodgates of the longing she had suppressed for eighteen years.
Her marital life with Ginshiro Toyama, characterized by mutual respect and a nearly Platonic nature, had long made her feel a suffocating dullness. What Kanjuro represented was the exact opposite—an extreme experience that was dangerous yet incredibly exhilarating.
"What do you want me to do?" Toyama Ayame's voice carried a tremor she hadn't even noticed herself, born not of fear, but of an unspeakable thrill and anticipation mixed with guilt.
If she could be with this man who had haunted her dreams for eighteen years, if she could completely escape this tiresome peace... she was willing to pay the price.
A glimmer of expected light flashed in Kanjuro's eyes.
As if by magic, a small black bottle of unknown material appeared in his palm. The bottle seemed to absorb all surrounding light, appearing exceptionally deep. The mouth of the bottle was sealed with some dark red substance, emitting a faint, sweet yet unsettling scent.
"This is 'Breath of Sleep,' refined from ancient wisdom," Kanjuro's voice was low as he placed the small bottle into Toyama Ayame's trembling hand. When her fingertips touched the icy bottle, she actually felt a strange burning sensation. "Only one drop a day is needed, mixed into Ginshiro Toyama's private meals or tea. It is colorless and odorless, undetectable by anyone. Initially, it will only make one feel listless, sleepy, and weak, as if from overwork."
He leaned in slightly: "Within half a month, on some seemingly ordinary night, he will peacefully pass away in his sleep, as if his heart suddenly stopped. Any autopsy will only conclude... death from overwork or sudden cardiac arrest."
Toyama Ayame's hand holding the small bottle suddenly tightened, her knuckles turning white. Her reason let out a faint scream at the last moment—this was murder!
It was an extremely cruel murder! Although Ginshiro couldn't give her fiery love, they had supported each other for many years, and he had conscientiously played the roles of husband and father. He... did not deserve to die!
"No... this is too..." She subconsciously wanted to refuse, struggle and fear showing in her eyes, "Too cruel..."
Kanjuro seemed to have expected her reaction. He did not force her, but instead leaned close again, using a lethally low and raspy voice:
"Cruel? Compared to the eighteen years we were apart, compared to every night you spent alone in your room, what does this count for?"
His words were like a venomous snake coiling around her mind. "If you do this, tonight... I will stay to accompany you. After all, you and Ginshiro Toyama sleep in separate rooms, don't you? This empty house, these cold bedsheets... don't you crave warmth?"
"Tonight... stay..." Toyama Ayame murmured, repeating his words. Kanjuro's speech seemed to instantly ignite the long-dormant fire within her body.
She could almost already feel that powerful embrace.
Compared to pleasure, Ginshiro Toyama's existence truly seemed to have become an obstacle that could be removed.
She looked up, replaced by an almost frantic determination.
It was a longing to break out of her cage, an irresistible surrender to the demonic man before her.
The hesitation lasted only a moment.
She tightly gripped the small black bottle as if it were a ticket to paradise, and slowly but firmly nodded to Kanjuro.
"I... I'll do it."
Kanjuro smiled with satisfaction—a smile that was cold and cruel, yet carried the charm of one who controls everything. He reached out.
"Very good. Then... from now on, you belong completely to me."
As the night grew deeper, in the shadows of the Toyama Mansion, a dark transaction in the name of love, using desire as bait and life as the price, was finalized.
Toyama Ayame held the lethal potion, her heart filled with guilt and fear, but even more so with a morbid anticipation for the upcoming night with Kanjuro.
At this moment, her life's trajectory had completely veered toward an irrecoverable abyss. Toyama Ayame gripped the small black bottle tightly in her palm, as if holding a piece of burning coal, yet also like grasping her only lifeline.
She took a deep breath, trying hard to calm her frantic heartbeat and the unnatural flush on her face. She walked out of the shadows of the tea room with Kanjuro and returned to the brightly lit main hall.
In the living room, Kazuha, Ran, and Sonoko were still chatting in low voices, while Ginshiro Toyama sat on a nearby sofa, flipping through today's newspaper with a hint of post-work fatigue on his brow. Seeing his wife come out with Kanjuro, he only glanced up and didn't think much of it, assuming the guest might have run into her while wandering around.
Toyama Ayame tried to make her voice sound natural, even carrying a hint of a hostess's warmth: "It's getting late, and the journey back to Tokyo isn't short. Ran, Sonoko, and Mr. Kanjuro, if you don't mind, why don't you stay over tonight? The guest rooms are all ready."
Kazuha also immediately chimed in: "Yeah, yeah, stay over! We can go out and play together tomorrow!" She hoped to spend more time with her friends to dilute the guilt she felt toward Heiji Hattori and her complex feelings when facing Kanjuro.
Ran and Sonoko looked at each other, then at the pitch-black night outside, and nodded in agreement. Kanjuro naturally smiled and said, "Then I'll be imposing on you."
"Don't say that, you're Kazuha's friends, you're more than welcome." With a gentle smile on her face, Toyama Ayame turned toward the kitchen and soon came out with a tray carrying several cups of freshly brewed hot tea.
She first distributed tea to the girls and Kanjuro, and finally, carrying a specific ceramic cup that Ginshiro Toyama frequently used, she walked over to her husband with light steps. Her heart was pounding wildly, but her face remained that of a considerate wife.
"Ginshiro, have some hot tea to sober up and relieve your fatigue." She handed the tea cup to her husband, her voice so tender it could drip water. In a moment unnoticed by anyone, her fingertips trembled slightly, but her movements were steady as she placed the tea cup on the side table by her husband's hand.
Ginshiro Toyama, without suspicion, put down his newspaper and naturally took the tea his wife handed him. He indeed felt a bit tired and needed a hot drink to refresh himself. He blew on the steam and took a sip of the tea, which was at a moderate temperature. The fragrance of the tea leaves spread in his mouth, seemingly no different from usual.
However, almost a moment after the tea was swallowed, an unusually heavy and swift drowsiness hit him like a tide, far exceeding the fatigue after a normal day's work. He couldn't help but let out a large yawn, his eyelids becoming so heavy they almost closed immediately.
"Ugh..." He shook his head, trying to disperse this sudden drowsiness, but felt his mind becoming even dizzier. "What's going on... why am I suddenly so sleepy..."
He rubbed the space between his eyebrows and said to his wife and guests with heavy weariness, "It's... indeed getting late. After a day of work... I can't hold on much longer, so I'll... go back and rest first. Ayame, you take good care of everyone..."
His words had already begun to slur, and his steps were even a bit unsteady as he stood up.
"Don't worry, Ginshiro, I'll arrange everything. Go and rest quickly." Toyama Ayame hurriedly stepped forward, seemingly supporting him with concern, but her fingertips were ice-cold. She watched her husband's back as he struggled against the drowsiness and stumbled toward the bedroom, her heart gripped tightly as if by a cold hand, yet another kind of twisted excitement quietly grew in the cracks of her fear.
Kanjuro sat on the sofa, elegantly sipping his tea, taking in the entire scene. In his lowered eyes, a dark light flashed, indicating that everything was under his control.
(The first step has already been taken.)
(This cup of 'Breath of Sleep' will lead Ginshiro Toyama to his fated, quiet end.)
Toyama Ayame turned around, and when facing the guests, a proper smile was back on her face, but deep within that smile was a hidden tremor and resolve that no one could detect.
The curtain of night fell completely. Inside the Toyama Mansion, beneath the surface of tender affection, everything awaited time to ferment into an irreversible tragedy.
The night was like ink, soaking the Toyama Mansion.
When everything fell silent, the sliding door of the guest room was pushed open soundlessly. Kanjuro's figure, like a predator in the shadows, quietly slipped into Toyama Ayame's room.
Toyama Ayame had not fallen asleep. She was wearing a silk nightgown, sitting in front of the dressing table, feeling restless. she both anticipated the promised "warmth" and was suffocated by the day's crime.
When Kanjuro appeared behind her and his deep, cold gaze was reflected in the mirror, her body trembled slightly, but she did not turn back.
The next morning, sunlight filtered through the paper windows of the Washitsu, casting mottled patterns of light and shadow.
Toyama Ayame, like the most submissive wife, meticulously served Kanjuro as he dressed.
Her movements were gentle, her eyes filled with infatuation and reluctance, her fingertips lingering on the folds of his collar.
"Can't you... stay for a few more days?" She looked up, her eyes glistening with tears, carrying a hint of a plea.
Kanjuro allowed her to straighten his collar, his face devoid of any warmth, showing only a high-and-mighty scrutiny and control. He raised his hand, his fingertips gently stroking her chin in an intimate gesture, but his words were as cold as iron:
"As long as you do as I say, one drop a day, and wait patiently for half a month." His voice was low and brooks no doubt, "Wait until Ginshiro Toyama 'passes away peacefully,' until this eyesore of an obstacle completely disappears... afterwards, I will naturally be with you forever, along with our daughter."
He once again used "our daughter" and "being together forever" as bait, precisely hitting Toyama Ayame's deepest desires and weaknesses. She looked at the handsome yet cold man before her, knowing she could no longer turn back, and... she didn't want to turn back.
The inner struggle was eventually completely crushed by twisted love and possessiveness.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, only obedience and resolve remained. She nodded, her voice soft yet firm:
"I understand... I will do it."
Kanjuro curled the corners of his mouth in satisfaction, though there was no warmth in that smile.
He said no more, turning to pull open the door to room 377, leaving the sensual atmosphere and sin behind him as he resumed his persona as a gentle and polite guest.
In the living room, Ran and Sonoko were already packed. Kazuha was also there, though she seemed a bit distracted, her gaze occasionally drifting toward the direction of Kanjuro's room.
Seeing Kanjuro come out, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she lowered her head with a complex look in her eyes.
After her mother's (as she saw it) attempt to make him stay last night and the current parting, that strange emotion mixed with guilt and dependence, which had arisen from the Kiyomizu Temple incident, became even more entangled in her heart. She felt she was letting Heiji down, yet she couldn't control the inexplicable closeness and reluctance she felt toward Kanjuro.
"Brother Kanjuro, are you all going back to Tokyo now?" Kazuha's voice carried a hint of subtle disappointment.
"Yes, sorry for the intrusion." Kanjuro gave her a flawless, gentle smile, as if the person who had sneaked into her mother's room last night wasn't him, "Thank you and Mrs. Toyama for your hospitality."
His gaze swept over Kazuha's young and vibrant face. Those eyes, which somewhat resembled her mother's, were now reflecting his shadow, filled with ignorant emotions. A very hidden, almost cruel sense of satisfaction flashed deep in Kanjuro's eyes.
(My daughter... looking at her father with such eyes, truly... interesting.)
He did not point it out, merely maintaining a surface-level calm.
Toyama Ayame also walked out. She had redressed properly, but a hint of subtle passion and fatigue remained at the corners of her eyes and brows.
She forced a smile to bid everyone farewell, especially when facing Kanjuro; only the two of them knew what kind of stormy waves were hidden beneath that smile.
Finally, Kanjuro, Ran, and Sonoko left the Toyama home.
Kazuha stood at the door, watching their departing backs, especially Kanjuro's tall yet distant figure. Her heart felt empty, and an inexplicable sourness and attachment lingered in her mind.
She would never know that this twisted "reluctance" was directed at the biological father who had given her life and was coldly calculating against her family and her emotions.
Back inside the Mansion, Toyama Ayame stood alone in the empty living room, her hand subconsciously stroking the cold small vial in her nightgown pocket, her gaze gradually becoming hollow yet firm.
For the sake of the "forever" Kanjuro promised, she had already made up her mind that in these next two weeks, she would personally push her nominal husband into the abyss of death. The tragedy of the Toyama family was slowly beginning according to the script written by Kanjuro.
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