The suit was fully ready; no additional fittings were required. As I thought, Lady Kouzuki also brought a set of matching accessories. Or, well, intentionally mismatching.

From the tie clip, to the ornamental buckle of the belt, to the luxurious watch, to the heavy ring. Those items screamed ‘high-end’, and were marked with both the Long and Kouzuki clans’ symbolic, making it hard to distinguish whichever one the wearer did belong to.

Overall, the outfit was matched immaculately, much better than I could’ve ever done by myself. There was only one downside…

From the inside of my reflection, an almost carbon copy of the young Leon Roah looked back at me. I held back the urge to punch the mirror.

You hadn’t even bothered to change your clothing style, damned old man, how did you manage to hide for so many years from the Kouzuki twins? The more I thought about that, the less sense it made to me.

***

We were, once again, in the car on our way to the Long clan estate. I continued telling the stories that Lady in Black already heard from me. About ten minutes later, I came to a decision that it's time for the serious part of the talk.

“By the way,” I changed the topic. “Anything in particular I should keep in mind for the meeting? Or anyone, for that matter.”

“Ultimately, whether it’s Long Tian or Kouzuki Shinji, it’ll be fine whatever you do. Also, judging by what you have shown us so far, I believe you have enough skill to deal with it on your own,” Lady Kouzuki said.

“Ugh, judging by my recent experiences, I tend to do rash and stupid things if left unsupervised.” I left unsaid a simple fact, ‘recent experience’ I was talking about meant my whole life… “I would like to hear some advice from someone wise.”

She mulled over my words for a minute or so.

“You only need to focus on our husband, I don’t think he will be too much of a problem, but that old oaf can be too stubborn for his own good.” The disguised Lady in White punctuated her words with a deep sigh. “As such, my only advice here is, you can do whatever you want, but, please, at least give him a chance.”

I could hear a sincere plea in her tone. In fact, there was a noticeable, although a deeply hidden, desperation in her eyes. Even more than her sister had yesterday.

“Unless Clan Head decides to make it especially hard for me, I will do my best to avoid and/or de-escalate any possible conflict,” I promised. “As for anything else… No matter what, Kouzuki Shinji will stay for as long as you need him, grandma.”

Huh, so even Kouzuki Maya could make a surprised expression.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“So, when were you planning on revealing the prank?” I smiled.

“How?” asked the Lady in White, throwing away the outer mask.

I double-checked minor details, just in case it was a double-layered prank.

“There were a few small discrepancies here and there in your mask. And I had already told the last few stories yesterday,” I explained.

“Let’s just say I have a knack for that.”

Kouzuki Maya slowly exhaled, clearly unsatisfied with my explanation.

“I don’t think this could be described as a simple knack, Shinji,” my grandma said with a roll of her eyes. “Even our Lord Father wasn’t able to do that.”

I just shrugged, not knowing what to add. Bella never ceased her lamenting about this being my biggest strength and my biggest weakness at the same time.

I cringed, remembering how much shit in my life started, one way or the other, because of this. Whether because of my misinterpretation, or forgetting that most people need words to communicate their intentions.

“Grandma, can you tell me more about Elder Hào?” I asked. “The baseline things, to avoid the obvious pitfalls.”

Kouzuki Maya thought for a short while and started speaking. The rest of the ride went by with our initial roles reversed, I was asking questions, my companion was telling me stories.

And it was interesting.

***

The Long Clan estate was gigantic. I wasn’t quite shocked, not with my pretty extensive experience of working with various levels of VIP clients, but this was simply on another level. If I recall correctly, it should occupy the whole mountain.

I looked through the car window, taking in the sights of nature. Technically, we were still within the city’s premises, but with the amount of greenery around, it was hard to believe. Well, with twenty years of ecology fuck-ups less, the overall situation wasn’t as bad. Not yet, at least.

“Shinji?” Grandma noticed my absentminded state and asked.

“It’s nothing. Just thinking about something unimportant.” I gave her an empty excuse.

I don’t think she bought it, but it was neither here nor there. Global issues weren’t my thing, and, for now, I had more pressing things to think about anyway.

It took our car about fifteen more minutes to reach the destination from the front gate.

“Wait until they open the door for you,” Kouzuki Maya instructed.

I nodded in response.

“I am here today to show my support for the Kouzuki clan’s heir, so you should exit the car first,” she continued, answering my unasked question.

“Won’t people ask why you are wearing black today?” My curiosity won and I decided to ask.

“Shinji, no matter what, I am married to that old fool. From the perspective of tradition, wearing a black furisode is expected of me,” Kouzuki Maya explained with a shake of her head. “I’m wearing white, mostly out of spite for Hào failing his duty to me.”

My grandma looked right through me and somewhere into the distance.

“Since I finally have a grandson, I don’t mind wearing black again as well. Occasionally.” The Lady in White, even if she was currently wearing black, winked at me mischievously.

Before I could say that, in my opinion, white did suit her more, the car’s door on my side opened. I exchanged a look with my grandma, receiving a nod back, and left the vehicle.