"Why... why..."
Eriri crouched on the ground, wiping the tears from her face with her hands.
There were already dark circles under her eyes, and now, from all the crying, they had turned red, making her look rather strange.
"Why did I run..."
Eriri didn't know why she ran away, just like she didn't understand why she treated Hakuto the way she did in the past.
She was in a dilemma—longing to see Hakuto yet fearing the moment they actually met.
She didn't understand why she was like this. Her heart would skip a beat at any news about Hakuto, but when he was right in front of her, all she could do was run away.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm so useless..."
She shook her head frantically, her twin tails swaying so violently they left afterimages.
If someone had been in the alley at that moment, they might not have understood what she was doing.
But perhaps, right now, in Eriri's mind, Hakuto was standing in front of her, looking at her gently, just like before.
What she didn't know was that the very person she was imagining was actually standing at the corner of the alley.
Hakuto leaned against the wall, holding a bag of cookies in his hand.
Even though Eriri had run with all her might, he had still caught up.
At first, he had planned to approach her and ask what was wrong, but then he heard her mutter—
"I really wanted to see Shiratori..."
That one sentence made him stop in his tracks.
What was supposed to be a simple request from Sayuri had unexpectedly led to all this.
Eriri's self-loathing words reached him clearly, without missing a single syllable.
He turned his head slightly, looking at the girl crouching and crying in the alley, and let out a soft sigh.
"What a hassle..."
Hakuto wasn't stupid. At first, he hadn't understood why Sayuri had lowered herself to personally ask for his help.
But after witnessing Eriri's behavior just now, he understood.
He wasn't sure what kind of feelings she had for him now, but her abnormal reactions were undoubtedly because of him.
"If I had known, I wouldn't have taken that 100,000 yen..."
Muttering to himself, he stepped aside, took out his phone, and called Sayuri.
But just as the call connected, he sensed something was off—that eerie feeling of being watched had returned.
However, this wasn't at the venue of the Toyosaki event, so logically, no one should be staring at him...
"Hello? Hakuto, what's wrong?"
On the other end, Sayuri's voice sounded slightly breathless, as if she'd just finished some intense activity.
Piecing everything together, Hakuto already had an idea of what was going on.
"You can see me, can't you, sister Sayuri?"
"Huh? Wh-what are you talking about...? You're joking, right, Hakuto?"
"Is that so? Would you prefer that I come find you in person?"
Even though he didn't know why Sayuri was following him, it was most likely for Eriri's sake.
Since that was the case, he didn't want to waste any effort on it. Right now, he just wanted to ask how to deal with her daughter's current state.
Hearing the seriousness in his tone, Sayuri let out a resigned sigh and admitted—
"You really are sharp, Hakuto. I was hiding so far away, too..."
"It was just a hunch..."
"Aren't you going to ask me why?"
"You're the client. As long as you're happy..."
That was his principle. Since Sayuri had paid him, something as trivial as being followed didn't bother him.
Leaning against the wall, he glanced at Eriri, still crouched and crying, and continued—
"Eriri isn't in a good state right now. She's just sitting there crying."
There was only silence from Sayuri's end.
From her position, she couldn't see what was happening inside the alley. She had no idea what was going on.
But upon hearing that her daughter was crouched there, crying, she—who had always been in control—felt nothing but helplessness.
"Aren't you going to explain, sister Sayuri? I just overheard something... strange."
Hakuto couldn't quite describe what he had heard. The only word that came to mind was "strange."
There was still no response. Maybe she didn't know what to say, or maybe she was searching for the right words.
Just as Hakuto was about to speak again, his phone suddenly notified him of a bank deposit.
[Bank Account Deposit: 2,000,000 yen]
Before he could even process the amount, Sayuri's voice came through the phone.
"Hakuto... I don't know how to explain what's happening right now, but you should understand. For those two years... I was raising you as my son-in-law."
"...I see."
A monthly salary of over a million yen—there was no denying that he had been receiving far more than what his work was worth.
"My Eriri is awful... really awful. I'm sure you can guess why she acted that way..."
"These past two weeks, she's been stuck at home, regretting everything. She's practically gone mad with guilt..."
"I won't ask you to take her back, but I do have one request."
"Whatever it takes, please get her out of this state. I don't know if two million yen is enough, but it's all I could transfer from my account at the moment..."
Sayuri's voice was urgent. As the head of the Sawamura family, she suddenly sounded like she had lost all her strength.
For reasons even he couldn't fully explain, Hakuto found himself unable to refuse.
Be it for money or something else, he simply couldn't turn her down.
"Any method is fine?"
"Any method. Even if you have to keep her hanging on by a thread..."
"I can't promise anything, but I'll try."
The moment he finished speaking, he ended the call, set down the bag of cookies, and turned his gaze toward Eriri in the alley.
By now, her tears had stopped, and she simply crouched there, lost in thought.
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