The morning sun painted the stone walls of Takagamine Castle in gold. Sayo walked through the inner corridor. Otake, the lady's maid, moved one step ahead, and Sayo followed in her wake. Shoji screens lined both sides of the hallway, and the morning light filtered through the paper, casting a soft glow into the rooms beyond. The tatami beneath her feet had been freshly laid—the scent of rush grass tickled her nose, green and alive. "I shall show you to the writing room in the main keep." Otake's voice was flat, matter-of-fact. Since the previous night, when she had seen Sayo tidying her quarters, the maids' attitudes had shifted subtly. Wariness remained, but it was no longer absolute rejection. The connecting corridor leading to the main keep. This was the "Shinobi Bridge"—a passage that could not be crossed without Zuigetsu-in's permission. Sayo felt the weight of that fact with each step forward. *Life and death hang in the balance.* The modern Sayo had spent her days in a uni