221 I was a sacrifice to achieve that goal

"yuta!""yuta!"kiyohira shakes his son when he doesn't reply to his questions. the boy blinks his eyes at him and replies with an apologizing voice, "oh, father… i am sorry.  i was thinking of something."he exhales. "what were you thinking about?"yuta purses his lips and looks away from him. her name is mira kirishima. she didn't lie to him. his heart feels lighter now.  at least, one thing about her wasn't a lie. "if you don't tell me, how will this ever work out?" kiyohira asks him in frustration. "maddox is still out there.  nina is dead. you are not telling me about the person who killed you. yuta, you can tell me anything. i need to know. i won't stop you from going after mira kirishima even if she's an heir, but we need to be prepared for the future if we get involved with her."the boy slumps his shoulders. he doesn't want to accept the fact that mira is one of the heirs. he doesn't know who the second heir is. in his previous life, the battles between the heir was a bloodbath back then. the consortium watched as the world burned in fire. it started a few years after maddox had died and it went on for years. before his death, he didn't know who was the winner. perhaps, the battle exceeded his death. did mira rule the consortium after his death? if she had told him once, he would have stood by her side in those battles. it didn't matter if she was an heir of a cult of twisted people or a struggling writer or an artist like she told him. if only she had given him a chance and told him the truth, he would have done anything to get her the crown or died trying. maddox tried hard to hide his daughter from him in his previous life. yuan bo returned during the battles between the heirs. he came to assassinate him many times. but, did he come for him? could it be that yuan bo's target was always mira?  he already knows that mira cannot be maddox's daughter because he can not see any similarities between maddox and mira. in addition to that, maddox isn't the type of person who would leave his daughter in the care of a mentally and emotionally unstable woman. yuan bo will never hurt maddox's daughter. there's no doubt. maddox's daughter is also one of the heirs. "my death could be connected to the consortium in some ways." yuta tells his father, "i am guessing that the second heir is maddox's daughter. i killed maddox when i was fifteen. he didn't tell me about his daughter before he died. yuan bo disappeared after that. he might have gone to take care of maddox's daughter. he returned when the battle between the heirs began. in that life, mother might have found out maddox's connection to the consortium. that man won't leave anyone alone who might become an adversity for his daughter in the future."kiyohira rubs his forehead. in both lives, rie was involved with the consortium. he doesn't want the same fate to repeat. something must be done. even his son's death is connected to the consortium. he opens his eyes and stares at yuta. "you haven't told me who killed you in your last life."should he tell? he doesn't know how his father will react. the person who killed him is mira kirishima. he has made several guesses. after going through his memories several times and listening to that song that the current mira played on the violin in her room,. the one thing that he's sure about is that she wanted someone who would love her. "father, i will tell you the name." he looks up at his father with determination and a warning. "that person is mine. i will decide whether that person will live or die. under no circumstances, you can interfere between me and that person. can you do that, father?"his father watches him with a grave look on his face. yuta cannot read his expression. to be honest, he's afraid. he's a child without power. if his father hears the name of his murderer, his father might prevent him from seeing her. he knows that he is foolish, but he cannot leave her alone after seeing what she is going through. "alright." kiyohira gives in. he needs to hear it anyway. "i will not interfere." much. it's not a promise though. it's the matter of his son's life. he will never make such promise. yuta releases his breath. he is still reluctant to reveal it. but he trusts his father. "it's mira who killed me.""mira… you mean…" kiyohira is at a loss for words. he's letting his son being around the child who will kill his son in the future. being killed by the woman his son loved? he cannot fathom how yuta is able to look at mira this way. but then, could he hate rie if she had done that to him? he doesn't know. he cannot give up on rie even if the world go upside down. some people might call it an obsession. some might call it true love. but he knows that love isn't enough to keep two people together. it's also a fact that he won't leave his wife's side. did his son inherit that side from him? he shouldn't have. kiyohira shakes his head. it was fine if his son was like his wife in this matter. "why did she do it?""that woman." yuta looks to his right, imagining her standing right beside him with the same smiling eyes that hid her sorrow deep in her heart. "wanted to fulfill her twisted family's last wish. i was a sacrifice to achieve that goal.""i don't understand." kiyohira frowns at his son. "don't tell me that you were literally butchered on an altar in front of some gods?"from the beginning, she called him icarus. she was his sun. so, she was planning to do it from the moment they met. his love couldn't change her. her resolve didn't waver once. even if the current mira doesn't become the person he loved once, he cannot help but feel bitter for loving a woman who killed him for a stupid reason. "she didn't do something like that." yuta replies with a flat voice, "she shot me three times. that's it. she wanted to feel love to complete the violin piece. that mira was a stupid woman, but she's a past. the current mira hasn't grown into that woman yet. i want to prevent that from happening. father, you must help me."