мѕ.gяα¢є αη∂ мя.муѕтєяу •𝔐𝔬𝔫𝔬𝔫𝔬𝔨𝔢•

几ㄩ乇 千ㄖㄩ尺ㄒ卄 匚卄卂卩ㄒ乇尺 乃卂乃ㄚ

╔═.✾. ════╗

All of them stared at the old woman with open eyes. It was the worst timing. More adrenaline rushed through their veins as they thought about explaining the situation without involving the authorities. None of them could afford to get imprisoned or persecuted.

"It isn't here, you know. It's kept in a safe place," she continued.

They were still frozen in shock. How she talked to them so casually didn't ease their fear but made their confusion grow. And so, she was only met with silence.

"Is there something wrong? I can't see well, so I cannot tell."

With the statement, all their questions were answered, and they could finally breathe. Their muscles relaxed; they could feel how their minds unclogged, allowing thoughts to run through them. They could finally speak again.

"Well, that's awful." The leader's mouth curved into a nervous smirk.

Then, it hit him.

"Oh no! Jissonji's-!"

"Is there something in here?" The servant asked.

Oosawa immediately ran towards the door. He placed his body in front of it, dramatically extending his hands. They couldn't rest until she was out of the room. They yearned for control of the situation. After seeing how the political figure had taken action, the two suitors left. The girl followed him.

"You must not open it! You must not go in!"

"There is something terrible in there! Something unfit for a lady's eyes!" The samurai helped out.

"Y-yes! It's incredibly raunchy!" Nakarai added.

"And it smells horrible in there! Please, refrain from entering, we'll take care of it!" The occultist enthusiast said.

"Is that so?" The old lady said with a sweet and understanding tone as if she was playing along with some kid's game.

Shinju stepped forward and gently placed her hands on her shoulders, guiding her until she reached the door again. A nervous expression was painted on her face. Seeing that she would take care of getting the servant out of the room, the rest of them tried to relax again. The only one who wasn't suffering from the constant mood changes was Kusuriuri, who always stood still with a neutral expression.

"Well, be careful, then." And so, the lady left.

Once the door closed, the three suitors - who had been standing stiffly in a comical position - fell to their knees. Drops of sweat went down their faces.

"My heart almost gave way there," Oosawa confessed.

"What do we do?" Muramachi asked with great urgency. "One of us should have gained the Toudaiji by becoming Lady Ruri's husband and inheriting her school."

"Come to think of it," the vendor's head perked up "we never saw the answer."

The pearled girl furrowed her brows. She was judging the men in front of her, something that she had grown used to because of her time with Kayo. As she worked with Kusuriuri, she learned more about how to read a person and used her knowledge about it when acting as a nakodai for Kayo. It was a bad habit, but she could not help feeling disappointed in them, especially since they were using a woman's love to gain something. That was her only fear regarding Kayo's love mission. She wouldn't forgive any man that hurt her. And now, a woman had died and had been ignored because of a fake love. Anger boiled in her veins.