This sudden decision stunned the entire room into stillness.
For Kaguya, it felt like manna from heaven. Meanwhile, Seiryu and Un'yo's minds went completely blank.
When the shock wore off, Seiryu couldn't contain himself and lashed out at their father first:
"Father, have you gone mad?"
Gan'an gave his foolish second son an indifferent glance before replying coolly:
"What do you think?"
"I..." That icy paternal gaze silenced Seiryu immediately, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly.
Watching his useless second brother fold so easily made Un'yo want to curse.
At least their eldest brother from the main wife had been competent—what kind of idiot was this second brother anyway?
Wasn't changing their father's mind just a matter of saying the right thing?
Forced to intervene, Un'yo stepped forward and casually remarked:
"Father, if Kaguya were to become family head... how should we handle the elders' opinions?"
If Kaguya Shinomiya were Gan'an Shinomiya's biological daughter, the clan elders of the Shinomiya family would most likely not raise any major objections.
After all, the idea of the main family's young lady taking in a son-in-law wasn't something unprecedented in the Shinomiya family's history—it had happened more than once or twice.
Things with precedent are more readily accepted by people, allowing arrangements to proceed according to convention.
But the reason Un'yo Shinomiya brought up the clan elders was precisely that Kaguya Shinomiya's bloodline was under intense suspicion.
Kaguya Shinomiya was not Gan'an Shinomiya's biological daughter, but rather the child of a bar hostess. Gan'an had brought her home, declaring her his illegitimate daughter while strictly forbidding the Shinomiya clan elders from conducting DNA tests.
This was the most fatal flaw.
The Shinomiya family could accept a female head, but not one without Shinomiya blood.
This was Kaguya's most critical vulnerability.
When Un'yo mentioned the clan elders, Seiryu Shinomiya immediately recalled the questionable nature of Kaguya's lineage and exclaimed with sudden realisation:
"That's right, Father! You must understand, Kaguya isn't actually your—"
Before he could finish, Seiryu froze under his father's murderous glare.
Only then did Seiryu remember his father's absolute prohibition against discussing doubts about Kaguya's origins within the household. Several clan elders had been harshly punished for violating this rule.
His words had just stepped squarely into Gan'an Shinomiya's forbidden territory.
As Seiryu trembled with fear, Un'yo beside him felt nothing but exasperation.
How could his second brother be so foolish?
Couldn't he see their father was currently in one of his intense moods?
In such situations, one should only plant subtle hints—not charge at the old man with drawn blades!
Did he really think he could outmanoeuvre that cunning old fox?
Yet with the words already spoken, Un'yo had to consider their consequences.
His gaze instinctively turned to Kaguya, as Seiryu's outburst affected her most of all. Gan'an was most vigilant about how her questionable origins might impact her.
At this critical moment, Kaguya's reaction mattered most.
Yet on Kaguya's face, Un'yo saw only appropriate confusion.
She appeared not to have clearly heard Seiryu's words, her expression revealing no discernible cracks.
But as the person personally responsible for Kaguya's education, Un'yo recognised this very blankness as the greatest tell of all.
She had heard.
She had begun questioning whether she was truly Gan'an's biological daughter.
If even he could spot this, Un'yo refused to believe Gan'an would miss it.
'That idiot Seiryu... Now he'll probably be relegated to the bench permanently.'
Sighing internally, Un'yo had no choice but to lay his cards on the table with both his father Gan'an and his nominal sister Kaguya.
After all, the most crucial issue was already out in the open.
At this juncture, the Shinomiya family needed to unite all its strength to overcome their crisis.
With this in mind, Un'yo spoke decisively:
"Father, are you planning to use Kaguya's marriage alliance to resolve Elder Brother's situation?"
At these words, Kaguya's hands unconsciously clenched, while Gan'an raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by Un'yo's sudden directness.
But given the circumstances, Gan'an could no longer employ his usual tactics.
He knew his own situation best—he was a dying man after all.
If preparations weren't made quickly, everything he had personally built would be lost.
Under these circumstances, Gan'an Shinomiya confessed to his family for the first time in his life:
"Only if Kaguya, who isn't my biological child, inherits the family head position and marries out can the Shinomiya family be preserved."
Hearing Gan'an's definitive words, Kaguya Shinomiya fell silent.
In contrast, Un'yo Shinomiya merely frowned, looking at Gan'an with confusion:
"Why would Father think this way?"
"If Kaguya becomes family head, inherits the Shinomiya family and marries out, wouldn't everything belonging to the Shinomiya family become someone else's property?"
Hearing his son's rebuttal, Gan'an replied calmly:
"Isn't that exactly what they want?"
At these words, both Kaguya and Un'yo were stunned. Even Seiryu Shinomiya, the slowest-witted of them all, now understood his father's meaning.
Sacrificing the vast majority of the Shinomiya family's wealth in exchange for its continued existence?
Had this man been contemplating this very matter from the beginning?
Facing his three children, Gan'an continued speaking as if to himself:
"What they want is nothing more than money."
"Whether it's the Cabinet or those domestic and foreign financial conglomerates, their desires are all the same."
"And against them, the Shinomiya family has no means to fight back."
"Since we can't resist, we should accept their terms and survive on the fringes."
At this point, Gan'an glanced briefly at Seiryu and Un'yo, sighing as he remembered his eldest son, who had tried to secure the Shinomiya family's survival only to be branded as the mastermind behind an assassination attempt:
"At twenty-three, I inherited the position of Shinomiya family head."
"The starting point I had is the same starting point you three brothers will have."
"This is fate. Whether you accept it or not, you have no choice."
Un'yo's mouth twitched:
"So you want me and my brothers to each inherit a 'Shinomiya family'?"
In essence, they would inherit the same Shinomiya family that Gan'an had originally inherited.
Whatever their ancestors had left Gan'an would be divided equally among the three brothers.
Compared to the current Shinomiya family's assets, merely tripling the ancestral inheritance would naturally be insignificant.
But to Gan'an, having multiplied the family wealth by 'three times', he could face his ancestors with pride.
As for whether the three brothers would squander the Shinomiya fortune - that was their concern. A dying man couldn't possibly worry about such things.
Without refuting Un'yo's words, Gan'an continued:
"After Kaguya marries out with the Shinomiya family's wealth, they'll leave the Shinomiya family alone."
Turning to Kaguya, who had remained silent throughout, Gan'an said:
"Kaguya."
"For you, this is the best possible outcome."