Chapter 1148. Approaching the Night / Checking Answers 2
Chapter 1148. Approaching the Night / Checking Answers 2
「 With this, even Anna-san’s mother only told us halfway to the truth, right? 」
Nei says while staring at the Anna couple whose time is stopped in their thoughts because of Tsukiko’s Miko power.
Anna Erica-san’s expression is stiff, she’s not saying anything.
「 What do you mean? 」
Momoko-neechan asks Nei.
Momoko-neechan doesn’t know anything ahead of Shou-neechan’s explanation after dinner.
Shou-neechan’s a professional, so she doesn’t bring out unreliable information until she gets to the bottom of it.
Also, we got the exact information from Takahata Marika-san while we’re on the move.
「 Erica-san’s mother thinks that the husband is the reason why they can’t make a child, but… 」
Nei looks at Anna-san’s mother staring at the empty air with a blank expression.
「 You see, it’s actually the mother that has a problem. So, Erica-san’s late Grandfather… 」
「 No way? 」
Momoko-neechan realized.
「 Yep, the grandfather explained to the father that “the sperm and egg cell of the couple is fertilized and is placed on a surrogate mother,” but that was a lie 」
Nei said.
Anna Erica-san’s father believed that explanation.
Therefore, even if it’s born from a surrogate mother, he thinks that she’s his and his wife’s daughter.
However.
「 Then, he explained to Erica-san’s mother that “My son’s semen won’t work, so I used mine,” 」
Instead of the “Father’s semen, and Mother’s egg,” fertilized and placed on a surrogate mother…
It’s the “grandfather’s semen, and the mother’s egg,” and placed on a surrogate mother.
「 And as you can see, Anna-san’s mother believed that explanation. Her father-in-law asked her to keep it quiet to not hurt her husband’s feelings, and so she kept it a secret 」
「 Anna-san’s family’s predecessor had raised a major auditing firm on the first generation…he’s a dignified and charismatic man 」
Shou-neechan said.
「 His son, Anna Kenichirou-san can’t raise his head against his father even until his death. He can’t defy his Father’s orders. Even now, he still feels some intense inferiority towards his late Father 」
Therefore, the couple still follows Erica-san’s grandfather’s orders.
They already are blessed with a child, a daughter.
But if he were to discover that it’s not really his daughter…
Furthermore, if he discovers that it’s the seed of his father, who he can’t raise his head against, and his wife’s egg…
He’ll definitely feel despair.
「 But, Erica-san’s mother’s explanation was also a lie! 」
Nei said.
「 The mother’s egg isn’t useful either. However, if you tell her that, the mother will also feel despair.
「 Then, Erica-san is? 」
Momoko-neechan asks. Anna Erica-san trembles.
「 There’s only one answer. She’s not born from a surrogate mother, the mother got pregnant and gave birth normally 」
Yes. That means…
Anna Erica-san is the daughter of her Grandfather and Takahata Youko-san who’s a former prostitute of the Black Forest who’s supposed to be the surrogate mother.
「 Erica-san isn’t blood-related to Anna Kenichirou and his Wife 」
Nei said.
「 I see. So that’s the reason why Erica-san ran away from home suddenly? 」
Momoko-neechan understood.
「 She discovered that she’s not a daughter of her parents, but her Grandfather and another woman 」
「 Furthermore, she discovered that her real mother was actually a former prostitute working at the Kuromori brothel, and her Grandfather was a customer, that’s what’s written in your Grandfather’s diary, right? 」
Nei said. Anna-san looked down, silent.
「 Her heart admits it 」
Tsukiko says softly.
「 Sorry, I can see everyone’s thoughts 」
Anna Erica-san looked at Tsukiko with teary eyes.
「 From our investigation, Anna Erica-san’s fertilization was from artificial insemination. The doctor fertilized the sperm and egg and put them in Takahata Youko-san’s body. That’s true 」
Shou-neechan tells Erica-san.
That shows that Erica-san is not born from her Grandfather and the former prostitute having sex.
「 It’s not possible that he got Takahata Youko pregnant by accident and forced her to carry the child inside her belly by deceiving his son and daughter-in-law with his words. He’s only done it for the long desire of a child of the couple. He asked Morimoto-san, the clerk of the Kuromori house, for a woman who can help conceive and give birth to a child, and Morimoto-san replied “In that case, a woman I know is in the stable period.” So, Morimoto-san testifies 」
Shou-neechan makes it clear.
Even so…
The fact that her Grandfather and Mother was a former prostitute and customer.
It’s probably hard to accept for a young girl like her.
So that’s why.
She discovered that she’s a daughter of a prostitute…
That’s why she asks to become my sex slave so desperately.
「 Yes, I don’t think that there was any ill will towards Anna Erica-san’s birth 」
Tsukiko told Anna-san.
「 What you fear the most, isn’t the fact that your mother and father knew the truth and were deceiving you isn’t real, as you can see. As you can see, Anna Kenichirou-san believes that you’re his daughter, and Anna Kazumi, his wife, also believe that you’re born from her egg 」
Tsukiko can read the thoughts deep inside a person’s head so her statement is heavy.
「 Just like you, your father and mother were never told the truth. But even so, your deceased grandfather didn’t do it with malicious intent. He was doing it out of consideration for the feelings of his son and daughter-on-law 」
Tsukiko said. Erica-san speaks up gently.
「 But, I have no right for Father and Mother’s love 」
It’s really a shock to her that she’s not a child of her parents.
「 Instead of your personal feelings, we have to clean up the problems we have in front of us for now! 」
Nei tells Erica-san forcibly.
「 The problems in front? 」
Momoko-neechan asks Nei instead of Erica-san.
「 Look, the stocks Erica-san’s holding. Anna Kenichirou-san will be in danger if the stock is still here, even if it’s named for his daughter 」
The father is the representative auditor, but, since he’s going to merge with another auditing firm…
They’re in a hurry because she has to give up the stocks of the company that the other group is auditing.
「 Oh, that case 」
Momoko-neechan nods.
「 We do know about the stocks of superior companies that are included in Erica-san’s inheritance, right? Furthermore, the shares Erica-san’s holding is managed by her Grandfather’s lawyer 」
We heard that all from Takahata Marika-san.
「 The dividend from the shares is sent to a certain person by the lawyer. And that became clear during our investigation 」
Shou-neechan, who controls the Kouzuki SS, said.
「 Of course, the couple doesn’t know about it 」
The lawyer’s managing the fortunes until Anna-san becomes an adult, and he’s sending over quite the sum every year.
「 That would be Takahata Youko-san, meaning, Erica-san’s real mother. It could be her reward for giving birth to Anna-san or hush money to keep things a secret, but… 」
「 Grandfather wrote that it’s her pension in his diary. 」
Anna-san said.
「 She had money problems as she’s carrying a small daughter, and that’s why she had to lend her womb to bear me 」
Oh, I see.
Takahata Youko-san retired from prostitution during the time when Shirasaka Sousuke was in control of the Black Forest.
Back then, Shirasaka Sousuke was high-handed in management.
He left the retired prostitutes nearly penniless.
Then, the girl we met in the car earlier…
Takahata Youko-san’s daughter, Takahata Marika-san is probably a child born from a customer in the brothel.
Nagisa was like that too, but, Shirasaka Sousuke had her gang-raped, that she became pregnant from an unknown father, and wasn’t allowed to retire until then.
In Nagisa’s case, Minaho-neesan prepared enough funds for her to start a business after retirement, but…
In Takahata Youko-san’s time, Minaho-neesan isn’t in the Black Forest yet.
「 I think so too. The pension is probably a reward for giving birth to Erica-san. Although, that was the promise from the late previous generation, and the couple doesn’t know about it 」
Shou-neechan said.
「 Why? The couple thinks that she’s a surrogate mother, and they were acquainted too, right? Erica-san’s mother mentioned that they lived together for half a year in America 」
Momoko-neechan asks.
「 That’s the reason why the Grandfather didn’t want the couple to make contact with her ever again. He fears that Takahata-san might leak the truth to them. Besides, Takahata Youko-san isn’t a surrogate mother, but her real mother, and so she’s probably sending a large amount of money as a pension to keep her mouth shut, so she doesn’t pursue Erica-san suddenly. So, without telling his son, he used the dividend from the stocks he owns as pension for Takahata-san 」
Shou-neechan replies.
「 And it continued after Erica-san’s Grandfather’s death? 」
「 Yes. Kaan-sama. He asked his lawyer to include the stocks used to pension Takahata-san among the assets he’s to bequeath to Erica-san and to continue paying the pension secretly from there. With the lawyer in between, Takahata-san and the couple have no way to contact each other 」
To make sure that Erica-san’s birth is kept a secret from the couple.
He even gave instructions to his lawyer.
「 Takahata-san whose livelihood is harsh seems to be helped by the pension coming from the Anna house a lot. Although, most of the pension is used for her daughter’s school expenses 」
「 You investigated Takahata-san too? 」
Anna Erica-san’s expression changed after hearing information about her real mother and sister’s situation.
「 Yes, of course, 」
Shou-neechan answers with a smile.
「 Her daughter, Marika-san, is attending a school that is a bit costly. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, Takahata Youko-san is not feeling that well recently 」
Takahata Marika-san mentioned that she’s learning piano in a music high school.
That’s Erica-san’s half-sister.
「 I want to see her 」
Erica-san doesn’t think that her sister is already in the next room.
「 Hey now, focus on the problem 」
Nei said.
「 Anyway, there’s a need to cut off the pension paid to Takahata-san, right? 」
「 I-I didn’t think that I would have problems with my expenses 」
Erica-san looked at me.
「 I mentioned that I will give all of the inheritance I received to Kuromori-sama, but… 」
Erica-san asks me with a sad face.
「 Don’t mind it. I don’t really care about that 」
I said.
「 I just thought that I couldn’t hand over the inheritance to Father. If Father was to discover the situation with the assets, he might sue the lawyer who Grandfather asked to managed it 」
Erica-san said.
Anna Kenichirou thinks that the lawyer’s preserving the assets until his daughter becomes an adult.
Therefore, if he noticed that there’s money sent in secret, he’ll doubt that the lawyer is misappropriating the money.
「 Before that happens, he’ll discover that Takahata-san’s the one receiving the money. When that happens, Erica-san’s father will find Takahata-san’s address, and he’ll talk to her and ask her. That’s when Takahata-san might unconsciously reveal the truth 」
That Erica-san isn’t even their daughter.
「 The couple thinks that the late Grandfather already paid Takahata-san enough money for giving birth as a reward, but still, they assume that the connection’s already cut off. There was no contact with Erica-san for the past 14 years, so they think that Erica-san’s surrogate mother probably already forgot about her, but, once they discover the truth, it’ll mess them up 」
Their beloved daughter they raised for 14 years isn’t related to them by blood at all.
「 If that happens, they’ll start hating Erica-san’s grandfather who’s the cause of this all, and they might no longer see Erica-san as their daughter 」
Erica-san;
「 Therefore, I wanted to offer all of my assets to Kuromori-sama before that happens 」
I see. If she gives it to me, then Anna Kenichirou can’t check it anymore.
If it got sucked into the vault of a house that belongs to the other side and is affiliated to the Kouzuki house…
「 I don’t mind it. But… 」
Erica-san looked up at us.
「 What do I do to keep on sending Takahata-san her pension? 」
「 But, if we don’t sell off the stocks that bring the pension to her, Erica-san’s father will be in trouble, right? 」
Momoko-neechan asks Shou-neechan.
Right.
「 In that case, why don’t you sell the problematic stocks and buy a new one? 」
「 But, Kaan-sama. The stocks Grandfather left are shares in the top-notch, stable, and blue-chip companies that are expected to pay a lot of dividends 」
「 I see. The dividends won’t be as much when in other companies 」
Momoko-neechan sighs.
「 Yes, if we sell off the stocks, then withdraw the pension for Takahata-san, then Erica-san’s assets will continue to decrease 」
Shou-neechan explains.
「 Well then, that’ll put the lawyer in even more misappropriation suspicions 」
「 Yes, Kaan-sama, and if we tell the truth to clear away the suspicions 」
「 Then, we don’t have to talk about the secret of Erica-san’s birth to her parents 」
「 That’s right 」
Kaan Momoko-neechan and Shou-neechan nod.
Yeah, that’s definitely bad.
「 If it’s just buying stocks, then I can ask Grandfather to buy it, but, it would be weird if I’m the one sending Takahata-san her pension, right? 」
Momoko-neechan said.
True, Takahata-san is unrelated to the Kaan house, so…
It’s illogical to have Momoko-neechan pay her pension.
It also applies to the Kouzuki house.
As for the Kuromori house, Takahata-san worked as a prostitute in our place so there’s a connection, but…
No, that’s exactly the reason why Kuromori house won’t make contact.
She was there during the worst phase of the Black Forest.
If that’s the case.
「 Shou-neechan, Kouzuki SS is already mine, right? 」
「 Yes, and nobody will mind the fact that it’s practically your property 」
If that’s the case.
「 Then, can we make Kouzuki SS take care of those stocks instead? 」
I proposed.
「 All we need to do is take Anna-san’s name away from it, right? If that’s the case, we can let Kouzuki SS take care of the stocks, then as for Takahata-san, we can pay her the same pension she’s had so far as officer’s compensation as a staff of the Kouzuki SS, right? 」
「 But, it’s a lot of money when you’re buying stock from the top companies. You may call it looking after the stocks, but Kouzuki SS need to hand stocks of approximately the same value to Erica-san 」
Momoko-neechan said.
「 That’s okay. Kouzuki SS has a lot of unused plots. We can use that as guarantee 」
Shou-neechan said right away.
「 That’s good. What about you Erica-san? 」
I asked.
「 U-Uhm, is that okay? 」
Erica-san’s surprised.
「 If you decided to keep it at that, you can’t liquidate it, and since the dividend is paid to Takahata-san, Kouzuki SS won’t have any profit 」
「 There’s a profit. Erica-san will become mine 」
I said.
「 To tell the truth, I still belong to the other side. I’m not doing this for free. I won’t do it unless it profits me or my family 」
I look at Anna Erica-san’s body.
「 If Erica-san becomes my slave as promised, then I’ll do what I said. But in exchange, you’ll have to prepare yourself. If you do this with half-baked feelings, then you’ll only trouble everyone once you’re my slave 」
「 I-I… 」
「 Make it clear, and announce it to everyone here 」
Though they are paused, her parents are still here…
And yet, I’m asking Erica-san to proclaim herself as a slave.