The Princess

Chapter One - April's POV

The Sakamaki mansion never truly slept.

It breathed.

The walls groaned with secrets, the air hummed with whispers, and at night, when the chandeliers burned low, I swore I could feel the house watching me. Perhaps it was simply the weight of living among them—the six sons of Karlheinz, my brothers in name if not in blood.

But tonight, the silence felt heavier.

My bare feet brushed across the cold marble floor as I moved through the west wing, the hem of my silk nightdress whispering against my legs. The storm outside rattled the glass panes, flashes of lightning cutting through the long corridors, illuminating portraits of ancestors with eyes that seemed too alive.

I had grown accustomed to such theatrics. This was home. Strange, frightening, intoxicating—but home.

“April.”

The low voice rolled from the shadows to my left. I turned sharply, my crimson hair spilling like liquid fire across my shoulders. Shu leaned against the wall, his lazy posture betraying the intensity of his gaze. Even half-shrouded in darkness, his golden eyes glimmered like embers.

“You shouldn’t wander the halls alone.” His tone was flat, but I knew better. Behind his words lay something deeper, something he never let surface.

“I couldn’t sleep,” I said softly. “The storm kept me awake.”

He studied me in silence, the corners of his mouth twitching as if he might speak again. But footsteps echoed from the stairwell before he could. Sharp, deliberate, echoing like the tick of a clock.

Reiji.

“Shu,” he said, adjusting his glasses with that controlled disdain only he could master. “Leaning against the walls like a common delinquent. And you, April.” His light red eyes fell on me, sharp as a blade. “Do you think it appropriate to wander dressed so carelessly?”

Heat rushed to my cheeks as I realized how sheer the lightning made my nightdress look. I clutched the fabric closer, but Reiji’s gaze had already pierced through me.

“I… didn’t mean to—”

“Of course you didn’t,” he interrupted, his tone smooth but unforgiving. “Still, carelessness can be fatal in this house. Surely you understand that by now.”

Before I could reply, a laugh—sharp, amused, arrogant—echoed down the hall.

“Tch, Reiji, stop scolding her like she’s a child.” Ayato strolled toward us, his green eyes glinting mischievously, his smile wicked. “Besides, Little April looks way too cute like that. Doesn’t she, brothers?”

“Don’t talk about her that way,” Shu muttered, his voice edged now, his body shifting ever so slightly in front of me.

“Oh, don’t be so boring,” Ayato shot back, his smirk widening as he leaned in close—too close. His breath brushed against my ear, sending shivers spiraling down my spine. “Right, April? You like it when I notice you.”

I froze. My heart thundered in my chest. His nearness was suffocating, dangerous, intoxicating. And yet… a part of me leaned toward him, just as another part recoiled in panic.

“Stay away from her.”

The voice was childlike, eerie, cutting through the tension like broken glass. Kanato stood at the end of the hall, his porcelain doll cradled in his arms, his wide violet eyes fixed on me. “April belongs to me. You all know that.”

The air thickened. I could feel it—the possessiveness, the obsession, swirling around me like smoke. Each of them saw me differently: Shu’s quiet watchfulness, Reiji’s strict control, Ayato’s teasing hunger, Kanato’s eerie claim. And that was only half of them.

Laito’s soft laughter drifted from above, from the landing of the staircase. “My, my… what a scene. April, you really do bring out the best in everyone. How cruel, to make us all fall for you without even trying.” His smirk was playful, but his eyes glimmered with something far darker.

And then—

“Enough.”

Subaru’s voice, low and edged with barely-contained violence, cut through the storm of words. He emerged from the shadows, his silver hair catching the lightning like a blade. His crimson eyes burned as he looked not at them, but at me. “You don’t belong in the middle of this.”

For a heartbeat, silence. The storm outside raged, lightning splitting the sky. My pulse hammered against my ribs as I stood in the center of them all, my so-called brothers, each gaze heavy enough to drown me.

I swallowed hard. “I… I just wanted a glass of water.”

The absurdity of it almost made me laugh. Almost.

But no one laughed. Not even Laito.

Because in that moment, I realized something.

I wasn’t their little sister anymore.

Not to them.

And maybe… not to myself either.

The storm deepened outside, thunder rolling through the sky as though the heavens themselves wanted to silence us. I stood frozen, surrounded by them—the six sons of Karlheinz, each gaze pinning me where I stood.

Lightning slashed across the tall windows, and for a fleeting second, I saw them all illuminated in perfect, merciless detail.

Shu, slouched against the wall, his golden hair falling carelessly across his forehead. His pale skin caught the lightning like marble, his golden eyes half-lidded but never unfocused. He always pretended to be indifferent, but I had learned to recognize the weight of his stare—like heavy sunlight pressing against my skin.

Reiji stood rigid, his back perfectly straight, his sharp suit tailored to perfection. His raven hair gleamed with stormlight, falling in controlled waves that framed the glint of his glasses. His crimson eyes were ruthless, dissecting me as though I were a puzzle he refused to leave unsolved. Every line of his body exuded order, authority, and a dangerous patience.

Ayato loomed closer than the others, his messy auburn hair wild as if the storm itself had brushed it. His green eyes danced with arrogance, sharp with mischief and something darker beneath. He moved with the energy of someone who never second-guessed his desires—because why should he? The world had always bent for him.

Kanato’s violet gaze shimmered in the dim light, wide and unblinking, framed by lashes too delicate for his sharpness. His hair, pale lavender, curled around his porcelain face, almost doll-like were it not for the intensity that made my throat tighten. The doll in his arms looked at me with glass eyes, yet I felt Kanato’s gaze as if it clawed straight through me.

Laito, poised above on the landing, leaned lazily against the rail. His wavy chestnut hair framed his smirk perfectly, and his jade-green eyes glowed with playful danger. His long figure was relaxed, but I knew he never missed a single shift of my breath. He was both the serpent in Eden and the apple itself, offering temptation with every glance.

And then there was Subaru. The youngest, though nothing about him ever felt young. His silver hair glistened like steel under the lightning, his jaw tight, his crimson eyes burning with restrained violence. He stood with fists clenched at his sides, as though his own body was a battlefield between desire and self-control.

Six brothers. Six predators.

And me.

The storm cracked again, shaking the chandeliers. I swallowed hard, suddenly hyperaware of the thin silk clinging to my body, of the heat flooding my face under their gazes.

“You’re trembling,” Shu murmured, his voice a low hum.

“I-I’m not,” I whispered, though even I didn’t believe it.

“You are,” Reiji said smoothly, stepping closer. His presence was suffocating, his scent a mix of leather, smoke, and faint wine. “Foolish. To walk the halls in such attire, in front of men who are not human.”

Ayato laughed sharply, tilting his head toward me. “Not human, huh? You make it sound like we’d eat her alive right here.” He leaned closer, his lips ghosting near my ear. “Unless that’s what you want, Little April.”

My breath caught. His nearness was fire, but before I could move, Kanato’s shrill voice cut through.

“No!” His grip tightened on his doll, his expression twisting. “You’ll ruin her. She’s mine. Mine, mine, mine!” His voice cracked, filled with that unnerving mixture of childlike desperation and dangerous rage.

“Kanato, control yourself,” Reiji snapped, his crimson eyes flaring with irritation.

“Kanato has a point,” Laito chimed, his voice silky as he descended the stairs, step by step. “Ayato, you’re too greedy. If April is ruined, what fun would she be for the rest of us?” He reached the last step and smiled at me, his lips curling with charm. “You wouldn’t want to disappoint me, would you, b***h-chan?”

The nickname sliced through me. It always did. I hated it—hated how it made my stomach twist with both shame and something I refused to name.

“Stop it.” Subaru’s voice boomed like the thunder outside. He stepped forward, his jaw tight, his hands balled into fists. “All of you. She’s not… she’s not your toy.”

The silence that followed was heavier than any scream. The brothers’ eyes flicked between one another, unspoken tension sparking like flint.

And then, they all turned back to me.

I took a step back, pressing against the wall. My chest heaved, my heartbeat echoing in my ears like a drum. I wanted to speak, to laugh, to break the spell—but their gazes held me still.

They weren’t just my brothers anymore.

Their stares were too sharp, too hungry, too… possessive.

The realization left me breathless.

I tried to steady myself. “I… I should just go back to bed.”

Shu pushed off the wall lazily. “Do you really think sleep will come to you, after this?”

Reiji’s eyes narrowed behind his glasses. “Bed won’t change what has already begun.”

Ayato smirked, stepping even closer until I could feel the heat radiating from him. “You can run to your room, Little April. But you can’t hide from us.”

Kanato’s laugh cracked, eerie and hollow. “Hide? No… no, no, no. She can’t hide. She’s already ours.”

Laito tilted his head, his smirk deepening. “Mmm… ours to love, ours to break, ours to keep.”

Subaru growled, the sound animalistic. “Enough!” His fist slammed into the wall beside me, shattering stone and making me flinch. Dust rained down, the storm roaring outside in perfect harmony with his fury. His crimson eyes burned into mine. “Don’t listen to them. You’re not theirs. You’re…” His words faltered, swallowed by the storm.

My lips parted, but no words came.

Because deep inside, where I’d buried every forbidden thought and feeling, something had awakened.

Something that whispered maybe… they were right.