Chapter 67
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: The Woman Called a Traitor (2)
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Baek Il-yeong's gaze fell upon Akechi Mitsuhide's face, filled with shock and bewilderment. At the same time, he stroked the blade of Onimaru, which he had casually set down beside him, and continued speaking.
"Akechi Mitsuhide."
"...Yes."
"Do you know who I am?"
At Il-yeong's question, she hesitated, her pink-and-silver eyes flickering slightly, before gazing at the blade he was stroking and nodding.
"Ah, yes, I do."
Hirate Hikage.
The adopted son of Owari's grand lady, Hirate Masahide, and a man from Joseon. A figure who had swiftly risen to become a key retainer of the Oda Clan thanks to his exceptional martial prowess, intellect, and striking looks.
Not knowing the full story, Akechi Mitsuhide bowed her head deeply, trying her best to appease him, and replied.
"How could I not recognize Lord Hirate?"
It was humiliating. Beneath her lowered head, she bit her lip. Yet Il-yeong, showing no sympathy whatsoever, spoke indifferently.
"Your entire clan must be dead by now. All to uphold loyalty to Dosan, I suppose."
"...You have swift ears."
It was unpleasant. The way he spoke of her clan's annihilation as if it were the most natural thing in the world. And at the same time, terrifying. Her delicate brows furrowed, and her lips trembled faintly.
—Her clan's extermination had happened just a few days ago.
The fact that Il-yeong in Owari knew of it immediately meant there might be an extensive intelligence network in Mino.
But to her words, Il-yeong merely fell silent, as if lost in thought.
How much time passed like that?
Just as her knees began to ache from prostrating and sensation left her toes.
"Akechi."
As if he had reached some conclusion, Il-yeong's lips parted slightly. Then he strode toward her.
A tall man's shadow loomed over her, something rarely seen.
At the same time, recalling the gaze Il-yeong had once given her, she broke into a cold sweat and cried out desperately.
"M-My nephew Samano is the last survivor of the Akechi Clan! If there's any sin, I'll atone for it no matter what, so p-please, in your mercy, spare at least that child's life...!"
She didn't know what crime they had committed.
No, they couldn't have committed any. This was her first time meeting Il-yeong. Yet the reason she had no choice but to say this was simple.
'It's a chaotic era.'
A phrase that explained all irrationality in an instant.
The child who stabs their father.
The father who abandons their child.
The sword swung on a whim.
The retainer dying for offending a whim.
All of it was possible because it was a time of chaos, and no one batted an eye because it was a time of chaos. Suddenly, Saito Dosan's words flashed through her mind.
—If the situation grows dire, spare your life and bide your time. Entrust yourself to the Asakura.
Il-yeong's question overlapped.
—Why didn't you go to the Asakura?
She lifted her head slightly to look at his face, and Il-yeong looked down, nodding.
"Answer me. Why didn't you go to the Asakura?"
"...That's."
She agonized over it. The Asakura Clan was a prestigious house, one she couldn't afford to betray. Yet the reason she chose Owari over Asakura was...
She soon steeled herself.
She'd die anyway if she didn't answer, so nothing would change.
She raised her head. Staring steadily up at Il-yeong who looked down at her, she replied.
"I came because I couldn't leave Lady Kicho alone."
She said it plainly. It might not be the whole reason, but it had certainly influenced her. Il-yeong pondered her words, troubled.
'What to do.'
The daimyo had become women, and his intervention in the Sengoku era had already created countless historical turning points. Thus, he agonized.
'Akechi Mitsuhide.'
A woman who would one day kill Oda Nobunaga, but one with exceptional talent as a general. What more needed to be said about someone who would later be called one of Oda's Five Generals and rise to prominence?
But he wasn't certain.
'Can I control this woman?'
Toyotomi Hideyoshi, accused of sowing discord midway, was dead, and Il-yeong had taken his place. He was confident he could curb Oda Nobunaga's brutality somehow.
—It's a chaotic era.
He recalled the same phrase as Akechi Mitsuhide. Thinking of the many battles ahead, he soon resolved himself.
"Akechi Mitsuhide."
His authority already rivaled that of his father, Hirate Masahide, if only slightly less. Strictly speaking, few in the Oda Clan could defy him now.
"...Yes."
Thus, he had the authority to make this decision himself.
"From now on, you will be my direct bodyguard. Leave the role of attending Lady Kicho to your nephew Samano. The ninja who brought Dosan's letter from Mino is already guarding her, so you don't need to be by her side constantly."
At Il-yeong's words, a strange doubt crossed Akechi Mitsuhide's face.
"...Ninja?"
"It was recent. He came with a letter in Dosan's unmistakable handwriting."
He recited it plainly.
「I entrust Mino to you.」
"He said to entrust Mino to me."
"...So he made that decision in the end."
It should have been shocking, but Akechi Mitsuhide wasn't surprised. In a way, she had half-expected it.
She had long known that Saito Dosan didn't view Oda Nobunaga unfavorably.
But something nagged at her.
"Yet, entrusting your guard to an outsider like me..."
Though she had fled from Mino, she hadn't yet proven unwavering loyalty. Why entrust her with this?
To her question, Il-yeong answered.
"You need to stay in my sight."
For some reason, he smirked as he replied.
"That way, I can feel at ease."
Having lifted her head, his face came into full view. A man exuding an intimidating aura, yet his words carried a profound meaning.
But Akechi Mitsuhide wasn't mad enough to feel any flutter or excitement. She merely bowed her head, awkwardness lingering in her mouth.
"...Understood."
Knowing it was the way to survive.
"Good."
Il-yeong adjusted his fluttering robe and headed outside. He then ordered Itsuki, who stood waiting there.
"This is the woman who'll stand guard with you from today. Introduce yourselves."
And so, the moment Akechi Mitsuhide became Il-yeong's bodyguard arrived.
*
After several days of interrogation and verification, Akechi Mitsuhide became Il-yeong's bodyguard as he had declared. Thus, she couldn't help but inwardly wary.
She had heard he was usually kind, and seen it a few times herself, but their first impression had soured everything.
So she thought.
—That benevolent smile was a mask, and beneath it lurked a man more fearsome than any other.
She had seen it firsthand in the man she lived with: Saito Dosan was just like Il-yeong.
Thus, she followed behind Il-yeong with an expressionless face, keeping distance from those who spoke to her.
"Ah, Lord Hirate!"
"You've worked hard."
Even as female samurai passing by blushed and bowed, and Il-yeong smiled warmly in response, she vowed not to be fooled.
Instead, she kept her head down, watching his heels, following his every step. How long had they walked like that?
"S-Sis?"
A familiar voice rang out.
As the thought "No way" crossed her mind and she looked up, beyond Il-yeong's broad shoulders, she saw a woman with teary eyes.
Her mouth fell open unwittingly.
She stepped forward briskly, and in a trembling voice, murmured her name.
"Kicho...!"
"S-Sis—!"
Kicho's small frame came rushing, as if she might trip. Behind her, a startled middle-aged man hurriedly knelt and bowed.
"L-Lady...!"
"And you are..."
Hugging Kicho, who had buried her face in her bosom, she gauged the middle-aged man's identity. But before the ninja could answer—Il-yeong, standing a step behind them, spoke.
"He's the ninja who brought the letter I mentioned before. I assigned him as Kicho's bodyguard."
It had been Il-yeong's suggestion. Knowing this, the ninja bowed and affirmed Il-yeong's words.
"...Hic, S-Sis..."
Akechi Mitsuhide held Kicho, who trembled and sobbed into her chest, and let out an involuntary sigh.
"...No way."
There seemed to be no prior arrangement between Kicho and Il-yeong. Kicho merely stared blankly at the courtyard.
In the end, Il-yeong had sought out Kicho, whom he had no need to meet. Turning her head with that realization, she caught sight of Il-yeong's back as he walked away.
"...On purpose?"
It wasn't mere suspicion anymore. It was fact.
—Il-yeong had deliberately given her time to meet Kicho.
Then turned away himself. Not only that—he had even told Itsuki to clear the area.
'What is he?'
Akechi Mitsuhide's eyes wavered.
Though they'd only met days ago, she couldn't fathom this man's intentions.
On the surface, he was utterly gentle and kind.
Sometimes warmly affectionate, cherishing his own people.
Yet when something shifted, he twisted mercilessly.
During her time in Owari, she had heard rumors of the "Yaksha of the Rainy Mountain."
A man who led a few warriors to annihilate Yoshitatsu's pursuit force. They said he resembled a demon.
Thus, Akechi Mitsuhide pondered.
But her musing didn't last long.
"Waaah... Sis..."
Kicho's tearful sobs pierced her heart.
"It's alright. Everything's fine. I'm here now. Samano too..."
So she stopped thinking and comforted Kicho. As the sun set and darkness gradually fell over the courtyard, the two women embraced for a long while.
Yes, a long while indeed.
And at that moment.
Il-yeong watched the scene from afar with Itsuki alone, then ordered the man beside him.
"Keep a close eye on Akechi Mitsuhide."
"Yes, my lord."
He hadn't dropped his guard.
He was merely harboring her.
Meanwhile, Itsuki, head bowed at Il-yeong's command, thought to himself.
That Il-yeong's now-familiar cold expression felt particularly chilling.