"...sama."
"Kaguya-sama."
With Hayasaka's voice, Kaguya jolted awake. All her instincts fired at once, her body preparing for danger.
Noticing that Koneko wasn't nearby, she let out a sigh of relief. However, when she moved, a groan of pain escaped her: her body still hurt even after being resurrected. She slowly sat up on the bed, one hand clutching her side.
"Take this," said Hayasaka, handing her a phoenix tear.
Kaguya recognized it immediately and drank it without hesitation. The pain vanished instantly. In truth, her body had already been perfectly healed; what the tear mended was the mental damage, the residue of suffering she had felt when her soul was wounded. A kind of extreme post-traumatic stress.
"Thank you..." she murmured with a sigh. "This time... I'm really in trouble."
"It was a bad idea from the start," Hayasaka replied calmly.
"I thought you were on my side."
"I wasn't. Just as you wanted Kaito-sama to learn, I also wanted you to learn. That's why I didn't stop you. It's impossible to control everything. Someday, trying to force it will bring consequences... like this time."
"So..." Kaguya frowned. "You were teaching me a lesson?"
"More like... the circumstances did." Hayasaka's expression softened with resignation, though Kaguya knew her too well to fully believe it.
"How is it that while I'm punished for this, you're so calm?"
"I'm not," Hayasaka answered with a touch of bitterness. "Because of Miss Kaguya's actions, Kaito-sama was very angry. So much that..." She paused dramatically.
Even Kaguya couldn't help but worry. "What?"
"...I had to offer my body as compensation," she finally said.
Kaguya froze for a second before understanding, and her face flushed red.
"Ha... Hayasaka... what did you do?"
"What do you mean, miss? I sacrificed myself to calm Kaito-sama's anger." Hayasaka feigned innocence.
"Hayasa..."
"Ah, Kaito-sama said to meet him quickly in the throne room. Everyone is there." She interrupted before disappearing.
"That girl..." Kaguya clenched her fists in frustration. "She's getting bolder every time."
---
Upon arriving at the throne room, Kaguya immediately sensed the tension in the air.
High above, seated on the throne, was Kaito. His gaze descended upon them. Before, that difference had only been physical, a matter of height. Now, Kaguya felt it was different: it wasn't that he looked down on everyone else... it was that he placed himself above.
Despite everything that had happened, Kaguya couldn't help but feel a faint pride at seeing her objective fulfilled. But she quickly suppressed that thought when she felt a cold gaze from behind the throne. To Kaito's right, a white-haired girl was staring at her as if ready to kill her at any moment.
When Kaguya turned her eyes to the other side, she was even more surprised. That seat had always been empty. Logically, the person closest after Koneko should have been Mashiro, but she was too lazy to remain there while Kaito spoke.
Yet now, the one occupying that place was Hayasaka.
Noticing Kaguya's gaze, Hayasaka smiled as a greeting. There was something else in that smile, a faint hint of triumph.
"Kaguya," said Kaito, drawing her attention.
"Yes?" she answered, a little nervous.
"You will lose your freedom."
The sudden declaration left Kaguya in shock.
"You should know all the privileges Lords hold over Sub-Lords, right?"
"Aside from harming themselves or... sexual matters, they basically have total control..." she said through clenched teeth, seething with anger.
"Good." Kaito's voice was cold and methodical. "I thought about how to punish you. Expelling you would be pointless, you're far too useful at my side. Locking you up would waste your intelligence, and physical punishment would only serve to vent my anger.
So I decided to take away what you desire most..."
"But!" she protested, cutting him off. "Gaia is the only place where I'm free! You can't take that from me! The reason I joined you was to obtain my freedom!"
Kaito looked at her with terrifying calmness before speaking:
"First." An invisible aura forced her to her knees at once. "Do not interrupt me while I'm speaking.
Second. The reason you joined me was to help me, not to betray me for your own interests. From the moment you betrayed me, you should have considered the consequences.
From now on..." His tone grew even harsher.
"Every decision you make, no matter how small, will have to go through my approval. The system will notify me in real time.
Your movements will be restricted to the areas I determine. Each step outside your authorized zone will trigger an alert and automatic punishment.
All communication with others ,whether verbal, magical, or written, will be logged and sent to me before reaching its recipient.
Your hours of sleep, meals, and training will be scheduled and supervised. If you don't follow the schedules, the system will enforce them.
Each day you will receive a list of specific tasks; you will not be able to start any activity outside them without express permission.
Your powers will be limited to the amount I establish; you won't even be able to cast magic without my prior authorization.
In case you find any loophole, Ai will be watching you at all times and any suspicious action will be reported immediately, and she is ordered to intervene without hesitation.
Lastly, your access to Gaia will be locked by me. You will not be able to enter or leave without my direct consent."
Kaguya remained motionless as Kaito listed each of her restrictions.
It wasn't fear or anger she felt first. It was that familiar sensation, that despair she knew all too well.
Nothing he said was new. From the beginning, Kaito could have done all of this if he wanted. Betray Kaito? She wouldn't. Suspicious acts? She had no reason. Asking permission to enter or leave Gaia? She already did so out of respect for ranks. She needed Kaito to know her level to plan better. Most of the rules Kaito listed she already followed... but now they were official. Real. There was no choice, no uncertainty. Only obedience.
It was the same feeling she had with her family. She had always had her own tastes: studying, competing, being the best. She liked those things. Her personality was suited for high society. But that made it worse. Because it wasn't only about being treated as a political tool, about having her future husband decided. Even every good thing she enjoyed, every choice, every achievement, had been decided by others. Even her preferences were part of the cage in which she had been raised.
That was why she felt the same emptiness as when her family decided everything for her.
Now, even what she enjoyed could be regulated, approved, or forbidden. Every action, every step, every decision was under surveillance. Not even Gaia, her most precious place, truly belonged to her.
Kaguya clenched her fists, her jaw tense, eyes fixed on the floor. She didn't scream or cry. She did nothing. And that made her feel worse, because that reaction was the same as always: not questioning, not fighting back, obeying. Automatic. Instinctive. Her body knelt before her mind processed it, as if that submission wasn't a conscious decision but a learned reflex. Not even her reaction felt like her own.
Kaito observed her for a moment before speaking:
"But..." Kaguya's eyes widened with hope at that word. "I'm not a monster. Unlike your family, who no matter how hard you try won't let you change your fate, I will give you that option. When I determine you no longer need it, I will lift all these rules."
Hearing this, Kaguya nodded silently. In her mind drowned in darkness, a ray of light entered in the form of hope.
"Changing the subject," said Kaito, "we will begin a period of development and conquest. I brought all of you here to discuss it."
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+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
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(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)