"Heh. Hard to believe? My brother and I were shocked when we found out, too.
"It was all a lie, and the one who created it was the head of the Antonio Family from five hundred years ago.
"That old Monster was consumed by a lust for power. He wanted to live forever, to rule the Antonio Family from above for all eternity.
"And he did it. For the past five hundred years, every head of the Antonio Family has actually been the same man.
"Our family has an Ancestral Rule: after a new head takes over, he must pay respects to his ancestors at the family Altar, beneath our Castle.
"That old Monster uses the opportunity to kill the new head and take his place.
"As everyone knows, once the head of the Antonio Family takes over, he never leaves the Castle. Outsiders have no chance of seeing him.
"In fact, even members of the family rarely see him unless there's an emergency.
"In seven years, I saw my so-called 'father' only twice. The first time, I noticed something odd, but I dismissed it. I thought the long isolation had simply left him depressed.
"But the second time, my brother and I both saw it. Five years had passed, yet Father's face hadn't aged at all.
"As it happened, that day was my birthday.
"No matter how busy Father was, he never forgot my birthday. It was also the anniversary of my mother's death. There was no way Absolute would forget.
"That only made me suspicious. What convinced me something was wrong was when 'Father' got my name wrong. He called me 'Kashi Na.' I couldn't imagine any reason my father would forget my name.
"My brother and I felt nothing but fear. After that, we secretly investigated the