Ever since I confessed, she has been acting strange. - CHAPTER 1:THE YOUNG LADY TO BE CONQUERED

Episode 1: The strange behavior of the young lady

The young lady is someone who has everything.

“Wow! Look at this! Tendo-san got perfect grades in every subject again and ranked first!”

Excellent grades.

“Wasn’t she recently invited to join the tennis club? I heard she beat a national tournament participant in a practice match or something.”

“She’s a master at sports too.”

“Rumor has it that she was scouted by an entertainment agency. There have even been offers for commercials. As expected, she has the looks and figure to rival any idol.”

“She is beautiful and graceful.”

“Besides, her family owns the world-renowned Tendo Group, right? It’s hard to believe that she’s just an ordinary high school student.

She really has it all – she is the perfect person. That’s Miss Tendo Hoshine.

“Good morning, Miss.”

“Good morning, Eito.”

Her long golden hair sparkled like jewels in the morning sunlight streaming through the window. Her clear ocean blue eyes were as beautiful as ever today. Her perfectly balanced features, from her chiseled face to her full chest and slender waist, seemed the result of careful calculation. Her mother, a beautiful and youthful woman with an outstanding figure, had certainly passed on those genes to her.

“It’s a beautiful day today. I’m sure it will be pleasant.”

“The forecast said it would rain in the afternoon…”

“Really? I don’t think so.”

The young lady has an unusually keen intuition. I’ve seen her say random things that turn out to be true many times, and I’ve never seen her be wrong. It’s the same with the weather. Even if the forecast says it’s going to rain, if she says it’s going to be sunny, it’s going to be sunny. I’m sure it won’t rain this afternoon either.

“Your intuition is always right, young lady.”

“Yes, but having my intuition be so accurate could be a problem sometimes, you know? It makes things too predictable, and it can get a little boring when nothing unexpected happens.”

“That’s quite a luxurious concern… Would you like some more tea?”

“Please.”

I poured the warm tea into the empty cup. Seeing this, the young lady smiled contentedly.

“Just as I expected from you, Eito. Your thoughtfulness towards me is truly unsurpassed.”

“It’s only natural. After all, it’s been over ten years since you took me in.”

“Heh. Yes, it really has been that long, hasn’t it?”

The young lady took a sip of her tea, savoring its aroma and flavor, and then let out a soft chuckle.

“We are both high school students now… We’ve changed, haven’t we? In many ways.”

“Yes, a lot has changed. Lately I’ve been feeling it even more.”

“Oh? And what kind of changes are you talking about?”

“Actually, a student from the same school confessed to me.”

—-Clatter.

Turning to the sound, I saw that the cup of tea had slipped from the young lady’s hand and shattered loudly on the floor.

Yet she remained frozen in the gesture of holding the cup, as if time itself had stopped.

“Are you all right, my lady?! Did you burn yourself…?”

“And then?”

“Huh?”

“And what happened after you confessed?”

Huh? What’s going on? The lady’s face… she’s smiling, but it doesn’t feel like a real smile…

“I turned her down…”

“Really?”

“Yes…”

“You’re not lying, are you?”

“Of course not.”

There was a moment of silence between them….

“…I see.”

The young lady relaxed her shoulders and I sighed with relief. She was her usual self again.

“Are you sure you’re not hurt, my lady?”

“I’m fine. But I hate to ask, could you make me a new cup?”

“Of course, right away.”

I quickly cleaned the broken cup and brought a fresh one filled with tea to the young lady’s side.

“So how does the confessional relate to your sense of change?”

“Well, I’ve never been confessed to like this before, so…”

—-Crash.

“Wait a minute!”

“Young lady!? Are you all right? Did you get burned…!”

“That’s not important!”

“But it is important! And the broken cup pieces… I’ll clean them up right away!”

“Just kick it aside, it’ll be fine.”

“Please stop, it’s dangerous… Besides, even if it’s broken, that’s no way to handle a cup that costs several million yen…”

“Well, you know, there are things more important than money in this world. For example, the fact that you’ve been confessed to one after another.”

“So, what do you mean by being confessed to several times in a row?”

“Huh? As the words say… There was a time when I was confessed to several times in a row. When you become a high school student, it seems like you experience different things than before…”

“When was that?”

“Please calm down, young lady. Your sense of money seems to be a little off.”

First I helped the young lady calm down, and in the meantime I cleaned up the broken cup.

“It was the other day when you went on a family trip with your father and mother, just the three of you.”

“At that time…! I thought it would only be for two or three nights, and I let my guard down…!”

It’s impressive. It’s rare to see the young lady so remorseful.

“Hey. By the way, why didn’t you come along on this trip, Eito?”

“I was directly entrusted by your father to take care of the house.”

“…………I’ll send a message to Father saying ‘I hate you’ later.”

“Please don’t. Do you want to ruin the Tendo Group?”

Your father is very fond of you. If he hears this, it might have consequences you don’t want to face.

“Did you refuse all the confessions?”

“Well, yes. It was a difficult decision, but…”

“…what was the reason?”

“I swore to dedicate my life to you, my lady. I told you I have no room to make another woman happy, so I had to refuse.”

“You always say things like that so casually, and that’s why all the strays keep coming, isn’t it? It’s flattering, though.”

“If I hadn’t been in the picture, would you have accepted those confessions?”

“That’s hard to say… It’s hard to imagine a situation where you’re not around, so I’m not sure.”

“Heh, is that so?”

“Anyway… they were all incredibly charming women, so maybe there was a future where I could have considered one of them.”

“I’ll never disappear, you know.”

“Oh, is that so?”

What’s going on? Even though she’s smiling, I feel an intense pressure…

“Seriously… there’s no room for carelessness or even a tiny gap, is there?”

“This is unusual. I’ve never seen you look so desperate, Ojou.”

“Of course. When there’s something you really want, anyone would get desperate, right?”

“For someone who has everything, what could you possibly want so badly? What kind of treasure are you after?”

“Well, maybe you should look in the mirror.”

“Are you saying you want a mirror?”

“Honestly… you really haven’t changed in that regard, even after becoming a high school student.”

The expression on the young lady’s face seemed both pouty and a bit annoyed.

“I don’t have everything. After all, the one thing I want most is still out of reach.”

☆

My Eito is an incredibly capable servant.

“Eito helped me with my studies, and my test scores went up! Thank you!”

“No, it’s your own efforts that improved your scores. I only helped a little.”

He manages to get top grades while balancing work, and he’s also really good at teaching others.

“Eito! The soccer game at the sports festival was amazing! Even though you were playing against the soccer club, you played brilliantly!”

“I was helped by my teammates. The opponent was also tough, so it was a close game.”

He’s also good at sports. Originally trained by his father, his physical strength is on a different level – strong enough that even a group of regular bodyguards would be no match for him.

“Hey, Eito, would you consider joining the drama club? With your talent, you could

definitely become a star! You already have a lot of fans… Oh, wait, maybe I shouldn’t have said that. Anyway, what do you think?”

“It is truly an honor, but I must respectfully decline. I’m sure there are many others in the drama club who are more suited to be a star than I am.”

It seems that everyone is always looking for an opportunity to attack Eito. As long as he’s serving me, there’s less movement. But as soon as I step away, you can see what happens.

On top of that, even the daughters of my acquaintances often try to spy on him whenever there’s an opportunity.

Honestly… those “thieving cats” are quite annoying.

I’ve liked Eito for so long, but these newcomers just walk in and approach him so shamelessly.

…Right. I’ve liked Eito for a long time.

Since I was young, I could do almost anything. Things went well. I could do whatever I set my mind to. I got everything I wanted, and there was nothing I couldn’t have. Talent, status, fame, beauty… they were all in my hands without me even having to ask for them.

It was at such a time that I met Eito. He had been abandoned by his family. Apparently, his parents had disappeared, leaving only him. I found him by chance, and what struck me was the look in his eyes – eyes that seemed to have lost everything. That’s why I decided to take him in.

My father also seemed to have his own thoughts about Eito’s circumstances. He laughed and said that he had experienced something similar himself, and that was why he willingly took on my “whims”.

Taking him in felt like a whim at the time, just a feeling of wanting something and getting it, as I had always done.

…But Eito never really turned out to be someone I could control.

“Ojou, you really should eat your green peppers… Shall I eat them for you? No, I can’t. It’s for your own good.”

There were times when he didn’t indulge my whims either.

“Hey, Ojou. You should try to be a little more considerate. If you keep acting so spoiled, people will start to dislike you.”

He even lectures me.

“Ojou, if you feel lonely, it’s better to just say so. Do you think your mom and dad hate you? That’s not true. Yes, they couldn’t come today because they had to work, but they both love you very much. It’s unfortunate today, but if you want, I can celebrate your birthday with you.

He notices when I’m lonely and stays by my side.

“So this is where you hid. How did I find you? Well, when it comes to you, I know exactly where to look. Come on, let’s go. Everyone’s been looking for you.

Even when I hide and cry, you always find me.

“You may be able to do anything, but it’s not like you’re doing nothing, right? You work hard, you try. It’s okay. That person said something cruel without knowing the truth, but I know. I know you’re working so hard and you’re doing your best.

He watches over me, always.

There are so many reasons, more than I can count.

I’ve received many things in my life.

But the one thing I could never claim is Eito’s heart.

The one thing I wanted most in my life.

The one thing I would give anything for.

I believed that if I had that, I wouldn’t need anything else.

Yes. That’s why I won’t let any of those “thieving cats” have it.

…Well, I’ve tried all kinds of approaches, but Eito still hasn’t noticed at all.

It’s frustrating, isn’t it? I even had to send the servants to set up the situation for me… Perhaps the problem is that we’re too close? Maybe I should just take the next step and guard him more closely.

It sounds like you’ve got a real challenge on your hands. Dealing with these new “cats” is tricky, but if you’re determined, I have no doubt you’ll find a way to outsmart them.

You have that determination. Sometimes it’s not about having everything, it’s about holding on to what really matters. If you keep pushing forward with that determination, I’m sure you’ll get what you want in the end.

“I will not let anyone have the one thing I want most.”

“Is something the matter, young lady?”

“It’s a warning to be prepared.”

Now then. What kind of approach should I use today to get closer to him?