《Reborn: Runaway Bride》 -1 Characters @@ Shizuka Household Ai Shizuka (Protagonist) Hakura Shizuka (Ai''s Father) Michiko Shizuka (Ai''s Mother) Saito Shizuka (Ai''s older brother and Heir of Shizuka Household) Kiya (Ai''s handmaiden) ___ Omaru Household Jin Omaru (Eldest son and Heir of Omaru Household) Akiyo Omaru (Second son of Omaru Household/Jin''s half brother) Ryo Omaru (Old master of Omaru Household/Jin''s father) Kit Koyozoki (Jin''s bodyguard/Shunned by his family for being mixed-blood) ___ Hozaka Household Shion Hozaka (Heir of Hozaka Trading) Seigen Hozaka (Shion''s Father) Suji (Craftsman and Shion''s servant) ___ Yunes Household Tamaki Yunes (Shion''s best friend and Heir of Yunes Industry) Toshiyo and Ayumi Yunes (Tamaki''s grandparents) ___ Neighbouring Country Kukio Hayama Mizuko (Crown prince of Kukio) Tatsuo Mizuko (Hayama''s mother and Empress of Kukio) Isamu Nakamura (Leader of shadow guards division/Hayama''s bodyguard) ___ Yamato Household Miko Yamato (Love Rival of Ai) Raizo Yamato (Miko''s Father) ___ Others Rini Morioka (*****) ___ Also, this story is on Wattpad. I don''t know how to add images here but on Wattpad, I put reference images of the main characters. (The images are not mine, unless I specifically said I drew)@@ 1 The Death Ai Shizuka sat silently in her confined room as she watched the swaying trees in the face of stormy weather. A vast land of vegetations surrounded her accommodation, placing her in a lonely and secluded existence. One of the trees stood out single-handedly, despite not having protections from its surroundings. The lone tree remained rooted despite shivering violently from the strong winds. How admirable, she thought. Suddenly her door swung opened, announcing the arrival of the lord, Jin Omaru. Jin Omaru... She remembered the first time she heard his name, she was only 16 by then. Everyone had spoken high praises of him, from his refined appearance to his successful accomplishments. Silly girl she was, she had unknowingly fallen for him even before she met him in person. Despite Jin''s reluctance, Ai had done everything she could to have him by her side. From convincing her father about the marriage to removing any competitions for Jin''s affection, she had done everything in the name of love. To her, Jin only deserved the best and she was the only who could provide that. *Ahem* Someone cleared their throat succinctly, directing her attention back to the present. She was greeted by the usual expressionless face of Jin. His eyes stone-cold and unfeeling as he stared at the ex-mistress of the household, Ai Shizuka. The ex-mistress sat silently in her worn-out light blue kimono, with her silver hair fell limply past her waist. Despite the shabby clothes and apparent lack of care in her appearance, Ai remained an unwavering beauty that can make men stop dead in their tracks. Jin stood staring, still entranced by the beauty of the woman whom he had shared countless intimate nights with. Suddenly he felt a soft tag on his sleeves, an innocent pair of violet eyes gazed back at him, reminding him of why he came to the confined room in the first place. Miko Yamato, Magistrate''s daughter and his current mistress stood beside him, looking at him expectantly as she tagged on his sleeves once more impatiently. Snapping his attention back, Jin relayed the verdict to Ai stoically. "Ai Shizuka, you are now stripped of your affiliation to Omaru household and exiled from the Shinto province. This is the result of Shizuka family betraying the Shinto clan and the heads of Shizuka family had been executed." As immediate as it was, the calm eyes of ex-mistress flashed with many emotions. Shock.. grief.. anger... madness. Suddenly the grief-stricken lady started to laugh humourlessly. Her whole body shook violently with twisted laughter, while tears flowed down her cheeks unrestrained. Despite her mad appearance, Jin''s heart ached. He couldn''t do anything to help her family. Like Ai, her family was stubborn and loyal, doing everything for their young miss, be it morally right or wrong. After all, this punishment was fair and just. They only received what was coming for them. "Papa...and brother.... the-they did it for me... now they are gone... it''s all my fault...an-and... it''s also your fault!", Ai muttered in a disturbed frenzy as her pale golden eyes snapped to Jin and Miko''s direction. Subconsciously, Jin''s hands reach out to hold Ai. But he was immediately interrupted when the latter suddenly lunged with a silver concealed weapon. In a reflex, Jin blocked out the attack and tried to take the weapon away. But Ai was too far gone. In her maddened state and struggle, the weapon ended up logged in her chest as blood started to pool through her clothes. Jin pulled his hands away from the bloodstained knife as he caught the falling Ai into his arms. For the first time in his life, tears started to gather in the eyes of the cold expressionless lord. Gone was the fierce lady with many manipulative schemes, gone was the headstrong girl who constantly chased after him. Instead, laying in his arms limply was the pale broken body of a former temptress. Jin''s whole body shook with sobs as Ai shakily reached out to cup the face of her beloved one last time, smearing his handsome face with blood from her bloodstained hands. With a bittersweet smile, Ai choked out tiredly, "Jin Omaru, if I get to live another life, I promise... I promise that I won''t ever fall in love with you again." With that vow in mind, Ai closed her eyes and fully embraced the darkness that enveloped her. 2 Reborn Ai opened her eyes, squinting her eyes slightly to adjust to the brightness of her surrounding. "Am I dead?", she wondered, "Where am I?" A familiar wall with light blue lanterns decorated her room. Wait, isn''t this her room in Shizuka household?! How did she end up here?! Suddenly her room door opened and her handmaiden Kiya poked her head in. The moment Kiya''s eyes landed on Ai, she smiled widely and exclaimed in relief. "Miss Shizuka! You are awake! Lord Shizuka and young master had been worried sick since you fainted!" Ai''s eyes grew wide at her exclamation. Kiya looked younger than she last remembered. With bouncy pigtails, Kiya looked to be in her teens, like how Kiya was before Ai get married into Omaru household. Wait, Kiya mentioned Papa and brother, does it mean they are alive? I must find them! A very worried Ai immediately dashed out of her room to the general study, even though she was in the state of undress. "Papa! Brother!" Ai burst open the study door and rushed forwards, immediately hugging the two figures in the study as tears streamed down her delicate face. Ai''s father and brother stood shocked as their eyes landed on Ai. The young miss of the household was in her pyjamas and was bawling her eyes out as she hugged the two Shizuka men so tightly. It was almost as if she was terrified of losing them into the thin air. Concerned, Hakura leaned down to face his very distressed daughter. "What happened, little Ai? Did someone bully you?", Hakura asked softly, wiping away the tears of his young daughter. "Ai, tell me who bullied you, brother will go settle with them!", Saito agreed, his eyes flashing with anger at whoever that bullied his baby sister. Ai shook her head rapidly, her face turned into happiness as she took in the sight of her father and brother alive and well. She didn''t know how this was possible but she knew one thing, she will treasure this and prevent any calamity to befall on her family. At all costs. Hakura and Saito turned to look at each other, if anyone said they were shocked, that would be an understatement. For a quiet child like Ai, the sight they saw was indeed a rare occasion. Ai, being a headstrong girl, had never once cried out ever since she was a child. What could have made their little Ai be this emotional? Nevertheless, Ai looked happy now and this was all that matter to them. Suddenly there was an announcement from their servant: Lord and Young Masters of Omaru household had arrived. Hearing that, Ai froze as dreads started to fill her veins. She remembered now. Today was the day she met him for the very first time. Today was the beginning of all things that went wrong. Despite that, she had been reborn. Only this time, Ai doesn''t want anything to do with him. Even if she has to die again, she decided that she will stay as far away from him as possible. Be free, Jin Omaru. Let this be my redemption and let us never cross paths again. Jin Omaru Jin sat still in his seat as his father and Lord Shizuka discussed the possible business merger between the two prominent households. For some reasons unknown, the young master of Shizuka household had been glaring daggers in his direction throughout. A frown formed his stoic face as he wondered what he had done to gain this irks. Nevertheless, he wondered where the young miss of Shizuka household is. It had been a known fact that young Miss Shizuka has a deep crush on him. So why is the lady not here now? Shouldn''t she take the opportunity to come to meet him? To be honest, it was not that he truly cared for Miss Shizuka. Even though Miss Shizuka is a well-known beauty, his interests were purely invested in the business merger. As much as he detested the idea of being bound to someone, such matrimony could help in strengthening the relationship of the business merger. At least he know his father will be pleased at the proposal. Deciding to break the ice, Jin voiced out his thoughts. "Pardon me for the intrusion, but may I know if young Miss Shizuka will be joining us? Me and my brother are looking forward to meeting the highly-acclaimed young miss." Upon hearing the question, Lord Shizuka visibly stiffened and directed his gaze to Saito, the young master of Shizuka household. Right now, Saito seemed to be in full glaring mood now as his golden eyes flashed intensely with unspoken fury. He was about to open his mouth when the door opened announcing the arrival of Miss Shizuka. Jin''s breath caught in his throat as his eyes landed on the beauty at the door. Long flowing silver hair that reached past her waist and pale golden eyes on her delicate face, Ai Shizuka is beautiful beyond words. Even Akiyo, his indifferent brother seemed to be at a loss for words. "My apology for the delay, Lord Omaru and Young masters. I had matters to attend to." Ai Shizuka spoke softly as she took a seat next to Saito. Throughout the meeting, Jin stared shamelessly at the marvellous beauty. Despite his full attention, Miss Shizuka paid no mind to him and avoided any sorts of eye contact with him. She even gave some brief glances to his younger brother, who seemed to react by blushing furiously. Was the news wrong? Is she in love with his brother instead? For some reasons, that didn''t settle very well in his heart. Why would Ai Shizuka choose my brother over me? Soon, the meeting had come to an end and he stood up abruptly. Bowing respectfully towards Lord Shizuka, he immediately stated his request. "Lord Shizuka, may I have the permission to escort Miss Shizuka for a walk?", he asked proudly, glancing at Miss Shizuka for her reaction. What he saw shocked him to his bones. Never in his 22 years, did he expect such reactions directed his way. The young miss stood frozen as her pale golden eyes wide-opened in shock and... Fear? He frowned slightly. Usually, when females gain his attention, they would react favourably in happiness or flustered shyness. But this... What the hell? Why is she so afraid of me?! I''m not that hideous, am I? This young girl was so frightened, even her hands were shaking so violently. Concerned by her peculiar reaction, he reached out his hands instinctively, wanting to comfort the distressed girl. "No! Don''t touch me!" she yelled out suddenly. Her frightened eyes darted around like a cornered animal looking for an escape as she stepped back in fear. Jin''s heart ached at the sight and he wanted nothing more than to comfort her and protect her. But protecting her against himself? This is working out in the worst way he couldn''t have imagined. "I.. I..." Ai stuttered out as she tried to compose herself. Right now the room was so silent, even a pin drop could be heard. Suddenly a body pushed past him and an outer robe lay on her shaking body. Akiyo held the shaking body of Ai in his arms as he comforted the distressed Miss. A burning rage was brewing in Jin''s heart and at that moment, he wanted nothing more than to rip those disgusting arms of his brother off her. But right now, he could do nothing but watched in dismay as she was escorted out gently from the room. Out of his sight. Ai Shizuka... I will have you. No matter what it takes. 3 Akiyo Ai took a deep breath and walked towards the garden as Akiyo accompanied her in silence. Once she had calmed her nerves down, she turned to look at the younger brother of the man she vowed to avoid. Akiyo has long silky black hair that was tied up in loose ponytail. His face was expressionless but his eyes were gentle and kind, unlike the cold intense pair of eyes of his brother''s. In her previous life, Akiyo was the only one who stood by her side at Omaru household. Whenever she felt alone and deserted, he was there to comfort her. She had once asked the kind-hearted Akiyo why he was so kind to an evil woman like her. The young man only shook his head with a gentle smile as he muttered softly, "Maybe one day you will find out, Ai." "Thank you, Akiyo" Ai said in appreciation, forgetting for a minute that they were yet to acquainted that well in this life. Ai grew red at her slip-up and quickly fumbled to apologise. "I-I means Young Master Omaru!" she stuttered. Akiyo quietly chuckled at the blushing young girl. She seemed to be about the same age as him or a few years younger, yet she possessed such an alluring beauty that could rival the most experienced of courtesans. Akiyo shook his head. "It''s okay, you can call me Akiyo... Ai...", he replied slowly, testing out her name on his tongue. If he was being completely honest, he would say that he actually loved how casually she had addressed him. It sounds exquisite coming from her and somehow he wondered if it would sound more tempting during a passionate love-making. Akiyo quickly shook away his wayward thoughts mentally. Akiyo brought his attention back to gaze at the beauty that caught his attention. Usually, between the two brothers, women flocked to his brother like bees to honey. And yet, Ai, she had a mortified looks on her face that screamed she absolutely wanted nothing to do with his brother. This sparked his interest so bad that he decided that he must get to know her, by hook or by crook. "You must be wondering why I''m so afraid of your brother," Ai muttered. She had a distant look on her face that clenched Akiyo''s heart badly. Akiyo almost wanted to stop her from mentioning what pained her, until she continued detachedly, "Do you believe in reincarnation?" Unsure where this was going, Akiyo nodded and replied, "To some extent, yes." Akiyo listened silently as Ai recounted her previous life: from the day she met his brother to the fateful day she died. For some unknown reasons, Akiyo believed her story without a doubt. After all, why would she lie? Why would she run away from his brother? Perhaps to gain Akiyo''s sympathy? But if that''s the case, Akiyo doesn''t mind. In fact, he would be very delighted to be informed of that. Even if Ai was as evil as she said her previous life was, Akiyo would have given her his heart. Willingly. From what Ai described, the previous Akiyo was in love with her too. Though Ai doesn''t seem to realise as she was blinded by the love for his brother. Somehow that thought pained him so badly and he immediately wanted to compromise her virtue so that she may never run away from him. Akiyo forced his heart to hold back the beast that was screaming to get out. Yet he secretly made a vow, in this lifetime, Akiyo will make Ai his and his only. Be it she wants or not. He will personally make sure his brother can no longer hurt Ai, even if he has to eliminate his blood sibling or any other threats along the way. Unbeknownst to them, a young man with a blonde exotic hair had been listening to them in silence. His mind was in a dilemma as he was torn between righteousness and loyalty. By righteousness, he should not inform his young master of what had transpired since the young lady had a valid reason for staying away from his master. He believed the young lady was telling the truth and his mind agreed that the two should not be together if that''s the case. But he had sworn a blood oath to his young master and it''s his duty to inform what had happened. But his heart was torn. As much as it was his first time meeting the young miss Shizuka, he had a yearning towards her that he had never experienced before. Kit Koyozoki quickly shook away this hopeless notion of romance. After all, even his own family had abandoned him and there is no way in hell he could stand next to such highly-accomplished Miss. Or so he thought... 4 Old Rival and Old Friend "Miss, today is moonlight festival! Let''s go to the market!" Kiya said excitedly as she bounced into Ai''s room. Ai smiled at her young handmaiden. At 15 years old, Kiya is an energetic young lady with a bright positive view of life. Her thoughts went towards Kiya in her previous life. When things started to go downhills, Ai released an order that Kiya be sent away to another land. Ai didn''t want innocent Kiya to get involved and caught up in the darkness of the world. And if she could, she wouldn''t have gotten anyone involved at all. Ai remembered how Kiya had broken down upon receiving the order. Crying and kicking away the other servants who tried to drag her away from her precious miss, Kiya had desperately clang to Ai as she pleaded over and over again to let her stay. But yet Ai''s mind was made up, she steeled her expression and coldly walked away as her young companion was dragged away by force. Ai''s expression turned pained as she reminisced the events of her past life. "Miss! Miss! If you don''t want to go, we don''t have to go! It''s this servant''s fault for suggesting such! Miss, please don''t be sad!", the present Kiya said worriedly as she noticed the solemn expression on her young miss. She mentally slapped herself for causing such grief towards her young miss. Ai immediately brightened up and shook her head. "Oh no no, Kiya, I was just thinking about something else, let us go to market then!", Ai assured as she gave a gentle smile to Kiya. Ai had decided, she will spend her every waking moment with her loved ones fully and she will no longer be blinded by her obsession like her last life. She will treasure them and she will not ever lose them again. At the Market "Miss! Look at this beautiful hairpin! It would suit your fair hair really well!" Kiya gushed as she held up a sapphire hairpin curved in the shape of Phoenix. Ai took a look at the hairpin, it was truly as beautiful as Kiya said, and the craftsmanship was indeed one of quality. Ai was about to purchase the item when a nasal voice called out. "You must be the highly-acclaimed Miss Shizuka! I''m Miko Yamato, Magistrate''s daughter! We had met once at the ball!" Ai''s hands froze in the air. Miko Yamato. Her love rival from the past life. Miko Yamato has violet eyes and matching purple hair that flowed down to her waist in waves. She has a delicate face and large doe-like eyes that fooled men into buying her innocent facade. But Miko was truly a cunning fox in disguise. In her previous life, there were very few households who could match the influence and intellect of the Shizukas and Yamato household was one of the few who could rival them. Miko Yamato had vied for Jin Omaru''s attention and she was obsessed with him as much as Ai, if not more. The downfall of Shizuka household was largely orchestrated by the Yamatos and Ai wouldn''t be surprised if Miko was the ringleader all along. Ai turned away immediately, she has no mood to deal with such cunning fox and honestly if Miko wants Jin Omaru, feel free to have him all to herself. After all, Ai couldn''t be bothered with such man, and he''s definitely not on her to-do list. At least not in this life. Suddenly Miko Yamato reached out to grasp Ai''s arms. Visibly angered at the unwanted touch, Ai shook her arms away to break free. Miko, being a top-notch actress, she created an exaggerated fall, grabbing the attention of everyone around. By now, every single eye was on Ai, glaring disapprovingly at her "unruly" behaviour, while glancing pitifully at the "innocent" beauty on the ground who was injured by such barbaric and ill-mannered girl. Miko Yamato smiled inwardly. She had been hearing news of Ai Shizuka being a well-bred and peerless beauty and it was gnawing on her mind. This position belonged to her and solely to her. So she had set out to destroyed Ai Shizuka''s reputation and it was her good luck that she ran into her today. Suddenly Miko heard a masculine voice asked, "Miss, are you alright? Is she bothering you?". Miko''s inner smile widened. Another victim had fallen to her tactics. She lifted her head with a false sad expression and was about to reply when she realised that something odd was happening. The new comer''s back was facing her and he was currently asking Ai Shizuka if she was alright. What the fuck?! I''m the "victim" here! Miko raged internally as she glared at the blonde hair of the man. While on the other side, Ai was shocked to see a familiar face. She remembered the blonde-haired man. What was his name? Wait, it''s Kit! Kit Koyozoki! Excited to see a familiar face, Ai yelped out happily. "Kit! Long time no see!", she exclaimed, completely forgetting that she was not supposed to know him at all. On the other hand, Kit sweatdropped. He knew that the young miss would probably know him from the previous life but exclaiming out in open like this... It''s almost asking for tongues to start wagging. "Ah... You know me?" Kit asked, feigning ignorance as he tried to save the day. At his question, the young miss''s eyes grew wide in shock as if only realising her slip-up and Kit mentally slapped himself. This miss is way too careless and doesn''t even know how to act at all. No wonder the purple hair wench was able to manipulate and cause a scene. "Ah... Oh.. I heard about your.. erm... achievements and I''m your biggest fan!", Ai stuttered. At this point, Kit felt like stabbing himself to escape this torture and he mentally slapped himself so hard it probably leaves a bruise. Mental bruise. The lady could have come up with a better excuse such as a childhood friend or something yet she stated achievements. Kit''s whole existence was known to very few and it was highly embedded in secrecy. There was no way his praises would be sung by masses and complete strangers. "Ah I see, may we go have a tea to celebrate this moment then?" Kit asked, his mind was just desperate to get out of this awkward situation as soon as possible and the sooner was the better for his sanity. Why the hell did he even get involved in the first place! Usually, he would just watch in the shadows at the sideline, unnoticed and unperturbed. Ai was about to nod in agreement to Kit, when shrill voice screeched, "My ankle is swollen! Someone help me!" For a minute, Ai had forgotten Miko upon meeting Kit and throughout Miko remained on the ground, trying to play the victim. It seemed that her patience had run out for her to screech in that manner. Ai turned towards Kit to see if he would help her, yet Kit simply walked towards the shopkeeper, passing him some money to buy the Phoenix hairpin that Ai was looking and also some extra money to escort Miko away. His exact words were, "Could you kindly move this fake woman away, here''s some money for your service". Ai held back her laughter. For a man like Kit, he hated the pretence and schemes the most, since his background was scarred badly by such actions. Miko fumed in shock. "How dare he! You half-blood freak! I will find you and make you wish you were never born!" Miko Yamato raged internally as she stood up immediately by herself, forgetting her act. Right now, everyone eyes turned disgusted at her fake act and Miko blushed deeply in embarrassment at being exposed. She turned her hateful eyes towards Ai and Kit, as she dashed off indignantly. 5 Ki Kit and Ai got seated at the Mayflower Teahouse while Kiya stood at the side shyly. "Kiya, come take a seat", Ai called out gently as she beckoned her shy handmaiden over. Kiya blushed furiously at being called out upon and timidly walked over. The tips of her ears were red and she fidgeted with her fingers as she took a seat at the table obediently. Ai laughed gently at her adorable maid. Right now Kiya looked like a red tomato and her eyes were looking everywhere but Kit. It was very obvious that the young girl was very flustered by Kit''s presence. Though one could hardly blame her since Kit is considered quite beautiful in terms of his appearance. Tranquil features with grey eyes and silky blonde hair that fell past his waist, one would assume Kit of noble birth and prestige. "Kiya, this is Kit Koyozoki, he works at the Omaru household", Ai introduced. Her young handmaiden seemed to have a crush on Kit and Kit seemed dependable that she couldn''t help but play matchmaker for them. "O-oh... erm... nice to meet you Kit!", Kiya stuttered as she grew red from embarrassment. While Ai was focusing and doting all her attention on her handmaiden, she somehow missed the look of hurt and anger on Kit''s face. "Why is Miss Shizuka introducing me to her maid?! Does it mean she has no interest in me at all?! Is that a subtle rejection?" Kit''s thoughts ran wild angrily as he clenched his hands tightly around his teacup. As each of them was busy with their own thoughts, they didn''t notice the new addition to their little meetup until it was right at their table. "Hmm... I didn''t know my servant is well-acquainted with Miss Shizuka, what a surprise!", Jin Omaru stated haughtily as he pointedly glared at Kit. Kit, upon hearing his master''s voice, walked immediately in front of Ai and protectively sheltered her, receiving questioning looks from both Ai and Jin. Nevertheless, Kit remained silent as he stared at his young master, secretly hoping for him to get the hell out. Jin glared back at his personal guard, not liking the way he stood in front of Ai Shizuka, obstructing his view from the beautiful maiden that he had been obsessing about. Ai was about to reply to ease the tense atmosphere when another voice joined in. "Brother, what is taking you so long?", Akiyo asked as he lifted the curtain of the tea room to come in. His cyan blue eyes landed on the situation at hand and they grew visibly confused. What''s going on?! Why is Kit standing in front of Ai as if he is her guardian?! Ai mentally cursed at her bad luck. She only wanted to go out to enjoy her day with Kiya and yet she just had to run into all of Omaru household. The next is probably the older Lord Omaru himself. As if answering her thoughts, the older Lord Omaru also came into the room as his eyes grew round in surprise. "Oh Miss Shizuka and Kit, you are here as well! What a delightful surprise!", Lord Omaru greeted jovially as he took a seat at the table. Uninvited. As of now, Ai just wanted the ground to open up and swallow her up as her greatest misfortunes were happening right in front of her. Despite that, Ai also noticed the dirty looks the Omaru brothers were sending Kit''s way and she grew worried for his well-being. Will he be punished or bullied when they go back? After all, Kit is still a servant to Omaru household and he will have to take in any treatment from his masters no matter how unfair it is. With that thought in mind, Ai had decided. She will take Kit under her own wings and won''t ever let the poor boy face any mistreatment again! "Lord Omaru, may I be so bold to ask a favour from you?", Ai started slowly, gauging Lord Omaru''s reactions. "Oh Miss Shizuka, of course, please state your request freely! After all, your father is my good friend, how could I deny his precious daughter of anything?", Lord Omaru replied good-heartedly, completely adoring the polite young daughter from Shizuka household. Ai yelped happily inside her mind. Bingo! With this, Lord Omaru won''t deny my request no matter how atrocious it is. "Well... I''m in need of a personal guard and I thought perhaps I could obtain Kit''s services since he seems to be quite adap-" Even before Ai could finish her sentence, there was two vehement "No!" from the Omaru brothers. They shook their heads fiercely as they intensified their glares towards Kit. There was no way in hell they would want another man, other than themselves to be around Ai. Ai''s eyes were trained on Lord Omaru. This is a life and death matter and she won''t back down no matter how difficult it is. After all, Lord Omaru had made a promise to her and it wouldn''t be proper of him to back out of it. Lord Omaru took a moment to consider before his face broke out into a smile. "Oh this! Sure why not? Kit is talented and he would definitely be able to protect Miss Shizuka, I think this is definitely a reasonable request, what say you, Kit?" "My Lord is truly benevolent and this humble servant agreed to Miss Shizuka''s request wholeheartedly. I hope to serve you well in the future.", Kit replied, barely containing his joy as he gazed at the young Miss appreciatively. Meanwhile, the two Omaru brothers were glaring intensely at their clueless father. For god''s sake father, why did you agree to such! You might as well send your sons to a monastery to become monks if this continued on! Lord Omaru on the other hands, felt a sudden chill as he hugged his body immediately. "Where is this coldness coming from", he muttered distractedly as he happily walked off to get his favourite confectionery, completely unaware of the damages he left behind. 6 Learning Martial Arts "Alright Kit, this is the house of Shizuka, make yourself at home, I will go talk with father for you to settle in", Ai smiled warmly as she gestured around the lavish garden of Shizuka household. Even though Kit already knew the detailed layout of the Shizuka household by heart, he decided to entertain the young miss as he nodded obediently. "Baby Sis! Where have you gone off to? Brother had been lonely and worried sick!" Saito exclaimed as he ran over to hug his sister happily. Even though Saito was known to others as cold and merciless, he was a big teddy bear when it came to his younger sister. Who did not know that Saito Shizuka is extremely devoted to his younger sister? The man would even hunt down anyone that dared to breathe wrongly in Ai''s direction. "Big brother Saito, this is Kit Koyozoki, he will be Ai''s personal guard and also will be teaching me martial arts", Ai replied as she introduced Kit to her big brother. Saito, as if only realising the presence of another person, looked up to see the blonde-haired man. Blonde? Hmm... He must be a mixed-blood, that''s considerably rare, he thought as he inspected Kit with a frown. One thing that caught his attention from his sister''s sentence was teaching martial arts. Huh? He didn''t know Ai wanted to learn martial arts and if she wished, Saito would be more than happy to teach her. Why didn''t she ask him?! Saito thought unhappily. "But baby sis, why would you need a stranger to teach you martial arts? Brother would be more than happy to teach you!", Saito argued as he pouted his lips uncharacteristically. Ai sweated at her brother''s suggestion. Even though Saito is highly talented in the field of martial arts, he truly doesn''t know how to teach. He would probably use the training as an excuse to pamper her with gifts and snacks that in the end, Ai won''t end up learning anything at all! "Ahh.. big brother Saito, actually Kit is very talented in western martial arts and Ai would very much like to learn such exotic styles. Of course, that''s only if big brother would grant this humble sister''s wish", Ai replied as she made a pitiful puppy dog expression towards her brother. Saito, on the other hand, was unable to withstand the big guns brought in by his sister and agreed disgruntedly. "Fine, whatever! You better teach her well!" Saito warned Kit as he walked off moodily with a huff. Ai did a little victory dance in her head as she turned towards the amused-looking Kit. "So you want to learn martial arts, Miss Shizuka?", Kit asked. He wasn''t expecting such requests from a lady of her calibre and to be honest, it impressed him. Ai nodded her head determinedly. Being frail in her previous life, she was unable to protect herself physically and sometimes bedridden for days. But Ai was tired of it. Neither does she want to wait around nor want anyone else to get hurt on her behalf. This time, Ai decided, no matter what, she would not allow anyone to harm her family and if they wished, they would personally have to pass through her for that. Time Skip After asking Kit to wait for her in the garden, Ai made her ways towards the general study to find her father. Her mind wandered back to what had happened at the teahouse. For some unknown reasons, when Kit was around, she didn''t feel an ounce of fear towards Jin. Kit almost felt like a warm security blanket that surrounded her securely. Maybe that day she reacted uncontrollably was because she had just woken up from her "reincarnation" and Jin''s sudden change of attitude shocked her. After all, whether he meant it or not, Jin Omaru had killed her family and resulted in the untimely demise of her. It''s only natural that fear would be the first thing she felt towards him. But no matter what, she wanted to stay away from Jin Omaru and she seriously hoped that the young lord won''t bother her so much. In a few seconds, Ai had deeply regretted her wish as the devil himself appeared in front of her. She cursed mentally at her own bad luck. "What did I do so bad that heaven hates me so much?!", she thought in disdain as she looked down at the blushing Jin Omaru on top of her. Just a moment ago, Jin had been sitting on top of a tree that grew above the fences of Shizuka household. He had rushed off after the incident at the teahouse and had been waiting patiently for the private audience with Miss Shizuka. He had lots of questions unanswered and it seemed they could no longer wait. "Else that sly fox Kit would get his ways and take his lady away! No No! That can never happen!", he thought angrily as he immediately reached out to punch the tree trunk. In a moment of anger, Jin had forgotten that he had been sitting a top of the same damn tree and hence resulted in his unceremonious dive towards the hard ground. He yelled out a girlish scream (that he prayed no one heard) as he closed his eyes, mentally tried to prepare for the kiss with the ground. "Oomph!" was what he heard as he landed face first onto something very soft and fragrant. "Soft and fragrant?! I didn''t know grounds are this soft and smelled so nice!?", he thought curiously as his hands moved around to get the bearing of the "ground". "What the hell are you doing, Young Master Omaru?", the "ground" said as a sudden force pushed him off. Jin immediately opened his eyes in shock. Standing right in front of him was young Miss Shizuka herself and her pale golden eyes were glaring at him furiously as she tried to straighten her clothes. Jin''s eyes wide-opened so wide they might pop out of the sockets. OMG! He landed himself on top of her and the soft ground he was feeling around was... was.... her bosoms! "M-miss Shizuka! I-I''m so sorry, I didn''t mean! Let me... I will take responsibility for this! I will marry you, Miss Shizuka!", Jin yelled out passionately as the understanding started to dawn on him. Well... this was unfortunate but it definitely worked out in his favor. Ai''s mouth was wide opened in shock. The twisted bastard had landed on her out of nowhere, trespassing on someone''s territory and what nonsense is he spewing now?! Marry her?! Is he out of his mind?! Ai felt her blood rushed to her brain at the outrageous proposal and clenched her fist tightly. "Young Master Omaru, I don''t know what''s your intention being here but this is the property of Shizuka household. You are trespassing on our property and I can very well sue you for this.", she declared proudly. Jin Omaru watched in awe at the young Miss. Not only is she beautiful, but she is also very smart. A perfect combination to lead his household along his side! Jin cleared his throat, he needed to clear this air before it escalated. It seemed that Miss Shizuka had hated him even before and this incident was not helping the situation. "Miss Shizuka, I had come to speak with you regarding our previous encounters and it seemed that you had mistakenly detested my presence. If it''s based on rumours, I assured you they are simply rumours and my intention to you is purely my utmost affection!" Ai''s eyes widened in response. In her previous life, Jin Omaru was a cold heartless man who hardly expressed his emotions. But this... this Jin Omaru seemed like a completely different person. Even right now, he was looking at her with such earnest eyes as he put his heart on the sleeves. Ai shook her head mentally. No, she can''t fall for his charms again. No matter what game he is playing, Ai wouldn''t be apart of it. Before Ai could reply, Jin suddenly put his hands up. "Oh, I just remembered that I have a meeting! Now take care, Miss Shizuka! I will be seeing you around!" With that, Jin Omaru hopped off towards the fences and left abruptly. In Jin''s mind, "Oh, that was close! I almost hear her rejection! No..no can do! Ai will be my wife and that''s the only thing I will be willing to hear!". 7 Advancing It had been a few months since Ai had started training and for the time period, she had ordered the servants not to disturb her unless it was emergency. She had to admit, the seclusion had boosted her training process tremendously. Not only did she boosted her eastern martial arts, but she had also caught on the ropes of western methods. It was quite satisfying to see the fruit of her hard labour. Ai willed her inner energy at the blade of her sword and cut down a tree effortlessly. The tree trembled from the force of it before falling down completely. She smiled happily at that and looked at Kit. If not for Kit''s patient guidance and mentorship, all these would not have been possible. Ai''s mind wandered to the time she had with Kit. Though slightly shy, Kit was a skilful mentor. From the basic to advanced techniques, his knowledge was way more than she had expected. From the way he explained the methods, one would believe he is a martial arts master from a reputable school. Kit had been so gracious and kind to her that Ai felt guilty hiding her past life from him. It''s not that she had purposely hidden it, it''s just the conversation did not come up so she had not relayed such information to him. But Ai had wondered, would he hate her if he finds out who she was in her previous life? After all, Kit hates pretences and schemes and she was the queen of it. Forcing her mind not to overthink, Ai focused back on the task at hands. She had mastered this technique but she still needs to practice more to be better at this. As Ai continued to cut down trees after trees like a raging tornado, Kit gazed at his young miss. Yes, his young miss. To be honest, spending time with Ai had been the best moments of his life and he felt completely proud of her. Though she was born with weak institutions, she was relentless in pursuing her goals. Despite the difficulties, she had persevered and trained hard that in no time, she was able to master such an advanced technique. "Ai, that was... impressive...", Kit breathed. After getting to know him for a few days, his young miss had insisted that he called her by her first name. Even though it was not a proper decorum for a servant to address their master as such, Kit could care less. He only needs her permission and that''s all that mattered to him. "Thank you, Kitty!", Ai replied happily, causing red to bloom on the young man''s face. He remembered how the young miss decided that he would be given a special name at their first training. A fool he was, he agreed undoubtedly even before finding out about it. A slight sardonic smile graced his lips. Despite the obvious effeminate nature of his name, he secretly loved it. He loved that Ai gave him something special only to him and that made him feel very proud. If he could, he would be flaunting such reward in front of his old masters, and he was sure they would be very jealous of it. Kit''s thoughts went to the first time he met Ai. She was talking to his previous young master Akiyo back then. Even though he didn''t mean to eavesdrop, something pulled him forwards and he couldn''t help but listen in. At first, he was a bit reluctant in making contact with her since his childhood home was filled with scheming snakes. But for some reasons, he could not bring himself to hate her and some of her past life actions resonate deeply with him. If you love someone, you will want to possess them and make them only yours. Despite the scheming nature of it, Kit did not find anything wrong with wanting to do everything one can to possess the one they love. Nothing is fair in love and war, that''s what he knows. If anyone tried to take his young miss away, he would have reacted the same way. As of now, Kit felt content spending time with her and did not feel any threats in winning her heart. But being a cautious person he is, he has a secret backup plan. He did not think he would ever use such for countermeasures, but Ai is truly precious to him. Even though not many people know this, his maternal side of the family in the west is affluent and powerful. They worked under the western queen as secret agents while masquerading as affluent nobles in the kingdom. His mother was one of the secret agents to infiltrate Shinto, and when she passed away, she passed her duties down to him. Because of that, he has many ties with the west, and if he wished, he could just lift his fingers and take his young miss away. At the pavilion across the training area, Hakura and Saito stood watching as their little girl cut down trees after trees so effortlessly. At this rate, their back forest would be empty soon and firewoods for winter would be stocked up for more than their lifetime. "Saito, what do you think of Koyozoki?", Hakura asked his son. Saito huffed, he still wasn''t happy that his baby sister didn''t engage him to teach her but it seemed that Koyozoki was indeed a good teacher. His sister had mastered such a difficult technique in a matter of a few months and this was truly an impressive deed. "His background is still shrouded in mystery and I couldn''t find out anything about him. But from the way he treated Ai and the ability he possessed, I think he could be a reliable asset to her... for now", Saito replied as he took a sip from his tea. Hakura felt like he wanted to start crying, his children were growing up to be incredibly strong and smart. Saito is intelligent and perceptive while Ai is strong and unconventional. His little girl reminded him so much of his deceased wife, Michiko and he felt a lone tear fell down his cheek. "If only you could see how our children turned out to be, my love.. ." 8 Weapon Making Ai let out a happy sigh as she smoothened out the parchment paper on her table. On the paper, it showed mechanical drawings of a retractable double-bladed sword. It has curved blades and once retracted, it could be easily carried in the sleeves without any detection. Being a noble lady with a peculiar range of interests, Ai had been an avid fan of weapon designing since young. More often than not, she would observe her father and brother during training so that she could explicitly understand each part and functions of various weapons. In her previous life, Ai had given up on her dream of becoming a weapon maker so that she could be a perfect lady for Jin. She traded her passion for weapon designs to practice various womanly arts and that was one thing she truly regretted. Once Ai had started her martial arts training, she came to understand the difficulties and challenges that ordinary weapons have on a more delicate figure of the female body. The ordinary weapons, which generally catered to men, have a bulky and heavy builts. Often than not, a person with a leaner body type has to exert twice the efforts to wield the weapons and that causes unnecessary strains. As soon as she understood the challenges, she had stuck herself in her study right away to design her very own weapon. With that being completed, all she had to do now was to head to the weaponsmith. Kit leaned against the tree outside of Ai''s room as he gently closed his eyes, feeling the soft wind that caressed his face. However, the state of his mind strongly contrasted against the calm facade of his appearance. Ai had been cooped up in her study for a few days and it was worrying him. Did he do something wrong at the training? Why did she suddenly run away? Million of questions flooded him as he slightly scrunched up his face in frustration. Kit''s questions were soon answered as the subject of his frustrations rushed out of her room in an excited manner. With a casual command of "Kitty let''s go to the Hozaka Trading", Kit''s worries were eased immediately. Though slightly confused, he smiled gently and nodded at his young miss. No matter what Ai wanted, Kit would support her unconditionally. If she wanted the world, he would bend its will and serve it on a silver platter for her. After all, he knew first hand how traumatising it was to be away from her. Even though it had only been a few days, he missed her dearly and he was starting to feel like a deprived housewife. Not that he knows how that felt like though. But it might be strangely similar. On the other side of Shizuka household entrance, there stood a pair of real deprived housewives. Their attempts to make contact had been met with nothing but "Young Master, please go back. Miss is in seclusion." and it was driving them nuts. Despite that, the stubborn pair continued to frequent the Shizuka household, hoping that one day they would get to see their beloved miss. Their repeated visits, however, had been so frequent that even the Shizuka servants had put up a signage at the entrance. "Young Masters Omaru, Miss is still in seclusion. Please go back." Jin and Akiyo sighed dejectedly as they glared at the annoying signage that had been sitting there for past few months. It had been such a long time and they were on the brink of insanity. How long will Ai be in seclusion?! If not for that mad dog brother of hers, they would have broken into the household to check on her. But Saito Shizuka would probably go ballistic on them and they definitely do not want to piss her brother off. In fact, they want to build a favourable relationship with her family so that they could secure a place in Ai''s heart. Discouraged, the two brothers glared at each other before heading back to their home in a low spirit. Just a few moments after their departure, Ai came out of the very same entrance excitedly. She held her parchment paper tenderly as she looked forward to the final step of her creation. On her way to the Hozaka Trading, Ai chatted happily with Kit as she explained what she had been doing the past few days. Kit felt somehow relieved that it was not him that made her run away. If it was, he would not know what he would have done. The thought alone was too painful for him. Soon the duo arrived at their destination. Located in the centre of the busy street, Hozaka Trading is a major store that specialised in handicrafts. From weapons to jewellery, they have top-notch staffs that provided all kinds of related services. Ai and Kit walked towards the far left section with a lavish signage that read "Hozaka Weaponry". The particularly large section has glass shelves that display all kind of local and foreign weapons, from knives to flamethrowers, they have all that one could possibly need. "Welcome to Hozaka Weaponry! How may I assist you?" the counter staff greeted as his eyes slightly widened in shock. This is unusual. For the last 10 years he had been working here, no lady had ever stepped into this part of the store. This place is literally a "man-cave". Ai smiled politely at the staff and proceeded to explain her requirements while showing him the blueprint parchment. The young staff looked impressed as he nodded in a daze at the young miss. This was the strangest thing happened in his life and he took a mental note to inform his young master as soon as possible. After all, the design she proposed was extraordinary and very well-thought-out. He could barely contain his excitement through the discussion and as soon as the young miss had left with her guard, he rushed into the back room where his young master at. A tall young man with a dark purple hair stood against the window as he silently looked out at the busy street. His hands were holding were a stack of business records and his face has a serene looks of calm confidence. The young man is called Shion Hozaka and he is the sole heir to Hozaka trading. Despite being a merchant by trade, Shion is a very reclusive person, only operating the business in the shadows and rarely appearing in public eyes. Many of the Shinto residents do not even know how he looked despite him being the wealthiest bachelor in all of Shinto. But that''s just how Shion likes it. He doesn''t like the crowd and right now he is enjoying his tranquillity in silence. But that soon came to an abrupt end as his young staff, Suji, rushed into the room. "Young Master Shion, you wouldn''t believe what happened!" 9 Business Proposal "Young Master Shion, you wouldn''t believe what happened!" Suji rushed forwards as soon as he saw his young master against the window. He felt slightly guilty for disturbing the quiet man, but this matter cannot wait. Immediately, he opened up the blueprint parchment and showed it to his young master. Shion''s calculative eyes studied the blueprint carefully. They widened up slightly as realisation dawned on him. This weapon design was nothing like he had seen before. They were lightweight and small, yet with the right materials, they could easily overpower even the bigger weapons. For the first time in his 23 years, Shion felt shocked. Based on the structure and materials proposed, whoever that designed this has an extensive knowledge of weapons. "Suji, who designed this?" Shion asked, his voice slightly tensed at the aspect of a possible business competitor. "Young Master, ah... about that... I forgot to ask their name... it was a lady..." "A lady?" Shion confirmed. This is even more impressive. In fact, this is a goldmine for him. The weapon designed was extremely light, even the most delicate of ladies could carry. With such designs, Hozaka Trading could get into the untapped market. As of now, women in this society are often assigned with gentler duties. And if they were poor, they were either send to work as maids or sent to brothels in unfortunate cases. With the assistance of the right equipments, the workforce of Shinto can be increased significantly. Feeling intrigued, Shion wanted to meet the mystery lady desperately. His pleas, however, were soon answered as his best friend and also the self-proclaimed king of gossips, Tamaki Yunes walked in shortly after. "What was Ai Shizuka doing in your weapon section?" Shion''s brain lighted up. Shizuka. He definitely knew this name. The silver-haired family in charge of external relations. He had met Lord Shizuka and young master Shizuka in clan meetings but he had never seen the young miss. This is interesting, Shizuka household has such a precious gem and they are hiding it away. Now that Shion had found, he is unwilling to let it escape and he made it a duty to visit Shizuka household as soon as possible. He turned towards Tamaki, who still had bewildered expression and asked. "Tamaki, would you be willing to make a trip to Shizuka Household?" Time Skip Along their way to Shizuka household, Shion had explained Tamaki of his intentions and the reason he was going there. After all, Shion and Tamaki had grown up together and their families have deep business ties. There was also another reason why Shion brought Tamaki along. He was not sure how Miss Shizuka will respond to his business proposal and if there is a worst case scenario, he needed someone with persuasive abilities to save the day. Unlike Shion, Tamaki has a very friendly deposition that enabled him to make connections easily. On the other hand, though highly intelligent, Shion has a stone-face that keep people away from him. Shion sighed. He normally did not mind this aspect of his personality but this time it was making him nervous. This was a big business opportunity for him and he could not miss it. Tamaki, with long braided hair and almost feminine looks, laughed out loud at his best friend. The quiet man who doesn''t get shaken up easily was fidgeting nervously and this was a first for him. "Old Chap, it will be alright, don''t be too nervous!" Tamaki said he patted his friend''s shoulder heartily. Soon they arrived at the Shizuka household and waited patiently as their arrival was announced. On their way in, Tamaki noticed the peculiar signage that was sitting there: "Young Masters Omaru, Miss is still in seclusion. Please go back." "Hmm, so the Shizuka are close with the Omaru" Tamaki thought. He had heard from his circle that the young miss had a crush on the older young master Omaru but based on the signage, it seemed to be the complete opposite. Slightly intrigued, he thought it would be interesting to meet this young miss. Ai''s POV Ai looked up from her piles of weapon books as a servant arrived at her study to announce the news. "Young master Hozaka and young master Yunes requested an audience with her?" she thought puzzled. The servant mentioned Hozaka so does that mean her weapon is complete? It can''t be! It had been less than a day and even gods cannot craft a weapon this fast! Whatever it was, she decided to check out as she walked towards the general study. When she reached, her father and brother were already there and there were two new faces sitting there. It must be the young masters. In her previous life, Ai did not know them personally even though she had heard of their names. They were the sole heirs to Hozaka Trading and Yunes Industry respectively and Ai had only seen Tamaki Yunes once at an event. Tamaki Yunes was a man of a large social circle and Yunes Industry supplied most of Shinto imports. Right now, he was smiling at her cheekily as he looked her up and down. The other man, who must be Shion Hozaka, is a tall man with wavy purple hair that fell past his shoulder. His calm violet eyes were gazing at her and he had a slight faint smile on his lips. Ai felt her cheeks heated slightly at the gaze and she looked away immediately to hide her face. Deciding to address the matter at hand, she asked, "How may I assist you, young masters?" After a few moments of silence, a deep baritone voice replied, "I would like to make a business proposal with you, Miss Shizuka". For some unknown reasons, Ai wanted to squeal excitedly at the voice. Whoever the owner of the voice had a bedroom voice that screamed "Come lay with me" and she blushed even harder at her unladylike thoughts. Ai forced herself to clear her mind and looked towards the direction of the voice. The owner of the voice, Shion Hozaka, stared back at her as his violet eyes lightly shined with slight amusement. Oh God, how she wanted to slap his smile away. Shaking her thoughts away once more, Ai replied sternly, "What kind of business proposal, young master Hozaka?" 10 The Web Unravels Ai let out the breath she had been holding as she reached the safety of her room. Her mind was in a whirlwind and somehow the overload of emotions today had been weighing heavily on her mind. Should she take the chance? Or should she not? Ai pondered. It''s not that the proposal was not good. It was, in fact, great and truly once in a lifetime opportunity. But Ai was feeling wary. She doesn''t want to get involved with the clan council any more than necessary and it was a known fact that the two young masters are prominent members of the council. In Shinto, there were five powerful families that made up the main body of the Shinto clan. They were namely Omaru of Defence, Hozaka of Trades, Yunes of Supplies, Yamato of internal relations and Shizuka of external relations. The five families, also known as the Council of Five, managed Shinto as a whole while taking charge of their respective fields. Even though Ai was unable to withdraw her own family''s involvement with the council, that doesn''t mean she should get any more involved than required. After all, the council of five was just a facade to keep the members from fighting out among themselves and the power struggle in the council was truly vicious. This was the main reason why the Omaru brothers came to visit her previously and she couldn''t help but felt heartache at the mention of Jin. In her previous life, her family sided with the Omaru because of her affection for Jin. But in the end, it had ended in disaster and the council was the one who ordered her family''s execution. Ai sighed tiredly, letting the exhaustion lured her to sleep as she retired for the night. Unbeknownst to her, a pair of bright grey eyes had been watching her every moves as they shook with the turbulence of emotions. Kit let himself down from the ceiling he had been hiding as Ai''s gentle breaths calmed into a steady pace. He had been eavesdropping the conversation she had with Shion Hozaka and Tamaki Yunes and he couldn''t say that he was pleased. Even though she didn''t exactly accept their offer, she was still considering and that did not sit well with him. After all, Kit knew all about them and they are not the type of people that Ai should be involved with. Shion Hozaka, though rarely appeared in public, is the richest man in Shinto and his extensive networks reached far beyond the province itself. He has enough power to revolutionise a whole city if he wishes and many would not dare to go against him. Despite being quiet, Shion Hozaka is known to be a merciless businessman and one that shouldn''t be trifled with. Even though Shion Hozaka is indeed a formidable foe, Kit was more worried about the other man, Tamaki Yunes. Tamaki Yunes, a young prodigy at the age of 22, has the public face of being a well-known socialite and successor to the supplies giant, Yunes Industry. But the young master Yunes has a hidden face that few people knew about. He is a sadistic hedonist that toys with people cruelly and the ringleader of illegal underground networks that no good person should be involved with. Even Kit''s mother was once tangled up in them and it was God''s mercy that his mother escaped Tamaki''s clutch. Kit''s thoughts darkened as he looked at Ai worriedly. It seemed that his young miss has the most unfortunate of lucks by attracting the attention of the sickest bunch. It wasn''t helping that she had suffered a lot in her previous life and yet in this new life, she seemed to dive straight into trouble. With also the threat of Omaru brothers looming in a close distance, Kit had wondered, Should he take her away? Kit shook his head immediately, no he doesn''t want Ai to hate him. He doesn''t even think Ai is aware of his affections for her and if he suddenly takes her away, she would end up hating him greatly. Kit gently tucked away the fallen strand of hair on Ai''s face as he gazed at her lovingly. She looked truly breathtaking and his heart was thumping greatly that it might burst out of his chest. Reluctantly, he stood up as he forced himself to exit her room. Any longer he stayed, he might have taken her away against her will and that''s the last thing he wanted. Time Skip Morning came and Ai felt refreshed after having a sufficient rest. She had considered Shion Hozaka''s offer and decided to decline it. She wanted to stay away from the politics as much as she could and the collaboration with him might be the time bomb that ultimately put her family in danger. With that in mind, Ai headed out to the general study. Never did she know, she decided too soon as the surprise that awaited her would turn her decision in a 180 direction. "Papa!" Ai bounced into the general study excitedly, ready to tell her decision to her father. But what she saw was something she never dreamed of in this life. Jin Omaru sat in a red outfit that typically reserved for the grooms as he held a lucrative box in his hands. His smile brightened the moment he saw Ai and he immediately stood up. "Ai! I had come to marry you, my love!" Jin declared excitedly. What the bird?! Ai cursed in her mind as she stared at Jin in shock. Currently, Ai''s expression greatly resembled a fish out of the water as her mind swirled with confusion. What on earth is going on? She wondered as she turned to look at her father questioningly. Her father was no help as he looked back at her helplessly. "What''s the meaning of this, young master Omaru?" Ai asked rigidly, she was unable to make sense of what''s going on and a slight migraine was forming to put a damper on her mood. "Ah, my love, call me Jin! We are about to be betrothed, don''t be a stranger!" Jin said with a smile that could blind the brightest of the suns. "B-betrothed?" Ai stuttered as she looked towards Akiyo who had been sitting with a dark expression on his face. The boy''s face looked murderous as he glared at his brother with a deep hatred. Jin, who seemed unaware or chose to be unaware, looked at Ai and answered, "Why yes, we had been intimate and it''s a man''s honour to take responsibility for it! Don''t worry, my love, I will cherish you despite the circumstances!" Ai''s eyebrows rose up comically as she heard the absurdity from Jin. "We had never been intimate, young master Omaru! I don''t know what nonsense you are sprouting but you probably had mistaken me for one of your pleasure ladies!" Ai replied fiercely as anger started to erupt in her being. "No! I-I never go to those places! Ai, have you forgotten our encounter in the garden? I-I touched you, and I don''t want to bring dishonour to Shizuka name so I''m proposing this marriage!" Jin replied, his eyebrows scrunched up as if in confusion as he looked at the glaring young miss. Ai suddenly wanted to laugh. He must be talking about the encounter, where he unceremoniously landed on her in his fall. And he was using it as a reason to try to tie the knots! How delusional can this man get? she wondered. "Young Master Omaru, you must be talking about the time you had fallen ungracefully from our tree and how you had trespassed into our territory. I did not press charges against you but now you are making me wonder if I should have instead?" Ai threatened him subtly as annoyance crept into her mind. The gut of this man to utter such accusations and she wondered what''s making Jin Omaru chase her relentlessly. In her previous life, Jin did not have any interests in her no matter how hard she tried and yet here he is, proposing a marriage despite her indifference. "Ah... about that-" Jin started but Ai wasn''t having it. She cut him off immediately as she continued with her verbal tirade, "And one more thing, for the marriage proposal you mentioned, it was barely a proper reason for one to get married to. If that was the reason, I should be marrying Kit since there were indeed way too many physical touches during our training!" Ai replied mockingly as every pair of eyes in the room turned to her with mixed emotions. Kit grew red at his young miss''s words as he considered them seriously. Marrying Ai? Of course, he accepts, this is his dream all along! If Ai asked, he would immediately sign the papers to make it official and make her his wife as soon as possible. Oblivious to Kit''s train of thoughts, Ai smiled in victory as she saw the shocked reaction of Jin. Haa! Her little taunts had worked in riling him up! Good, better hate me and move along, Jin Omaru. Unexpectedly, Jin looked down and glared at the ground as the feeling of betrayal overwhelmed him. His servant? His fucking servant?! He couldn''t believe his ears but he is unwilling to give up. After a few moments of silence, Jin uttered softly, "Ai, I''m sorry to impose on your family at such a short notice, but this marriage has to happen sooner or later. It''s fine if you don''t love me, I would still cherish you no matter what. But Shizuka household has to pick a side and this matrimony will show our solitary. I hope that you would pick me since our fathers are good friends and it would bring prosperity to our families. Please consider it." With that being said, Jin rushed out of the room as he felt a suffocating sadness overwhelmed his mind. Even though he doesn''t hate Ai, he had never been rejected this bad in his life and a heartache was formed as he thought sadly about the unattainable young miss. Why does she hate him so much? What had he done to gain such hatred? Initially, he only wanted this marriage for his family but as time goes, he had grown to be fond of Ai. Why can''t she look at him? Why can''t she look at him with the gentleness she gave to others? He doesn''t like it when someone else talked to her. He doesn''t like it when her eyes stray away from him. He wants her to look at him and only him. He wants her to tell him that she loves him. He wants her to tell him she only needed him. He wants her to tell him she would never leave him again. Again? He doesn''t know why but it was almost as if he had known her all along. There was also this dream that had been keeping him up. Ai lay lifeless in his arms as he shook her desperately, telling her not to go, not to leave him. Ai, please don''t go! Ai, please come back to me! Ai, please forgive me! He begged tirelessly. But no matter how much he begged, she remained lifeless. He had hugged her so dearly, refusing to let anyone near her as painful sobs wracked his body. The pain was so intense, Jin had woken up from the dream crying and sweating all over his bed. But the dream repeated itself cruelly every night, as if punishing him, as if taunting him. Ever since the dreams started, Jin couldn''t bear to be away from Ai and the suffocating fear of losing her again had been haunting in his mind. He can''t bear to let her out of his sight for she might disappear again and he doesn''t want to face the pain again. He is willing to put down any of his pride if only she could stay with him and he had truly hoped that she would accept his proposal. Soon after Jin left, Akiyo followed suit as he bid Ai an unwilling goodbye. He had heard of his brother''s cries at night and once he walked in to see him sobbing on his bed. Even though he doesn''t really like his brother, he is still a family and it seemed that fates were punishing him. Jin would often cry out at night, yelling out Ai''s name as his arms flailed around in complete madness as if trying to capture the fragments of her. Akiyo sighed, it seemed that their souls are linked closely and he wondered if he would have to play a bystander again like his previous life. He let out a self-deprecating smile, it seemed that he was already losing out even before the competition had started. Shaking his sadness away, Akiyo quickly ran to catch up to his brother. Ai sat on a vacant chair as exhaustion clouded her once more. Even though the proposal was absurd, Jin Omaru was right. Shizuka household must pick a side and they can''t remain neutral forever. In that case, Ai has to pick the only other option available and that would be Shion Hozaka. Even though she doesn''t want to get involved, she has to make powerful allies to protect her family. At least she won''t have to marry Jin and she could only hope that her new decision would not turn out to be like her previous life. 11 Hozaka Weaponry Ai wiped away the sweats that formed on her forehead as the burning waves of heat surrounded her body. Silently, she took note of the melting metal in the mould and checked the temperature of the heat chamber. "Just nice", she muttered to herself. It had been a few weeks since Ai had started working with Shion Hozaka and she had explicitly requested to learn how to craft weapons herself. She wanted to further expand her designs and there was no better way than getting right down to the process of it. Though slightly shocked, Shion had agreed to it eventually and allowed Ai to work in the Hozaka blacksmith workshop. Speaking of Shion, she had realised that the young master of Hozaka Trading rarely appeared in the shop premises and the one that often frequent was his best friend and heir to Yunes Industry, Tamaki Yunes. Ai scrunched up her face in distress as she thought of the bothersome man. She didn''t know why but during her working hours at Hozaka, Tamaki Yunes had stuck to her like a glue and followed her everywhere she went while occasionally making unnecessary encouragements as if to inform her he was there. As of now, Tamaki Yunes clapped his hands excitedly as Ai took out the metal mould from the heat chamber. She didn''t know what he was clapping for since her latest weapon was far from completion and it was just a slab of melted metal in this current state. Yet suddenly a voice whispered in her ears, "Ai, that was impressive!". Out of reflex, Ai moved away immediately and her hand almost got burnt in the process. She gave him a scorching glare and proceeded to say, "Young Master Yunes, please refrain from standing too close to me, I''m handling a dangerous equipment!" Ai felt slight anger towards Tamaki for standing too close to her and shocking her and she wanted to reprimand him greatly. "But Ai, the only dangerous equipment here is you! You are a danger to my heart!" Tamaki yelled out suddenly, catching the attention of Hozaka employees around. Some of the employees whistled, while some clapped as if some sort of celebration and Ai felt baffled by their responses. This was the cheesiest pick-up line she heard so why were they celebrating it? Ai decided to ignore the annoying puppy-like man and continued her work. As if sensing her choice to ignore him, Tamaki made a sound that strangely resembled a whine. If he had dog ears, they would probably be flattened by now. Dear god, doesn''t this man have anything better to do?! After a while of repeatedly ignoring him, Tamaki seemed to become bored and lost interest as he walked away suddenly. Ai let out a breath she had been holding. She didn''t like the constant attention on her while she was working and Tamaki was doing exactly just that. This was also the reason why she had left Kit at home and proceeded to work alone here. She didn''t want any distraction or attention at work and as much as she was caring to her family, Ai was pretty much a lone wolf when it came to socialisation. Speaking of Kit, Ai''s heart did a somersault at the way the young boy had been behaving. A few days after her decision to collaborate with Shion, she had found Kit, intoxicated and drenched in rain. That day was the start of monsoon season. Kit had briefly mentioned he was going out. She didn''t know what exactly had happened outside but when he was back, Kit was highly intoxicated and had walked through the pouring rain in his drunken stupor. Ai was studying her weapon books in her room when she heard the raspy knocks at her door. She immediately went to open, only find a very drunk Kit falling at her feet. His blonde hair matted and clothes drenched, the sight was truly heart wrenching to behold. Yet the excited grey eyes looked up at her, chanting her name over and over. Ai didn''t know how to react since this had never happened to her before. But she couldn''t alert her father or brother since this might cause Kit to be kicked out of Shizuka household. Code of conduct was very important to her father and she didn''t have the heart to abandon the boy she took under her wings. So dragging Kit''s body inside, Ai had sought out Kiya for her help to change Kit out of his wet clothes. She couldn''t risk him running a fever and left him in soaked clothes. But the traitor Kiya had run off with a red face saying, she had never seen a young man without clothes and left Ai to her own device. Ai sighed, sometimes she doesn''t know who is the servant and who is the master and it''s not like Ai had been around many naked men. She had only seen Jin in her previous life during her marriage and it was indeed very few since Jin Omaru treated her like a disease. Ai bit her lips in determination and convinced herself that this was for Kit''s health. With half-closed eyes, she changed Kit out of his wet clothes with a spare set of Saito''s. Well, she had them just in case she has to cross-dressed to escape some sticky situations (cough* Jin Omaru cough*) in the future and it came in handy. Half-way through the changing, Kit had woken up with a dazzling smile and suddenly brought her down to his pale yet toned chest. Ai had panicked. God grace, what if someone comes in and sees the situation?! With still in the intoxicated mind, Kit had insisted or rather demanded that Ai call him his special nickname. She didn''t know why he insisted but it seemed like he won''t let her go unless she gave in to his demands. With a reluctant heart, she had called him Kitty a few times before he fell into a peaceful sleep. As much as Ai viewed him as a younger brother or a close friend, the close proximity with the opposite gender was causing her heart rates to skyrocket. A strange and unfamiliar thought popped into her heart. Kit is really adorable and quite handsome. Ai slapped herself mentally. She doesn''t know what had gotten into her but lusting after a sleeping young man, she wanted to bang her head on the floor to pray to the heavens for her sins. Immediately she shook away the strange thoughts. With much difficulties, Ai finally managed to break free from the octopus-like arms that encaged her and resumed changing his clothes. That night Ai couldn''t sleep since she had allowed Kit to take up her whole bed. By the morning come, she had somehow fallen asleep on her table and found her bed to be empty. Ever since the incident, they didn''t talk much and there was some awkward air in between them. Despite that, Ai decided to focus on her work at Hozaka and continued her routines. After a few more hours of work, Ai had managed to complete 80% of her latest prototype and decided to come out to the streets for a breather. The streets were very lively with merchants and shoppers milling around. A group of young ladies walked past as they chattered excitedly about what dress to wear for the upcoming annual ball. Ai shot up her eyebrows. Annual ball. She remembered. The yearly event that allowed the young singles in Shinto to mingle around. It is the most highly-anticipated event of the year and sometimes even the royals from other continents will participate. Ai smiled lightly at their liveliness. How innocent is the young love, she thought. "You are not going?" A deep baritone voice asked beside her. Ai blushed slightly, recognising the voice. She shook her head lightly as she smiled at Shion. "No, I''m sitting this one out." Shion felt intrigued but slightly disappointed. He was thinking a young girl of her age would be excited about such events but Ai seemed to be a completely different breed. She looked rather indifferent as she replied to him a matter of fact tone. In her previous life, Ai was indeed very excited about this events since she could debut as Jin''s fiance at the ball. But this time, she had no reason to join such events and the minimum requirement of the ball was one single person from each household (If there is). So she could ask Saito to join the ball and she would have no obligation for that. But in life, things sometimes did not turn out to be the way it was planned and it was exactly what happened. Saito Shizuka stopped in front of Hozaka Weaponry as he clutched his sister tightly. "Baby sis, nearby royalty is visiting and father and I need to go the borders to receive the prince immediately. I don''t know how long it will take but there is an upcoming ball that required our attendance, please go on my behalf!" Saito said in one breath before hurrying off in a rush. Ai felt cold sweats forming on her forehead as the new information suddenly added the invisible weights on her shoulder. So she has to go to the ball?! But she didn''t want to see Jin Omaru and she was 100% sure that he would be there!! Awkwardly smiling, she turned towards Shion, who had been silent throughout. "Guess I will be going to the ball then," she said as she laughed slightly to hide the awkwardness. "In that case, can I be your partner at the ball, Miss Shizuka?" Shion asked seriously. To be honest, Ai felt shocked at his question. It''s been a known fact how Shion hates crowds and events. He even paid off the officials to fake his attendance and this year he is attending? But thinking it through, it was not necessarily a bad thing. After all, Shion is big and loaded. If anything, he was the best form of defence against Jin Omaru, both physically and also in terms of influences. (Author: Ahh readers, I mean Big as in his body size. Since he is the tallest among the harem. Not anything else ah.) Shion felt nervous as he awaited Ai''s answer. He had never asked a lady such questions and this lady currently seemed to be zoned out, causing his nervousness to skyrocket. He was about to say, it''s okay if she does not want when Ai suddenly replied. "Sure, I will be delighted to!" 12 Annual Ball A few days had passed since Ai''s father and brother had left for the border and the day of the annual ball had finally come. Ai did not want to attend but there was no way she could avoid it. Sure she could bribe an official to fake her attendance but that would raise too many questions, especially from her family. It''s not that Ai did not trust her family. But if they were to find out about her reincarnation and what had happened in her previous life, she was worried they might become even more protective of her and get hurt in the process. That was something she could not accept. She had long decided that if there were any harms towards them in this life, she would shoulder it alone and only her. They had done too much for her before and it''s time she protects them in return. Shaking her thoughts away, Ai decided to get dressed for the ball. Even if she did not care for fancy aristocrat ways, she had to be dressed appropriately to showcase her family''s prestige. After all, status was everything in this society. With that in mind, Ai picked a light grey kimono with blue and gold floral motifs. She then layered it with quality silk white robe and flowy dark navy outerwear to complete. Overall, her outfit was modest yet appropriate for the occasion. Once Ai had finished her looks by adding blue and gold accessories to her silver hair, she walked slowly towards Kit''s room. She had yet to talk to Kit since that night and perhaps it was a good idea to bring Kit along to the ball. For some unknown reasons, Kit''s presence made her feel safe. Gently knocking on Kit''s door, Ai asked if she could come in. There was a pause, with no sound coming from inside at first. Then she heard some scufflings and the door immediately burst open to reveal a flustered-looking Kit. Kit''s mouth was hanging opened in an O shape as he took in the sight of Ai. His young miss looked regal and posed as her household colours adorned her in a majestic manner. Before Kit could stop himself, his arms immediately reached out to pull her to his chest tightly. Engulfing her in a warm hug, he sighed contentedly. It had been a while since Ai had approached him and his mind was running wild with woes. But now that he finally saw her, it was all worth it. Shocked by the unexpected reaction, Ai stood still as the young blonde man continued to mutter "Thank God" repeatedly. His hands were moving up and down her back in a soothing manner and to others, the scene probably looked like Kit was comforting her. But to Ai, she felt as if Kit was trying to reassure himself. For what reason, she did not know. After a long awkward period, Kit seemed to recollect himself and moved to stand a few feets away. He looked up at Ai sheepishly as a light coat of red dusted across his face and ears. "I''m sorry, Ai, I just... acted on impulse." Kit muttered, his eyes looking anywhere but Ai. "Oh, it''s alright" Ai lightly replied as she looked at the blushing young man. "Kit is so cute! He is like an adorable younger brother she never had! Eh, please excuse this sad excuse of an older sister for perving on you when you were asleep!" Ai thought as a slight blushed formed on her cheeks. Kit stared curiously at Ai as she started blushing out of the sudden. What was she thinking that made her blush, he wondered. It better not be one of those smelly young masters! Oblivious to Kit''s train of thoughts, Ai proceeded to talk about why she was here and what to expect at the ball and Kit was only half paying attention until she mentioned something that caught his interest. "What? Shion Hozaka?" Kit asked in disbelief as he repeated Ai''s words to confirm his suspicion. "Oh yeah, I was shocked too, hahaha! Who knew he would be interested in the annual ball?" Ai responded as her shoulders shook lightly with laughter. Kit felt dreads forming inside of him as he took note of the new turnout of events. Initially, he was only worried about Tamaki Yunes and the Omaru brothers since Shion Hozaka had the pristine reputation of not being around any woman. Many people often thought that young master Hozaka was a hermit and doomed for a monkhood. But if he asked her out, the rumours might not be true and Ai seemed to be completely ignorant of those intentions. Kit wanted to laugh, his young miss thought that Shion Hozaka was interested in the annual ball when it was her that Shion Hozaka was interest in. A sardonic smile formed on Kit''s face as he sighed deeply. Just how many competitions does he have to fight to keep Ai to himself? Not to mention, all of them were high-profile noblemen and she was only gonna add more to the list by going to that wretched ball! Time Skip After a short carriage ride, the duo arrived at the venue, the Hall of Moonlit Garden. Moonlit Garden is the most prestigious location that the royals and nobles go for events and currently owned by none other than the stinky bug''s family, Yunes Industry. Speaking of the stinky bug, an excited voice yelled the moment Ai stepped into the premise. "Aiiiiiii! You came!! Are you here to accompany me?!" Tamaki shouted as he ran out immediately from greeting the guests in an undignified manner. Ai wanted to roll her eyes, not only did she has to be wary of Jin Omaru, but she also needed to be careful of this fluttering bug. Tamaki wore a hideous orange attire that was bright enough to blind the sun and she squinted her eyes slightly at the intensity. "Young Master Yunes, it''s great to see you, where might the young master Hozaka be?" Ai asked as she curtsied Tamaki politely. "Huh? Shion? Wait, why are you looking for him?! Don''t tell me .. he..." Tamaki trailed off as a gentle arm immediately wrapped around Ai''s waist. "Yes, Miss Shizuka is my date", Shion replied as he smoothly escorted Ai away. Due to her shock of being approached suddenly by Shion, Ai had completely missed the look of triumph that Shion passed to Tamaki as they walked away. Kit had watched the whole incident unfolded with careful eyes as the apparent rivalry broke out between the two young masters. Perhaps the best thing for him was to let them fight among themselves and if there was the last survivor, he would just kindly put him out of commission. With that in mind, Kit decided not to interfere as he started to follow Ai silently. Just as he was about to walk past Tamaki, a hand shot out, obstructing him. "You seemed familiar..." Tamaki Yunes said his cold eyes accessed Kit carefully. "I''m just a lowly servant of Miss Shizuka, young master Yunes, you might have seen me around." Kit replied steadily despite his heart hammering greatly. He had miscalculated, Tamaki Yunes was not an easy opponent. "Hmm... I see" Tamaki replied as he nodded his head slightly. Kit briskly walked forwards as Ai entered the ballroom. "Young Master Hozaka and Miss Shizuka" a servant announced their arrival as every pair of eyes in the room turned towards them. Jin Omaru was sulking and drinking his wine when the sudden announcement was heard. Ai, she is here now! He immediately whipped his head towards the direction of the entrance, only to have his breath taken away, literally. Just as Jin wanted to continue to admire the stunning woman in blue, he started coughing violently and struggled to breathe as the wine he was drinking went into the wrong direction of his airway. A gentle hand patted his back as he struggled to regain his breath. He smiled appreciatively to the person who helped him and it was none other than his partner for the annual ball, Miko Yamato. Miko was a beautiful woman with lilac hair and adorable pair of innocent eyes and as expected of a noble lady, she had the perfect manners. At first, Jin was hell-bent on taking Ai to the annual ball but his clueless father had informed him that Ai already had a partner and he would have to attend with Miko Yamato, the daughter of Shinto Magistrate. Even though he wasn''t happy, he had no choice but to accept or else he would end up with no partner like his pathetic brother. Speaking of his brother, Jin wondered where he had gone, only to find the silly cad cosying up to Ai blatantly. Anger started to burn in his vein as he noticed Ai being held closely by Shion Hozaka. What the! Isn''t this dude a celibate?! Ai should only be in my arms! Jin stood up immediately as if to confront, only to be stopped by a pair of delicate hands. Miko Yamato looked up with tears in her eyes as she tugged at his sleeve while shaking her head no. Jin, being a self-proclaimed gentleman, couldn''t bear to leave a crying lady so he sat back down and hugged Miko gently. Ai stared at the familiar scene across the room. Her eyes were empty and void of emotions as she stared in fixation. It was almost like time had stopped and she was transported back to the time of her suffering. Of course, she was familiar with this scene. This was one of the scenes that drove her into maddened jealousy. In her fatal obsession, Ai only saw the competitors and sought out to destroy them as she desperately tried to find her place in Jin''s heart. Just a little bit, just a little bit of his heart would have sufficed. Yet the promised love never came. Instead, disgust and contempt from the man she loved filled her days. Laughing out bitterly, Ai drank the cup of liquid in front of her. She did not care what it was, poison or sweet nectar, anything to numb her pain, she would drink it. Ai was so involved in her own thoughts, she missed the varying looks of reaction from the young noblemen who were watching her closely. The four pairs of eyes that were watching her, two curious and concerned while the other two looked like their hearts were cut out of their beings. Aikyo had wanted to greet Ai the moment she arrived and immediately rushed to her side, only to find her in the embrace of another man. Shion Hozaka, the young master of Hozaka Trading had held her as if Ai was his priceless possession that he was afraid to lose and stuck to her side. He had also noticed Kit standing in the shadow with the helpless expression and somehow he sympathised with the other man. In the midst of their conversation, Ai trailed off as she stared blankly at the table across. Many expressions had run through her delicate face, with one being singled out, Pain. Shion watched Ai silently as concern flitted across his usual composed eyes. He wondered what had made this young lady suffered so much that she looked like she was on the brink of giving up. Pulling her closer slightly, Shion protectively held Ai. He did not know what she had gone through but he did not want her to suffer any longer. Across the room, Tamaki looked with curiosity as he stared at the broken expression of Ai. He also did not know what had caused her to react this way but... the pain that she displayed. It was addicting. Raw, unbridled and unrestrained. Tamaki had not seen anything... anything more wonderful than this and it was like he couldn''t get enough of it. A blush bloomed on his face as the infatuation started to form in the heart of a twisted young man. At first, he was just bored and wanted to play with this proud young woman. But after seeing this, there was no way he would let her escape him and no matter who, he would surely eliminate them. (Author Note: Activate, Yandere-Kun!) Translation: For those who don''t know, Yandere-Kun means a male gender who fits the archetype of being extremely romantic but also very possessive that they are truly psychotic. They were usually twisted and complex personalities and will remove anyone that becomes an obstacle to their pursuit of something or someone. 13 Wife?! Ai woke up with a slight headache as she squinted her eyes to adjust to the surrounding. The white ceiling above her seemed unfamiliar as well as the quilt on her body. Slightly groaning, Ai turned sideways to her left. A gasp left her lips as her eyes registered what or specifically who was in front of her. A man with pure white luscious hair lay in front of her as his body heaved with a steady rhythm of breathing. The man''s upper body was bare and he lay as his back faced in her direction. Ai felt like she choked on her own breath as she started to realise the miserable situation she was in. She did not know who this young man was nor did she recall anything about how she ended up here. The last thing she remembered was how much wine she drank at the annual ball last night and how she had told everyone not to follow her as she went to drown her sorrows in seclusion. She thought a little bit of alone time would help since she could no longer bear to watch the scene in front of her happening all over again. But never in her life did she guessed that she would end up in this situation! Curious or rather to know who to avoid in the future, Ai moved over to peer down at the young man''s face. The face that greeted her left her breath sucked in her lungs for eternity as the beauty of it left her speechless. With a sharp nose and strong jawlines, the young man had a thin pink lip that promised mischief even in his sleep. His skin was pure and smooth, with no blemishes as if the gods had personally come down to earth to craft this perfection. Captivated by the stranger''s beauty, Ai was frozen and stunned until a pair of exquisite pale blue eyes opened and stared at her teasingly. The young man''s thin lips stretched into a lazy smile as he saw the silver-haired girl hovering above him in frozen shock. "Wife, you are awake" the young man greeted. As if finally breaking out of a spell, Ai immediately moved away from the young man, only to fall flat on her butt on the floor. "Wife, what are you doing? You are not planning to run away after taking advantage of me, are you?" The young white-haired male asked as he peered down at Ai from the bed. Ai felt like her headache had multiplied ten-time over as she registered what the young man was saying. So...th-they were together last night?! Is he saying what she thinks he is saying?! As if tired of waiting for her answer, the young man moved away to put the clothes on his body. Maybe this was the time she could sneak away from this lunatic, Ai thought as she sneakily made her way to the exit. Just as Ai was about to exit, a hand slammed in front of her and blocked her exit. "Wife!! How could you be so irresponsible?! You have to take responsibility after taking advantage of me!" the young man half-yelled and half-cried as he stomped his feet in a childlike manner. "Oh God, what is this? Another Tamaki?" Ai questioned in her mind as the throwing tantrums reminded her of a certain young master she knew. Clearing her throat, Ai decided to start with a simple question. "What''s your name?" The young man, who suddenly looked appeased that Ai finally spoke to him, answered in an excited tone. "I''m Hayama, Hayama Mi...Hayama Mizio! You can call me hubby!" Mizio? Hmm... nope never heard of it. Plus he doesn''t seem to be from Shinto. Perhaps a neighbouring merchant? With the looks like this, he would have been very popular with the ladies, especially with that hungry beast, Miko. Deciding to answer him, Ai proceeded to say, "Well, Mr Mizio, there might have been some misunderstanding. I believe nothing had happened between us so eh... let us be on our ways." The moment the words left her mouth, the porcelain face of Hayama crumbled as he immediately dropped down to the ground. Hayama started to wail loudly as he yelled how heartless Shinto women are and how could they try to run away without taking responsibility. Ai felt trepidation forming on her forehead as the loud voice seemed to carry across the hallway. They seemed to be at some sort of inn and sooner or later the innkeeper would come banging on their door if this continued on. Immediately reaching down to cover his mouth, Ai made a shushing motion with her index finger as she desperately told Hayama to tone it down. With now the tear-streaked face, Hayama stubbornly refused and shook his head no as he tried to talk through the muffled mouth. With no other choice available than to admit defeat, Ai reluctantly agreed and managed to subdue the crying young man to hiccups. Hayama wiped away his tears as he stared at the distressed young lady in front of him. Her eyebrows were scrunched up as if she was thinking of escape and he wanted to laugh so bad. When he arrived in Shinto yesterday, he managed to evade the officials who were escorting him and snuck himself into this beautiful building that was brimming with liveliness. Finding a secluded pavilion in the building, Hayama decided to rest as he admired Shinto sceneries peacefully. His peace, however, was soon broken as a young lady with silver hair staggered into the pavilion. The young lady, however, was completely ignorant of his presence and continued to chuck this big bottle of wine while tears flowed along her cheeks freely. Deciding to be a gentleman, Hayama approached the young lady to ask if she needed any help, only to have her barf all over his clothes. This explained why he was half-naked this morning and decided to tease the young clueless woman. After that fiasco, with vomit attached, Hayama decided to bring her to a nearby inn with whatever money he had on him and rented a room for them. Even if he normally doesn''t care, he couldn''t leave a drunken young lady by herself and be taken advantage by wolves. Feeling proud of himself, Hayama stared at the young lady once more. Now that he took a look carefully, the young woman was indeed stunning. With refined and distinct features, she looked to be from a noble family and she somehow reminded him of a few Shinto officials that had escorted him. Shrugging away his thoughts, Hayama decided to ask her name since until now he had yet find out hers. "Eh... My name... my name is Ai, Ai Shi... Ai Shizu!" the lady replied. Hayama wanted to roll his eyes. This lady was obviously hiding her family name just like he did and only with way worse acting than him. Playing along, Hayama nodded as he asked innocently, "Shizu? As in like Shih Tzu?" "Ah... Yes... Like Shih Tzu..." Ai replied as she mentally slapped herself. She could have given him a better false name and in the end, she gave him a dog breed name. Plus the name was way too close to her actual name and anyone with a tinge of a brain would be able to identify her immediately. Sighing dejectedly, Ai planned her next move. There was no way something happened between them since she didn''t feel anything different and her clothes were fully intact just like the way she wore it. Hayama must be lying and as soon as she finds out what''s his motive, she planned to kick the lunatic to the curb. Suddenly Ai heard a stomach growl as pale blue eyes looked up at her with a pout. "Wife, I''m hungry, feed me," Hayama said he pointed to his stomach in a childlike manner. Taking a deep breath, Ai nodded as she tried to help him up from the floor. Like an excited puppy, Hayama immediately latched onto her arms throughout as they made their way towards the nearby restaurant. 14 Conflicts Ai sighed tiredly as she rounded a corner in the alleyway. Thank goodness, she managed to lose that lunatic. She didn''t know what he wanted but she also didn''t want to wait to find out either. After telling Hayama that she needed to go to the restroom, Ai made a full sprint and left the restaurant. Hopefully, he had some money on him? Ai immediately shook away her thoughts. Why was she feeling sorry for that lunatic? Deciding not to dwell on the matter any longer, she made her way back home steadily. Out of a sudden, a commotion caught her eyes. Many groups of military men were rushing about on the streets as they went around the shops asking for something. They were holding some sort of scroll and asking the shopkeepers if they had seen the person on the scroll. Ai took a look at their military insignia. It showed a red dragon on a black shield. Wait! Isn''t that the emblem of Omaru Defence?! Why are the defence forces in the city?! In Shinto, there were two types of military services. One was used for internal affairs and acted as police for people of Shinto and they were led by Yamato Magistrate. The other one, which was led by Omaru household, was called Omaru Defence and they were the external defence forces of Shinto. Gnawing her teeth, Ai wondered. The defence forces rarely appeared in the city and were often assigned to guarding the borders. Yet here they were. Something fishy is going on. As Ai pondered on that thought, a wind blew and she caught a glimpse of what was on the scroll. Holy smoke, it was a painting of herself! Being shocked silly, Ai wondered why were they looking for her. Was it because she disappeared last night? Or did she somehow offend the Omaru household? But employing the army to look for a missing girl? That seemed a bit... extravagant. Ai is not a criminal! (Author: But she is a smooth criminal! Annie are you okay?) Though curious, Ai wanted to find out what was going on before getting caught so she made a move to walk away. Just as she was about to, her eyes collided with a pair of familiar cyan blue eyes. "Where are you running off again, Ai?" Akiyo asked with slight amusement in his voice. He just found her and the lady was trying to escape once more. Hearing that, Ai had no choice but to face the reality so she slowly turned around. Akiyo was looking at her with an amused expression while the rest of the soldiers ceased their actions and turned to look at them. With every eye on her, Ai felt sweats forming on her forehead as she desperately racked her brain on what she had done wrong. Yet she wasn''t able to come up with anything so she decided to ask Akiyo helplessly, "Akiyo, what''s going on?" Akiyo smiled softly at the vexed girl and gently reached out to smoothen her brows. Ai was subconsciously frowning. "Well, since you disappeared last night, things turned chaotic at the ball so we had been out looking for you. So where did you go?" Akiyo asked as he held Ai''s hands in his, while subtly checking out her body if she had sustained any injuries. Even though Akiyo had said this, the truth was that there was almost a bloodbath last night. A few hours after Ai had left the ballroom, Kit went out to check on her. Yet the boy had come back empty-handed with almost a crazed look on his face. He mumbled continuously that "Ai is gone" while his eyes frantically looked around the room as if looking for something or someone. Seeing that, Shion Hozaka immediately walked over to Jin''s table, flipped it and grabbed his brother by the throat until the latter was dangling in the air. The scene was downright brutal and even a trained general like him got the chills. Though he and his brothers were especially skilled in martial arts, being generals of an army, they were caught off guard by surprise and Shion Hozaka was a large man with substantial inner strength. Miko Yamato had screamed and yelled at Shion Hozaka to let Jin go, but the young master of Hozaka ignored her and gritted out four words that made Jin exploded with anger. "Where. Is. My. Woman?" Finally snapping out of shock, Jin grabbed hold of Shion Hozaka''s arm and twisted it, freeing himself from the vice-like grip of the latter. "How dare you call her your woman! You are courting death!" Jin yelled. His face red with anger and hatred. Akiyo had enough of watching them from the sideline so he had redirected their attention by telling them that they should instead try to find Ai now before anything happened. Immediately Shion Hozaka left without saying any words. Looking around the room, Akiyo realised only he, Jin and Miko were present and the rest of the people had left the room. Seeing his brother in anger, Miko Yamato had stepped in and told Jin that she would ask her father to help assist in the efforts in finding Ai. Though Jin had agreed and thanked her gratefully, Akiyo didn''t trust her words. According to Ai''s story, this lady was not someone to place his trust to and hence, he immediately rode a horse to the borders to brought back some of his soldiers. He was still a young master of Omaru household and second-in-charge general to the Omaru Defence. It was pure luck that he found her before others did and he couldn''t be happier to find her safe. Back at present, Ai felt guilty for causing so much trouble and bowed her head apologetically. "I''m sorry, I had too much drink and needed a rest so I went to the nearby inn." Ai apologised, leaving the part of Hayama since she didn''t want people to misunderstand. Akiyo shook his head and caressed her hands gently, "It''s fine as long as you are safe, let me escort you back". Just as Ai was about to nod, another presence suddenly appeared and grabbed her into a tight hug. Seeing the familiar military insignia on the person''s chest, Ai immediately struggled to break free. There were only two people in Shinto who could wear that badge on their chest, one was Akiyo and the other was his brother, Jin. "Why are you resisting so much? I only embraced you because I was worried about you." Jin said with a frown on his face as he pulled away to stare at Ai. The lady didn''t have any problem with his dumb brother touching her and he only hugged her, she started to wiggle away like a worm on salt. He was not happy! Ai glared at Jin with hatred in her eyes. He was the cause that made her get drunk, why is he acting all concerned and warm now. Shrugging away his arms, Ai moved to step away. She didn''t want to deal with Jin and her headache from this morning was getting worse. But Jin was hurt by her coldness. Everytime that he tried to get close to her, the lady only had negative reactions: anger, repulse, disgust and indifference. At the corner of his eyes, Jin saw his brother reaching out to follow Ai and a wave of irrepressible anger rose inside him. Out of anger, he grabbed Akiyo and threw him on the ground. The force he used was not too violent but enough to seperate the two. Suddenly, Jin found himself being pinned against the wall by Ai. Her hands tightly gripped his already injured neck as her pale golden eyes glared at him hatefully. "How dare you! He is your brother! You are too vicious!" Ai yelled as her grip on Jin''s neck tightened. "You are too vicious! You are too vicious!" the words rang in Jin''s mind as his vision started to overlap. It was a scene with the same words. Only that the words were said by him to Ai, who was on the floor with tears streaming down her face. He was clutching Miko in the embrace as he repeated those words in a similar manner. What? What was that? Seeing that Jin had not responded to her, Ai released her grip on him. She had noticed the large bruise on his neck and wondered how he had gotten it. Shrugging away her thoughts, she moved to help Akiyo on the floor. Akiyo looked severely injured as he looked back at Jin with a wronged expression. The expression revealed his unspoken word: Brother how could you do this to me? Ai felt her heart clenched as her hatred for Jin grew exponentially larger. How can he be so cruel?! But as she helped Akiyo off the ground, she did not see the glint on his eyes as his lips curled into a triumphant smile. He had been long observing everything and was truly tired of being put aside. He noticed how Kit Koyozoki played the victim role and inevitably secured a place beside Ai. So when the opportunity arose, he merely utilised it to his advantage. Well... sorry, big brother, it sucks to be you. Soon, the duo left the scene without looking back as a certain pitiful young general watched with tears streaming down his face. Just as the duo reached the premise of Shizuka Household, they heard loud noises as if some sort of arguments was taking place, followed by a pained yell. Shocked, the duo immediately hastened their footsteps. The scene that awaited them, Ai had never expected in her life. Kit had Tamaki lay face down on the ground, with the latter''s arms forcibly twisted behind in an unnatural angle. Suddenly Kit roared in Tamaki''s face, with his veins popping out, "You twisted bastard!! Where have you taken Ai?!" Holy S***! Wha...what happened to her little kitty and his usual adorable demeanour?! Kit had never, she repeats, never raised his voice in such manner and why does this kit look like a walking steroid on strike? What the... Visibly angered that Tamaki wasn''t answering him, Kit applied more pressure and pressed him down on the ground to the point that Tamaki looked like he was kissing the ground. Ai immediately shouted to put a stop to it before things escalated. Hearing that, Kit abruptly whipped his head around and dropped Tamaki on the ground like a rag doll. Kit first noticed Ai and relief flooded into his eyes, before noticing Akiyo''s arms on her shoulder and immediately walked over, his eyes blazing like fire. Pushing Akiyo aside, Kit gripped Ai''s shoulders and immediately questioned, "Where have you been?!" Akiyo, who had been pushed to the ground second time in a day, glared hatefully at Kit. True, most of his injury was self-inflicted but still, he was fucking injured! Paying no mind to it, Kit repeated his question, "I said where have you been?!" Snapping out of her shock, Ai gave out her automated answer, "Well... I had too much drink and needed a rest so I went to the nearby inn". Hearing her reply, Kit''s expression slightly softened but immediately retorted, "Even then you could have looked for me and asked me to bring you there! I was looking for you for ages!" Ai didn''t reply but smiled and lightly patted his head. Well, she didn''t know what to reply to that and sometimes a smile is the best answer to get you out of unexpected situations. In this situation, that seemed to have worked since Kit immediately softened and leaned into her touch like a big overgrown cat. Just as she thought she had avoided the disaster, a flurry of black immediately rushed over and tackled Kit by his waist. Now with Kit on the ground, the flurry, who she noticed as Tamaki, rained punches down on Kit. What''s with the whole violent scenarios?! She had only disappeared the one single night and the whole world seemed like it fell into a lawless apocalypse! Sighing once more, Ai reluctantly pulled Tamaki away. That little stinky bug was panting and crawling to break free to punch Kit more as she restrained him. "Enough, Tamaki" Ai whispered, she did not have enough strength left in her to handle this and she was soon about to faint. Tamaki noticed Ai''s pale face and the first time she addressed him by his first name. He blushed slightly that it temporarily eased him out of his fury. Last night, he was out and about searching high and low for Ai and he couldn''t find her. He had especially felt responsible since Ai had disappeared from one of his establishments, and thus sent out his minions to find her as well. But with no avail, Tamaki had come down to Shizuka household in case Ai would be back here. But just as he reached, he was ambushed by that rabid dog of her. He didn''t expect that kid to be extremely strong, as he was immediately being pushed to the ground. Tamaki had martial arts training but this kid, his martial arts was on a different level. Tamaki was helpless with his arms being twisted behind until the lady of his affections came to his rescue. But he was badly humiliated and he couldn''t let this go so he tackled the kid and vented his anger. Suddenly, the arms that were restraining him loosened and Ai fainted. Catching her before she landed on the ground, Tamaki felt an emotion that he had never encountered before. Concern. Glaring at that stupid kid with the bruised face and the other useless loser on the ground, Tamaki immediately lifted Ai and walked into the Shizuka household. The servants better fucking bring me the best physician! 15 Confession When Ai woke up again, the sun had already set in the horizon and a faint glow of moonlight illuminated her room. Having enough rest, she decided to go out for a walk. Gently pushing open the wooden door, Ai took a step outside her room. Bathing in the moonlight silently was a figure leaning against a pillar. Long blonde hair flowed softly against the wind as a pair of grey eyes stared at her intensely. Ai felt her heart clenched. Even under the faint moonlight, the bruises on his face were jarringly obvious, they contrasted strongly against the gentle countenance he usually possesses. Perhaps she was truly cursed after all, and everyone that associates with her inevitably gets hurt. Feeling guilty, Ai reached out her hands instinctively to hold his face. Without a moment of delay, he lapped it up happily while leaning into her touch with his grey eyes sparkling excitedly. He truly looked like an overgrown cat and Ai let out a burst of soft laughter, remembering the nickname she gave. This boy is really like a kitty. As if startled, Kit tilted his head slightly in confusion. But he quickly forgot what he was confused about the moment he heard her laughter. It was mesmerising. But as quick as it came, the warmth that surrounded him quickly retracted as Ai stared at him with a sadness in her expression. "What''s wrong?" he asked, panic rising in his chest at her sudden change of behaviour. "I... well, you should find another master", she answered, averting her eyes away from his crestfallen face. Kit had been loyal to her and she didn''t really want to make him sad. After a brief period of silence, Kit finally asked,"..... why?" His voice sounded like he was gritting his teeth, all tensed and barely held in by a thin thread. Why is she abandoning him? Is it because he had done something wrong? Is it because he sent those annoying young masters away using her family jade without her permission? Is it because he beat that rat Tamaki? But no... no matter the reason, she can''t abandon him! There is no way he would ever allow that! Ai sighed. She has to do it. It is not safe to be around her and she didn''t want to drag him into the mess unnecessarily. This was the only way. "Kit... it''s not safe to be here, find a good master somewhere or if you want, I can recommend a few for you," she replied solemnly. "Safe?..." Kit let out a bitter laugh. "I don''t need to be safe! Ai, are you so blind?" His voice rising up a notch with every word he said. Before she could reply, Kit immediately pressed forwards and slammed his hands against the wall. They were so close that she could feel his breath fanning her. Wait....why does this situation seem so wrong?! She only asked him to find another job and the boy had to close in on her like she was his romantic interest... or was that... was that what he means by her being blind?! Ai immediately widened her eyes as realisation dawned on her. She didn''t dare to look up at him so she stared helplessly at his rapidly beating chest and pondered on her next action. Ah... she didn''t plan to fall in love with someone in this life, she only wanted to protect her family and why is this happening?! As if getting tired of Ai''s avoidance, Kit impatiently bent down and stared at her, his grey eyes looking extremely vulnerable as he leaned in. Just before his lips could touch hers, Ai recovered her wits and immediately pushed him away with all the strength she had, creating a much-needed space between them. Ai panted heavily as she looked at Kit in shock. She still could not wrap her mind around the matter and she was seriously confused. Was he... was he trying to kiss her? She wanted to reprimand him for such disrespectful act but the words died in her mouth when she noticed Kit''s entire body trembling faintly. The grey eyes glared at her with accusation as if they were screaming bloody betrayal and her breath got stuck in her throat. ... She was the one who almost got kissed, why is she being treated like a bad guy again?... "Kit...There might have been some misunderstanding..." Ai started and she cursed herself mentally. It seemed that she had been using this line too frequently and somehow she kept getting ended up in awkward situations. "Misunderstanding?..." Kit bit out. His heart clenched painfully and he felt like he was suffocating, unable to bear the grief he was feeling at that moment. She is rejecting me... "There was no misunderstanding, I like you, Ai." Without waiting for her reply, Kit immediately leaned in and lay a desperate kiss on her lips. His movements were clumsy as if he did not know what to do and obviously needed the guidance. Ai immediately struggled to push him away but Kit was prepared. He firmly grasped the back of her head as the other held her arms tightly, rendering her actions useless. Ai felt a wave of anger rose within her for being manhandled and at that moment, she wanted nothing more than to hurt him. Yet she couldn''t harden her heart to do so when she noticed something wet touched her face. He is crying?! Why is he crying?! She was the one being forced in a kiss?! But he is acting like she was the savage one who forced an innocent man down and ravished him senselessly! Good grace! Why is everyone around her so melodramatic and unreasonable?! Oblivious to Ai''s internal struggles, Kit continued to kiss her desperately as sadness overwhelmed his senses. It''s true that he did not have any experience in the field of romance as she was the only one he ever felt anything for. Sure, there were women who threw themselves at him purely for his looks and also those who wanted to take advantage of his low status in the society. But he had never reciprocated them and firmly stayed away. But now this is different! He only wanted Ai to like him and not throw him away! Sensing that Ai was not responding, Kit felt restless as the panic in his mind rose sky-high. Slightly pulling himself away, he begged brokenly, "Please." Ai blinked. His crying face under the moonlight was very enchanting and it almost made the other party want to give him whatever he wanted. But that cannot happen! She could not appease him and agree to him for it would be a big lie. She does not want to have any romance in this life and her heart had been sealed long ago. Even if she agreed to him now, she was just prolonging his pain and giving him false hope. Shaking her head slightly, Ai brushed off his hands on her. "I can''t give you what you want", she said in a cold tone. "You are just growing up... it''s understandable you might have a crush... but don''t worry, it will pass", she elaborated, trying to convince the young boy. But every word that Ai said felt like a knife curving on his heart and Kit shook his head obstinately. "Stop saying that! I know what I want! Is it because of my status? If so, don''t worry, Ai, I can provide you with a good life! Please, please don''t throw me away!", Kit yelled, his emotions reaching the highest peak with no way to back down. As much as her heart ached at his confession, there was nothing she could do. She had other things to prioritise and this little infatuation would only get in her way. Sighing once more, Ai replied, "You can stay if you want, but I don''t feel the same, I''m sorry." Without saying anything more, Ai turned and walked away into the night. Just as she reached the gate, Kiya rushed towards her and passed a letter to her. It had Shizuka insignia with emergency written on top. Blood immediately drained from her face... don''t tell me... 16 Boys and Girls in the Red Light Distric Recap: Just as Ai reached the gate, Kiya rushed towards her and passed a letter to her. It had Shizuka insignia with emergency written on top. Blood immediately drained from her face... don''t tell me... ___ Filled with immerse worries, Ai immediately ripped open the letter. Baby sis!! The neighbouring prince went missing and Papa is panicking! We are currently at the border searching for the prince. But we don''t have enough manpower to search into Shinto so please help to look for him! In case you didn''t know how the prince looked, I drew a portrait for you! P.S. Big brother will owe you his life if you help him out this time! I promised not to get married and will protect baby sis with my whole life! Your dearest big brother, Saitoooo <3 The moment Ai finished reading the letter, she felt like throwing it away and ripping it into pieces. This is definitely a false alarm! Her brother almost shocked her into a cardiac arrest because of the "emergency" and she cursed internally. Saito and his melodramatic antics are going to be the death of her. Letting out a big puff of breath to calm her mind, Ai looked at the letter one more time. Right now things might not seem like a big deal but she knew better. If something happened to this missing prince, there would be tensions with the neighbouring country and the safety of her family will be implicated. Knowing the nature of "snakes" in the council of five, she would better act now than be sorry later. After analysing the content of the letter, Ai felt relieved at the thoughtfulness of her brother for drawing the portrait until her eyes reached the said portrait. Nevermind, she takes back her words, she wants to kill Saito now. The portrait that her brother drew was... to put it mildly, abstract. The person in the portrait did not even resemble a human and she would say a street kid would draw better than her brother. With no plausible lead to take her next action, Ai dreaded her next action. She would be heading in blindly but she needed to do something urgently. Based on the letter, there seemed to be no signs of a struggle and the prince seemed to have snuck out on his own. Considering the prince to be a healthy young man with needs, Ai thought of a place he would visit. Brothel. (All the young men in Shinto: Did Ai thought so lowly of our gender that the first place we would visit in a new location is a brothel??! We are not savage beasts! *Shed tears of feeling wronged*) With that thought in mind, Ai dragged Kiya and both of them changed into noblemen outfits. Sorry big brother Saito, we would be borrowing your clothes for a while. In a matter of minutes, the duo arrived at the streets of the red light district. As expected, the streets were bustling with drunken men and colourfully dressed prostitutes. A few of the bolder prostitutes made a pass at the two impeccably dressed young *men* while the shy ones fluttered their eyelashes flirtatiously. After all, this was indeed a rare sight considering how beautiful the young men were. One slightly cold with immortal-like beauty while the other, a mousier one, was dressed in extremely expensive robes. Both of them literally screamed money and prestige and even getting their hands on the mousy one would have made their night. Oblivious to the longing stares of the prostitutes, Ai and Kiya made their way towards the most famous brothel, Madam Ru''s pavilion. Rumour has it that Madam Ru only houses the best courtesans that are skilful in all the womanly arts and its reputation had exceeded far beyond Shinto. The prince would have heard of its reputation and if he was in Shinto, it would be the first place he would head to. Soon, the duo reached their destination and politely requested the guards. "I would like to speak to Madam Ru." Immediately as Ai finished speaking, a woman in her mid-forties ran out and ushered them in excitedly. These young men looked loaded and it was just fortunate that she was just debuting her best musician today! The rare beauty was stuck at one of her restaurants unable to pay the bills for the foods consumed and using that as leverage, she managed to secure a contract. Now she just has to wait for these rich little greenhorns* to lay their eyes on the beauty and earn from it! Thinking that her plan was indeed perfect, Madam Ru led Ai and Kiya towards the centre of the building. Among the crowd of excited men, there sat a courtesan holding a guzheng*. The lady was very beautiful despite her face being half covered by a veil and she was actually very tall. She could be as tall as Shion Hozaka, if not more, yet it only added to her charm. Ai watched feeling conflicted as the courtesan scanned the crowd and her eyes landed on her. There was such familiarity in the pale blue eyes of her and it almost seemed like they lit up as soon as they landed on Ai. Soon, the courtesan began playing the Guzheng as her eyes stared fixated at Ai. A heavenly voice sang out, neither too low nor too high, singing about betrayal as the skilful hands played with the strings expertly. For some reasons, Ai felt guilty as if the song was directed at her and she struggled to pull her eyes away. After what seemed like eternal torture of guilt, the song came to an end and everyone clapped in awe and admiration. Despite the melancholic nature of the song, the musician was very talented and many wouldn''t mind spending the night listening to the tunes of such exotic beauty. As fast as lightning, Madam Ru, who had been observing silently, rushed to the courtesan. In her mind, this rare beauty was indeed a visionary for picking out such a gold mine and she was very happy that the beauty had enchanted the aloof-looking rich boy. "If you can secure a night with that young master, your debt is fully paid" Madam Ru whispered discretely to the courtesan. The courtesan nodded immediately, almost looking extremely eager. Madam Ru smirked, as long as she gets the money she didn''t care what method was involved. As if almost on cue, a voice that almost guaranteed to be a greasy old man rang out, "Send the beauty to my room, I like her." The courtesan immediately paled at the man''s voice and her eyes snapped towards Ai''s direction, pleading desperately. Ai faced a dilemma. She came here to get information about the prince, not to rescue some young courtesan. Yet the begging eyes was too hard to refuse and Ai felt her resolute crumbled. Sighing, Ai raised her hands, signalling the courtesan to be sent to her instead. The courtesan''s eyes lit up happily while Madam Ru eyes lit up with dollar signs. "Are you sure you can afford her, young master? She is our most talented musician, it''s not cheap!" Madam Ru replied greedily as she looked at Ai from head to toe. Ai wanted to roll her eyes. This greedy pig of a woman, I can afford a courtesan just fine, she wanted to retort. But deciding that she needed information, Ai just nodded and walked to the nearest private chamber. Since she was spending money on this courtesan, she might as well just question her. After a few minutes of being in the room, a soft knock was heard and the courtesan came in. The veil was still covering her face and she looked up coquettishly at Ai. As if like a trained professional, the courtesan reached out to the bottle of wine to pour her a cup. Ai immediately put a hand to stop her. She only came here to question and soon she would be heading back out. "Have you seen a foreigner recently?" Ai asked her. The courtesan tilted her head slightly in confusion, "A foreigner?" Ai grew embarrassed at her stupid question. "Well, I mean someone that is not from Shinto. I would say a rich young man. Someone that looked like he was perhaps a prince from a neighbouring country?" Suddenly the courtesan laughed. The laugh was very hearty and lack of inhibitions. It was almost like... for the lack of better words... manly. Ai and Kiya froze staring at the apparently very beautiful but manly-laughing courtesan. Noticing their stare, the courtesan lifted up her eyes. "You mean me, Wifey?" The courtesan replied as the veil was removed to reveal the very same face she ran away from this morning. The only words in Ai''s mind: FML 17 Chapter 17: White Fox Kit stood motionless as he watched the pale figure left in a flurry. Her cold words resounding in his head: You can stay if you want, but I don''t feel the same. An injured look flashed across his face. Despite the kindness she had shown him, his young miss was also extremely cruel, she heartlessly rejected him without any reservation. Kit felt like his heart had been forcibly ripped out, empty and dead, yet at the same time so painful he could hardly breathe. He wanted to run after her, hold her tightly so that she may never run away from him. ...But could he? She would loathe him even more... Kit had seen the flash of anger in her eyes when he tried to stop her from pushing him away. Her normally calm pale golden eyes had flashed with such malice that it was enough to strike fear into a grown man''s heart. ...Yet the fire in his heart only grew... Like a madman on the brink of desperation, he yearned for the untouchable flower that he couldn''t have. And, of course, the ice-cold poisonous flower didn''t even disappoint him one bit as she delivered the most brutal blow to his ego; just a flat-out rejection. Yet he''s willing to give her everything... everything except... abandoning him. When she had asked him to leave, Kit had panicked. The continuous restraint that he placed on himself finally broke and in his last final hope, he threw caution to the wind and blatantly revealed his emotions. Of course, as the saying goes, play with fire and get burnt, and he had no one but to blame it on himself. Kit couldn''t remember how long he had been standing there moping around until he heard the approaching footsteps. ... Has she come back? Perhaps after what just happened, she might not want to see him so soon so Kit immediately blended himself into the shadows. After all, he was still standing around like a creep in front of her room... Yet when he noticed the scene in front of him, his expression turned complex. Ai, who was dressed in a fine set of nobleman robes, was accompanied by a woman with pure white hair. A woman who was taller than Ai. Kit frowned slightly. Ai''s body structure, by no means, is petite, she could be considered taller than an average in height and yet this new woman stood at least a head higher. But his concentration on their heights was suddenly broken when the new woman suddenly called out, "Wifey, wait for me!" ... Kit immediately paled. That voice. He knew that voice... Ai sighed helplessly. Ever since they left the brothel, this Hayama, the neighbouring prince had been constantly on her nerves. She had tried to reason with him to stop him from calling her "wifey" but the stubborn man refused to back down. He had insisted that not only did she take advantage of him when she was drunk, she also left him without any money and thus him ended up in a brothel. Ai wanted to retort; somehow he ended up in the brothel because he ate too much and didn''t have money to pay for it so why was she being blamed again. But considering his position as the prince, she didn''t want to openly offend him so she had suffered in silence. Only when closer to her house, Ai hastened her footsteps, unable to bear the incessant chatting any longer. Not only that, Hayama had also leaned on her as they walked. He had clutched her arms in death grips as they walked through the red light district and his whole body leaned on her like a drunken sailor. ...Ah hello your highness, your body is not that small... But frankly speaking, Ai didn''t know why he was doing that since he himself seemed to be in discomfort, bending his tall frame to hold her arms tightly. Yet that strange creature had continued to stick to her like a clingy beast, making her disoriented throughout. Ai sighed once again as she waited for the prince who was apparently taking his own sweet time to walk over. Looking at the scenes left and right, Hayama looked very fascinated. Ai rolled her eyes... Prince, what are you looking at, it''s pitch black out there and the only light available was from the moon and your weirdly luminescent white hair. Even then, everywhere else was completely shrouded in darkness. Finally reaching her, Hayama smiled happily as he held her shoulders gingerly. It was not that he wanted to take his own sweet time as her very expressive eyes were accusing him of. It was because he noticed the silhouette of a man lurking in the shadows. Taking his time, Hayama had ready the poison needles under his sleeves as he approached closer. But other than the slight movement in the beginning, the shadow had yet to make a move and Hayama narrowed his eyes slightly. It didn''t seem to be a foe but he couldn''t be so sure so he slightly moved his body closer to Ai. But Ai, thinking that Hayama wanted to lean his oversized body to her again, immediately leapt out of his grasps. Hayama scowled. This woman... always trying to escape from him... Perhaps he had leaned onto her too close? But it should be fine since he had always seen his father doing the same thing to mother empress and he only wanted to try out on his own. "Your Highness..." Ai called. She felt a bit nervous since she saw his scowl and somehow worried that she might have offended the prince. In her previous life, she could be considered a true god of pestilence, offending people left and right with her wild unrestrained behaviours. In fact, it wouldn''t be that surprising if all these people she offended came together to plot her family''s demise. But now that she was desperately trying to protect her family, that option of behaving wildly was no longer an option and she has to be extremely careful with her approaches. Seeing the frigid-looking young miss, Hayama smiled again as he tried to ease whatever that was worrying her. "So wifey... where is our room?" he asked happily, trying to divert her attention back to him. Ai froze. Don''t tell me I have to go through this conversation again... "Your Highness..." she began as she looked around for Kiya to send the prince to the guest room. But remembering that she had sent away Kiya to send a letter to her brother, her heart grew heavy with dismay. ... The other servants should be sleeping now and where is Kit when she needed him?! As if hearing her thoughts, a figure stepped out from the shadows. Kit respectfully bowed as he told her, "I will escort the prince to his room, Miss Shizuka." Ai had never felt happier seeing Kit but her happiness momentarily froze when she noticed how he had addressed him. Was he still affected by her words? He is still young, he shouldn''t be hung up on such childish crush. Anyhow she desperately wanted to rest and if Kit was helping her, she was more than happy to accept so she nodded happily and walked off to her room, ignoring the protests from Hayama. A few moments later, Kit and Hayama heard the sounds of a door closing and the two men immediately turned to glare at each other. "What''s a dirty spy like you doing here?" Hayama was the first to start. "You''re one to talk, White Fox" Kit replied, recalling the hideous name that the so-called prince named himself with. Who the hell called themselves White Fox anyway. "Haa... It seemed that I let you off easy when you snuck into my country, seeing how you can maintain your snarky attitude." Hayama shot back as he narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Leave, you don''t belong here." Coupled with the recent rejection he received, Kit felt like his anger was reaching the boiling point. It seemed that his young miss has the true talent for attracting creeps. Just casually going out for a walk and she had already attracted a stray creep. A creep that was not even from Shinto! Hayama rolled his eyes. What does a dirty spy like Kit Koyozoki commanding him, he should be feeling grateful that he left him off unscathed when he was found snooping around and sticking his nose into where it doesn''t belong. In fact, if he knew this would happen, he should have just thrown him to his guards! He knew a certain female guard that would very much enjoy a new pet. But Koyozoki was very young back then, doing the dirty works for his queen or whatever he called it. Sighing, Hayama replied, "Just show me the room, Koyozoki." 17 White Fox Kit stood motionless as he watched the pale figure left in a flurry. Her cold words resounding in his head: You can stay if you want, but I don''t feel the same. An injured look flashed across his face. Despite the kindness she had shown him, his young miss was also extremely cruel, she heartlessly rejected him without any reservation. Kit felt like his heart had been forcibly ripped out, empty and dead, yet at the same time so painful he could hardly breathe. He wanted to run after her, hold her tightly so that she may never run away from him. ...But could he? She would loathe him even more... Kit had seen the flash of anger in her eyes when he tried to stop her from pushing him away. Her normally calm pale golden eyes had flashed with such malice that it was enough to strike fear into a grown man''s heart. ...Yet the fire in his heart only grew... Like a madman on the brink of desperation, he yearned for the untouchable flower that he couldn''t have. And, of course, the ice-cold poisonous flower didn''t even disappoint him one bit as she delivered the most brutal blow to his ego; just a flat-out rejection. Yet he''s willing to give her everything... everything except... abandoning him. When she had asked him to leave, Kit had panicked. The continuous restraint that he placed on himself finally broke and in his last final hope, he threw caution to the wind and blatantly revealed his emotions. Of course, as the saying goes, play with fire and get burnt, and he had no one but to blame it on himself. Kit couldn''t remember how long he had been standing there moping around until he heard the approaching footsteps. ... Has she come back? Perhaps after what just happened, she might not want to see him so soon so Kit immediately blended himself into the shadows. After all, he was still standing around like a creep in front of her room... Yet when he noticed the scene in front of him, his expression turned complex. Ai, who was dressed in a fine set of nobleman robes, was accompanied by a woman with pure white hair. A woman who was taller than Ai. Kit frowned slightly. Ai''s body structure, by no means, is petite, she could be considered taller than an average in height and yet this new woman stood at least a head higher. But his concentration on their heights was suddenly broken when the new woman suddenly called out, "Wifey, wait for me!" ... Kit immediately paled. That voice. He knew that voice... Ai sighed helplessly. Ever since they left the brothel, this Hayama, the neighbouring prince had been constantly on her nerves. She had tried to reason with him to stop him from calling her "wifey" but the stubborn man refused to back down. He had insisted that not only did she take advantage of him when she was drunk, she also left him without any money and thus him ended up in a brothel. Ai wanted to retort; somehow he ended up in the brothel because he ate too much and didn''t have money to pay for it so why was she being blamed again. But considering his position as the prince, she didn''t want to openly offend him so she had suffered in silence. Only when closer to her house, Ai hastened her footsteps, unable to bear the incessant chatting any longer. Not only that, Hayama had also leaned on her as they walked. He had clutched her arms in death grips as they walked through the red light district and his whole body leaned on her like a drunken sailor. ...Ah hello your highness, your body is not that small... But frankly speaking, Ai didn''t know why he was doing that since he himself seemed to be in discomfort, bending his tall frame to hold her arms tightly. Yet that strange creature had continued to stick to her like a clingy beast, making her disoriented throughout. Ai sighed once again as she waited for the prince who was apparently taking his own sweet time to walk over. Looking at the scenes left and right, Hayama looked very fascinated. Ai rolled her eyes... Prince, what are you looking at, it''s pitch black out there and the only light available was from the moon and your weirdly luminescent white hair. Even then, everywhere else was completely shrouded in darkness. Finally reaching her, Hayama smiled happily as he held her shoulders gingerly. It was not that he wanted to take his own sweet time as her very expressive eyes were accusing him of. It was because he noticed the silhouette of a man lurking in the shadows. Taking his time, Hayama had ready the poison needles under his sleeves as he approached closer. But other than the slight movement in the beginning, the shadow had yet to make a move and Hayama narrowed his eyes slightly. It didn''t seem to be a foe but he couldn''t be so sure so he slightly moved his body closer to Ai. But Ai, thinking that Hayama wanted to lean his oversized body to her again, immediately leapt out of his grasps. Hayama scowled. This woman... always trying to escape from him... Perhaps he had leaned onto her too close? But it should be fine since he had always seen his father doing the same thing to mother empress and he only wanted to try out on his own. "Your Highness..." Ai called. She felt a bit nervous since she saw his scowl and somehow worried that she might have offended the prince. In her previous life, she could be considered a true god of pestilence, offending people left and right with her wild unrestrained behaviours. In fact, it wouldn''t be that surprising if all these people she offended came together to plot her family''s demise. But now that she was desperately trying to protect her family, that option of behaving wildly was no longer an option and she has to be extremely careful with her approaches. Seeing the frigid-looking young miss, Hayama smiled again as he tried to ease whatever that was worrying her. "So wifey... where is our room?" he asked happily, trying to divert her attention back to him. Ai froze. Don''t tell me I have to go through this conversation again... "Your Highness..." she began as she looked around for Kiya to send the prince to the guest room. But remembering that she had sent away Kiya to send a letter to her brother, her heart grew heavy with dismay. ... The other servants should be sleeping now and where is Kit when she needed him?! As if hearing her thoughts, a figure stepped out from the shadows. Kit respectfully bowed as he told her, "I will escort the prince to his room, Miss Shizuka." Ai had never felt happier seeing Kit but her happiness momentarily froze when she noticed how he had addressed him. Was he still affected by her words? He is still young, he shouldn''t be hung up on such childish crush. Anyhow she desperately wanted to rest and if Kit was helping her, she was more than happy to accept so she nodded happily and walked off to her room, ignoring the protests from Hayama. A few moments later, Kit and Hayama heard the sounds of a door closing and the two men immediately turned to glare at each other. "What''s a dirty spy like you doing here?" Hayama was the first to start. "You''re one to talk, White Fox" Kit replied, recalling the hideous name that the so-called prince named himself with. Who the hell called themselves White Fox anyway. "Haa... It seemed that I let you off easy when you snuck into my country, seeing how you can maintain your snarky attitude." Hayama shot back as he narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Leave, you don''t belong here." Coupled with the recent rejection he received, Kit felt like his anger was reaching the boiling point. It seemed that his young miss has the true talent for attracting creeps. Just casually going out for a walk and she had already attracted a stray creep. A creep that was not even from Shinto! Hayama rolled his eyes. Why is a dirty spy like Kit Koyozoki commanding him, he should be feeling grateful that he let him off unscathed when he was found snooping around and sticking his nose into where it doesn''t belong. In fact, if he knew this would happen, he should have just thrown him to his guards! He knew a certain female guard that would very much enjoy a new pet. But Koyozoki was very young back then, doing the dirty works for his queen or whatever he called it. Sighing, Hayama replied, "Just show me the room, Koyozoki." 18 Say Goodbye to Love I''m leaving... he spoke the words slowly, enunciating each word with gritted teeth as if it pained him. Registering his words, the pale golden eyes immediately flashed. But yet... that was it, no other reaction as if his pained words were nothing but a passing breeze. Kit clenched and unclenched his fists as he looked down to glare at the ground, his expression full of distress and irrepressible anger. It''s exactly as he thought, she didn''t care... Ai stared silently from her vanity mirror as she watched Kit''s reaction closely, keeping an expressionless face void of emotions. It''s good... it''s good that he''s leaving... As much as she wanted to shelter the pure-hearted young boy, she knew in her heart, she was not yet powerful enough. With such unrelenting will of his when it came to her, Kit would sooner or later run into troubles that she could not protect him from. If then, what? She could no longer stand watching someone else getting hurt on her behalf. This life was her redemption and if she has to be the bad guy to keep him safe, she would immediately do so without any regrets. Sure, she had tried to brush off his feelings for her as a mere childish crush, but in truth, she knew; Kit was more than serious. The look, the stare and the way the boy had been acting around her, she would be a fool not to understand. Yet she was in denial. She didn''t want to acknowledge it for once she does, she would have to hurt the boy. But Kit is so earnest and sincere, it made anyone feel uneasy to even think about hurting him. But yet she could not reciprocate his feelings. For someone that had been through hell for such kind of emotions, the notion of love became a distant foreign subject that she no longer associates with. Of course, if she chose to open her heart again, perhaps she could once more taste the fluttering sensations of love. But what for? Love was what caused her downfall and made her lose everything she held dear. If anyone said Ai was wary of love, that would truly be an understatement. For that, it would be good if Kit left. After all, she could not provide him with what he wanted and she knew it would be even more painful for him in the future if she doesn''t put a stop to it now. Plus, she has plans that would definitely clash with Kit''s interest of her; love and marriage were nothing but a bargaining tool for power, she knew firsthand how torturous it would be for him to see her getting together with someone else. "I''m truly sorry, Kit", she lamented in her heart. If only the circumstances were different, perhaps she could love him. A self-deprecating smile graced her lips, why would heaven be so cruel to make someone fall in love with the likes of her; a cold calculative woman incapable of love. Out of all the eligible young women, he just had to fall for the shrewdest. Ai didn''t know how long she had been merrily going on her pity party mission until a touch on her shoulder woke her up. She blinked and slowly looked up. Kit''s grey eyes were looking at her in concern as his hands held her shoulders gently. When did he get so close, she wondered. "What''s wrong?" Kit asked as his eyebrows creased slightly. "You were making a very sad face just now." Ai immediately sobered up. She really needs to stop zoning out and leaking her emotions like poisonous gas everywhere she goes. She turned her face away slightly, unable to continue staring his earnest expression any longer. Kit''s frown deepened. There was clearly something wrong but she wouldn''t even answer him. Gritting his teeth, he unknowingly applied pressure on her shoulders as his rage from before came back in a full force. "You''ve changed." Kit gritted out. "Before you would always be close to me. But now you refused to speak to me or even look at me, is it because of my confession?", he pushed indignantly. Ai winced. The more he spoke, the more force was applied to her shoulders and right now he was gripping rather hard that it would sure to leave a bruise. But yet, she didn''t have the heart to reprimand him. Kit must be feeling really miserable right now and if only this could help to alleviate his pain, then she would be more than happy to bear it. Plus, knowing the boy, he would blame himself so hard for accidentally hurting her if he found out. On the other side, Kit glared at Ai as his frustration grew exponentially larger by her silence. Nothing but a stoic face, it almost felt like there was a thick layer of ice between him and her no matter how close he was trying to get. He wanted to burn, melt and destroy that ice wall that kept him from getting close to her. Blinded by desperation, he made a move to close the gap. But before he could, his whole body immediately froze as a thin needle stuck his neck, blocking his medians, rendering him immobile and not even able to move a finger except the action of breathing. "What did I say about touching my possession again, Koyozoki?" Hayama asked as he entered the room slowly, pretentiously fanning himself with a paper fan. "Haya- I mean your highness, what did you do to Kit?" Ai asked with concern as the hands on her shoulders loosened and Kit immediately dropped to the floor like a pile of boneless heap. Ai immediately caught the falling man, before he could headbutt the ground. Thank god, she caught him in time. She glared, looking up at Hayama. Hayama smiled coquettishly as he continued to fan himself. "Nothing just gave him a sleeping pill to cool his head off. How are your shoulders?" Ai didn''t answer and tried to carry Kit up to her bed instead. But Kit being considerably larger than her and filled with lean muscles, combined with the pain on her shoulders, she could not lift him up even a bit as she looked up at Hayama helplessly. "What? You want this prince to help him? Humph, never!" Hayama said haughtily as he turned up his nose in the air. Ai ignored him and tried to carry Kit once more, but this time her shoulders almost felt like they were gonna break. "Fine! Fine! But you must let me examine your shoulder later!" Hayama gave in begrudgingly as he took Kit and immediately flung him onto the bed. Good grace! Luckily the bed was soft was there were thick layers of blankets... After checking on Kit, Ai decided to head to Hozaka Trading. It had been a few days since the annual ball and she had yet to visit the workshop. Plus she felt guilty for ditching Shion at the ball and must apologise to him. Given his calm and respectable temperament, hopefully, Shion won''t be too mad at her. But just before she could even take a step out the door, her body was immediately pulled back by her waist and she was pushed into a chair to get seated. She scowled at Hayama. What does he want again?... "Shoulders..." Hayama said. "It''s nothing to make a fuss about. Please excuse me, your highness", Ai made a move to stand up. Hayama, who was the true king of persistence, could no longer hold back as Ai continued to evade him and thus he immediately reached out to pull down her robes. On her pale delicate shoulders, there were two hideous blue-black bruises that resembled the handprints. Suddenly, the door was kicked open. "Baby Sis! Big brother is back!" 19 Family Reunion The voice from the door came to an abrupt halt as Ai and Hayama looked up with varying reactions, one being dread and the other being bewilderment. No matter how one looked at it, this current situation was not good. Ai''s outer robe was halfway down her shoulders while Hayama''s hands were clutching it tightly. ...What''s with this caught-in-the-act-101 scenario?! That Hayama and his itchy hands!... Ai felt the dreadful sense of foreshadowing as she stared at her brother silently. Saito Shizuka stood frozen at the doorway as his expression drastically changed from happiness and excitement to unbridled anger. Like a looming volcano about to erupt, Saito''s nostrils flared as he bellowed loudly: "You!!!", while pointing an accusing finger at Hayama. Seeing that kind of batshit-crazy-anger directed at him out of nowhere, Hayama paled. He only wanted to heal Ai and yet the familiar Shinto official, who he now found out as Ai''s brother, had barged into the room and yelled at him? What did he do wrong?!... But looking at her brother who looked like he was ready to put Hayama''s head onto a spike, he suddenly felt fearful. Without thinking too much, he immediately leapt up to hide behind his stronghold of protection: the unwavering and unbreakable shield Ai Shizuka. ...Talk about being a dignified crown prince... Ai thought solemnly as she pulled on her robe slightly, ready to explain to her overprotective brother. "Big brother..." Ai began. But Saito wasn''t having it. Seeing the prince comfortably nestled up behind his baby sister, his anger shot up multitude higher as he roared: "Let go of my baby sister!", while unsheathing his famous word, Thousand Blades of Ultimate Brotherly Devotion. Seeing that familiar multi-bladed weapon with an unusually long name, Ai sighed tiredly. She had always known that her brother liked to pamper her and was truly indulgent towards her but really? Thousand blades of ultimate brotherly devotion?... That would make anyone choke with tears of uneasiness. Yet her brother wielded the sword with a great deal of confidence like a naked blind man walking down the street, not at all bothered about how ridiculous he appeared to others. Before things got out of control, Ai decided to open her mouth again to stop her brother, but she was cut off immediately when a voice behind her yelped: Brother-in-law! Calm down! If Saito was angry before, Hayama''s words were the exact trigger that unleashed the hellfire from the depth of hell. The veins on Saito''s face popped up dramatically as he ground his teeth in rage. ...Brother-in-law?! Brother-in-law your mother! Who gave you permission to call me that?! Crown prince or not, I will whoop your ass today!... Visibly angered that someone dared to "defile" his precious sister and even thick-skinned enough to call him brother-in-law, Saito shot forwards, holding his blade horizontally with the profound intention of slicing up Hayama into sashimi. But luckily enough, Hayama was truly gifted at being a slippery bastard. He easily manoeuvred out of the way as he ran out the door, yelling: Help!!! Yet his luck had run out when he was caught by Hakura, who just joined due to the noises. "What is this ruckus about?" Lord Shizuka asked annoyedly as he frowned slightly. He just came back, being tired from his travel and what''s with all the running? But missing his dear daughter, Hakura looked towards Ai''s direction with happiness evident in his eyes. But the sight that greeted him caused his happy expression to instantly freeze in the air. His little girl, who usually dressed meticulously and modestly, had her robes in disarrays as if they were assembled in great haste while sporting two large bruises on her shoulders. Seeing the intense fury in his son''s eyes, he could just put two and two together and he immediately gripped the arms of the prince tighter. "You!!!", he yelled as he glared at Hayama harshly. Hayama, who was constantly being wronged by his supposed in-laws, was close to tears as he looked at Ai pitifully. Ai sighed again, there go her efforts in maintaining good relations. It seemed that the trait of easily being angered and jumping to conclusions ran deep in the vein of her family and she seriously wondered who the hell put them in charge of external relations... With the Shizuka being the true blue diehard fans of "Attack first, ask question later" policy, the future of Shinto''s diplomacy is truly doomed. What of external relations, they could hardly maintain friendly relations with the residents of Shinto. Being cold to anyone outside their family, the Shizuka family wore the status of being anti-social like a true badge of honour. (Author: Welcome to the Anti Social Social Club!) "Papa, it''s not what you think. His Highness was just treating my injury", Ai told her father, trying to salvage whatever she could from the miserable plight she was in. Finally receiving his salvation, Hayama nodded eagerly as the grips on his arms slightly loosened. But as always, Hayama who seemed to have suicidal tendencies, blurted out happily: "Father-in-law, we were not doing anything improper. Yet!" Ai facepalmed. After what seemed like an eternity of convincing the raging bulls in her family, they finally settled down in her room. Ai was just about to take her seat when Saito immediately yelled out: Why is Koyozoki on your bed?! Ai: ... She just finally solved a problem, another problem arose. Her life is truly miserable ah. Having no mood to explain further, Ai just replied, "Injured." Seeing the darkened expression on his baby sister''s face, Saito immediately kept quiet as he took a seat obediently. Hakura watched silently as he observed the interactions going on. When he received the letter last night, he was overjoyed. His precious daughter had managed to find the lost prince and she was truly capable! Very good, father is very proud and couldn''t be any happier! But as the saying goes, don''t celebrate too early and that was exactly what happened the moment he came home. Suddenly a fine aroma of freshly brewed tea wafted into his nose. "Father-in-law, you must be tired from travelling, please take this refreshment!" Hayama said as he respectfully passed the tea to Lord Shizuka. Hakura narrowed his eyes but accepted the tea begrudgingly, glancing at his son who was still displaying a full-on glaring mood. When his daughter had explained that the prince was just healing her, he was momentarily relieved. But only to have it destroyed, when the damned brat of the prince insisted on calling him father-in-law! Hakura sighed tiredly. ... Little Ai, why so many proposals?! Father had been only away for a few days and you had another man proposing marriage! What happened to the other boy?! ... A few months back, Hakura had received secret intel from a trusted source (cough* Kiya cough*) that his little girl truly liked the older Omaru boy. Though slightly overwhelmed at the sudden news, he wanted his little girl to be happy so he made an appointment for them to meet, under the guise of a business merger. But seeing how she had reacted to the older Omaru boy with complete disgust and fear, he thought... perhaps his Intel was wrong and thus he put that matter to rest. His little girl was far too young anyway!... Thinking that all was well and he still had a few years before Ai got married, Hakura had been complacent, only to have it slapped in his face in the form of a certain naughty brat! The naughty brat, crown prince Hayama had been a handful since they met. First, he ran off on his own, causing a great deal of headache for him and his men. Second, he was found by his little girl, and only in a span of few days, the brat steadily decided that he would marry his daughter! This kind of unreliable character, how can this father be at ease?!... Also, Hakura knew all about the background of the prince. Raised in the matriarch country Kukio, Hayama is the sole heir to the imperial throne. Though the empress does have many male concubines, there was only one child born out of her marriages. Because of that, it was an unspoken rule that anyone that marries Hayama would ascend the throne and become the next ruler of Kukio. Since Hayama''s position as the crown prince was crucial and held great importance, he was very much pampered and spoiled since young. Anything he wanted, he just had to breathe a word and it would be his. Not only that, the child was also blessed with heaven''s grace by possessing an exceptional beauty. His beauty was truly renowned in Kukio that he was consecutively crowned as No.1 beauty of Kukio since he was 13. With that kind of background, which father will be at ease?! Wouldn''t there be many competitions?!... Plus he could not accept for his little girl to get involved in politics. He had long tried to shield her away from Shinto Politics itself and yet there were still some strays that escaped his watch. But thankfully, those stray young masters were not interested in marrying his precious daughter or else he would be crying tears of blood. But anyhow, the big question now is how to get rid of this prince? 20 The Ice-Blocks Ai sat still as her frustrations continued to build up slowly. As much as she did not want to offend the prince, this little joke of Hayama was getting out of hand. Even though clearly nothing had happened between them, Hayama seemed to be hell-bent on sticking to that story. Ai silently watched in dismay as Hayama "sorrowfully" recounted how he met Ai. With an expression as if he was suffering from a great injustice, Hayama sobbed, "Wifey was very drunk that night and took advantage of this prince. But afterwards, she ran away. Father-in-law, please seek justice for me!" Watching the scene, Ai was stupefied. She had undoubtedly understood that Hayama was a playful character that liked to prank on people. But this... this kind of dedication to his joke... Wasn''t it going too far?!... If she wasn''t sure of herself that nothing had in fact happened, she would have believed him. Ai suddenly wanted to cry as some discreet doubtful looks from her father and brother cast in her direction. ...I didn''t do it!... she solemnly cried in her heart. Unbeknownst to them, Hayama was the true definition of the word White Lotus*. Even though he gave off the impression of being innocent and playful, he was in fact, a wolf in sheep''s clothing. Yet all these skills, was in fact, necessary for his survival. Being the crown prince and the sole heir to the imperial throne, Hayama was no stranger to schemes and even life-threatening situations. Even though he maintained the appearance of a perfect prince and be "delicately charming" according to the standards of his matriarch country, he was never truly as innocent as he appeared to be. From the women who schemed to lay with him to political competitors with hidden motives, Hayama had come across many different types of people who wanted to benefit from him. But he had always seen through them and no matter how pretentious a person was, it never escaped his eyes. Yet when he met Ai Shizuka, it all changed. From the very beginning, the young woman strived to stay away from him and even ran away from him despite him possessing a godly appearance. No, he was not being conceited, it was, in fact, true that he was very good-looking and no females had ever able to resist his looks. He even had a record to prove it! Secondly, Ai Shizuka basically looked like she rather eats a mouthful of dirt than getting involved with him. That didn''t even change when she eventually found out he was the Kukio''s crown prince. Being the crown prince and a good-looking one at that, Hayama never lacked people who wanted to associate with him for the sake of their own selfish desires. Yet, it was the first time Hayama ever met a woman... no... a family that didn''t want to do anything with him... ... In fact, all three of them looked like they rather eat a mouthful of dirt ... This kind of treatment, Hayama wanted to humph but at the same time, found it funny. He is the famous crown prince of Kukio, who in the right mind didn''t want to get involved with him?! Hayama perked up from his little dramatic acting when he saw Ai stood up quietly. Without saying anything, the lady stood up, turned around and... left?! What the fuck?!!... he suddenly wanted to yell. Has she paid no heed to the little opera he orchestrated?!... His acting was so good, it was truly out of this world, he even shed a few tears. Yet she said nothing, no reaction, just casually turned around and left as if all these had nothing to do with her and as if she was just there to buy soy sauce*. Hayama suddenly felt a sour taste in his mouth, this kind of maverick character, she just came and went as she wished, heeding no one and listening to nothing, he really wanted to make a chain and shackle her to him! By the time Hayama had broken out of his stupor, Ai had already left to God knows where. Now without their precious little girl, the two Shizuka men also stood up immediately and left. Hayama wanted to curse. He now finally understood how Kit Koyozoki had felt. Without even offering a word of sympathy, they just turned around and left! Are they humans or ice-blocks?!... He seriously questioned in his mind. With almost a depressed look, Hayama turned around and looked at comatose Kit in contemplation before he also eventually left to find Ai. The moment they left, Kit''s grey eyes snapped open immediately. His grey eyes looked crazed with emotions and contained not even the slightest glimmer of sanity. "Ai...", Kit uttered, taking out a phoenix hairpin from his chest that he didn''t get a chance to give to her, and gingerly placed it on her vanity. (For those who forgot, check Chapter 04) Without saying anything more, Kit Koyozoki turned and left. ... I will be back, Ai. And when I''m back, I swear... I swear that I will not ever give you a chance to reject me again... Ai sighed out loud as she walked the streets of Shinto. Crown prince Hayama Mizuko, a completely new entity that appeared out of nowhere... he was truly a handful ah... She had initially thought Jin Omaru in this life was bothersome, but it was obviously nothing compared to Hayama. With Hayama''s top-notch acting, she didn''t see any points in arguing with him further. Anything she said would be held against her. She was pretty much used to people twisting her words anyway. Her past life was the epitome of that. Anyhow she just wished that Hayama would stop this little joke and let her get back to her life. With that thought, Ai steadily made her ways towards the Hozaka. When Ai had finally reached Hozaka weaponry, the whole place seemed empty. Thinking that the staffs might be busy at the other sections of the Hozaka, she carelessly walked towards the blacksmith workshop. But to her surprise, there was someone who was already there. Hearing her footsteps, the person turned around and looked in her direction, before happily shouting her name. Ai lifted one of her finely curved eyebrows. It was actually no surprise. The person was only the-great-lord-of-nothing-to-do-all- day-and-idly-wondering-around-Tamaki Yunes. Ai forced a smile on her face as she politely greeted back, "Young master Yunes." Tamaki slightly pouted before pushing out one of his arms, which was in an arm cast, right in her face. "I''m injured you know..." Ai wasn''t sure how to take it. Ah, so what he was injured? She is not a doctor, what does he want her to do?... Seeing Ai''s clueless face and a dumb expression, Tamaki stomped, before saying, "I was injured by that guard of yours!" Ai widened her eyes in apprehension. So he was injured by Kit so was he asking for compensation? Or was he declaring animosity towards her house? Ai immediately stiffened. Sure she might be a bit paranoid in thinking of the worst but with what she had gone through, she could never be too careful. With an expression as if having bitten a sour plum, Ai replied, "I''m deeply sorry for your injury, how may the house Shizuka compensate for your loss?" Tamaki wanted to huff, the whole morning he had been patiently waiting for her here, hoping to see the woman that put so many emotions in his heart. After that stupid guard dog kicked him and the other loser out of Shizuka house, he went home, wrapped his perfectly functioning arm in a bandage, pretending to be injured, all for the sake of being cared for by Ai Shizuka. Yet in actuality, the woman didn''t even call him by his first name much less being cared. She only gave him a mechanical reply as if like they were such strangers. Tamaki pushed down the huge feeling of being wronged. "Fine, if that''s how you want to play, I will entertain, let''s not be strangers and come work for my place", Tamaki thought sardonically. "How about you come work for me, Ai? Recently, I received this new supplies called "Gunpowder", in the west, they were often used to make explosives, I could use your expertise with the weapons to develop those further...", Tamaki said, putting his thoughts into action immediately. It was actually a good plan. For one, he would get to see Ai every day and two, her skills could be really useful in building his empire, killing two birds with one stone. Ai was slightly shocked. "Gunpowder?", she had briefly heard of it but it was actually very rare and expensive, they only came in small quantities and the western continent has full control over gunpowder manufacturing. But if they could develop their own here, it was not actually a bad idea. But dealing with new substance, she would first need some substantial quantity to research on it. Ai was about to agree, when suddenly she remembered, the contract with Shion. When the young master Hozaka made this business proposal, he had one specific term that he asked for: Ai was not allowed to use her crafting skills in collaboration with any other houses, other than Hozaka. In other words, Shion was basically trademarking and monopolising her skills to his house alone, effectively wiping out the possible competitions. How smart that young master is... she wondered. At that time, Ai didn''t think too much, she was just overjoyed that someone took an interest in her favourite hobby and decided to promote it. Now that she thought about it, the very few words that Shion said, had always been sly and careful. But it was understandable since Shion was the very centre of Shinto''s business hub itself and the man always needed to be vigilant and calculating. Speak of the Devil, a baritone voice suddenly called out her name. "Miss Shizuka, you are here, I was just about to look for you..." "Young master Hozaka, my apology for disappearing a few days, I wasn''t quite well.", Ai replied, thinking of the past few days that she went MIA*. "It''s fine, your first batch of weapons are ready and I had set up the booth to test the public''s interest. Do you want to come?" Shion said as he stretched out his hand towards Ai. Ai was very happy, her babies were hatched! She couldn''t wait to see! She was about to rush forwards and take Shion''s outstretched hand when she was suddenly held back. It wasn''t visible to people in front of her but Tamaki had grabbed the back of her robe, and stubbornly refused to let go. She glared sideways at him, asking him silently what the hell was wrong with him. As their eyes connected, for a second, Ai thought she saw a flash of pain flitted through his peach blossom eyes. Tamaki immediately turned away, directing his gaze back to Shion. "She can''t go", Tamaki told Shion resolutely. Shion''s thin lips curled upwards, "Who are you to tell her what she can and can''t do, Tamaki?" Ai suddenly felt like she was caught in the middle of the crossfire and she didn''t even know what was wrong. Initially, she had thought Shion and Tamaki were good friends but it seemed that things were not as simple as they appeared on the outside. "Young master Yunes, I have to go", Ai told him softly, turning around to open his balled fist slightly. Tamaki looked torn before he huffed and released his hold on her. "Don''t forget what I asked of you, Ai", Tamaki said before he walked out of Hozaka. Afterwards, Ai immediately took Shion''s outstretched hands and they walked towards her very first "weapon fair". ______ A little extra on Hayama at the moment: Hayama on the streets asked a passerby: Have you seen my wife? Passerby: Who the hell is your wife? Hayama: Silver hair, this height (point to his shoulder), ice-block face and looks very hard to get along with. Passerby: Ahhh, Miss Shizuka? She went that way. (point to random direction) Hayama looking grateful: Thank you, peasant! (Happily walked off) 21 Notice @@ Well... sorry to disappoint but this is not a new chapter. This is to inform the readers that this author will be away for a while, meaning there won''t be weekly updates either. I''m looking for a new job and I needa focus on my career progression for a while. Once I find a new job, I will be back. Well...see you when I see you again.@@ 22 Stand-off here and Stand-off there Ai felt her eyebrows twitched nervously as she looked down at their intertwining hands. It had been a while since they left Hozaka Weaponry and Shion had yet to let go of her hand. At first, Ai had taken Shion''s hands thinking it was merely a gentlemanly gesture but as they continued to walk, he didn''t let go and continued to hold her hand... "Young Master Hozaka, I will walk behind you, the streets are narrow¡­" Ai prompted slightly as she tried to pull her hand away. But immediately, the large hands clutched her hand tighter. With something resembling a gentle smile, the young master turned and peered down at her. "...don''t let go, it''s crowded here¡­", Shion spoke quietly. Ai didn''t say anything and nodded. It seemed that even though this young master is a man of few words, he seemed to be quite a caring person. With his thoughtfulness and noble character, and a calm temperament to boost, it was no wonder she has a very good impression of him. Yet his gentle actions triggered something in her mind¡­ One minute, she was happy. The other minute, she was not. She didn''t know why but she felt a sense of foreboding. It was like something or rather someone was slipping away from her. Almost immediately, the image of a blonde young man with a gentle demeanour popped up. Kit¡­ Perhaps Shion''s persistence and gentle action had reminded her of Kit but she wondered how he is now. He was knocked out cold by Hayama and had yet to wake up when she left¡­ At the busy seaport of Yunes Industry, a young man dressed in black blend himself into the shadows as he jumped up onto a large cargo ship. With an astounding sense of accuracy, his thin blade pointed at the neck of the ship captain and, in a cold voice he spoke: "...if you want your life intact, you will cooperate with me¡­" In a matter of a few minutes, the largest cargo ship of Yunes Industry set out to sail without a schedule, surprising the workers at the port. "Intruders! Intruders! Stop that ship and inform Young Master Yunes!", they yelled in panic. But it was too late, that cargo ship was the fastest and the best in the port of Yunes Industry, plus the vessels were filled gun powders imported from Westania. If they were to shoot fire arrows, the whole ship would explode and the port would catch on fire. With a heavy heart, they could only watch in dismay as the cargo ship sailed away. In their minds, they lamented: ...Young Master Yunes is definitely gonna have their heads¡­ Shion stared silently at the young woman walking beside him. With the long flowing silver hair that framed her slender figure and the pale golden eyes that showed nothing but limpidness, she gave off the impression of a rare gemstone from the exotic lands. Yet her face held a trace of melancholy and coldness, making the onlookers feel pained yet unable to look away. In other words¡­very attractive... Noticing the distant look in her eyes, Shion sighed inwardly. ...Looks like she is lost in thoughts again¡­ "...Miss Shizuka, what are you thinking about?...", Shion asked, gazing at the enchanting woman and gently stroking the hand he was holding. Ai suddenly felt blank. ... Ahh, what was she thinking about? Her thought range was extremely vast, from what kind of weapons she should design to Kit''s well-being and also what to eat for dinner, they were all jumbled up with no head and no tail. "...Ahaa¡­ I don''t know¡­", Ai replied stupidly, not being able to make sense of her own self. Shion''s lips thinned but calmly looked away. ...Not willing to let me in huh?... It''s fine, I have a lot of patience anyway¡­ Shion didn''t reply and just grabbed her hands tighter. For now, he will just hold onto her and observe her. ...Last time he let go, she disappeared to god knows where. This time he won''t let go¡­ Despite having a calm facade, Shion had a lot of things on his mind. When Ai disappeared the other day, he had gone mad with worries and personally sought out to find her even though he didn''t like going out to the public. That whole night he was out and about with no news of her until the morning came and he found her¡­ right in the arms of Jin Omaru. Jin Omaru... That wretched name kept on appearing around her and Shion was starting to feel irked. When he saw Ai looking at Jin Omaru with such complicated expression at the annual ball, his mood had turned sour back then. With so much frustration and no outlet to vent, Shion had confronted Jin Omaru in rage and that was a first for him... Plus what was so special about Jin Omaru anyway? Nothing but a mediocre general, Jin Omaru didn''t seem that bright with only a passable appearance and his family name. Yet her attention was solely focused on him, stopping her from seeing anyone else around her¡­ Shion suddenly felt a suffocating tightness in his chest. It really looked like the lady couldn''t see anyone but Jin Omaru. Wanting to appear in her line of sight, Shion moved, surprising himself as he stood in front of her awkwardly. "Ehh?" Ai looked up, feeling kind of shocked that the young master stood in front of her out of nowhere. "We are here¡­" Shion covered up his slip-up as he moved slightly away. Ai Shizuka''s very short attention was immediately stolen. Awaiting them was the bustling scene of a street fair that has rows of merchant stalls neatly lined up. From the household goods to collectables, this fair has everything that one could possibly want. Seeing the familiar brown-haired staff who was busy taking down the orders, Ai immediately rushed over. "Suji! How''s it going?" she greeted jovially, wanting to know about her "babies". "Oh, Mrs Hozaka! Ehh¡­ I mean Miss Shizuka! Ahahaa! My mistake! It''s doing great and selling well! We received more orders than the previous batches!", Suji replied laughing off at his "mistake". Ai wanted to roll her eyes yet at the same time, wanted to laugh ...Yeah right, "mistake"... Ever since she started working at the Hozaka Trading, the boy had been constantly teasing her and Shion. And this time was also done deliberately¡­ Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. ¡­ As if that''s even possible¡­ Ai mused. Shion Hozaka is like an unattainable immortal high above heaven. The pristine and noble angel that heaven sent out to save humanity¡­ Obviously, that kind of person will never end up with the likes of her. But hearing that her "babies" were doing well, she didn''t pay any more thoughts to Suji''s teasing and happily nodded as she went off to inspect the batches of weapons displayed. Busy with her own excitement, Ai somehow missed the discreet thumbs-up that Shion gave to Suji. After checking the weapon samples, Ai stood quietly to the side as she observed the crowd. The customer base was mostly young men but there were also ladies who seemed fascinated by the lightweight portable weapons. "This is a sword?" a wealthy-looking tall woman with a flaming red hair asked, staring curiously at a retractable sword. By its appearance, the weapon only displayed a hilt in its retracted form. But once fully out, the blade was made up of extremely sharp jagged edge. In other words, it was an excellent weapon for surprise attacks. Ai Shizuka''s lips slightly tilted up. The fish is in the trap, now is time for the kill. She was about to go entice the lady with her other merciless weapons, suddenly a conversation behind her startled her. "...Young master Omaru, thank you for bringing me here, my father is in need of weapons for Yamato magistrate but I am so silly and didn''t know how to help¡­ If I had not run into you, I wouldn''t know what to do..." "It''s no trouble, Miss Yamato. We are also looking for new weapons for the defence forces. It''s just on my way¡­" Ai wanted to bang her head on the ground. Out of everyone in Shinto, these two pests also had to be here. It was like every time she went out, she had to run into them. Wanting to make a quick escape, she tried to sneak away but suddenly, a soft voice called out, catching the attention of the other two:"...Ai?" Ai stood still, not moving a muscle as she tried to force a smile on her face. Stiffly turning around, she greeted: "...Ahhh! Akiyo..." The young man''s face lit up happily as he walked over closer: "It''s really you, Ai¡­ What are you doing here?..." Before she could reply, Miko Yamato cut in: "Since Miss Shizuka is such a peerless beauty, perhaps she had come to pick up some cosmetics?" Ai scratched her head, she was in a dilemma. If she told them her real purpose here, she would have to converse with them. But if she didn''t, well¡­ even if it wasn''t the truth, she wouldn''t have to chat with them. "Yes." Ai Shizuka simply nodded, just single-mindedly affirming that she was the peerless beauty and had come to pick up cosmetics. "...Pfft..." Akiyo laughed while Jin''s face lit up with a slight smile. "...that was¡­ adorable¡­" Jin Omaru thought. On the other hand, Miko''s face darkened. This Ai Shizuka, she is really shameless with no sense of propriety. It was a code of conduct that when a noble lady received a compliment, she should act humbly and with dignity. But Ai Shizuka¡­ She¡­ She was too brazen, it showed what kind of upbringing she has! Unable to take Ai''s "arrogant" attitude any longer, Miko Yamato smiled cunningly. "Hmm¡­ but you are in the weapon section where men frequent¡­ perhaps Miss Shizuka''s true intention is to... Well¡­ how should I put it¡­ to frolic with men, seeing how unescorted you are...", Miko laughed, her tone light yet one could sense the undefinable malice behind. Before Ai could react, a voice boomed, "Who the hell said she is unescorted?" "This prince is escorting her!" A pair of slender arms wrapped around her shoulders. Ai closed her eyes, sighing deeply. ...Great, the troublemaker is here... What kind of drama is he gonna make¡­ Miko stood frozen as she stared at the heavenly man in front of her. With beautiful white hair and pale blue eyes, the man''s features looked like they were crafted to divine perfection. Yet those blue eyes were glaring at her, evidently, with anger and disgust. Miko''s mouth went dry. ...H-how...why is it always Ai Shizuka who gets their attention?... Miko''s hatred for Ai doubled up. The first one to react from this little drama was Akiyo: "...Prince Mizuko? I thought you had gone back? Your envoy was here this morning..." "Oh?... you know this prince ah? Good boy, it seemed that I''m popular, who might you be?", Hayama asked haughtily, completely not caring about how arrogant he appeared to others. Akiyo swallowed back down his pride. He knew that was the neighbouring crown prince but such kind of arrogance: "Second-in-charge General to Omaru Defence, Akiyo Omaru, at your service, Your Highness.", Akiyo greeted, bringing his hands together in a fisted salute. (Author: I don''t know how to describe that action but it''s a common type of salute in ancient times) Hayama nodded dismissively before his cold eyes turned to look at the other two, "And you two are?", he asked coldly. Seeing the look of pain and well...as usual, the look of betrayal on Jin''s face, Ai suddenly felt uneasy. Sure, she shouldn''t be feeling guilty over it but somehow it seemed... the feelings from her past life had been carried over. Feeling suddenly awkward at being held, Ai tried to pull away from the arms on her shoulder. But those seemingly thin and weak arms were unexpectedly strong, rigidly clutching her neck without a sign of letting go. "...What?..." Hayama asked, his expression uncharacteristically angry at her refusal. Ai didn''t say anything but stopped her actions. Hayama looked mad, that was unusual¡­ though she only knew the man for a short while, she somehow naively thought he was just a playful character, completely forgetting that he was, in fact, a powerful crown prince. "Jin Omaru. Regent General to Omaru Defence. At your service." From the way, Jin spoke and the stance he was exhibiting with his sword tightly clutched in front, the introduction was more like a challenge, rather than a greeting. Ai sighed tiredly, not wanting to deal with this drama any longer. Initially, she wanted to upsell her weapons the customers. But these¡­ these people appeared, spoiling her plans. Now with her fish nowhere in sight, her mood had turned sour. "...Ehh, heartless little thing...what got you upset again?..." Hayama asked lightly with a smile as he turned to stare at Ai, looking away boredly from Jin without any acknowledgement. He had felt the aura of extreme rage rising from her. Before she could answer, a calm voice behind responded: "Miss Shizuka is here because she is my partner for these new weapons. She is the one who designed these revolutionary weapons single-handedly." Ai turned her head around, feeling slightly relieved at the appearance of Shion. But his face looked rather... stiff. Yet it was a nice save anyway. Now with his declaration, the previous misunderstanding had cleared up and plus Shion is a businessman, he could upsell these weapons to the customers without her help. Happy that her business ally had finally appeared, Ai wanted to walk over but she almost forgot the clingy arms wrapped around her. At her movement of turning around, the arms changed position and instead, they wrapped around her body tightly and a chin rested on her shoulder. Ai felt confused but seeing how Hayama''s gaze was now solely focused on Shion''s direction, she somehow understood. "Did you want to know who that is also, your highness?", Ai asked, glancing back and forth between two men. "I know. I already knew who that is¡­ he bore such a strong resemblance to a¡­ person I knew", Hayama replied with a slight smile, his stare not wavering one bit. "Long time no see, Cousin Hozaka." 23 This Rich Girl With a composed smile on his face, Shion Hozaka replied: Long time no see indeed, Cousin Mizuko... Ai stood still, shocked by the turns of events. So... they were cousins ah... but looking at the two men, other than both having tall towering frames, the two of them were nothing alike. One extremely moody and one extremely quiet, one likes to make trouble and the other prefers peace. The two cousins were the complete opposite, like fire and ice. But Ai Shizuka didn''t want to meddle in someone else''s family matters so with a dismissive look, she said: Ahh...you two, catch up, I will go look around... But soon after she walked away to a distance, a hand suddenly grabbed her. From the familiar tingles shooting up her arm, she knew who that was. Tired of other people constantly seeking her out, Ai dragged out with irritation clearly evident in her voice: "Yesss? Young Master Omaru?" Jin Omaru smiled at the annoyed girl: "So you know how to make weapons?" Seeing that the girl had no intention of answering him, he continued with a slight tilt of his head: "That''s a very useful skill, I want to learn too. Wanna teach me?" Of course, if anyone asked Ai if she wants to teach, her normal answer would be...absolute no. The lady hated being bothered and not even eloquent in her day-to-day speech, teaching someone would be a complete disaster. But she was also curious. In her past life, Jin Omaru hated that hobby of her. With every chance he got, he would reprimand her for harbouring such unladylike interests. But looking at this current almost puppy-like Jin Omaru, she suddenly felt conflicted. What on earth is wrong with him... Yet a high-pitch voice saved her from her dilemma: "Young Master Omaru is very busy... perhaps now is not a good time for you to take up such hobbies. And since young master Hozaka is working with her, he surely won''t allow his workers to dilly dally, no?" Ai wanted to roll her eyes. ...Who died and made you everyone''s manager, Miko?... Stop acting like you hold a leash for everyone in your life... Just wanting to get out this little drama as soon as possible, Ai single-mindedly agreed: "Yes, my master won''t allow." Jin and Miko froze: "Y-your Master?!" "Why yes, I designed those weapons for him, and he gives me a sum of profit. So yes, he is my master" Ai explained with a closed-eyed smile, looking completely like a contented cat. Miko Yamato felt baffled. She wanted to insult Ai Shizuka by degrading her status, but obviously, that damned woman was not at all bothered, and rather she looked happy. On her mind, Ai had a different way of thinking: ...Is she Shion''s subordinate or is she not, who cares... It doesn''t matter what her status in Hozaka, the point was to get as much profit as possible and become rich. Plus all these profits were from her favourite hobby, she earned and enjoyed at the same time, that''s considered good enough. Jin Omaru looked like he wanted to protest. But with no words to reply, his mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water before mastering a smile on his face. "Miss Yamato, could you leave us for a while? I would like to speak with Miss Shizuka. Alone.", Jin said with emphasis on the word "alone" as he cast a glance to both Miko and Akiyo, his intentions very clear that he wanted them gone. Akiyo stared silently at Ai, his cyan blue eyes filled with concern as he stood stubbornly, not moving an inch. ...That kind of look, in fact, Ai was very familiar... In her past life, whenever she was feeling down or alone, it was that exact same look at accompanied her. At the Omaru household, away from the family that supported her, Akiyo was the only one who stood by her side. Be it that she was being brazen or unreasonable, that look of concern and care never changed, only sheltering her and protecting her to his utmost abilities. Even when she was confined near her final moments, the young general had callously barged in, tried desperately to carry her out to safety as she refused him stubbornly. Looking at her only friend from the past life and seeing that same look of concern again, Ai suddenly felt choked up with emotions. But she immediately forced a smile to her face, showing Akiyo that she was alright. On the other side, Jin stared at the pair who were exchanging looks. They looked as if they were very close and understood each other, and he suddenly felt like an outsider who couldn''t ever get in. ..Yet was he truly an outsider?... From his "dreams" he knew... They were too real to be just dreams. He remembered the look of adoration on her face, the way she looked at him as she shyly tried to approach him closer. But all these affections... none of that was the reality. Like the fragments of imagination shattered by a force he could not foresee, they all just dissipated into thin air. "Ai..." Jin Omaru came closer. "Talk to me, okay?", he spoke softly with his eyes cast down. Ai looked away from her trance-like state, snapping out from remembering her past life as she nodded resolutely at Jin. Sooner or later, she would need to resolve this. She didn''t know what was wrong with him but the earlier he understood that he should stay away, the better. The pair walked towards a quieter corner of the fair, near the little alleyway. "Speak." she said, leaning against the wall with one leg propped up in front. Jin stood staring. There was a slight wind in the air and her silver hair flew softly against the wind, making her looked... ethereal. A short while later, the sleeve of the light blue kimono fluttered. With a wave of a hand in his face, she impatiently prompted: "Please start. I don''t have much time." Jin was silent for a while before he spoke: "...Ai...why do you hate me so much?" Ai stared at him. ...Hate?... Well...even though she didn''t necessarily like him in this life, what she was feeling for Jin was perhaps... not hate, but rather the feeling of wanting to get away... While Jin Omaru is definitely not the most intelligent of the bunch, he was simply, just an ordinary man... It is fairly common for the noblemen to have many wives but Ai Shizuka, who was spoilt from young and used to being the centre of attention, couldn''t accept that. Blinded by her jealousy, she did, in fact, caused a lot of menaces, trying to bind him to her in desperation, not realising that her actions were widening the growing gap between them. Yet it was only in her final moments that she realised what was truly important to her. Her family... "...I don''t hate you, young master Omaru..." Ai spoke slowly, remembering that the punishment she received was caused by her own actions. Jin, as clueless and naive as he was, only watched and acted in a way as any normal man in this era would. In a sense, he could be considered a victim himself... But human emotions are truly complex, even gods cannot decipher. Though she didn''t wish him an ill will, she still couldn''t fully forgive him for indirectly causing her family''s death. For that, all these actions that she had been doing towards him was all in the name of driving him away. "...But I do not wish to do anything with you..." She continued, wiping away the smile that lit up his face. "...why?..." Jin asked. "Am I not good enough? I will improve. Just tell me what''s wrong..." he whispered, suddenly coming very close to her with his both arms caging her from both sides of her head. Ai tried to move away but her exits were blocked. She was just about to push him off and kick him down on the ground, suddenly "crack!" a whiplash sounded and Jin immediately kneeled down on the ground and bringing her down altogether. Warm arms held her against his chest in a firm embrace and Ai suddenly wanted to cry. Being held by Jin Omaru was definitely not today''s agenda and but as unlucky as she was, she would always end up in this kind of situation. Ai wanted to push him away but something dripping caught her eyes. Near the area just above his left eye, there was a bloody gash and it was bleeding profusely. The barbed wire in the whip had seemed to cut through his skin and Jin slightly hissed. Looking up, Jin Omaru saw a young master with braided hair stood on a rooftop with an angry expression. "Tamaki Yunes?" He asked confusedly. Tamaki scowled as he looked down at the pair below. He was just on his way to the harbour, madly furious that some mofo* dared to steal from him when he noticed this little scene along the way. Already raging from the previous incident, Tamaki yelled callously: "Oii you dumb fuck, get your dirty hands off her!" Jin was highly offended. Out of nowhere, Tamaki Yunes whipped at him for no reason. And now he was openly insulting him. Grabbing his sword, Jin shouted: "You come down, I will fight you." "Ahahaha! I''m busy now but I will entertain your request next time", Tamaki laughed, before blowing a flying kiss in Ai''s direction and leapt off. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. (Author: Look at this Tamaki making a cameo appearance lol) Looking at Jin''s badly bleeding face, Ai was suddenly feeling bad. Standing in front of her idly was not the cold and cruel regent general she was familiar with, but rather a young man who looked lost and had been mercilessly kicked down numerous times. Feeling slightly bad, Ai took out her little handkerchief. Wordlessly, she dabbed away the blood as the young regent gazed at her in wonder. "Ai..." he whispered, drawing closer. The pale golden eyes flashed. "Stay still or I will blind both of your eyes." Reluctantly, Jin drew back as he watched her slowly stood up and walked away. With a smile, he clutched the now-bloody handkerchief gingerly. ...I will really make you mine... Half an hour later, the fair would soon come to an end and Ai sighed happily as she looked down at the large stack of banknotes. There were a lot of orders for her weapons and apart from the little drama, overall, it was a good event! Ai was very excited, she didn''t realise someone had crept up to her again. With an amused voice, Hayama teased: "...Heartless little thing, you really love money... your face is literally glowing..." Ai was in a good mood, so she laughed and replied: "of course! Who doesn''t?" Hayama was quiet for a while before he said in a strangely urgent tone: "Then...why not marry me... I''m very rich, I have lots of money..." Ai Shizuka was stunned. This kind of simple-minded words, surely he was jesting. "Aha! Stop joking around, but no thank you anyway! I want to make my own money and I also don''t want to owe it to anyone...", she replied happily, her spirit was high, nothing could bring her down. Hayama, on the other hand, gazed at the happy young woman in front of him. Her smile was so bright, he didn''t see her this happy before. Yet his heart ached. Once again, he was rejected. He meant it when he asked her to marry him. The woman is so rare and eccentric with shocking capabilities, he was sure he would not be able to come across another Ai Shizuka. Plus even though she normally looked cold and unfeeling, she didn''t have any evil bones in her and he quite liked how objective she sees things. This kind of qualities, they were truly meant to be by his side and he really wanted to make her his Empress. So for that, if it was the money she wanted, he would give her all she wanted. Perhaps it was a weak attempt, trying to lure her with the promise of money, but Hayama was running out of time and was growing restless. The second General Omaru something said his envoy was here this morning. That means Isamu is here and she would drag him back to Kukio by hook or by crook. Even though Isamu is his shadow guard by right, that woman listened to his mother like a loyal dog and would do every one of her commands without any question. Thinking of the super-strength red-haired shadow guard, Hayama suddenly felt unease. If she was here, he really couldn''t be out in public. Reluctantly, he said: "I need to go back first, see you at home, Ai." Ai gave him a nod and waved her hands dismissively. Hayama scowled and with one last warning glare at his "cousin" nearby, he turned and left. Thinking of all the profits she was gonna make, Ai was feeling giddy with pride. Sure, the large majority of the orders had come from Omaru defence alone and there were even some from Yamato Magistrate. Ai was pretty sure Miko got cowed into buying by Jin Omaru and she laughed out loud. That dumb Miko, playing clueless also had its side effects... If people knew her story, some might say: "Oh didn''t you hate them? Why would you accept their money? Didn''t you have any pride?" And she would answer: "Huh, who cared whose money is whose, money is still money, it''s all the same." In the end, their money or not, it all went into her pocket. If she became the richest woman in Shinto, she would have more power. Happy with the prospect of being all-powerful, Ai was on cloud nine. "This much amount of money, how are you gonna manage?" a low baritone voice asked gently beside her. Ai turned to look at young master Hozaka who silently took a seat beside her. With a gentle sweep of hands, the young master brought out a handkerchief and started dabbing the sweat on her forehead... Ai stared at him blankly. What happened to this young master... Even though she was considered to be a bit brash and sometimes clumsy, she didn''t really need someone to wipe the sweats for her. But considering Shion''s noble and caring character, it might just be something normal for him... "I don''t know what to do with this money, I never really had that much before so I will probably place in the bank for now." Shion smiled slightly. "I can help if you want...", he offered. Ai was overjoyed. From start to the end, this noble young master guided her selflessly. Sure the profits were, of course, shared among themselves from this weapon business, but she really didn''t do much. All she did was to shake legs and design the weapons when Young master hozaka was the one who took care of everything, from distribution of manpower to providing the starting capital. Overwhelmed with gratefulness, Ai''s face was almost close to tears. It was highly-spoken among the staffs that Shion Hozaka was truly noble and pristine, respected by his peers and elders alike and helpful to others with not a single trace of smudge in his reputation. But to receive such favours from someone like Shion Hozaka, this unworthy woman, did she truly deserve it? With a shaky voice like the leaves in the wind, she said: "Young Master Hozaka, I truly do not know how could I ever repay you..." Shion cast his eyes down and with almost an inaudible voice, he spoke: "Well... you can...you can have dinner with me....at my place... I don''t like going out to the public..." Ai thought for a while. Shion Hozaka was doing so many favours for her but only asked for a simple dinner. This kind of man, so humble and so kind, truly one in a million. He really is an angel... Ai immediately nodded: "Sure! I''m hungry now anyway!" 25 Aftermath "Young master Shion is proposing to you, Miss Shizuka! Hahaha!" Hearing those words, Ai lightly frowned in confusion. ¡­Proposing? What is Shion proposing? Is it another business proposal? Or is it¡­ Though those words were not very clear, Ai didn''t want to be presumptuous so she asked curiously: "Oh young master Hozaka has another business opportunity?" But immediately the two men laughed, one loud and rowdy while the other was deep and¡­ seductive. Ai Shizuka mentally slapped herself. ¡­What the hell? Why did she think Shion''s laugh was seductive? Obviously, that stupid aphrodisiac is still affecting her¡­ Ai tried to fix her expression to a more neutral one but still remained faintly dazed as she stared silently at Shion''s profile. It''s not that she never noticed before but she was in fact very much aware of it. Just like his wayward cousin from Kukio, Shion Hozaka is indeed attractive. Strong chiselled jaws and a deep-set amethyst eyes that seemed to hold millions of secrets, his striking features were far from being considered ordinary. It was such a pity that this young master doesn''t seem to enjoy being in the crowd or his name would have far exceeded his peers. A mental image of a scene this morning flashed before her eyes. Against the pearly white mattress, Shion Hozaka''s dark violet locks splayed out messily as his half-lidded amethyst eyes gazed up at her. His robes were carelessly left open as if someone had pulled on it desperately, only to expose the very satisfying view of the fair broad shoulders and a robust chest. Ai Shizuka swallowed dryly. At the moment, she looked like a hungry little beast aiming for something eagerly. With an extremely low and pained voice like someone was ruthlessly bullying him, he had told her:"... please stop moving around so much, Miss Shizuka..." Ai immediately felt like she would sprout blood. ...What senselessness is she thinking of now?! The only thing on her mind was Shion''s husky bedroom voice. It was a good thing that Shion doesn''t speak much or there would be chaos among the female population. His attractive looks were already a calamity and his voice was also a calamity. It didn''t help that they were in fact right in the bedroom and the image of usually composed young master looking all undignified kept on flashing in her mind... ...Not good! Bad! Bad Ai Shizuka!.... One minute she was just admiring his profile, next minute, her thoughts turned into this immoral direction. Who was the one acting all indignant towards the aphrodisiac culprit earlier? Evidently, she was also no better, fantasizing about the poor man right in front of him. Ai Shizuka just wanted the ground to open up and swallow her up. ...Aphrodisiac ah, aphrodisiac¡­ why are you making such frequent appearances?! This unscrupulous woman obviously doesn''t have much moral integrity and the longer she stayed, the more she was gonna lose control it¡­ In front of her eyes, she saw Shion''s lips moved and Suji walked away. But she wasn''t able to make sense of anything other than the loud roaring in her mind. With a hasty voice, she immediately blurted, "I''m sorry, I need to leave now. Goodbye young master Hozaka!" But a large hand suddenly encased her hand as a pair of deep-set amethyst eyes gazed at her. With a voice husky enough to seduce the most abstinent nun, Shion Hozaka spoke quietly, "...don''t go...stay with me for a while¡­" Ai turned red immediately but cried internally: ...Young master Hozaka, please don''t speak to me like that... I think there are still side effects of aphrodisiac left in me¡­ But looking at the young master whose face looked calm yet at the same time his eyes looked so anxious that he looked like he was about to cry, Ai felt her heartache. Sure she would like to stay idly and chit chat but really now is not the time. She didn''t know what kind of drugs the culprit used but it sure was potent. Plus why does he look so anxious about having to chat with her anyway? It''s not like they were buddy-buddy to the point of having idle chatters. Shion is usually very quiet and has little to say, their conversations usually go like this: Ai: Nice weather. Shion: ¡­ *nods* Ai: ¡­ Shion: ¡­ Suji: Mrs Hozaka! Suddenly, there was a loud bang and the door broke apart before a figure broke in...What the? Who is so rude to break the door to come in, it wasn''t locked, they could enter normally!... But seeing who was on the other side, Ai immediately understood. Of course, it''s him. Who else but him¡­ how did he find her anyway? It almost seemed like this guy keeps on popping up around her wherever she goes. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "I knew it''s you, Hozaka! Just like your father, you homewrecker, let go of my wife!" Hayama boomed before he reached out and pulled her to his chest abruptly. ...Eh?... Ai Shizuka was stunned. Seriously he is still going on about this? And what does he mean "just like your father"? Ai squirmed to get away but obviously, the god of persistence wouldn''t let her off easily, he tightened his hold even further as he flung his outer robe over her body protectively. ...Eh?... Ai was stunned once again. Honestly, she didn''t know if she was growing more stupid by the seconds or the people that surrounded her were growing more eccentric. She couldn''t really make sense of anything. This Hayama likes to act dubious and Shion likes to speak in bits and pieces as if some sorts of secret codes. Honestly, her little brain couldn''t catch up with this pair of cousins. "Wife?" The baritone tone voice asked, his voice was so low and deep that Ai couldn''t help but let out a shudder. But Hayama promptly ignored him and turned to Ai, "Wifey, you can''t associate yourself with these people from dubious background. Even if you were to get concubines in the future, definitely this one is a no go!" Upon hearing that, Ai Shizuka had an expression of the utmost intelligence¡­ huh what now, concubines?... She didn''t know whether to laugh or just start bawling her eyes out. But before Ai could give a response, another banging sound was heard. This time, a very deep voice of an older male roared: "Shion Hozaka! You disgrace! Are you trying to drive me to my grave?!" A figure dressed in dark violet robes rushed past and with a boom struck Shion on the chest. "I had only been away for a few days and you brought a strange woman into my house and even that trash of a prince!" Shion immediately slumped to the ground from the impact and a trickle of blood spilled out from the corner of his mouth. "Shion!", Ai called out in concern as she tried to rush over but a small delicate figure dressed in dusty pink immediately flashed before her and held Shion in her arms tenderly. "Brother!", the figure sobbed softly as she gently dabbed away the blood. The moment Ai laid her eyes on the figure, her blood ran cold as a sense of recognition ran through her mind. ... She knew this person¡­ 27 Demons from the Pas ...She knew this person¡­ Ai Shizuka stood frozen as her blood ran cold from head to toe. This person¡­ dressed in dusty pink¡­ was exactly as Ai remembered. Gentle and delicate with a small frame, an expressive set of blue eyes with a beautiful heart-shaped face and a soft light brown hair that flowed past her waist. A perfect representation of feminine excellence. Yet this person¡­ this person¡­ was also the beginning of everything that went downhill. Ai Shizuka clenched her eyes shut in pain, unable to withstand the flood of emotions roaring to break free, fighting to gain control of her rationality. Please stop, Ai begged incessantly in her mind. She couldn''t think, she couldn''t see, she couldn''t hear and she lost the sense of where she was as the waves of unforgiving memories flooded her mind, cutting her off from reality. "Ai, Rini will be staying with us for a while", Jin''s masculine voice spoke to her as he brought out a delicate woman from behind him. Ai Shizuka subconsciously raised an eyebrow at the sudden proposal. The young woman that appeared from behind him seemed timid and extremely nervous. But she was also very beautiful, dressed in pale colours and exuding a gentle demeanour. Her small delicate frame was shaking slightly with heaving breaths as she stuttered out a greeting. "She is a family friend of mine. She will be receiving medical treatments here¡­", Jin proceeded to explain, telling Ai about the sudden arrangement here. To be honest, Ai was not comfortable then. Call it female instinct or what but she slightly felt wary about this. But at that point, she just simply brushed off her feelings, thinking that she was possibly intimidated of Rini''s alluring beauty and was in fact too possessive of Jin. Either way, as a person who was also born with the weak body constitutions, she also felt sympathetic towards Rini for having such burdens. Plus, due to Ai''s adamant request, Jin was already doing a favor to her by having her as his one and only wife despite the fact that it was not a social norm to agree to such requests. So to give a refusal over something small and invalid as instinct would simply mean she was going too overboard... Ai Shizuka nodded in agreement. Time flew by. A week turned into a month, a month turned into a few months. The short stay continued to linger longer. But nothing seemed to be amiss since the young woman that they took in was sickly and feeble, with even worse constitutions than Ai. But unlike Ai, who was sheltered since young and had always received the top grade medical care, Rini''s family background then had seen much more humble. She and Jin took care of Rini together and at one point, Ai felt like she found a new sister that was close to her and trusted her. "Madam! You can''t enter!", a young servant girl rushed forward and blocked her way. She wore a simple uniform of the Omaru household and seemed to be very flustered. Ai Shizuka frowned in confusion, "Why not?". "M-my lord is b-busy currently¡­", the girl bit her lips as she stuttered out, averting her eyes away guiltily. The frown on Ai deepend. For the past 2 years that she had been married to Jin, the man had never turned her away no matter how busy he was. Even though he never really showed his approval, he also never showed his disapproval either. To put it simply, he just let it be. Ai found it weird, she was about to question the girl again when suddenly she heard a soft moan and the sound of things falling down. The servant girl grew even more flustered and started trembling. Ai Shizuka stiffened immediately. Those sounds¡­ they came from Jin''s study room... "Leave...", Ai choked out as her pale golden eyes turned to glare at the servant girl, "And do not tell about this to any other¡­". The servant girl nodded her head rapidly and scurried off in a rush, obviously too frightened to be in the same vicinity as Ai Shizuka. Ai took a trembling breath, forcibly trying to calm her shaking heart as she struggled to push the door open, afraid to see what was to come. Her hands were frozen stiff as if the whole world had been freezed over and the voices in the room grew more urgent, with the overlapping sounds of soft moans and the occasional grunts from a man. Ai closed her eyes and kicked the door open. The scene that awaited her made her heart sink. The clothes and shoes were scattered all over the floor and books and stationeries were thrown in disorder. Bodies of two people intertwined intimately on the study table, uninterrupted and undisturbed by the external sounds, were fully immersed in the activity they were doing. The body of the female was exposed and her slender legs tightly wrapped around the male''s bare torso while the broad muscular back of the male faced in Ai''s direction. [ Author: Fak. This scene is fucking hard to write. Wuwu :''( ] The tearstained blue eyes of the female gradually came down from looking at the ceiling and landed on Ai. Upon seeing Ai''s shocked and murderous glare, the female immediately struggled to push the male away. After a while of constant pushing, the male seemed to break free from the haze of passion and groggily turned around. His eyes seemed to be unfocused and it took a while before clarity set in and recognised Ai. Jin''s dark eyes widened in realisation. Guilt, regret and some other emotions she couldn''t identify flashed across his eyes as Ai closed her eyes in pain and let out a heart-wrenching cry. Ai Shizuka clenched her chest in reality. She dared not open her eyes as she was afraid that her emotions of hatred, anger and betrayal would be leaked out. Ai Shizuka''s jealous heart grew darker by the day, unable to suppress the hate and anger that she was feeling inside. Ai in the previous life was willful, overly-sensitive and possessive. If she loves one person, she would single-mindedly be devoted to that person and that person also must be that way. Convincing her not to get jealous was like talking to a mentally-challenged mule, both pointless and plain stupid. In another word, she was also that type that could be easily led to a wrong path if one was not being too careful. The scene faded out and another wave of memories appeared in her mind. It was a few months after the incident at the study room. "Get out!! All of you!! Out!!! Out!!!", Ai Shizuka yelled as she threw the dishes off the table in violent anger, chasing the servants away. Just another day of Jin refusing to see her. She picked up the half-broken bottle of liquor from the floor and simply drank it as tears heavily blurred her vision. "Hehehe¡­ why can''t you love me only? Why? Why??", she asked madly to the lonely silent air in a mix of tears and laughter, painting the perfect picture of a maddened obsession. Her thin body lay among the broken debris of porcelain as they mercilessly cut through her soft skin. Yet she was unable to even feel a sense of external pain. The tales of how the first Madam of Omaru household is insane raved the streets of Shinto. Everyone took pity on young general Omaru and his new concubine for having to deal with such a disaster. Yet they spit on Ai''s name in disgust. But all these¡­ did not matter to her. She only wanted Jin. Others simply wouldn''t do. A pair of strong arms lifted her off the ground, cradling her to the warm broad chest. The red dragon emblem of the Omaru defence shone brilliantly on his chest and Ai lifted her eyes with hope and happiness. But¡­ It wasn''t him... Cyan blue eyes gazed down at her in sadness, evidently taking pity on the sorry state she was in. He gingerly wiped her tears away and his lips moved urgently. But Ai Shizuka couldn''t hear anything as she stared back at him woodenly, floods of tears flowed even harder, shutting her into her own self-made prison. The scene blurred out and Jin stood beside a delicate woman as he rubbed her bulging belly gingerly, happiness evident on his face. These two painted the perfect picture of harmony, except¡­ Ai Shizuka rushed forwards with drunken steps and blocked their way. "I...I hate you so much, Rini Morioka!! Why don''t you just die!" Those words that were spoken in a drunken agony, she also didn''t know how much she would come to regret them in the future. "Please Ai, just talk to me how can I make you feel better?", two small delicate hands tried to grab hold of her clothes as the soft trembling voice begged her incessantly. "Noo!! Get out! Don''t touch me, I said get out!", Ai Shizuka tried to pry away those hands in anger, struggling to make the woman let go. "AHHHH!" A pained scream and a lost footing, the fragile body that was carrying the weight of an unborn child had fallen down. Ai Shizuka tried to reach out to her. But it was too late. In the eerily silent room, only the shocked face of Ai and the large amount of blood that pooled on the pristine floor remained. There was so much blood. Two weeks later, the unfortunate fate of the concubine who drowned herself in a river spread through the streets of Shinto like a wildfire. She was missing for a few days until her body floated near the river banks. But even then, the poor girl''s body was so mangled and beyond recognition that the coroner could only identify her by the clothes that she was last seen in. The news put a sour taste in everyone''s mouth and the one who took it the hardest was Jin Omaru. His grief at her loss was unparalleled and evidently the blame befall on Ai Shizuka. She was the one who caused the miscarriage and ultimately also the main cause that made Rini took her own life. "Kneel.", Jin Omaru yelled the moment she stepped into his study. Ai Shizuka choked back her tears as she fumbled to kneel. No matter what she says or does, his inevitable hatred would be upon her. "...Jin...", her voice shook slightly. "You will address me as master!" The response was immediate. Ai Shizuka hanged her head down, trying desperately to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. He would always hate her. Nothing else would matter. Jin was silent for a while before he asked her slowly. "Why¡­ why did you have to...", he couldn''t continue the question as the large waves of emotions choked his voice. "I-I¡­", she barely stuttered. "ANSWER ME!", Jin Omaru''s voice boomed as he suddenly loomed in front of her, startling Ai to a point that she started to shake in fear. He forcibly pulled her head back by the hair and roughly lifted up her chin. But his reddened eyes that were staring at her were full of shaky emotions, flickering between pain, disbelief, worries and a deep sense of helplessness. But as fast as it was, those emotions disappeared as if they were simply a trick of an eye. Ai Shizuka''s heart hammered erratically, both from his closeness and the heavy sense of fear. Despite her own circumstances, she shakily tried to reach out to hold her husband''s face, wanting and hoping to take away the pain that once marred his face. But before her hands could even reach him, a palm raised up and struck her across the face. Her thin frame fell limply to the ground from the large impact. Ai Shizuka widened her eyes in shock and pain, staring unblinkingly at Jin from the floor as blood started to pool from the corner of her mouth. He was looking at the hand that struck her in disbelief and perhaps her eyes were playing a trick again: she thought¡­ she thought she saw a glimpse of concern on his face. But it was only a mirage¡­ "What''s so wrong about me having another wife, Ai Shizuka? At my age and status, every other man has harem full of women. I doted on you and pampered you alone but you¡­ you just had to¡­", Jin trailed off as his footsteps slowly faded into the darkness. The emotions of self-hatred, guilt and sadness weighed down on her, making it hard for her to breath, until¡­ 28 Intervention "Ouch!", Ai Shizuka let out an involuntary shout as a real sharp pain on her hand forcibly broke her out of her memories. What the hell? Ai turned towards the person who had pinched her hand with a look of disbelief on her face. The beautifully crafted profile of Hayama stared back at her with an indignant look on his face. Ai didn''t know whether to thank him or just start laughing. This guy, Hayama, is seriously a weird fella. He pinched her with his super long manicured nails and it somehow¡­ well...saved her from her misery. Hayama scowled and glared at Ai. "I had been calling your name for hours! You didn''t respond to me!" Ai Shizuka smiled lightly. "Ahh.. I''m sorry, your highness, I was lost in thoughts¡­", she appeased the ruffled crown prince as he looked like a pampered child who didn''t get the attention he deserved. But in her mind, she was truly grateful for his interruption. "Didn''t I say get out?! You are all trespassing into my house! Get out now!", the purple-robed older man from earlier that struck Shion yelled out angrily. Ai Shizuka ignored the man briefly as she was vaguely aware of who he might be and she somehow didn''t want the unnecessary conflicts to arise. He was probably Seigen Hozaka, the head of Hozaka Trading and Shion''s father. But to Hayama, it was completely a different thing. The crown prince didn''t even bat an eyelid as he immediately started to bicker with the older man. Ai ignored both of them and turned her head to look at the direction she had been subconsciously avoiding. Staring at the young master who was still slumped on the floor in Rini''s arms, it was rather a pitiful sight. The poor man was still unconscious and his breathing was heavily laboured. The normally calm and peaceful face was pale white with the traces of blood at the corner of his lips and Ai suddenly felt very guilty. It seemed that Rini''s sudden appearance and her newfound association to Hozaka had somehow made Ai feel distant towards Shion and it also made her want to avoid him altogether. After all, Rini called him brother and as far as Ai knew, Rini''s past family name was Morioka. But still¡­ even if she was still unclear about a lot of things, it was still undeniable that Shion Hozaka in this life was her benefactor. To leave him coldly while he was in a disadvantaged situation was not something she personally could do. The least she could do was to call up a physician before she leaves. Ai slowly walked over towards the pair and quietly told Rini as she turned her face away slightly: "I will go find a physician¡­" Rini Morioka was still bawling her eyes out on the floor and barely looked up as she replied: "Yes, thank you, Miss." Ai was somewhat relieved. She still wasn''t too sure what was Rini''s relationship with the Hozaka family but it seemed that she truly cared for Shion. That''s good news, at least for now, he would be in safe hands... Ai was just about to walk away when a hand suddenly gripped her own. Pulled by the hand, she fell to the floor in a shock before a large body immediately leaned into her arms. "You are awake?", Ai Shizuka promptly asked in disbelief. But the face that was leaning against her chest was calm and still with not even a flutter of eyelashes. Upon seeing how Shion left her arms and had gone over to Ai, Rini stared at the scene biting her lips as her tears rained down even harder. Ai Shizuka felt like her blood pressure would skyrocket. Because of what happened in the past life and also due to her guilt for her demise, Ai didn''t want to cause even a smug of grievances to Rini Morioka. At the very least, if she stays away, nothing would happen to her. Ai Shizuka tried to rectify the situation at hand as she tried to gently push away the unconscious man in her arms. "Young Master Hozaka, please let go. I need to go get a physician¡­" But strangely, the grip on her hand grew even tighter at her avoidance and the large body leaned even closer, with not even a sign of moving an inch away. Ai Shizuka sighed. She didn''t know whether Shion was awake or not, but someone definitely needed to do something about this situation and Rini Morioka was also no help. She kept on sobbing pitifully as she remained on the floor. Plus Shion was heavy eh. Unlike his crown prince cousin, Shion was more muscular and larger. If she didn''t put another hand at the back to support them, they would both have sprawled out on the floor. With a helpless expression, Ai silently sent her prayers to heaven: Please help me out of this... As if Heaven finally responded to her prayers, someone thankfully came to her rescue. Only to find that it wasn''t in the way she wished. "Let go of my wife, you hussy!", Hayama shouted as he charged towards them like a raging bull while stumbling over the poor Rini who was still crying on the floor. Ai Shizuka sweated so hard from anxiety. She really didn''t want to cause any distress to Rini but the poor girl was sobbing even harder now after being knocked down by the tall and lanky Hayama. But Hayama did not seem to pay any mind to it. He was rather focused on dragging Shion away and yelling obscenities. Suddenly, the purple-robed older man from before roared: "Stop it! All of you! Out! Get out!" "Shion Hozaka! Especially you! You dare act so frivolous in front of me! You are no son of mine! Get out!", He continued to yell as he started to pull Rini up to escort her away. Rini looked like she wanted to protest to stay as she whispered shakily, "but¡­ father, brother is¡­" But the older man resolutely shook his head, booking no further arguments. Half an hour later, three people walked the streets of Shinto, one seemed vexed, one seemed irritated, and the other was¡­ Shion Hozaka being Shion Hozaka. For the nth times since they started walking back, Hayama asked: "Why are you following us?" Shion stayed silent for a while before finally answered: "...I have no place to go, I was kicked out..." "Haa¡­ as if that''s my business! Shoo, you are unwanted here!", Hayama argued back haughtily. After a while getting to know Hayama, Ai realised a few things. One: Hayama likes to argue, two: Hayama likes to argue and three: Hayama likes to argue¡­ he must argue and debate over every little thing and is truly haughty. But in this scenario, she somehow wanted to agree with him to take the easy way out. "Ahh¡­ how about staying at Young Master Yunes?", Ai stepped in. She didn''t want to be such an ungrateful person but still, she was also scared of getting more involved with Hozaka. But the amethyst eyes looked back at her with troubled emotion as he leaned closer, "...Tamaki won''t help me, Miss Shizuka. Please¡­ help me out this time¡­"