It was a spring morning. Soft light filtered into the inner garden. The leaves of the trees swayed in the breeze—a gentle, whispering sound. Peaceful. Sayo held a needle. She sat with the handmaidens, mending a kimono. Otake sat beside her, Oyuki across from her. A younger maid worked her hands at a distance, fingers moving in practiced rhythm. Pierce the fabric. Draw the thread. Repeat. (It calms me.) Sayo loved these quiet hours. In the modern world, she had never done handwork like this. Everything was mechanized. Clothes were purchased, not mended. But here was different. One stitch at a time, careful and deliberate. The repetition soothed her restless heart. Otake coughed softly. Sayo looked up. Otake's complexion seemed pale. "Otake, are you well?" Sayo asked. Otake smiled. "Yes. My throat is merely irritated." Sayo's brow furrowed. (A cold is spreading through the castle.) More voices had been coughing within these walls. The turning of seasons—a time when bodies grew fragile. "I will prepare medicinal herb tea for you later," Sayo said. Otake bowed her head. "Thank you." Then someone entered the garden. Sayo's head rose. It was Oda Nobuhiro. The handmaidens set down their needles in unison, bowing. Sayo hurried to fold her knees. Nobuhiro glanced at them. His eyes were sharp as always. Sayo's heart struck once, hard. (Lord Oda...) He rarely came to the inner quarters. Had something happened? His gaze turned toward Sayo. In that moment, her breath stopped. "Sayo," Nobuhiro said. Her name. He had called her by her name. Heat bloomed slowly in her chest. Until now, Nobuhiro had called her only "you" or "concubine." Never her name. But now he spoke it: Sayo. That single word shook her violently. "Y-yes," she answered, her voice trembling slightly. Nobuhiro spoke curtly. "We have something to discuss. Come." With only that, he turned away. Black robes. A straight spine. Sayo rose. Her legs wavered slightly. The handmaidens stared at her in surprise. Sayo followed him. They walked the covered corridor. Nobuhiro's back moved ahead of her. Sayo watched that back. (Why did he call my name...?) Questions swirled in her chest. Why had Nobuhiro spoken her name now? Had something changed? Her heart trembled with uncertainty. ―― Nobuhiro led Sayo to the study in the main keep. They entered. Nobuhiro sat before his desk. Sayo stood near the entrance. Silence. A long silence filled the room. Sayo watched him—his profile, his sharp eyes. Nobuhiro said nothing. At last, he spoke. "A cold spreads through the castle," he said. Brief words. Sayo nodded. "Yes. I am aware." Nobuhiro looked at her. "You have been making medicinal herb tea, I hear." Sayo was startled. He knew this? But understanding came quickly. Sotaro. The man who gathered intelligence for his lord, who always kept watch over the castle's happenings. Sotaro, as Nobuhiro's aide, would have reported everything—including Sayo's work in the inner quarters. "Yes. Though my efforts are small, I hope to be of service," Sayo said. Nobuhiro nodded briefly. "Continue. I ask it of you." At those words, warmth bloomed in Sayo's chest. Nobuhiro saw her. He acknowledged her. However small that might be, it meant everything to her. "I understand," Sayo replied. Nobuhiro said nothing more. Sayo understood it as a sign of dismissal. She bowed and left the room. In the corridor, she placed a hand over her heart. Her pulse still raced. (He called my name.) That fact filled her being. ―― On her way back to the inner quarters, Sayo passed through the castle gardens. The cherry blossoms had fallen. But fresh green leaves adorned the grounds now—vivid, alive. A cool breeze stirred them. Someone stood in a corner of the garden. Sayo stopped. A man she did not know. Perhaps in his late twenties. Refined features. A gentle smile. A dark indigo kimono bearing the Oda family crest. He noticed her. "Ah, there you are. You must be Lady Sayo," he said. His voice was soft, unthreatening, warm. Sayo was wary. A stranger. Someone she had never seen in the castle before. "Yes. I am Sayo. Forgive me, but who are you?" she asked, bowing with proper courtesy but maintaining distance. The man laughed. "Ah, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Sotaro. Nobuhiro's cousin," he said. Sotaro. Sayo committed the name to memory. Nobuhiro's cousin. A member of the Oda clan. "I've only just returned from Kyoto. I've been away so long, the changes in the castle surprise me," Sotaro said, surveying the garden. His gaze was gentle, yet something calculating lay beneath it. Sayo understood instinctively. (This man wears a kind face, but...) There was something beneath. The air of a strategist. Calculation. Ambition. Her observant eye tried to pierce through to his true nature. "I hear you are skilled with medicinal herbs. Remarkable. The castle's people must be grateful for your help," Sotaro said. His words were warm, but that very warmth made Sayo more cautious. A man who speaks so familiarly to a stranger on first meeting was not ordinary. "No. I merely do what I can," Sayo replied, keeping herself small, unassuming. Sotaro studied her face intently. His gaze assessed her as though appraising her worth. Sayo did not look away. She met his eyes steadily. Sotaro smiled. "You're humble. But Nobuhiro wouldn't have taken you as a concubine without reason. He doesn't waste effort on meaningless things," he said. At those words, Sayo's heart jumped. Sotaro's words seemed like praise, but something else lay hidden beneath them. Sayo did not answer. Sotaro bowed lightly. "Let's talk again soon. I'd like to know you better," he said, then departed. Sayo stood alone in the garden, motionless. (Who is that man...?) His smile. His gentle words. Yet something cold lurked beneath them. Unease took root in her chest. ―― That evening, Sayo was summoned to Zuitsuin. The Shimozuki room. Zuitsuin's private chambers. Surrounded by lavish furnishings, Sayo seemed small. Zuitsuin sat waiting. Forty-eight years old. Nobuhiro's mother. A woman of authority. Her gaze looked down upon Sayo. "Sayo," Zuitsuin said, her voice low and cold. Sayo bowed. "Yes." Zuitsuin gestured to tea implements. "I will teach you the way of tea. Sit," she commanded. Sayo obeyed, taking her place. Zuitsuin began to prepare tea. Her movements were elegant. Precise. Refined. Sayo watched, transfixed. (Beautiful.) Zuitsuin's tea ceremony was art itself. Yet beneath that beauty lay coldness. Zuitsuin offered the tea to Sayo. "Drink." Sayo accepted it. Her hands trembled slightly. She drank. Bitter. But the fragrance was exquisite. Zuitsuin watched her intently. "You are, in the end, expendable," Zuitsuin said. Sayo's hands stilled. Zuitsuin continued. "Winning my son's heart is a dream beyond your reach. You lack the worth for such a thing." The words pierced Sayo's chest like blades. Sayo bit her lip. She could not answer. Zuitsuin looked away. "My son will belong to no one but me," she said. Her voice carried deep obsession. Sayo saw it in Zuitsuin's eyes—a tempest of emotion. A mother's love. But not ordinary love. Sickly attachment. A desperate, maddening refusal to lose her son to anyone. Sayo felt fear. Zuitsuin dreaded losing him above all else. That was why she sought to eliminate Sayo. Sayo bowed her head silently. "I understand," she said. It was all she could say. Zuitsuin looked down at her. "Leave," she commanded. Sayo rose and departed. In the corridor, she leaned against the wall. All strength drained from her body. (This castle...) It was complex. Nobuhiro's kindness. Sotaro's calculation. Zuitsuin's obsession. All of it swirled around Sayo. ―― Several nights later. Sayo prepared medicinal herb tea in the inner garden. The moon had risen. White moonlight illuminated the grounds. She heated the herbs. Steam rose. Fragrance spread. Then footsteps approached. Sayo looked up. It was Sotaro. The Oda clan's vice-commander. Thirty years old. Sharp amber eyes. A thin scar ran from his right eyebrow to his cheek. He watched her. Sayo stood and bowed. "Sotaro-sama." Sotaro nodded briefly. Then, in a low voice, he said: "Obey the laws of the inner quarters." Sayo was startled. Sotaro continued. "The laws of the inner quarters are strict rules that the women of the castle must follow. Do not enter the main keep without permission. Private conversation with male retainers is forbidden. All outings require two handmaidens as escort. These are severe laws set by the lord himself. Breaking them brings harsh punishment." Sotaro's words recited the castle's regulations. But something else threaded through his voice. A warning. And... concern? Sayo studied him. "Yes. I understand," she said. Sotaro watched her. His gaze was complex. "The lord has... changed," he said. At those words, Sayo's heart struck hard. "He has certainly changed since you arrived," Sotaro continued. His words carried an emotion he seemed reluctant to admit. Jealousy and respect. Wariness and understanding. Sayo received that emotion. Sotaro held absolute loyalty to Nobuhiro. Yet he harbored complicated feelings about how Sayo had changed him. Sotaro spoke again. "Stay away from Sotaro." Sayo was surprised. "That man cannot be trusted. He's only just returned from Kyoto, but I sense he schemes for something. The lord is wary of him too, I'm certain," Sotaro said. His eyes grew sharper. "If you become a tool for Sotaro's use, it will endanger the lord himself. I will never permit such a thing." His voice carried deep urgency. Sayo spoke quietly. "I wish only to serve Lord Oda." Sotaro said nothing. Silence stretched long. At last, he said: "...I see. Then for the lord's sake, obey the laws. That is the best thing you can do." With only those words, Sotaro departed. His figure vanished into the moonlight. Sayo stood alone in the garden. (Sotaro-sama is also... lonely.) She felt it then. His loyalty to Nobuhiro. Yet beneath that loyalty lay profound solitude. Sayo glimpsed the human side of him. ―― The next day. As Sayo walked the covered corridor of the second keep, Sotaro appeared. A quiet place. No one else around. Sotaro approached her. "Lady Sayo. I have a question for you," he said. Sayo was cautious. "What is it?" she asked. Sotaro smiled gently and spoke. "Do you know why the marriage arrangement with the principal wife candidate—the woman chosen from a powerful Kyoto family to become Nobuhiro's wife—was broken?" At those words, Sayo's heart leaped. A principal wife candidate? A broken arrangement? She had never heard of this. "I do not know," she answered. Sotaro smiled meaningfully. "I see. Then I shall tell you someday. The castle holds many secrets not shown to the world. That broken arrangement has deep reasons. And those reasons are beginning to waver now. Take care that you are not caught up in it, Lady Sayo," he said. Behind his words lay dark intent. As he departed, Sotaro whispered: "Zuitsuin-sama, Sotaro, everyone has their own designs. You stand at the center of it all. A fascinating position. I shall watch to see which way you fall." Sayo's spine went cold. She realized anew that she stood at the heart of the castle's power struggles and intrigues. Sotaro departed. Sayo remained alone in the corridor. (The truth of the broken marriage arrangement...) What had happened? And why did Sotaro wish to tell her? Everything was mystery. ―― That night. Back in the Eastern Lodge, Sayo sat alone, hugging her knees. Lamplight illuminated the room. Today's events swirled in her mind. The thrill when Nobuhiro called her name. Sotaro's sweet, calculating words. Zuitsuin's cold obsession. Sotaro's complex loyalty and loneliness. All of it tightened around her heart. (How am I to survive this?) W