A/N: Happy Friday!

I think I've said this before, but I always underestimate the length of my chapters. I suppose you could say this is part one of the final chapter? O.o The lesson here: never listen to my estimates again. Chances are my estimates are merely my daydreams which don't involve any sort of speech or fleshed-out interaction, or basically anything involving a narrative, lol.

Thank you for your reviews! I always get nervous when I post a new chapter, so hearing that I'm doing something right really does motivate me into continuing this story.

Lovely, silent readers, please consider leaving a review if you have the time—nothing is ever too daft or too small. You could literally scream into the keyboard and I'd smile like an idiot :')

allyelle~

Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.

—Albert Einstein

.:. 17 .:.

The village enfolded in darkness was a strange place, creeping with shadows and hushed voices. Even during a Sunday—the Lord's day, a day of rest—the underworld's doors did not close. Reiji willed his eyes to cease their roaming. Standing in the vicinity of the docks, he was awakened to all sorts of black deals which slivered around the law unnoticed. A man roughly handling a girl with chains binding her wrists, prodding her to turn for his circle of buyers; scrolls exchanged between the curtain of cloaks; jewels and precious metals glistening in dirty, undeserving hands.

Reiji's mind wandered at the expanse of blue-black ocean before him. Many years ago he had taken a ship with the intention of providing a better life for his family, but he had returned scarred and greeted by betrayal. Now here he stood, collecting trinkets for his revenge and promising a crown of blood. He was a doctor, instilled with a preservation for life. But since the discovery of him, he was sleepless, his mind disturbed with the obsession for vengeance.

That filthy man has everything he could ever want, Reiji thought, setting his jaw. Yet he had the nerve to steal and ruin what belonged to me?

He was driven by envisioning the countless ways he could make Shu Sakamaki suffer. Torturing him with his own guilt, like the twisting of a knife through the heart, until his mind was seared by as much madness as his own. Or slipping nightshade into his tea, eyes sparkling at the sight of him choked by delirium.

Death was easy, death was quick. Death was a relief for some.

It was harder to live.

Perhaps, Reiji laughed darkly. The consequences of Yui Komori's protection have served a just punishment. I could not torture him as well as he tortures himself.

Suddenly, the bell tower gave its hourly ring. He sensed their presence before he heard the footsteps.

Reiji turned. "I trust you were able to accomplish the task without trouble?"

Ayato scoffed in return. "Who the hell do you think you're dealin' with? Obviously. Yours Truly can steal anythin' he wants," he said, flashing his teeth. "For the right price that is."

He pursed his lips. Of course, dangerous work—work which could result in a whipping or a home behind bars—did not come cheap. "Yes, yes," Reiji sighed, dropping a pouch of gold into his motioning hands. "For your trouble. If all goes accordingly, I imagine you and your brood to be acknowledged before the first frost blooms."

Ayato slouched against the rail and bounced the pouch between his hands, measuring its weight. Once satisfied, he kicked an old potato-sack towards him, bumpy and oddly-shaped with its content.

Impatient, Reiji snatched the bag, looming over it with his lantern. He dipped in his hand and pulled out a handkerchief, stitched with the initials S.S.

"Useless," Reiji growled in frustration, tossing it back inside. It could belong to either of the two lords, and the gift of a garment did not connote to an affair.

The lantern-light caught the reflection of coloured, glass-beads. A finely crafted slipper, too large for a woman, especially a poor woman to own. Reiji had spent a vast amount of his time in the young master's bedchamber attending to his medical whims, and those shoes were too extravagant a thing not to notice.

"Hm. Better," Reiji murmured, his disappointment ebbing. Still, this evidence was circumstantial, not resolute. Presenting a mere slipper to the throng of village officials to convict a high-status lord would be a laughable offence. After all, who could prove that the doctor had not stolen it himself?

He rummaged further, but all his fingertips brushed against was the smooth, leather spines of books.

"Books," Reiji bit out, his knuckles taut around the fabric. "There are many men in this village with the ability to read, and doing so is not a convictable offence. Goodness—were you intent on fetching me useless trinkets?"

Ayato inhaled a sharp breath, his temper stewing. "Oi. Look inside. Do you know how damn hard it was for Yours Truly to find all of that shit? Didn't think you'd want them ripped and crumpled and shoved into that sack." He stalked back to the rail, muttering obscenities about the doctor's ungrateful tongue.

Reiji cracked open the book, immediately slapping his palm across the page to stop the parchment concealed within from fluttering away. The letter was yellowed and watermarks smeared the ink. It had multitudes of fold lines, and his stomach churned as he imagined her drinking in his words like honey. He scanned over the contents, and it took everything within him not to crush and fling it over the rail, succumbing to the ruin of the ocean.

The letter was not romantic or sickly in nature, like one might find in the pages of the very novel it clung to. It harboured affection, humour, an insight into his inner thoughts. Frantic, Reiji flung through the pages and discovered an abundance more.

...Why do you find it necessary? You know of my feelings. Or were you led to believe I gave my kisses to every wild thing in the woods?

I love you.

Remember it well, for next time my words will not be so sweet...

...That man has been pushing more potential brides upon me during dinner. He is becoming insistent. The thought of another responsibility, another person to worry about, another person to influence with my unhappiness. It is unbearable. I suppose the thought of being joined to another person that is not you feels wrong. It sickens me. Did you feel the same when that doctor forced his hand upon you?

Sometimes, I think of dressing you up in all of that finery and presenting you as my wife. I wonder what my father would do? He could not object to your beauty, of course, but perhaps to your disobedience. How it would humour me...

Yui, if I asked you to marry me, what would you say? I bet your face is all red now, isn't it? If we were wed, you would have to give me more than your lips. Prepare yourself...

...to make a decent supper for me next week. As of late, the cooks are favouring sugar.

How inappropriate. What did you think I was going to say?

Affectionately yours,

Shu

He had read enough. Angered at the exchange, Reiji slapped the book closed, trapping their love letters within.

"Where did you find these?" He asked, detached, his mind reeling.

Ayato shrugged, absentmindedly picking at the dirt caking his fingernails. "Locked away in some cabinet," he said. "When I say locked, I mean bolted. Took Yours Truly an hour to pick it. Well, most were locked away... some were already in the books. It gave me the idea to store all I could find in there. Better preservation, 'suppose."

"And did you clean up sufficiently? No trace of you can be found. It would be tedious if she found out. She is not a fool, despite her possessing a heart of one."

"Just because you're older than me, freak, doesn't mean you can get off treating me like a child," Ayato said, his raised voice shattering the nighttime quiet. "Yours Truly is the best. There ain't no room for mistakes." He calmed and murmured, "Jeez. I'll do anything to escape this existence."

Reiji pondered why so many wanted to escape their circumstance, no matter the riches they beheld. Shu Sakamaki, indifferent and ungrateful at the favour of his birthright, clung to the desire for freedom. He was starkly contrasted by Ayato, who desperately climbed the walls of his poverty in the pursuit of elevation.

He was a well-respected doctor who tended to wealthy clients. However, it irked him how his efforts would never be comparable to a lord. A man with a title to his name, who had achieved nothing of his own merit, would have the people falling to his feet. Not to him, who saved lives and possessed countless academic achievements. It was an injustice.

Reiji considered the boy for a moment longer before gathering the sack and tucking it beneath his arm. He did not think it sightly to sling it over his shoulder as Ayato had.

"If that is all, I will bid you goodnight."

But Ayato's sudden words halted his footing. "You don't think our old man is stupid enough to just... get rid of him, do you?"

"Of course not," he replied, craning his neck. "For a powerful man, an heir is an indispensable asset. I do not believe Lord Sakamaki to cast him out even if blood coated his hands."

Shu Sakamaki would not be hung, nor would he receive any state punishment. But this did not matter; Reiji had no qualms about delivering his own sentence upon the man who had wronged him. In fact, he would prefer it. No, Reiji wanted Lord Sakamaki to know the secret out of principle. He wanted the glory of bringing him to justice, he wanted the people to know of the young master's wicked deeds. He would tarnish his respect and his reputation. He would wrench away his disguise to reveal a coward hiding beneath a woman's shield.

Ayato made a noise of frustration. His answer lacked substance. "Yours Truly is involved now. Tell me what you're plannin' on doing."

Reiji gave a cold smile. "I will simply give him what he deserves."

.:.

The first light of morning had scarcely touched the castle walls when Reiji arrived at Lord Sakamaki's study. The sun had cowered, mounted by bruise-coloured clouds. Meanwhile, the fires breathed life, throwing flickering, scarlet shadows into the corridor; the air was sweet with smoke and baked bread.

Reiji was skeptical whether the Lord had risen from his bedchamber at this hour, but the man was known to prefer working early to stretch the enjoyment of his evenings. He would test his luck.

"My Lord?" Reiji spoke, knocking twice. "May I speak with you?"

After a moment, a silky voice came from within. "Enter."

He set foot into the room and bowed his head in respect. "You have my apologies for the disturbance."

Lord Karl Sakamaki was seated in his gold-studded chair, the portraits of his wives looming over him like a pair of holy guardians. The fine grey sunlight pooled into the space, across the tower of books and documents, setting ablaze the fiery tendrils in his quill.

"Doctor," he said, making his lips into a small, refined smile. "I can see you are troubled. A man with a calm mind would not rise to greet this hour. What might I do for you?"

Reiji's eyes glittered. "My lord, I have found him. I have discovered the man who has fathered Yui Komori's bastard daughter."

Lord Sakamaki did not share the doctor's elation. He reached for his tray of spirits stored in crystal-glass decanters and poured two glasses.

He sipped and asked, "And what is your reasoning behind this claim?"

Reiji did not spare a glance to the whisky. He cleared his throat and straightened his spine. "I have a verified source confirming that this man shares the same scarlet birthmark as the child. Additionally," he said, slipping a hand into his breast pocket to withdraw the handful of signed letters. He spread them before him.

"He has confirmed the affair in the multitudes of letters addressed to the woman. I have had my suspicions with this man for a long while, my lord. I believe his illnesses are not simply the result of a weakened heart, but with the torment of a guilty conscience."

Lord Sakamaki held one of the letters up to catch the window-light. His features were not etched with surprise or anger as Reiji might have expected. No, his person was calm, with only a fine line of disappointment playing around his mouth.

"My, my," he began, "I would have liked to think my son possessed enough tact to omit his name from such intimate documentation. He is a lazy boy. I am not surprised to see you have discovered his identity so soon."

Reiji blinked. "My Lord... forgive me, but you do not seem surprised by this matter. Shu Sakamaki is the subject of my accusation for seducing my wife."

He rose from his chair to stand by the window, knotting his hands behind him. "Do not care for the premature hour in which you drink, doctor," he said, his voice smooth. "You shall need it."

Reiji grit his teeth. He did not understand, and how he detested things which he did not understand.

"I have known all this time," Lord Sakamaki spoke easily, his words void of emotional weight. "I have known long before that child was brought into existence. She was a dangerous temptation to him since their childhood, and I could not afford a Sakamaki heir to be invested in a peasant girl. He was distracted and his studies were not prioritised. He did not understand his responsibility to this family. Thus, I had to remove her."

Reiji tipped back his glass, hoping the whisky's fire would awake him from this dream. Yet it did little but cause a spinning head.

"It was I who suggested you, Doctor Kasei, to Reverend Komori," Lord Sakamaki continued. "I planted the seed of his daughter's unruly behaviour within his head. It was best that she married, for a husband would surely tame her. Of course, your absence was inconvenient. I had not planned it, and it gave them an opening to pursue one another. Why do you think I rushed him a wife? A wife would distract him, shield him from careless rumours. Perhaps if she borne him a son, his prioritises would shift."

The doctor swallowed thickly before he spoke, the bitterness of alcohol still heavy on his tongue. "My Lord. You pursued her lover with equal conviction as I. You encouraged the hunt, and you berated her silence."

"Indeed, this village is rife with whores," he said. "In this instance, it was necessary to cause a fuss. If I were to put the Sakamaki name behind an injustice, why would anybody believe one of my sons to be involved? However, I could not be certain until I laid eyes upon the child myself. After all, I know the nature of women. The scarlet mark," he paused and cast his eyes to the portrait of his golden-haired wife, modestly dressed in swathes of dark silk.

"Did you know my late wife wore long-sleeves even during the summer months? She, too, was inflicted with the same disgusting markings." He smiled into his glass. "Reflecting, I was wrong to say Shu is completely his mother's son... He detests me, because he is like me."

Reiji was spent withholding his true feelings. He was nothing more than a puppet, with a high-ranking lord—who fancied himself masquerading as God—pulling his strings. He had enticed him to play a game he could never win, a disposable chess piece in his board of politics.

"What I cannot grasp," he uttered, fighting to keep the edge from his voice. "Is the reason you invited me into your home, if you speak to know the truth."

Lord Sakamaki removed himself from the window. "To punish him, of course. Shu knows where his responsibility lies. Perhaps he will rethink the pursuit of his selfish desires when the hands of vengeance are holding him by the throat."

"I would like to consider us friends, dear fellow," he persisted, pinching the sharp decanter stopper between his fingers. "Therefore, I would think wisely how you respond to this information. I will be a greater friend to you than your enemy."

Reiji matched the power of his smile. "Of course, my lord. It is my wish to remain an esteemed friend to your family. It is not within my nature to behave undeservedly. I have the compassion of a doctor, after all."

He had no fear, nor would he cower at the words of powerful men who had frequently done him wrong. His will for vengeance had banished any reservation for death. Doctor Reiji Kasei refused to be sedated until he had crushed the Sakamaki family into bones, ashes and ruin.

.:.

Subaru Sakamaki returned home from the tavern bleary-eyed and with considerably lighter pockets, scrubbing at the rouge marking his collar. Although the stain had been innocently caused by the bold appreciation of a woman he had spared from a drunk's advances, his delicate head did not care for his brother's taunts. Shu possessed a lewd tongue, and Subaru thought it strange for he had never seen him take a woman in all the years they visited the tavern. He would entertain flirting, of course, habitually insulting them with a brisk coldness if they dared to venture too close.

Perhaps he was waiting until marriage, Subaru thought wryly.

As he crossed the halls on route to his bedchamber, he noticed the door of his father's study to be ajar, leaking with the rumbling of voices. He halted before the room, leaving space so his shadow would not reveal him. His old man liked to host lavish dinner parties at short notice, and Subaru preferred to plan his avoidance save being stuffed into a rigid waistcoat, or face the demand for his hair to be brushed back. He disliked the entirety of his face being exposed; he felt vulnerable to their stares, their judgement.

"...Shu Sakamaki is the subject of my accusation for seducing my wife."

Subaru stiffened, stunned. This was not the subject he hoped to stumble across.

Shu and Yui, as lovers? The idea was ludicrous. Unimaginable. It would be dense for him to believe his brother did not care for the woman; he had put his neck out for her often enough. But to love was another matter entirely. It involved attachment, effort, investment, all of the things he could not associate with him. The thought of Shu Sakamaki offering his closed, nettled heart was like plucking a summer flower during midwinter.

He's wrong. It will be a stupid rumour, Subaru reassured himself. Here today and gone tomorrow, if that old bastard has anything to do with it.

"I have known all this time," spoke Lord Sakamaki. "I have known long before that child was brought into existence."

Subaru gaped at the door. Bile rotted in his throat and he swallowed hard.

"Fuck," he breathed, "what?"

Gasping, Subaru grappled for breath, his fingernails madly clawing the stone. He could hear the blood pulsating in his ears, the rough grind of his teeth. His vision was blurred scarlet.

Shu did not take a woman because he had a woman, ruined a woman, right beneath his nose.

Subaru questioned the very roots of his relationships. He was the closest person to both Yui and Shu, how was it possible not to notice something? Had be been blind, or was he merely a mindless fool?

Perhaps he did not know his brother and his friend at all. He had rendered Shu near heartless, incapable of affection, and Yui... Yui, with her open-book expressions. Subaru thought she could never deceive him; her truths and her lies were easily distinguishable. She saw his filthy heart and loved it all the same. No, Yui was a skilful liar, more skilled than he ever thought possible.

Suddenly, snatches of memories came to him in droves. The shameless scene he had discovered in Yui Komori's barn; bare-chested and blushing and Yui's undressed hair. The raw fear which gripped him at the sight of her childbed cries. The resentment each held for their respective weddings. Shu's fierce rejection to Subaru's claim on the child.

"She is not yours. She will never be yours..."

His pragmatic words, longing looks, his eyes elsewhere.

"Even the richest of men cannot behold everything..."

Yui only spoke of Shu with kindness, her voice trembling with passion. There was not a day she did not ask of him.

"Remember his smile, if you are lucky enough to see it. It will be the best thing you ever did see..."

"I can't burden you with this. It would hurt you to know..."

Subaru threw his weight about the castle, screaming and growling and cursing with unintelligible fury. He paid no mind to the stone-dust lining the corridors, to his ruin of statues and punctured portraits, or to the concerned, quivering maids peeping around doorframes.

"Oi."

Subaru paused, and without lowering his fist, jerked to face the owner of the voice. Shu Sakamaki was positioned at the dead-end of the corridor, barefoot and robed, his hair tousled with sleep. He stood awkwardly, grimacing as he attempted to manoeuvre around the rubble mounted at his feet.

"You inconsiderate brat," said Shu, folding his arms. "Do you intend to rouse the entire village? The castle is not at fault for your poor hand. Besides, I have told you... gambling is a worthless habit. You are hardly in need of gold." He stifled a yawn, blinking away water. "It is too early for me to deal with this circus..."

Subaru did not entertain an argument. He remained silent, his chest heaving from exertion, his red eyes sliced narrow. Shu was never afraid of his brother as his behaviour was predictable: his short-fuse, his clarity of expression, his defensiveness, his incessant noise.

No, today he was different, stewing his rage like a wild beast before the pounce. It unsettled him.

Panic jolted his words. "What is it?"

"Bastard," he murmured, deathly low, his voice rising to a sudden bellow. "How could you!"

Subaru's dagger flashed in his hand, blue veins bulging. He raised his arm with intent and Shu drew a single, startled breath.

"Subaru—!"

The blade was launched, the sharp metal piercing the air with a sickening hiss.