Chapter 25: Depraved Confession

Afterward.

Soui Hinari established herself as the female head in place of the adopted son-in-law she had killed. Her parents strongly condemned her actions, but she rebelled against them for the sake of her son. Internal family strife erupted, leading to a conflict between the old Soui family—led by her parents who sided with the Itoshimari family—and the new Soui family, which rallied behind her and her son.

Possessing the Homura’in, she used her strength to kill her parents and ended the incident by surrendering half of their territory to the Itoshimari family.

Having paid a heavy price to quell the conflict, Soui Hinari created an environment to raise her son safely, abandoning much of her private wealth in the process. Considering her circumstances, she could have chosen a peaceful path if she had simply abandoned Soui Shuryakuma. At the very least, she might have avoided drawing the Itoshimari family’s attention, though that’s merely speculation.

Looking at the results, Soui Hinari had sacrificed much for Soui Shuryakuma’s sake.

“That’s right—Mom killed Dad for me! She cut ties with a prestigious family bearing one of the Ten Great Style Kings’ names and chose me!”

Her actions were unbecoming of a sorcerer. However, from a mother’s perspective, her deeds were admirable. Above all, the son whose life was saved never doubted that her actions were righteous. He affirmed everything she said and did as the person most precious to him. In a sense, it was an ideology bordering on faith.

“Hey, hey, don’t get all worked up. The story’s just getting started, isn’t it?”

Tsuchikurenai Bakuou, sitting atop Soui Shuryakuma, wanted to hear more from her lips. At his urging, Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei nodded and demanded she reveal the story’s hidden side.

“That’s right. It’s certainly a touching story, but… won’t you tell us? What really happened behind the scenes?”

At those words, she bit her lip hard. This was clearly a story she didn’t want others to hear. No—as a mother, she felt this wasn’t something her son should hear.

“I… I…”

But Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei whispered in her ear. Her skin became sensitive, convulsing slightly as her breathing grew ragged.

“…The truth is, I vaguely… remembered…”

And she began to speak. Soui Shuryakuma, her son, had no idea what she was talking about.

“Mom? Wh-what are you…?”

The story about to unfold would shatter the ideal image he’d held. Yet he couldn’t cover his ears or interrupt her voice. Therefore, Soui Shuryakuma had no choice but to listen to Soui Hinari’s words.

“That day… that I drank enough to lose my memory…”

And she began her tale. The story of that day, before she conceived Soui Shuryakuma.

She enjoyed drinking. Day after day, the adopted son-in-law pressured her. She drank to reduce her mental burden.

“Why… why must I be blamed so much…?”

The alcohol flowed freely that day. She drank until intoxicated, until her memories blurred. There are times when one wants to drink away everything, to forget it all. But the amount of alcohol exceeded appropriate limits. Naturally, there was someone who tried to stop her.

“M-Madam… you’ve had too much to drink. Perhaps you should rest…”

It was a servant. Concerned for her health, he spoke up. Pouting, she vented her complaints.

“I’m not incapable of having children… The doctor said I’m healthy, that there’s nothing wrong with me… And yet, only me, only I’m blamed…”

The adopted son-in-law’s cruel words. Just recalling them made her furious. Now that her recognition as a mere tool had faded, she leaked her frustrations and complaints to her listener.

“The one without the seed… is him, not me…”

She hadn’t had children with her adopted son-in-law. Though untested, the cause was the adopted son-in-law. Likely azoospermia—he had poor reproductive capability. Therefore, the problem lay with the adopted son-in-law, not her.

“Madam! You mustn’t say more! If someone were to hear…!”

Words insulting the master were unforgivable. Panicking, the servant tried to silence her. However, Soui Hinari grasped the old man’s wrinkled hand, eyes moistening.

“Hey? What do you think? Am I the bad one? Or is it him?”

Her kimono disheveled. The obi loosened, exposing her pure white skin. In the withered old man, a sensation of vigor surged. It was an emotion he should never harbor toward his master’s wife.

“M-Madam, even in jest, this goes too far…!”

Soui Hinari laughed. He was older than her. And yet this old man was flustered. Aroused, she guided the servant’s hand to her chest.

“Because… you want to know, don’t you? See… I want to know too, the truth…”

His palm felt the pounding of her heart. Her still-youthful skin infused the withered old man’s body with vitality.

“Please stop! I… I cannot betray the master in such a way…”

She moistened her own lips with her tongue. Breathing heavily, she opened her kimono enticingly.

“It’s okay… so… won’t you? Uncle, please… impregnate me…”

Unable to endure, the servant surrendered to his sexual impulses for one night only.

“Madam!”

She accepted him without resistance. That was the full truth.

Upon receiving her confession, her son Soui Shuryakuma’s mouth hung open. After remaining dazed for some time, he regained his senses and voiced his first reaction with a bewildered expression.

“…Huh?”

It was content too difficult to accept. Soui Shuryakuma had always thought of her as saintly. He had recognized her as someone untouched by lies or deceit. That’s precisely why this confession shattered her ideal image.

“…No, why would you… lie like that? Because… Mom, you were assaulted!”

She couldn’t have told him. Considering the situation at the time, telling the enraged man the truth would have made her the first target. That’s why she couldn’t have said it.

“I tried to tell him… the truth, right then and there… but that man tried to kill Ryakuma… so I thought it was impossible and killed him…”

Soui Shuryakuma’s breathing became ragged. Gradually, he could no longer maintain his demon mask sorcerous principles.

“That’s not all, is it?!”

The story continued. Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei revealed that wasn’t the only hidden side of her.

“When the Soui family was placed under control and receiving basic conditioning… the other family women were forced to comply…”

The other women obeyed orders, performing service activities while feeling rejection and disgust. Many suffered unfortunate fates before them. But Soui Hinari was different.

“Your mother was the only one who eagerly accepted it, y’know? She was so eager that one or two guys died from exhaustion… that was something else.”

Soui Hinari had felt pleasure being toyed with in this situation. Desperately, Soui Shuryakuma denied it.

“Don’t say such stupid things… that can’t be true, right? Mom… Mom!”

He sought her agreement. That everything the Tsuchikurenai family said was nonsense, that truly, his mother wasn’t a whore—he sought that answer, but… the answer wasn’t what Soui Shuryakuma desired.

Biting her lip hard, the words squeezed out were filled with obscenity.

“…I’m sorry, Ryakuma. Your mother… I’m… a woman in heat for men other than my husband, a hopeless slave to lust!”

Many men had violated her. Normally a situation to be despised. Yet she accepted those acts. Having lived as a tool, it was difficult for her to live without someone beneath whom to define her purpose. Her life as a heroine leading the Soui family had been filled with suffering. When captured by an enemy family and her body devoured, she realized that she found those acts incredibly pleasurable. Being forced into repeated sexual acts made her mistakenly believe she was desired by many. The essence of the woman who had lived as a mother, as female head, was through and through female. At his mother’s truthful cry, Soui Shuryakuma gritted his teeth but couldn’t contain the emotions within and exposed them. He despised his own mother. The mother he had respected was nowhere to be found. There was only a base female reduced to a lowly beast.

“Do you understand… what I’ve been thinking coming all this way?!”

He came here to save his precious mother. He had rushed here risking his life. And yet, the result was his mother’s depraved confession. Forced to hear what no one wanted to know, Soui Shuryakuma’s heart grew desolate. To him, her body trembling in an aroused state, she confessed further.

“I’m sorry… but I learned…”

At that time. The memory of sleeping with a man other than her adopted son-in-law. That was more exciting than intimacy with her adopted son-in-law. She had thought those feelings were just alcohol’s confusion. But after being the Tsuchikurenai family’s puppet and sleeping with various men, she finally understood her true nature.

“His wasn’t enough for me, but here… so many people desire me…”

A beauty who didn’t seem like a mature woman. Standing beside Soui Shuryakuma, she looked young enough to be mistaken for his sister rather than family. Her slightly shadowed expression seduced men. Being told she had a superior body compared to other female sorcerers even gave her a sense of superiority. She was made to recognize repeatedly that she was the most depraved of women. Just recalling the nightly conditioning made her writhe. Watching her, Soui Shuryakuma felt nauseated and painfully squeezed out his voice.

“Are you… going to let your own son die for the sake of lust?!”

Let die. Those words momentarily returned her from a woman to her face as a mother. Flustered, Soui Hinari shook her head left and right.

“That’s not it! Because I care about you… that’s why I offer myself… to keep you from being killed… This is absolutely not a lie.”

Hearing she gladly accepted her current environment, such words seemed impossible to believe as her true feelings.

“After exposing all that in front of your son, how can you say such things? There’s no way I can believe you now!”

Soui Shuryakuma’s sorcerous principles were dissolving. The shocking confession prevented him from maintaining his flow power, causing it to unravel. They must have been aiming for this—Tsuchikurenai Bakuou sitting atop him grinned wickedly.

“That’s why, that’s why I’m sorry, I’m sorry for being indecent!”

Soui Shuryakuma’s motivation had completely declined. He no longer understood why he had come this far. Tsuchikurenai Bakuou’s hand reached for Soui Shuryakuma’s mask. With his flow power weakened, he must have figured he could tear it off barehanded. But in the end, Tsuchikurenai Bakuou’s plan was never executed.

“I was wondering what kind of story I’d get to hear, but… what the hell kind of confession did you just make?”

At the mansion’s gate. A man entered carrying Tsuchikurenai family retainers. Shiga Inui had arrived first, drawing Karizome Tenhyo.