Looking at the pale Akai Mary, who seemed to have all her strength drained, that buried memory—which was insignificant to him—now became clear.
It must have been a summer, a fragment of his long life. He had traveled to England and by chance met Akai Mary, who was then in her youth and showing her brilliance. She came from a family of agents and was herself a rising star in MI6, proud and dismissive of ordinary men. Whether it was an intuition toward a powerful peer, a simple attraction to Kanjuro's beyond-reason handsomeness and mysterious aura, or the rebellion and curiosity toward the unknown danger typical of youth, Akai Mary made a bold decision.
She took the initiative to approach Kanjuro, with a hint of curiosity and testing, wanting to understand this seemingly extraordinary man. She had thought it was just an ordinary encounter that she could handle with ease.
However, things developed beyond her expectations.
That night, she experienced a baptism of the soul. What Kanjuro displayed was not just grace and cultivation, but a rare sincerity and insight. In front of him, she unconsciously let down her guard and showed her most natural side.
It was more than just a pleasant conversation; it was like a reunion of soulmates after a long separation. From life ideals to interesting anecdotes, from art and philosophy to daily trifles, every topic brought them closer to understanding each other and brought their hearts closer together.
Since that deep exchange, Akai Mary found that Kanjuro had left a unique mark in her heart. His insights and sincerity reawakened her yearning for genuine emotion. This experience was like a warm light, illuminating a forgotten corner of her heart.
She became pregnant.
This child, Sera Masumi, was the only indelible evidence of that ill-fated relationship with Kanjuro. She chose to give birth to her, perhaps partly out of maternal instinct, and partly—perhaps she wouldn't even admit it herself—because this child, who carried the bloodline of that man, was the only, twisted connection between her and him.
Afterward, to provide the child with a relatively "normal" background and to cover up the unspeakable truth of Masumi's biological father, she reached an agreement with the FBI agent Akai Tsutomu, who was also in danger due to an investigation into the organization and needed a cover identity. The two entered into a "contract marriage," presenting themselves as a couple to the outside world. Akai Shuichi and later Akai Hideyoshi were nominally their children, but were actually born from Akai Tsutomu's previous relationships or were identities fabricated to perfect the disguise. The relationship between Akai Mary and Akai Tsutomu was purely a strategic alliance, devoid of any romantic feelings or physical intimacy. They used and protected each other until Akai Tsutomu "died in the line of duty" while investigating the organization.
For years, Akai Mary had kept this secret alone, burying her complex and twisted feelings for Kanjuro—a mixture of fear, hatred, and an indelible mark left by being conquered by an absolute powerhouse—deep in her heart. She poured all her energy into raising Masumi and seeking revenge against the organization. She thought that demon-like man had long since vanished into the torrent of time, but she never expected that years later, he would reappear in such a way, so abruptly and forcefully, breaking into her life again and... directly exposing her deepest secret!
"You... you demon..." Akai Mary's voice was broken, filled with endless pain and a long-forgotten shiver that she herself detested. "You ruined me... and now you're coming to ruin my Masumi?!"
She looked at Kanjuro, her eyes filled with the despair and anger of a mother beast protecting its young, but deep down, there was a hint of an unspeakable sense of powerlessness from being mocked by fate—the man she had desperately tried to protect her daughter from was actually her daughter's biological father! It was the cruelest joke in the world!
Kanjuro listened to her accusations, his face showing no guilt; instead, he wore a playful expression, as if admiring a work of art.
"Ruined you?" He shook his head gently and walked forward slowly, ignoring the trembling muzzle of the gun in her hand. "Mary, I only gave you an... unforgettable experience of a lifetime. As for Masumi..."
His gaze became even deeper,
"She is my daughter, flowing with my bloodline. How could I 'ruin' her? I will give her... everything she deserves, including her true 'father'."
His words were like a final sentence, shattering all of Akai Mary's lingering hopes. She knew that in front of this man, all resistance and concealment were futile. He had not only found them but had also, from the very root, re-proclaimed his ownership of both mother and daughter.
The clues to find Miyano Elena were not yet clear, but Kanjuro had unexpectedly and more thoroughly gained control over the mother-daughter duo, Akai Mary and Sera Masumi. This ill-fated relationship, which began with an 'experiment' many years ago, had today borne a more twisted and firmer fruit. Akai Mary's past, present, and future were all held firmly in the palm of Kanjuro's invisible hand. Kanjuro's words, "She is my daughter," echoed in the small apartment like a final judgment, shattering all pretenses and hopes.
The gun in Akai Mary's hand fell onto the wooden floor with a "clatter." She seemed to have all her strength drained away, staggering back a step and leaning against the cold wall to barely keep from sliding down. She looked at Kanjuro, then toward the door—at some point, Sera Masumi, who had received a subtle notification from Kanjuro, had rushed over and was standing blankly at the open doorway, clearly having heard the earth-shattering conversation just now.
On Sera Masumi's face, which was always full of energy and vitality, there was now only extreme shock and bewilderment. Her gaze traveled back and forth between Kanjuro and her mother, her cat-like eyes wide open, as if she couldn't comprehend the information she had heard.
"Mo... Mother?" Sera Masumi's voice trembled. "Is... is what he said... true? Kanjuro... is he my... father?"
Akai Mary felt a pang in her heart as she watched her daughter's worldview collapse. She closed her eyes, and two lines of clear tears finally slid down uncontrollably. The secret she had carried alone for years, protecting her daughter's true parentage, was completely exposed at this moment. She felt an exhausting sense of relief, as well as a deeper fear for her daughter's future.
She took a deep breath, trying to make her voice sound steadier, but it still carried a sob:
"It's... it's true, Masumi." She opened her eyes and looked at her daughter, her gaze filled with pain and helplessness. "Kanjuro... he is your biological father. Akai Tsutomu and I... were just in a marriage of convenience, to provide cover for you and our identities."
Upon receiving her mother's personal confirmation, Sera Masumi's body swayed violently, almost unable to stand. She had to hold onto the doorframe to support herself. This truth was too shocking; the man she always thought was her biological father, Akai Tsutomu, was only her foster father, and the man who first made her heart flutter, to whom she had given her body and soul, and even conceived a child with, was actually her biological father?! This massive ethical shock and emotional turmoil left her mind blank.
Akai Mary struggled to stand up straight, walked over to her daughter, and pulled her into a tight embrace. Both women's bodies were trembling slightly.
"Masumi... my child..." Akai Mary's voice was filled with endless bitterness. "It has already happened... I know it's hard to accept, but... this is the truth. No matter what... you have to acknowledge him; after all, he is your..."
The word "father" ultimately failed to come out smoothly.
Sera Masumi lay in her mother's arms, feeling her mother's warm embrace and intense emotional fluctuations. Amidst her chaotic thoughts, a detail she had long ignored suddenly flashed through her mind—those moments late at night when her mother would stare out the window and weep silently alone; those occasional flashes of deep sorrow that were completely different from her usual strong and calm demeanor; she had always thought her mother was missing her "fallen" foster father, Akai Tsutomu... but now, connecting it to Kanjuro's almost unchanged face, and her mother's extreme shock and loss of composure upon seeing Kanjuro just now... Sera Masumi suddenly raised her head from her mother's embrace, looking at Akai Mary's eyes, which were also filled with tears but were even more complex and deep, as an even more startling guess escaped her lips:
"Mother... what about you?"
Her voice carried a sharp edge of insight into the truth and disbelief,
"Don't you also... like Kanjuro?"
"All these years, I thought you were crying alone for my foster father... but now that I think about it... it was for him, wasn't it? For this... man who left you for so many years and didn't even know I existed?!"
Sera Masumi's questioning was like the sharpest surgical knife, precisely slicing open the most hidden wound deep in Akai Mary's heart that she herself was unwilling to face!
Akai Mary's whole body shook violently, her face instantly turning as pale as paper, as if she had been pierced through by her daughter's words! She opened her mouth, wanting to argue, wanting to deny it, but looking at her daughter's eyes that seemed to see through everything, and that memory that had entangled her for most of her life and could not be erased, all her words were stuck in her throat.
Her silence, her tears, and her unhideable intense emotional fluctuations all became the most definitive answer.
Watching her mother's reaction, Sera Masumi understood everything. An indescribable emotion, a mix of absurdity, heartache, and a strange kind of understanding, surged into her heart. It turned out that both mother and daughter had actually fallen in love with the same man! And this man was their common blood relative (her father)!
This twisted and cruel reality made Sera Masumi feel a wave of dizzying vertigo.
From beginning to end, Kanjuro quietly watched the mother and daughter as they embraced, cried, and bared their hearts to each other, like admiring a meticulously choreographed play. He watched Akai Mary's fragile appearance after having her secret exposed by her daughter and completely breaking down, seeing the despair and deep affection (even if that affection was a twisted hatred for him and an inescapable mark) shining through her still moving charm that belied her age. A stronger sense of control and... possessiveness rose in his heart.
He stepped forward slowly, walking up to the mother and daughter.
He reached out, placing one hand gently on Sera Masumi's head, while the other lifted Akai Mary's tear-stained cheek.
His gaze shifted between the faces of the two women who were linked by blood yet both deeply entangled with him, his voice low and filled with an indisputable magic that seemed capable of unifying all chaos:
"Crying and questioning cannot change established facts."
"Mary, I accept your tears."
"Masumi, I will answer your confusion."
"From now on, you need not dwell on the past."
He applied slight pressure, lifting Akai Mary's face higher, forcing her to look at him,
"Because you both belong to me, from the past, to the present, and into the future."
"Whether as a mother or as a daughter... your existence is defined by me."
His words were like a dark contract, binding this mother and daughter, who had just experienced a massive shock, even more firmly to his side. The boundaries of ethics became blurred in the face of absolute power and twisted emotions. Akai Mary and Sera Masumi, this ill-fated mother and daughter, welcomed a deformed yet inescapable 'reunion' under Kanjuro's shadow.
And Kanjuro, in this unexpected "family drama," harvested another special "collectible" that completely submitted to his will. On the road to finding Miyano Elena, there always seemed to be these unexpected "surprises" regarding his own bloodline.
In the slightly dim shadow of the apartment's entrance, two tower-like figures almost merged with the darkness—it was Gin and Vodka, who had been ordered to follow Kanjuro and were guarding outside. With their hearing, the earth-shattering conversation inside the apartment reached their ears without missing a word.
Even for someone like Gin, who was used to the darkness of the organization and had a heart as hard as iron, his cold face couldn't help but twitch slightly, and his dark green pupils were filled with an unbelievable sense of absurdity. He instinctively reached for the cigarette case in his pocket but remembered he couldn't be casual in front of Kanjuro, so he stiffly lowered his hand.
Vodka was so startled that his sunglasses almost slipped off. He opened his mouth wide, looking at the embracing mother and daughter inside, then at Kanjuro standing before them like a dark deity, his mind unable to process things for a moment. He leaned closer to Gin and muttered in an extremely low whisper, with a shocked tone as if he had discovered a world-shaking secret:
"Bi... Big Brother... this... Boss Kanjuro... he's actually... the King of Ethics?!"
The nickname "King of Ethics," which was extremely inconsistent with Kanjuro's terrifying aura yet unexpectedly apt (in Vodka's simple mind), was blurted out just like that.
Hearing this, Gin's face darkened, and he suddenly elbowed Vodka hard in the ribs, hissing, "Shut up! You idiot! Do you want to die?!"
Vodka cried out in pain, quickly covered his mouth, and shrunk his neck in fear, cautiously glancing at Kanjuro inside, terrified of being heard.
Gin took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the storm in his heart, and said to Vodka in an equally low voice, with a dry tone that he couldn't even convince himself with:
"Akemi Miyano and Sherry (Ai Haibara)... are also his daughters... that was already unbelievable enough..."
His gaze swept over Akai Mary and Sera Masumi inside once more,
"Now... there's this mother-daughter pair too..."
Gin felt his worldview had been hit by an unprecedented shock. All his life, he believed in power and coldness, viewing emotions as burdens and weaknesses, but Kanjuro's way of combining powerful strength with twisted ethical relationships and using it as a means of control was completely beyond his comprehension. This was no longer something that could be explained by simple 'lust' or 'desire for control'; it was more like a... dark level of dominance and manipulation over life and blood relations.
"This man... he really..." Gin didn't finish his sentence, but the deep wariness and a trace of imperceptible fear in his eyes said everything. Kanjuro's strength lay not only in his ability to make the police bow and to execute the organization's second-in-command, but also in how easily he could tear apart common ethics, turning what should be the most intimate and complex blood and emotional relationships into threads he could weave at will, firmly binding those special women who should have been extremely difficult to control.
Listening to Gin's words, Vodka nodded half-understandingly, only feeling that Boss Kanjuro was even more profound and terrifying. He secretly decided that he must be more careful and cautious in the future, and absolutely must not offend this 'King of Ethics' who didn't even spare his own daughter(s) (though he didn't dare say it out loud again).
Inside, Kanjuro seemed to not care about the whispers and psychological activities of his two subordinates at the door, or rather, he didn't care at all. His attention was entirely focused on the mother and daughter before him, who had just experienced a double nuclear explosion of identity and emotion.
He held Sera Masumi close, but his gaze looked at Akai Mary with an indisputable meaning:
"Pack up; it's not safe here anymore. Come back with me."
His tone was already that of a husband (?) and a father commanding his family.
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