I paced around in the too-small room, my arms crossed as a frustrated expression no doubt spoiled my otherwise beautiful face. Across from me, my mother watched disapprovingly.

“Kazeyumi Sakura.” She said. “Just what do you think you are doing?”

“...I’m thinking, mother.” I replied, knowing full well that such a blunt and unarticulated answer would only further fuel her annoyance with my antics. “I’m thinking about my friends across the border. My friends and their country...”

“The empire was never truly our ally, Sakura. You need not concern yourself with them.”

I frowned. Had it been anyone else, I would’ve taken a note from my time in the empire and spat out one of Medrauta’s favorite lines, but this was my mother. Had I told her to “fuck off”, she likely would’ve had me executed or something of the sort.

Perhaps that may be an exaggeration, but even now, her piercing gaze seemed to cut into my flesh. There was no doubt in my mind that she wanted to have me flogged at this very moment, but I didn’t care. All I wanted to do was send a damn letter to Lady Viviane, but here I was trapped in a chashitsu because my mother was struck by a sudden whim to have a tea ceremony after a massive tower had just burst out of nowhere overnight. Quite literally, too.

I was asleep that night, and rather deeply too. It was the first time I’d fallen into such restful sleep ever since fleeing the empire. I still worried about their state of affairs, especially after I had barely managed to bid Viviane farewell before making my way back home, but I was sure that the nation would recover once Kaslavna was pacified.

However, the moment I was woken by violent tremors, I knew I had been wrong. At first, I thought it was just a routine earthquake. They were quite common here in Higashi, but as I thrust aside my window curtains that night, I laid eyes on a sight I never even thought possible. In the far-off distance, a massive black tower rose from the ground, continuing to approach the sky until it disappeared above the clouds where I could no longer see the extent of its height.

In all of history, there had only ever been one such structure to bear such a form, and it had been none other than the Witch Queen’s very own Spire. The mere fact that this tower possessed such an uncanny resemblance to the accursed Spire of yore was clearly no coincidence, and the things Viviane had told me before my departure only served to worry me more.

Besides, I was certain of one thing: Amelia was at the very top of that tower. That traitorous bitch not only cut my stay in the empire short, but based on the reports from my father’s intelligence officers, it seemed she’d sold her country out to Kaslavna too. Makes sense, since their respective attacks had pretty much been timed perfectly.

I sighed, turning my attention back to my waiting mother. Her mood had only soured during the past few seconds I spent engrossed in my thoughts. Whatever. I had already expected such an outcome.

“Mother. It is not the empire that I am concerned about, but the friends I made there. They are very dear to me despite the brevity of our time together, and I would very much like to write a letter to them.”

“There is no point. Your letter will never be delivered through the empire’s closed borders. They are at war and in disarray, daughter. If you and your friends are destined to meet again, then it shall come to pass. This is exactly why I proposed this tea ceremony.”

“To stop me from writing a letter?” I asked incredulously. My mother was strict and rather self-centered at times, but she was never cruel.

“No.” She said pointedly, emphasizing the word as much as the Higashian language allowed. “I wanted this to remind you of a quality that you seem to have forgotten ever since you left the walls of this humble house.”

I nearly snorted. Our massive mansion and the enormous estate it rested on was anything but humble. “And what might this quality be, mother?”

“Patience.”

“Patience? Patience is a luxury I do not have. Not when my friend’s entire country is on the verge of collapse!”

“Then what do you hope to accomplish?” My mother’s voice was calm and level despite the annoyance that flickered in her eyes. With one elegant gesture, she picked up the chasen and began whisking the powdered tea with smooth and practiced motions.

I stared at her indifference for a moment, confused at my mother’s responses. Although “understanding” wasn’t a word I could use to describe her, she normally wasn’t this adamant about preventing me from doing something, especially when it was something so simple like writing a letter.

It also seemed like she wanted the empire to fall and the friends I cared for to all perish. But I knew that was just my anger and frustration inventing a scenario where I could despise her without guilt. In truth, I felt a certain nuance in her words, as if she were begging for me to understand her veiled motives without her stating them out loud.

She wanted to teach me something. That much was clear.

But what does she want me to learn...?

“Sit.” My mother commanded, giving me no time to decipher the hidden message in her cold behavior.

I grimaced. I had stalled for long enough, and I was fairly certain that any further pacing around would only serve to genuinely infuriate my mother. In war and peace, there existed a concept of “fluidity.” One had to adapt to the situation they were placed in, flowing like liquid and becoming unbreakable.

Indeed, now was the time to obey.

I took my place across from my mother, sitting elegantly on a small cushion that fit me perfectly. It had been painstakingly designed by master craftsmen who had visited our estate purely for the sake of obtaining precise measurements for the cushion. While such a thing might seem insane to outsiders, this was the level of dedication and skill that was demanded of every profession in Higashi.

For that reason, we were viewed as a highly cultured and educated country, but those looking in from the outside would never understand how suffocating such an environment was. Perhaps that was why I worried so greatly about the empire and my friends within. Truly, the time I spent with them had brought me the most joy ever since I was a child.

At first, I thought them rude and ill-mannered, but their casual and somewhat rough attitude gradually grew on me. The people of the empire were not uncultured nor were they barbaric as my father sometimes deemed them. They lived in a country that celebrated social freedom. Well, more than Higashi, at the very least. Last I heard, there were a couple issues with their church, but I wasn’t privy to the specifics.

I stifled a sigh as I reached toward the bowl of tea that my mother offered me, turning it elegantly like how I’d practiced countless times before. Slowly, I brought the bowl up, offered my thanks, and drank deeply. As always, the tea that my mother brewed was beyond excellent, and had my mind not been pinned to thoughts of worry for my friends from abroad, this likely would’ve made for a very enjoyable experience.

I finished the bowl of tea, setting it down before me and wiping the lip with a decorative cloth that sat to the side of the table before me. As the final flavors of my mother’s tea evolved upon my tongue, I tasted a slight hint of tart bitterness that reminded me of a bittersweet farewell.

Just like the rushed goodbye I’d shared with Medrauta and Viviane.

How I wish I could see your smiles once more, Medrauta... Viviane... I sighed, frowning as the lingering taste on my tongue suddenly became rather spicy. I knew not what my mother had added to the tea as I had been rather distracted during the entire process, but it certainly wasn’t anything like her usual blend despite its initial taste.

In fact, I didn’t even know it was possible to create a tea with this flavor profile and delayed release of spice. Truly, my mother was a master of her craft even when she was leveraging her skills to annoy me.

“Mother, what did you—”

My mother slid a cup of warm water towards me before I could even finish asking my question.

I stared at it, my reflection peering back at me as I leaned over the still water in the cup. Was this what she was trying to tell me...?

I looked up, meeting my mother’s eyes. She stared back unflinchingly. At last, I finally understood the message she was trying to tell me all this time. What I needed was not the patience to wait out the war, but the patience to intervene only at the right moment when the war grew hottest. 

Or in this case, the spice, I suppose.

My letter would do little to help, and like my mother had said, it likely wouldn’t even reach its intended recipients in the first place. I didn’t know what the state of the empire’s eastern border was right now, but after everything that happened in the Revelo duchy, it was probably safe to assume that they weren’t going to allow anything to pass through, and that included letters.

If anything, my letter would likely be regarded as suspicious and cause them to tighten up security at the border despite being stamped with my seal. None of the nobles in the duchy had seen my seal before, after all. That, and I’d likely be able to do a lot more than just send a letter if I acted at the perfect time.

...But how am I supposed to know when the right time is?

My mother raised an eyebrow, almost as if she knew exactly what I was thinking. Sometimes, her uncanny insight was unsettling, but this time, I appreciated it. Her apparent foresight had reminded me of someone very important. Someone who could solve the conundrum going through my head right now with ease.

“Mother,” I said. “I shall be excusing myself now if it does not inconvenience you.”

At last, a faint smile graced my mother’s elegant lips. “Of course not. The ceremony has concluded, Sakura. Depart at your leisure.”

I bowed and stood up, making my way to the chashitsu’s exit.

“I’m glad you’ve finally calmed down and opened your eyes, O impatient daughter of mine. Please do not forget about the resources we have painstakingly cultivated for you.”

I nodded, sliding open the door. “Thank you, mother.”

As always, she had been right. I should have done this at the start instead of trying to rush out a letter. The Kazeyumi Clan had spent several generations cultivating our reputation and power, establishing ourselves as one of the country’s three great clans so that we could have unrestricted access to Higashi’s greatest secret and most powerful weapon.

That’s right. I should’ve gone to see her in the first place.

My feet moved as fast as they could as I dashed up the ancient stone steps that led toward the peak of the mountain situated behind our estate. Within seconds, I had arrived before the twin doors of an old shrine. I should have visited this place more, but I always wanted to trust myself instead of relying on her powers.

My father had said that was fine, but now I understood there were situations where my own power was insufficient to guarantee the outcome I wished for. In times like those, what I needed to do was exploit Higashi’s greatest treasure. As the heir of the Kazeyumi Clan, this was one of my exclusive rights.

I pushed open the doors bravely, stepping into her home. Beneath her veil, she flashed me an amused smile, and somehow, I knew everything was going to be okay.

“Welcome, Kazeyumi Sakura. I knew you would come today.”

“...I’m here, O great oracle.”