“It’s time for me to leave.”
It had been a few days since our ride and we were standing in front of the Chou family manor in the early morning. My father was wearing formal clothing in preparation for a meeting with his generals. Though he didn’t get off his horse, he couldn’t seem to stop warning his beloved daughter, dressed in military garb, to be careful.
“Hakurei, it’s true that I’ve given you permission to handle the bandits. However...”
“Please don’t worry. I’ll be careful, unlike a certain self-proclaimed civil official candidate I know.”
Maybe I was being overprotective. Last night I’d also tried to discreetly change her mind, but Hakurei was determined to carry out this mission. I couldn’t help but worry—my sister might seem calm at first glance, but I knew the hot temper of the Chou family ran through her veins.
Father gave me a discouraged look and said with slow deliberation, “Sekiei, if anything happens...”
“I’ll let you know immediately,” I said.
“Thank you.”
Father left after giving me a final, solemn nod, with the most elite members of the family guard following after him. As soon as we’d finished seeing them off, Hakurei wasted no time turning on her heel and heading back to the manor.
“I shall depart right away as well,” she said, her voice calm. “I’ll likely be able to finish my task before evening.”
“Yukihime.”
Without thinking about it, I’d called her by her childhood name. She stopped walking and then turned to meet my gaze. Her blue eyes showed her firm determination.
“There’s nothing you can do to change my mind. As the daughter of the Chou family, I cannot stand by and ignore ruffians who would harm the civilians. Please don’t follow me. Don’t treat me like a child just because you’ve already experienced your first battle.” Having said her piece, she stalked off towards the stables.
I pressed a hand against my forehead. When Raigen walked in, I asked, “Gramps, you did your job, right?”
“I’ve gathered about a hundred of our most elite cavalrymen to serve as Lady Hakurei’s guard and as you ordered, I also have a rear guard on reserve. According to the scouts, there are only about twenty bandits—you have nothing to worry about.”
“Right... You’re right.”
I looked up at the azure sky. There wasn’t a single cloud in sight, so it was highly doubtful that the weather would change. I’d done everything I could and in terms of technique, Hakurei was more than ready for real combat. Surely she’d be able to finish her first battle without any issues and then she’d spend the rest of the night talking my ear off about it. After all, Chou Hakurei was such a lonely person that she’d been pouting just because her childhood friend had gone to the city and sent fewer letters than promised.
It was right after we finished eating lunch that things went south.
I was reading my history book in the outer courtyard when I heard a loud snap ring across the grounds, like wood breaking. Then I heard the screams of the servants.
“W-Watch out!”
“Catch it!”
“Isn’t that Lady Hakurei’s horse?!”
I placed my book on the table and stood. Almost immediately, a beautiful white horse ran into the courtyard and right up to me, looking panicked.
“Whoa! You’re...Hakurei’s Getsuei? Didn’t she take you with h— Huh?”
The white horse stared at me as if it was trying to communicate something and then took my sleeve between its teeth. This was not normal behavior.
Don’t tell me something happened to—
Before I could finish that thought, I heard running and a pale-faced Raigen, along with a male soldier with a bloodstained cloth wrapped around his left arm, appeared. I recognized the soldier as the young captain who acted as the arbitrator the other day at the practice grounds.
As soon as Gramps Raigen saw me, he started to holler. “Young master! Lady Hakurei...Lady Hakurei...!”
“Raigen, calm down.” It was a levelheaded order and in response, both Raigen and the soldier swallowed and slowed their breathing. I took out a handkerchief to wipe down Getsuei’s neck and asked, “What happened?”
“Make your report to the young master, as concisely as you can,” Raigen ordered.
“U-Understood,” said the young captain. His entire body was trembling, but he hurried to give his report.
When he was finished, I nodded. “I see. So things went well up till your arrival at the abandoned fortress—when you charged in you found that the bandits who had been hiding out there had already been killed. Then around two hundred cavalrymen, who had been hiding in the shadows of a knoll, surrounded you and killed over half of your horses. You and several others managed to escape and returned here for reinforcements. Did I get all that right?”
“Yes, sir! I’m deeply sorry!” The young captain must have thought I was scolding him, for he prostrated himself upon the ground and pressed his face against the dirt.
Two hundred mysterious cavalrymen near Keiyou, where the Chou family resides? That doesn’t sound like your run-of-the-mill bandits.
I crouched down and placed my hand upon the sobbing captain’s shoulder. “Good job on reporting what happened to us.” I looked up at Raigen. “Gramps, our enemies aren’t bandits; that’s obvious. If we don’t do something, Hakurei and the soldiers will be in trouble.”
“Sir! B-But, then, who are...?”
“We can figure out the details later. Take command of the rear guard I had you put together. I’ll lead the way.”
I grabbed the sword I’d had leaning against my chair on the off chance that I’d need it. Though it had no name, it was well-made. Considering my current physical build, I still wasn’t strong enough to fight with dual swords from atop a mount, so one would have to do. I climbed onto the horse that had been saddled up while we’d been having our conversation.
As soon as Raigen—who had experienced countless skirmishes over the years—saw me ready to come along, his face twisted. “Young master!”
“Don’t worry. Please believe I’m more used to fighting than I am doing paperwork. Oh, speaking of...” I hurried to tell him my plan.
“Lord Sekiei, here’s your bow and quiver!”
Hakurei’s lady-in-waiting, Asaka—a slender woman with shoulder-length reddish-brown hair—handed me my weapons, which I gladly accepted. Asaka had been on my side when I’d protested against Hakurei being sent to deal with the bandits, so she hadn’t been part of the original subjugation team. But now she had donned a light suit of armor and placed a plain sword on her belt. Everyone who worked for the Chou family, man or woman, had to take up arms in times of emergency.
As panic continued to fill the manor, Raigen stared at me before offering a salute, his hand over his heart. “I understand everything you want me to do. This old general shall not fail you!”
“Then I leave it in your hands. Someone, hurry and take one of the fastest horses to tell my father about this. Teiha, I’d like you to lead Gramps and the others to where our soldiers are.”
Unable to keep up with the rapid turn of events, the young captain stared at me, eyes wide. “Y-You know my name?”
I huffed out a soft laugh and winked. “I make an effort to remember the names of everyone in our family—even more so in your case since you’re a distant relative of Gramps. Now go!”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
“Good! Everyone, don’t worry! I promise that I will save Hakurei! Everyone left in the manor, I’d like you to prepare a bath and some food, as well as first aid supplies!”
“Understood!!!” The servants had been watching us from afar, but as soon as I gave the order, they ran off like arrows from a bow.
“Lend me your strength,” I said to Getsuei as I stroked the horse’s neck. In response, it gave a shrill whinny.
We had just left the courtyard and barely reached the street in front of the manor when someone calling out to me made me turn.
“Young master!” It was Raigen, his white hair a mess and his face twisted in desperation. “Please...please don’t do anything too dangerous! If anything happens to you...”
“Don’t worry,” I replied. “I already decided that if I’m gonna die, I’ll die in bed.”
“Lord Sekiei!”
I held Raigen’s gaze as I raised my left hand in the air and squeezed Getsuei with my legs. At my wordless command, the horse burst into a gallop. Pedestrians hurriedly threw themselves to the side to avoid my horse as I urged it through the streets.
“You’re such a troublesome little princess!” I muttered. “Who’s gonna stay up at night and chat with me if you die?!”