Chapter 50
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Lord and Vassal Donburi?
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“Open your mouth.”
“...Yes, my lady.”
Under the fierce pressure that seemed ready to draw her spear if he didn't comply, Il-yeong had no choice but to obediently part his lips. Mori Yoshinari promptly inserted a chopstickful of seasoned greens into his mouth.
“Mm?”
Only then did Il-yeong realize that the side dish before him closely resembled seasoned spinach, his eyes widening in surprise. Wondering if it was just a similar dish, he turned to look at Nobunaga, who smiled with evident satisfaction.
“I asked around among the sailors from Joseon and prepared something simple. How is it? To your taste?”
“Ah...”
To be honest, it was salty.
But Il-yeong replied with a bright smile.
“Yes. It's delicious.”
Anyone with half a brain could see she'd gone out of her way for him, knowing he was from Joseon. So his smile carried genuine gratitude.
A faint flush of color returned to his gaunt cheeks, wasted away from lying abed for a fortnight. A light sheen of sweat beaded on his flawless face, and strands of hair clung to half-cover his eyes.
At his smile, Nobunaga's and Yoshinari's eyes momentarily glazed over. But they quickly came to their senses, averting their gazes from his face as they picked up their spoons.
“Enough. Let's eat.”
“R-Right.”
This time, Yoshinari said nothing more. She merely grabbed a hefty bunch of the greens with her chopsticks—the same ones she'd offered earlier.
“Uh... Yoshinari. That's too much?”
“Oh.”
Of course, it was the entire remaining portion of greens, so she had to set it down at Il-yeong's remark.
*
Several days had passed since Il-yeong awoke, but he hadn't left the Tenshu Pavilion. To be precise, Nobunaga hadn't allowed it.
The reason was that patients needed rest. As such, aside from brief visits from a few acquaintances, he remained under Nobunaga's and Yoshinari's constant care.
As night fell, Il-yeong promptly fell asleep. Though he'd regained consciousness and passed the crisis, it wasn't a minor wound—sleep came easily and often.
Confirming he was asleep, the two women immediately summoned a servant to prepare a simple drinking tray.
With a glug-glug pour, their cups filled, and beneath the silver moon waxing and waning eternally, the women's cups clinked.
One cup, two, three...
No words passed between them amid the mounting intoxication and exchanging cups. Only the soft rhythm of Il-yeong's breathing echoed in their ears.
How many bottles did they empty so quickly?
Yoshinari spoke first.
“...Have you made up your mind?”
“Yes.”
Nobunaga didn't dodge the question. She answered flatly, then sipped her sake.
Her flushed nape bobbed, and Yoshinari continued.
“Truly, what an unworthy lord you are.”
Resentment laced her words.
Yet a strange relief mingled with it.
Perhaps she was relieved it was her, of all people.
Or maybe because she wasn't trying to hoard him all to herself.
Unsure of the answer, Nobunaga could only reply thus:
“I'm sorry.”
I'm sorry.
At her apology, Yoshinari froze mid-pour, feigning surprise. Then, with a shaky breath from the sake, she took a deep one.
To receive such an apology from her lord.
Even for her, it was startling.
That was when it happened.
“Mm...”
Il-yeong's stirring voice pierced their ears, drawing both women's gazes simultaneously to where he lay. Despite the chill night, he seemed hot, having kicked off half his blanket and rolled toward them.
“Ngh...”
His thick brows quivered. Strands of hair swayed with his tilted head, and a furrow creased his furrowed brow.
“Heh.”
Nobunaga chuckled softly at his defenseless form and tilted her cup. Yoshinari, too, drank in the sight of his sleeping face before turning away.
The silent exchange resumed.
Fill, drink.
Fill, drink...
After three or four rounds,
“...Ha.”
A decadent sigh, tinged with faint pain, filled the room. Turning, they saw Il-yeong reaching toward his wounded abdomen, scratching at it.
“Oh dear.”
“Tch.”
Both women creased their brows in unison.
Not physicians, but they knew scratching a wound made it fester. So they rose together, moving to restrain his arms and cover him with the blanket.
“Mm...”
But then.
As Nobunaga reached out, Il-yeong suddenly seized her wrist. Before she could react, he yanked her toward him.
“Eek?”
Thus, Nobunaga found herself kneeling before him, against her will.
An odd position.
His breath brushed her flushed knee, scattering warmly. Nobunaga's face tinted faintly at the sensation.
Truly an erotic feeling.
Then, Yoshinari—who had hesitated to rise—glanced at Nobunaga and silently moved past Il-yeong to his back.
“...I'll retire first.”
“Huh?”
Boldly, she lay behind him, pressing close. Nobunaga stared in disbelief.
“Wh-What are you doing?”
“...Just feeling dizzy and wanting to sleep. Drink alone.”
Anyone could tell sleep was an excuse. Nobunaga gaped at her, but Yoshinari upped the ante.
Pressing her ample bosom—near-weapon-like—against Il-yeong's back.
“Ah...”
Tense, perhaps? Her pert nipple grazed his firm back, drawing a tiny moan from Yoshinari. Nobunaga's jaw dropped.
How could she be so lewd?
She didn't disdain intimacy, but this was far from the Yoshinari she knew.
‘...Ah.’
But soon, she grasped Yoshinari's intent. She was declaring:
—I'm comfortable doing this with Il-yeong. I was the first to share his body.
A show of force, a subtle battle of wills.
Thus, Nobunaga narrowed her gleaming golden eyes in displeasure and muttered.
“Insolent. So brazen.”
Then, she slipped into the embrace of the half-reclining Il-yeong, who gazed at her.
“...Wh-What?!”
This time, Yoshinari panicked. She'd never imagined her haughty lord doing such a thing.
“Hmph.”
But Nobunaga shot a cat-like glare from her lord's embrace, teasing the foolish great dane who'd provoked first.
But in that instant.
“...Mm.”
Il-yeong stirred slightly, his leg slipping between Nobunaga's thighs, changing everything.
“...Wha—?”
His sturdy male leg wedged firmly between her smooth thighs. Now pressed even closer in this perilous position, she faced Il-yeong eye-to-eye.
‘...Damn this sake.’
The alcohol made her impulsive tease backfire spectacularly. Staring at his face up close wasn't unpleasant, but she couldn't stay like this.
So, as she tried to slip away,
“...My lady.”
“?!”
Il-yeong's eyes—she'd thought closed in sleep—fluttered open. He stared intently at the wide-eyed, breathless Nobunaga and chuckled softly.
“...About that reward for my merits you mentioned before.”
And in that moment.
Il-yeong twisted slightly as if gazing at the ceiling, pulling both Yoshinari behind him and Nobunaga into his arms at once. Tilting his head, he whispered into Nobunaga's ear.
“...May I claim it now?”
And right on cue.
The moon lighting the night sky slipped behind clouds, casting the room into darkness.
*
“Hmm. You hold your sake well.”
“I was a ronin, after all. Sake was my only pastime.”
In the courtyard of the newly built Hirate residence in Kiyosu, Hirate Masahide and Itsuki shared drinks, the moon as their companion.
An unlikely pair by status, but Hirate Masahide had summoned Itsuki to learn about Il-yeong.
“...At first, I just thought he was an intriguing guy. Who'd have guessed he'd become the young master.”
At Hirate Masahide's urging to speak freely, Itsuki held nothing back, sharing his full impressions.
From first meeting Il-yeong.
Coming to respect him again.
Growing loyalty over time.
Up to the present.
He told it all, and Hirate Masahide nodded, listening intently.
“I see.”
Not entirely new to him, but hearing it from a close retainer warrior brought fresh insight.
He wasn't sure why he'd arranged this meeting.
Perhaps because the adopted son he'd gained in his later years pleased him so.
“Hm.”
Hirate Masahide's gaze drifted to the fading moonlight. The moon stayed fixed in the night sky, occasionally veiled by clouds.
Suddenly, thinking of Il-yeong asleep in the Tenshu Pavilion, he murmured.
“Mm. He's probably asleep by now.”
“Who knows.”
But then.
Itsuki paused mid-pour, turning to gaze at the upper floors of the distant Tenshu Pavilion.
“Perhaps, well.”
—He might have both women in his arms.
But Itsuki couldn't voice the last part. He valued his life, after all.
He merely thought it.
‘Nah, no way.’
Even a gutsy guy wouldn't take down both daimyo and retainer at once.
With that, he chuckled.
‘Then again... lord and vassal donburi?’
One thing Itsuki didn't know.
Il-yeong was far crazier than he imagined.