Chapter 12: Our Mentor, Taigen Sessai

Iinoya Castle – Isshiki Masataka

1561. Spring.

“There’s one more thing I’d like to ask.”

“Do ask.”

“It’s about Sena-sama. Mother has been worrying about her; she has been downhearted lately. I can’t exactly arrange for them to meet, so could you just tell me how she is doing?”

Sena-sama was Mother’s niece, so it was only natural that she was concerned about her. Of course, since she was Motoyasu’s legal wife, what she was worried about wasn’t his treatment of her.

Rather, what she was worried about was how Sena-sama dealt with the sudden change in her living environment and the news of her father’s death. 

“Your mother, so Hana-sama then, Masataka-dono? It’s only natural that she’d be worried about her niece. I’ll give you an honest answer, without hiding anything.”

“Sorry for troubling you.”

“It isn’t troubling me at all. At present, Sena has no complaints about her life in Okazaki. Our son, Takechiyo, is doing well too. However, the matter with her father has taken quite a toll on her. For a few days, she hasn’t been eating much. It’s gotten better recently, but she lost a lot of weight during that time. But, rest assured, you can tell Hana-sama this: I will protect Sena, no matter what happens.”

“I see. Understood, I’ll trust you with your words, Motoyasu.”

“Yes.”

Oh yeah, by the way, there was a reason why Motoyasu didn’t drop the honorifics with me. Back during our childhood, when Takechiyo—Motoyasu was a hostage, Tsurumaru—myself, and Tatsuomaru-sama—Ujizane-sama, got along well and spent much time together due to us being close in age.

We even studied together under the tutelage of our late-mentor, Taigen Sessai-sama.

In terms of hierarchy between us, as the heir, Ujizane-sama naturally ranked the highest. Below him was me, whose mother had Imagawa’s blood. Motoyasu was the last, as he was merely a hostage back then. Later on, Motoyasu married Sena, who had Imagawa’s blood, but her father was from the Sekiguchi clan—a clan that had worked its way to become part of the clan’s inner circle. At the time, Matsudaira—though under Imagawa’s wings—were still treated as outsiders, and at best were treated as half-inner circle, making them have status below that of clans like our Isshiki or Sekiguchi. That was why, even after declaring his independence, he still wasn’t dropping his honorifics toward me.

Honestly, I couldn’t care less about such formalities, but whatever.

“There’s something I’d like to confirm.”

“What is it?”

“My wedding with Ohisa-sama… how are you going to go with it? With our clans standing at the opposite sides after this, a grand celebration is out of the question.”

“That can’t be helped. I’ll bring Ohisa-sama to Ōigawa Castle myself. We can hold a simple ceremony there with just us. How does that sound?”

“No. If you come with your guards, Ujizane-sama—not even him, our retainers might overreact. It’ll be safer if I try to convince Ujizane-sama and go to fetch her myself. I’d rather you focus on securing your territory, Motoyasu.”

“That’s an arrangement I will not refuse, but Masataka-dono, won’t that be too much of a burden on you?”

“Did you not hear my oath just now? I’ve sworn to Ohisa-sama. Such a matter won’t burden me in the slightest.”

Ohisa-sama, who had been quietly watching the conversation, let out a faint smile.

If Motoyasu weren’t here, I’d have already hugged—no, she wasn’t my wife yet. Anyway, that was how pretty her smile was. 

“I will accept your resolve, then. We will welcome you and your entourage in our Okazaki Castle, Masataka-dono.”

“Please take care of me.”

With my exchange of vows with Motoyasu, the meeting came to an end.

He then left the room, together with Honda Tadakatsu, who had accompanied him as an escort. I was about to gather my own escorts and return to my castle, but Ohisa-sama remained seated in her place.

Since we were to become married anyway, I figured that it’d probably be better if we were to talk a little. So, I bent my legs again and sat back down.

Meanwhile, she watched me as I did so.

“You are not going back, Isshiki-sama?”

“I figured I’d have a talk with you first, Ohisa-sama.”

She looked surprised at my words, then chuckled and straightened her posture.

“That makes me happy. Then, may I ask you something?”

“You may ask me anything you want.”

“After Matsudaira surrendered to Imagawa, I spent some time as a hostage at the Imagawa Residence. Taigen Sessai-sama occasionally taught me a few things, but I was never allowed to go outside, so I know nothing about Ōigawa Castle.”

Huh, so our dear mentor had a hand in Ohisa-sama’s reputation as a wise woman? That man really left a lot of things behind.

Anyway, Ōigawa Castle, huh?

“Right… Ōigawa is a thriving trade hub. A place where all sorts of things from all over Hinomoto are bought and sold to the merchants passing through Tōkaidō¹This is the road connecting Kyoto to Edo/Tokyo. It still exists.. The profits we get from that are used to sustain the territory. That’s why various cultures thrive in our Ōigawa. Recently, we’ve been promoting fishing, leveraging on our rich marine resources. The fish we catch are sold through the merchants to Kyōto, inland areas, and even distant regions. We pride ourselves on having the liveliest economy in Tōkai.”

“Is that so? The truth is, I really love grilled fish. Does that mean I can eat as much grilled fish as I want if I marry you, Isshiki-sama?”

“…Hahaha, I never imagined you’d be a hearty eater, Ohisa-sama. No need to worry. I’ll use all my power to make you satisfied.”

“Calling a lady a hearty eater over that… eating is an essential activity for a human’s survival. I didn’t say anything inappropriate.”

Seeing the way she puffed out her cheeks, I realized that she was a bit different from the rumors that I heard. You really couldn’t trust rumors blindly, huh?

Anyway, for some reason, I felt something different about her. My mother, Hana-sama, was pretty—that was one thing that I realized even as a child. I never had such an impression when I saw women my age until I saw Ohisa-sama.

“I apologize, that was a slip of the tongue. Not just fish. If there’s anything you desire, please tell me. As your husband, I’ll fulfill every wish that you have.”

“My! I’ll look forward to it, Dear Husband.”

Seeing me so flustered, she laughed again. Back in my previous life, I never had a girlfriend, so I never imagined I’d marry before reaching my age back then.

In any case, with this, the matter of the marriage had been settled.

This event would later leave a significant impact on Imagawa, as well as Isshiki and Matsudaira, but that was a story for another time.