Based on the tone of Tsujihara’s voice, Sonoru expected some kind of danger. He kept one hand ready to take out his sword while Asahi made sure the princes weren’t getting too far ahead or behind. None of them spoke—there weren’t even murmurs behind any of the closed doors.

Maybe Tsujihara knew something they didn’t. But why wouldn’t she outright say it, in that case? Why wouldn’t she stay with them?

A part of him worried more about that than whatever she was concerned about. He just didn’t say any concerns because he knew Asahi hated when he made assumptions or guesses, especially ones fueled by gut feeling and nothing else.

They found the door to the study half-open. Asahi reached it first, hesitating before knocking on the frame.

“...Lord Gin, sir? We’re here on behalf of Tsujihara Seiko; she’s worried about something.”

No response. Kyuru shuffled.

“He usually keeps the door closed if he’s in there,” he murmured.

Sonoru took a few steps forward and pushed open the door the rest of the way.

“Must have left. We can go to the bedrooms after Kinjo gets the knife.”

He waited for someone else to enter, but it looked like he was the only one willing to go inside. It made sense—Kyuru and Chiki were likely raised to avoid it, while Kinjo didn’t want to get in trouble. Sonoru, on the other hand, only had his job to lose; and the worst part of that is that he couldn’t watch Kyuru anymore if he was fired.

Sonoru expected something a little more grandiose, honestly; a few paintings were hung on the walls—one of which, he noticed, was painted by Kyuru and Tsujihara during one of the afternoons over the past year—but nothing else spoke of personality. It could belong to anyone, if one went by sight alone.

Papers were scattered around the desk, but he didn’t read them out of decency. One might have been a letter, another a report of some kind. He went to the desk drawers and systematically opened each one until he found the knife, alone and in plain sight.

“Kinjo—catch.”

Sonoru tossed the sheathed weapon in Asahi’s direction, who clumsily caught it. He frowned when he noticed the silver, gold, and blue handle.

“Be careful with a royal weapon,” Asahi hissed.

“It can survive a few scratches,” Sonoru defended with a shrug. “Whatever was bothering Tsujihara could be worse than the punishment we might get for misusing it.”

He wanted to speculate why Tsujihara of all people knew it was there, but decided against it.

Asahi opened his mouth to say something, then tensed. Sonoru waited a second to figure out what it was before hearing it—shuffling, talking, metal against metal. He tried not to curse.

“...Right, so, we know why Tsujihara wanted you to have a weapon now,” Sonoru said, looking at Asahi. “What do you think the odds are that we can get the princes out?”

“I can’t imagine they would leave their only exit undefended,” Asahi replied.

“We can wait it out, then.” He attempted a little smile in Kyuru and Chiki’s direction, but neither prince took it at face value. “Come on—let’s get you settled in one of the spare rooms.”

Stolen story; please report.

Chiki obediently nodded and moved a little closer to Asahi while Kyuru hesitated. Sonoru walked over and patted Kyuru’s head. The boy seemed to be grateful for it.

“I’ll keep an eye on you and Prince Chiki,” Sonoru promised. He couldn’t say that he could protect them—he wouldn’t say something he couldn’t keep, something that was largely out of his control depending on how the rebels moved—but Kyuru couldn’t tell the difference.

He appreciated that the boy knew little enough that the reassurance worked, unlike the smile from before. At least Kyuru wasn’t used to being told lies regarding his safety.

With barely any hesitation, Sonoru gestured for the rest to follow him. He prepared for a fight as they walked, but it must not have gotten this far yet—it was close, though. The bedrooms weren’t far so it didn’t take long.

He chose one of the empty ones and let the other three inside; he closed all the surrounding doors so the last one didn’t seem so obvious, then ducked in the room himself.

The princes sat in the corner and Sonoru and Asahi stood in front of them for protection. Then it came time to wait

The usual silence of early afternoon was occasionally interrupted by a shout or shuffling. Swords clashing together didn’t start happening for a few minutes as the rebels got closer. It gave him just enough time to wonder—did they come in from inside, or did they enter the front gate? He wouldn’t be surprised by either.

Each second and minute came by slowly enough that he couldn’t quite tell how long it took for the voices to reach them more clearly.

“Search the rooms.”

“Yes, sir.”

Sonoru and Asahi both took out their weapons and waited. The rebels seemed to systematically check each bedroom, but they must have taken longer with the ones that were used—either to get some kind of incriminating evidence or to make sure no one was hiding within them.

Someone opened the door cautiously at first, then with a force that made Kyuru flinch. The soldier—dressed in Gin’s army uniform, albeit with the occasional blue fabrics replaced for gray—blinked at them before coming in.

Sonoru took a step forward and intercepted him before he even got halfway across the room, knocking him down with a single punch. Asahi held him down while Sonoru removed any weapons.

“We won’t kill you if you don’t try to kill us,” Sonoru hissed.

“Yeah, right.”

The rebel tried to turn away and opened his mouth, but Sonoru took the man’s knife and stabbed him in return. He yelped at the pain, alerting others to the room regardless.

Sonoru glanced back at the princes—both terrified and far, far too young to see a man bleeding in front of them.

“Close your eyes. Cover your ears if it helps.”

Kyuru nodded and obliged, but Chiki seemed more interested in the rebel; maybe it held some kind of grim fascination for him, or it reminded him of how his father and brother died.

Asahi pushed the mostly-still rebel closer to one of the walls, then moved back towards the princes. Sonoru stayed in his same position, moving his sword as soon as he glimpsed the rebel uniform.

Four rebels entered and Sonoru moved forward to try the same tactic as before; Asahi only came to the center of the room so he could aid Sonoru if necessary, but stayed relatively close to the princes. These four weren’t as unprepared as the first, however—they came with their knives already out and ready for conflict.

Sonoru sheathed his sword and used the stolen knife to attack instead. Two rebels approached him and immediately launched into a dual attack, but he had more practice dodging than they had skill in stabbing—he landed a few small hits on them before they even got one on him.

A little cry from Kyuru caught Sonoru’s attention, and he turned back on instinct. In response, both of the rebels took the advantage—one stabbed him in the shoulder and the other pushed him to the ground. Asahi, torn between helping Sonoru or checking on the princes, had similar luck.

Sonoru resisted the two men around him, pushing him down, while Asahi received a slash on his side and couldn’t grimace past the pain. Sonoru shoved off the rebels, regaining some kind of motivation, just in time to witness the unoccupied rebel kneel down in front of the princes.

The man obscured most of the view, but Kyuru and Chiki’s yelps told the story well enough. When the soldier pulled back, both boys had a single fatal wound to the heart.

Just like that, all four of the rebels left while Sonoru tried to process it. Once he actually recognized that Kyuru and Chiki were injured, he let the knife fall to the ground and made his way over as soon as he could. His own wounds didn’t even bother him, seeing them like that.

For once, he couldn’t think of anything to say—so he just sat there, gently patting his charge’s head, while both boys slipped away from the living, to the unconscious, to the dead.