Accompanying song: Too Shy (Hey! Say! JUMP)

The morning on the following day after his arrival, Yuma was escorting Ryosuke to where Suzuka stayed in the castle. He had placed her in the Nakayama’s house building near the main building along with Keito and Kei. That way he could keep them, especially the lady, under his monitor. He had not trust them even though Ryosuke assured him they were not a threat.

“This is where you stay, isn’t it, Yuma?” Ryosuke asked once they entered the building.

“Yes, my prince,” he answered and soon noticed the disapproval on Ryosuke’s face. “I mean… yes, Ryosuke.” He had not used to call the prince just by his given name.

Ryosuke gave him a subtle smile, before asking, “Why is it so silent?”

“It’s only me and my father here. My sisters have already married and stay with their husbands, and my mother had passed away five years ago.”

“So, you’re the only son,” Ryosuke remarked. “You have ever thought about marriage? I never heard anything about you with any lady so far.”

He replied, “My priority for now is serving you in this battle. Marriage can wait later.”

“You’re the carrier of Nakayama’s lineage, Yuma. I don’t wish Nakayama’s loyalty ends on your generation.”

He understood the meaning, “I’ll consider about it.”

As they arrived at the living room, he suggested, “Would you wait here or in my study chamber, Ryosuke?”

“Here is fine.”

“I’ll go get the lady,” he excused himself and walked across the room toward the hallway of Suzuka’s chamber.

Reaching his destination, he instructed the guard before the door to announce his arrival. A moment later, the door opened and revealed the lady’s form.

“Is there anything I can help, Nakayama-san?” Judging by her look, he assumed the lady had not got enough sleep. She looked exhausted.

“Prince Ryosuke summons you. He is waiting. Get prepare soon,” he instructed.

“Alright, excuse me then,” she said and closed the door.

As he was waiting, he mulled over the topic Ryosuke brought up just minutes before.

Marriage. He of course considered it as one of important duties he should perform as the future head of Nakayama clan. In fact, his father had started arranging his marriage with one of Arioka’s young ladies. Yet, the rebellion happened before the arrangement finished.

The door opened and he saw Suzuka stepped out wearing one of his sister’s dresses he had instructed his maids to give her. He gestured her to follow him to the living room. When they arrived, Ryosuke was standing before the window with his back faced them.

“Lady Suzuka is here, my prince,” he announced their arrival.

Ryosuke turned around and walked to the set of couch, inviting the lady to sit after him.

“Should I wait outside, Your Highness?” he asked.

“No,” Ryosuke said. “It’s unbecoming for me to be alone with unmarried lady.”

He bowed, “I understand.”

He took several steps backward then walked to stand behind Ryosuke’s seat.

**********

Suzuka could not sleep the entire night. She was anxious. Fear started to creep up in her heart. When she departed from the capital, she was sure she had made the right decision to leave her family for pursuing Yuto. Yet, when she arrived at the castle yesterday and saw Yuto, hesitation hit her hard. Yuto was very surprised seeing her, but he did not move even a bit to welcome her. He stayed behind Ryosuke and avoided looking at her direction. She somehow felt rejected.

She also remembered the stares of those people when they knew she was an Okamoto. Even the maids served her were not so friendly. They were not rude, but it was only a polite and stiff hospitality. How she would proceed from here? She was growing worry.

That was when she heard the guard in front of her chamber announced Yuma’s presence. She prepared herself quickly when he told her that Ryosuke was waiting to meet her.

Though she had talked about Ryosuke so much with Yuto in the past, she never once talked with the prince by herself. So, when she sat before him now, she was not sure how to bring herself.

“Don’t be uncomfortable,” she heard Ryosuke started. “I just want to talk.”

She nodded her understanding.

“Your brother has trusted you to me,” he said. “Besides, you’re Mirai’s friend. So, I’ll try to provide you all you need.”

“Thank you,” she replied.

“Let’s get to the point,” he instructed. “From your brother’s letter, I assume your purpose of coming here has something to do with Yuto, isn’t it?”

She held a breath for a moment before shortly answered, “Yes.”

“Yuto told me that your relationship has ended before the rebellion broke out.”

“Yes,” she replied honestly, “But I believe it was just because of the distress he felt about our predicament.”

She saw Ryosuke inhaled a mild breath before he spoke, “Do you know your father is going to execute General Nakajima?”

Her breath caught in her lungs and she could not form a sentence.

“Judging by your reaction, I assume you don’t know about it,” Ryosuke remarked.

She gulped in tense, “I don’t know.”

“What will you do then?” Ryosuke probed further. “Regarding your relationship with Yuto, I mean.”

Her eyes down casted as her confusion resurfaced, “I don’t know.”

“I understand how hard to go against your own value,” Ryosuke threw another remark and this time she did not catch the meaning.

“Ladies in Okamoto household are raised to be strong and independent, aren’t they? Dowager Yumi, Nami, and I assume you are, too. To leave your family surely needs a great amount of bravery.” Ryosuke explained and she could not take her eyes off from his because she was stunned. “That’s why you coming here after Yuto is quite commendable. However, it’s up to Yuto what he will decide on your matter.”

She nodded, “I understand.”

There was a short silence before Ryosuke added, “You have saved my brother, so as my gratitude I will arrange time so you can talk with him.”

“Thank you,” was the only reply she managed to say.

Ryosuke stood up after that and instructed, “For the time being, don’t stray too far from this place. People are not too happy about your presence here. Yuma will be responsible of your stay, so tell him if you need anything.”

She could only stare on Ryosuke’s back as he left the room followed by Yuma.

How if Yuto doesn’t want to accept me?

She had refused to think about the possibility, but after knowing her father deed, the anxiety grew fast.

**********

Umika walked behind Yuri toward the main building. They would have a meeting with Ryosuke and the other council members. Looking at the head of the man before her, she recalled his behavior for the past days. He often left her to handle the training alone if it only practiced about disguising methods and drowned himself into the mountain of paperwork. It was weird because he used to leave the paperwork to her. However, she had assumption that it could be top secret documents from the spies that she should not know. Shrugging, she let her thought returned to their current objective.

When they entered the chamber, Yuto was talking with someone. She only recognized him once the man turned around to their direction. It was Keito. So, he was a member too, now?

“Oh, morning, Chii, Umika,” Yuto greeted. He sat on the chair nearest to the head of the square table.

“Morning,” Yuri greeted back and took a seat across them, exactly in front of Keito.

“Good morning, Yuto-kun, Keito-san,” she bowed slightly then took a seat beside Yuri.

“Erm, do I know you?” Keito asked in confusion.

“Do you remember Mirai’s maid?” Yuto was the one answered.

Keito seemed trying to remember then his eyes slightly widened, “Ah, you!” He exclaimed. “You’re Mirai’s maid?”

“She was Mirai’s secret guardian and now is a member, too,” Yuto explained.

“Nice to meet you. I am Kawashima Umika, Mirai’s distant cousin,” she introduced herself.

Keito smiled, “Ah, nice to meet you, too. You can call me Keito-kun. I feel old if you call me Keito-san.”

She smiled back, “Alright, Keito-kun.”

“Where are Ryosuke and Yuma?” Yuri asked, shifting the topic.

Just after he finished speaking, the door opened then Ryosuke and Yuma stepped in.

“Sorry for being late,” Ryosuke spoke first then took a seat on the head of the table while Yuma sat across Yuto.

“From now on, my brother will join us in the council. So, please fill him in for anything he haven’t known,” Ryosuke started and all of them gave affirmative answers.

“As you know about the development of our circumstance, I have altered our plan,” Ryosuke asked Yuma to share them the copy of his written plans.

She flipped through some pages before looking up and listening to Ryosuke’s further explanation, “I plan to move sooner than our initial plan. So, I hope the preparation can be done before the winter end.”

“The Alliance troop in the castle will follow the initial schedule though, for it is risky to bring a large amount of soldiers to travel down. The change in plan is in the scouting squads and new assignments.”

The scouting squads were her and Yuri’s team, so she put more attention to every word.

“Chii and Umika, according to the initial plan, you still have two weeks for training, but can you manage to finish it in a week?”

“Wait,” Yuri said and turned to her. “How is yours?”

“I can finish it in a week,” she said certainly. She and Yuri had divided the jobs. Yuri handled all trainings related to physical skills while she handled the subjects related to disguising and