32 False Good Or Ruthless Evil?
--- POV ??? , Third Person ---
In the dimly lit chamber, shadows danced across the walls, their movements echoing the clandestine nature of the conversation. The figure, his presence casting a long silhouette in the dimness, glared disdainfully into the swirling depths of his glass, a reflection of his vexation etched in his verdant eyes.
'How can that brat defy our Goddess? The nerve of him to reject such a golden opportunity. I've said it before, just eliminate the brat and seize control of public sentiment. Now, I find myself dealing with all this...'
His discontent was well-founded. An unprecedented opportunity had presented itself with the demise of the man once known as the 'Dying Old Coot.' It was the moment they had all been waiting for—a chance to eliminate the remnants of that obsolete imperial family.
It was the perfect moment to stage a coup d'etat.
Dealing with the feeble remains of that ancient monster should have been a straightforward task, either by orchestrating his death or manipulating him into a pawn for their convenience.
Yet, like leaves fell and grew anew, the situation remained stagnant—a dumb stalemate, a chessboard frozen in indecision.
This deadlock couldn't persist for much longer. The weariness was palpable, and assassins were likely swarming the supposed target night after night.
The five families, growing increasingly impatient, had contemplated framing him and disposing of him, but the people's unwavering trust in him hindered any such attempts. With no concrete evidence of who orchestrated the attacks, reckless action was a luxury they couldn't afford, leaving them trapped in this unyielding status quo.
Two families, however, devised an intriguing plan born of necessity and cunning.
"What if we deploy our offspring? After all, he is still a man..."
The proposal emerged from the Fujiwara family, the most influential faction, suggesting the use of young women, the so-called jade beauties, to entice him. A seemingly fair arrangement, and thus, two representatives were chosen—one from each sub-faction that had emerged during the internal disputes over the future of Kyō.
The one that won over him first chose what they would do next. If the majority agreed, then that would be absolute.
Anyways, representing the Fujiwara family was Lady Sakura, a vision of unparalleled beauty. In the empire, none could rival her aesthetic allure, and opinions on this matter seemed almost irrelevant. Her proportions were perfection, embodying the epitome of the contemporary ideal.
I presumed Lady Sakura would effortlessly bring the man to his knees, begging for her affection. Yet, such assumptions proved fallible.
I was underestimating that brat a little too much. To talk about the other representative, it's from the Tachibana Family.
Though not the most influential among the five, it was chosen to represent the opposing faction for a specific reason. Their wealth exceeded even their status, a family of poets and shrewd merchants.
Lady Hana, the chosen representative, possessed a charm distinct from her counterpart. While Lady Sakura exuded a killer allure, Lady Hana, with her down-to-earth demeanor, appeared a beacon of approachability.
The unknown figure contemplating these machinations chuckled wryly, acknowledging his undeniable bias.
'Biased as fuck,' he admitted. For he, hailing from the Tachibana family, held an unwavering loyalty that made his judgment unfair in the first place. Prefer Lady Sakura? As if.
Now, you may be asking yourself,
Why is such a biased person the POV of this chapter?
The answer is simple.
"Has movement from their side finally reached the point where they can no longer hide behind Lady Sakura?"
His raspy, hoarse voice reverberated in the dimly lit room. A prompt response echoed back, not long in coming.
"...Yes, Elder. The current Imperial Family holds no real power over us, so it's only natural that they start showing something that is different from an assassin's blade. Still, it seems the Patriarch has no intention to follow that course of action. What could he be thinking...?"
Doubts came from the other side, but they were immediately quelled by the person known as the elder with a scoff
"The Patriarch's plan is not something we old bones can know. If we are required to act, then we will. If he doesn't ask for us, then it means we're not needed. Trust our Patriarch and Lady Hana, for our approach, will surely win him over before the Imperial Family is destroyed..."
One side seethed with the readiness to raze everything to the ground, while the other sought a more delicate approach, constructing a puppet to minimize the damage to their esteemed image. In the end, their common goal was to etch their family's name into the annals of history as a noble and virtuous lineage, untainted by the stain dealing with this poorly could cause.
A thought worth spending a cynical laugh over.
"Understood, Elder! Please excuse this old one. I must be growing impatient..."
With a formal bow of apology, the figure having doubts limped away while the Elder scoffed in contempt.
'I wonder, will we win the throne using this approach?'
The unspoken musings subtly played across his features, leaving the room immersed in profound silence, a lingering aura of uncertainty. More questions lingered than answers.
--- Ren's POV, First Person ---
Great acting, if I do have to say so myself. I know on my skin how difficult it is to make thoughts show on your face, to make everyone understand them even without explicitly making them known.
Yet, the actor chosen to be the Tachibana's Family Elder was not bad at all.
It seems I must work harder if I truly want to make my performance be better than everyone else's combined. Still...
As I gave a quick glance at the script and what was coming next, my eyes slowly diverted to a lone figure doing the exact same as me. As I was a bit quicker, it only took a few seconds for her to also read what we would be doing, but after she was done, she did the same as me.
Her gaze slowly met mine and I could see a small smile etched on her face.
I don't think I've ever seen her give such a smile, so I was a little caught off guard. But I could understand her emotions.
In this plot, she would be deceiving me the most. Not even Lady Hana could compare, as she was quite literally a beautiful, poisonous snake that would throw bait at its prey before killing it in seconds, should it dare hesitate a second...
It somewhat suited the current her.
'It's useless. I will accept all that poison until I am immune to it.'
To get what I wanted, I could at least do this much. Unlike Kioshi, whether something was a beautiful lie or an ugly truth, I would take it all in greedily, as I am the first to hold Pandora's Box in my hands...
---
Author's Note:
The last line of this chapter just means he's the first who has lots of dark truths to share, compared to Ai's. If someone didn't get it...
Also, I want to point out you can search Japan's Heian Period and you will understand this story(Whispers of Cherry Blossoms) is actually founded based on real facts.
1. The Japanese Imperial Family was completely on the verge of falling in the Heian period
2. If you search it up, you will understand that to survive, the Imperial Family had to beg the Fujiwara Family to establish a political marriage between them.
3. As a consequence of the Imperial Family's weakness, the law was not upheld. It was tragic. People would be robbed even during the day, and no one would do anything about it.
4...
We can go on and on to mention political facts that happened during that period, but I just wish you'd understand it's not a half-assed thing, lmao.
That's all I wanted to say, peace.
Join the discord if you read this far, cmon.
