Ai Hayasaka's head was buzzing.
Steam still clung to the corridor outside the bathroom, carrying the faint scent of jasmine bath oil and something sharper—adrenaline, perhaps, or the lingering musk of a man who shouldn't have been there. Her fingers had gone cold against her tablet's glass surface.
If it weren't for Kaguya-san saying it so earnestly, with such a deadly serious expression, she would have thought the Miss was simply drowsy from soaking too long.
Without her knowing. Without anyone knowing.
That man named Hozuki Nozomi had secretly infiltrated Kaguya-san's bathroom.
Which meant he'd seen Kaguya-san's body. Every pale curve, every inch of porcelain skin usually hidden beneath immaculate uniforms and designer dresses.
And possibly done something even more excessive.
Ai Hayasaka's mood curdled like spoiled milk.
"Ai, show me all the surveillance footage."
"Yes, Kaguya-san."
Ai Hayasaka's heels clicked sharply against the marble flooring as she retrieved the villa's security feeds. The monitoring room smelled of recycled air and the faint copper tang of overworked electronics—three dozen screens casting pale blue light across her features.
She found the entrance footage first.
Hozuki Nozomi stood there in the recording, speaking to a young bodyguard near the wrought-iron gates. His posture was relaxed, almost lazy—weight shifted to one hip, hands loose at his sides. The bodyguard's shoulders had been rigid with self-importance as he gestured dismissively, clearly sending Nozomi away.
That idiot, Ai Hayasaka thought, already calculating severance packages.
Kaguya Shinomiya watched the footage over her shoulder. The heiress had wrapped herself in a silk robe the color of crushed violets, her wet hair leaving dark trails down the expensive fabric. She snorted coldly, her expression flattening into something dangerous.
"Fire that bodyguard."
"Yes, Kaguya-san."
Rest in peace, you fool. Ai Hayasaka mourned him for precisely one second, then scrubbed forward through the bathroom window footage at 10x speed.
There.
A blur of motion that resolved into Nozomi's figure vaulting through the narrow opening with inhuman grace—like water flowing upward, defying physics entirely. And just before he disappeared inside, he turned his face directly toward the camera.
That smile.
Wide, shameless, deliberate. He'd wanted to be recorded.
Kaguya Shinomiya's composure shattered.
"This guy is too arrogant!"
The girl's slender shoulders trembled beneath violet silk. Color flooded her cheeks—not the delicate pink of embarrassment but the deep crimson of mingled shame and fury. Her fingers curled into the fabric of her robe.
The way he held me, she thought, and couldn't stop thinking. His hands on my waist. My chest pressed against his . The heat of him—
Her face burned hotter.
"Miss, should we inform the Shinomiya Family about Hozuki Nozomi?"
"No!" The word cracked through the room like a whip. Kaguya Shinomiya's ruby eyes blazed. "What happened here—you are not allowed to speak of it. To anyone."
Ai Hayasaka inclined her head, expression carefully neutral.
Facing a man who possessed such mysterious power, mobilizing the Shinomiya Family's resources would be pointless at best, catastrophic at worst. Kaguya-san understood that much, at least.
"I said I would conquer him." Kaguya Shinomiya lifted her chin, wet hair cascading down her back. "A man like this deserves my serious attention."
More likely he'll conquer you, Ai Hayasaka thought, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes.
She studied her mistress carefully—the flush that wouldn't fade, the way Kaguya's fingers kept touching her own waist where his hands had been, the subtle quickening of breath whenever Nozomi's name was mentioned.
Ah. Kaguya-san has finally reached the age where she falls for boys.
Don't let Kaguya Shinomiya's cold, aloof demeanor fool anyone. Yes, she was a genius heiress of a financial conglomerate, capable of manipulating markets and crushing rivals before breakfast.
But Ai Hayasaka knew the truth.
Kaguya Shinomiya was desperately insecure.
They'd grown up together since childhood. Kaguya couldn't hide anything from her—not truly.
Miss's current appearance? Classic prelude to love.
The Shinomiya Family head, for reasons unknown, had never acknowledged his youngest daughter. No praise for her achievements. No encouragement. Only cold, systematic indifference that carved itself into Kaguya's bones.
Rumors circulated that she wasn't his biological child.
Those whispers reached Kaguya's ears often enough—accidentally on purpose, delivered by servants with calculating smiles.
So Kaguya had made herself excellent. Untouchable. She'd learned to weaponize everything around her, to ensure her status and safety through sheer perfection.
And now? A man wielding impossible power had crashed into her carefully constructed world.
If she doesn't hold onto him tightly, Ai Hayasaka realized, she'll feel even more vulnerable.
She made a mental note: Find an opportunity to contact Hozuki Nozomi alone. Gather intelligence. Provide Kaguya-san with better strategies.
Kaguya Shinomiya's breathing gradually steadied.
Her cheeks remained faintly pink, but the ice returned to her bearing—the confident, untouchable heiress emerging from the flustered girl.
"Ai. Help me write a request form."
"Miss?"
"Since he wants me to acknowledge the existence of that Service Club..." A smile curved her lips, sharp as broken glass. "Then I'll acknowledge it. However—they'll be quite busy from now on."
Something mischievous flickered in her ruby eyes.
She's planning something troublesome, Ai Hayasaka thought, and nodded. "Yes, Kaguya-san."
Minutes later, Ai Hayasaka returned with the completed Student Council request form—crisp paper that smelled faintly of fresh ink and expensive cardstock.
Kaguya Shinomiya reviewed it with satisfaction, then paused when Ai Hayasaka hesitated near the doorway.
"Kaguya-san. I've dismissed Odajiro as you instructed."
"And?"
"His face went completely pale. He fell to his knees, weeping, begging not to lose his position." Ai Hayasaka's voice remained flat. "He requested an audience with you personally."
Kaguya Shinomiya's expression frosted over.
"What right does he have to stay?"
Her voice could have frozen bathwater.
"What I need is a loyal bodyguard who protects me and considers my needs—not someone who abuses his position, acts arbitrarily, and drives away guests without announcement. Someone who doesn't understand his place."
If it weren't for that fool Odajiro, she thought viciously, Hozuki Nozomi wouldn't have broken into my bathroom. Wouldn't have seen me completely exposed. Wouldn't have held me like that—his hands on my bare skin, my body pressed against—
She crushed the memory.
"Kaguya-san?"
"Let's go see him. I want to know why he presumed to drive away a guest who came specifically to invite me."
The living room smelled of floor polish and dying flowers—a vase of lilies on the sideboard had begun to brown at the edges, their sweetness turned cloying.
A young man in a black suit knelt on the cold marble, waiting.
Odajiro was slightly handsome in a forgettable way—strong jaw, neat hair, broad shoulders straining his tailored jacket. But his eyes... his eyes burned with something fevered as he watched Kaguya Shinomiya descend the stairs.
She wore a black dress now, her still-damp hair flowing freely past her shoulders. Cool. Detached. A queen surveying an insect.
Ai Hayasaka followed two steps behind, hands clasped at her lower back.
Kaguya Shinomiya settled onto the leather sofa—supple material that sighed beneath her weight, releasing the faint scent of conditioning oil—and looked down at Odajiro from above.
"Speak. Your reason for wanting to see me."
Please let this be good, Ai Hayasaka thought. Because it won't save him regardless.
Odajiro's throat worked visibly. His voice came out rough, desperate:
"Kaguya-san, do you remember? When you were ten years old, you saved a drowning child."
"..."
"That child was me."
His hands pressed flat against the marble, trembling.
"In my most desperate moment—lungs burning, darkness closing in—it was Kaguya-san who jumped into the water regardless of status or safety. You saved me."
I was ten, Kaguya thought distantly. I barely remember.
"From that moment, I swore to protect you. I trained under the Shinomiya Family, became qualified, earned my position as guard captain through years of dedication." His voice cracked. "Kaguya-san, I harbor no ill intentions. The reason I drove away that man—it was for your sake!"
Kaguya Shinomiya's expression didn't flicker.
"Ai. Drag him out."
"Yes, Miss."
Ai Hayasaka moved behind Odajiro, gripping his collar with practiced efficiency.
"No—!" He thrashed, reaching toward Kaguya with desperate hands. "Kaguya-san, please! I... I love you!"
There it is, Ai Hayasaka thought.
"I investigated that pretty boy! He's a scumbag with the title of 'Incubus'! How can someone like that be worthy of inviting you?" Tears streamed down his face as she hauled him backward across the marble. "Everything I did was for your own good!"
Kaguya Shinomiya turned away.
She didn't bother watching him disappear through the doorway.
Ridiculous.
For her good? If Hozuki Nozomi had been even slightly less magnanimous, she'd have been severely punished for this man's arrogance.
Yes, she had saved a drowning child at ten. Partly from kindness. Mostly to increase her favor among the servants. To consolidate her position.
Perhaps Odajiro's initial intentions had been pure.
But she didn't need ticking time bombs in her household.
And that look in his eyes—the hunger poorly disguised as gratitude, the way his gaze had always lingered too long on her figure—
He covets me, she thought coldly. My beauty. My body.
Kaguya Shinomiya understood from the beginning: her partner could never be ordinary. Status disparity would destroy them both—would cost her something precious.
Perhaps their lives.
Besides.
She wasn't someone just anyone could fancy.
Her partner had to be exceptional. Powerful enough to protect her. Capable of handling any crisis.
And absolutely, under no circumstances, could he be worse than that shameless Hozuki Nozomi.
Her fingers drifted unconsciously to her waist again, where phantom hands still seemed to burn.