Seiko sought out Asahi and spent the remainder of the day with him, if only because of the silence. She tried to take that time to think, knowing full well her voices wouldn’t give her any kind of opportunity later. A few soldiers openly questioned why she seemed so distant now—Seiko didn’t quite reply, having decided that Lord Ozuru’s offer of rest could mean she didn’t have to do as much work.
Seiko shared her new position with Asahi, Masaaki, and Ujuro at dinner. She didn’t fully explain the reason why, but instead asked if they would all be willing to look out for her if they asked—naturally, all three pointed out that they already were, in a sense. She always stayed close to Asahi or Masaaki, and Ujuro came to the palace for that reason.
The next day, she started her new routine—one that was familiar, but still required some adjustment. She still ate and trained with the others, then left with Princess Maenomi’s other guards (they seemed to be slightly aware of her position, giving more formalities than a guard deserved but otherwise treating her like they would treat anyone else).
Maenomi smiled when she saw Seiko. By now, the royal family had already eaten—they were all brought back to their rooms afterwards to make final preparations for the day. The princess was adorned in clothes typically meant for walking around town; the only people who would actually see them, however, is the soldiers. Lord Ozuru gave the royal family—his two children especially—less places to roam than the soldiers, meaning that they were confined to the palace and a small part of the courtyard.
“Good morning, Miss Tsujihara,” Princess Maenomi said warmly. “Considering your new status, may I use your first name?”
Seiko nodded silently, and the princess’s smile grew. “You can drop formalities with me as well,” Maenomi offered.
“I would prefer to retain some distance,” Seiko replied.
“Fair. I can’t assume we’ll be family right away.”
The words still struck her as odd—Princess Maenomi must have noticed, because she hid a small bit of laughter. “You look like a trapped bird,” the princess noted. “You’re too pretty to look so terrified.”
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Her voices reinforced the notion, reasonably likening the palace to a cage. A bloody cage, with a white exterior—yet the troubles and corpses inside outweigh even those made by the northern nation. This place will be painted red soon.
Seiko tried to keep the voices from growing too loud, although her own thoughts were drowned out when put against theirs. Fortunately, Princess Maenomi started to leave her room and continued talking, giving Seiko something else to focus on.
“You’re lucky that I don’t have much to do today,” Maenomi said. Seiko tried to follow behind her guards, but they refused to walk in front of her. “Teiki and I—he and his siblings all know who you are, by the way—have our usual studies. We’ll have to wrap up before Jukazu and Father meet with the Hiroki boys at noon. Kyuru would likely want you to spend the afternoon with him… I suppose I’ll join you for that. He’s a bit annoying, but he seems lonelier these days without Mother to coddle him.”
They went to the office—the place where Seiko had spoken with Lord Ozuru the day before—and Prince Teiki was already there. He stood from behind the desk and offered a bow.
“It’s a pleasure to meet another cousin,” he said. He smiled wryly. “Are you any better than the other two? By the gods, they’re obnoxious. I’m hoping it has to do with Yukira—although Maenomi’s worse.”
“I’m right here!” Princess Maenomi whined in protest.
“Case in point,” Teiki replied, gesturing towards his cousin. He looked back at Seiko. “Just watch Maenomi for now; you’ll be doing this soon enough, I imagine, if Uncle Ozuru genuinely thinks you’ll be ‘the most worthy of us all.’ Don’t be surprised when Jukazu comes in—he‘s a drunkard at best.”
“Please feel free to stab him if he gets unbearable,” Maenomi agreed. “He’s still upset over how this mess all started. The man thinks he’s perfect just because he wants to kill Kuro.”
Seiko didn’t offer much of a reply, and came inside the room by Princess Maenomi’s request. The guards—Maenomi’s and Teiki’s—stayed outside the room. Seiko remained standing, staying silent until prompted to speak.
They stayed in there for a few hours, doing whatever would be expected of a ruler—albeit they each handled specific types of problems, instead of a variety of them. Her voices commented on the uselessness of it, unless their spouse or an advisor happened to be well-skilled in the other group of problems.
Prince Jukazu came in after a few hours, leading Teiki to wordlessly leave the room. Maenomi and Seiko shortly followed, deciding to eat a small lunch before finding Kyuru. The little prince was pleased to have someone to play with, and Seiko entertained his games for the rest of the afternoon.
Just one day with them, and Seiko already felt dread about the coming battle. Her voices assured her it would be a quick victory, but never once claimed which side would win.