After Xiangzi died, I inherited her harem.

How did this multi-headed monster manage to survive until now? Could it possibly become an ally to me?

We need to make further contact with Metis before we can draw a conclusion, but we can't delay with Hatsune Miku.

That guy's possessiveness towards Toyokawa Shoko is pathological; he definitely won't let me off easily.

Thinking of this, Toyokawa Yuu stopped teasing Shoko's portrait.

He should make preparations to strike first during the "Remembering Xiangzi" event that might take place tonight, lest he be strangled by Hatsune Miku again.

If all goes well, you might even be able to turn this loyal golden retriever into your first trump card.

They may not be well-behaved, and they may turn on you at any time, but in the short term, they are enough to guard your home.

Chapter 8 We Can't Do Anything

It was late at night, the first day after Toyokawa Shoko's death.

Night had completely fallen, and the bright full moon was already high in the sky.

Yuu Toyokawa was alone in her and Shoko Toyokawa's bedroom. She didn't turn on the lights, but instead repeatedly examined the medical report in her hand by the bright moonlight.

Light footsteps gradually approached from outside the door. Listening to the soft sounds coming closer, Toyokawa Yuu subtly curled the corners of her lips, but quickly regained her composure.

The bedroom door was gently pushed open, and with a soft sound, Hatsune stepped into this forbidden place, which she had never been allowed to enter before, carrying a candle for keeping watch.

"Youyu, aren't you asleep yet?"

Seeing Yuu Toyokawa examining her medical report by moonlight, Hatsune felt a shiver run through her heart.

Youyu was initially thought to be just a son-in-law who coveted wealth and benefits, but in fact, she also missed Xiangzi in her heart. She even remembered the band's code name that no one had mentioned for ten years.

"I still have to keep watch later, and... every time I close my eyes, I see Xiangzi's smile."

This is a lie. Yuu Toyokawa has traveled to the present day and has never even seen Shoko Toyokawa's face. She can't imagine anything in her mind except for his portrait.

However, even if it's a lie, with Yuu Toyokawa's expressive acting skills that rival those of "The Monster with Many Heads," it appears quite believable.

"I'm afraid, afraid of dreaming about the happiness I experienced with Xiangzi, only to find that it was just a false illusion."

"That won't do; it's harmful to your health."

Turning on the bedroom light, Hatsune placed the candle for keeping watch on the bedside table, crossed her two index fingers in front of her, and looked surprisingly cute as a young girl despite being an adult.

Hatsune gently placed her hands on Toyokawa Yuu's shoulders, her eyes becoming unusually ambiguous and tender, but her gaze did not look at the other person's face, but instead went down.

Those were things Xiangzi used, things that belonged to Xiangzi...

Xiangzi's... are all mine.

“I know you miss Xiangzi, and so do I, but you still need to rest, otherwise you won’t have the energy to keep watch all night… Let me help you relax.”

"I'm sorry, I'm not in the mood right now, and I have something very important to ask you, Hatsune."

Raising her hand to block Hatsune's arm from reaching towards her shoulder, Toyokawa Yuu patted the spot next to her, gesturing for her to sit down beside her.

Looking at the location pointed to by Toyokawa Yuu, Hatsune quietly swallowed the saliva that involuntarily secreted, her heart beating faster involuntarily.

That was the bed of Toyokawa Shoko and Toyokawa Yuu. For countless nights over the past ten years, the most important person in her heart and her husband had rolled and breathed on this bed, continuing their marriage, which may not have been particularly happy or passionate, but was stable enough.

As for myself, although with the help of Yuu Toyokawa, I was granted the Toyokawa surname by Shoko Toyokawa despite all opposition, and was even given the great mission of managing this mansion... managing Shoko Toyokawa's "home".

But there is only one place that is absolutely forbidden for Hatsune Miku, and that is this bedroom.

Shoko Toyokawa once said that as long as she is alive, Hatsune Miku will not be allowed to set foot in this place.

Now, she has not only entered this room, which was absolutely forbidden in the past, but has even been allowed to sit down here by the other owner of this bed.

The empty desire that had been suppressed in my heart for ten years, which could no longer be contained and would only continue to expand like a deep-sea whirlpool, was satisfied in this moment.

This is a feeling of being given something, a completely different sense of accomplishment from stealing or robbing.

Even though she viewed Toyokawa Yuu as a son-in-law who married into the family primarily for personal gain, it didn't change the fact that he held a higher position than her within the Toyokawa household.

This feeling is less about gaining and more about taking advantage of a vulnerability... This complex feeling is more likely to bring satisfaction than normal gains.

"Is there something you need, Youyu?"

Hatsune, who had originally intended to get physical, now appeared unusually reserved, sitting upright next to Toyokawa Yuu with her hands folded in front of her lower abdomen, looking like a head maid.

The sweet fragrance of the bedding, the scent of where Xiangzi once lived, gradually seeped into Hatsune's nose, and she, indulging her desires, greedily inhaled the traces of Toyokawa Xiangzi's past life.

"Hatsune, I want to entrust Shoko to you."

Looking at the moonlight outside the window, Toyokawa Yuu remained silent for a long time, as if it took her a long time to make up her mind.

The words he uttered caused Hatsune's heart to stop beating for a moment, followed by an excitement that caused her blood to pump around her body at several times the speed before.

What did he say? He wanted to entrust Xiangzi to me?

Xiangzi... Xiangzi, Xiangzi, Xiangzi, Xiangzi!

A scream of surprise almost burst from her throat with her rapid heartbeat, but Hatsune Miku managed to suppress her desire.

She could tell that Toyokawa Yuu still had something to say.

At this critical juncture, she dared not interrupt the other person and willingly handed over the initiative in the conversation to Toyokawa Yuu.

Unbeknownst to her, Hatsune Miku, who had previously harbored some dissent, began to subconsciously place herself in a subordinate position to Toyokawa Yuu.

“You know, Xiangzi and I don’t have any children yet, which means that if the Fengchuan family wants to continue, they will definitely have to adopt from other branches or collateral lines. Do you understand what that means?”

"Does this mean we have to raise a child who doesn't belong to Xiangzi?"

Hatsune tilted her head, thinking about her childhood and family.

She was that child who didn't belong to that family.

Thinking of this, obvious resistance and disgust were revealed in her pair of bright, star-like pinkish-purple eyes.

She didn't want to get involved with anyone other than Xiangzi; having Xiangzi was enough for her.

Everything Xiangzi owns—her inheritance, her man, her death—is mine!

"No, this means that we can't protect everything Xiangzi left behind; it will all be taken away by those people."

Yuu Toyokawa's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Hatsune Miku's head, forcibly cooling down her feverish mind.

The cold and regretful words pierced Hatsune's ears, leaving her stunned in place.

“That child won’t side with us, nor with Xiangzi. We… can’t do anything, we can’t protect anything.”

Chapter 9 Greedy Cowards, Thieves Who Dare Not Reach Out

After a moment of silence, Toyokawa Yuu made a final judgment on her future fate.

This wasn't just him exaggerating; given that the main family had no bloodline left, it was practically a foregone conclusion that the child would be adopted after the family split up.

But in that child's heart, who is the father and who is the grandfather is not something that Toyokawa Yuu can control.

But Toyokawa Yuu was certain that the child would never be loyal to the master family; instead, he would turn around and drain the master family dry, replacing them with someone else.

"Isn't there any other possibility? If we treat that child well enough, maybe..."

Hatsune panicked immediately. In her eyes, Xiangzi was the whole world, and after Xiangzi's death, everything she left behind was more important than her own life.

"No way, because if it were me, I would definitely do that."

I would do that too...

Hatsune silently echoed this sentiment in her heart, but Toyokawa Yuu's nonchalant words shattered her self-deception.

After all, she was a child who grew up in that kind of environment, and no matter how much love she received from others, she found it difficult to feel a sense of belonging to a family that was not the origin of her life.

In other words, he was a complete bastard.

Judging others by one's own standards, Hatsune Miku can no longer deceive herself.

So... what do you want to do?

The fervor in her heart was quickly extinguished. Hatsune lowered her head, her golden hair looked dull, and she looked like a complete drowning dog.

"After the funeral, I will cremate Xiangzi's body and entrust it to you. You should take Xiangzi and run away with him. You should know how the new master will destroy the evidence after successfully overthrowing the old master... I beg you, as Xiangzi's husband, this is my eternal request."

With her back to Hatsune Miku, Toyokawa Yuu kept looking up at the bright moon in the sky.

Therefore, she did not see the smile on Toyokawa Yuu's face as she uttered those heavy and struggling words.

The only consequence was something Toyokawa Yuu made up on the spot; he didn't know what would actually happen, but he was certain Hatsune would believe it.

In the mind of this loyal golden retriever, it would be impossible for him to have such a malicious thought as "Xiangzi will die," and naturally, he would not bother to understand such a thing.

"As for me... even if it's just a futile effort, I will do my best to protect the legacy left by Xiangzi and prevent any trace of her existence from being completely erased."

"No, no way! I won't allow this. How dare a bunch of vampires living in the night lay their hands on the setting sun!"

Hatsune grabbed Toyokawa Yuu's arm, her eyes filled with determination and pleading.

Even more remarkably, she uttered the very words that had led to the strangulation of Yuu Toyokawa to death.

Fate is truly fascinating and unpredictable.

"Xiangzi was so beautiful, so radiant, how could she just turn into ashes in the flames... And, she was so precious, how could I dare..."

Hooked.

A smile involuntarily crept onto his lips, only to be quickly suppressed.

Yuu Toyokawa turned her head and looked at Hatsune Miku, who was holding her arm, with a troubled expression, seemingly troubled by Miku's lack of tact.

"However, Grandpa Dingzhi has been gone for several years, and I'm all alone..."

"It's okay, I'll help you. I'm willing to do anything to protect everything Xiangzi left behind."

Before Toyokawa Yuu could finish speaking, Hatsune interrupted him, even more urgently than he was.

What a good dog! It's a pity I'm not the tiger that can make her devoted to me; I can only tease Xiangzi's tiger skin.

Feeling regretful, Toyokawa Yuu pretended to be silent for a moment before getting up and pulling away from Hatsune's hand that was gripping her shoulder.

"No...no, don't drive me away from Xiangzi, I want to protect her..."

Watching Yuu Toyokawa's back as he rummaged through the cabinet, seemingly having made up his mind and preparing for what to do next, Hatsune helplessly reached out to him, yet dared not actually grab his clothes.

At the same time, a morbid thought quietly took root in her mind.

Since Toyokawa Yuu is so cowardly and incapable of protecting everything Xiangzi left behind, why not send him to see Xiangzi? I'll take care of it...

"Hatsune, this is for you."

Yuu Toyokawa's voice interrupted Hatsune's fantasy; the seed in her heart ultimately failed to truly sprout.

A slightly rough-made sachet appeared in Hatsune Miku's eyes, with even a few strands of hair leaking out of the pinhole.

However, Hatsune Miku could immediately smell that it belonged to Xiangzi.

"This is a gift from Xiangzi. I'm giving it to you now. Although it's crudely made, I really like it."

Actually, this was something that Yuu Toyokawa had just found in this room not long ago. It was covered in dust on the bottom shelf of the table and cabinet, and had probably been lying there for years without anyone paying attention to it.

Seeing Hatsune's somewhat astonished expression, Toyokawa Yuu smiled, her smile as gentle and sunny as Xiangzi's portrait, even giving her a kind of hallucination.

"Since you don't want to leave, then stay with me and become accomplices in defying fate and betraying your family."

Overwhelmed with gratitude, Hatsune reached out and caught the treasure she might never have been able to obtain through normal means, a grateful smile spreading across her face.

"Yes, I am very honored to do this for Xiangzi."

As Toyokawa Yuu handed the sachet to Hatsune Miku, her smile became more genuine and relaxed.

Fortunately, he made the right bet.

Hatsune Miku is the kind of tragic heroine who is extremely prone to self-pity due to her sense of inferiority.

He was both intoxicated by his own tragedy and afraid that tragedy would actually happen. Coupled with his unfathomable desire for Toyokawa Shoko but his cowardice in not daring to cross the line, he created such an extremely twisted existence.

After Xiangzi's death, the only seal that could restrain Hatsune Miku was finally broken, and she finally began to have the idea of ​​putting her improper thoughts into practice. She would explode at the slightest provocation.

But in the end, she was just a greedy coward, a thief who dared not reach out.

Even though she had briefly lived under the same roof as Xiangzi ten years ago, she dared not overstep her bounds in the slightest.

She wanted to steal the most precious pearl, but if she were truly placed in a treasure trove where she could take whatever she wanted, she wouldn't dare to actually reach out.

As long as you don't touch her sensitive spots and stroke her fur, she's an unparalleled loyal dog, stubbornly guarding the throne that has no owner.

However, no matter how timid he is, he is still greedy at heart; no matter how cowardly he is, he is a thief who will do anything when provoked.

A bone might satisfy her temporarily, but as time goes by, she will eventually turn her attention back to the treasure trove, and the loyal guard dog will sneak into the kitchen.