May 21st, Sunday.
Inside a black sedan en route to the hospital.
Kaguya Shinomiya sat frowning, her expression tense as she gazed out the window:
"Why would Un'yo suddenly summon me to Father's hospital?"
That the Shinomiya patriarch Gan'an Shinomiya was seriously ill and hospitalised was an open secret within the family.
Being abruptly called to visit made it impossible for Kaguya not to consider the worst possibility.
"Could Father have... But the doctors just said last month his postoperative recovery was progressing well..."
Kaguya found the situation alarmingly sudden.
It wasn't that she lacked psychological preparation for Gan'an's death, but rather that she feared it might come too quickly, before she was ready to weather the power transition within the family.
"Damn it, why now of all times? Just when I've begun making contact with Luo Shu..."
At this thought, Kaguya couldn't help but glance across at Ai Hayasaka sitting expressionlessly in the opposite seat, prompting her to ask, "Hayasaka, have you received any news on your end?"
Upon hearing this, Ai Hayasaka immediately explained with an expressionless face:
"No, Lady Kaguya. There are no rumours circulating among the household staff about the master's impending death."
Kaguya Shinomiya sighed with both regret and realisation upon hearing this:
"True. Even if Father were truly on his deathbed, to ensure a smooth transition for the Shinomiya family, my elder brother and the others would never allow such news to leak. It's normal you wouldn't have heard anything."
Hearing this, Hayasaka's eyebrow twitched slightly as she couldn't help but glance at Kaguya.
'Is Lady Kaguya underestimating my intelligence network? Really, does she still think I'm the same as before?'
Thinking this, Hayasaka pursed her lips slightly before quickly regaining her composure, speaking as calmly as possible:
"However, while there's no news from within the Shinomiya family, there is some external information."
"External information?" Kaguya looked surprised before asking curiously, "What exactly?"
Hayasaka maintained her deadpan expression as she replied:
"Eldest Young Master Oko Shinomiya conspired with a foreign terrorist organisation to assassinate the Director of the Hidden Management Department, and was apprehended on the spot by the Metropolitan Police Department."
Kaguya remained silent for several seconds after hearing this, then tilted her head:
"Huh?"
Seeing this reaction, Hayasaka—having grown up with Kaguya—instantly understood her mistress's brain had short-circuited.
Though thoroughly satisfied with Kaguya's stunned expression and even tempted to capture it on her phone, Hayasaka did nothing, merely asking with feigned calm:
"Was what I said particularly difficult to understand?"
"No, not exactly difficult to understand." Kaguya replied with a strange expression before asking eagerly, "Where did this information come from?"
Hayasaka said impassively: "From the confidential secretary of the Hidden Management Department's Director."
In truth, she'd accidentally seen the conversation between Yukino Yukinoshita and Haruno Yukinoshita while lurking in an internal system chat group.
But calling it the 'confidential secretary' wasn't entirely wrong, as Yukino Yukinoshita had indeed 'disclosed' the information to her.
To Kaguya, however, this source seemed miraculous:
"Hayasaka, when did you establish connections with such important figures?"
"And they'd actually share this kind of information with you?"
While Kaguya acknowledged Hayasaka's impressive intelligence-gathering abilities and heavily relied on her information network...
Extracting gossip from Shuchi'in Academy students was hardly comparable to obtaining secrets from the confidential secretary of the Hidden Management Department.
It was like someone who usually mingled with rural gossip circles suddenly claiming to have obtained classified information from the Prime Minister's secretary.
The intelligence levels were clearly incomparable!
'Has Hayasaka's intelligence work reached such heights?'
As Kaguya's mind reeled, Hayasaka's lips curled slightly as she calmly stated:
"Just some insignificant personal connections."
The kind where even if she called them 'sisters', the other party would probably grudgingly accept it.
Seeing Hayasaka's response, Kaguya didn't press further.
Long accustomed to obtaining intelligence from Hayasaka, her mind began rapidly processing this new information.
Luo Shu had assassinated Oko Shinomiya... It seemed the assassination attempt must have failed, otherwise Haysaka wouldn't be reacting this way.
After the failure, the eldest brother was detained by the Metropolitan Police Department... Meanwhile, her third brother summoned her to the hospital to see their father...
"I have a feeling things are about to become very complicated... At least, very complicated for me..."
Not long after.
Kaguya Shinomiya found herself in the VIP ward of a hospital owned by the Shinomiya Group, face-to-face with her long-absent father.
Naturally, she also saw her second brother, Seiryu Shinomiya and third brother, Un'yo Shinomiya, standing nearby.
Yet the moment she stepped through the door, Kaguya could feel the oppressive atmosphere weighing heavily in the room.
This much was evident just from looking at second brother Seiryu's ashen expression.
After offering brief greetings upon entering, Gan'an Shinomiya turned his gaze from where he lay propped against the hospital bed headboard:
"Has Kaguya arrived?"
"Yes, Father."
Kaguya bowed respectfully to the man who truly held her fate in his hands, her natural fear of him impossible to suppress.
Nodding slightly from his sickbed, Gan'an studied Kaguya briefly before shifting his attention to his third son Un'yo.
With eldest son Oko's downfall, this particular son had maintained remarkable composure.
No doubt he'd already realised that with the main family's direct heir, Oko, out of the picture, the relatively incompetent Seiryu could no longer suppress him, leaving Un'yo just one step away from becoming head of the Shinomiya family.
Once the current patriarch passed, the succession drama would inevitably reach its conclusion.
Just as it had when Gan'an himself had competed with his brothers for leadership.
Yet compared to Gan'an, who had elevated the Shinomiya Group from a mid-tier conglomerate to a zaibatsu, this third son clearly lacked the capability to continue the family's ascent.
Thus, after Kaguya's arrival and a moment's contemplation, Gan'an spoke calmly:
"Kaguya."
"I'm here." Kaguya stepped forward, head bowed.
It was then that Gan'an delivered his pronouncement:
"The Shinomiya family... I leave it to you."
Silence descended upon the ward like a death shroud.