Chapter Eighty-Three: The Respective Duties of the Gou Clan and the Wagtail Priestess
A few days had passed.
After we left the island and returned to the imperial complex, Lord Hiaki escorted me to Sekirei Palace. As we stood on the arch bridge at its entrance, he fixed his eyes on me and said, “I’ll give up for now.”
I tilted my head quizzically.
“Don’t make that ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about’ face,” he said, eyes narrowing. “I’ll pounce on you.”
I nearly jumped out of my skin and stared at him warily.
He ruffled his hair with his hand. “I’m talking about wooing you, making you my bride.” The man spoke almost nonchalantly and looked as if a weight had lifted from his shoulders. “Asking for the hand of a woman who’s saved my life multiple times without doing anything to repay her first is, well, not what we warriors do.”
“That is what is deterring you?” I couldn’t say that I understood him.
“It’s the pride of a soldier—well, more like the pride of a man, you know what I mean?”
I didn’t know what he meant, but it seemed to be important to him.
“Well, the key phrase is ‘for now,’” he amended. “I’ll consider it if you say, ‘I can’t marry anyone but you, Lord Hiaki!’”
A breeze rustled past us. A mated pair of magpies circled nearby, flapping their wings noisily. Lord Hiaki reached out to catch them, and the birds soared away, their chattering like laughter.
“Hey, Sai…” He gazed after the magpies. In a tone that sounded more like he was talking to himself, he murmured, “The Gou clan’s duty is to keep the emperor in check. Our status is special—we can do what even the Kiriya clan, the emperor’s maternal family, cannot, much less the other smaller factions.”
As the magpies grew smaller in the distance, he remarked, “During the reign of the previous emperor, our nation was thrown into disarray by the Wicked Fox of Septentrion.”
That’s Lord Raiya. My thoughts went to the man who continued to support the empire from the shadows, forced to remain in the form of a child. It sounded like Lord Hiaki wasn’t aware of those efforts.
He cracked a wry smile. “That being said, his policies themselves weren’t bad at all, and though it’s humiliating to admit, we still have to rely on the wisdom that the Wicked Fox left behind for some situations. But logic isn’t what human hearts operate on. Humans always judge based on their emotions, to a paradoxically heartless degree.”
“Lord Hiaki…”
“By now, I can tell that the emperor dotes on you very much, Sai. At the moment, both the populace and the imperial government support and view the two of you in a positive light. But their support is fragile. It stands on a brittle sheet of ice.”
He was concerned about me, was warning me—so that I didn’t become the Wicked Wagtail Witch.
“My lord…” I whispered.
His expression softened, and he patted me on the head. “If the priestess born in Centoria had been a dummy, the Gou clan, who lent its aid to take back such a dumb priestess, would be just as dumb. But you know what? I’m glad we helped you here.”
“I am happy that you think this. Truly.”
The wind stirred. The military officers waiting for him started to drift forward. We didn’t have much time left to talk.
Lord Hiaki looked down at me sternly. “The emperor is likely sharper than you assume. He excels at manipulating people with that smile of his, and it’s how he managed to win over all these important vassals despite his youth. Maintain your course—continue to be the Wagtail Priestess who can support his wit.”
I bowed. “Thank you for your counsel.”
“Okay then, laters.” He turned on his heel to walk away.
But before he could leave, I called out to him. “Um, Lord Hiaki…”
“Mm? What is it?”
“At the moment, I still do not have many connections with the aristocrats of this nation. I want to know more about Orient.”
“What exactly?”
“…I am afraid that one sentence will not be enough.” I shrugged before smiling. “Though I have spent a lot of time with you recently, I am ashamed to admit that I knew very little about you beforehand. If possible, I want to learn more about you, my lord. About your clan, about the other nobles… If it is not too much to ask, would you teach me when you have the time?”
He grinned. “But of course. We’re family who finally got to meet each other. I’ll introduce you to the ladies of our clan. I’m sure you’ll get on like a house on fire.”