Empress Natsume ✓

XXXVI

I haven't had a chance to ask Lord Ryuu about the girl he's talking about that night. He fell asleep on my shoulder before I could ask him about her.

It's already dawn and I was already at the Generals Quarter, my husband is still sleeping when I left him at the tower. There's no reason for me to wake him up when he's soundly sleeping, he will know of this meeting when he wakes up and his generals will inform him about it with complete details. I already informed them to gather here after I received Lord Ryuu's answer that night. Izumi was the first one to arrive before me, he's sitting on a cushioned seat at the corner of the room. We didn't speak to each other, he just bowed his head at me to acknowledge my presence and I sat on the cushioned seat near the round table. The Generals arrived one by one and when they have finally gathered, and have taken their respective seats. I was the first one to speak.

"Rejoice, lord generals. His lordship agreed to launch a full attack on the state of Xue, in exchange to become a king and not a warlord"

The look on their faces were all different. Yul Feng looks relieved, Eiji looks excited, Quon Huang looks overjoyed, Jing looks like he has a blood lust and when my eyes landed on Izumi, his eyes were unwaveringly staring at me. I was quite taken aback with his stares. No one can tell what he's thinking right now, his reaction is different to all the other generals. Blank, yet his aura is full of grim.

"You did it! Lady Natsume. You have my full respect and gratitude"

Eiji plunged his self to me and give me a tight hug. I honestly don't know how to react, my body became stiff. Isn't this immoral? Just when I was about to say it to him or ask him nicely to let me go. Jing gave him a good punch on the head and drag him away from me at the corner of the room.

"You bastard! What was that for?!"

Instead of answering him, Jing give him another punch on the face and turned to me.

"Forgive his behavior, milady. He grew up in a very barbaric place"

He bowed and I smiled at his joke while Eiji send him a deathly glare.

"You shouldn't talk to him casually, Eiji. She's our lady, Lord Ryuu's wife so you should address him as 'milady'"

Yul lectured him too and glanced at me with a genuine smile.

"We're grateful that you've convinced Lord Ryuu for us, we've been convincing him this past few years but he had stubbornly rejected our proposal a multiple times. It was a good choice to ask you and convince him"

Although he's happy that I convinced Lord Ryuu for them, I know that he's a little bit downcast about it too. They've been convincing him for years and yet his lordship rejected their proposal, until I came in the picture. The newcomer convinced him to become a king, and not his generals. I understand their feelings, that's why I'm wondering... do they hold grudges against me?

"Declaring himself as a king will be put in a good and bad way"

Quon nodded at Yul's statement.

"We're going to walk in a bloody path and be dragged in a long run war. Not that we're not capable of a long run war, but this war is different than the last 300 years of Warring states era. The future of Sang will be decided, whether it will become unified and be ruled by a king, or stays as warring states for another hundred years of war. A huge armies that have never seen by the citizens of Sang will be upon them, the 170,000 army of Kangs is now recorded in history as the first huge military army that the Sangs had ever seen and we're going to eradicate that"