The Azure Dragon’s Devotion: An Offering of Three Centuries to You, page 8
“This is the best place in the entire village,” Seiryu said.
He had taken Kohaku to a steaming spring. It was the first time Kohaku had ever seen such a sight, and he gasped. How was water emitting smoke? Curious, he touched the water and got his answer.
“It’s...hot?”
Seiryu nodded. “That’s right. This is what we call a hot spring.”
“A hot spring?”
“The water here promotes healing to those who soak in it. The spring water can also cure illnesses if you drink it.”
Reluctant as he was, Kohaku had to admit, “That’s amazing.”
“The Dragon Clan doesn’t do well in the cold, so this hot spring is very important to us.”
“Then are you sure it was a good idea to show me this place?”
“Of course I’m sure. You’ll become my mate, after all.”
“We still haven’t finished with our matchmaking, remember?”
“Ha ha, yes, you’re right.”
Seiryu’s ability to say such things as part of banter was one of his biggest character flaws. He must have charmed all of his matchmaking partners with similar comments and strung them along. If he keeps playing with fire, he’ll get burned, Kohaku thought with an exasperated shake of his head. But then, a flower petal dancing on the wind distracted him from his thoughts. He reached out and allowed the petal to settle in his palm.
Seiryu’s eyes widened before his usual smile softened into something much sweeter. “You really are amazing.”
“Because I caught a flower petal?”
“It’s not the right season—those flowers aren’t supposed to be blooming yet.”
“Really?”
Kohaku looked down at the pale pink petal in his hand. It had been a coincidence that he’d noticed this small thing fluttering from the tree, but finding out that he’d seen something rare for this time of year made him happy.
“The villagers of the Dragon Clan have a saying about this flower. Would you like to hear it?” Seiryu asked, eyes sparkling.
“If you want to talk about it, then do so.” Kohaku held the petal between his fingers and looked it over. As interested as he was in this Dragon Clan saying, he wasn’t the kind of person who could openly admit that.
Kohaku’s lukewarm response didn’t bother Seiryu. Still smiling, he said, “Mates who receive that flower’s blessing will give birth to many children and bring prosperity to the Dragon Clan.”
“A flower’s blessing?” It must be some sort of poetic metaphor lauding the blossom’s beauty. Kohaku tried to picture Seiryu standing amid the falling petals with his lovely mate leaning against him. The cheerful sight would be dazzling indeed, but that happiness was one Kohaku could never obtain for himself, no matter how much he tried to reach out for it. Unable to give voice to his envy, Kohaku ended up spitting out an insult instead. “Ridiculous.”
Seiryu was used to this kind of response, though. Instead of getting angry, he stared up into space, his gaze fixed at a point above Kohaku’s head, and sighed, “I’m sure the sight of my mate surrounded by these petals would be most sublime.”
Unable to bear looking at Seiryu as the man lost himself in fantasies of his yet-unseen bride, Kohaku turned away and took a few steps forward. “Just take me to where Mashiro is.”
In the future, when Seiryu found a lovely bride to spend the rest of his life with, where would Kohaku be, and what would he be doing? Would he remain chained to his tribe? Or would he have finally escaped to explore the wide world outside of the White Tiger Clan? Kohaku didn’t know what awaited them years down the road, but he knew that he didn’t want to bear witness to Seiryu finding happiness with someone.
Was this jealousy toward a childhood friend who was making a life for himself before Kohaku could? Or did his negative feelings stem from an entirely different emotion altogether? Kohaku couldn’t even figure that out.
***
“Whoa...”
Kohaku had taken Mashiro to the room the Dragon Clan had prepared for his matchmaking stay. The boy looked around, mouth hanging open, and once he finished surveying everything, he shot Kohaku an impressed look. “Lord Kohaku, we really should continue living here after you marry Lord Seiryu! This one room is leagues better than our entire home!”
Mashiro’s words gave the impression that Kohaku was on board with becoming Seiryu’s mate, so Kohaku hurriedly scolded him. “Mashiro!”
Next to him, Seiryu burst into laughter. “You’re such an adorable boy, Mashiro! I’ve taken a shine to you. I hope we can become friends.”
“Huh? Uh, yes, of course! I’d be honored!”
Seiryu had laughed so hard that tears were gathering in the corners of his eyes. Kohaku scowled, annoyed at the perceived mockery. Seiryu then extended his hand to Mashiro for a handshake, and the boy blinked in surprise. Seeing this, Kohaku stomped to the chair in the middle of the room and rapped his knuckles against the table next to it.
“Mashiro! Tea!” he ordered.
“Sure thing, Lord Kohaku. You always get so pouty when things don’t go the way you want them to.”
“Mashiro!”
If they’d been the only people in the room, Kohaku wouldn’t have gotten on Mashiro’s case about his language, but he didn’t want Mashiro to talk about him being pouty in front of Seiryu. How would Mashiro ever make it up to Kohaku if he gave Seiryu the impression that his master was childish?
As Kohaku was fuming about Mashiro’s behavior, Seiryu settled down in the chair in front of him. He held up his hand to stop Mashiro from making tea. “Wait a second. You’ll upset the tea leaves if you brew them like that.”
“Huh?” Mashiro blinked, perplexed.
“Just watch.”
Seiryu took the tools from Mashiro and began preparing the tea himself. Instead of starting with the tea leaves, he filled the pot with hot water, poured the water into the cups to warm them, and then emptied them again. After he topped off the pot, he placed it back down on the table and waited.
“You’re not putting in the tea leaves?” Kohaku asked.
“The water is still too hot,” Seiryu explained. “Each type of tea has an optimal temperature for brewing.”
“An optimal temperature!” Mashiro murmured, sounding impressed. This was also the first time Kohaku had ever heard of such a thing.
They waited a while longer, and then Seiryu tipped the tea leaves into the pot. The three of them enjoyed the refreshing fragrance of the brewing leaves, and after a bit more time, Seiryu finally poured the tea into the cups.
“Enjoy,” he said.
At his urging, Kohaku took a sip. Without thinking, he murmured, “It’s delicious.”
“You should have some too.” Seiryu handed a cup to Mashiro, who accepted it with an embarrassed look.
Mashiro, too, looked surprised after his first taste. His reaction was the same as Kohaku’s. “It’s good!”
“Mashiro, once you master the basics, you can bring out the best in any blend of tea leaves,” Seiryu explained. “While you’re here, why don’t you learn the proper method of brewing tea? I’ll assign you a teacher.”
“You really will?!”
“I would never lie about something like this. We should also teach you some proper etiquette. I’ll ask your instructors to start your lessons tomorrow.”
“Thank you so much!”
“Ah, and I’ve also set up the room next to this one for you to stay in. You can spend your nights in there.”
“Wow! You even prepared a whole room for me?! W-Wait, no, I can’t impose that much on your hospitality! I’m perfectly happy staying here with Lord Kohaku!”
Mashiro and Kohaku usually slept in the same room, but that was for practical reasons. Their house wasn’t big enough for them to have separate spaces.
“I’m afraid I cannot allow that,” Seiryu said with a shake of his head. “Right now, Kohaku is here as my matchmaking prospect. I can’t permit him to sleep with another man.”
“W-We’re not s-sleeping together!” Mashiro stammered.
“Of course—I’m aware of the true nature of your relationship with him. I’m just saying that we should avoid any misunderstandings. You should keep that in mind going forward.”
“Yes, Lord Seiryu...”
“For now, why don’t you check out your room? I’m sure you’ll like it.”
With that, Mashiro left to investigate his temporary bedroom, a glum look on his face.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you take care of Mashiro as well,” Kohaku said. Teaching Mashiro etiquette was supposed to be his duty. Though Kohaku believed he’d raised Mashiro to be a full-fledged member of their society, Kohaku himself had no knowledge of proper manners, so he’d ended up embarrassing the boy.
It was upsetting to realize how incompetent he was as a surrogate parent. He kept Mashiro with him because he selfishly refused to return to a life of solitude. It would be better for Mashiro if Kohaku placed him in the care of a human village, and Kohaku knew that. So that was why, to make it up to Mashiro, Kohaku did his absolute best to give the boy everything he wanted. But Kohaku lacked far too many things to raise Mashiro right.
“It just so happened that I could do this for him,” Seiryu said. “Besides, I’m the one who would be inconvenienced by his constant presence.”
“Huh?”
Inconvenienced? What does he mean? Kohaku had lowered his head during his brief bout of self-deprecation, but he raised it now and met Seiryu’s eyes. Seiryu was giving him his full attention, staring as if he refused to let even the smallest gesture escape his notice. The way Seiryu looked at him never failed to make Kohaku uncomfortable.
“Well,” Seiryu continued, “why do you think he might inconvenience me?”
He always did this—fishing for answers from Kohaku. Was he pretending to have feelings for Kohaku just to mess with him and knock him off-balance? This handsome dragon must have had plenty of experience in romance. That was the complete opposite of Kohaku, the most despised person in his tribe. Karin, for example, was someone Seiryu must have had a fling with. The thought of Seiryu’s past conquests caused an uncomfortable stirring in Kohaku’s chest, and he averted his gaze.
“Lord Kohaku!” Mashiro rushed back in from his tour of his room, practically breaking down the door as he reentered. “It was amazing! They gave me a proper bed! I can’t believe I’ll get to sleep on something that luxurious all by myself!”
Stop, Mashiro! If you describe it like that, you’ll make Seiryu wonder what you usually sleep on!
As Kohaku had feared, Seiryu tilted his head to the side with an inquisitive look. “A proper bed? What do you mean?”
“O-Oh! Um, well, i-it was just so much fancier and comfier than what I sleep on at home!” Mashiro trailed off with dry laughter, wildly waving his hands to sell the story. He must have thought that if he was honest about them sleeping on a beat-up bed missing half its slats, Seiryu would lose interest in Kohaku as a potential partner.
“Is that so? I’m glad that you like it so much.”
Thanks to Mashiro’s acting, the atmosphere was no longer as odd as it had become a few seconds ago, and Kohaku sighed in relief. Mashiro had really bailed him out. It wasn’t like he enjoyed his needless arguments with Seiryu.
“Kohaku.” Seiryu placed his hand over Kohaku’s. “If there’s anything else you desire, just say the word. It is my duty to make arrangements to guarantee that you two enjoy your time in our village.”
“We’re already satisfied with what you’ve done for us.”
If Kohaku had to request something, he would have asked for Seiryu to leave the room immediately. But he knew he couldn’t possibly say something like that, so he simply slid his hand out from under Seiryu’s and shook his head in silence.
However, despite Kohaku’s unspoken wishes, Seiryu continued to stay in the room. Kohaku only succeeded in kicking Seiryu out when the chieftain tried to bathe and eat dinner with them. But after Seiryu had washed up, he came right back to Kohaku’s room.
By the time Kohaku realized how late it was, it was already time for everyone to sleep. As a child, Mashiro had an early bedtime—the boy drowsily rubbed his eyes and returned to his room with a “Good night.”
The moment Mashiro left, Kohaku glared at Seiryu. Surely he’d had enough of bothering Kohaku for one day...
“How much longer do you plan on sitting here?”
“Hmm... I have work tomorrow, so I can’t stay with you at all hours. Unfortunately, I’ll have to bid you farewell in the morning.”
“What?” Morning? Did this man just say he would be here all night? “Enough with the jokes. Go back to your room.”
“Oh? I must have forgotten to tell you. This is my room.”
Wait, what was that? Did Seiryu just say that this is his room?
“Huh?” Before he even realized he was doing it, Kohaku looked around the room he’d spent his entire day in. Now that he was paying attention, he could see piles of documents on the desk and familiar items decorating the shelves—signs of life that otherwise didn’t belong in a guest room. “Didn’t you say that this room had been prepared for me?”
“It has been! We tidied up my room for you.”
“Hold on. So the reason you’ve been here this whole time is—”
“Because this is my room, of course.”
Kohaku’s mouth hung open for a moment. Then his face flushed red, and he bellowed, “Take me to a guest room at once!”
Unbelievable! Who would escort an arranged date to their own bedroom?! This had to be a deeply personal space for Seiryu, yet he didn’t hesitate to let all his matchmaking partners in here? Kohaku would never understand how he could do that.
Though Kohaku’s manor was a dilapidated mess, he still treasured it as his home. He could count on one hand the number of people who’d passed through its doors—nowadays, Mashiro was the only person he permitted inside. The idea of letting anybody and everybody into a place that was supposed to be one’s only sanctuary in the world was incomprehensible.
“I can’t do that,” Seiryu said. “We’re still in the middle of our matchmaking session, after all. This is something we must do to get to know each other better.”
“After all these years, what else could you possibly need to know about me?!”
“Let’s see... What kind of house do you live in? How does the White Tiger Clan treat you?”
Kohaku bit his lip as the conversation took an off-putting turn. For obvious reasons, he’d never once brought up any of those topics with Seiryu. Who in their right mind would willingly discuss how wretched their life was? Did Seiryu want him to admit that he lived in a leaky, ramshackle home that couldn’t at all compare to this fancy abode? That the other members of the clan ignored him, and he was basically treated like a collared pet?
“Oh? So the rumors are true?” Seiryu said.
“I don’t know what rumors you’ve heard. No one would ever share gossip with me.”
“Kohaku.” Seiryu’s firm voice made it clear that he had no intention of letting Kohaku change the subject.
The pair glared at each other for a moment, but Kohaku was the first to concede. “What of it? If a worthless black sheep isn’t a suitable partner for you, then just call off this farce of an arranged date.”
“Worthless? Who said that to you?”
“Hah! You’re seriously asking me that? Ah, right, I guess no one would insult me within your earshot. Not that you would care whether people talk about how the useless black sheep of the White Tiger Clan can’t even transform ye—”
“Kohaku, are you saying that the White Tiger Clan doesn’t care about you?”
A surge of anger rose within Kohaku because he knew that Seiryu’s words were the truth. He knew they were, but it still hurt to have someone verbally confirm it to him.
“They don’t care about me? Well, I’d like to see who does! You and I lead completely different lives! Stop trying to force your values and worldview onto me!”
No one cared about Kohaku. No, that was a lie—he’d once thought he’d found someone who would treasure him. That someone was the very man standing before Kohaku right now. However, Seiryu had gone against Kohaku’s expectations. Seiryu had betrayed him.
Yet Seiryu’s attitude kept giving Kohaku false hope. As much as he didn’t want to put his faith in the man again, Kohaku couldn’t help but think, What if... whenever he heard the worry coloring Seiryu’s voice. There was no way that Seiryu liked him. Kohaku knew that the moment he offered Seiryu his trust, he would have to go through the pain of betrayal again.
“Stop butting into my life to satisfy your own curiosity!” Kohaku yelled. He jumped to his feet, but Seiryu grabbed his arm before he could stalk off.
“I didn’t mean to anger you,” Seiryu said. “I merely wished to know the situation you’re currently in. If my words caused you pain, I apologize. Please don’t leave.”
Kohaku dearly wanted to shake Seiryu off, but the grip Seiryu had on him was so tight that it wouldn’t be easy to slip away. Also, as frustrating as it was, he had to admit that Seiryu was right. Asking questions and getting to know more about one’s arranged date was normal during a matchmaking session. Kohaku was the one who’d overreacted—his inferiority complex had caused him to take Seiryu’s words the wrong way.
“I’m going to sleep,” Kohaku muttered. Instead of pulling himself from Seiryu’s hold, he pried the fingers from his arm. He stood up and walked over to the bed, but when he settled on his side, Seiryu immediately climbed on top of him. “Hey!”
“I said this is my room, didn’t I? There’s only one bed, so I’ll be sleeping with you tonight.”
“In that case, I’ll sleep somewhere else!”
Kohaku was used to sleeping on the floor. Even if it meant spending the night on the ground or on the bench, he refused to share the bed with Seiryu. But when he tried to get up, Seiryu pressed him back down onto the mattress.
“Kohaku, we’ll just be sleeping together. Why are you acting so shy?”
