Blades and Feathers by Kate Grove

Author:Kate Grove [Grove, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: asia, fairy tale, fantasy, feudal Japan, isekai, Japan, magic, medieval Japan, ninja, romance, romantic fantasy, samurai, sengoku jidai, warring states area, witch, youkai
ISBN: 9786150090948
Publisher: Kate Grove
Published: 2020-09-30T22:00:00+00:00

***

Yoriko and Rui assigned the vassals individual rooms, but their respective men had to share accommodations. Four to six people stayed in a room. It was a little cramped, but the servants made sure everything was comfortable, and the warriors really only used those places to go to sleep anyway. Another day passed, and two more vassals arrived. Takeru usually had breakfast and dinner with them while waiting for the last ones to show up.

Meanwhile, Yoriko did her usual duties on top of the additional ones arising because of the guests. She hardly had any time to stop and think ahead and tried to avoid Kawasaki, which was a challenge since the man seemed to pop up unexpectedly every few hours. He never confronted her directly but always dropped an annoyingly dubious remark whenever they met. Not to mention...

What does a kitsune want here? Is he really a vassal left by the previous lord?

"What's for lunch, Saeko-chan?" Kawasaki suddenly appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, startling Yoriko. He looked at her straight. "Roasted bird?"

There he goes again, Yoriko thought, her eyebrows twitching.

"If you bring me one, I can cook it for you, Kawasaki-dono," the chef replied easily. They had a friendly banter. Yoriko supposed it was because the man had an overall pleasant and approachable demeanor.

When not talking to her, that is.

Yoriko collected the platter of dangos prepared for Takeru. Three of these sweet dumplings were skewered on each stick; all in all, nine were set aside for him. Yoriko quickly left for Takeru's office with them. On her way there, she heard that the last two of the vassals had been spotted at the town border.

As soon as she arrived, she told Takeru.

"I see. Let Saeko know that we’ll have a welcome banquet this evening."

"Yes, my lord."

Yoriko set the platter down in front of him. “She prepared these for you.”

Takeru’s eyes lit up as he saw the dangos, and Yoriko turned away to hide her smile. His expression is so cute. She fought a blush creeping its way up her neck.

“Is something the matter?” he unexpectedly asked, making Yoriko turn back to him and put on a business smile.

“Nothing, my lord.”

He hesitated for a moment, observing her silently.

“You can call me by name, you know,” he said, lifting a stick and biting into the dango on the end of it. It seemed like he wanted to say more, but the gluey substance of the dango prevented him.

Yoriko lingered, feeling a bit nervous. Her mind kept going back to the night a couple of days prior. How he’d looked into her eyes, how his firm but gentle grip had felt on her wrist. She wondered whether his injuries had already healed.

“Are you feeling better, Takeru-dono?” She opted to use his name, like he asked.

He was just finishing off his first dango, and he glanced at Yoriko, curious. “What are you talking about?”

“You got hurt, didn’t you?” she asked in concern.

Yoriko found herself the target of his piercing gaze, but it quickly vanished, leaving her confused.

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