The phone rang at the worst possible moment. Chisato understood that only a few people would call him at this hour.
So, he deliberately tried to ignore it, hoping to preserve the hard-earned atmosphere of conversation between him and Kazusa.
Unfortunately, in the quiet room, Kazusa easily noticed what was happening.
She took the initiative to pull away from his embrace, her slightly vacant eyes looking at him, silently urging him to answer the call.
There was no choice but to pick up.
Chisato took out his phone, glanced at Kazusa, and pointed toward the door, his expression asking if he could step outside to take the call.
Kazusa's response was to grab his arm and shake her head with a firm and absolute denial.
Yeah… I figured as much.
Resigned, Chisato glanced at the caller ID—Utaha. He had no idea what might happen if he answered her call right in front of Kazusa, but there was no way around it now.
He could only hope that Utaha would be careful with her words.
"Utaha."
He pressed the answer button and pressed the phone hard against his ear, hoping to muffle the sound as much as possible.
But Kazusa, her eyes narrowing slightly, had calmed down significantly after her earlier tears.
She saw right through his intentions, reached out, snatched his phone away, and put it on speaker between them.
Chisato was feeling guilty toward Kazusa, so he had no grounds to protest. He could only brace himself and go along with it.
"Chisato, when are you coming back?"
Utaha's lazy, mature-sounding voice came through loud and clear, landing directly in Kazusa's ears.
Her carefully neutral expression instantly darkened as she realized who was calling—the same woman who had spoken to her that morning at the café.
And then, something in Utaha's words caught her attention.
When are you coming back?
Back?
Back where?
Was Chisato going to that woman's place later?
Or even worse…
Had he already moved in with her?!
This is bad. This is really bad.
Chisato noticed Kazusa's rising fury and immediately understood that she had drawn her own conclusions from Utaha's words.
Every time he planned to explain things honestly, something always caused a delay. And those delays often led to drastic consequences in his relationship with Kazusa.
But regret was pointless now. He had to deal with the situation first and ask for Kazusa's forgiveness later.
"It'll be late tonight, so don't wait for me."
Chisato carefully chose his words, keeping his tone neutral, as if this were just a normal conversation.
He deliberately avoided the usual playful or flirtatious phrases he often exchanged with Utaha—anything to avoid further provoking Kazusa.
But while he was holding back, Utaha remained the same as always. While she might have been weak in bed, she took endless pleasure in teasing and toying with him through words.
"How could I not wait for you? I just prepared a late-night snack for you. It's on the stove in the kitchen."
"When you get back, eat it, take a bath, then come to bed and hold me while we sleep. Oh, and I'm wearing your pajamas today."
"They're a bit big, but they smell so nice… I feel like I can't live without your scent anymore."
Crack!
The instant Utaha finished speaking, a crisp sound echoed through the silent room.
Chisato, sweating bullets as he knelt respectfully, knew exactly where that sound had come from—Kazusa, right in front of him.
He just wasn't sure how she had made it. Had she clenched her fists too hard? Or was it the force of her gritted teeth?
Wait, no! Now was not the time to be analyzing that! The urgent matter at hand was ending this call immediately!
Chisato knew Utaha all too well. Ever since she had left her innocent girl phase behind, she had awakened to some truly troubling habits and tendencies.
In short, she had become a completely shameless woman—one who exclusively targeted him with both her words and actions.
If he let her keep talking, there was no telling what else she might say.
"Utaha, that's enough for now. I'm hanging up."
Without bothering to argue, Chisato swiftly ended the call.
…
On the other end of the line, Utaha frowned slightly.
His reaction felt… off. It made her suspicious.
Could it be that Chisato had answered the call in a less-than-ideal situation?
Like, say… with Kazusa right next to him?
The thought made her cheeks heat up slightly. If someone else had overheard her flirting just now, it would be pretty embarrassing.
Then again, if Kazusa really was there, maybe her words had served another purpose—dealing a direct emotional blow.
With that, she let it go.
Haaah…
Lying on Chisato's bed, Utaha adjusted her pillow to get more comfortable. Then she lifted her arm and sniffed the sleeve of the clothes she was wearing.
Her words during the call weren't entirely just for fun. Thinking back to the passionate nights they had spent together recently, she realized something disturbing—
She was becoming more and more obsessed with Chisato's scent.
Not only did she crave his scent, but she had even started licking the sweat off his neck…
"Ugh…"
Pressing her thighs together, Utaha let out a small whimper. She grabbed a few tissues from the bedside table and slowly curled up.
…
Meanwhile, Chisato cautiously observed Kazusa's expression.
Her posture was rigid, her eyes were sharp, and her lips were slightly downturned—she looked absolutely terrifying.
At this point, if she suddenly lashed out and kicked him, Chisato wouldn't be surprised.
Given the situation, the best course of action was to tread carefully and not provoke her further.
But Chisato couldn't afford to stay silent for an entire week just to let things cool down.
The longer he waited, the worse things would get.
If Kazusa spent too much time alone, she might even make an irreversible decision—like leaving him and moving abroad with her mother.
No, he needed to clear things up now, one step at a time.
"The person who just called… Her name is Kasumigaoka Utaha. She—"
"From now on, I ask, and you answer."
Kazusa cut him off coldly. After all the emotional highs and lows she had been through today, she had reached an unsettling level of calm.
Chisato took a deep breath and nodded.
"Besides me, how many other girls do you have?"
"Three."
"Their names?"
"The one who invited you to the café this morning is named Kasumigaoka Utaha. The other two are Eriri Spencer Sawamura and... Gotoh Hitori."
Why is there even a foreigner?!
But that is not the point!
The point is... Gotoh Hitori?!!!
Is it the same Hitori I know?
The one you told me had few friends, who looked lonely and pitiful, so you brought her to my music room and even asked me to befriend her—that Hitori?!!!
My brain trembled, and my rationality almost collapsed the moment I realized the truth.
Fortunately, Kazusa had mentally prepared herself before asking the question, so she did not let reality crush her sanity.
She took a deep breath to cool down her overheated emotions. There was still a lot she wanted to know, and she could not let anger take control this early.
"You really are something... You and Hitori have been deceiving me from the very beginning, huh..."
Kazusa grit her teeth.
"I didn't start with Hitori... Uh, I sincerely apologize."
Chisato wanted to explain when his relationship with Hitori had actually begun, but facing Kazusa's gaze, which was as terrifying as a demon's, he realized that what was done was done.
At this point, any explanation seemed meaningless.
Kazusa closed her eyes slightly. Only when her heaving chest finally steadied did she ask her next question.
"Are you living with that Kasumigaoka girl now?"
"Yes."
Chisato, like a criminal cornered in an interrogation room, confessed everything without resistance.
"In fact, I am currently living with both Utaha and Eriri. They stay over whenever they have time."
"How far have things progressed between you?"
"We have already taken the most intimate step."
"...Hah, I knew it."
Kazusa felt she had been too naïve. There was no need to ask any further.
Now that she knew the full truth, looking back, whether it was Hitori, Utaha, or that Eriri girl, they were clearly different from her.
They must have known about his situation from the very beginning.
After all, they lived together. They had been with him all this time.
Chisato, what exactly am I to you?
"Go back."
Kazusa was irritated and had lost all interest in continuing the conversation.
"I want to rest."
She lay down on the bed, turning on her side without moving again.
Chisato wanted to say something but, in the end, chose to remain silent.
He stepped forward, gently placed a thin blanket over Kazusa, and softly said,
"Get some rest. I'll come again tomorrow."
Kazusa closed her eyes and did not respond.
Click.
He opened the door and walked out, leaving the room in silence once more.
After a while, Kazusa quietly got up and walked to the window, looking down at the courtyard.
Soon, Chisato stepped out of the main entrance, and Youko followed him, escorting him to the gate before turning back.
Kazusa stood at the window, watching for a long time. She saw clearly how Chisato stood outside the gate, unmoving for a long while.
The door opened, and Youko walked straight in.
Kazusa turned her head to glance at her mother before sitting down at the edge of the bed.
Youko walked to where Kazusa had just stood, looked out the window for a moment, then sat beside her daughter, reaching out to gently stroke her head.
Kazusa's nose twitched slightly at her mother's touch, and the coldness in her expression gradually faded.
"You had a good talk with Chisato?"
Youko asked with extreme gentleness.
"Yeah, I'm done with that guy."
Youko studied her daughter's expression and tilted her head.
"Is that just anger talking?"
Kazusa stubbornly retorted,
"No! I mean it!"
"Alright, let's say you really mean it."
Seeing Kazusa like this, Youko suddenly recalled when she was younger, throwing a tantrum and claiming she would never touch the piano again.
But in the end, after one night's sleep, the issue silently resolved itself, never coming true.
And right now, Kazusa looked exactly the same as she had back then.
"Since you've decided to completely end things with that scoundrel, what do you plan to do next? What about school? Are you still going?"
"If not, I can go and handle your withdrawal papers tomorrow. After that, whatever you want to do, you can just tell me directly."
Youko spoke in an even tone.
Kazusa could not answer. She had not thought things through.
Her life had always been directionless, but with Chisato's involvement, she had found something that resembled a goal.
Yet now, after deciding to cut ties with him, she realized that it was not just about losing him—something important inside her was suddenly missing, too.
Like a ship losing its lighthouse, a vessel without a navigation marker, drifting aimlessly across an endless sea.
"Did Chisato say anything to you before he left?"
"...No."
"Did he not say he would come again tomorrow?"
"…"
Kazusa glared at her mother as if to say, You already knew, so why ask?
"According to what you just said, since you're ending things, you shouldn't want to see him anymore, right?"
"In that case, let's pack up tomorrow and take a trip, just the two of us, for a change of pace."
"A trip?"
"You've always wanted to visit Vienna, haven't you? I don't have any work right now, so I can finally take you there and stay for a while."
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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