Chapter Ninety-Seven: Intruder
AFTER what was supposed to have been a business meeting, I had planned to leave Sekirei Palace to discuss something with Lord Raiya. Though the Department of Print was somewhat distant, I wanted to walk there to get some exercise.
When I entered my private quarters to retrieve my coat, movement caught my eye—a mirror.
“It’s still a little red…” I muttered as I looked at the reflection of my right ear and the earring dangling from it. I had arranged my hair into a half-up, half-down hairstyle that day, exposing my piercing for the whole world to see.
The slight redness of my earlobe practically told everyone that I had only just pierced my ear, and out of embarrassment, I covered it with a hand. I could feel the weight of the earring sway with the motion, and my ears grew even hotter.
I chewed my lip. “I hope it subsides soon…”
Intending to cool down by getting on with the rest of the day, I straightened my back, picked up my bag, and made my way to the arch bridge. I had just reached the other side when a commotion drew my attention. A remarkably large man was pushing people aside as he strutted in my direction.
“Wh-Who is that…?!” My eyes widened in alarm.
The design of his robes was completely foreign to me—vibrant, colorful patterns decorated the maroon fabric. Around the top of his head was wound a long cloth. His skin was tanned, rather rare in Orient, where most of the citizens were fair-skinned and slender.
Military officers and servants appeared to be chasing him.
“Please wait!”
“That is Sekirei Palace!”
With a wave of one arm, he swept them all away. There were several loud shouts as the people behind him fell into the moat one after another: “Waaah!” “Oopsies!”
But something about the scene seemed staged. The fallen people splashed noisily in the moat, screaming at me with shrill voices. “Great Wagtail Priestess! Please run away!”
The large man stopped and let out a gruff “Hoh?” as he appraised me. “This girl’s the Wagtail Priestess?”
His skin was a sun-kissed bronze, and his yellow hair was spectacular—its hue as vivid as egg yolk. A fragrance that I didn’t recognize at first hung over his entire body. He glared down at me with eyes that were like fragments of the sun.
But then…
“Get away from Lady Sai, you thug!” A small body wedged between the two of us. Wielding a broom in self-defense, Suzuiro assumed a dignified stance.
“Miss Suzuiro!” I gasped.
The man scowled. “What?”
“I won’t let anyone lay a hand on my lady!” She swung down the pole valiantly. “Hurgh! Yaaah!”
The thug narrowed his eyes and used one hand to pick her up by the scruff of her neck.
“Ahhh!” she screamed.
He frowned. “What’s with you, you mousy court lady?”
“M-Miss Suzuiro!” I yelled in horror.
“Lady Sai! I’m fine, so please run!”
I clung to the man’s arm and raised my voice. “Please stop. Suzuiro is my cherished attendant, and her family entrusted me with her care. Please put her down at once. I am the mistress of Sekirei Palace, and if you have any business with us, I shall negotiate with you.”
“My lady…” whimpered Suzuiro. She sounded like she was going to cry at any moment.
He released her surprisingly readily, tossing her to one side before prowling toward me and backing me into the wall of Sekirei Palace. He slammed his foot onto the wall right next to my face.
✦ ✦ ✦
I held my breath. I couldn’t show any weakness in front of him. My ladies-in-waiting were watching us nervously, and I furtively gave them a “don’t approach” signal with my palm.
I needed to deal with him.
“So. You’re the Wagtail Priestess?” He stared down at me with his eyes of shining, molten gold.
I stared back defiantly. “Yes, I am.”
He scrutinized me from head to toe, his gaze grazing over every inch of my skin. “Hah,” he scoffed. “You’re tiny. Or maybe that’s cuz you’re a wagtail.” He spoke with a slight accent.
“May I ask for your name? Who might you be, sir?”
“Oh? What’re ya gonna do with my name, hm? Control me with words of power?”
My entire body seized up.
His eyes narrowed. “Did you really think you’re the only one who knows about that? No way in hell.”
How does he know about something that only Wagtail Priestesses should know?! Panic welled in my heart, but I controlled myself and loosed a long exhale before offering him a big smile. I can’t act intimidated. I can’t lose here.
“Since you are unwilling to share your name, may I have a guess?” I asked.
“Oh? Sure, go ahead. But I’ll only give you one chance. If you guess wrong, you can forget about all the herbs Sekirei is trying to import. The ships’ll all be called off.”
I knew it. He was from Meridiona. He wasn’t even trying to hide it; he knew, or at least assumed, that I could easily figure out that much. “Why is that? I believe it is good business for your nation, is it not?”
He raised an eyebrow. “The sea’s been rough lately. We can’t keep trading at the price you’re offering us.”
“…Understood. If I am mistaken, I shall accept that as the consequence.”
He was a young Meridionan man. Hot-blooded, confident, and he could traverse the imperial grounds as he pleased. Even when he had intruded upon Sekirei Palace, a property of the emperor, guards and military officers chased after him merely to keep up appearances.
I looked up into his eyes and stated a name I had heard a few times in Centoria. “You must be the king of Meridiona, King Kuze Ikinoka, yes?”
He wore a grin that was all teeth as he narrowed his eyes further at me.
I was correct.