(Chastity Reversed) The Legitimate Wife War: How I, a Harem-Hater, Ended Up Creating an Ultra-Eccentric Harem with a Villainess, a Sadistic Beauty Teacher, a Scheming Classmate... etc.

While holding my head, somewhere inside I thought it was inevitable.

It’s inevitable that I will receive punishment.

Because my father left because of me.

It’s my fault, so I have to take responsibility.

My mother stands behind me.

This tool, a rose whip, was designed not to leave marks while only inflicting pain.

It’s the worst for me though.

I can sense her about to swing down the punishment whip with its multi-pronged tip.

I prepare for the coming impact, gritting my teeth…

…Prrrrrr.

The smartphone on the desk rang.

“…Who is it, at a time like this?”

My mother put down the whip she was about to swing and picked up the phone.

“Y-Y-sama?!”

Mother answered the phone after composing herself.

“I-it’s been a while, Y-sama!”

My mother seemed a bit nervous.

The person on the phone calls occasionally.

They don’t give their real name, apparently only telling my mother they’re called [Y].

I hate this person.

You could say this person determined the direction of my life.

This person introduced us to the arranged marriage system, and also said that father might come back.

According to Y, [Tachibana Hirodai is actually alive].

At first, neither my mother nor I believed it.

But… we heard a voice.

Father’s voice.

[Karen, I’m sorry… I should have stayed with you after all. I’m far away now, and I’m causing you trouble, but if you could do me a favor…]

The voice cut off there.

And the moment she heard that voice, my mother was done for. She changed.

This happened before I entered high school.

After that, my mother started punishing me. She said it was discipline.

How to make men like you. When I didn’t meet my mother’s standards or couldn’t do something, I was beaten and struck.

And at the end, she’d say this:

[This is for your sake, for our family’s sake. Pain is love.]

I participated in the arranged marriage system with a purpose from the start.

But at first, there wasn’t really any particular job. I just had to build a reasonable relationship with Kyo-kun. That was all.

The situation began to change. The instructions started to shift around the time the fiancée vote ended.

Apparently, Eucharis’s actions toward Kyo-kun weren’t going well.

Come to think of it, Kyo-kun had indeed been causing quite a commotion.

Watching from the sidelines, his actions were wild and exhilarating to watch.

But watching from the sidelines like that is ending too.

What is this feeling welling up in my chest?

Something like a slight pain running through my chest? There’s no point worrying about it though.

On the other end of the phone, my mother was pressing the smartphone to her ear so as not to miss a single word from Y.

Desperate, or something like that. But seeing this, I can understand anew just how important father was to my mother.

Even if she was receiving violence, he was irreplaceable to my mother.

And I took that away from her.

“Takeda Kyo and each individual fiancée have begun forming quite strong bonds following the incident… yes, yes, no, it seems none of them have had physical relations yet… yes, yes.”

Physical relations?

What are they talking about? I don’t want to understand anyway.

It’ll probably be something unpleasant for me.

After about ten minutes, my mother ended the call.

“Mizuri.”

Unlike before, my mother was strangely calm.

“Yes.”

“You will show Takeda Kyo your wounds and let him embrace you as if he’s pushing you down.”

“…Huh?”

I couldn’t understand and reflexively asked back.

Be embraced? Why?

“So have relations with Takeda Kyo, then tell the other harem members about it.”

“Why would I need to say such a thing?”

“Because even though it’s a harem, they’re still human, right? Those three think their relationships with Takeda Kyo are more advanced. So when they learn that you, Mizuri, got ahead of them, they should feel distrust toward Takeda Kyo. ‘Why wasn’t it me?’ That’s how you create discord—that’s the goal. At the appropriate time, it will be announced that you were assaulted by Takeda Kyo. If we can do this much, father can come home too.”

“B-but something like that…”

“Listen, this is good for you too, Mizuri. While many people never get to experience men, you’ll be able to. Moreover, we can live as a family and recover what we lost. Ah, isn’t it wonderful!”

My mother seemed to already see that happy scene in her mind.

“Then I’ll take care of you all. Unlike before, I’ve gained some financial stability. I won’t let you experience what we went through back then. Yes, this will make everyone happy.”

Having convinced herself, my mother turned back to face me.

“Our happy future depends on you, Mizuri.”

My mother met my gaze.

Her eyes seemed black and somewhat clouded.

“It’s okay. You’re the wonderful only daughter of both of us. You can do it, Mizuri.”

“Y-yeah.”

“When that happens, let’s all eat a whole cake together, shall we?”

My mother embraced me as if to give me courage.

That warmth was the same as before.

It was the embrace of the mother who protected me when father used to beat me.

But why is it?

My mother’s embrace should be comforting, yet the trembling in my hands that used to stop when she held me before still won’t stop.