The atmosphere turned awkward for a moment.
"Ah, I am sorry..." Fujimoto Haruko forced a sorrowful look. "I did not mean to offend you..."
Cael ignored her completely and focused on moving the food in front of Kobeni.
"Kobeni, eat more. Look at you, you are way too thin. It is almost pathetic."
Kobeni stiffened.
She had never dared act the way Cael did in front of her family.
And yet...
A strange sense of satisfaction stirred in her chest.
Seeing her hesitate, Cael sighed.
"You are seriously hopeless. Do I have to feed you myself?"
He picked up a piece of tempura and held it to her lips.
"Open up."
Kobeni's face turned bright red.
"A... ah... thank you..."
"Hmph!"
Naoto could not take it anymore.
He shot Cael a glare.
"Since you dragged us here, let us get to the point. You, Cael, you want to marry my daughter Kobeni, right?"
Cael brushed crumbs off his fingers and looked at him.
"Yeah. So?"
Naoto crossed his arms.
"Kobeni is our precious daughter. We raised her with effort. Blood and sweat went into raising her."
He leaned forward slightly.
"If you want to marry her, fine. Bring twenty million yen. Not one yen less."
Cael let out a short laugh.
"Twenty million yen? Old man, who the hell do you think you are talking to?"
Naoto frowned.
Cael reached into his pocket.
Slap.
A Shizuoka Bank card hit the table.
All eyes locked onto it instantly.
"There is forty million yen on this card," Cael said casually. "That is the money I am using to marry Kobeni."
"Forty million?!" Naoto froze.
Haruko's pupils shrank.
Kotaro stared, mouth slightly open.
Kobeni felt her head spin.
She only wanted one year's salary in advance.
Not two.
This was too much.
Way too much.
She grabbed Cael's sleeve and shot him a desperate look.
She knew her family.
Even four hundred million yen would not satisfy them.
Cael gently held her hand and leaned closer.
"It is fine. Trust me. I am getting you out of this mess."
Haruko swallowed hard.
Her expression shifted instantly as her hand moved toward the card.
"Forty million yen... good son in law, you are serious?"
Cael raised an eyebrow.
"Of course I am."
Naoto leaned forward eagerly.
"Then what is the password?"
"The password is simple."
With a flick of his finger, the card slipped out of Haruko's hand and flew back into his.
"The six digit password is Kobeni's birthday."
He looked at them with a faint smile.
"You all know it, right?"
Silence.
"Kobeni's... birthday..."
"Ah... well..."
The three exchanged awkward glances.
Cael shrugged.
"Simple. Whoever says it correctly gets the card. Who is first?"
Kotaro quickly turned away and pulled out his phone.
Before he could do anything, it flew out of his hand.
Crack.
Cael crushed it effortlessly and tossed it into the trash.
"Oi. No cheating. Let us keep it fair."
Kotaro clenched his fists but said nothing.
"Hehe..." Haruko forced a laugh and turned to Kobeni. "Daughter, let me see your ID. I just want to check something..."
Cael held Kobeni's hand down before she could react.
"Mother in law, drop the act."
Naoto scratched his thinning hair, irritation creeping in.
"Come on, do not play with us like this. We forgot, so what? You like Kobeni, she likes you. That is enough."
He forced a smile.
"We agree to everything. Just give us the card."
"Yeah, yeah," Kotaro and Haruko echoed.
Cael let out a quiet scoff.
His expression turned cold.
"I hate people like you. Fake as hell."
He leaned back slightly.
"I only saw Kobeni's info once when handling her paperwork. Even I remember her birthday."
His eyes sharpened.
"But her own father, mother, and brother do not know it?"
He let out a dry laugh.
"And you still dare say you care about her?"
Naoto lowered his head.
"We know we were wrong..."
"No, you do not. You are just scared you will not get the money."
Naoto's face stiffened.
Cael sighed and pulled out a thick stack of documents from his bag.
"I will give you the card."
He placed the documents on the table.
"But the extra money is not just a betrothal gift."
His tone turned flat.
"It is compensation. For cutting ties."
He pushed the documents forward.
"This is an agreement enforced by a devil contract. Break it, you die."
He looked at them one by one.
"Sign it, take the money, and from today onward, Kobeni has nothing to do with your family."
Kobeni froze.
When did he even prepare this?
Naoto hesitated.
When money was involved, his mind worked fast.
A devil contract meant real consequences.
Death was not a joke.
He exchanged a look with Haruko.
They understood immediately.
This could not be signed.
One payment was nothing compared to a lifetime of squeezing money out of Cael.
Naoto forced a smile.
"No need for this. We can take just twenty million. We are family, no need for something so cold."
Cael smirked slightly.
"You seem to be misunderstanding something."
"Huh?"
A small wooden carving slipped from his fingers and landed on the floor.
A second later, something appeared behind them.
The Guillotine Devil.
Its towering form filled the room, its presence suffocating.
"I want to chop heads!"
Kobeni let out a small scream and hid behind Cael.
Naoto's entire body went rigid.
Cael crossed his arms and looked down at them.
"I am giving you money out of respect for Kobeni. Do not push it."
His voice was steady.
"You do not get to choose."
Naoto's hands trembled as he grabbed the pen.
"I... I will sign..."
He scribbled his name down messily.
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