Clouds and Rain (6)
After that, nothing further out of the ordinary occurred.
Lü Bu, for her part, managed to endure through round two, but in the end she blacked out all the same — at which point he turned on Seo Yeo, who had by then regained consciousness, and the pouncing began anew. The moment Seo Yeo collapsed on the spot, he would simply switch his target back to Lü Bu.
Once things reached that stage, the two of them started racking their brains. Their solution: even after coming to, keep their eyes screwed shut and play at being out cold.
Every time I caught them at it, I leaned in and murmured by their ear.
"I know you're awake. Get up."
"...!"
It should go without saying, but I could read even the subtlest flicker of emotion in those two, and every one of their impudent schemes fizzled into nothing on the spot.
And so, once the night had grown suitably deep, the desire that had been erupting like an active volcano gradually subsided.
"......"
Composure restored, I found myself staring in silence at the scene of devastation spread across the room.
Just how big a mess had I made?
I hadn't kept an exact count, but I was fairly certain we'd gone well past ten.
I tucked the blanket snugly over the two sweat-soaked women and claimed a spot for myself nearby.
...And what was I supposed to do about washing up?
This was Yuan Shu's mansion, after all — surely it would have a bath somewhere.
More than that, though, I worried about the looks people would give me come morning. A few of them had surely caught on to the night of frenzy I'd put in. And even if, by some miracle, no one knew yet, it was plain as day that they soon would.
"......"
"...Hee hee."
Making a face that silly even in her sleep — who could fail to notice? With Seo Yeo it had ended at the faint upturn of her lips, but Lü Bu, dreaming who knew what, was giggling outright for anyone to hear.
...Not that anything I did now could undo what was already done.
It was a matter I would have to settle sooner or later regardless. And these two were hardly the only women who had come to harbor feelings for me — the real question was how the rest of them would react.
"Do you know? My courtesy name is Bolian."
"..."
"When it is just the two of us... you may call me so."
That honey-sweet voice still came back to me, vivid as ever, the moment I closed my eyes. Picturing the look in Her Majesty the Empress's eyes, I broke into a faint cold sweat.
...If it ever looked like things were about to blow up for real, I'd just have to run.
With Seo Yeo and Lü Bu at my side, I could get by no matter where I ended up.
And hearing myself say it — congratulations, me. That made me a textbook kept husband.
God, I really was a lost cause.
"...Something really is off with her."
"Hm?"
Around the fortress city of Shuchun, Zhang Fei — out on patrol to settle the local residents' unease and restore public order — let the words slip out.
"What's that supposed to mean, all of a sudden?"
Guan Yu, scouting the surroundings just as her sworn younger sister was, asked while turning to look at her. Confirmed that Guan Yu's gaze was on her, Zhang Fei opened her mouth.
"That woman. You know, that woman."
"...Which woman, exactly?"
It was not as if the General-in-Chief's army held only one or two women. There was Zhang Liao, commanding the elite cavalry out of Bing Province. There was Gao Shun, who spent even the hours set aside for everyone else's rest strictly patrolling the camp. And on top of them stood Lü Bu — Peerless Under Heaven — the very idol of every soldier confident in his own martial skill. With several more faces coming to mind besides, Guan Yu had no choice but to ask.
"Whom, specifically, do you mean?"
Guan Yu asked back in sheer disbelief at the sight of Zhang Fei omitting the single most important name of all. Zhang Fei, reading her, spoke as though the oversight were unbearable.
"Aigoo, honestly, Sister Yunchang! You're supposed to catch on the second I say it!"
"......"
Guan Yu exhaled a sigh as she watched her spout yet another strange remark. Of late, with books never far from her hands, Zhang Fei's conduct had grown a shade more refined — but it appeared her inborn temperament was simply beyond all curing.
Glancing around to see who might be listening, Zhang Fei pressed straight on.
"Lü Bu. I'm talking about Lü Bu."
"...Hm?"
"Doesn't she seem almost unnaturally happy lately?"
"Well..."
Hearing her out, Guan Yu fell to pondering something. Just then Zhang Fei, having spotted Lü Bu nearby, pointed off at a certain spot.
"Ah, there she is now, as it happens."
Where Zhang Fei pointed, Lü Bu sat perched atop a roof, gazing blankly up at the sky. Taking in the sight, Zhang Fei muttered in dissatisfaction.
"Anyway, the nerve of her. Everyone else is working, and there she is loafing about all by herself."
"......"
"Just watch. Once you see her, Sister Yunchang, you'll notice something's off too."
Zhang Fei marched right up to Lü Bu and fixed her with a long, hard stare. Lü Bu was hardly so dull a woman as to miss a look like that.
"...What?"
Blessed with keen senses, Lü Bu turned her head naturally — and found her eyes locking squarely onto Zhang Fei's, which were boring straight into her.
"......"
"......"
For a while, the two simply held each other's gaze.
"...Hmph."
Lü Bu gave a small snort and turned back to the sky. At that, Zhang Fei came scampering back to Guan Yu in a flurry.
"See that! I told you something's off!"
"......"
What exactly was supposed to be strange about it?
Guan Yu was briefly at a loss for words, yet she shrewdly divined why Zhang Fei was behaving this way. How best to put it — did not Lü Bu and Yide growl at each other like blood-sworn mortal enemies every single time their eyes happened to meet? Her sworn younger sister was puzzled that Lü Bu had backed down so tamely, without so much as a contest of glares.
"It is true she is unlike her usual self, but is the matter grave enough to warrant this much reaction?"
"It is!"
Answering Guan Yu's question, Zhang Fei declared with utter confidence.
"Something must have happened that put her in a ridiculously good mood — that's for certain!"
"Hmmm..."
"And by my prediction, it's without a doubt something to do with the General-in-Chief—"
CRASH!
"...?"
Before Zhang Fei could even finish, Lü Bu came tumbling off the roof. Even mid-fall she executed a breakfall to keep the damage to a minimum, then bolted away in a flash — and watching her go, Zhang Fei turned to Guan Yu.
"See? Something's definitely up with her."
"So it seems."
Even Guan Yu, who seldom went along with Zhang Fei's opinions, found herself nodding. It was far too suspicious a display to wave away as nothing.
Yuan Shu's faction, which had possessed the sheer audacity to usurp the Emperor's title, met its end in a single battle.
The warlords who had guarded their own domains and watched the whole affair unfold each showed a different reaction.
"W-wasn't it said that Yuan Shu had amassed a good hundred thousand and more soldiers? And he was beaten this quickly?"
One warlord jolted upright from his seat in shock.
"To think that Yuan Gonglu would perish without even mounting a semblance of resistance..."
Another let out a gloomy murmur, as if anxious over what the future held.
"Hah, and what of it? Peasant conscripts who know nothing of war — I could crush any number of those myself."
A warlord proud of his own abilities sneered at that, while yet another simply closed their eyes and sank into thought, as though something were coming back to them.
"My lady!"
At the urgent voice of a general under her command, the woman opened her eyes and answered.
"...What is it?"
"We have received report that Yuan Shu's family has come to place themselves under your protection!"
"I see."
Hair that gleamed as brilliantly as molten gold. The woman with those long braided golden tresses and golden eyes asked Yan Liang in a level voice.
"What condition are they in?"
"Yes, my lady! Though they appear disheveled, they seem to have suffered no particular mishap!"
"From Gangdong all the way up to Jizhou without a single incident..."
Hearing the report, the woman — Yuan Shao — murmured with her usual expression.
"They must be extraordinarily fortunate."
"What will you do with them?"
Asked by Yan Liang, Yuan Shao replied flatly.
"I, too, am still deliberating."
"......"
"What say the rest of you?"
Sensing Yuan Shao's gaze settle upon them, her civil officials began to speak up.
"We hold it only proper to execute them all."
"Just so! Were you to take them in out of affection for your own blood, the entire realm would denounce you as a traitor!"
"Moreover, has Yuan Shu not scorned you since days past? Even should you cast them out, we judge it would raise no objection."
Even now, unsavory rumors were circulating on account of her sharing the Yuan name. Were she to accept these people, how the powers of the realm would react was clear as day. Proclaiming to all under heaven that she was no rebel — and settling a personal grudge in the very same stroke. The officials assumed Yuan Shao would readily endorse their counsel, and yet...
"...Hmm."
Contrary to expectation, Yuan Shao's response was lukewarm. With arguments beyond reproach, what could possibly have soured her mood? Just as the officials began to fret inwardly, an unexpected figure spoke up.
"U-um..."
Zhang He, courtesy name Junyi — the timid-seeming woman who had lately won shining distinction in the war against Gongsun Zan — ventured in a hesitant voice.
"Th-this is only my intuition, but... p-perhaps you might take in the little ones...?"
"...And why is that?"
"I couldn't say why, exactly, only that I have a feeling it would be the right thing to do..."
"......"
"F-forgive me! Please just pretend you never heard it!"
The instant Yuan Shao's gaze turned upon her, Zhang He flinched back in alarm.
"What in the world is she saying all of a sudden..."
"Ahem..."
The officials made it plain they could make neither head nor tail of Zhang He's argument. But exactly one person — Yuan Shao alone — was smiling, as though that argument had pleased her greatly.