Volume 0: Prologue

...Li Dukedom; Crimson Manor...

"The lord of the house is no more! The lord of the house is no more"

A male whom Jin recognized as one of his father's trusted men inside the palace inner court hysterically screamed, waving a piece of what seemed to be ripped fabric but it was covered in red splotches.

'What is that..?' Jin thought. His thoughts were scattered when someone aggressively shoved him aside, albeit not on purpose most likely. He stumbled and landed on all fours in the gravel path of their manor's footwalk. The small stones mixed with the gravel gave him a few tiny cuts on his palms and knees that made him flinch.

"Mother I cut myself..." He called out but his mother, the person who had shoved him aside in a hurry just now didn't respond. The woman looked rather pale, like her blood ran cold in her veins and red rimmed around her eyes as if tears threatened to fall. After a few moments his mother suddenly pushed past all of the servants and ran out of the gates. The servants cried out in horror and tried to chase after his mother. Jin watched the scene unfold, confusion evident in his eyes. He was no child, he received proper education, infact he was amongst the top of his class so what was it about this situation that didn't make quite sense to him. What was that sense of lost he felt.

"Brother?" A little girl's voice rang from behind. Jin shifted his gaze towards the source of that voice and saw Mai - his little sister. She was hiding behind a pillar, peeking curiously at him. The moment she saw his bloodied palms and knees she ran straight towards him with a cry.

"Brother what happened?" The little girl asked, trying to use the skirt of her gown to wipe the wound. It was a sweet gesture, but the friction from the fabric made Jin's wounds sting more so he pushed it aside and smiled at his sister.

"Your big brother is strong. Dont worry, your clothes are brand new, you shouldn't dirty it with my blood it will be difficult to clean and mother will be mad" Jin softly stated, patting his sister's head.

"Mother started running towards that man over there earlier and bumped into me. I'm sure she didn't mean it" Jin explained, his head turning towards the gates where his mother ran off to. The expression on his mother's face was unbearable.

Why did she look so hurt? So shocked? In complete disbelief?

Jin's sixteen year old self couldn't comprehend.

"I hope mother will be back soon. I'm quite hungry" His sister sighed. She wasn't lying as her statement was soon followed by the sound of her stomach growling. Jin looked at her and chuckled softly, patting her head once more.

"Go back inside and find yourself some snacks. I heard there's some mooncakes kept somewhere in the kitchen" Jin suggested. Mai's eyes lit up but then she pouted.

"The servants won't let me have it"

"I'm sure they're all not there right now. So go before they return. I'll cover for you" Jin urged and her sister giggled enthusiastically before running off. He watched his little sister go before he patted the dirt off of his clothes and settled himself near the gates. He was still trying to understand what was going on, the best way for him to get an idea was to wait or ask the servants yet since the servants of their household chased after his mother he has nothing to do but wait. Many questions popped inside his mine, questions he wanted answers soon. The red on the fabric he saw earlier awfully resembled blood from the way his own wound stained his sister's gown.

"I hope they'll be back soon.." he muttered to himself.

That day, it seems that faith had bestowed his household with a painful twist he did not expect. After hours of waiting, where the sun had completely set and the surroundings were dimly lit with nothing but the moonlight as mo servants was around to light the lanterns, Jin found a silhouette from a distance. His legs were aching from all the waiting but he still made his way to greet whoever it was.

"You've been gone for a while" Jin exclaimed, coming to stop when he was infront of the person. It was the same man who hysterically delivered the news, he had a sorrowful look to his face and his lips were pressed into a thin line.

"Young Master.." the man began, voice hoarse.

"The Master of Li Dukedom has...been found dead in the forest outside the perimeters of the outer city" the man carefully explained, trying to choose the right words. Not that any of the words he'd say would make things better.

"By official decree, since you are the only son you are to inherit your father's title and have now become the head of the Li manor. May it be blessed..." The man finished. Jin was in a state of shock, he wanted to open his mouth and ask the man to repeat what he said. Its as if his mind was not processing any information that he was receiving that day, nothing made sense no matter how simple the words are. Upon seeing the state of the child, the man grit his teeth, he was holding back his tears. He dropped on all fours, kneeling infront of the child whilst pressing his head against the dirty pavement. The most sincerest and respectful bow a person could offer, usually used when begging.

"I do not know if I have much time left, young master. I am sure they will come after me as well" the man began, his head still pressed against the pavement.

Jin was too shocked that he didn't know what to do at that moment, he just stood there staring at the man.

"I have informed my wife, your father has been a very good subordinate and treated me almost like a family it is my turn to give back his kindness and support. I will leave my wife in this household to care for you and the young lady as I am sure the other servants will not stay around for a long time knowing they will receive no payment and if some of them does stay, may god bless their hearts" the man was whimpering now, his voice sound pained. Jin realized the man was crying and that's all it took for him to finally get a gist of what had happened.

Jin dropped down to his knees, flinching at the way his wounds stung as he grabbed the man's shoulders and shook him aggressively.

"M-my mother! Where's my mother?" Jin asked, eyes going wide like flying saucers. The man couldn't hold back anymore and cried his eyes out as he pulled Jin's tiny body to his arms, engulfing him in a tight embrace.

"Her Ladyship ran into the forest and suddenly disappeared. We couldn't catch up to her, she was gone without a trace we've searched for hours but we can't find her. I'm extremely sorry Milord. Please forgive me." The man cried out. Jin also couldn't hold himself back anymore and tears sprouted out from his eyes. Who knew how cruel life could be, to suddenly take away the most important people in his life without any warning.

...---...

...Present Day ...

...Pleasure District ...

Music, cheers and laughter echoed around the pub as men drank, danced and played with their courtesans till their hearts content. Not too far away a young man stood at the top of the stairs, dressed in fine white robes and a black fox mask keeping half of his face hidden as he stared at the scenario downstairs with dismay, seeing as men take their courtesans on top of tables, floors and even the stage where a band performs. He slowly began to leave with a shook of his head, heading upstairs where the higher valued courtesans, the fine looking one's are settled into luxurious room as the Madame, owner of the pub stated.

Upon entering, he was met with the heavy scent of what he assumed to be cherry blossoms, as nice as it was, something about it just wasn't to his liking which in turn made him wrinkle his nose in distaste . Bringing his eyes to scan his surroundings the room he was promised to be of luxury wasn't on par with his expectations but fortunately it wasn't dissapointing either. Dark green mahogany floors, the walls painted in the lighter shade as opposed to the floor, on the middle sat a large queen size bed with lush green beddings and cheap looking gold drapes and on the bed lay a woman. She was covered in garments of better quality than the low ranking courtesans that frolicked downstairs. Her clothes designed to emphasize her voluptuous breasts that almost seemed to pop out with the way she crossed her arms tightly around her chest. Her lower garments consist of a long red mesh skirt revealing a narrow waist and long slim legs. She was a fine woman indeed but to his utter disappointment, nothing about her sparked a fire of desire in his loins.

"My Lord" The woman greeted, getting off the bed to approach him, swaying her hips seductively on the way while he was staring at her, uninterested. She gently placed her slender fingers on his shoulders, her perfectly manicured long nails, painted in red, tapping repeatedly on his neck in a sensual manner.

'What a weird way to seduce a man' he thought, shaking his head away from the woman's touch as her nails made his neck itch uncomfortably. The woman began to frown by the feedback she received, confusion plastering on her dainty features.

"My Lord, am I not to your liking?" She asked, her voice sounded hush and a little squeaky, like whispering to a baby.

He grimaced when the woman began to trace her hand back on his neck again.

"You are a very fine woman" he didn't answer her question directly and with swift motions he removed her arms around him and in turn tucked a lock of dark hair behind her ears, caressing her soft cheeks, watching the way her cheeks tainted a rosy pink, her eyes gazing down in a shy manner.

"M-my Lord, I'm very pleased at such compliment" she stuttered , her dark brown eyes darting side to side as the young man caress her cheeks ever so gently. He finally removed his hand, making the woman step back and compose herself.

"Why wear such clothes that's exposing so much of your skin?" he asked, though he grimaced inwardly for asking such idiotic question considering courtesans are bound to wear such clothes as it is part of their work.

Surprised , the woman cleared her throat and hurriedly grabbed a long red silky scarf, wrapping it around her shoulders, and tying it into a ribbon in the front, hiding her cleavage.

"Pardon me for such outfit my Lord, I didn't know you are one of those customers" she pointed out. Gone with that look of trained seduction, now she plastered a gentle smile on her face, one of which he found more appealing than the previous masked she had worn.

"One of those customers?" He couldn't help but ask.

The woman nodded curtly, grabbing some tea cups and a teapot filled with tea, placing it on a nearby table.

"I sometimes have customers that only wish to spend time with me, not in the bed but talk and enjoy some hot tea" she mumbled, her smile widening as she motioned for him to come and have a seat. He nodded in understanding, taking a seat across from her as she filled his cup with tea.

"So you're having a break from giving your services...?" he wanted to state but asked instead. The woman smiled, nodding her head as she picked up her cup, bringing it close to her mouth.

"That would be right my Lord"

"I see" he didn't have much to say, he was starting to ask himself why he went to a pub again , payed a huge amount to be serviced by their finest courtesan when all he planned to do here was drink tea and have small talks, not that he's complaining.

With a chuckle he reached for his own cup and began to take a sip, mildly surprised to savor a flavor he doesn't quite know yet.

"What is this?" he asked out of curiosity. The woman looked at him and smiled, placing her tea cup on the table gently.

"It's Jasmine tea with honey and a hint of lemon my Lord, I hope it is something that is to your liking" the tone she used was something like she was proudly stating it making his lips twitch in almost a smile as he sipped his tea again, savoring more of the flavor when their moment was suddenly interrupted by the slam of a door opening, a door which he knows was coming from behind.

"MY LORD, THE YOUNG LADY HAS ARRIVED BACK AT THE MANOR!"

He was taken aback at first but when his mind finally understood what the man, most likely a servant of his household he almost jumped out of his seat as he heard the mentioning of his beloved sister.

"Xie Xie has arrived!?" he shouted with joy, closing his eyes and imagining the vivid image of his sister's lovely smile. It had been long, way too long since they last seen each other and the excitement bubbling inside him was so hard to contain and just wanted to burst.

After a few seconds he finally caved into his emotions and jumped out of his seat, not caring if he knocked his tea cup down as he sprinted towards the exit, running straight home and leaving the servant and the woman staring at each other confusedly.

"I'm deeply sorry about that, My Lord can never contain himself upon the mentioning of the young lady of the manor" the servant stated apologetically before leaving the woman staring at the door awkwardly.

"I've never met such a man" she whispered to herself watching the spilled tea soaking the table cloth knowing full well it will stain and she would get scolded by the Madame. Reluctantly, she willed herself to get up and clean the mess that was left behind yet oddly enough , she found herself smiling happily about today's encounter knowing she did not have much to do.

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