After 小鈴 left, 紗蘭 could not sleep for some time. In the six-mat end cottage, she sat upon her bedding, arranging numbers in her mind over and over. Four-tenths to the domain, six-tenths to the farmer. The purchase price for surplus rice. The selection criteria for the test villages. The knowledge of management she had hammered into herself in her previous life mixed slowly with the language of the Sengoku period, forming itself into a single image, piece by piece. （Tomorrow is the real test.） The words 小鈴 had spoken last night—"I'm rooting for you"—lingered softly in the depths of her chest. Just one ally. That was tonight's fuel. The next morning, 紗蘭 rose the moment dawn broke. --- The morning light filtering into the corridor outside the war council chamber was still pale and thin. 紗蘭 held documents against her arm. The proposal for tax reform she had rewritten through the night. The transition plan to four-tenths to the domain, six-tenths to the farmer. The system for the castle to purchase surplus rice. The schedule for implementing the test—three pages of paper, bearing the marks of countless rewrites beneath the lamp before dawn. The day before, 蒼鬼 had commanded her: "Explain it again to everyone at tomorrow's war council." Just that single sentence. （Everyone, then.） Walking down the corridor, 紗蘭 steadied her breathing. She had seen the faces of the retainers at the previous war council. Shock. Distrust. Cold gazes. She would stand in that atmosphere once more. Before the door, she closed her eyes just once. She opened it. The senior retainers were already gathered in the war council chamber. Four faces turned toward her. The same appraising gaze as before. 紗蘭 bowed quietly and lowered herself into her designated seat. 蒼鬼 sat in the place of honor. Cold violet-indigo eyes glanced toward her for a moment, then returned to the documents. That alone told her the temperature of the room. The castle lord was here. That was enough. 霧島刹那 sat beside 蒼鬼, slightly behind. His deep blue-black hair caught the light and swayed. The white scar at his left temple stood out sharply in the morning light. His gray eyes were not looking at 紗蘭. They were on the map. But 紗蘭 understood—刹那 was listening properly. Listening while thinking about where to crush her. "Begin." A short command. 紗蘭 stood. "Yes. Lord 蒼鬼, honored retainers. Following yesterday's discussion, I present to you the reform proposal for the tax system." She unfolded the first document. Her hands trembled slightly. But she would not let her voice shake. In her previous life too, it had always been like this before a presentation. "Under the current six-tenths to the domain, four-tenths to the farmer system, peasants retain only four-tenths of their harvest. No matter how abundant the crop, six-tenths always goes to the domain lord. This is why peasants have no incentive to increase production." "[sarcastic] Absurd." As expected, 刹那 cut in. His voice was low, emotionless. "Peasants are lazy not because of the system. That is simply their nature." One of the senior retainers nodded slightly. 紗蘭 looked at 刹那. Directly. "Then let me ask you in reverse—if you knew that six-tenths of your harvest would be taken no matter how much you increased production, would you try to produce more?" 刹那's eyebrows moved, ever so slightly. The room fell silent. "[serious] Continue." A low voice cut through the air. 刹那 closed his mouth. The senior retainers fell silent. 紗蘭 continued. "We change it to four-tenths to the domain, six-tenths to the farmer. If peasants can keep six-tenths for themselves, then the more they produce, the more their own profit increases. Their motivation rises. The area under cultivation expands. The hidden fields—the paddies that were never brought forward in official surveys—those too will come to light." She unfolded the second page. Numbers of calculations were laid out. "The castle purchases surplus rice at fair market price. Peasants have no trouble finding a buyer. The castle stabilizes its reserves. Our current grain storehouse holds approximately six months' supply—we can set a goal to increase this to ten months within a year." It was at that moment. 蒼鬼 leaned forward. He reached out a finger to indicate a single point on the documents—and at that exact same instant, 紗蘭 reached her hand toward that same spot. Their fingers touched. Just for one moment. Upon the paper. 紗蘭 stopped moving. The sensation of the paper and the sensation of another finger resting upon it reached her in completely different temperatures. 蒼鬼's finger was slightly cold, and hard. A warlord's hand, she thought—and in that instant, her mind went completely white. 蒼鬼 withdrew his hand. 紗蘭 hastily withdrew hers as well. "I-I'm sorry." Her voice had risen. 蒼鬼 faced forward. His expression was blank. The usual cold, severe face. But—the tips of his ears were slightly red. Just faintly, tinged with color. （Wait, just now...） "[cold] Lord, focus." 刹那's voice fell into the room. Calm and sharp. His gaze turned toward her for a moment, and something passed through those gray eyes. Something 紗蘭 could not read. 紗蘭 returned her gaze to the documents. But the tips of her fingers still felt slightly warm. （That person is supposed to be cold and detached.） Something stirred in the depths of her chest. It was a sensation she could not quite process. "...Interesting." 蒼鬼 spoke quietly. "I will consider it. If any of you have objections, speak now." It was not complete approval. But it was not rejection either. "I will consider it"—one step forward from last time. Complex expressions spread across the faces of the senior retainers. They could not voice their opinions. The castle lord had said it was "interesting." 紗蘭 bowed deeply. Quietly, in her chest, she said "yes." --- The war council ended, and the senior retainers filed out one by one. 紗蘭 gathered her documents and looked at her own hand once. The tips of her fingers had returned to normal temperature. But somehow, she still could not stop thinking about it. （Is Lord 蒼鬼 that kind of person?） She had always thought him cold and emotionless. Even "Continue" was just a command. Not kindness. But that redness at his ears was not a command. Unable to organize her thoughts, she stepped into the corridor. --- When she returned to the inner palace courtyard, there was a figure before the plum tree. A purple kosode. Black hair bound high. 綺羅 was waiting. "[cold] So the castle lord called upon 紗蘭 again today. How tiresome for you." She was smiling. Only her mouth. Her sharp, narrow eyes were not smiling. 紗蘭 stopped walking. "Yes. I obeyed the castle lord's command." "[sarcastic] Obeyed the command. It is quite something to say it so decisively." 綺羅 walked slowly around 紗蘭. The sound of sand beneath her feet echoed in a steady rhythm. The same motion as before. But today, her words were different. "The duty of a side consort is to protect the inner palace. A side consort who appears at war councils—such a thing is unprecedented in this castle. Did you know?" "I am aware. Yet as long as the castle lord commands it, I have no choice but to obey." "[cold] Obey the command... I see." 綺羅 stopped. She came to stand directly before 紗蘭, and slowly brought her face closer. "However, anyone who disturbs the castle lord's peace of mind is not welcome in the inner palace." She finished speaking with her smile still in place, then turned on her heel. 紗蘭 watched her back. （Disturb his peace of mind.） It was not mere sarcasm. This was strategy, she felt. 綺羅 was not acting on emotion. She was calculating. What would protect her own position, what would drive 紗蘭 away from the castle—she was reading it all with cold precision. At that moment, a small voice came from the side. "[angry] I don't think 紗蘭 did anything wrong!" 綺羅 turned around. By the pillar of the inner palace, 小鈴 stood. Her chestnut-colored wavy hair was disheveled. Her amber eyes trembled with anger and fear. "[cold] A maid-in-training has no place to speak here." Her voice had grown low. 綺羅's voice did not shout. It became quiet, sharp. That made it all the more frightening. 小鈴's face flushed crimson. She looked down. Her lips were pressed together. She was trying not to cry, and it was visible even from a distance. 綺羅 cast only a single glance at 小鈴, then looked at 紗蘭, said nothing, and disappeared into the building. Only the two of them remained in the courtyard. "小鈴." 紗蘭 approached 小鈴. The girl's shoulders trembled slightly. "Thank you. But don't worry about it." "...But 紗蘭 didn't do anything wrong." Her voice was choked. Still looking down, she pressed her sleeve against her eyes. 紗蘭 thought for a moment, then gently took 小鈴's hand. It was small and warm. "The fact that you're on my side—that's enough." 小鈴 looked up. There were traces of tears in her amber eyes. But something else was beginning to surface there. Something like resolve. "[serious] I will do anything for you, 紗蘭." Her voice was quiet. It was a serious voice, unlike the innocent 小鈴. "I understand why 綺羅 is angry. I understand what's moving in the inner palace—I'm watching it all carefully." 小鈴's gaze turned toward the building where 綺羅 had disappeared. In those eyes was a sharpness that sensed the complex movements within the castle. The eyes of a girl from common birth who knew every corner of the castle. （This child is not just a maid-in-training.） 紗蘭 looked at 小鈴 anew, still holding her hand. "I'm counting on you." "[gentle] Yes!" 小鈴 finally smiled with her usual face. --- One person remained in the war council chamber. 霧島刹那. Even after the senior retainers had left, 刹那 did not move from before the map. His finger traced the boundary line between 蒼鬼's domain and the Akashakushu to the east—a military force known for scorched-earth tactics—while his eyes were thinking of something else. （The castle lord listened to that woman's words.） He had said "interesting." He had said he would consider it. But that was not all. 刹那 had seen it. The moment their fingers touched upon the documents. The instant the castle lord's ears turned red. His fist tightened, ever so slightly. （The castle's balance will crumble.） He murmured it like a soliloquy. His voice reached no one's ears. 刹那 took a piece of paper from his pocket. He wrote down a single name—Kuchiki Konosuke, the castle magistrate. A practical administrator who oversaw the castle's affairs and knew the reality of the tax system best. A key figure connecting the rural villages and the castle. Before that reform proposal was formally adopted, he needed to undermine its foundation. If he moved Kuchiki, he could buy time under the pretext of investigating the actual conditions of the villages. If the test implementation was delayed, the reform proposal would likely come to nothing. 刹那 carefully folded the paper and placed it in his pocket. A faint sound of footsteps came from the corridor. He turned quickly. Something moved in the shadow of the corridor. But before he could go to confirm it, the footsteps had vanished. 刹那 looked in that direction once more, then returned his gaze to the map. In the shadow of a pillar in the corridor, 小鈴 held her breath. Her chestnut hair was pressed against the cold stone pillar. Her heartbeat sounded loud in her own ears, and she covered her mouth with one hand. （刹那 just said Kuchiki's name...） She had not heard everything. But that manner was not normal. Alone with the map, writing a name on paper, placing it in his pocket. （I have to tell 紗蘭.） 小鈴 quietly withdrew from the corridor. One step at a time, making no sound. The next morning, she would tell 紗蘭. With only that in her mind, she hurried toward the end cottage.