Tragedy had befallen the Ryuuenjou household.

A group of bandits had devised a terrible scheme that had led to the massacre of the Ryuuenjou family’s heirs.

While all the assailants had mysteriously died and the stolen goods had been found, the family did not get out of their predicament unscathed. The once bountifully large and happy family was now in shambles.

The very few that survived the attack were in critical conditions.

The wife who had discovered the massacre was left an empty husk.

Most of the servants had not been present due to a fire in a close building, but those who stayed behind defended their masters to their last breaths.

It was also found that the Ryuuenjous were the victims of an organised crime. It seemed that the bandits had done their research beforehand; they knew that the head of the family was away, so they chose to attack at that time.

A while later, it was found that the fire had been caused by the very same bandits that tried to rob the house, in an attempt to distract the house’s inhabitants. And they had succeeded.

Ryuuenjou Zantetsu was given a pardon by the feudal lord, and he immediately returned to his wrecked home. He returned to the Ryuuenjou manor, gifted personally by the lord himself, in haste. However, it was only three days after the incident did he manage to reach the place, despite his desperateness.

He, who had been orphaned at an early age, and through sheer strength and willpower, fought his way from a foot soldier to one of the feudal lord’s strongest and most trusted men, was in a condition where he no longer cared about his wellbeing; only concern for what remained of his family clouded his judgements.

 “Airi!”

He barged into the room he had shared with his wife, eyes darting around in panic.

Seeing not even a shadow of the delicate woman, he searched through every room in the house.

A manservant tried to catch up with him, huffing and puffing as he ran out of breath. “M-master!”

Zantetsu turned to look at the servant. His eyes were narrowed and a heavy aura emitted from his body, frightening the manservant. He looked as if he was ready to draw his sword and kill people on the spot.

“Master, I-I have c-c-come to inform y-you, that the m-madam has...” seeing the man’s terrifying look, the man squeaked. “The madam has re-returned, t-to her maiden h-h-home!”

“What?!”

“A-an envoy, s-s-sent by her m-maiden fam-family arrived y-yesterday. T-they were very insistent, s-saying something about removing b-bad karma, or something.”

“Why did no one stop them?” Zantetsu glared at the servant, anger and worry brewing inside him.

He knew how much Airi loved their children. It could be said that she loved them more than she loved her own husband, and that was saying a lot, since she was quite affectionate with him. If her love for him was as high as a mountain, then her affections for their children was as deep as the ocean.

Though it was also painful for him to lose his children, he needed to be strong for his wife. She was so delicate; so sweet and gentle. To lose her children overnight... it probably tore her apart.

“Prepare a horse! I’ll head there myself.” Zantetsu resolutely ordered the manservant.

Afraid of tarrying, the manservant immediately did as he was asked. Within a few moments, Zantetsu was already geared for travelling.

Along the way, Zantetsu could not help but think about his pitiful family. He had been an orphan, and it was only after the feudal lord betrothed Airi to him that he finally understood the joys of having a family. Airi was like a ray of sunshine shining upon his gloomy days. Even though she was younger and smaller than him, the amount of love and patience held within the petite figure was almost boundless. They loved each other so much; just the thought of Airi being in pain caused him unimaginable heartache. However, who would have known that his joy would be so short-lived? It had barely been ten years since he wedded his beloved wife but everything had gone south so quickly.

He clenched his teeth as he pushed the horse to go faster, thinking, ‘wait for me, Airi!’