Chapter 86
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Reinterpretation of Loyalty
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After the conversation in the secret chamber came to an end, the sound of a door opening was followed by Dota Gozen's voice ringing out.
"......I understand. If that's your will, then there's no helping it."
"Yes. Mother......"
The mother and daughter's exchange, as if they'd settled on an answer to the provocative question Il-yeong had tossed their way, cut off abruptly. And for good reason—they'd sensed the strange atmosphere enveloping the hall that housed the secret chamber.
No matter how secluded the chamber was, it couldn't fully block out conversations, so they'd dismissed all the samurai stationed in the area.
Yes, that had definitely been the case.
Nobuyuki fixed a cold gaze on the middle-aged man kneeling in the corridor before the hall and asked,
"What is the meaning of this? Hayashi Michikatsu."
The hall was filled with a line of samurai. The problem was that they weren't Nobuyuki's men, but those of the man standing before her, Hayashi Michikatsu.
Treason?
No.
Dota Gozen and Nobuyuki quickly grasped the situation. The samurai surrounding them were still behaving with deference—it wasn't outright rebellion.
And in that moment,
the middle-aged man spoke up.
"My lady."
Hayashi Michikatsu.
The chief vassal of the Oda Clan who, alongside Shibata Katsuie, had supported her claim as clan lord, and who had once served as Nobunaga's guardian.
He knelt before them without losing decorum, bowing his head deeply.
The classic dogeza.
"I've pondered this for a long time. And this is the conclusion I've reached."
Hayashi rose from his position.
He brushed the dirt from his knees with a few pats—tap tap—and the samurai standing beside him followed suit, bowing to the mother and daughter to observe proper etiquette.
The atmosphere was far from ordinary.
Yet rather than cower, the two women stared him down intently, demanding an explanation for this turn of events. Their poise was so commanding that even the samurai were momentarily overwhelmed.
That was when it happened.
—Waaah!
—Clang, sching!
Nobuyuki turned her head at the faint sounds carried on the wind. In the distance, flickering lights and a chorus of shouts stood out. And then she noticed the brutal clash of steel on steel.
Spotting the direction, she bit her lip hard and bellowed,
"Hayashi!"
Her voice filled the hall.
She'd realized in an instant that it was coming from where Il-yeong was staying.
But Hayashi Michikatsu's expression didn't change. He merely stated flatly,
"This is the conclusion I've reached."
Hirate Hikage.
No, Baek Il-yeong.
It might have been an obvious sentiment, but the senior retainers had never looked kindly on the man who'd suddenly appeared and taken up position at Oda Nobunaga's side.
Especially those who followed Nobuyuki rather than Nobunaga. In their eyes, Il-yeong was nothing more than—
"That filthy wretch who clings to the already inept Nobunaga, egging on slaughter and vain delusions, has now come to disturb our lady. As her retainer, I cannot stand idly by."
Exactly that.
His actions could be called bold at best, but at worst, they sowed chaos in Owari's precarious balance.
Nobuyuki fell silent at his words.
Not out of agreement, but because she truly believed it herself and lacked the confidence to persuade him otherwise. Seeing her like that, Hayashi called out to the samurai who'd seized the hall.
"Escort them!"
—Yes, sir!
No matter how much authority Nobuyuki and Dota Gozen projected, they were ultimately powerless women. Reminded of that, the samurai approached them with as much courtesy as possible.
"......"
Nobuyuki glared steadily at Hayashi Michikatsu's face beyond the approaching samurai.
She bit her lip and issued a warning.
"Mark my words—you will regret this moment."
"Regret?"
Hayashi Michikatsu, now entering his later years, nodded calmly at the young lord's loaded warning.
"For the sake of the Oda Clan, I'd do it a hundred times over. That is my loyalty."
Blindly following a lord's orders, even when they defy reason—that was loyalty in the narrow sense.
Forcibly setting a wayward lord back on the right path—that was loyalty in the broader sense.
That conviction was what drove Hayashi Michikatsu.
"It will be for the Oda Clan, where your family holds the reins, won't it, Hayashi?"
Of course, Dota Gozen pierced even deeper with her icy stare, targeting the man who had been her late husband's vassal and now her daughter's.
Hayashi didn't deny it.
He merely gave a slight nod to the squad leader beside him.
"Escort the two of them......"
"Don't you dare lay a finger on us, you revolting scum. I'll walk on my own!"
With that, Nobuyuki turned and retreated back into the secret chamber. Dota Gozen did the same.
"M-my lady. What should we do?"
The squad leader asked in confusion at their unexpected reaction. But Hayashi, as if he'd anticipated it, issued smooth orders.
"Have the samurai assist them, but ensure they absolutely do not leave this place until everything is settled."
They might rage now, doubting his loyalty, but once he brought the head of that insolent demon called Hirate Hikage, he'd win their favor.
And as a bonus, taking Shibata Katsuie's head too wouldn't hurt.
'If that's all it takes......'
No matter how formidable Niwa Nagahide was, she was just a green girl in her early twenties. Absorb her forces swiftly and press on Kiyosu—victory wasn't impossible.
Afterward, marry his son to Nobuyuki and make Owari prosperous.
'A wise wife needs a sturdy warrior at her side.'
He gazed at Nobuyuki's retreating figure in the distance. No matter how he looked at it, her martial talent was utterly mediocre.
So a strong backing through marriage was only natural—and best of all, from a loyal house like his. It would benefit the Oda Clan too.
Of course, if Il-yeong had read all of Hayashi's thoughts up to now, he'd probably think, 'He's playing all the parts himself.' No matter how nobly packaged, it was ultimately driven by lust for power.
But Hayashi Michikatsu at least believed it sincerely. That's why he glanced at his samurai moving to guard the hall, then turned away.
"It should be wrapping up by now."
"Yes, most likely."
Though the sounds of battle drifted on the wind, he assumed they'd die down soon. With that in mind, Hayashi Michikatsu set off to witness the outcome himself.
As Hayashi Michikatsu and his samurai departed, the hall was left filled only with the breathing of the guards on watch and the occasional night breeze.
Trees rustled, and the cries of insects awakening early brushed past.
Gazing at the now nearly silent hall, the masked woman flashed cold eyes. She signaled with hand signs to those hidden behind her.
—Two isolated.
—Rescue.
—Escape and rendezvous in 3 minutes.
The ninjas nodded at the signals, and as the moon hid behind clouds, they dropped under the hall like shadows.
And after a fleeting moment.
—Urk!
—Guh!
Tiny groans accompanied the sounds of bodies thudding to the ground.
*
Hayashi Michikatsu.
His real name was Hidesada. A vassal of Oda Nobuhide and appointed guardian to Nobunaga, but he'd come to doubt her qualities and sided with Nobuyuki.
Of course, being human, I won't deny it was a choice for survival. Ambition? Naturally.
But he was convinced of one thing.
Nobuyuki was far better than following Nobunaga. Especially the addition of the oni called Shibata Katsuie had bolstered his confidence immensely.
But everything had gone awry.
For some reason, Nobuyuki had lost her former vitality and spirit, and Dota Gozen often appeared frail while watching her daughter. On top of that, Shibata Katsuie had committed an outrageous blunder.
'She should have died on the battlefield.'
At least that might have rallied morale. But instead, she'd inexplicably demanded a duel, then returned to Suemori as a surrendering general after defeat.
And when he heard that the detestable Joseon bastard had met with Nobuyuki and Dota Gozen for talks, Hayashi—frustrated—changed into plain clothes and hit the streets. The public sentiment he heard was shocking.
—Just surrender already. This damned power struggle is ruining the crops—what the hell is this?
—Hush your mouth. Even if it's true, if the samurai catch wind, you'll lose limbs...
Before long, weakness had permeated the streets.
Not just among peasants and commoners, but ashigaru and samurai too.
Thus, upon returning home, Hayashi had no choice but to resolve himself.
'Discipline must be restored.'
Just then, the Joseon fool planning to leave the castle after talks had foolishly said he'd stay inside.
An opportunity.
Perhaps one that wouldn't come again.
Hayashi immediately gathered not just his clan but all vassal forces, sending a hundred elite men against Il-yeong.
Then, detaining Nobuyuki and Dota Gozen, he'd headed to confirm the results—which brought him to now.
"......Wh-what is this?"
But expecting everything to be over by arrival, he could only stare in stunned horror at the scene before him.
—Huff, huff.
Rough breaths like a beast's echoed through the hall. At the same time, as moonlight vanished behind clouds, casting deep shadows, gleaming eyes flashed in the distance.
—Drip.
Blood dripped from the blade in his hand onto the floor, as if marking the source of the thick metallic scent. And there, standing over the last samurai crawling like an insect, Il-yeong fixed bloodshot eyes on Hayashi, who stared blankly from beyond the hall.
And in that instant.
The samurai collapsed at his feet tried to say something upon seeing Hayashi.
—Stab!
"Grk......"
Il-yeong pierced the man's throat in one thrust and said,
"So it's you."