The Kudou family was at the peak amongst all the families of ability users.
Most families of ability users were active since long ago and were distinguished families with long family histories. But even amongst all these families, the Kudou family stood at the top. They are highly ranked that"s for sure. They also owned vast lands and ma.s.sive fortunes. Miyo had heard that if they were to rent their land out, money would start rolling in. 

The current head of the family is called Kudou Kiyoka. He is 27-years-old this year. Accordingly, he"s from the Imperial University and holds the rank of a major in the military, and leads a unit. 

Miyo had thought that for someone that young and respectable, he should be living a more luxurious life. Yet when Miyo arrived at the location as stated on the address with what little luggage she had. The reality was the complete opposite of what she had thought. However much she pondered, this couldn"t be the famous mansion of the Kudou family but a simple residence in the suburbs. 

(The head of the Kudou family lives here...?)

Although it was not located far from the city, it"s surrounded by forests and fields. The amount of people living in the area was spa.r.s.e. And when night comes, this area would be engulfed in pitch darkness.

After walking for some time, Miyo finally made it to a rather large, lone thatched house situated in the of a quiet forest. It was hard to believe that the head of such a famous household would live in an incredibly simple building like that. However, just parked nearby was a car, which displays the financial ability of the resident of this house. Ordinary people would not be able to afford to get a car.

If that"s the case, this is probably the home of Kudou Kiyoka.

「Pardon me.」

With her heart in her mouth, she knocked on the door and got an immediate response.

「Yes, coming... Oh, who might you be?」

The person who answered the door was a pet.i.te elderly lady with a gentle temperament. Based on her outfit, she"s probably a servant of this house.

「My name is Saimori Miyo. I"ve recently been engaged to Kudou Kiyoksama so I"m here to visit...」

「Oh, Saimori-sama, we"ve been waiting for you.」

Miyo had imagined that the servant of a cold and ruthless master would be puppet-like and emotionless. So she was a little confused by the appearance of a warm elderly lady who gently smiled at her. 

「Well, please come in. I"ll guide you to Dannsama"s study.」

Miyo entered the Kudou residence under the elderly lady"s friendly welcome. As the walked down the corridor, the lady introduced herself as Yurie. She"s a servant of the Kudou family and had been taking care of Kiyoka, in place of his parents, since he was a child. 

「Although there are many unpleasant rumours surrounding Dannsama, he"s actually really kind. So you don"t have to be this nervous.」

Yurie had probably misunderstood Miyo"s silence for nervousness. However, it wasn"t that Miyo was so nervous she couldn"t speak. It was just a habit that was deeply ingrained into her very bones. Don"t listen1 or talk any more than you have to.

...Up until now, she lived a life where her words would be used against her and she would be punished for voicing any opinions.

「Thank you for your concern.」

Yurie was truly a gentle person. But even hearing such words, her feelings remained undisturbed. Whether or not they were warm or cold to her, the moment this marriage is broken, she would lose a place to return to. All she could do was to await her death. 

But perhaps this was already better. 
It may hurt a lot when she dies, but she won"t have to suffer anymore. Death was probably a form of liberation.

Miyo stepped into the study and bowed deeply.

「Nice to meet you, I am Saimori Miyo.」

＊＊＊ 

When she heard the panic cries of a young girl, like she was about to burst into tears. Miyo knew that this was a dream. 
That was a dream about the worst day of her life.

A young Miyo had just returned to her room after her lessons only to find it in a complete mess.

「Where did it go!?」

All the cherished kimonos, obis and ornaments left behind by her mother that she tucked away safely in the drawers were gone. Even the dressing table and lipsticks. Everything. Everything was gone. Miyo knew right away that this was her stepmother"s handiwork. 

「Did something happen? Miyo ojou-sama.」

Hearing Miyo"s voice, a servant came into the room. It was Hana. Someone who had been taking care of Miyo since the day she was born. A presence that was almost like a second mother to Miyo. 

「It"s all gone! All of Okasama"s belonging, they"re all...!」

「How could this...」

Hana had been out shopping. Hearing Miyo"s words, she understood immediately. Hana bowed her head with tears flowing down the sides of cheeks as she apologised profusely, over and over again. Miyo bit her lips and said.

「This must be stepmother"s doing.」

Miyo was only two when her mother pa.s.sed on. At that time, her father quickly welcomed a second wife into the family——Miyo"s stepmother, Kanoko. And she hated Miyo"s guts.

Kanoko"s daughter, Miyo"s stepsister, Kaya, was three years younger than her, but her talent was already beginning to show. With the gorgeous appearance she inherited from her mother, Kaya was like an exquisite western doll. She could basically learn everything in the blink of an eye. She even inherited the ability that Miyo did not. The ability to see the paranormal, 「Paranormal Vision2」

...And those were all things Miyo didn"t have.

The main purpose of the political marriage between Miyo"s parents was to pa.s.s down the abilities. However, the one who was born with the ability was not Miyo but Kaya, the daughter of Kanoko who was not from a line of ability users. 
If so, then why did they have to be torn apart? Wasn"t it pointless to split her father and his lover, her stepmother?

Even as young as she was, Miyo could understand such circ.u.mstances. Her stepmother would often make hateful comments like 「If only you didn"t exist」or「Your mother is a thief」
However, understanding was one thing, accepting was a whole nother matter.

「I"m going to see mamahaha3-sama」

As it stands, Miyo would not stay silent anymore. For Miyo, her mother"s keepsakes were the only things protecting her heart from this cold household. 

「Ojou-sama you can"t go alone!」

「...It"s ok. If anything happens... I"ll tell chichi-sama.」

Back then, she still thought that her father was her ally. Even if he didn"t care for her as much as before, if Miyo told him about her grievances. He should warn her stepmother to be more careful.

However...

「N-No! Someone! Anyone! Let me out!!」

When Miyo got to her stepmother"s room and confronted her on whether or not she took the things from Miyo"s room. The humiliation from being accused as a thief threw her stepmother into a fit of rage. And she locked Miyo in the warehouse at the back of the mansion and chastised her.

「Do not appear before me until you"ve reflected upon yourself... You truly are the child of a thieving cat. Completely rotten to the core! To accuse me of being a thief. You"re nothing compared to Kaya!」

「Mamahahsama! Please! Let me out!!」

The doors of the warehouse were locked from the outside. No matter how much Miyo pushed or banged on it, they would not budge. She desperately clung onto the doors, crying for someone to rescue her from the warehouse. Meanwhile, her stepmother was long gone. 

Even the thought of it now caused Miyo"s body to tremble uncontrollably. 

The warehouse only had a tiny window located up high on the wall, where light could enter from. Hence, it was quite dark even during the daytime. In addition, since it was rarely used, the air inside was both cold and damp. It was just a s.p.a.ce to store miscellaneous items. One can only imagine the terror felt by a little girl trapped inside with no way of knowing when she would be let out. 

「Uwuu, let me out... Someone, save me...」

「I"m sorry」

「Save me」

「Forgive me」

Miyo wept. Even so, no one came to help her. It wasn"t until night fell when she was finally let out from the warehouse. After that, Hana was fired and kicked out of the house.

And Miyo"s status as the daughter of the Saimori family plummeted to a being even lower than a servant. 
(lilies: I have nothing to say other than this is so upsetting)

The morning had come. Miyo woke up early as usual, by the force of habit.

She lightly wiped away her tears and got up.

Miyo had met with Kiyoka yesterday, but they didn"t share greeting of any sort. Instead, she received a single command. 

『Over here, my words are the law. You are to do as I say. If I tell you to get out, you get out. If I tell you to die, then you"ll have to die.』
(lilies: the ML is actually a decent character honestly. tho he seems like an a.s.shole now)

It was nothing much. To Miyo, there was no different from her life before. So she nodded her head without hesitation. Seeing Miyo"s reaction, Kiyoka furrowed his brows.

Miyo was then guided to her room by Yurie, who looked slightly relieved. The items in the room were minimal. Just a set of drawers, a desk and futon, basic necessities. The room was modest and not extravagant at all. However, it was significantly larger than the servants" room Miyo lived in back at the Saimori house. Even the futon was of a higher quality. 

Miyo, who didn"t have a lot of belongings, unpacked the pathetic amount of clothes she owned into the drawers and had nothing left to do. By the time she arrived, it was already late at night, so Miyo just went to bed without having dinner. 

Maybe it was because she slept on a soft and comfy futon, she didn"t feel tired at all. In fact, her condition was quite good. 

Then, Miyo tilted her head and thought.

(I wonder... what should I do?)

She unintentionally woke up early as usual, before the sun rose. However, if she were to become the wife of the head of the Kudou family, she probably wouldn"t have to wake up this early. At least, that was the case for her stepmother. 
Putting aside how commoner families functioned. This was the world-renowned Kudou family. A bride of this family was most likely not expected to cook and handle daily household ch.o.r.es.

(But there is nothing else that I can do.)

Miyo had learnt the art of flower arrangement and tea ceremony in the past. But ever since she was forced to stop, she hasn"t revisited them in a long while. All the knowledge she had learnt had become vague and murky. And were completely useless. 

In the first place, someone like Miyo, who was not well-educated, could never become the Mistress of the Kudou family. 

And so, what should she do?

1. I think it"s like her family don"t want to include her in their family tings. Sorry, I really don"t know this part hopefully someone has a better interpretation.
2. Written as 「見鬼の才」
3. Stepmother

Uwuu I wasn"t really feeling it when translating this chapter so... I didn"t know how much worse my writing could become but apparently, quite a bit zzz sorries T_T This chapter was just too depressing. 

Please feedback to me in the comments below if you find any typos or terrible grammar, etc that you think I should change. Or maybe you think my interpretation is completely off lol Help me help you have a better reading experience ahahah what a tongue twister XD
Thank yous!! (˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵)

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peace lilies~