From the moment Mina obtained the Iron Sovereign Ring—the command ring of the Kamakiri family—everything within the clan shifted as if a new chapter had begun. But it was not a chapter of joy or hope. Wherever Mina stepped, the air around her chilled, thick with an aura of cold authority and merciless severity.
Beside her stood Satoru—the most ruthless, terrifying assassin of the Kamakiri clan, and Mina's personal right hand. He didn't hold much formal power, but who knew how many elite warriors he had quietly handpicked to serve Mina? Because of that, whenever the two of them passed by, everyone held their breath. Even breathing felt dangerous.
Owning the Iron Sovereign Ring was like stepping one foot onto the throne—granting its bearer the right to act however they pleased. And the first victim of this new regime happened to be the only person who refused to submit to it: Kamakiri Haruna, Mina's older sister.
The moment Haruna heard Mina had been given the ring, she boiled with anger and wounded pride. Who could possibly believe it? How could everything change so drastically in such a short time? Mina, the weak, powerless little princess, was suddenly the future head of the Kamakiri family?
Haruna sulked in the garden pavilion, nibbling on expensive appetizers while gossiping bitterly to her mother and Aunt Tomi.
"How the hell does this make sense? She got the ring just like that!?"
Aunt Tomi immediately clicked her tongue, brows knitting as if warning Haruna not to push her luck.
"Haruna, Mina's position now is nothing like before. You shouldn't speak ill of her behind her back anymore."
But Haruna was openly annoyed, clearly refusing to accept any of this.
"And why can't I? I'm her older sister! You're telling me I'm not allowed to say a word about her now?"
Tomi sighed, sipping her tea helplessly. Seeing her aunt had given up on listening, Haruna turned to her mother instead.
"Mom! Say something! You're just gonna let that girl walk all over us!?"
But Miko, her mother, reacted nothing like Haruna expected. When she first heard Mina had received the command ring, she neither raged nor scolded. She simply fell silent—and had stayed that way until now. Even Tomi found it strange.
"What's going on, Miko? Why aren't you saying anything?"
But Miko only stared into her teacup, eyes shadowed with something unspoken—regret, guilt, maybe fear.
Then suddenly, without warning, armed Kamakiri guards surrounded the pavilion. Each man wore a black suit, forming a tight ring around them.
Tomi's brows shot up in outrage. "What is the meaning of this!? Do you have any idea how forbidden it is to storm into the garden like this?"
Before she even finished speaking, Mina arrived—dressed in a deep crimson furisode, elegant and terrifyingly regal. On her finger glinted the Iron Sovereign Ring with its three jewels—green, red, and purple.
Behind her walked Satoru, the executioner famous for his killing aura, and Hiroshi—Tomi's own son, now trailing obediently after Mina. Tomi had no idea when that started happening.
"Mina… what is going on?" Tomi demanded.
Mina didn't answer. She simply bowed politely to Tomi and Miko, then slid her gaze toward Haruna—who glared back with equal hostility.
Mina smiled faintly. She knew exactly how furious and resentful Haruna was. To Mina, that indignation was nothing more than a satisfying garnish to the moment.
"Older sister. Aren't you forgetting to greet me properly?"
Haruna blinked incredulously. She looked from Tomi to her mother, then back to Mina.
"What? What the hell did you just say? Greet YOU? Are you delusional?"
The words had barely left her mouth before two guards stepped forward, twisting her arms behind her back and forcing her to her knees. Everyone froze in shock.
Haruna screamed and thrashed violently but couldn't break free. "ARRRGH!"
Tomi shot to her feet.
"Mina! What do you think you're doing!? And you two—let her go this instant!"
But the guards didn't obey Tomi's orders. Which meant only one thing: they were acting strictly under Mina's command.
Tomi stared at Mina in disbelief. But Mina didn't spare her a single glance. She looked only at Haruna—cold, contemptuous, utterly unfeeling.
Haruna snarled like a trapped animal, eyes blazing with hatred.
"MINA! What the HELL are you doing!?"
Mina replied softly, almost bored. "What else? Teaching you some manners."
"What!?"
A servant rushed over with a chair for Mina. She crossed her legs elegantly while Haruna knelt in the dirt, pinned down by two towering men. It was a scene no one could have imagined.
Tomi glared at Mina.
"Mina! Stop this at once!"
Haruna sobbed, turning to her aunt.
"Auntie… help me…"
Tomi tried to move forward, but Mina's guards immediately blocked her path.
"Out of my way! Do you know who I am!?"
Mina clicked her tongue.
"Don't hurt her. She's still my elder."
The guards eased their stance but kept Tomi firmly contained. Tomi could only laugh bitterly.
"So you DO still recognize me, is that it? Mina… don't let the ring get to your head. Don't act however you please."
For the first time, Mina looked at her—her tone polite, but still cold as steel.
"I'm sure you already know Haruna slept with my late husband. Valko is dead now. I can forgive punishing him. But Haruna?"
Haruna looked up, panting, but unrepentant. Her voice dripped venom.
"Yes! I did it! So what!? Maybe if you could satisfy your husband, he wouldn't have come to me! This whole mess is your fault!"
She wanted to provoke Mina—to make her explode.
But Mina didn't flinch. Her expression remained terrifyingly blank, emotionless.
Miko alone understood something deeper. She didn't defend Haruna. She didn't ask Mina to stop. She simply watched—haunted by guilt. Mina had become like this because of her. What right did she have to intervene now?
Tomi tried one last time.
"Mina, I know you're still angry. But Haruna is your sister. Valko was an outsider—he deserved punishment. But Haruna? Can't you be gentler? Don't humiliate her like this in front of the servants."
Mina narrowed her eyes. Something in Tomi's words deeply offended her. Still, she kept her voice calm—even if the reproach underneath was razor-sharp.
"That's not right, Auntie. When she humiliated me as a child—what did any of you do?"
Tomi froze.
"That… I…"
She couldn't defend herself. Everyone in the Kamakiri household knew how Mina had been treated—coldly, harshly, with decisions forced onto her without mercy. They had looked away. And Mina remembered.
Mina let the moment hang, then turned to Satoru.
"Bring it."
Everyone watched in confusion as Satoru retrieved a wooden box. When he opened it, the contents made their blood run cold.
A pair of iron shackles—legendarily forged from a celestial metal only the clan's leader could wield. Unbreakable. Ancient. Symbolic. Legend has it that long ago, the first head of the Kamakiri family discovered a piece of metal meteorite while walking in the forest. She had a blacksmith try to cast it into a weapon, but it was unsuccessful. They could only forge this pair.
Satoru approached Haruna.
Haruna's face went pale.
"NO! DON'T BRING THAT NEAR ME! MOM! AUNTIE! PLEASE!"
But Satoru pinned her down with ease. Her screams were muffled by a guard's hand as tears streamed down her face. She trembled helplessly as he clasped the shackles around her wrists and ankles.
The sight was horrifying.
But Mina didn't hesitate—not even a flicker of remorse. She picked up the key from the box, smiling down at Haruna.
"From now on, you'll wear these for the rest of your life. See? I'm not even asking anything big of you."
Tomi stared at her in shock.
"Have you lost your mind, Mina!? With those shackles on, Haruna will never be able to show her face in public again!"
Mina shrugged, completely unmoved.
"Then she shouldn't go outside. She can stay home. Like someone else, perhaps?"
Her mocking gaze slid toward her mother—Miko—who clenched her fists but remained seated.
Haruna looked at the shackles on her limbs, screamed in sheer terror, and fainted.
---
It had been a long time since Valko fell into the ocean right before Duyen's eyes. Since that day, she'd almost become a completely different person. She was breaking apart—mind and body both collapsing under the weight of everything that had happened. Not a single day had been peaceful for her. Too many things struck at once, too many things slipped out of her control.
Even when Valko died right in front of her, she couldn't do anything. What purpose did she even have left to keep living?
Day after day, Shana stayed beside her—loving her, caring for her—yet watching Duyen fall apart like that broke her heart. She knew none of it was Duyen's fault, yet Duyen couldn't stop blaming herself. If this kept going, Shana feared Duyen might do something reckless one day.
Shana quietly moved closer. She wrapped her arms around Duyen's neck, scattering passionate, tender kisses along her skin. Her other hand caressed Duyen's small chest, her lips and nose brushing into the hollow of Duyen's collarbone.
But Duyen didn't even have the heart to respond. She simply intertwined her fingers with Shana's and gave her a weak, tired look.
Shana gently stroked Duyen's face. Only then did she realize how exhausted Duyen's eyes looked—still beautiful with their amber shine, but swollen from crying every night. Shana sighed softly, then pulled out two plane tickets and laid them on Duyen's lap. Originally she had planned to give them in a more surprising way, but she knew Duyen wasn't in the mood for anything like that.
Curious, Duyen glanced down at the tickets. They were flights to Japan—specifically Hokkaido.
She blinked, confused.
"This…?"
Shana only smiled and played with a strand of her hair.
"I wanted to tell you sooner. Didn't you say you've never seen snow before?"
Yes, Duyen had said that once, but she never thought Shana would remember—let alone plan an overseas trip because of it. Duyen had never even flown abroad; the ticket prices were too high, and she never considered it a possibility.
But… flying to Japan? Now?
Duyen ran her fingers over the tickets, her expression turning conflicted.
"But… right now? When Nayeon is still missing…"
Shana stiffened for a second. Thinking of Nayeon made her heart sink too, but she spoke softly,
"I know you're worried about her. But isn't Hung and the police already handling the search? Plus there's Dao helping too. She seems more than willing to assist you in finding Nayeon. Duyen, you don't have to carry everything alone. Learn to let others share the weight with you. They're helping because they care about you. Everyone cherishes you, you know?"
Shana's words warmed Duyen's heart. There were still so many fears she didn't know how to name, but what Shana said made sense. She really was lucky to have good people around her.
Before, she only had her father and Nayeon. Thanks to Shana, she got to meet others. Maybe meeting Shana truly was something special…
Seeing the tension in Duyen's face finally loosen, Shana joked lightly,
"Besides, look at the date on those tickets. Our flight is tomorrow."
"Huh!? Tomorrow!?"
Duyen quickly checked—and yes, the departure date was literally the next day. Shana laughed.
"You can take some time to think about it. We'll just cancel tomorrow."
"What? No!" Duyen blurted out. "You already bought them, why would we cancel—"
Shana pat her head with a tender smile.
"So that means you're willing to go?"
Duyen had no choice but to nod. She didn't want to waste Shana's money. After thinking for a moment, she asked,
"What does Hokkaido look like?"
Shana tapped her finger on her chin.
"Hmm… endless pine forests covered in snow. It's beautiful in the summer, but in winter it has its own charm. And… Hokkaido is my home."
Duyen's eyes widened.
"Your home? You were born there?"
Shana laughed and waved her hand.
"No, but I lived there for a long time. And I want to take you to meet some people there."
Hearing that, excitement bloomed in Duyen's chest. She didn't know much about Shana's past—where she lived, what she did before they met. The fear inside her slowly faded, replaced with genuine anticipation for her very first trip abroad.
Only then did Shana look at her with an unreadable expression.
Because in truth, she still hadn't told Duyen the real reason for this trip.