"...I don’t even know what words could ever suffice to apologize to you. Your father’s death, your mother’s hardships, your sister’s blindness... every bit of it was born from my own selfish desires."
Inside the reception room, Ryuga sat across from the father and daughter, Raiha and Ujiyasu, listening to the man speak in silence.
Bathed in Ryuga’s piercing gaze, Ujiyasu continued his apology, laying bare his sins.
"I knew it was a taboo act. But I couldn’t just stand by and watch my daughter waste away as death approached. Both my wife and I... as parents, we just wanted to save her. But—"
"—And because of that, my father died," Ryuga interrupted. "Just like you, he was a parent. He burned out his very life to protect the child he loved."
Ryuga could understand why Ujiyasu and his wife felt they couldn't abandon the dying Raiha.
She was the daughter of the Prestigious House of Utsusemi. It was easy to imagine that even if her parents hadn’t felt that way, those connected to the family would have clamored for them to do everything possible to save her.
Yet, that parental desire to save a daughter—that taboo choice—had ultimately claimed the life of another parent who loved their child. As Ryuga spoke these truths, Ujiyasu replied.
"You are exactly right. My mistake killed your father. My daughter’s dignity was stripped away as she was treated like an experimental animal, and now she must live the rest of her life burdened by an eternal sense of guilt. So many others were made miserable because of me. In these five years, I have never once forgotten my debt to them. But—"
"But you did nothing," Ryuga said. "You buckled under the pressure of the Yamato government. You made no move at all, just to ensure no link to the incident was ever found. And even now, you still can’t bring yourself to go public with what you did."
"..."
Ujiyasu hung his head in silence at Ryuga’s words.
It hadn't been his own will to withhold atonement from the victims of the tragedy he had set in motion.
The reason Ujiyasu had been paralyzed was the pressure applied by national officials. They were desperate to hide the fact that a member of the House of Utsusemi was involved, and to cover up the government’s own failure in allowing Raiha—the girl they treated as an experimental animal—to go on a rampage.
However, that did not excuse his crimes.
Ujiyasu understood that his inaction had only deepened his sin. Still looking down, he let out a groan of agonized confession.
"...So many were hurt. Countless people were robbed of their lives as they knew them, struck by tragedies they can never recover from. And yet, I did nothing. No support for reconstruction, no reparations... nothing at all."
"..."
"Time and again, I thought of confessing my sins and ending my own life. But I couldn't even do that. I understood perfectly well that people were suffering because of me, and that my daughter was being consumed by her own remorse... and yet, I remained useless."
"Father..." Raiha whispered.
Trapped between his past sins and his public standing, Ujiyasu likely hadn't known which way to turn.
Even if he had found a way to atone, he wouldn't have been permitted to act on it. His status within Yamato and the government’s policy of suppressing the past had kept him in chains.
"Even now, with the secret having leaked outside our borders to a select few, my situation remains unchanged. I am still forbidden from going public with my mistakes here in my own country."
"...If the secrets of the Great Noble House of Utsusemi were exposed, the country would undoubtedly fall into chaos," Ryuga noted. "That would only make it easier for the fugitive Koumaru to operate in the shadows. I have no desire to see that happen, either."
Ryuga’s words could have been taken as either comfort or condemnation.
Ujiyasu looked up at him.
"How... how can I ever make it up to you? I intend to provide financial support for your mother and help rebuild the castle that was damaged during the Mad Dragon Incident. But that is merely doing now what should have been done five years ago. I don't believe for a second that such things count as true atonement."
Ujiyasu looked at Ryuga, his expression one of desperate pleading.
"Ryuga-kun... what do you want from me? What kind of atonement do you require?"
The agonizing plea of a man who had dragged his daughter, his family, and the fates of countless others into his sins echoed through the room.
Ryuga watched the man. He was the Current Head of the House of Utsusemi, one of the most powerful nobles in Yamato, yet he looked incredibly fragile. Ryuga opened his mouth to answer, but Raiha spoke first.
"Father... you must not ask Ryuga-san for the answer. To do so is nothing more than running away."