Weren’t You Only Using Me As A Stand-in? [111]

Because Eriri’s father was British, the Sawamura estate had a distinctly Western layout.

Behind the spired towers of the English-style manor stretched a lush, expansive garden. A maze-like park bursting with flowers sprawled across an area about the size of two football fields.

Just walking from one end to the other could take over ten minutes.

Lawns, fountains, ornamental ground cover, pools, sculptures… Every feature was meticulously arranged—both functional and beautiful. The space unfolded in well-defined sequences with a sense of symmetry, order, and precision, matching the strict aesthetics of Western landscape design.

It was practically a tourist attraction in itself.

Nestled within the flowering hedges and hidden gazebos, a short-haired girl with her hair awkwardly tied in a ponytail stared down at her phone and said:

“Takeru, you agree, right? Friendship isn’t supposed to be something that causes people pain… is it?”

At that moment, Kitahara Takeru—who had just gotten home and was simmering pork ribs in a pot—froze.

“…That doesn’t sound light at all. What’s going on?”

“Well, I went to that banquet at the Sawamura house today, remember?”

“Yeah.”

“Turns out, Nagisa heard about it and wanted to come too, so I brought her along.”

“Uh-huh. And?”

“That shameless woman—while I wasn’t paying attention, she snuck off to flirt with Tsubasa-kun!”

“…Huh?”

Kitahara froze.

Kashiwagi Nagisa… flirting with Tanuma Tsubasa?

Didn’t she not like him?

Wait—if that was true, then he had just been… no, wait a second.

Wasn’t Tanuma Tsubasa her actual boyfriend? Technically, he was the one cheating here.

Kitahara, utterly detached from morality at this point, calmly scooped a spoonful of soup and sipped it.

“I think it must’ve started the day we went to the movies.”

PFFFFT—COUGH COUGH

The soup shot right down his windpipe. He doubled over, hacking.

“Takeru?! Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine. How… how do you know about that?”

What he really wanted to ask was: How the hell did this get out?!

During the latter half of that movie, Shijō Maki hadn’t even glanced his way. There’s no way she caught them.

It couldn’t be that Nagisa told her… right?

“She said it herself. Took out her phone and showed us pictures.”

Kitahara: “……”

She’s insane.

You wanna kiss the guy? Fine.

But why would you photograph it?

Play around all you like, but don’t take photos at public venues! Everyone knows that!

And you didn’t just take pictures—you actually showed them to others?

You’re unbelievable.

Kitahara couldn’t help but think: One of us was born the wrong gender.

And honestly, thank goodness Nagisa wasn’t born male.

Because if she had been? One lost phone, and there’d be a national scandal.

Countless girls’ reputations would be ruined in some grainy footage labeled “Premium Amateur Compilation.”

“Are you serious?”

“Of course. Miss Sawamura was right there when it happened!”

Kitahara’s hand stopped mid-wipe as he was cleaning the wall.

“Wait, Maki… can I ask something? That Miss Sawamura you mentioned—is her full name Sawamura Spencer Eriri?”

It was a question he’d been wanting to ask since earlier.

Maki sounded surprised. “Yeah. Why, do you know her?”

Know her?

That barely scratched the surface.

They’d gone on dates. Held hands.

Now, if you asked what their relationship was, Kitahara would say:

Just friends. Pure friendship.
(※ Negative comments will be deleted.)

“…I’ve heard of her.”

What kind of warzone is this?

How did those two end up meeting?

Could his cover have been blown?

…Probably not.

But then he remembered Nagisa was there.

And just like that, all his confidence vanished.

He hadn’t spent much time with her, but even that was enough to know—she was the last person you could count on to keep things discreet.

What if Eriri suspects something…?

Kitahara sucked in a breath, chilled by the thought.

That absolutely could not happen.

“Takeru, I seriously think she invited me just to flaunt her relationship with Tsubasa-kun. She’s such a—”

“Sorry, Maki. Something came up. I’ll call you back later.”

Normally, he wouldn’t have minded listening to Shijō Maki vent.

The tangled mess of feelings between the three of them was actually kind of entertaining.

But now, with his own secrets hanging by a thread, he had no room for leisure.

He gave a hasty excuse and hung up, leaving Maki mid-sentence and stunned in silence.

“…Did he hang up on me because I talk too much?”

“He’s changed… He used to never end a call before me…”

Men. Honestly…

---

“Miss Sawamura, with how beautiful you are, I bet you have no shortage of admirers, right?”

In the garden ballroom, Kashiwagi Nagisa clung to Eriri’s slender arm, refusing to let her go.

“No, not at all. I’m not nearly as cute as you, Miss Kashiwagi.”

Eriri’s words were polite, her smile perfectly polite—but inside, fury was rising.

She hated her parents’ formal parties.

She hated attending these events.

And she especially hated Kashiwagi Nagisa.

She didn’t even know why—but the moment she saw her, she disliked her intensely.

And when Nagisa pulled out a photo of herself sneak-kissing her boyfriend, a wave of irritation and disgust nearly surged past containment.

Even Eriri herself didn’t fully understand where that emotion came from.

In the past, she disliked the fake pleasantries of socializing—but rarely did she hate individuals.

“By the way, where did Miss Shijō run off to? She’s been gone a while.”

Eriri was desperate to escape and seized the first excuse she could find to steer the conversation away.

Nagisa, knowing full well Maki had left because she couldn’t take the emotional strain, was about to cover for her—

But then, a terrible thought struck her.

Wait. She wouldn’t have gone to complain to Kitahara Takeru, would she?

The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

You two-faced cow. Sneaking around behind my back, trying to steal my man?

Takeru is my prey.

Nagisa suddenly shot up from the bench, face contorted in fury.

“She’s definitely on the phone with Takeru right now!”

“…Takeru?”

Eriri, who had been disinterested until now, suddenly perked up at that one word.

You say Takeru? Now you have her full attention.

Trying not to show it, she forced a smile.
“Takeru? Who’s that? What’s his relationship with Miss Shijō?”

Nagisa gave her a condescending look and snorted.

“His name is Watanabe Takeru. Apparently, he and Miss Shijō are in a relationship.”

“…Watanabe?”

Eriri, who’d been all smiles a moment ago, instantly froze.

Her pupils shrank to pinpricks. Her entire body went rigid.

“You said… his name is Watanabe? Watanabe Takeru?”

By the time she realized it, she was already gripping Nagisa’s arms, shouting uncontrollably.

He could’ve been Kitahara, Suzuki, even Katō—she wouldn’t have reacted like this.

But he had to be Watanabe.

Watanabe Takeru.

That Watanabe.

---

T/N: Nagisa :sob: ur making it hard to like u girl

This is a fan translation of 不是说只拿我当替身的吗？by 雪碧加冰. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!