Chapter 16: Tendouji Yukari

Tendouji Yukari

We chose a karaoke room for our meeting—private, soundproof, and easy to access.

Yuki felt no real sense of danger toward Takato Mizuho, now known as Tendouji Yukari. Probably because, aside from music, nothing else seemed to matter to him.

However, when it came to music, he sought absolute perfection. That was why he was eager to hear what Tendouji Yukari had to say.

We entered the room, each of us taking a sip from the soft drinks we had brought.

“Alright then, let’s start with how I met Yuito-san.”

“Huh? We’re starting from there?”

“Of course! It’s important—it was a fateful encounter, after all.”

If I let this woman talk, she’d probably go on all night. I was about to tell her to keep it brief, but Yuki spoke first.

“I don’t mind. I want to understand how strong your feelings are, Tendouji-san.”

Since Yuki had given his approval, I resigned myself to listening quietly for a while.

The story itself wasn’t anything particularly remarkable—back in elementary school, Kashiwagi Yuito had saved her from bullies.

That incident sparked her romantic feelings for Kashiwagi.

“He may not seem like it now, but to me, Yuito-san has always been my prince on a white horse.”

As she spoke, her eyes sparkled with admiration, like a little girl still in love with a fairy-tale prince.

“If you liked him so much, why didn’t you confess?”

I voiced my question without hesitation.

“Yes… That was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. Back then, I lacked confidence. I thought I wasn’t good enough for Yuito-san. I was such a fool. If only I had told him how much I loved him, maybe… just maybe, I could have changed something.”

But no matter how much we dwell on “what ifs,” the past can’t be changed. Everyone carries regrets like that.

I felt no inclination to sympathize and decided to move the conversation along.

“I see. But while you were hesitating, someone else took the person you loved.”

It’s a common story—nothing unusual.

“Yes… And of all people, it had to be Mizuki-chan. But if Mizuki-chan had truly loved Yuito-san, I might have given up. After all, they were the perfect prince-and-princess couple I had always dreamed of. Mizuki-chan even told me herself, with a smile, that she was dating Yuito-san.”

But since that didn’t happen, she was here now.

“…That story, right? The one about Mizuki-san being deceived.”

“That’s right… If she had only been tricked, there might have been a way to fix things. But the sc🬀🬀🬀ag who deceived Mizuki-chan—his name is Kawamoto Emu—she actually liked him, too. Can you believe that? She stole Yuito-san from me, yet she also fell for someone else.”

I couldn’t fully understand her feelings, but I had a vague sense of them.

After all, I had felt something similar toward Yuna-chan.

“But didn’t she regret it? You said so yourself—you read about it in Mizuki-san’s diary.”

“Yes, I only learned about her true feelings later… But it was too late. Mizuki-chan never even tried to save Yuito-san. Even when that sc🬀🬀🬀ag was bullying him, she turned a blind eye just to protect herself.”

“But… wasn’t that the same for you?”

At my words, Tendouji Yukari’s expression twisted with anger.

“If I had known, do you think I would have stayed silent? But because I followed my parents’ wishes and enrolled in a private school, I wasn’t there when Yuito-san was suffering. I couldn’t help him. I let those scumbags run free.”

“I see. And when you finally learned the truth, what did you do?”

I couldn’t imagine this twisted woman doing nothing after discovering what had happened. Even now, the anger in her eyes remained.

“By the time I found out, Yuito-san had already transferred. So, I immediately looked into his new school and hired a private investigator to keep watch over him. Honestly, seeing him fall apart was painful. Watching him sleep with women he didn’t love, sinking deeper into despair—I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to call out to him.”

A middle schooler hiring a private investigator… The cost alone was unimaginable, but if she really was the daughter of the illustrious Tendouji Group, then throwing money at the problem wouldn’t have been an issue.

“Then why didn’t you?”

“Because my words wouldn’t have reached him. Watching him, I realized—Yuito-san was taking revenge on women. He had lost all trust in them.”

This woman had reached the same conclusion as I had.

I had dismissed Kashiwagi’s actions as those of a petty, small-minded fool.

But to her, his self-destruction must have seemed tragically beautiful.

Love is blind, they say. Even now, to this woman, that wretched man remained her prince on a white horse.

Once again, I was reminded of how truly warped she was.

“I see… So that’s why you asked me to write a song.”

And yet, Yuki casually summed up the situation in his own way, as if it were nothing.

I decided to bring up something far more concerning—something he had yet to realize.

“There’s something that bothers me more.”

“What is it?”

“There’s no way you just let the two people who betrayed Kashiwagi get away with it, is there?”

“Ahaha, Mizuki-san, you really do understand me. Of course, I made them take responsibility. Mizuki-chan played the tragic heroine for a while after Yuito-san disappeared, but eventually, she moved on and got all lovey-dovey with that sc🬀🬀🬀ag Kawamoto.”

“You refused to call him by name earlier. More importantly, what exactly did you do?”

I had a feeling whatever she did wasn’t anything decent. But I wanted to hear it straight from her mouth.

“Nothing special. I simply made them experience the same pain. Through some underground connections, I hired a few thugs to attack them. The sc🬀🬀🬀ag got to feel the agony of having his lover stolen right before his eyes, and Mizuki-chan learned firsthand the disgrace of offering herself to another man.”

“Didn’t she kill herself because of that?”

“Who knows? I wasn’t involved after the attack. But considering that I’m a member of the Tendouji family, even if only from a branch line, it wouldn’t have ended well for her. If any compromising footage had surfaced, my strict uncle would have dealt with it accordingly.”

Tendouji Yukari spoke without a hint of remorse. If anything, she seemed to be enjoying herself.

I had recorded the entire conversation, but if I misused it, I could very well end up just like those two.

Yuki had attracted the attention of someone truly dangerous. I felt like clutching my head in frustration.

“I see… But if you love Kashiwagi-senpai that much, why are you okay with what Yuna and the others did?”

Ignoring my concerns, Yuki pressed forward with his own question.

“I do have my thoughts on that. No matter how much Yuito-san approached them first, they still had boyfriends. It disgusts me how easily they betrayed them. The only reason I’m willing to overlook Yuna-san is because I bear some responsibility for what happened to her.”

Her words caught my attention.

“…What do you mean, you bear responsibility for Yuna-chan?”

I tried to keep my voice calm, but I couldn’t suppress the cold edge in my tone.

If she had used Yuna-chan to hurt Yuki, I would never forgive her.

“Ahaha, that look suits you, Mizuki-san. I knew it—you really do look best with those eyes.”

“I don’t care what you think of me. Just answer the question—how do you know Yuna-chan?”

Tendouji Yukari met my sharp gaze with a cool smile.

“Oh, don’t worry. I was planning to explain that part too.”

And with that, she began speaking about Yuna-chan—her tone disturbingly cheerful.