With a serious expression, Hyuga Bai stared at his reflection in the mirror. His hands were busy mixing pigments. After comparing countless colors, he selected a specific shade of green and began meticulously painting the pattern of the "Cage Bird" seal onto his forehead.
He moved quickly, working under the cover of darkness, afraid that even with the doors shut tight, the light might draw unwanted attention.
The clan members, still smarting from the setback earlier today, were occupied cleaning the inner courtyard. If it weren't for Hyuga Bai's seemingly grave injuries, corroborated by Hyuga Miyu's testimony, he never would have found the time for this task.
Hyuga Bai could never have imagined he would experience such a drastic change. Previously, his heart had been filled with ashes, his mind consumed by that stunningly beautiful, shimmering image. He hadn't even considered seeking treatment, thinking he might as well bleed out and die.
He figured that even in death, the clan members would recognize his loyalty and give him a proper burial.
He was already seeing his life flash before his eyes when she appeared... that silver-haired girl.
The princess from the Senju clan. Her slender, delicate fingertip merely touched Hyuga Bai's forehead, and his wounds rapidly healed themselves.
That princess possessed god-like power. Not only did she mend his injuries, but she also erased his "Cage Bird" curse seal entirely.
Faced with something so bizarre, Hyuga Bai found himself surprisingly calm.
The princess had smiled the entire time, a smile of breathtaking beauty. She had said, "Since you're destined to be a lapdog anyway, why not be my dog..."
Lapdog? What on earth was that? Hyuga Bai wasn't unfamiliar with the word "dog." As a member of the Hyuga branch family, he had long understood the cold realities of the world; they were... nothing more than the main family's hounds.
The princess healed him, effectively granting him a second chance at life. But she simply smiled, floated away, and left him with a single sentence: "I will come find you."
Hyuga Bai remained exceptionally calm. He used the cloth strip he normally wore as a forehead protector to hide the abnormality where the "Cage Bird" seal should be.
But this was a temporary fix. Hyuga Bai couldn't afford to act too differently from his usual self, or the clan members would easily spot the discrepancy. He had to seize this opportunity to paint the vanished curse seal back on.
The hand-drawn seal was merely a facade, possessing no actual power, but it was crucial that the clan didn't discover his seal was gone.
Hyuga Bai finished painting the pattern onto his forehead. He hastily gathered his pigments and slid beneath his bedcovers.
However...
"...Ah~ I thought you'd tell your clan leader the truth." A sweet laugh echoed, like the sound of a night rose blooming in the dark.
Hyuga Bai bolted upright in bed. He hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Princess?"
"Princess?" Tsukuyo stood concealed within the shadows, having used "Stealth Wood" and activated "Shadow Wood," rendering her invisible. Hearing Hyuga Bai's address, she sounded slightly surprised, her voice laced with playful mockery. "Hmm~ Isn't Sister Miyu the princess of your Hyuga clan? But you've never called her Princess, only Young Mistress."
Hearing this, Hyuga Bai's face remained impassive. "A Princess and a Young Mistress are different."
"If the Princess wished to annihilate the Hyuga clan, no one could possibly stop it. The Hyuga clan still exists only because you do not wish us harm." Hyuga Bai stared blankly into the darkness ahead. "To show resentment towards you when we lack any power to resist... Is that meant to display unyielding integrity, only to guarantee oneself a more wretched death?"
"You're a smart man." Tsukuyo's tone carried a note of pity. "Such a shame, really. Miyu is utterly infatuated with my older brother, yet she dismisses you, the one supposedly matched with her."
"Princess, you jest." Hyuga Bai drew a deep breath. "I am merely fulfilling my mission. As for being matched with the Young Mistress, that is something I have never dwelled upon."
Hyuga Bai seemed to hold his breath for a long moment before steadying his breathing. He spoke softly, his voice tinged with melancholy, "Princess, the doctrine I have been raised under since childhood is the protection of the Hyuga main family. This is my inherent duty."
"If the main family required me to marry the Young Mistress, I would not have many objections."
"If the main family did not require me to marry the Young Mistress, I would harbor no complaints either."
"The reason I advised the Young Mistress to stay away from the Princess's brother is because, as a man, I can perceive that his feelings for her are not profound. I simply do not wish to see the Young Mistress stray further down a mistaken path."
In Hyuga Bai's opinion, Hyuga Miyu wanting to force a union with a man who didn't love her was foolishness born of a muddled mind. After such a marriage, that foolishness would inevitably transform into endless tears. Hyuga Miyu was the clan leader's daughter; if only she would listen to her elders' arrangements, her future life would not be one of hardship.
But Hyuga Miyu was, unfortunately, a willful young mistress embarking on a path fraught with uncertainty.
And now, that path had become incredibly perilous; a single misstep could lead to irreversible doom.
Compared to Hyuga Toshihiro, who was preoccupied with clan affairs, Hyuga Bai felt more like the guardian who had watched Hyuga Miyu grow up. He cared for her more deeply than Hyuga Toshihiro did, albeit from the position of an elder.
Yet, Hyuga Miyu looked down on Hyuga Bai, never giving his thoughts or actions any consideration. No matter how much Hyuga Bai might plead or advise, his words never reached her ears.
Tsukuyo giggled. "So, not quite a lapdog... more like a case of sister complex?"
Hyuga Bai fell silent.
"Knowing full well she won't heed your counsel, you still persist relentlessly," Tsukuyo murmured softly.
Hyuga Bai couldn't stop himself from retorting, "Even if she refuses to listen, even if she seems utterly entranced, she is still the Young Mistress to whom I owe my loyalty, is she not?"
"The Young Mistress is walking a dangerous path. I advise her against it, try to curb her actions. Just because she refuses to listen, does that mean I should simply abandon her?"
"Princess, if you encountered siblings acting this way, could you truly stand by with cold indifference, watching them march into an abyss, doing absolutely nothing?"
Tsukuyo let out a light laugh. "True, I wouldn't do that. However, you shouldn't keep speaking of abysses and hells. What I told Miyu was the truth. In my eyes, love doesn't exist, only benefits."
At these words, Hyuga Bai's body gave an almost imperceptible tremble.
But Tsukuyo continued, "Precisely because I only see benefits, my desire for the Hyuga clan and the Senju clan to unite and form a village is genuine. Your clan leader, however, seems convinced that our Senju clan intends to devour you whole."
Hyuga Bai sighed deeply. "Princess, what is it that you wish for me to do?"
Tsukuyo offered a sly, wicked smile. "Naturally..."
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