The Mask Slips
".......For now, my name is Ye Gwan." As she spoke, Ye Gwan stared straight through me. It seemed she wanted to confirm something by watching how my expression changed when she said her own name.
".......?" But that trick only works on people it actually works on... I deliberately put on a slightly troubled look and nothing more, so no other emotion showed on my face. Ye Gwan soon realized she could learn nothing from my expression. In the end, she gave up trying to uncover any truth with that question alone and moved on to the next.
"How long have you been serving under Sun Quan?"
Since the surprise attack had failed, she apparently intended to dig from the bottom up with the direct approach. If that was her plan, I might as well play along... Thinking so, I chose my words carefully.
"Not very long."
"I see.....?"
This kind of experience was familiar. Not long ago, Ju Tae had subjected me to the same style of questioning. Thanks to that memory, I could recall and rearrange my answers without sounding awkward, matching Ye Gwan's intent well enough.
"Understood. So your experience is not very long compared to your age..."
Still, there were differences in the details. When Ju Tae had questioned me, she had focused heavily on matters related to the Wu army, whereas Ye Gwan's interrogation mainly pressed me with questions about Xuzhou. On top of that, her personality differed from Ju Tae's; she was less direct and more roundabout, so I had to answer with greater care.
Questions like: Where were you born? Why does someone from Sun Quan's forces speak with a Xuzhou accent? What weapon do you usually use? Why does an ordinary-looking soldier seem to have such a close relationship with Sun Quan? And so on.
I thought I had answered well, but perhaps because she had known me the longest, the longer the questions went on, the deeper the suspicion grew in Ye Gwan's eyes instead of fading.
"...I see......"
At some point her speech had shifted to a half-polite tone. She clearly wanted to ask outright whether I was Lord Jin Hwan, but that single question alone could not separate truth from falsehood, and the risk of giving away unnecessary information made her cautious nature hold her back. Hmm... at this rate it was starting to feel foolish.
Should I just reveal my identity? But I still could not. At this point, when I had not even secured a firm relationship with Sun Quan—my original goal—and could not yet grasp the current situation, I had no confidence that revealing myself would be wise. So I still wanted to hide my identity, but unfortunately, while answering questions about Sun Quan, I heard something unexpected and accidentally let it slip.
"What?!"
"......"
"W-wait a moment, Ye Gwan. Sun Quan surrendered because of me? What do you mean by that..... Ah, damn."
In my panic I had called her Ye Gwan the way I normally did. It was an instant mistake, but once words leave the mouth they cannot be taken back. Ye Gwan, who had already been building her conviction, immediately rose, knelt, and offered her respects.
"....So it really is you, my lord."
"W-what are you talking about?"
I tried to bluff, but it was already meaningless. Ye Gwan shook her head with absolute certainty.
"I am sorry, but I would never mistake my lord."
Well, hearing that did make me a little happy, but when I tried to point out her usual rigid attitude with a bitter smile, she added more.
"Besides.... whenever I see you, my heart races like this."
She took my hand and pressed it against her chest as if to prove it. At first I thought it was some flowery romantic nonsense, but it turned out to be no metaphor. I could actually feel her heartbeat—slightly faster and stronger than normal.
"Huh."
Puppets never showed this reaction. Because they were linked to me, it was only natural, and I had experienced it several times before. I already knew about that side of things, but this was the first time I had confirmed the phenomenon with a familiar rather than a puppet, so I could not help being surprised.
"Damn it. I should have realized sooner."
Apparently, aside from our similar faces, Ye Gwan had kept suspecting me because of this symptom. At this point, denying it any further was pointless.
"Aigoo...."
I let out a small sigh, gave up the act, and behaved the way I always did.
"Still the same as ever."
"Kyaa?!"
I gave Ye Gwan's chest a firm squeeze for the first time in a while. Mm, not the biggest, but the feel was still good. What was even better, though, was her usual flustered reaction—always fresh.
As my hand began to knead her with practiced, lewd skill, Ye Gwan reflexively pulled her body back. Then, glancing at my face, she started making excuses.
"N-no.. I mean, that is......"
"Wow, I'm hurt."
At my teasing words Ye Gwan's face turned bright red and she waved her hands frantically, trying to explain. I shook my head and stopped her before she could burst into tears.
Yeah, this was why I loved teasing Ye Gwan.
"It was a joke. Don't take it so seriously."
After that, I got straight to the point.
"Sorry for deceiving you. I had my own reasons.... More importantly, now that it's come to this, I'd like to know what's going on. Can you tell me what happened from the time I disappeared until now? As you can see, I've been busy with various matters and know almost nothing about the situation here."
Ye Gwan seemed to have finally calmed down. She took a breath and answered in her usual composed tone.
"Understood. It appears you had various circumstances."
"Well, something like that."
I smiled bitterly as I recalled recent events. There were far too many things omitted in between to say it so lightly... but regardless of my thoughts, Ye Gwan nodded as if she understood and began explaining the recent situation.
"As you know, I was originally heading north toward Xuzhou under your orders when we were suddenly attacked by Sun Quan's forces and engaged in battle. Then news arrived that you had gone missing during the fighting, so we changed our previous policy."
"Who sent that news?"
"Man Chong. She is currently holding temporary command of our army and directing the troops."
Given the situation at the time, there really had been no one else capable of leading the entire force. I had not designated anyone, nor had I intended it, but the result was the best possible choice.
"Man Chong is someone I can trust with command. That aside... what about everything else?"
"For now, all of Cao Cao's forces that invaded our territory have been repelled. We failed to capture Cao Cao herself, but we inflicted considerable damage on her army, so Man Chong's analysis is that there will be no further engagements this year at least. Accordingly, instead of continuing the fight, she has stationed the various generals in their respective regions to fortify the borders until your return, while also issuing orders to search for and protect the missing lord. That military order is how I learned of news concerning you."
Ye Gwan showed me the military order that had been lying on the table inside the tent. It explained the circumstances and strictly forbade informing the soldiers of my disappearance, ordering instead that I be searched for discreetly under other pretexts.
"It looks like Liu Bei and Lu Bu have been stationed at Xiapi and Xiaopei respectively."
"Yes. As you mentioned before, we kept the number of fiefs that could serve as bases to a minimum and promised financial support instead."
"Good work. Giving away too many fiefs would only increase the risk of independence. Aside from that, it seems capable generals have been placed in each commandery..."
I scanned the names assigned to Guangling, Langya, Jiujiang and the like, then noticed something odd and asked Ye Gwan.
"That said, I don't see Xiahou Yuan's name. Did she receive a different assignment?"
"Actually, it concerns Xiahou Yuan."
At my question, Ye Gwan suddenly wore an awkward expression and hesitated. Had something happened? An ominous feeling began to creep up, so I pressed her again. After biting her lip for a moment, she finally spoke.
"It seems she has betrayed us after all."