Yamiyo no Hotaru

Chapter 91

　Miyamizu Shizu, the assistant of the Onitsuki's head servant, was constantly tense. She maintained a silent and rigid posture, striving to remain calm, composed, and undisrupted by any agitation. In anticipation of any possible situation, she remained vigilant and ready.

　This was because the figure before her was an unfathomable presence, and she could not let her guard down in any way.

　"Hmm... this is quite good tea. Indeed, the home of tea leaves is the continent. They have a different quality," remarked Onitsuki Yuusei, the current head of the family, sitting on the traditional Japanese chair with a cushion that Shizu laid out for him.

　He calmly observed his teacup for a moment before taking a sip and returning it to the tea rest on his knee.

　Shizu was acutely alert to every one of Yuusei's movements. This was not an excessive action on her part, but rather an inevitable consequence, considering Yuusei's position as the lord and Shizu's master as his subordinate.

　"I completely agree. Tachibana Trading has a good business indeed," replied Shizu's master with a smile... but upon closer observation, his facial expression is as frivolous as a Noh mask.

　Shizu's master (Shisui) had come to visit Yuusei, his clansman and the Onitsuki family head, in his private chambers about half an hour ago. Since then, they have been enjoying continental tea and tea cakes, admiring the garden, and in the silence, they intermittently exchange brief, pulseless, and not very exciting conversations as the silent Shizu and another retainer stood respectfully by their sides...

　"I hope I am not distracting you, Miyamizu-san. Are you bored?" said Yuusei suddenly.

　"...!?"

　Shizu was taken aback by the sweet and elongated phrasing for a moment. She gasps and shivers, and realized the gravity of what had just been announced to her. It was akin to being told that she had died, and she felt a shiver run down her spine.

　"Hehehe. My dear husbandDanna-sama, I shall pour you another cup of tea."

　"...Mm, thanks."

　In response to her husband Yuusei's nod, the woman who had been by his side all the while with her burdock in hand—Onitsuki Sumire, wife of the head of the Onitsuki family—merrily pours tea from the teapot into his teacup. The tea has cooled down considerably, but steam rises faintly from the teacup that has been filled with lukewarm tea.

　"Would you like some more tea, Shisui-dono?"

　"...Yes, I'll accept your kind offer."

　Shisui also replies to Sumire's smiling question in a lively manner. But apart from that conversation, there is no further exchange between them as they pour tea.

　(What on earth is going on here...!!)

　Quietly, but all the while continuing to occupy this strange, yet oppressive space, Shizu's nerves become increasingly frayed. This time, which she doesn't even know the meaning of, just keeps pressing on her spirit.

　Shizu understood that there is an underlying conflict between the current head of the Onitsuki family, to whom she owes her loyalty, and the lord to whom she owes her allegiance. In the past, because of the fragile position of one of them, the relationship had never been exposed, since the other had become a cripple....

　"What do you think? How about Hina and Aoi? I had been out of my mind for a long time as well. I don't know how they've grown. Are they doing well?"

　The head of the family, who had been staring blankly at the carp swimming in the pond in front of the garden, suddenly speaks these words. Shizu involuntarily tenses up from his words, reading too much into his words, on alert and above all else, irritated.