Utaka and Erize managed to entertain some form of conversation while they worked—the problems that arose during the time Utaka was away were mostly solved after a few months. He still drank on most days, but never as much as he did before; Erize had actually sold or dumped a good portion of the alcohol that had been at the palace during his time away, and he decided that once it ran out he wouldn’t get any more.
The couple entertained a murmured conversation until Utaka noticed Takeo. The king nodded his greeting to the man, which was returned with a bow.
“I wasn’t expecting a visit,” Utaka noted. “I assume Masaru and Suzu are still at home?”
“The littlest one’s causing Suzu some trouble,” Takeo explained. “She needed the time to rest and Masaru is hopeless without her, so I brought the kids back here. Sorai’ll be happy, at least.”
“It’s a shame Kyoumi’s only friend visits so randomly,” Erize mused. She sat down all of her work to fully entertain conversation for the next few moments, chuckling. “Maybe Masaru and Suzu should decide to be tired of watching their kids more often. I don’t mind watching over them while they’re here.”
Takeo chuckled. “To be fair, four kids is a lot different than one—especially when they’re as rowdy as that bunch. Sorai is the tamest; I think little Jun’s going to be the craziest, if Suzu spoils her as much as she did Emio.”
Erize kept chatting with Takeo a bit about his family—interesting tidbits and the like. It was always interesting to hear the kind of conflicts and arguments that happened in a larger household; stuffed in one house was Masaru’s wife and children, Ninsei’s wife and daughter, and Takeo. None of the children were necessarily mature either, which made Utaka glad that Kyoumi rarely got into petty arguments—even if he wished she didn’t know as much as she did.
Utaka continued working while his wife and the old man were talking. A guard came in after a few minutes and bowed.
“Princess Kyoumi went out to town with the younger Fujita boy,” the guard reported.
“Did you send someone to shadow her?” Utaka asked.
The guard nodded. “Yes, sir. One of the entrance guards is watching her.”
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Utaka gave Kyoumi most of the freedom he had growing up—the ability to leave as long as someone was watching her. The girl didn’t like to ask for a guard, however, so after a while the guards were just told to shadow her if she left the palace; it gave her the illusion of being alone while still keeping her safe. He figured giving her that, at least, would be fair considering everything else she couldn’t have.
The guard left, and Takeo looked at Utaka and Erize. “Why don’t you two go out and join her?” He suggested with a little smile. “I can handle the work for a few hours.”
“That’s a bit suspicious,” Utaka noted dully. “You can’t do all of this by yourself—or you shouldn’t, anyway—and I’d have to look over all of it again if you did. Out with it—what happened?”
Takeo hesitated, frowning. After a moment and a sigh, he said, “Hiroki Izo wants you back out there. Kuro’s toying with the border again; figured I could break the news better than one of his messengers can.”
Erize actually murmured a curse, but took a moment to calm down and stood up with her usual elegance. “Assuming you don’t need to leave immediately,” she said to Utaka, her tone betraying her calm appearance somewhat, “It wouldn’t hurt to spend a day with Kyoumi. We’ve both been busy anyway, and it’s not fair to her if you leave without giving her some warning.”
Utaka nodded. He glanced at Takeo. “You’re sure you want to handle this by yourself?”
“I can always pull Tezo in if I need help,” Takeo replied. “Go have some fun with your daughter while you can.”
Erize, at least, wasn’t going to take ‘no’ as an answer—although he wouldn’t have denied it anyway—since she practically forced him up. Takeo took Utaka’s place behind the desk, leaving Utaka no choice but to follow his wife. Erize led him to their room, and changed into something easier to walk in before helping him put in some hair dye. When they both looked like they could pass as a typical couple, they left the palace with their own guards trailing behind them at a distance.
Utaka managed a smile when they found Kyoumi and Sorai among the festival stalls, and the girl in particular looked delighted. Utaka paid back the boy whatever he had already spent on Kyoumi, allowing him to buy his own things. Most of the time they spent, admittedly, was just watching the two children play games—but at least he had the ability to do so.
His thoughts mostly stayed with the return of Kuro—Queen Nari must be very persistent if she still wanted to fight. Things didn’t look to like they would be particularly well for Kyoumi if Utaka’s ruling partner was so willing to go to war; the children of those people tended to be even worse.
Every now and then, however—when Kyoumi specifically called for his attention—he remembered his promise. Even if was gone, off fighting in another war…she’d have a father. He could always write to the girl, just to stay in touch; give her something to look forward to. At least Utaka would be able to have somepresence in her life, unlike his father. It wasn’t much, but he wasn’t quite as helpless as he was when she was younger.