SCIAW: Chapter 199/200

Chapter 199: The Elderly’s Thoughts

Fifteen minutes ago.

Since this was a private luxury cruise ship, there were no so-called "tourist rooms." Every room was lavishly furnished and well-equipped.

As a guest of the cruise, Hayasaka arranged rooms for everyone.

Hatamoto Gozo, who had a hot temper, was given a room to himself, far removed from the others. It wasn't easy to get close to his room.

The rest of the Hatamoto family were placed in one area, though divided into different rooms based on whether they were married.

Of course, Zaiki Takehiko, who had only recently become part of the Hatamoto family, had his room assigned separately.

After all, the engagement with the second daughter of the Hatamoto family had been unilaterally cancelled. Naturally, he no longer had the qualifications. In addition, his true identity had been exposed, leaving no further prospects.

The possibility of marrying Hatamoto Natsue was virtually destroyed.

Once they disembarked from the ship, they would belong to completely different worlds.

As for Hatamoto Natsue, she wasn't placed in the same area as the rest of the Hatamoto family but was given a room next to Hatamoto Gozo's—because the engagement had been cancelled.

Still, even though a room had been assigned to her, Natsue remained in her grandfather's room.

Even Hatamoto Gozo found it odd.

"Natsue, why aren't you resting in your own room?"

Having just experienced the cancellation of her engagement, she should've been exhausted.

In truth, Hatamoto Gozo hadn't wanted her to find out about it. But things hadn't gone as planned.

In the end, his beloved granddaughter was left deeply saddened.

"Grandpa…"

Even though she was upset by the broken engagement, Natsue still felt uneasy.

Especially when she recalled the last words left by that boy:

"Remember to stay by the old man's side."

She vaguely sensed that this was both a reminder and a warning.

Natsue instinctively felt that she shouldn't leave her grandfather's side today. Otherwise, he might still be in danger.

Hugging her knees tightly, Natsue chose not to share those words.

"I just… feel like today won't be very peaceful. It's quieter with you here, Grandpa."

Hatamoto Gozo could tell she was hiding something. He also knew exactly when her attitude had shifted, it was after she was summoned away by the Shinomiya family's maid.

"Natsue, did the Shinomiya maid tell you something about Takehiko?"

"Yes… though, maybe not directly."

"Hmm. Explain it in detail."

With nothing better to do, Gozo became interested in the topic.

Natsue gave a slight nod.

"The maid who asked me to talk was named Hayasaka, but she didn't take me to see Miss Shinomiya. Instead… she took me to meet a boy."

"Although the boy didn't give his name, the maid was very respectful toward him and cooperated with him. She explained things when he told her to."

Hatamoto Gozo nodded slightly. He could tell the boy wasn't ordinary.

Among the group of young ladies, that boy had stood out.

As a businessman, he had a general impression of many young elites. It was taboo to accidentally offend someone important without knowing it.

So when they had met earlier, Gozo had recognized most of the girls.

In addition, among Kogoro's group of girls, that boy had been the only one he couldn't identify.

He stood out—abrupt and striking—but there was something indescribably strange about him.

Still, knowing that he couldn't possibly recognize everyone, Gozo had dismissed the odd feeling.

Now, hearing things from his granddaughter's perspective, it confirmed the boy's status wasn't low.

"The maid told me about… Takehiko."

"Also, she mentioned some things about what you've been planning lately, Grandpa."

Gozo wasn't surprised. Those idiots in the family might not know about his fund recovery efforts, but it didn't mean others couldn't find out.

"The Shinomiya family's intelligence network really is broad… They even investigated our Hatamoto conglomerate, despite it being in decline."

Gozo honestly admired such information control. If only the Hatamoto family had those kinds of resources, perhaps their situation would have turned around long ago.

"What the boy said was accurate. I recently got some very good intel. If things go well, we might just reverse the Hatamoto family's decline."

Hatamoto Gozo was very confident in this.

The current problem with the Hatamoto conglomerate was liquidity. As a major business group, they still owned many heavy assets but these couldn't be liquidated easily. They also had many long-term operations.

Still, the conglomerate needed a steady cash flow to function.

That's where the Hatamoto Zaibatsu was faltering.

So, after getting this piece of information, Gozo had begun to make moves, selling off many major assets. It was a gamble.

Maybe he could win a brighter future for his beloved granddaughter.

Thinking of that, Hatamoto Gozo looked at her with the warmth of an ordinary grandfather.

"Natsue, I've made my decision. From now on, the Hatamoto family… will be yours alone."

"Grandpa…"

"You don't need to worry about your uncles. They're all parasites, clinging to the Hatamoto name."

"Your aunt, I knew what kind of person she was, so I let her marry a competent man who still wasn't good enough."

"Your sister's a tramp. Back in school, she was fooling around with men and women alike. She's the kind of trash anyone can ride. She doesn't deserve to sit at the same table as you."

"I let her marry a gangster because that's all she's worth."

"As for your uncle, that guy's useless. He likes cooking and opened a restaurant, but it went under due to his incompetence."

"He's half-baked and aimless. How could he manage a restaurant? He'll come crawling back for money. He's no good."

At this moment, Hatamoto Gozo harshly criticized his children, but more than anything, there was a strong sense of disappointment behind his words.

He knew exactly what kind of people they were. That's why he'd already decided—not a single yen from the Hatamoto family would go to those leeches.

Everything would go to you.

"I originally allowed your engagement to that boy because he had potential. At least he could support you in the future."

"His revenge wasn't aimed at you. He wasn't just targeting you."

The old man could see clearer than anyone. If he hadn't known what kind of person the boy truly was, how could he have allowed his precious granddaughter to be engaged to him?

"Grandpa…"

At that moment, Natsue's eyes grew misty.

Hearing his words, she understood his plan.

Grandpa had already prepared himself to become a target of revenge.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 200: Please Give Me the Power to Change My Grandfather’s Fate!

Hatamoto Gozo had already used himself as bait to help his precious granddaughter completely seize control of the Hatamoto family.

But what he hadn't expected was that his granddaughter had her own plans, she had directly canceled the engagement with Takehiko.

This was truly beyond his expectations.

Still, there was nothing he could do. Some things had already been explained in advance.

Even so, Gozo Hatamoto remained deeply surprised.

The relationship between his beloved granddaughter and Takehiko had seemed good. He had seen it himself. It was precisely because Takehiko had potential as a future pillar of support that he had approved the marriage.

So why had Natsue so resolutely broken off the engagement after learning the truth about Takehiko?

Could the conversation have covered more than just Takehiko?

Gozo Hatamoto suddenly realized—

It must have been something else in that discussion that stimulated Natsue.

But what?

Gozo Hatamoto couldn't help but wonder.

Knock, knock, knock!

The sudden knock at the door interrupted Gozo's thoughts. His brow furrowed. This untimely interruption gave him a bad feeling.

"Natsue, go sit over there."

If it was one of those useless fools, he didn't want them bothering his precious granddaughter any longer.

Gozo Hatamoto motioned to a spot along the wall—somewhere not easily seen from the door.

He then walked over and opened the door. The moment he saw who it was, his expression turned dark.

Hatamoto Ichiro.

A shameless fool who didn't know the meaning of decency.

"What are you doing here?"

Gozo Hatamoto didn't speak to this grandson with even a fraction of the warmth he showed Natsue.

"Grandpa…"

Hearing that voice, Natsue—seated quietly against the wall—immediately knew who had arrived.

"Grandpa, I want to ask you for a favor."

"Don't even think about it."

Gozo didn't even let Ichiro finish. He coldly rejected him outright, his face dark and his tone steeped in disgust.

"I don't care what you're thinking. If you want to live as a parasite, go ahead. But don't drag Natsue into your worthless mess."

Huh? This has something to do with me?

Natsue Hatamoto, listening nearby, was confused. She didn't know what Ichiro had said to upset her grandfather so much but it seemed related to her.

"Why?! Why?!"

Ichiro's voice turned frantic, almost unhinged.

"They were going to let Takehiko marry Natsue, so why can't I!?"

Marry... me?

Hearing this, Natsue's eyes widened. She quickly covered her mouth to suppress any sound.

She had never had any feelings for Ichiro, if anything, she'd never seen any hint from him either.

But now she understood why her grandfather was so furious at Ichiro's visit.

Ichiro had come to propose something like this—right in front of Grandpa.

"Hmph."

"Your parents really passed on their disgusting genes to you."

Gozo Hatamoto didn't hide his contempt. His glare was filled with loathing, as if he were looking at garbage or some vermin crawling on the floor.

Gozo had tried to stop his daughter from getting involved with her cousin back then.

But the result had been her turning into a domineering shrew.

That was the moment Gozo Hatamoto realized what kind of person his daughter Mariko truly was.

From that point on, he had stopped caring about her marriage and simply let her do as she pleased.

But in his heart, Gozo looked down on Mariko's entire household. Seeing Ichiro only reminded him of those two disgraceful people.

As for Ichiro, an inbred product of that union Gozo naturally held him in disdain.

Now, this close-blooded relative wanted to lay his hands on Gozo's beloved granddaughter?

This level of shamelessness could only have come from his mother.

"Impossible means impossible!"

"I would never approve of someone like you—low, incompetent, and utterly nauseating—marrying Natsue."

Gozo Hatamoto had said something similar before. This was the second time he made it clear.

"Even if Takehiko has ulterior motives, at least he has ability."

"And you? Hmph. You have nothing."

"You're a low-level, half-baked painter. Do you really think you can support her? You're nothing but a burden."

Ichiro, humiliated and crushed, trembled as he stood there, fists clenched tightly.

"So no matter what, Grandpa will never allow me to marry Natsue…"

"That's right. I will never agree to your delusional fantasy."

But at that moment, Gozo Hatamoto didn't notice the flicker of murderous intent in Ichiro's eyes as he lowered his head.

His trembling stopped.

Suddenly, Ichiro pulled a kitchen knife from behind him and lunged toward the old man, his own grandfather.

In that instant, the flash of cold steel froze Natsue's mind completely.

Her thoughts were cut off, her consciousness and sense of time frozen in place.

Her brain quickly rebooted, thanks to the image now seared into her retina.

Ichiro, holding a kitchen knife, was charging at Grandpa—about to stab him in the abdomen.

At that moment, she finally understood what that boy had meant before he left.

Time had seemingly stopped—but her body, too, felt frozen with it.

Natsue Hatamoto's thoughts began racing.

If the kitchen knife pierced Grandpa's abdomen, it would be fatal for someone his age.

They were at sea. If they couldn't give immediate first aid, Grandpa would surely die!

Her mind reached that conclusion—and panic surged.

What should I do? What should I do?!

She didn't know when this frozen state would end. But once it did, Ichiro's knife would be in her grandfather's stomach.

Suddenly, a sentence she'd heard not long ago echoed in her mind:

[If you encounter something you can't handle, perhaps believing in the power of faith is also a good choice.]

The power of faith?

Natsue, who had never been a believer, didn't trust in "faith" at all.

But right now—she had no other options.

[If you want to repay me, then believe in me.]

I don't want Grandpa to die!

I don't know who you are…

But if believing in you can help me change Grandpa's fate.

Then please… give me the power to change Grandpa's fate!

(To be continued.)