(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. - Chapter 24: "The First Fiancé" - Villainess's POV

“…Takato…san.”

In front of me stood a small-framed man.

His height hadn’t changed in the two years since we’d last met. Rather than exuding masculinity, he had a certain boyish charm—perhaps “cute” or “small animal-like” might be kinder ways to describe him. But if I were being blunt, he still seemed weak and frail.

“…It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Yes, it has been.”

I felt the excitement building within me earlier slowly ebb away.

“It’s been more than two years since then, hasn’t it?”

“Yes, it has.”

“…Have you been well?”

“Well enough.”

“I see. That’s good, then.”

Good?  

Good, you say? Really now.

“And what exactly is ‘good’ about it?”

“Eh…?”

He blinked, startled at my question.  

Ah, so nothing has changed.  

“Not ‘eh’. I’m asking what exactly you think is ‘good’.”

“Th-that you’re doing well, of course.”

“Why are you concerned about the well-being of someone you broke off an engagement with? I am no longer someone who has anything to do with you, am I?”

“W-well, that’s true, but is it wrong to be worried?”

Ah, yes, nothing has changed at all. I could tell.

Just like before, he hadn’t grown in the slightest. Still so timid, still so hesitant, with words that lacked any substance or confidence. Perhaps he wasn’t a bad person, but fundamentally, he and I were just incompatible.

“If I were only considering whether it is good or bad—”

“Yeah?”

The old me might have thought, “Well, we’re engaged, so I should try to nurture his good qualities,” and offered him some reassurance.  

But the current me…

“It’s bad.”

“Wh–what?!”

His face froze in shock. He clearly hadn’t expected that response.

But this was the reality. If he thought he could treat me, Sayaka Hosho, as he had before, he was naïve.

“If you have nothing of substance to talk about, shall we leave it at this? I didn’t come here to chat with you.”

“…Ah.”

“What is it?”

The man seemed startled by something, fumbling and mumbling as if trying to find his words.  

He had always been like this.  

In the past, I would have patiently waited for him.  

“…Um, I—”

“If you have nothing to say, then let’s leave it at that.”

“Eh?”

But now, I saw no reason to indulge him.  

I pulled out my phone to contact the man I had been spending time with earlier and made to leave the scene—only to find myself a step too late.

“…Leaving just like that is a bit cold, don’t you think?”

“…”

“Hey, wait a minute.”

A man moved to block my path as I tried to walk away, his tone exuding arrogance.

“You’re in my way.”

“Now, now, why the hostility? Isn’t this the kind of thing where you can just have a nice chat with an old fiancé, for the sake of appearances or whatnot?”

He looked down at me with a sly grin, clearly savoring the moment. It made me sick.  

“Oh, you say such things so casually for someone who’s the reason it all fell apart. What face are you showing me now to even say that?”

I didn’t know his name.  

But I would never forget his face.  

“…Touché. That one stings, doesn’t it? But hey, at least try to listen to what we have to say. Or is Sayaka Hosho the type to cling to the past so much that she won’t even hear someone out?”

He smugly tossed out his snide remark, as if he thought he was being clever. But I just found the whole thing tiresome.  

To make things worse, this man and Takato together had positioned themselves to block me, one in front and one behind. Moving past them without causing a scene was going to be tricky.  

“You say you’d like me to ‘listen’, yet your attempt to trap me physically is an act of force, don’t you think? Isn’t that contradictory?”

In this world, society tilted in favor of men.  

If I were to push past them and cause any trouble, it would undoubtedly blow back on me. How frustrating.

“It just shows how much we really want to talk to you.”  

“Oh, how touching. Well then, out of the kindness in my allegedly narrow-minded heart, I’ll humor you. People like you, who barely pass for human, deserve to be sent home—if you still have any home to go to, that is. Ah, pardon me, I seem to have forgotten. Do you even have one left?”

What kind of face was I making in that moment?

Probably not a pleasant one.  

“You…!”  

His face turned beet red as he lunged at me, his anger barely contained.  

I was ready to retaliate, but before either of us could act, someone stepped between us, cutting the tension abruptly.  

“…Kurokawa.”

“Excuse me, milady. I noticed you appeared to be dealing with some stray dogs.”

Well, it wasn’t surprising that Kurokawa had appeared.

She knew I was going out with a man, so of course she would show up—as expected, considering Takato and that other man were involved.

“Kurokawa, that’s offensive to dogs. Correct yourself.”

“My apologies. Perhaps I should refer to them as things that merely resemble humans?”

“I think that sounds more appropriate.”

We spoke calmly and deliberately, making sure the conversation was loud enough for the others to hear.

The larger man’s face turned a deep shade of red, while Takato flailed nervously, occasionally casting me a puzzled expression.

“They said they wanted me to hear them out. Do you think there’s any meaning to it?”

“I don’t believe so, milady. After all, you and these individuals are strangers.”

“Seiichi…”

Takato looked at the man standing in front of me with a pleading expression. Always relying on someone else when faced with trouble—it was just like the old days.

“…You should be grateful that you didn’t end up marrying such a foul-mouthed, unpleasant woman and ruining your life. You’re lucky you got to love me instead.”

“Indeed.”

Perhaps insulting me helped him get something off his chest because he seemed to regain some composure.

But while the other man calmed down, Kurokawa was practically brimming with fury. If I didn’t step in, she looked ready to leave this man half-dead.

“Don’t look so worried, Kou. I’m calm. I haven’t forgotten our purpose here.”

“Yes, Seiichi!”

Ah, now I remembered.

Seiichi Kuzuryu—that was his name.

Originally, Takato had introduced him to me, claiming he was a friend. I suppose you could say his name was one of life’s greatest ironies. (T/N: 誠 (Sei) means “sincerity” or “honesty,” and 一 (Ichi) means “one” or “first,” so 誠一 (Seiichi) can be interpreted as “one who is sincere” or “the first in sincerity.”)

“And for someone as hopeless as you, I’ve brought some good news.”

“Let’s get going.”

“I’ll be your husband!!”

Just as I tried to walk past him, he blocked my path and declared this with shocking confidence.

“…What?”

I stopped in my tracks, momentarily stunned by the sheer absurdity of his words.

“Oh, was my offer so overwhelming that you couldn’t process it? Perhaps I should say it again.”

He smirked arrogantly and, with exaggerated emphasis, repeated himself.

“I’ll be your husband. Of course, it would be as a concubine, but still.”

I couldn’t fathom how his brain worked to arrive at such a statement. At this point, I wasn’t even angry—just exasperated.

“Are you mocking the young lady?”

Kurokawa’s voice was sharp with anger.

“Isn’t it a good offer? I heard that woman over there had another engagement broken off recently. No surprise, really—with such a foul mouth, no charm, and no ability to respect men. It’s inevitable that it will happen again. Isn’t there a saying that misfortune comes in threes?”

He sneered, his grin utterly repulsive.

Did he truly think that such words would make anyone nod and agree with him? I couldn’t begin to understand what anyone could possibly find inspiring about this man.

“And wouldn’t it be entertaining if I took away the third fiancé as well?”

I wasn’t going to let that comment slide.

“You truly know no shame, do you? I wonder if the phrase ‘children who do not appreciate their parents’ efforts’ was coined to describe people like you. After all, it’s only because your parents groveled and begged that their company’s revenue only fell by fifty percent. What a shame that their misfortune was giving birth to the likes of you.”

“You bitch! How dare you insult us, the rare and precious male species!”

His face turned red with anger as he stomped toward me.

“Milady,” Kurokawa said.

“Seiichi!” Takato exclaimed.

The tension in the air was palpable, as though the situation was on the brink of exploding.

And just as everything seemed ready to spiral out of control—

“Hey, officer! Over here! There’s a fight happening!”

A sudden voice rang out, followed by the sound of police sirens in the distance.

“Tch, let’s go,” Seiichi muttered.

“Y-yeah,” Takato stammered.

The two of them dashed toward a nearby car and quickly drove off. Their ability to run away from trouble was as swift as ever.

“Good grief,” I sighed.

“Milady, we should leave as well,” Kurokawa suggested.  

She was likely concerned about the potential for rumors and scandal.  

But I thought it would be fine to wait a bit longer, at least for him.

“Are you alright, Hosho-san? And you as well, Kurokawa-san?”

A man ran toward us, out of breath. His voice was familiar—I immediately recognized it.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Kyoya-sama? My apologies for not recognizing you earlier,” Kurokawa said, taking a step back.

“This is a bit awkward. Let’s move to another location—we’ve drawn a bit too much attention here.”

Even though we were in a park, there were still enough people around to make the situation uncomfortable.  

“Understood,” I replied.

With that, we relocated. But the lingering question remained—why had those two been here in the first place?