"Kotaishi," Kaname used the tip of his katana"s saya to lift Nagahito"s chin up. "What do you have to say about what he just said?"Nagahito looked at him with pure loathing but said, "What he said is the truth."
Everyone, myself included, did not expect him to confirm Iursan"s words. I watched as my husband"s shock turn into satisfaction.
"And what about the rest?"
"I do not deny them as well. Although… There is one very interesting detail that was changed," he smirked. "I think you and Jin-san know what it is."
"Of course," Kaname chuckled, unfazed by his hints. "Care to tell the crowd what it is? I"m sure they"re br.i.m.m.i.n.g with curiosity."
My initially shocked self slowly relaxed, things were going according to how Kaname predicted it. I looked around to see that everyone was indeed curious.
"Oh, it"s nothing surprising. It"s just that your personal guard Musashi Jin and your second wife Lady Hinata are one and the same," he was smiling evilly at me, antic.i.p.ating to see a negative reaction.
"We"re one and the same?" I laughed until tears fell from my eyes. "Your highness, has your perversion addled your brain?"
His smile never faltered. "Then would you care to remove your robe and show us your bare chest?"
"Of course," I replied before starting to undo my sash.
Nagahito looked at me in confusion, he did not understand my willingness to follow his words. When I was about to part my robes, a voice that was the exact copy of mine interrupted me.
"Jin-san, why are you stripping?" my kagemusha Hanae has arrived in my palanquin, amus.e.m.e.nt evident on her face. "Has the heat become so unbearable?"
All necks craned to see "me" alight from the litter. My younger maids helped make the show even more convincing by pretending to steal glances at Jin-san. Thankfully they still haven"t gotten over the "attraction" they have for my other self because their flushed cheeks made our act even more believable.
"My lady," I bowed, acknowledging her presence. The rest who were beneath my status paid their obeisance.
Kaname walked towards Hanae and ushered her to the seat next to Mami"s. She really has studied me well. She"s got my mannerisms and expressions down, even the adoring smile I usually give my husband. My mind wandered to the contents of my jewelry box as I thought of what to reward her later…
"The kotaishi claims that you and Jin-san are one person," Mami "whispered" in her ear.
Hanae immediately feigned surprise. Her shoulders then shook as she covered her mouth to stifle her laughter. "So I"m a man now?"
"Seems like it," Mami laughed as well, her eyes ridiculing her cousin. "My only question is, how can a man bear twins?"
"What has happened to his brain?"
"Maybe like that guard said, his perversion has affected his thought process."
"Well maybe it"s his way of saving himself, he clearly does not want to go down easily."
"What a lousy accusation, couldn"t he think of a better one?"
"He"s obviously an idiot! And to think he would have been the next emperor!"
"I shudder to think how the country will be under his rule!"
"I"m glad the tenka bito caught him, he is sick in the head!"
The crowd was once again abuzz. Hearing the jeers and contempt the throng of people had against their son, the emperor and the empress bristled once more.
"I recognize you lot, you"re the sons of the members of the ministry of council! How dare you speak of my son like that! Have you no breeding?" the empress yelled at the group of well-dressed men.
"With all due respect, your highness, we were brought up well by our parents. We know what"s right from wrong and we never deviate from the rules of the society!" one of them replied. "However, we cannot say the same thing for your son. Just what kind of parenting did you subject him to?"
"You!"
"He is beyond help; you should thank the shogun for capturing him!" another man said. "We do not need sc.u.m in this country, especially from our cla.s.s! We belong to the highest ranks in the social order; we will not allow someone to dirty our reputations!"
The empress was so angered and insulted that she didn"t know what to say. The same thing could be said about her husband; both their hands were shaking.
"If my wife and my personal guard are one person, then who is the woman who arrived just now?" Kaname asked Nagahito.
With incredulity, he replied, "She has a kagemusha! That woman is her kagemusha!"
I retied my obi and looked at him impa.s.sively. "We"ve come prepared, Nagahito," I thought to myself. "Today will be your last day on earth!"
"Taneyuki-san, finish reading the report! I want this trial to be over before the second hour of the horse!" Kaname ordered, completely ignoring Nagahito"s claim.
Taneyuki-san did as he was told. I did not pay much attention to the report but at the mention of Ayaka"s partic.i.p.ation, I was all ears. It turns out that it was Nagahito who helped secure Hasekura Yorimoto"s status as the most powerful daimyo of the south. However, it came with a price: he had to give him his daughter. When Ayaka was informed of this, she said no because she claimed that she was in love with the shogun and wants to marry him. The daimyo then told her that if she didn"t do as he was told, there was no way she could marry the shogun as his status was not powerful enough. Ayaka still refused. With no choice and because she was still his most precious treasure after all, Hasekura Yorimoto decided to decline the crown prince"s offer. Upon hearing his decision, Nagahito proposed a compromise: Ayaka will keep him company for a week instead, nothing more, nothing less. Seeing no harm in this, both Ayaka and her father agreed. Unfortunately, Ayaka did not expect Nagahito to have other plans. True, he did not take her but he still made her do several lewd acts for him. She had no choice but to comply because she was in his territory and she believed that as long as she remained a virgin, she still had a chance to be with Kaname. Half a month later, her dream came true: she married Kaname as his first concubine. Nagahito never got in touch with her again after that. However, years later, he suddenly appeared in the island of Miyake-jima claiming that he needed her as a distraction to get his hands on me. She was an easy accomplice, just tell her that she could live freely with her son again and she"ll do whatever you want. It turns out that she felt extremely guilty for using Riku and wanted to correct her wrongdoings. She had been asking for an audience with Kaname ever since her eighth month of imprisonment but was declined, so when Nagahito offered to lend her a hand she accepted. She never once thought that he was inferior against Kaname. All of these came from her written confession. But Kaname never gave second chances… He was already being very forgiving when he decided her exile. This time, it was going to be off with her head.
The report continued and briefly brushed through the topic of the murders in the village. All of Nagahito"s men were sentenced to death by boiling. When they were being pulled away, Saru looked at me with eyes filled with regret. I gave him a look that said "You sided with the wrong man." As for Iori, I asked for Kaname to return him to his village and let the people there deal with him. I originally wanted him to suffer in my hands but that would be too kind. I"m sure his neighbors and the people he grew up with will think of plenty of ways to make him pay for his betrayal.
As he was neither samurai nor worthy of an honorable death, Nagahito was to be publicly beheaded. All of his crimes made him underserving of committing seppuku. After another futile attempt at saving him, his parents had no choice but to watch as Kaname"s men prepared for his decapitation. Like a well-practiced dance, the soldiers prepared the mat he was to kneel on as well as the stake where his head would be mounted for everyone to see.
"Do you have any last words?" Taneyuki-san asked.
Nagahito looked at Kaname and said, "In my next life, I will find you and make sure you suffer what I suffered here today." His eyes then went to me. "The same goes for you. I may not have you now, but I will in the future. We shall meet again, Lady Hinata."
I felt myself shiver at his words, they were like a curse that I would not be able to break from easily. Kaname, on the other hand, maintained a poker face. As Lord Arima unsheathed his sword, the empress started to wail. She pleaded and cried until she fainted. After a quick and precise stroke, Nagahito"s head was disconnected from his body. When his head was displayed for everyone to see, another shiver ran down my spine. His eyes remained open, meaning he waited for the sword to strike him!
As we were about to return to the castle, an army of men arrived. Mami recognized the man leading them as her father. After announcing that they were there to arrest the emperor, Lord Arima pointed them to where he was. It looked like the first couple"s misfortune would not just end at their son"s demise. Karma would not let them off until their entire family of three have met their downfall.