★Butterfly's POV ★
The floor of the Kastone foyer was a gritty razor beneath my bare knees, the chill seeped through the floor radiating cold into me.
Scrutinized by the absolute zero cold stare from the man standing above me.
I didn't look up.
I won't dare.
Not when the life's of my family is at stakenat his very hands.
I pressed my forehead against the cold stone, "Please," I whispered, my voice, thin from hours of continuous desperate futile begging. "Lord Kastone, I beg you leave them. Forgive my family. We will do anything. Anything you ask. Give up the assets, our name, our position, anything . Just... just please don't kill them. Don't take our lifes away"
The light sound of his bespoke leather shoe click as he shifted his weight.
Then he scoffed, tilted his head, eyes sliding over me like I was a stain.
"Get up, Kiyomi Harakhi."
I didn't.
No, I couldn't.
"I said, get up." This time, the command was laced with a threat that tightened every muscle in my body.
I pushed myself up slowly, my eyes meeting his gaze, colder than the steel of mental by his side.
"Your tragedy is boring," he promised, an empty smile touching his lips. "I am not responsible for your family's downfall and I never intended to kill any of them just because of our feud."
With less effort he lefted his frame from the piller, counting his foot step as he stepped down the stairs, heading in my direction.
He leaned in, his breath a puff of warm air against my frozen cheek, making my skin crawl. "Frankly, if I wanted your family's assets it would have already mine. Their collapse was inevitable, whether or not I pulled the trigger." He shrugged, the gesture dismissive. "I have no interest in making unnecessary clean-ups."
Unnecessary clean-ups?! When our heads will guarantee your infinite sovereignty? I'm not buying that.
"Please Lord Kastone, my family is only a neutral household. Please!" I lowered my head, pressing it to the ground.
"Go home to your family. We will settle our indifferent amicably." He said dismissively, clear annoyance in his tone.
I will not leave. Not when you could be lying. Not when I have no assurance of our safety.
"Lord Kastone —"
He turned his back to me stalking away, "Take her out." He ordered not letting me finish.
"No!" My voice broke, as I know the world I once knew existence was about to seize.
Then, he stopped in his track, slowly turned to me, his gaze blazing, sending a shiver down my spine and spoke, "I will not pay a hand on your family I assure you." His gaze boring into mine.
And for the first time since this feud, I felt relieved and a sense of safety.
With a sigh of relief, I rose, wiped my face, arranged my dishevelled self, "Thank you Zenkai Kastone." I gracefully curtsied.
As I stepped out the Kastone's estate, I stood under the pouring rain, letting it drain the choke hold that had been around my throat.
"They're safe." I muttered breathily, "They are safe." A smile paved my face.
With my heart still leaping in my chest, I headed for my family.
I ran through the courtyard, past, that long hallway towards the main building, then a scent hit me two blocks away. Not the usual flowery sent from the garden, not the aroma of the maid usual dishes, but the metallic, overwhelming reek of fresh blood.
When I rounded the corner, I stopped as everything turned silent, a ringing sensation in my ears.
My world tilted.
The entire white marble face of my ancestral home was painted in red.
Blood coated the walls in smeared handprints—like they tried to crawl away. My father's body lay twisted against the broken dining table, eyes open, staring at nothing. My mother's legs stuck out from behind the collapsed bookshelf. My eldest sister—her throat was—
I couldn't move. Couldn't think.
Then I saw it.
My kid brother and fiance—dangling from the banister, ropes biting into their throats, toes barely touching the floor. The ropes creaked as they kicked, struggling for breath.
I screamed, choking on my own breath until my voice shredded.
I cut them down with trembling hands, sobbing so hard I couldn't see as I removed the gag shove in their mouth.
With trembling hands, my fingers brushed their faces bruised and swollen, their eyes wide and blind with terror.
Everywhere I looked, there were scattered, unspeakable pieces of my elder siblings.
The sight shattered the last shard of the girl who had begged at Zenkai's feet.
The blood of my family soaked into the ground around me. The memory of Zenkai's cold, empty smile burned hotter than any fire.
I roared.
With my eyes closed I let the scent of fresh blood, the grotesque image of their suffering, etch itself onto my soul.
"I swear by the blood spilled here today," I vowed. "I will kill you, Zenkai Kastone. I will make you feel this pain. I will destroy your domain until nothing remains. And I will rebuild my empire upon your lost legacy."
And that day, Kiyomi Harakhi died.