Chapter 49
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Eat, Open Your Mouth
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"Tell me. Who ordered you to march out?"
A voice soft and gentle, yet laced with an eerie undercurrent of menace.
It was undoubtedly a calm, pleasant tone, but it made his body tense up in an instant.
—Is this what it's like for a male mantis next to a female one, waiting for her to devour him?
Baek Il-yeong instinctively sensed the killing intent and danger, trying to pull away slightly, but his movements were blocked by Nobunaga's hand gripping his wounded arm.
"...Uh, well. Um."
Thus, all he could do was respond while breaking out in a cold sweat. And rightly so—his unauthorized march hadn't been approved by her, the Daimyo, nor by Hirate Masahide, the head of the family.
The only thing he'd done was send a single messenger pigeon, arriving fashionably late.
In other words, he had no ground to argue against this interrogation. Moreover, Nobunaga wasn't the type to be unaware that his excuse of "because of Yoshinari" wouldn't fly anymore.
No, who could possibly not know in the first place?
They'd split their forces right before the battle. It was safe to assume everyone knew.
'But...'
The problem was her position.
There were already plenty who looked down on her subtly for being from Joseon, and this impulsive action could invite political attacks.
It wasn't just his problem—Nobunaga herself could take a hit too.
But then.
"I can read your thoughts like an open book."
Nobunaga chuckled softly, brushing aside the hair slightly covering Il-yeong's eyes with two slender fingers to make him look at her, then spoke.
"Do you not remember who you saved besides Yoshinari?"
"...Pardon? Wait, uh."
Who was it again?
Whether from the excitement or the wound at the time, his memory wasn't intact. It was definitely a familiar name, though...
—Hold on.
'Ikoma Kichou, Kichō...?'
Ikoma, Ikoma...
In an instant, Il-yeong's eyes wavered unsteadily. And for good reason—she was none other than the woman who became Nobunaga's concubine in the original history!
His gaze involuntarily flicked to Nobunaga's face, her black bob and golden eyes. He couldn't help but become conscious of her.
'The hypothesis was that she was the woman Nobunaga loved most.'
He'd saved that very woman.
Soon enough, he also realized who Kichou was and why she was speaking like that.
And at that moment.
Nobunaga fixed her gaze onto Il-yeong's newly exposed eyes and said,
"Kichou is the Snake Woman of Mino—that is, the most favored daughter of Saito Dosan. Known as the 'Light Swallow,' she was fleeing to Owari to seek refuge, avoiding Yoshitatsu who denied his father. Moreover, Ikoma Kichou is my dearest friend, so no retainer will blame you. If anything, you've earned merit."
Her words brushed past his ears, bringing a strange sense of relief, yet also sparking a sudden doubt.
It clashed sharply with Nobunaga's usual personality.
That was when it happened.
As Il-yeong's face took on a slightly awkward expression, she chuckled and said,
"The medicinal food was a joke. Hey, you there."
"Yes, my lord."
At her words, the door creaked open with a heavy groan, and attendants entered, carrying out the tray full of neatly arranged medicinal dishes.
They then brought in a small tray and placed it before Il-yeong before swiftly departing.
It was swift and precise work, leaving Il-yeong inwardly impressed.
Nobunaga eyed the tray with satisfaction.
It held rice porridge-like congee and light side dishes, all carefully prepared to avoid harming Il-yeong's internal injuries.
The side dishes, in particular, were made in a rough approximation of Joseon style, sure to please him greatly.
She naturally picked up the spoon.
Il-yeong, who had belatedly lowered his gaze, looked at her with eyes mixed with confusion, rolling them about.
"Uh, my lord?"
It was only natural.
The one holding the spoon wasn't Il-yeong, but Nobunaga. So, he stared at her with eyes saying, no way—
Still, he hesitated a bit.
Nah, no way. She's not going to feed me.
But didn't someone say it once?
The moment you think "no way," it happens for sure.
Nobunaga's delicate jade fingers gripped the wooden spoon, dipping it into the sticky congee and scooping it up, filling the hollow with white. She brought it to Il-yeong's lips, gazing intently at him.
"...Uh. Um."
This time, even Il-yeong couldn't help but panic.
He couldn't fathom why Nobunaga was acting this way. It was far too sudden.
Thus, just as he opened his mouth to say something—
Nobunaga's pale skin contrasted sharply with her red lips, which parted slightly.
"Eat."
"Yes, ma'am."
It was an order. What could he do?
Il-yeong parted his slightly numb lips and took the spoon in with an "ahh." Being tended to by a beauty wasn't something to dislike, so he let a small smile slip.
But at that instant.
Feeling a faint creak and a shift in the air, Il-yeong turned his head with the spoon still in his mouth—
"...Il-yeong."
"Huh?"
Il-yeong froze at the sight of the all-too-familiar bosom—no, face. And for good reason; the current situation was one that anyone would misunderstand no matter how you sliced it.
"Yo, Yoshinari. This is, uh..."
His mind went blank.
He'd only been awake for a few hours, and now this bewildering situation.
When it rains, it pours, as they say.
Yoshinari's eyes followed the clinking spoon from Il-yeong's mouth, shaking up and down. She stared at him with cold, hardened eyes before finally turning to Nobunaga beside him.
Silence fell.
The two women's gazes met in the air, and Il-yeong instinctively felt doomed, seriously pondering.
'Should I commit seppuku?'
His belly already had one sword hole. It'd probably go in nice and easy now, like a key in a lock. Push and it'd unlock smoothly.
He felt a twinge of injustice deep down.
He hadn't cheated, yet here he was getting reamed out.
Thus, he shot Nobunaga a glance laced with resentment, but she merely glanced back at him before addressing the standing Yoshinari.
"Sit."
"...Yes."
Yoshinari didn't back down.
She bit her lip hard as if conflicted for a moment, but soon approached and sat beside him with eyes full of resolve.
She looked like a gladiator readying for combat, or a puppy baring its teeth to protect its bone.
Meanwhile, Nobunaga gave off the vibe of a cat slyly provoking that puppy.
Thud.
As Yoshinari sat on the opposite side of Nobunaga and pressed close to Il-yeong, Nobunaga instead pulled the spoon from his mouth and dipped it back into the congee.
Yoshinari's eyes wavered for an instant at the sight, but then.
"What are you doing, Mori?"
Nobunaga looked at her with an enigmatic gaze and spoke.
"Il-yeong hasn't had any side dishes yet."
"...Pardon?"
Il-yeong echoed in surprise.
And Yoshinari, too, stared at Nobunaga with wide eyes, as if she'd drawn a blade in an instant.
Anyone not a fool could grasp what Nobunaga meant immediately.
However...
"Ah."
Only then did Yoshinari nod as if realizing something. She glanced back and forth between Il-yeong and Nobunaga before letting out a small sigh.
'...Right.'
It was a worry—a torment—she'd had before.
Il-yeong was a true hero.
One couldn't call him anything less.
No matter what others thought, she, who had spent the most time with him and shared the deepest bonds, knew it well.
This man was more than she could handle alone. She sometimes wanted to deny it, but she couldn't.
Take his stamina, for instance.
A man who went all night without tiring easily—how could she manage him solo?
That was Il-yeong.
A being so tempting that putting even a taste in your mouth would lead to ruin. Yet he shone so brightly that her eyes couldn't look away.
The kind of man who rushed without hesitation to save the woman he'd bonded with when she was in danger. And even after nearly dying because of her, he hadn't blamed her but instead comforted her as she cried.
Thus, it was true that she'd been afraid when it seemed the Daimyo Nobunaga was after him.
No matter how she resisted, if Nobunaga desired him, she'd have to yield in the end.
'But...'
Yoshinari picked up her chopsticks.
She wasn't so dull as to miss the true intent behind Nobunaga's words.
Right now, Nobunaga was extending her hand first. Since she couldn't give him up, let's share the burden of this foolish man.
Thus, she took the hand.
With chopsticks in hand, she picked up some of the roughly Joseon-style seasoned vegetables and brought them to Il-yeong's mouth.
"...Yoshinari?"
Il-yeong's flustered face came into view.
This man, who seemed to understand women's hearts so well yet was sometimes so dense—did he not grasp what this situation meant? Or was he pretending not to?
It didn't matter.
Thus, Yoshinari fixed him with a resolute glare and said,
"Open your mouth."