Chapter 116 - 118
I shrug, articulating the motion with the set of my shoulders. "I have no idea."
"Think," he implores.
"I really don’t know. He’s never given me anything meaningful other than gifts of jewelry and dresses. If he did stash something significant, it’s without my knowledge. I promise you."
He assesses my eyes as if to confirm the truth for himself. Content, he looks away thoughtfully.
"Clearly, Haru knows something about it. Can’t you ask him more about his own theories?"
"Haru is dead," he says plainly and without effect, "and Botan was the one who killed him."
My steps stutter and I fumble into him as his grip tightens, playing off the stumble as he hoists me into the air, spinning us around gracefully. A swell in my gut churns everything sickly. When he lets me back on the ground, I keep pressed against him because he’s the only reason why I’m standing vertically right now.
"I thought... he was also like a father to him," I say dazedly.
"Which I imagine made it that more painful for him, I guess," Akio says reluctantly, like he’s unsure. "But Botan didn’t hesitate. He was out of his mind when he found out Haru was behind the attack on the wedding. He used the Italians, who then tipped off the Russians, but Haru set it all in motion just to get rid of you."
I muster the will to dart my head back to grab his gaze with my misty eyes.
"Botan was ready to die for what he did—for you," he says with steel in his voice. "I thought they would kill him, but they didn’t. Haru chose to be the faceless overlord and Botan was the general his soldiers looked to. Because of it, their allegiance already belonged to Botan."
My eyes flutter erratically as I realised I had gone too long without blinking.