The banquet was approaching its end, just as the atmosphere reached its peak.
What had started off with stiff politeness and restrained small talk had transformed into a lively and boisterous gathering. The guests, most of them young, had already put aside the tangled grudges between families and were now laughing and chatting with easy familiarity.
That was exactly why the Shirakawa family had chosen to host this banquet and specifically invited mostly young people.
Holding a glass of red wine, Shirakawa Hideshi commented, "Compared to those old foxes who plan ten steps ahead with every move, the young restless and energetic tend to get familiar much faster."
Shijō Maki understood his implication clearly.
She smiled and raised her glass of lemon water to clink with his. "The Shijō family has troubled you a great deal lately."
Shirakawa Hideshi offered a modest smile. "This is only what we ought to do for our main house."
Originally part of the Shigūmi Zaibatsu, the Shijō family had grown disillusioned with the corruption of the current system. They'd attempted a top-down reform but were thoroughly suppressed by the conservative faction and ultimately forced into exile. There, in the United States, they established the independent Shijō Conglomerate.
The Shijō family had since expanded primarily in America and Europe. After years of careful operation, they had firmly established themselves overseas. Now, with Shijō Maki returning to Japan, the implications were obvious.
The Shirakawa family, a domestic branch planted long ago by the Shijōs, had immediately hosted this banquet, inviting young representatives from various families including Shijō Maki.
The Shijō conglomerate clearly aimed to quietly establish a new, multi-polar financial bloc centered around themselves as a counterweight to the Shigūmi Zaibatsu.
Among tonight's attendees, some had come unwillingly out of obligation and were on high alert; others sought to remain neutral and avoid offending either side; and some were completely oblivious, treating the event as nothing more than a matchmaking party.
But that hardly mattered. The pot of slowly heating water was already prepared. The stage was set.
As the two chatted casually, waiting for the banquet to end, a member of the Shirakawa family approached. Leaning in, he whispered something into Shirakawa Hideshi's ear. The young man's expression flickered with surprise.
"If there's something urgent, please don't mind me," Shijō Maki offered, setting down her glass.
Shirakawa Hideshi hesitated for a moment before deciding to speak frankly. "In fact, this matter concerns you as well."
Maki raised an eyebrow. "Me?"
"Yes. Someone apparently stepped in on your behalf but ended up walking into a trap set by the eldest daughter of the Yukinoshita family. Now they're being prosecuted by the Public Prosecutor's Office for economic fraud. It seems an arrest is imminent."
He smiled wryly. "If you happen to know them, I could make a call to the prosecutor's office."
Shijō Maki: "…"
Damn it.
Who the hell were these random fools trying to 'stand up' for her? Didn't that just mean her feelings for Tanuma-kun were now public knowledge?!
She'd always found it odd despite clarifying her position firmly every time a rumor spread, the gossip never seemed to die. And now it made sense: a bunch of overconfident idiots had been secretly stirring the pot all along.
With a sigh of deep exasperation, Maki waved him off. "No need. I don't know them."
Even if she did, leveraging privilege to shield lawbreakers something only the likes of the Shigūmi clan would stoop to was out of the question.
Shirakawa Hideshi nodded. "Then regarding the Yukinoshita family… your stance is?"
He paused, smiling with layered meaning. "They've been quite bold with their recent expansions. But from what I hear, their cash flow might be stretched to the breaking point…"
"No," Maki cut him off immediately.
Normally, this sort of thing wouldn't concern her. Despite maintaining a baseline of integrity and moral sense, she was still a capitalist cold-blooded when necessary. Watching a detestable rival family collapse? She'd usually enjoy the show.
But…
She couldn't help but recall the moment just earlier, when she and that girl had shared the same patch of moonlight.
And beneath that gentle glow, they had shared a secret.
When the dark-haired girl suddenly appeared on the balcony, Maki had looked up to see her tear-reddened eyes, cloaked in loneliness and sorrow.
She'd clearly been hurting humiliated even yet still chose to sit down, unguarded, and listen as Maki vented her bitterness.
She had faced the ugliest, most resentful version of her.
By the time they stepped out of the moonlight and back into the kaleidoscopic chaos of the banquet hall, they were supposed to be strangers again.
And yet, she couldn't bring herself to accept Hideshi's offer.
Perhaps the moonlight tonight had simply been too gentle.
"I hold no personal grudge against the Yukinoshita family. Please don't act on my behalf."
Shirakawa Hideshi looked up, visibly surprised. Then he smiled.
"Of course."
…
After the banquet, Yukinoshita waved goodbye to the new friends who'd added her on LINE.
Her older sister, Haruno, remained silent all the way until they got into the car.
Yukino nudged her arm.
Haruno stared straight ahead, unresponsive.
Ah… she's actually drunk.
"Mr. Itō, my sister seems a little out of it. I'll wipe her face."
Yukino pressed a button in the back seat. A metal partition descended slowly, separating them from the front.
She pulled out a pack of wet wipes from her purse, opened it, and gently brushed aside the hair at Haruno's nape, wiping her neck and chest. Then she massaged her forehead and the back of her neck.
While cleaning, she noticed a small wooden charm hanging from Haruno's neck.
Since when did Haruno believe in spirits? Wasn't she a die-hard atheist?
Yukino picked up the charm, about to laugh at its supposed "evil warding" function when the smile froze on her lips.
A thought struck her.
What if… Haruno had noticed the change from the very beginning?
What if she believed that some malicious spirit had taken over her sister's body?
She would've tried everything to drive it out. And when nothing worked, she must have kept reminding herself not to give up.
If it were any other time, she would have realized right away that the person in front of her was still her true sister.
But with that obsession lingering for so long, the occasional flickers of familiarity she felt those ghostly moments of recognition would only be seen as signs of her own weakness. And she would have cut them out without mercy.
"Stupid sister…"
In her drunken haze, Haruno murmured, "I'm not your sister…"
If she'd been sober with her usual emotional armor she never would've said such a thing.
But in this vulnerable moment, her soul had let down all its defenses. She turned her head, seeing a face she could never forget.
Her voice floated like mist. "So it was a dream."
Yukino had just been about to mock her gently, when Haruno suddenly leaned in.
Her lips brushed against Yukino's, as soft and fleeting as a dream.
Like moonlight, shattered and falling across her skin.
"If it's a dream," she whispered, "then it's okay to go a little too far…"
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