With the dawn, Ayano was led away by soldiers. From the mustering room where she had been confined, toward the main palace of Akatsuki Castle. Up stone steps, through corridors, until at last Ayano stepped into a single chamber. The Mirror Hall. A vast room of some twenty tatami mats. Long, narrow mirrors were set into walls of white plaster. Perhaps this was the origin of the room's name. The layout, surrounded on three sides by windows, reflected the sunlight with lavish intensity. The light streaming inward held a pale violet tint, speaking of a night not yet fully surrendered to day. Ayano's eyes adjusted slowly. A figure seated in the place of honor came into focus. Perhaps twenty-eight years of age. Long hair the color of deep indigo-black was bound at the nape, and a small sword scar marked his right ear. His features were refined—or rather, as though severity and cold precision had been carved directly into his face. His eyes were deep, black. That blackness held a fathomless darkness. Shimofuri Renya. Lord of Akatsuki Castle. Ayano did not yet know who he was. But it was immediately apparent that every person in that space was positioned around this man as its center. Beside the lord, another man stood in attendance. Early thirties, perhaps. His gaze was sharp and narrow-eyed, his eyes hollow and somehow detached. Long indigo-black hair bound at the nape, a thin sword scar marking his left brow. His features were refined, yet lacked softness. Around this man hung the taut, deliberate air peculiar to strategists. Kuzuki Rikunosuke. The lord's confidant. A senior retainer of the first rank. And on the opposite side of the lord stood an older woman. Late forties. Lustrous black hair arranged with austere formality in the traditional style. Fine wrinkles marked her brow, and the passage of years was etched into her face. Her eyes were a composed black, and her gaze was sharp—appraising Ayano from above, as though taking her measure. Asagiri Chizuru. Chief among the ladies-in-waiting. Tutor of the inner quarters. Three pairs of eyes fixed upon Ayano. Ayano attempted to steady her breathing. But it grew shallow almost at once. Tension and fear tightened around her chest. *(Stay calm. If I panic now, it's over.)* She told herself this in the silence of her mind. Her training as a nurse would serve her here. No matter how afraid, keep the expression rigid. Let no emotion show. The lord's lips moved, barely perceptibly. His voice was low, yet unmistakable. "State your name." The words were so terse. Yet the weight they carried bore no proportion to their brevity. "I am Ayano." Ayano suppressed the tremor in her voice, answering in as flat a tone as she could manage. But her pronunciation—it was not the Japanese of the Sengoku period. The intonation of the modern era colored her words with a faint, alien hue. The air in the room shifted, subtly. "An unfamiliar manner of dress." The lord's gaze swept across Ayano's entire form. White scrubs. Blue nurse shoes. Nothing resembling the kimono worn by anyone of this age. "From what country do you hail?" Ayano hesitated for a moment. To say Tokyo would mean nothing to them. And how could she even explain? "I came from Tokyo." Ayano's words froze the room once more. No one knew that place name. Rikunosuke leaned forward, his words emerging with a deceptive gentleness that carried implication—the cunning of a strategist made manifest. "My lord. The likelihood of espionage is high. She speaks in a foreign tongue, wears strange garments—and appears suddenly within our domain. It is clearly unnatural." Rikunosuke's words were logical. Ayano was given no opening to refute them. But the lord... "A spy would have prepared more carefully." The lord's words were calm itself. Rikunosuke's brow furrowed slightly, but he did not voice objection. Chizuru's brows drew together in a sharp angle. Her face bore unmistakable displeasure and hostility. "My lord. To harbor such a person within the castle walls. It violates the ordinances of the inner quarters. We know nothing of her origins—" Chizuru's protest was fierce. Her voice carried a strong will to preserve order within the castle. Ayano was desperate. She stood at the threshold between life and death. "Please, wait. I possess knowledge of medicine." Ayano's voice had risen slightly. The medical term itself emerged in modern pronunciation. "I have information that could be useful. Please—please do not kill me here." The final words were a truly desperate cry. Ayano dropped to both knees. With care and sincerity. She had never begged for her life in such a manner before. But there had been no time to learn the etiquette of this era. The lord's eyes turned toward Ayano. That gaze held the certain power to end her life. A long silence stretched. Seconds, measured by the clock. Yet to Ayano's perception, it felt eternal. Within that silence, the lord was deciding something. "...You shall remain in the castle as a guest concubine." The words came suddenly. Not execution. Not release. A guest concubine. It took Ayano a moment to comprehend the meaning. "My lord!" Rikunosuke leaned forward. For the first time, his composure seemed to waver. "This woman harbors some secret. To uncover it, it is best to keep her near." The lord's words were cold precision itself. No one voiced objection to his decision. Not Rikunosuke. Not Chizuru. The lord's word was absolute in this castle. "Should you attempt to flee, your head will be severed on the instant. Let this be engraved upon your heart." Those cold words were not a promise, but a warning. Ayano could say nothing in that moment. She could only nod. *** Led by Chizuru, Ayano was guided to the Hanakage Pavilion in the second enclosure. The residential quarters where concubines and ladies-in-waiting dwelt. Fourteen rooms arranged in a line. In one corner, Ayano was given a small chamber. A wooden floor. White walls. A small window. A room with nothing. Chizuru stood before Ayano and recited the "Inner Quarters Ordinances" in a stern voice. Eighteen articles in total. Restrictions on going out. Procedures for meeting with men. Dress codes. All of it designed to constrain Ayano's modern manner of living. "Should you violate even one, the lord's protection shall be withdrawn." Chizuru's words carried not warning, but something closer to threat. Ayano nodded. After Chizuru departed, Ayano remained alone in the room. She approached the window and gazed outward. The landscape of Akatsuki Castle spread before her. Stone walls. Buildings. Sky. All of it spoke to the essence of this Sengoku age. *(Why did he not kill me?)* The question rose within her heart. *(What is the lord plotting?)* And another feeling, too. Ayano noticed that her cheeks had grown warm. That lord's cold eyes. His refined features. The power to decide life and death with a mere command. *(...What am I thinking?)* She chided herself. Yet the image of that cold-eyed lord would not leave her heart. Somewhere within the castle, a bell tolled. Listening to that sound, Ayano understood that a new life in this castle was beginning. To survive. And to learn the true nature of that lord. She closed the window and walked deeper into the room. The dawn had become complete, and Akatsuki Castle was beginning to breathe with the vitality of a new day.