"..."
The living room, which had felt warm just moments ago, suddenly grew heavy and tense.
Mahiru's hands tightened on her knees, and her voice turned colder.
"You know about my family?"
Her emotions spiked hard the moment she said it.
But Leo acted like he didn't notice, replying lazily,
"Don't look at me like that. I'm pretty well-informed in that social circle. Of course I know about the Shiina Family."
The Shiina Family, like the Yukinoshita Family, was an established household in Chiba Prefecture.
They were a relatively new name among the local elite—only a few generations old—but had built up considerable influence. They weren't involved in politics like the Yukinoshita Family, but their business achievements were actually higher than Yukinoshita's current standing.
Of course, they still couldn't compare to the Yuuki Family, and definitely not to the Shinomiya Family. At best, they were on the same level as the Yukinoshitas. And because they were a rising family, many of the old aristocratic houses still viewed them as latecomers who had yet to prove themselves.
To change that, the Shiina Family adopted one strategy—marriage alliance.
They connected with an old local household and agreed to a marriage arrangement, combining the two families and raising the Shiina Family's status dramatically—enough to surpass even the Yukinoshita Family in Chiba Prefecture.
The two unfortunate people pushed into that arranged marriage?
Mahiru's parents.
"Your parents' situation is pretty well-known," Leo said with a small laugh, watching Mahiru's stiff expression. "They caused quite a fuss when they were first forced into the engagement. But both families shut them down hard, and they had no choice but to obey."
"They married, sure. But they never got along. No affection whatsoever—only resentment. Even their daughter was… an accident during a moment of impulse. They've never acted like a real married couple."
"And honestly, it's not just that they're bad spouses. They're bad parents."
"They never acknowledged you. Not once. They never spoke of you, never admitted you were their child, never brought you to any event, never even came home to see you more than a couple of times."
"Especially your mother."
"Your father just doesn't care. But your mother? She actively hates you. Because you have half the blood of a man she can't stand. And you look like him. She refuses to recognize you at all."
Mahiru's hands tightened so hard she nearly broke skin.
"And I think I can guess why you were in such a bad mood today," Leo continued bluntly, oblivious to the atmosphere—or pretending to be. "If I'm right, your ridiculous mother contacted you again, didn't she?"
He still remembered how awful her mother had been.
She didn't just deny Mahiru as her daughter—she believed Mahiru shouldn't have existed, that neither she nor Mahiru's father needed her.
If Mahiru didn't exist, they could have divorced long ago.
But because the family expected them to stay together for appearances, they remained stuck—resentful and miserable.
Her mother already had someone she loved, someone she wanted to build a new life with. Her father was the same—he had long found someone he cared for more.
To both of them, Mahiru wasn't a child. She was an obstacle—something that blocked their chance at happiness.
Which was why Leo could easily picture what Mahiru had gone through today.
Most likely her mother had called her, spat hurtful words at her, and hung up.
Otherwise, why would the Shiina Family's young lady be living alone in a rented apartment?
Because there was no love waiting for her at home. No warmth. Only emptiness and coldness—an echoing mansion she was never part of.
If Yukino lived alone to prove her independence…
If Utaha lived alone for convenience…
Then Mahiru only lived alone because she couldn't bear to stay home.
Almost no one knew. She always played the perfect angel at Sobu High—kind, gentle, smiling. No one would ever imagine her home life was this bleak.
The Spring Flower of Sobu High, one of its most admired untouchable beauties… unloved, unwanted, ignored, even despised by her own parents.
Who would ever believe that?
In that moment, Mahiru radiated a suffocating heaviness. Her expression was blank, stripped of all warmth.
"She's ridiculous?" Mahiru murmured. "Isn't the ridiculous one me?"
Her self-mockery was sharp enough to hurt.
"It makes sense if it was just when I was a kid. But now I know I'm an unwanted child. And yet… I still can't stop hoping. I still want it. Even just a little concern. A little bit of love."
She had tried so hard. Worked herself to the bone. Excelled at everything.
Just to make her parents look at her.
Just to make them remember her existence.
And what did she get?
A phone call no different from being dragged across hot coals.
"Isn't that pathetic?"
Her tone wasn't one of venting; it was like she was trying to convince herself to give up completely.
And she had.
That phone call, and today's rain, had crushed every last shred of expectation.
"Since they don't want me, I won't go back. And I won't call myself a member of the Shiina Family anymore."
Her voice was cold enough to frighten. Hard to believe this was the same gentle angel everyone adored.
"So what will you do from now on?"
Leo didn't try to comfort her. He just asked, calmly.
"I…"
Mahiru wanted to say it. That she planned to sever ties completely after becoming an adult.
Her mother had already told her she would only support Mahiru until she reached adulthood. After that, she would cut all ties—no more financial support, no more contact.
Mahiru wasn't worried. With her grades and abilities, she could stand on her own.
But she didn't want to tell an outsider any of that.
So she stayed silent.
"Thank you for today, senpai," Mahiru said quietly. "It's already very late. You should go."
And it was late. She had been unconscious for hours—long enough for night to fall completely. It had to be close to midnight.
She was clearly dismissing him.
"Yeah, it's late." Leo nodded thoughtfully. "Though for someone like me, this is the perfect time to get active."
He stood and stretched, turning to her with a smile.
A smile that felt like a predator finally revealing itself.
Still bright, still sunny—but carrying something sharp beneath the surface.
"You said no one needs you, right?"
He reached out a hand toward her.
"In that case, why not come to me?"
Mahiru didn't move.
"I don't understand what you mean," she said, ignoring his hand. "But if you're trying to take advantage of me, you're wasting your time."
Her eyes weren't looking at a senpai anymore.
They were looking at a potential danger.
To her, his words were no different from those men earlier—fake concern with ulterior motives.
Leo could only sigh.
"You're just like Yukino back then. You both think I'm trying to ask you out, huh?"
He burst out laughing, then spoke with casual certainty.
"Relax, Shiina-san. When a devil sets their sights on you, they're not trying to date you. They want your soul."
Without warning, Leo lunged forward, grabbing her before she could react.
"No one wants you? Then I'll take you."
"You don't need to be an angel anymore, Shiina-san—come be a devil."
"Take all the effort you wasted on your parents… and use it on me instead."
The moment he finished, three pairs of devil wings burst open behind him, stretching wide across the living room.
Mahiru's caramel eyes widened, her pupils trembling—
And her voice vanished.