Chapter 8: To Avoid a Worrisome Clan Disputes

Okazaki Castle – Matsudaira Motoyasu

1561. Spring.

“You really did send that letter, didn’t you?”

“That’s the only way for our Matsudaira to survive. Now, Nobunaga-sama and the neighboring daimyō will think of me as a courageous man.”

Ever since my sister, Ohisa-sama, moved to Okazaki, she has come to me many times to tell me to apologize to Ujizane-sama and return to his service.

However, seeing what happened to my father-in-law, there was no way I’d ever do that.

“This will not turn out well. I’ll request Isshiki-sama to mediate between you and Imagawa-sama, so hang on—”

“…You jest. We’re finally able to regain control of Okazaki after the defeat at Okehazama. You’re telling me to bow down to Imagawa again? To lose our ancestral land again?”

“Haa…” Ohisa-sama let out a long sigh before looking at my face again.

“Your wife, how is she?”

“She isn’t grieving, if that’s what you’re asking. If anything, she’ll come to resent Imagawa due to this.”

“Keep in mind that you’re the cause of that.”

“I know, but thanks to this, the Imagawa are shaken—which is exactly what I want. I can’t back down now.”

My father-in-law, Sekiguchi Chikanaga-dono, was forced to commit suicide over suspicions of collusion. But, as the one directly involved in the matter, I knew the whole truth. He hadn’t colluded with me at all. I’ve offered him a chance to, but he firmly refused.

He told me he couldn’t abandon Imagawa and Ujizane-sama—the heir that Lord Yoshimoto had left behind.

Yet, the mere exchange of letters between us cost him his life. Ujizane-sama, the very person he had sworn to protect, ordered for him to take his own life. From what I know, he had never once tried to defend himself.

“Isn’t Isshiki¹Just a note, when they say, for example, ‘Isshiki-sama’ or ‘Imagawa-sama’, they refer to specifically the head of the clan. But if they say just ‘Isshiki’ or just ‘Imagawa’ like this, they refer to the clan as a whole. It’s a little confusing, but yeah. This is why sometimes they have the ‘-sama’ in, but sometimes don’t. an obstacle to you?”

“If I have to answer that with either a yes or no, then, I’ll have to say, yes, they are. The problem is that it’s impossible to crush that clan. First of all, the Isshiki clan has earned Lord Yoshimoto’s deep trust and joined the Imagawa’s inner circle—that alone is already troublesome. Then, there is its current head—Isshiki Masataka-dono, a genuinely terrifying man. Having studied together during my days as a hostage, I noticed that he sees things differently from others our age. Hence while Isshiki is an obstacle, I wish to maintain good relations with them. If this ends up shaking the relationship between them and Imagawa, then so be it.”

Ohisa-sama’s existence was a sort of trump card for me. Though she was already twenty, she remained unmarried. As a daughter of a samurai clan, her fate was to be married off to another clan for the sake of the clan, but she’d manage well anywhere due to how clever she was. Any clan who’d take her would likely treat our Matsudaira with care.

I considered sending her to Nobunaga-sama when she first returned to Okazaki, but I changed my mind and decided to betrothe my child with one of Nobunaga-sama’s children instead. Two years ago, Sena gave birth to my child, and I heard Nobunaga-sama had a child of the same age.

And so, I decided to offer Ohisa-sama to Isshiki instead.

“Will Isshiki-sama join your cause?”

“No, he won’t. Masataka-dono is quite loyal. He’ll seek for an amiable relationship with us, but he won’t betray Ujizane-sama to become our ally.”

“What do you want me to do after marrying into Isshiki?”

“Nothing. Ohisa-sama, you’re a symbol of friendship between our Matsudaira and Isshiki; there’s no need to ruin that. Moving carelessly will destroy both you and Isshiki. That’s how volatile the situation within the Imagawa is.”

“…Then I’ll have to live the rest of my life as Isshiki’s Hisa. If the upcoming meeting goes well, I might never see you again.”

“Thinking about it that way, it is quite sad, isn’t it?”

Ohisa-sama was a woman my father once said he’d have made an heir if only she were born male. Sending such a woman to an opposing clan like Isshiki not only served the purpose of friendship, but also eliminated a potential threat. While I didn’t think she’d cause troubles, some retainers might have strange ideas to rally behind her and shake the whole clan.

I couldn’t afford the clan to be shaken now, hence I proposed the marriage. As for why I chose Isshiki, because I knew that Ohisa-sama wouldn’t make her move as long as Matsudaira survived.

Before I realized it, Ohisa-sama had already left the room.

I let out a sigh. Somehow, I managed to survive that.

“…Haa… don’t think ill of me, Ohisa-sama. I’m doing this for the sake of our Matsudaira. Once we conquer Tōtōmi and Suruga, I’ll welcome Isshiki into our inner circle. You can rest easy then.”

I didn’t know why I said those words aloud.

It seemed that even after betraying my lord, seizing a castle, and causing my father-in-law’s death, I still couldn’t fully cast aside my feelings as a human.

I was still so soft…