With every last preparation done at that point, Shiori was firmly brought out of her room and was led by a few maids, who took her to the main hall where her grandmother was waiting with a large number of guests. She scanned the hall. The hall that was as large as a sports hall was brimmed with people of well-known talents and establishments. "I heard that the patisserie who made the most expensive and tasty cakes is here!" Shiori overheard a maid exclaim. However, she sighed, as she always had to eat those cakes as her supper every day, and the patisserie himself was not a caring person, and only cared about the fame and money the job offered him. Shiori couldn't care less about this fake festival that the Ayuzawa family made up for the public to watch. The Ririchyo ritual was not a festive event that lets Shiori 'flaunt' her talents, but rather a disguise of what is a painful ritual that makes every girl descendant of the Ayuzawa family be sent to experience the same torture that the First Lady had experienced, including slashing of the katana on the back of the body, afterwards being made to pray to a spiritual demon that would decide who the girl had to marry when she turned 18. A tear rolled out from Shiori's eyes, remembering how she lost her older sister Akane 5 years ago because of this ritual.
"Young Lady, today you will be introduced to a new Kyūji. He would be performing for you today. Please enjoy your week, before you officially start the ritual next week." a maid whispered to Shiori and left.
Shiori zoned out of the world she was currently in, and start humming in her head. She remembered how she saw her sister come out of the dark cave southeast of the house. Completely drained out, it looked like life was sucked out of her. "Sister!" she wanted to yell. However, the maids and servants closed her mouth and prevented her from going to her injured sister. Just like that, her sister fell into the cold snow. Blood had dried so much that the kimono was in maroon colour, with the ends of the hem still white. It was a horror to look at, and no one seemed to care. The attendant that was working with Shiori's mother at that time was crying, but she was forced to go back with the woman that abandoned her first daughter, and the same woman who will abandon her. "Yone-san, your daughter is..... Shouldn't we keep her warm under the soil underneath the snow at the very least?" the attendant seemed to voice out. "So what? That girl on the ground is not my daughter. She is so weak, I'm disappointed in her. I'm the living proof that the ritual is not hard at all, so why can't she suck it up? Pathetic."
Those words still haunted Shiori to this date, as much as she wanted to kill the woman that birthed her.
"Shiori-sama?"
Like a sudden gush of wind, the voice that whispered her name seemed to break Shiori's thoughts and she stared at a boy who was looking at her straight into her eyes. Taken aback, the girl nearly shrieked and moved away from the boy. There were whispers. The boy seemed to notice the girl's surprise and asked for her hand. Shiori, not knowing what to do, juz followed the boy's lead. " Kyūji oath. Me. You. Ask. Ojou's recruitment process. " the boy mouthed the words. At that time, Shiori got back her composure and proceeded on asking the boy for the Oath of every Kyūji. With that, the day's event ended, and Shiori took a huge breath.
Shiori couldn't help but feel scared. She went back to her flashback, of seeing her sister collapse in front of her eyes. "Help..." she whispered, not knowing that someone was behind her. "What?" a voice asked. Shiori froze. If it was a servant, she would be taken to the woman she was scared of and would be punished harshly. If it was someone from the famous establishments, they would also issue to her punishments as every famous family were aware of the ritual, and yet approved it. Shiori recalled saying words of pleas to those who attended the funeral just to hear the fake pleas of her family, who said that her sister died because she was found dead in her room one month after her actual death. The Ayuzawa family made it so that no investigations were allowed to be made in the family and bribed the police force to close the case. And for the 'redundant' remarks that troubled the people there, her mom made the other families punish Shiori however they want. "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! Please don't hurt me! Please, I didn't mean it tha-" Shiori rambled out apologies due to fear, only to be hugged so suddenly.
"Shshsh..... There there, Mistress Shiori, don't cry, don't cry." a soothing woman voice whispered. The girl, normally known to be famous because of her doll-like expression, was now bawling her eyes out as a true 15-year-old should be. "I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry..." the words of apology couldn't stop flowing out of the girl's mouth, and she tried to see who was there in front of her. Her whole body was shivering, as she wasn't sure who this person was, and how severe her punishment might be. "Mistress Shiori, it is me, the attendant of Yone-san." At that time, Shiori froze. If it was someone who works closely with her birth mother, the punishment would be the worst, on par with her mom's punishment of pouring hot water on fresh wounds from the cane she was hit with. Shiori's face looked so pale and in blues as she tried to reason her way out. However, due to fear, she could only look away. Her stomach started churning, and she wanted to vomit due to fear. "Mistress Shiori, I'm not on your mother's side. I wouldn't dare to hurt you. You are safe with me. And before I say anything, please come with me." the attendant whispered, gently holding Shiori's hand and bringing her to a room that seemed to be the attendant's. There, a boy sat on the bed, sharpening a katana. Shiori froze again.
"Maybe she lied, to make me come to her room and use that katana on me. Oh no, oh no, oh no...." Shiori dropped to the floor and rambled again her words of apology before being stopped again. This time, Shiori gave up and said "I'm sorry, don't kill me, I don't want to die... I miss Akane... I don't want to go on with this anymore... Please kill me... end me.... but I don't want to die..."
"Shiori, believe in me, please. I want to save you. I want to take you out of this family, to let you be able to live happily."
YOU ARE READING
Yukikaze
RomanceEmbark on a journey as a girl who was known as Fubuki became a well-known lady known as Yukikaze escapes from her family and learns secrets of her family.
