Chapter Sixty-Eight

A Worthy Bride of the Emperor

 

 

Nekohiko reeled, not falling solely because Morokata held him securely. One of Morokata's hands lay on his jaw, forcing his face to be level with his own, not letting Nekohiko so much as move.

His control over Nekohiko's mouth was even more severe. Not in the sense that he was being harsh, but only because his lips and tongue dominated every attempt of Nekohiko to free himself. So close to Morokata's eyes, Nekohiko could see just how clear and cold Morokata's irises were. There was no trace of merriment or heartiness that Morokata's general appearance showed, and no pretension of politeness.

Morokata was watching him very closely -- with a calculated, wholly indifferent drive so reminiscent of one of those many times Nekohiko had caught Suminoe observing and analyzing a situation.

The resemblance was so uncanny, Nekohiko at first panicked and almost ignored the horrific fact that Morokata was kissing him!

Morokata! Kissing! Him! On the lips! Out of all people in the world, could Nekohiko have ever expected or predicted this?

It was just... No. No, no, no. Thousands, millions of no!

A subtle trace of herbal bitterness filled Nekohiko's mouth as Morokata's slippery tongue slowly wormed its way in through Nekohiko's teeth. And once in, it assaulted him. It wanted more and wanted in deeper, to claim everything and leave Nekohiko without breath or even the idea of rejection.

And that did it.

The fact that Morokata had not asked him, had not warned him, hadn't even bothered to not choke him with his disturbing kiss -- Nekohiko could not endure such an act.

Before he even knew it, his jaws clenched down.

Hard.

And Morokata's tongue that was between them -- well...

Do not stick your tongue where you shouldn't.

The springy, fleshy surface of the tongue squelched beneath Nekohiko's teeth, and Morokata's eyes shot wide open.

"Mmmmnnfgg!" Morokata groaned into the kiss, suddenly not minding that much that Nekohiko had tried to push himself away from him.

But the issue was -- Nekohiko was so stunned, he didn't exactly open his jaws to release his tongue yet either.

So...

"Aaaaaaarghh!" Morokata growled, clutching Nekohiko to himself even firmer than before because the separation would surely mean mutilation.

Do not you dare to rip my tongue out, Morokata's eyes seemed to be saying at him as a dark, grim glee blazed inside them. Do not you dare.

Like I would even want to! Nekohiko wanted to yell back at him, belatedly squeezing his jaws open a crack and letting Morokata's heavily-maimed tongue out. Hissing in pain, Morokata unglued himself from Nekohiko, dashing backward and into Sakami's arms.

Once Nekohiko was free, he very quickly learned something new:

So... much... blood was in his mouth. And apart from blood, shreds of tongue tissue he had... bitten off Morokata in his hurry.

Ew.

Gods... 

A wave of nausea flooded Nekohiko and he clamped his mouth down with his hand. He was going to throw up now, wasn't he?

"Next time you dare to bite me while I kiss you, I'll rip your jaw apart," Morokata lisped at him, disturbingly smiling with his bloodied lips. Morokata slapped Sakami's hand away when she tried to help him Bind his wounds back together, then shot a glance full of resentment at Abihiko.

Heaving and spitting out the blood and bits of the torn tongue, Nekohiko almost couldn't hear what Morokata had told him. But he was aware of two things:

First of all, he'd said -- next time I kiss you.

There would be a next time?!

And second of all...

That look Morokata had clearly thrown at Abihiko. Why was it directed at Nekohiko's back?

Nekohiko still panted from his breath being stifled for so long. Nausea crested over him when he tried to cast a glance over his shoulder and felt Abihiko's hands clenching around his middle.

So close!

He was so close to that bastard! When had he managed to get so close? Why???

Vaguely, he remembered that when Morokata and he had begun kissing in the first place, Abihiko had tried to wedge in between them and pull them apart. But now that Nekohiko was away from Morokata, Abihiko had finally snatched his chance.

"Are you all right?" Abihiko asked him shakenly. "How do you feel?"

Nekohiko groaned at him through his clamped hand something incomprehensible and tried to squirm out of Abihiko's grip.

...you... murderer jerk, have to right to ask me how I feel!

But then, another wave of dizziness passed through Nekohiko, and he doubled down, retching of empty air and bloodied saliva.

It must have been the low amount of food he'd eaten and the large quantities of alcohol. Morokata having molested his mouth earlier really hadn't helped. With a sickened growl, Nekohiko wanted to stumble away -- away from Abihiko.

But Abihiko held him tightly to himself and, once he realized that Nekohiko was close to throwing up, he reached out and swept Nekohiko's hair out of the way.

With his other hand, he started casting a spell.

Even dizzy, Nekohiko froze. What spell was it?

For which nefarious reasons?

A harsh jolt of hatred ran through him from being so close to Abihiko in such a vulnerable situation. If he wasn't so weak, he would turn and smash his fist into Abihiko's face; he knew it. Just to do it, once and for all.

"Hey, hey, hey," Morokata snapped, finally regaining the mobility of his tongue after he'd quickly Bound it together. "Abihiko, this is your brother's doll you're groping. Please move away from him!"

Abihiko stilled. "I was only trying to help him alleviate effects of the alcohol--"

"You're making him scared, can't you see that? Don't be afraid, baby doll. Daddy's here." Morokata wormed in between the two of them, pushing Abihiko away and grabbing hold of dizzy Nekohiko. Unlike his strong, powerful tone with the Emperor, when Morokata addressed Nekohiko, he was far more playful, like his usual self.

Even having his tongue almost bitten off couldn't get to this person, could it? Morokata didn't appear angry in the slightest. Or at least he wasn't showing his anger.

Yet.

And before Nekohiko could even react, Morokata reached with his Binding to help him combat the effects of nausea.

"I can do this spell instead," Abihiko repeated. "You don't have to bother, dear future Brother-in-law."

"Ah, but why? I am his Binder father, so to speak," Morokata answered coyly. "Please remove your hands off this doll, Your Majesty."

Instead of a reply, Abihiko cast his healing spell on Nekohiko. But Morokata dispelled it before it even had the chance to connect.

All this back-and-forth annoyed Nekohiko, but luckily, it resolved itself quickly. Whoever it was who had helped him, he did not give a damn as long as he didn't have to vomit of wine and Morokata's drool and blood in the gardens of his birthplace home.

Morokata finished his spell and drew back from Nekohiko. His motions lingered over the aspect-separating formation as he pondered.

"Isn't it time to give your food absorption and savoring aspect back to the girl we took it from? Perhaps, we can return it along with the effects of alcohol, too? Yes, I feel that would be better if it makes you so queasy, my baby doll."

Nekohiko raised his blurry eyes at him. "You want to take my drunkenness away and give it back to that girl? But that girl would not expect to--"

"Drunkenness is not a big deal for most people." Morokata smiled at him tenderly as his hand cupped Nekohiko's cheek. After the horrible kiss, Nekohiko could only shudder from this touch. "I can send a few of our Hisome Binders to aid her while she recovers."

But more than Morokata's proximity, Nekohiko was flabbergasted by his suggestion.

Had Nekohiko actually gotten himself so drunk, it needed to be taken away from him to keep him from collapsing or throwing up? How embarrassing. What had prompted this?

He had never been a drinker and hadn't even interacted with drinkers that much! He didn't understand himself sometimes, at all.

But once Morokata actually lifted the borrowed aspects with the drunkenness from him, Nekohiko's head cleared up bit by bit, and with his renewed vision and ability to think clearly, he saw all the reasons why.

Before him, Abihiko stood next to Sakami. Sakami's expression was genuinely worried as she regarded Nekohiko and his troubles, but Abihiko's...

His face was unreadable. He watched Nekohiko as though from a great distance, not recognizing or not wanting to recognize. The last hints of his frustration from before had faded from his face, and Nekohiko only saw how good-looking this couple of people in front of him were.

Sakami and Abihiko. Perhaps they didn't interact or didn't even show each other fondness, but they were lovely together. Sakami reached only as high as Abihiko's chin and her overall pale and fragile complexion displayed such a beautiful contrast to Abihiko's wide shoulders, his hard-cut, angular features, and a steady gaze.

No doubt they would make a great couple of an Emperor and Empress. They were worthy of each other, these ridiculously attractive people and their enforced romance.

"What are you doing, silly?" Morokata huffed at Nekohiko, grabbing Nekohiko's hand.

Oh.

Even without realizing, Nekohiko had tried to lift his wine jar to his lips to take a habitual sip. How fortunate that Morokata stopped him. What a bad habit to have!

"Get this away from me," Nekohiko told the Hisome girls that Morokata beckoned so that they could carry the Bound aspects of drunkenness back to their owner from Nekohiko. He passed them his unfinished jar of wine and grimaced, turning away.

He was never drinking again. Even for a block of wood, this was such an ungodly experience.

And the loss of control he had suffered from it! If he had been sober, no way would Morokata catch him off guard and force a kiss on him...

"Are you feeling better?" Sakami asked him, aggrieved, almost at the same time Abihiko also wanted to ask something of Nekohiko.

But with Sakami speaking, Abihiko did not dare to. He averted his eyes from Nekohiko and assumed a disinterested mien on his face.

Were these two going to ask the exact same thing? Nekohiko narrowed his eyes, irritated. A husband and a wife, made for each other in heavens, even sharing the same thoughts between them, huh?

"I'm wonderful," he told Sakami, walking past her and into the garden.

He needed to clear his head and stop being such a sour slice of lemon every time Sakami did or said anything. Nekohiko couldn't explain why she annoyed him so much now. Because, years ago -- he had been friendly or indifferent to her at worst. Yet now... everything she did gave him a jolt of displeasure. And it wasn't even her fault because the girl was an ideal of politeness!

"Anything you wanted to tell me, dear Cousin?" Sakami murmured to Morokata doubtfully back in the hallway. "You called me here..."

"No, no. Just to remind our dear Supreme Divine Majesty to not spend so much time lusting after other people's dolls," Morokata stressed. Judging by his dismissive mumbling next, he let Sakami go if she pleased to.

And the girl clearly did please to. She wasn't welcome; that would be apparent to anyone here. Morokata was only using her to make a point to Abihiko. The invited guest of Morokata's, Nekohiko -- was only being cold and haughty toward her, and her future husband, Abihiko...

Ah, that was a special case of his own. So, out of all these men who ignored or used her, what would keep Sakami wanting to stay around?

After Nekohiko had strolled off into the garden to breathe in some fresh, fragrant air under the ornamental red maple branches, Abihiko had slowly gravitated there as well. Morokata was busy telling Sakami something barely audible while Nekohiko was too distracted by his own turmoil to notice anyone following him.

Thus, Nekohiko only became aware of Abihiko's approach when gravel stones crushed close behind him and Nekohiko turned.

Then turned away again, a bitter quirk on his lips.

He tore a few maple leaves off the branches, making the slender tree sway from such inexplicable assault, then went on ripping the leaves in his hands just because.

Abihiko halted a few steps away.

"You came to see me?" Abihiko said so softly even Nekohiko had a hard time hearing.

"No, I came to traipse around in this garden and to rip off some maple leaves for fun," Nekohiko retorted and performed another bout of aggression toward the poor leaves.

"Neko," Abihiko said, following him around the weepy branches that hung low like veils or curtains of pure crimson rustle. "Neko, are you angry? Are you mad at me?"

Gods, why did Abihiko sound so...

...dismissive, in Nekohiko's ears?

As though the idea that Nekohiko would be angry was amusing to him!

"Huh? Who?" Nekohiko frowned, escaping further and slapping the branches after himself to that they would smack Abihiko in his stupid face for even daring to follow him. "What is this funny word you are calling me?"

"Do you mean 'Neko'?" Abihiko caught another branch that had almost whipped at his face. He slowly pried it away, peeking at Nekohiko from beyond it. "It is a funny word. It means 'tree roots'. I find that it would fit you very well as a name. Much better than Itsuki."¹Itsuki (樹) means "tree" while Neko (根子) means "tree roots", so... they're both tree-related ^^ in case you forgot.

When Nekohiko glanced back at him, all he could focus on were Abihiko's lips.

They were... smiling. As were his eyes. Actually, Abihiko looked very much happy with something. "It can also mean 'cat', obviously," Abihiko added. "Which makes me wonder... that wooden dummy cat that Kataji has... one that bit me a few days ago. You wouldn't, by chance, know this cat?"

...

What kind of a dumb question was that?

"Do you imply that I should know some cat dummy simply because I am myself a dummy?" Nekohiko drawled, pulling further away from Abihiko following him around the tree. "I think that is offensive to dummies, My Majesty. We don't all know each other just because we share a woodcarver."

"Or a tree," Abihiko said, nearing. The look in his eyes was deepening with something quite hungry. With something quite dangerous. Nekohiko could only flee, dashing further into the tree branches around. "You and that cat both smell of Emerald Fir lumber," he whispered. "Is that so? I once sent a log of an Emerald Fir to Kataji. Did you come from that log, Neko... or, forgive me -- Itsuki?"

Nekohiko huffed out a mirthless chuckle, getting more pissed by the minute. Was this what Abihiko had wanted to talk to him about? This? Which wood he had come from?

Not to give his apologies or even explanations for the murder and the betrayal?

But discussing wood?!

"Why is that at all important?"

"It is to me," Abihiko said grimly. "Nothing more important than that. So, please tell me if that is the wood you came from. And why, if you've already had your body Bound, did you choose Hibiki to redo it?"

Nekohiko's curiosity piqued and he almost got caught by Abihiko because he'd slowed down.

And just when they came in contact, it happened again, like before. A wave of hatred shooting through Nekohiko like a spear.

The bizarre urge to fight Abihiko, to strike at him. To hurt him, or even to kill him, right here, right now. So alien and abrupt the idea was that Nekohiko flinched away when Abihiko tried to grab his sleeve.

"I'm afraid you're mistaking me for someone else again, Your Majesty," Nekohiko told him, dismayed.

"I bet he does," Morokata's sudden voice snapped Nekohiko back to earth when he ran from within the branches and right into Morokata.

The young man was waiting for both him and Abihiko to stumble out of the maple trees -- a patient smile on his face and a crinkle to his eyes that Nekohiko had always known meant trouble.

"Last time he mistook others for someone else, he killed several people, so please be careful with him, baby doll." With only a trace of aggravation, Morokata tapped Nekohiko's nose with his finger. "And do not dare to run from me ever again while we're here. Got it, sweetie?"

"To be honest, we were only running around three stupid maple trees," Nekohiko said. "Merely enjoying the famous autumn luxuries of our beloved Empire, nothing else."

"What a fun pastime!" Morokata gave Abihiko who came out of the trees with a sullen expression on his face -- another smile. "Alas, it is time we left our dear Emperor to his own devices. He can run around his trees all he wants if he is, apparently, such a deep lover of trees. No need for you and me to take him away from governing, or preparing for the wedding, or tree-hugging for too long. Let's go, Itsuki."

"Wait, no," Abihiko said, decisive. "Itsuki and I began talking about something... interesting while we were walking around. I just wonder if he and I could have a moment to ourselves to speak about it some more?"

His voice betrayed a faint quaver where it shouldn't be, and Nekohiko felt a pang in his heart just from hearing it.

But he also knew he would enjoy refusing him.

So he did.

"Mmm, did we, though? I don't remember anything like that," Nekohiko answered, to Morokata's vast delight.

"See, dear future Brother-in-law? At least other people can control themselves and say no to indulgences," Morokata said.

"Not if they're created to be such, no."

Both Nekohiko and Morokata who had swung around to walk away, stopped.

Abihiko repeated, graver, "Lord Itsuki, I sense dear future Brother-in-law's Binding in you, but not purely his. Is that... a trace of Master Hibiki's Binding in there, too? And somebody else's?"

Morokata cocked his head, intrigued. "Well, of course. Your brother Kataji wanted his doll done by the best of the best. Where else do you think a doll with these abilities to move and even Bind could be created if not in The Doll Palace?"

What an odd tangent.

Why would Abihiko care about this so much?

"Lord Itsuki," Abihiko called again, not satisfied with Morokata answering for Nekohiko. "Did you know that the doll-making method that Master Hibiki is so famous for cannot be achieved by mere Binding? Even with the contraband, illegal First-rate aspects used -- that it would not be enough to give a doll such a complex control of its body as the one you currently possess?"

What did it have to do with anything?

Nekohiko flicked his eyes at him, cold with distaste. "So? What do you imply, Your Majesty?"

"That the unique method Master Hibiki invented uses his complex doll-making to Bind, plus future Brother-in-law Morokata's illusions to mask any uncanny dissimilarities between dolls and humans, and lastly -- the Dark Sisterhood's method of animating corpses. Also known as ghoul-raising or Puppet Mastery," Abihiko said, looking straight into Nekohiko's eyes. "Has your body been made in The Doll Palace by three people, by chance?"

A hard knot blocked Nekohiko's throat as he swallowed.

...

Huh. He had been a bit distraught by the presence of someone named Nao in the room when he had been Bound together. But not in the world would he suspect that that was the same exact person. Nao, one of the Dark Sisters who could Puppeteer dead people with her ghoul magic.

Gods... and with him being unable to tell what spells she had been using... She could have done whatever she wanted to him! And yet -- did he not feel fine even now, with or without Nao's participation in his making?

He could not sense alien elements or spells inside him. Everything worked and seemed as fine as ever.

"What would that have to do with me?" Nekohiko tried, unsure. "I am not a corpse, after all. Unless somebody here knows about myself more than I do. In which case -- maybe I am a corpse? Or was one, before somebody raised me from the dead? Mmm." He gave Abihiko a very pointed glare. "But ah -- who can tell?"

"You're not a corpse, Itsuki," Morokata sighed, hugging him from the side. "Look at you, how sweet you are. Abihiko, do not insult my guest and my doll son like that, tch!"

Yet Abihiko did not seem taken aback. "A Dark Sister does not need a true dead body to make a puppet of it. All she has to do is animate a thing that's full of resentment. For many malevolent Spirits, hatred and frustration are good enough fuel to make anything move. Or speak. Or live, in a sense. Corpses are just a natural source of such resentment, so Dark Sisters mainly resort to them. But anything else full of dark intent would do as well. A stone infected with corrupted energy, a piece of wood tainted with foul auras, even water itself if it had been in areas with sinister energy." Abihiko looked down, avoidant, but it was clear he was talking to Nekohiko all the while. "Dark Sisters amplify all loathing and anger, and thus the things they animate are not theirs to puppeteer. It's hatred and desire for revenge that drives all such objects. Regardless if they would ever act on it originally, when they become puppets of resentment, they start deriving joy solely from hurting others. And with time, it only worsens. That is why we call most such animated corpses ghouls. Nothing human remains in them the longer they go on."

Instantly, Nekohiko's memory flashed back to that night when Yakabe had died.

To Yakabe's sudden change from his usual personality to a twisted one after the Dark Sister had reanimated him.

Back then, Nekohiko had thought that the Dark Sister was manipulating Yakabe's dead body to say such cruel, miserable things but... apparently not? She had gone away pretty far at that point. Was this what Abihiko referred to now?

Resentment taking control of a being animated by a Dark Sister?

Even today, Nekohiko had felt several instances when his own emotions had become... more violent than usual. Whenever Abihiko had gotten too close to him, Nekohiko felt... these urges to hurt him.

And yet, Abihiko was the last person in the world to have the right to talk to him about this. Nekohiko scoffed.

"Thank you for the warning, but are you seriously telling me that resentment is some sort of an unnatural feeling? It sure sounds as though you imply that nobody sane would ever feel resentful or want revenge in this world if not for the Dark Sisters' wicked ways, ha-ha."

Abihiko's brow furrowed. "No, I would never claim that. Resentment and desire for revenge are... natural. Even expected. All I wanted to tell you is that you might not have been warned about the circumstances and methods used in your creation or how they might overpower your decisions, actions, and even thoughts further down the line. I thought you ought to know. Dear future Brother-in-law should have told you."

Well.

That was probably so.

But Nekohiko still couldn't help but want to disagree with everything Abihiko said. Not when he was the sole reason behind all of Nekohiko's resentments in this life!

"My, my, you sure make it sound so unappealing," Morokata sighed, pressing his fingers over his eyes. "But actually -- it's very simple why we do it this way in The Doll Palace. Average doll-makers can Bind and allow the use of proper anatomy by the doll. Dark Sisters can actually give them the will to move -- purpose to everything our dolls do. And my Hisome method simply covers up all the rough patches and seams so that the resulting doll actually acts and moves like a human. You say that the Dark Sisterhood's use of resentment as the fuel with which the dolls and puppets move is morally questionable only because you misunderstand the fundamental flaw of the human experience."

Here, Morokata leaned toward Abihiko for half a hug over his back. With his other hand, he tapped his folded fan against Abihiko's chest.

"Every human is driven by resentment, my dear," Morokata told him tenderly. "Not wanting to disappoint one's parents or to prove ourselves to our peers? Wanting something others possess while you are not allowed to, or paying back for injustices? Striving and yearning for fulfillment, love, appreciation just because we know what it's like to be deprived of all these things? You say that's what makes all ghouls so inhuman, but, sweetheart -- you only think that because they're ugly and decomposing and cannot move properly. Their yearning to relieve their bitterness is, in fact, the most human aspect of them. Trust me.

"Just look at this dreary place if you want a real, honest tour of the Emerald Palace," Morokata went on, flourishing a hand wave to the Palace grounds beyond the garden they were in. "The entire history of this Empire, of these people, of this land is built on resentment. Who attacked whom first, who oppresses whom, who conquered whom, who is the exile, and who the winner who gets to rewrite history? In the Spirit Emerald Fir tree that stands in the center of this Palace, I can bet you, each ring of its thousand-year life records countless deaths and sacrifices made to feed the tree into growing higher and taller, its branches and roots reaching farther and wider, choking other smaller tree roots by its mere proximity. Because if it didn't, other trees would have suffocated it instead. Thus, resentment and striving in a being -- is the best fuel one can have for succeeding in this life. What is so insidious about such a simple truth?"

"This is my family lineage you're talking about," Abihiko broke in. "It will be yours as well, the day after tomorrow."

"Yes, and what are we going to do about that?" Morokata shrugged eloquently. "Pretend that this Palace is not built on blood and bones or that every single Emperor who had reigned it was a righteous and unresentful being full of goodness? Ignore it altogether?" He winked at Nekohiko, as impish as ever. "If anything, I believe it makes this tour guide of the place that much more entertaining."

...

Well. Yes.

Although Nekohiko couldn't help but feel that Morokata's breakdown of it was quite a bit bizarre for the young man's usual noncommittent demeanor.

Had Morokata ever shown as much personal involvement in anything as he did now, discussing the Emerald Palace and the Spirit tree inside it? So why now?

And why so specifically?

"Or look at dear Itsuki over here!" Morokata clutched Nekohiko's shoulders with both his hands with fatherly passion. "He moves like a human and looks like one. So what if resentment is one of the core aspects that drive his doll body? Why make a fuss about it? Nobody would know the difference from a human anyway, unless, of course, his issues with the world are unnatural or unexplainable." Morokata turned to Nekohiko, all consideration. "Are they, honey? Do you have any weird grievances with the world?"

Nekohiko shot him a glance laced with loathing. "No," he said, lips twitching into a smile. "Why would I? At least not more than any other human would. Unless, of course, His Supreme Divine Majesty believes it's inappropriate for people to want to right the wrongs and pay for personal injustices."

By now, Morokata had pushed the other two into an idle sauntering down the garden paths, ducking under the dangling tree branches and appreciating the scenery. This could be a casual after-dinner stroll, for all Nekohiko knew, but the topic of their conversation was, of course, the opposite of casual.

Nekohiko kept peeking from behind Morokata at Abihiko's hunched figure because out of the three of them, Abihiko was the tallest and had to incline his head and avoid being scratched by the branches when Morokata led him through the particularly thick groves of burning-red and yellowing trees.

"Forgive me, Lord Itsuki, if I made such an impression on you," Abihiko said, gazing away. "There's nothing wrong with paying back for injustice, especially the crueler kinds."

"Ooooh, which ones would those be?" Morokata fluttered his eyelashes.

"For instance, being betrayed by those you trust and love -- is the cruelest thing I can imagine," Abihiko said grimly after a moment. "Nothing wrong I see with a person wanting to pay back for that."

Nekohiko gritted his teeth in annoyance. Was Abihiko doing this on purpose?

Why? To make Nekohiko angrier? Or maybe, laughably, to beg his forgiveness in such a lame manner?

As if that would ever work.

"Glad we both agree about that, Your Majesty!" Nekohiko said. "Now, I thank you dearly for warning me about the methods I've been built with. But I still think your concern is ill-directed. Or in short, please do not worry your busy, important, Imperial mind about someone as lowly as me." And though Nekohiko was unsure if Abihiko could read his lips or not, he still added, without sound, "None of your business."

Nekohiko did not care to see his reaction. He turned to Morokata. "We were leaving?"

"Yes, dear. Time to go." Morokata looped his arm through Nekohiko's elbow and tugged him away, but not before they gave ceremonious bows to Abihiko. "Alas, future Brother-in-law, but it's time for us to part! We won't distract you from your Imperial duties any longer."

"Wait, Lord Itsuki -- could you please come over for just a moment--" Abihiko started saying, but Morokata shook his head at him.

"Do not embarrass yourself any more, future Brother-in-law. Your days of chasing after young men are over. Should have thought about this a week ago when you burned all those mutual friends of ours." His eyes crinkled up, inspired. "Cheers."

Nekohiko let himself be taken away. He had half a mind to glance back and see Abihiko's face one last time, but he suddenly realized he'd see it plenty of times very, very soon. And one-on-one, without anyone to bother them.

Ah, he could hardly wait.

It would be his revenge both to Abihiko. And to Morokata, for everything Morokata had done to him today.

A songbird's trills wafted through the garden, the wind rustled flowers and leaves here and there, the skies were slowly growing pink with approaching twilight! What a beautiful day and what a beautiful world.

"You seem in a good mood," Morokata noted when Nekohiko began humming under his nose. "Did you enjoy the meal and the wine and the company so much?"

"I did. Thank you so much for bringing me here today."

"Yeeees," Morokata purred. "Refer to me correctly and I will bring you here more often. I can even give you the rest of my tour right now."

Oh.

Now, this was tempting.

The thing was -- what gave Nekohiko such an uplift in his mood was the idea of Abihiko's encroaching wedding and his marriage ritual that would see him trapped with his bride, all alone, for months at a time without anyone from the outside being able to bother them.

At first, Nekohiko had despised the idea. The ritual spell that the wedding would cast would actually restrict anyone to access the happy couple for the duration of the honeymoon. Even if someone tried to sneak in and talk to Abihiko after the wedding, they wouldn't be able to -- for a long time.

But the more Nekohiko had spent here today and the more he'd learned about Abihiko's behavior and attitudes, the less he thought about the sacred seclusion ritual negatively.

By now, he believed it was a fine, even genius idea!

Three whole months of Abihiko trapped and unable to escape. Just the two of them together, for as long as Nekohiko liked. What's not to enjoy?

His spirits were so high, Nekohiko didn't even mind humoring Morokata this one single time. Just for the sake of it.

"Daddy," Nekohiko whispered, however pained saying this word out loud was. "And since I called you correctly, would you please give me the rest of the tour? I am especially interested in sweet Lady Sakami. Before, I was a bit rude to her, so now I want to apologize and make amends. Could we please see her before we leave?"

"With pleasure. She is the future Empress, after all." Morokata sparkled with grace and joy as he pulled Nekohiko down a familiar set of corridors, breezing both himself and Nekohiko with his paper fan. "You'll enjoy her if you give her a chance. Sakami is a wonderful young woman, truly, yet I have always underestimated her. Don't tell her this, but I appreciate her the longer I know her. She's sweet and calm and so collected. Perhaps a bit asocial, but very well-behaved and admirable. And with time, I believe she will make a great ruler of this Empire. Most of all -- she and Abihiko have known each other since childhood. If that doesn't make her the worthiest bride of the Emperor, I don't know what does!"

Nekohiko nodded along, agreeing with almost every point.

Sweet and calm and collected. Yes, absolutely.

A bit asocial but very well-behaved and admirable? A great future ruler of the Empire? Yes, indeed.

Had known Abihiko since childhood? The worthiest bride of the Emperor?

Yes! To all of these!

But... Sakami?

No.

Nekohiko had someone else in mind for the role of the Imperial Bride. Someone very, very special. It was a bizarre and convoluted plan, but one he was sure he'd be able to pull off with just a little outside help. After all, he had the rest of tonight and one whole day tomorrow before the wedding to figure out his preparations and make sure this plan succeeded.

But of course this was not something he could tell Morokata. Even Nekohiko's niceness knew its limits, especially when this particular person had proven himself to be so unreliable, he'd kissed him without asking and even earlier -- had allowed an actual Dark Sister to place her insidious spells on him.

Having been backstabbed by Morokata? All right, why not. Nekohiko wouldn't say he hadn't expected this.

Now was time for him to backstab Morokata in return, and naturally, Morokata should not be too surprised either.

Like "Daddy" like "son".

Ruining the stupid wedding and all of Morokata's plans for taking over the Empire afterward -- would be one of the most enjoyable experiences Nekohiko had ever wanted to try.