Yuri Briar slammed his glass down onto the table a little harder than necessary, the sharp clink echoing through his modest apartment like a gunshot. Another bitter gulp of wine followed—straight from the bottle this time. The rich, dark liquid burned down his throat, but he barely noticed. His thoughts were elsewhere. Specifically, on him.

Loid Forger.

The name alone made his blood boil.

How could Yor—his sweet, kind, perfect sister—have ended up with a man like that? A man so suspiciously perfect it made Yuri's skin crawl. He had tried everything to expose Loid, to prove that he was unworthy, a fraud, or at the very least, hiding something. But no matter how many reports he read or how many surveillance attempts he launched in secret, he came up with nothing. Nothing! That only made things worse.

With a groan of frustration, Yuri refilled his glass—then changed his mind and drank straight from the bottle again. It wasn’t the first time this week. Or this month. Alcohol dulled the sting of failure and numbed the knot of anxiety in his chest, but it also made him reckless. His tolerance for wine had improved, but his ability to keep his emotions in check had not. Intoxication rendered him short-tempered and dramatic, prone to muttering paranoid theories about Loid, or sobbing over childhood memories of Yor cutting apples for him after school.

Even in his disheveled state, Yuri was undeniably handsome. A young man in his twenties, he had sharp, symmetrical features and cranberry-red eyes that now shimmered with a haze of drink and unresolved obsession. His jet-black hair was straight and slightly messy, his uneven bangs falling just above his flushed face, and a stubborn little cowlick sprang from the crown of his head like an exclamation point to his current mood.

He stared blearily at a framed photo of Yor on his desk, his gaze softening for a brief moment. “Nee-san… What were you thinking marrying a man like him?” he murmured, swaying slightly as he poured another glass he likely didn’t need. “Don’t worry… I’ll protect you. Even if I have to tear that smug smile off his face with my bare hands…”