After Xiangzi died, I inherited her harem.

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He subtly hinted that he still had the option of taking the doll back, or letting Mortis come in and snatch it back, so that even if Senmina made demands, she shouldn't think of pushing her luck.

But in the end, Toyokawa Yuu gave way to the beautiful woman in front of her.

“It’s nothing too outrageous… It’s already so late, so why don’t you and my daughter rest here for the night? It’s been a long time since I’ve cooked a meal for my lovely daughter.”

Resting her chin on the head of the doll in her arms, Minami's smile was exceptionally bright. If it weren't for Yuu Toyokawa's sharp eyes being able to see the faint wrinkles between her brows, one probably wouldn't have noticed any difference between the former Best Actress and the one from ten years ago.

As for the conditions she proposed...

"Why are you so concerned about Xiao Mu and Mortis?"

Yuu Toyokawa found it utterly unbelievable that Minami Mori was acting like such a good stay-at-home mom.

If she truly cared, why didn't she do this sooner? Why did she let her relationship with her daughter become so strained?

Of course, one should also consider the consequences and comments that might arise from staying out all night.

According to the rules of a prestigious family like the Toyokawa family, when the head of the family dies, Toyokawa Yuu, as his partner, should not even leave the funeral. To sneak out several times would be even more disrespectful.

Not to mention, he stayed overnight at another woman's house just a few days after his wife died.

If I were to agree to such a request, it would be no different than handing a knife to those people myself.

Anyone with a modicum of common sense should consider whether Minami Mori's offer is an attempt to torment Yuu Toyokawa to the point of exhaustion.

“Now that things have come to this, what reason do I have to continue to go against my daughter? She has become the person I wanted her to be, and she has already gained all the fame I wanted. I have no reason to continue to make things difficult for my daughter.”

When this topic was brought up, Minami Mori's eyebrows were full of pride.

I did lose to Mortis in my career, but wasn't that to be expected?

It wasn't easy to raise her into a real monster and put her on the path I wanted her to take. It's not unreasonable to use my career as a sacrifice for the birth of a monster.

Even more impressively, they could earn the reputation of having a successor and retiring gracefully.

As for the demands agreed to in order to achieve this goal, staying at home for several years and never getting involved in his previous career again was a perfectly acceptable price to pay.

"If, on top of that, I can find my daughter an absolutely reliable person, I would be even happier... I've had high hopes for you for ten years, Yu-kun."

The smile was so sweet that it made you want to look away. It was so affected, hypocritical, and fake that it was disgusting. It felt like there was a mask smiling at you... For a moment, Toyokawa Yuu even had the illusion that the person sitting in front of her was actually Nagasaki Sosei.

"...Tell me, what is this pocket watch?"

Sitting on the sofa, Toyokawa Yuu didn't seem to have any intention of getting up.

So what if they handed you the knife? It's not like they'd let you go even if you didn't.

Moreover, he didn't intend to let them off the hook.

"This...this is something you've always carried with you since Mizuho found you..."

.................................................. ......................

Standing by the wall outside the Ruoye family's gate, Mortis looked up at the bright moon overhead, his face filled with an expression that seemed to be urging him on.

"Why is it taking so long? What do Yuu and Minami have to talk about? We need to hurry back."

She seemed to be grumbling, but at that moment, apart from the occasional evening breeze, no one in the courtyard could hear her complaints.

Yuu Toyokawa, who was still talking with Minami Mori inside the house, was completely unaware of these little emotions she was feeling.

"Mortis, stop complaining. Youyu has only been inside for ten minutes. Don't be so impatient."

Ruoye Mu's voice rang out in the courtyard, which was empty except for them. His calm tone rose and fell slightly with the rhythm of the evening breeze.

"How could I not be anxious? You know how dangerous it is to take Youyu out at night, and you saw how much trouble it was to plan the route."

Mortis's long, light green hair swayed in the evening breeze as he gripped his car keys, his mood growing increasingly agitated.

She was fully aware of the turmoil that had occurred in the Toyokawa family after Shoko's death.

After all, as Toyokawa Shoko's other half and also the villa manager of the mansion, Wakaba Mutsu had seen a lot of things happening in the Toyokawa family, and many things even passed through her hands.

Since Momo's personality isn't particularly suited to these things, Mortis naturally takes over to a large extent.

Mortis was well aware of how dangerous the Toyokawa family was right now... but it was precisely because he had a fairly accurate assessment of this danger that Mortis was so confident in himself.

She was confident she could protect Toyokawa Yuuka, and might not even need to leave Tokyo. However, the Toyokawa family's power would certainly be greatly diminished, and they might have to compromise by adopting a child from one of the branch families, eventually handing over ownership of the main family decades later.

But... Mortis doesn't care about any of that. She's not a member of the Toyokawa family, nor is she even half of Toyokawa Shoko.

However, while the plan was wonderful, Mortis was also aware that there were still one... two problems to be solved.

Firstly, before he could fully implement his plan, he needed to ensure that Yuu Toyokawa was safe and sound, rather than having him and Shoko Toyokawa go to the underground to have sex halfway through the plan.

Secondly... naturally, Toyokawa Yuu was willing to relinquish power, giving him all the resources that the main family could still utilize.

No matter how arrogant Mortis was, he wouldn't believe that the Wakaba family had the ability to take on everyone single-handedly. At best, they could only serve as leverage; the real worthy asset was the Toyokawa family's main branch.

However, Mortis thought this was no problem; Toyokawa Yuu would definitely agree to his plan... he would make him agree.

As for the rest, like Hachiman Kairin and Toyokawa Hatsune... they are either traitors or outsiders, and are not worth worrying about at all.

But all of this is contingent on him being able to safely get Yuu Toyokawa home tonight.

Thinking about this made Mortis even more agitated.

Why did she have to go out at this crucial moment? I feel like Youyu has become even more willful than Xiangzi used to be.

Just as Mortis was getting annoyed, he heard the door behind him open.

"Youyu, are you guys done talking? We need to hurry..."

Looking at the man standing behind the door frame, Mortis's face showed both a smile and a urging expression, but his expression quickly froze when Toyokawa Yuu said the next sentence.

"Mortis, I'm not going back tonight."

Looking at Mortis, whose expression had frozen, Toyokawa Yuu's eyes were serious.

"We'll stay here tonight."

"Hey...yes!"

After a moment of stunned silence, Mortis quickly erupted in joyful cheers, the stiffness on his face completely vanishing.

Whatever the plans, the consequences of not coming home at night, who cares? Right now, Youyu is the master of the house.

Chapter 138 Wakaba Mutsu will never lose

Lying on the bed in the guest room of the Wakaba family, Toyokawa Yuu turned off the lights in the room early on, even the bedside lamp on the bedside table.

The curtains were not drawn, and the bright moonlight shone through the carved window into the room, bringing a dim light source.

Yuu Toyokawa held up the pocket watch she had found among Shoko Toyokawa's belongings to her face, using it to shield her eyes from the bright moonlight.

Minami Mori does know a lot about the past of this pocket watch, but only to a limited extent.

Rather, no one who knows about this pocket watch finds it particularly special; it simply has some commemorative significance.

According to Minami Mori, this was something she had with her when Mizuho Toyokawa adopted her.

Although the pocket watch looks simple, with the discerning eyes of Mizuho Toyokawa and Minami Mori, they could naturally see that its craftsmanship was quite exquisite.

The fact that the casing is so tightly sealed that you can't even find a knob to adjust the pointer is enough to show that this is not something that an orphan who has been wandering around could have.

Having taught Shoko Toyokawa kindness and gentleness, Mizuho Toyokawa naturally tried to find Yuu Toyokawa's parents, but even with the Toyokawa family's connections, they couldn't find any clues. That's why she decided to adopt Yuu Toyokawa.

As for Toyokawa Sadaharu's decision to send Yuu Toyokawa to England as his adopted son-in-law because he was worried that finding Yuu's family later would hurt Shoko Toyokawa, who might have developed familial feelings for him, was something that happened later.

[Yuu-kun, you were very smart even when you were little, almost like a little adult. That's why Grandpa Sadaharu has high hopes for you. However, he also knows that with Mizuho's personality, she would never strictly teach you as an heir. So, he's being particularly assertive in this matter.]

Yuu Toyokawa couldn't remember any of the old stories that Minami Mori mentioned, no matter how hard she tried to dig into her memory.

Of course, it's also possible that what Minami said was just made up.

However, if that's the mindset, there's absolutely no need for me to come to her to gather information.

For these kinds of past events that have been almost buried deep in time, it's better to believe the wrong thing than to let them go.

Moreover, compared to these old, trivial matters, Mori Minami talked about many things that Toyokawa Yuu cared about.

For example, this pocket watch is something Mizuho Toyokawa plans to return to her when she comes of age, to reveal to her that she was actually adopted, and that it will be her freedom to decide whether she still wants to be her child at that time.

For example... when Mizuho Toyokawa passed away, Minami Mori saw the pocket watch again. At that time, the hands of the pocket watch were still stuck at the original point, as if it had been there for more than ten years and was already broken.

The pointer didn't move at all until Mizuho Toyokawa died...

Yuu Toyokawa still remembers Mortis saying that the hands of his pocket watch were still pointing to [V] when he married Shoko Toyokawa.

In other words, in the short two or three years between Mizuho Toyokawa's death and his wedding to Shoko Toyokawa, the clock hands moved five times.

After being married to Toyokawa Shoko for a full ten years, the clock had only turned once more.

It is clear that this pocket watch was not designed for telling time.

According to Toyokawa Kiyoko's records, his wedding ceremony with Toyokawa Shoko was actually held at the end of the same year that Ave Mujica was founded... Only a few months have passed since he returned to the present from ten years ago.

If nothing unexpected happens, then in the past ten years, based on myself and Toyokawa Shoko, there have only been two things that have happened again...

Another flashback to his own past, and... another predetermined death for Toyokawa Shoko.

As the pocket watch's lid was closed, the clanging of metal against metal was clearly audible in the quiet night.

Yuu Toyokawa put down her pocket watch, her hand sinking into the flat mattress in the guest room of the Wakaba family home.

No matter how you look at it, these are all just guesses, and there's only one way to verify them.

Go back ten years, find this pocket watch before your wedding with Toyokawa Shoko, and see which mark the hands are pointing to.

However, there's no rush. Even if he were to rush back ten years now, he wouldn't be able to easily obtain this pocket watch.

If nothing unexpected happens, this thing should have been in Toyokawa Sadaharu's hands ten years ago... My relationship with Toyokawa Shoko is already strained, there's no need to rush to court death now.

Yuu Toyokawa didn't think she could survive this time, especially after making the foolish decision to visit the Wakaba family in the middle of the night. She was now undoubtedly at a disadvantage in the face of those attacks.

But even if he dies, that's a matter for later. Right now, he still has other things to figure out, such as...

It seems I've said all I can about this pocket watch. Now, let's talk about my precious daughter, Youyu-jun.

Recalling the narrow and ambiguous smile on Minami's face after the topic of caregivers ended.

My daughter is far from being as well-behaved and sensible as you see her. She wants more than just to be with you. If you're not prepared to love her the way you love Xiao Xiang... I suggest you run away quickly, Youyu-kun. At least this advice is truly for your own good, consider it payment for bringing this doll to me.

The voice of Minami Mori, mixed with teasing and jokes, echoed in Toyokawa Yuu's mind, making him feel somewhat agitated.

Yuu Toyokawa wasn't too surprised that Mutsumi Wakaba had developed some feelings for her.

At least the impact of this incident on him was far greater than when Yawata Kairin suddenly hugged him and confessed her feelings in Ave Mujica's office.

In any case, the two have been living under the same roof for ten years.

Even if Yuu Toyokawa is busy with her own life-and-death struggles, it doesn't stop Mutsuka Wakaba from still being a young girl, and it's perfectly normal for her to have some fantasies.

Moreover, Mortis at that time was still the kind of naive person who would like whoever he wanted.

In short, if Ye Mu or Mortis were to develop feelings for her, it would at least be within Toyokawa Yuu's comprehension.

In contrast, he didn't even know what Hachiman Kairin saw in him, and that he had been trying to persuade and take advantage of her since their first meeting.

Given Hachiman Kairin's current status and experience, she should easily realize this if she carefully reflects on her past.

The more you think about these upsetting things, the more frustrated you become. There were already many unsolved mysteries, and now there are even more tangled and complicated emotional issues...

Although Toyokawa Yuu is now a legitimate widower, to be honest, he has absolutely no romantic experience.

Even if it's true, as Minami Mori said, that he's not mentally prepared and should try to stay away from her daughter, he doesn't know how else he can distance himself. He can't just kick out the villa manager, one of the few people he can still rely on, right after Toyokawa Shoko's death.

And...do I really want to sever ties with Wakaba Mutsumi so urgently?

To make her his own, he sacrificed so much, going against Toyokawa Sadaharu, against Mori Minami, cutting back on his own spending and threatening suicide, and even actually dying once.

Even if it's just a sunk cost, Toyokawa Yuu is reluctant to give it up.

While worrying about things she couldn't understand, drowsiness would creep into her mind during these lulls, and Toyokawa Yuu would unconsciously close her eyes and slowly drift off to sleep.

............................................................

"Minami, what exactly are you plotting?"

Unlike Yuu Toyokawa, who had already gone to bed early, the mother and daughter from the Wakaba family were facing off across the coffee table in the first-floor hall.

Mortis sat with his arms crossed in the spot where Yuu Toyokawa had just taken her seat. His golden eyes stared sternly at his mother across the coffee table, but he noticed that Minami seemed more interested in fiddling with the doll in her arms than in him.

"What else could it be for, to bring together my precious daughter?"

She pulled out a small comb from somewhere and delicately combed the hair of the somewhat old but well-maintained doll.