The sudden appearance of the boy in front of her still made Maki feel uneasy, as she wasn't very comfortable around strangers.
"Excuse me, Mister Stranger, what do you want from me?"
"Pardon me. I just happened to overhear the conversation between you and Kaguya, and it sparked my interest in you, Miss Shijo."
Maki looked at the boy in front of her with surprise. He could refer to her aunt so casually—so he must be someone special.
Recalling the image from earlier, she remembered that this boy was the only male present beside her aunt.
That alone made Shijo Maki more curious about his identity.
"In order to confirm a simple answer, your parents chose such a cruel test. This kind of suicidal move was just to probe the Shinomiya family. Did your parents really not have any better options?"
"…The Shijo and Shinomiya families have always been at odds. In the past, the Shinomiya family constantly suppressed us. As soon as our family showed signs of rising, Shinomiya Oko would crush it—treating us like obedient dogs. Talking to the Shinomiya family never worked. That's something we've learned since childhood."
After a moment of silence, Maki finally voiced the long-held frustration in her heart.
"It's not that we didn't know there were simpler solutions. But my parents… they're still scared. They're afraid my aunt is just like Shinomiya Oko."
"That's a ridiculous notion. Kaguya was always treated like an illegitimate child in the Shinomiya household. Calling her a 'princess' would be far too generous. In truth, even her father questioned her legitimacy."
"Yes, my parents are aware of that too."
Maki didn't deny it. All of this information was publicly available now. It was clear the Shinomiya family didn't even bother hiding it.
"To be honest, my parents' attitude toward Auntie's identity is rather… complicated."
"Whether or not her status is real, it doesn't matter to the Shijo family. We're supposed to keep our distance from the Shinomiyas, no matter what."
That's how her parents approached it.
"It doesn't matter if Kaguya is an illegitimate child. As long as she carries the Shinomiya name, we must maintain a certain distance from her. That's my father and mother's mindset."
"A very cold and arbitrary mindset."
Maki agreed. She felt the same—that their views were rigid and far too absolute.
"I've always thought Auntie wasn't like the rest of the Shinomiya family."
"Even though her way of dealing with people is similar to theirs, like using others as pawns…"
"But at the same time, I always felt something unique about her."
That feeling was hard to put into words. Maki could only describe it as strangely familiar, as though she had seen the same thing in someone else.
"I think that someone… might be you, Miss Shijo."
Shijo Maki was stunned.
Images suddenly began flashing through her mind. Her indifferent aunt's face gradually overlapped with her own.
That coldness her aunt carried, maybe it wasn't just an attitude, but a shield.
If it were her, Maki realized, she probably would've used the same method to protect herself.
It was this realization that made Maki understand her aunt's vibe when they first met. It was like encountering a stranger who felt oddly familiar.
Now, she could finally see the emotion hiding behind Kaguya's detached attitude toward the Shinomiya family.
Maybe… Dad and Mom were just overreacting. Auntie wasn't actually that hard to approach. Not in the way they feared.
She had simply been maintaining her protective mask.
"You're right. In some ways, Auntie and I might really be alike."
"When you're in a place where you can't feel safe, the best thing to do is to armor yourself. People pretend. You can't let others see what you're truly thinking."
"If I were in her position, I'd probably have made the same choices."
"Then Miss Shijo understands Kaguya's attitude toward the Shinomiya family?"
"It's hatred. Obviously."
Maki spoke with certainty.
After everything she had just processed, she knew.
If she were in her aunt's shoes, she'd hate the Shinomiya family too—for trying to dictate her entire life.
Being made into a caged canary might be inevitable. But until she had the strength to open that cage, she'd disguise herself as a harmless bird.
And once she had the key, she wouldn't hesitate to burn the entire cage down.
"The status of an illegitimate child is already the lowest in any powerful household. Being one in the Shinomiya family? That's a nightmare."
Maki knew the Shinomiya household all too well.
Given the suspicions surrounding her birth, her aunt's situation must have been unbearable.
With no support, her aunt was nothing but a pawn in the hands of those above her.
"I'm really curious. How did she even survive that environment?"
"There were… some special factors that allowed Kaguya to escape that fate."
Ren agreed without hesitation.
If the diary hadn't existed, then Kaguya's life would've unfolded exactly as expected.
In a powerful family, an illegitimate child's status is as low as it gets. Their path is usually locked in from birth.
Without a miracle, there's no rewriting that fate.