Kyoumi made sure Rei said whatever goodbyes he had to and trusted that Tsujihara Isei wouldn’t turn the entire city against her while he was there. Anyone she had more faith in was either dead or didn’t hold enough power to be comforting.


    She dyed her hair at the start of the trip and again whenever it got too pale for her liking. It let her enjoy it more, at least—she didn’t have to worry about the mark of a ruler, identifying her immediately as someone to dislike or protect. No one in the group—Roken, his children, her own family, and two guards in normal traveling wear—seemed to mind, so she let herself relax.


    It took a week and a few extra days to get to Hiroki’s fort. One of his sons showed them around and Kyoumi waited on the side facing the border for Sir Hiroki himself to insist on some kind of meeting. Sorai and Roken both stood around, the latter watching his children from a distance while Sorai stared into Kuro’s forests.


    Roken glanced at them for a second, then back at his children. They were far enough—actually inside, Kasper drawing and Emelie walking around—that they were out of earshot.


    “...May I ask an insensitive question?”


    Kyoumi cast him a curious look. “You’re considerate enough to seek permission, so yes, you may.”


    He still hesitated a moment before he actually said it.


    “You have a second son, don’t you? I never saw him in the palace.”


    “...I should have expected that, but you caught me off guard,” Kyoumi admitted, scrounging up some form of sheepish, self-deprecating humor. “No other visitor noticed.”


    “I’m told I’m overprotective, at least by Sólstaeuric standards,” Roken replied. “I would like to see my children every now and then, so I assume most families are the same—at the very least, you care enough about your remaining son that you were willing to bring him along.”


    “That might be the best assumption a stranger has made about our family,” Sorai joked. Kyoumi knew it wasn’t a complete lie. “Even Sir Hiroki and Tsujihara’s first impression was ‘what did you do.’”


    “Granted, Tsujihara never liked me,” Kyoumi noted. “In his mind, who else to blame for a missing teenager than his own mother?”


    That caught Roken’s attention. “So he isn’t in the palace at all?”


    “Nor the closest territories,” Sorai replied, shaking his head. “Taiyo vanished the morning after the memorial for Queen Tsujihara Seiko—roughly two months ago, at the start of the season.”


    “I can only imagine…” Roken murmured. He tilted his head up and looked at the sky—clear with the looming threat of clouds later in the day or tomorrow. “I’m sorry. It took three months before I received the word that my wife had died; that kind of worried waiting is horrible. I wish I could help.”


    “Just the sympathy is enough,” Kyoumi reasoned, sparing him a smile. “We have to prioritize the war first, but the second it’s over, every resource is going towards finding him—damn whatever should ‘come first,’ I’m making sure my son is safe.”


    “I didn’t know you had such conviction.” She startled at Sir Hiroki’s voice, but when she turned around to face him he only held a thin smile. “Maybe you take after your father after all.”


    “Utaka taught me to protect what matters,” Kyoumi said. She hated how tense she was now that she was in the presence of her senior. “To me, that means the twins.”This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    “I don’t blame you—I’d do the same for my boys, or their little ones. It’s a good trait to have; it’ll save you if things go sour here.”


    Kyoumi nodded. Sorai moved to look directly at Sir Hiroki while Roken readjusted himself to stand a little straighter.


    “Do we need to go somewhere else for a meeting?” Sorai asked.


    “Extensive tactics can wait until tomorrow,” Sir Hiroki replied. “I just wanted to give a few reports for you to stew over.”


    “Don’t wait, then,” Kyoumi said, crossing her arms. “Go ahead and share the news.”


    Sir Hiroki came further out and heaved himself onto one of the benches. She knew he exaggerated—he liked to surprise people with his strength. He dropped the facade with Kyoumi early on, but the stranger likely encouraged him.


    “First things first, Kuro’s position is the same as it has been,” Sir Hiroki explained. “Every communication I’ve gotten has suggested that they’re ready for full war—no more games. Are you ready for that, Queen?”


    “As much as I can be,” Kyoumi replied. “Just, please, don’t let me on the battlefield—for Rei’s peace of mind, if nothing else.”


    “I had no plans to ask any of you to fight,” Sir Hiroki assured her. He nodded towards Roken. “Sir Chief is, of course, free to do as he wants—he might be good as a commander, someone in the back but still present, at least for Sólstaeuric troops—but Gin’s royal family only goes on the field to die.”


    “I’ll offer as much as I can without risking too much,” Roken promised. “I won’t leave my children orphaned, at least not to a foreign war where only a handful of people can understand them.”


    “As expected; we don’t intend to ask you to do anything that we won’t,” Sorai said. “We all have obligations to our families—I wouldn’t want to be taken away from mine, and likewise I won’t assume you’re comfortable dying for a cause like ours. That extends to the rest of your men, to a reasonable degree.”


    Roken murmured some agreement, and after a short pause Sir Hiroki spoke up again.


    “There’s just one other thing I want to say.” He shuddered, making a chill run down her own spine before he even said anything. “Starting two weeks ago, I’ve had men—scouts or soldiers that strayed too far away from the front line and somehow made it back—of some kind of…killer that Kuro has employed.”


    “Like an assassin?” Roken asked, curious as much as he was cautious.


    “It would be more accurate to liken him to a beast,” Sir Hiroki said. “Not many have seen him and lived, I’m afraid, so rumors from Kuro’s people itself is all I have to give; they describe him as Sólstaeuric, maybe a child of an oni but with a wholly human body. He came alongside the Yuneda family, who governs Kuro’s southernmost fort, but he’s ‘lent’ to the front line for now. Most shockingly is that this little monster can’t be much older than Gin’s princes.”


    “Gods,” Kyoumi murmured. “Is there anything Kuro wouldn’t do? Sending someone that young into battle is harmful at best.”


    “Could it be an intimidation tactic?” Sorai asked, focusing on Sir Hiroki. “Something Kuro made up to encourage us to act?”


    “It might,” Sir Hiroki agreed, “But my own men have said it themselves. It’s a well-planned ruse, in that case.”


    Kyoumi stood up a little straighter, calling on her parents to give her some kind of strength.


    “It’s enough to warrant further investigation, at least,” she said firmly. “If there is a boy serving in Kuro’s army, mass murderer or not, he shouldn’t be there. We have rules for these kinds of wars—sending teenagers into battle happens to be against them. If Kuro wanted to gain my ire from doing so, then they’ve succeeded.”


    “Miya would say the same,” Roken mused. “I find it hard to believe that their kitsune-advisor agreed, but regardless of the situation I refuse to let it be forgotten.”


    “We can go over the details tomorrow, then,” Sir Hiroki decided. He got himself back up and stretched. “In the meantime, feel free to relax—grab a bottle of sake, lay down and rest, talk with your kids, whatever you need. Dinner should be ready in the next hour or so—I’ll send one of the little ones to get you.”


    All three of them murmured some understanding, and he left with a little wave. Kyoumi had a hard time relaxing even as she looked out towards the river, her only thoughts now of the poor boy trapped away from home and possibly forced to take lives. When her mind shifted towards Taiyo, she entered a little spiral that left her silent for the rest of the day.


    She didn’t want to acknowledge it, but at the same time… What if it wasn’t a coincidence?