Samurai ↔ Nishimura Riki

twenty

"I can't believe it. Those bastards finally declared war on us."

Minister Oh slammed his fists against the mahogany desk, creating a loud thud.

"Why would they declare war on us only now? They had so many chances to earlier on. Why now?" another minister asked, puzzled.

"Don't forget, they also killed Envoy Shin," Envoy Yang chimed in, "They forgoed peace. We can no longer hold back, we must protect our people."

"Poor Shin's daughter, she must be so distraught over her father's death," one of the court members sympathized, "Losing her mother and now her father. What bad luck."

Murmurs of agreement rose from the audience.

Meanwhile, the emperor looked sharply at Hyewon. "Tell us again how you found Envoy Shin's body in the woods, Warrior Cho?"

Gulping, she exchanged looks with Riki, who stood a few meters away from her. While returning back to the palace, they had both agreed that the body would be too big of a secret to keep and to report it, but a few details were altered to make it seem that Hyewon was the one to stumble across the body. They also decided to leave out the part where they had met Ryuto to avoid suspicion. Hopefully, the story they weaved would be believable enough.

"An hour ago," she began, "I was unable to sleep, so I went to the woods because..." Her voice faltered when she saw everyone's eyes on her. She rushed, "I was bored, so I decided to scout the area since I wanted to do something productive.

"You ventured into the woods because you were bored," Emperor Hankyu repeated skeptically. He lifted an eyebrow. "Continue. Was anyone with you?"

"No, I went alone," Hyewon lied, bowing her head low. Please believe me, please believe me. "I ended up in a clearing and then I found Envoy Shin's body covered in blood. And in his pocket was a note that declared war on us."

Gasps were heard echoing through the room. The emperor stroked his chin. "What a shame, we'll have to investigate this matter. Shin was a good man. Did you see anyone suspicious that could've been the perpetrator?"

"No, sir. No one was there when I reached his body-"

"So there is no one who can testify to your statement?" A tall, prim man with small, beady eyes asked, rising from his chair. Minister Yoon. Lia's father. He studied his fingernails as if the case were not even worth a crumb of his time. "Obviously, we cannot deny that the war has begun. The note itself has been brought up to court and thoroughly examined, so at least part of your story must be right. But, how can we trust that there was truly no one there? Perhaps you saw the culprits. Or," he paused dramatically. "What if you were there the whole time helping your friends from the West in killing Envoy Shin? Or maybe you killed him yourself and saw him die a slow and painful death."

Hyewon stood paralyzed as his words sunk in. Was he saying that she had betrayed the whole kingdom? Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Riki opening his mouth to retort, about to blow off their cover. She shook her head and mouthed, Stop. Confessing that he had been there as well wouldn't have done anything but place more distrust on her.

She composed herself. Getting defensive wasn't going to get anywhere. "Are you implying that I'm a traitor? To my own homeland?" she asks calmly.

Minister Yoon spread his arms wide. "Now, I am not trying to say that you are one," His tone suggested the opposite, "I am merely presenting the possibilities. But we cannot deny that someone had helped those rascals from the West into royal grounds. How else would they have gotten this close to the palace without it being noticed? And that someone just seems to pinpoint to you, Warrior Cho. You could be bringing forth this report to deceive us, to throw us off the track. Don't you find this odd, my friends?" he addresses, facing the crowd.