The Tale Continues (Saiunkoku Monogatari Fanfiction: Ryuuki x Shuurei lemon)

Chapter 77: Bloody Jyuusan

It was three in the afternoon and yet Seiran is in his mansion. He was given a two day rest by Ryuuki and although Seiran said he did not need any, his concerned younger brother said yesterday, ''Seiran I'm the Emperor and I'm saying that I'm giving you time to rest. It's an order.'' He smiled at the thought of his brother using his authority so he could stop him from arguing.

He thought of seeing Jyuusan at the training ground but that meant disobeying the order given to him. It is part of his duties to assists Jyuusan and if he went there, it's the same to neglecting the order to him. Jyuusan had slept yesterday here and they had breakfast together. But then he wanted to see her. He wondered why he is aching to go and see her. He really missed her, but there is another reason.

His attention was caught when he saw the servants rushing. The head lady-in-waiting is giving instructions. ''Quick, prepare the warm water for the bath. Get clothes and towels, most importantly the first aid kit and medicine. Prepare tea,'' she commanded the ladies-in-waiting.

''What's wrong?'' Seiran was surprised that they all seemed alarmed.

''My lord,'' the head lady-in-waiting pointed outside the window.

Seiran's eyes widened. ''Jyuusan?!'' now he understood why he had been thinking of going to see her.

Jyuusan just entered the gate and is stomping to the front door. She looked really pissed. She is dripping wet and what is most alarming is that her clothes are bloodstained and have several cuts. The head lady-in-waiting had seen her enter and quickly gave instructions. They cannot let their master's 'darling' (since that is what they thought she is) be uncomfortable and hurt.

The servant smiled when Seiran was instantly gone and appeared in front of Jyuusan. 'He run to his woman really fast the instant he saw her condition. Master must really love her,' is what the head lady-in-waiting thought as she ensured that everything needed is ready.

''Are you alright? What happened to you?'' Seiran asked with worry as he examined if Jyuusan has wounds or injuries. He was relieved when he realized that only her clothes were cut. The blood in her clothes are not hers.

''They ambushed me! They are treating me like fish now!'' she yelled with clenched fists. Seiran immediately understood. It must be those who are against women in the military again.

A servant came with towels and shakily offered it but Jyuusan is too angry to notice so Seiran got it and started wiping her face clean of blood and water. He understood why the servant was afraid. She looked really scary most especially with the angry look in her face. She smelled of human blood and it made the servant want to throw up.

Jyuusan kicked a nearby display but Seiran held her ankles before her foot reached it. ''Please calm down. You're scaring the servants. You're not injured anywhere are you?'' he said.

''I'm not.'' She took a deep breath as Seiran cleaned her face. ''A soldier politely offered me his handkerchief but I was too angry I didn't care how scary my face looked like and declined. He run to his friends with shaking legs,'' she mockingly mentioned.

Seiran laughed. She really looked scary but to him she still looked beautiful. He had always known that her beauty hides a deadly woman so this is not new to him. ''What did they do this time? It looks pretty bloody.''

''I nearly killed them all. They tried to catch me with a net and even made me fall in a pond! If only I didn't need to investigate who sent them I would have really killed them all. They're assassins and they're pretty damn good that I had no choice but use my sword. I injured all of them. Those rotten despicable eggplants!'' Jyuusan shrieked.

Seiran wanted to laugh again at how cute she looked when she is angry. He was worried however that she said the assassins are good and they are trying to capture her. He removed pieces a net hanging on her hair and clothes and made her come inside. The bath is ready.

Upon getting out of the bath, Jyuusan received a calming flower tea from the ladies in waiting. She sipped it all before going to her room to change. The room she had spent the night when she came here first was from that day on, addressed as her room. She found Seiran in her room, waiting for the details of what happened to her.

He got a towel and helped dry her still dripping hair as he listened to her story. She was about to go home when she was suddenly surrounded by assassins and was pushed back to a pond as she fought. They were strong, unlike the small fries she had been fighting before. She got angry when they used a net to capture her and cut into pieces.

She killed several and injured the rest. Soldiers who were on duty heard the sparring and gasped when they saw her bathed in blood. The small pond had turned red. She instructed the soldiers tie up the assassins and heal those who are still breathing. They will be questioned. She had checked every face there and she recognized no one and found no clues either when she searched them.

''If not for the clothes I'm wearing and my military sash, they would have mistook me as the villain. The soldiers all looked at me with fear and distaste! As if I had a choice! I had to kill or be killed you know,'' Jyuusan groaned.

''Calm down or I'll believe you're the villain,'' Seiran chuckled. ''We have to really check on those. Why do they have to capture you? I don't like those assassins either.''

''They must be planning on humiliating me. I wonder how?'' Jyuusan thought out loud and gritted her teeth when she recalled the last time she was captured to be humiliated. It was by the bandits and she was nearly raped by them. She shivered at the recollection.

Seiran understood what she recalled and tapped her shoulder. ''I won't let that happen again. I'll be staying nearby while the one who plotted this is not yet caught,'' he reassured her.

''Thanks. But I won't accept you shirking your other responsibilities for me.''

''I won't. I can do my duties while I watch over things. Just don't go to dangerous places alone,'' he continued drying her hair.

Next Chapter: It Matters