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ONCE the audience was done, Hiaki returned to his office, rushing through the corridors with large strides—not because of the earlier conversation but due to his tight schedule. He was going to take a short nap until his servant came to wake him.
There was a bed installed in his office. He threw himself onto it and let out a long sigh. “I’m exhausted. Ugh, being tactful and playing word games really isn’t the thing for me… The best I can do is copy what my old man does.”
Hiaki’s father, the current Gou head, was the Right Legate—one of the most, if not the most, important ministers in Orient. However, due to his rank, he didn’t openly voice any advice or opinion with regard to the emperor’s decisions. As the Right Legate who rued the political mess that the Wicked Fox had caused during the reign of the previous emperor, he assumed the most prudent stance possible.
In truth, Hiaki’s father was very enthusiastic about the Wagtail Priestess joining his clan. The current emperor had been borne by a Kiriya woman and was intimate with the Left Wing as well. Furthermore, the Left Wing’s younger sister also made relatively frequent appearances at Sekirei Palace. In his mind, since the emperor had Kiriya blood, Gou possession of the Wagtail Priestess would be the ideal outcome.
Hiaki placed a hand on his forehead. “Who knows how this is gonna turn out? Personally, I’ve had enough of single life. I just want to settle down with someone and start a family…”
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Chapter Seventy-Six: Heading to the Island of Sinners
I was on a ship.
The sun of late summer shone down on us, making the foamy water sparkle like stars against the light-drenched ship. It was a dazzling summer day, yet the sea wind that blew against my skin was so chilly that I had to suppress a shudder.
My destination was a small island to the north of Orient. Some descendants of rebels who had been involved with an assassination attempt on the previous emperor lived in banishment there. Of course, the mastermind and their close kin were all long dead. The aristocracy placed heavy emphasis on blood ties, however, so nearly everyone was related to each other in some way, and it was impossible to put to death all the members of a clan. Thus, at times, exile provided more political stability than execution. I was once a puny governor myself, so I understood why the court had made such a choice. It had been a brilliant maneuver.
I was there under the imperial mandate of Emperor Haruka. As the Wagtail Priestess, I would attend the local Irei Festival organized by the residents of the island.
I marveled at the ocean. “So much water… I never knew the sea was so vast…” It was my first time on a ship; I hailed from the mountains of a landlocked nation, and everything maritime was novel to me. Though I had memories of a previous life, I seemed to have grown up in an inland area then too. Excitement welled in my heart, growing as if without limit.
But I didn’t have it in me to bask in that joy. One reason for my anxiety was the fact that I was heading to an island of outcasts. As for the other…
“Yo.” My traveling companion, Lord Hiaki, patted me on the shoulder. “Are you feeling seasick at all, Sai?” So that his words wouldn’t be lost in the strong wind, he leaned down to talk into my ear.
“I am all right. I ingested medicine beforehand.”
Lord Hiaki let out a deep, throaty laugh at my reply. “Oh, come on, don’t look so guarded. I’m not going to try to suddenly smooch you again.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. “U-Um…!”
“Or do you want me to continue where we left off last time? I’m sure that Kiriya’s blades won’t fly in my direction in a place like this.”
“I…am unworthy of your attention, Lord Hiaki. That aside…” I stretched my arm out to point at the island I glimpsed in the distance. “Is that truly our destination? It is surrounded by steep cliffs, and there does not appear to be anywhere we can moor our ship. Not to mention…” I turned to look at the mainland. “For an island of exile, it seems too close to the opposite shore. Good swimmers could easily cross this channel.”
“The people on that island have a special, magical insignia on their skin that constantly sucks mana out of them. But, well, folks with mana are kind of scarce over there, so…”
I chewed on my lip. “In the case of an ordinary person, they would literally dry up…”
“But there’s a jewel on the island that provides mana to all the residents. Within the area of its effect, they can live safely. So yeah, that’s how we keep them on the island.”
Lord Hiaki opened his mouth as if he wasn’t done, but he was interrupted by the approach of his subordinate, a military officer. He left with the other man, and I breathed a sigh of relief. The second damper on my happiness at witnessing the ocean was that Lord Hiaki had been assigned as my escort despite the recent incident.
The emperor knows what happened. Lord Yukinari may have installed the security system, but he doesn’t have mana, so the emperor is the one powering it. He must have sensed its activation. My opinions aside, Lord Hiaki tried to initiate overly intimate contact with the emperor’s possession inside an institution directly under the emperor’s command. That has to be significant. But Lord Hiaki was still chosen as my guard, and that means…
The emperor was up to something. I gently caressed the earrings pinned to my collar. “Your Majesty… I want to see you again…”