Chapter 62
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Don't Tremble
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There was once a rumor that spread throughout Mino.
It was back when Dosan was still a retainer of the Toki clan. Toki Yoriaki had a beautiful concubine named Miyoshino at the time, and Dosan had taken her as a prize in a bet.
However, that incident didn't lead to any rift between them. But when Miyoshino, now Dosan's side wife, gave birth to a child, a truly irreverent rumor began to circulate in Mino.
—Saito Yoshitatsu is Toki Yoriaki's child.
There were many reasons the rumor flared up, but in truth, it was nothing more than a pathetic plot by the opposition. It didn't make sense from the start, did it?
But things went awry when Dosan's expectations of her became excessive.
—Father. Am I... not your daughter?
These were the words Saito Yoshitatsu spoke to Dosan one day while he was handling paperwork. It was right around the time their father-daughter relationship had soured.
So, Dosan replied,
—Don't get swayed by pointless rumors. Just do your job properly.
At the time, he thought it was just a dismissal.
But Yoshitatsu seemed to interpret it as an indirect affirmation.
That must have been when it started.
When Saito Yoshitatsu became so extreme.
At first, even when the ninjas reported it and the retainers mentioned it, he just thought it was fine. No matter the circumstances, if she was Dosan's daughter and the seed to inherit Mino someday, she had to be like that.
But as it grew excessive, Dosan's attention began shifting more and more to his younger children.
And finally, things had come to this.
"You foolish child."
Dosan said with a smile. The thick scent of blood stung his nose, filling his lungs with emptiness and amusement.
Yet Dosan still smiled.
His daughter was still foolish...
"I misjudged your talents."
To think she was capable of leading such a large force.
The old warrior scanned those who had once been his lands and his army, muttering to himself.
"I was the foolish one."
Life is full of unspoken truths between the lines.
Looking back at them in his twilight years, there were so many regrets.
Haa—.
His cold breath mixed with lingering attachment, relief, regret, and a sense of accomplishment.
"You're right. You misjudged me."
Her daughter spouting such nonsense didn't anger him.
He had only just realized her true intentions.
'You never believed in me from the start. Haha.'
He had thought her foolish, but she had been using her wits in her own way.
Dosan dismounted.
With a whinny, the horse that had carried him snorted, and at the same time, the surrounding troops stepped back, centering on him.
Thud.
His footsteps pressed into the earth.
His armor clinked and rattled against his body, and Dosan slowly walked toward his daughter, dropping the sword he held in his hand.
In front of the command tent.
His daughter, whom he had thought was just a child, but who had now become a proper woman, was gazing at him. Dosan strode toward her and opened his mouth.
"Daughter."
His characteristic silver eyes wavered.
At the same time, her figure reflected in Dosan's aged, graying pupils.
"You are my daughter."
Come now.
Saito Dosan's aged body spread wide, and his footsteps left deep imprints like those of a giant.
"So only you can kill me."
Strike me down. Daughter.
Saito Dosan smiled.
At the same time, to Saito Yoshitatsu, who still hated Dosan despite her wavering, Ando Morinari—one of the Three of Mino—subtly handed over a sword.
—Thud.
She gripped the sword.
At the same time, she stepped toward Dosan, who had walked right up to her.
Step, step.
Hesitation lingered in her strides.
But soon, she cast it aside.
Her steps turned into a sprint, and the thrusting blade pierced through armor and flesh in an instant.
—Stab!
Blood beaded on the blade.
Furthermore, Dosan wrapped his arms around his trembling daughter's back as she knelt on one knee.
"...Don't tremble. Cough."
"......"
Saito Yoshitatsu's hands shook. Foolish girl. One who aspired to be lord couldn't tremble in front of her retainers.
He huddled over, covering the hand gripping the sword. At the same time, he whispered into the ear of his daughter, whom he hadn't held like this in so long.
"...Were you anxious? Enough to use even baseless rumors that you yourself didn't believe to kill your father like this."
"...Ah."
Had he struck the nail on the head?
Saito Dosan felt the pain and breath slowly fading, whispering softly.
"...Don't worry. It's not your fault. ...It's all this foolish father's doing."
Like Kicho, this child was tender-hearted too. But born as Saito Dosan's child, far from such a temperament, she had no choice but to grow up harsh.
—Cough.
Fearing the blood spurting from his mouth might stain his daughter's clothes, Dosan swallowed it between clenched teeth, closed his gradually blurring eyes, and said,
"...I planned to entrust Mino to Nobunaga. But now I see that was unnecessary too."
Still, don't resent her too much.
Mino and Owari would clash someday anyway.
Yes, this was a test, in a way.
A test...
—Thud.
Finally, Saito Dosan's body fully knelt, and Saito Yoshitatsu, who had thrust the blade into his abdomen, looked down at him for a moment before turning away with a cold expression.
"...Clear him away."
With that, all the retainers shuddered.
The seed of the former lord, raised under the thief Saito, had finally made the thief meet his end.
Whether it was true or not didn't matter.
As long as they believed it, that was enough.
So they could say without a shred of hesitation,
—The vengeance of Mino has finally ended.
And.
Baek Il-yeong, watching from a distant hill, said with a coldly hardened face,
"We turn back."
*
Saito Dosan was dead. The relief force led by Il-yeong arrived a step too late and confirmed it, then Il-yeong recovered Dosan's body abandoned in the hills and sent it to Kiyosu.
However, that didn't mean an immediate retreat.
Though Saito Yoshitatsu had swiftly swallowed up Mino, given the vast nature of Mino, she couldn't extend her influence to the outskirts right away, so Il-yeong and Niwa Nagahide seized the gap to move their troops and annex some lands near Owari.
Luckily, it was a fertile granary region with good yields, making it a significant achievement in itself.
—Itsuki! Itsuki!
Naturally, Itsuki, whom Il-yeong had resolved to push forward, led the vanguard in every battle. With Il-yeong's support, Itsuki exerted himself to the fullest and soon earned himself a small fame.
As winter drew to a close.
Finally, an order came from Kiyosu for Il-yeong and the key retainers to return.
Land wasn't just about planting a flag; true dominion was needed to harvest its resources. Once control over the area was solidified, they recalled Il-yeong immediately.
About two months later, Il-yeong headed to Kiyosu.
—Whinny.
There was no rush, so they moved slowly. Even so, Owari wasn't vast, and they could reach it in a few days.
Finally, Kiyosu came into view.
—He's here!
An ashigaru spotted Il-yeong on horseback and shouted, sparking a commotion as if they'd been waiting.
The gates creaked open.
At the same time, commoners flocked around Il-yeong on the main road.
—Waaah!
—Hirate Hikage!
—Itsuki!
It wasn't an overwhelming victory, but the reception wasn't bad. Likely because the abundant grain from the occupied lands had been sent to Kiyosu.
How long did they parade down the road?
Soon, they reached the main keep where their lord Oda Nobunaga resided, dismounted all at once, and knelt before Nobunaga, who had come out personally to wait.
"We pay respects to the Daimyo."
As Il-yeong, the commander of this expedition, spoke, Yoshinari, Itsuki, and Nagahide followed with their greetings to Nobunaga.
—We pay respects to the Daimyo.
"Enough. Come up right away."
However, Nobunaga half-ignored their greetings and ordered Il-yeong straight up to the tenshu.
So Il-yeong brushed the dirt from his trouser hems while kneeling and followed Nobunaga up to the tenshu. Excluding Itsuki and Nagahide who stepped back, Yoshinari trailed behind.
Step, step...
They climbed the wooden stairs.
Finally, atop the tenshu with Kiyosu in full view, Nobunaga grabbed Il-yeong's clothes as if she'd been waiting.
"Uh, um. My lord?"
Il-yeong was naturally flustered, but Yoshinari, entering behind, seized Il-yeong's arms the moment Nobunaga's gaze fell on her, as if it were the most natural thing.
What kind of woman was Yoshinari?
"Yoshinari, you too?!"
She wielded a heavy spear, swinging it wildly at necks, and sometimes dangled people from its tip. Il-yeong was firmly pinned, unable to prevent his clothes from being pulled open.
With a rustle, the hem covering his stomach came loose. Just as Il-yeong inwardly thought, 'I haven't even washed...', Nobunaga struck his abdomen with a smack and said,
"Hm, the wound has healed quite a bit!"