บท 25: Hana's worries
Being in full compliance with his Master and without hesitation, Daisuke bowed and left with the pretty ceramic porcelain bottle.
Some minutes later, he arrived in front of the Ito family's residence and jumped off his horse.
Glancing at his horse one more time, he shifted his gaze and walked ahead with two sheaths attached to his waist.
One held a sword, while the other one which look familiar was empty.
Due to the wind from riding with speed, his hair was slightly rustled, hence he reached out with his left hand to slide the stubborn strands to rest on the full length.
Getting to the entrance door, he raised his fist and gently pounded on it, twice before withdrawing his hand to wait patiently.
Luckily, he did not have to wait long before the maidservant Ane, came to answer the door.
Unbolting the door, his gaze landed on Ane as she pushed it open. And the moment her eyes landed on Daisuke, a respectful smile graced her lips.
"Good morning, Mr. Suke," she greeted politely with a small bow.
Daisuke was a familiar face and she, like the other servants, was aware of how much help he had been to the family.
He was an important welcomed guest the Ito family wished would visit often. But unfortunately, he wasn't one to do that.
But today that he had come of his own free will, it was obvious that something important must have brought him over.
It was just too obvious that it was not a mere visit.
With that, Ane looked forward and gestured smilingly after he had acknowledged her greeting.
"Mr. Suke, please come in. The Lord has already left with the young master, but Lady Ito is around."
It was rude to leave the family's guest waiting outside, hence her request for him to come inside, but he turned her down.
Looking straight into her eyes with a straight gaze, Daisuke went straight to the point, "I am fine standing here. But if you don't mind, could you tell the Lady that I am waiting outside? I have something important to hand over to her."
Sensing the urgency and importance of the matter, Ane quickly bowed slightly in acceptance. "Of course, I will inform the Lady of your presence."
Raising her head, she turned and was about to step foot inside when Daisuke called her attention.
"Hold on!" He said a bit urgently as his eyes and hands went to his waist to release the empty sheath tied to the sash around his waist.
Ane's eyes followed his line of sight to his waist, and it was then that she discovered the sheath and thought it to be abnormal.
Who would carry an empty sheath around? It was weird and indeed out of place.
Taking the sheath out before she could complete her thoughts, he passed it to her. "Miss Haruka lost this. I believe this belongs to Kenji."
Taking a looking at the sword with a scrutinizing gaze, she reached out to accept it. A moment later, she raised her head with a smile hanging at the corner of her lips.
"This sheath indeed belongs to the young master. Thank you, Mr. Suke for your troubles. I will go in now to call the Lady," Ane said with a small bow before turning to leave.
Immediately after she left, Daisuke turned to his side to watch his horse staying still. Satisfied by his horse's obedience, he let his mind get a little busy while waiting.
There were other important matters to settle with his Master, thus, he couldn't help but think about it.
Regardless, he still waited patiently to finish his current task before returning to the Castle for the next one, and that would be to persuade his Master to put something in his stomach.
Naoki has been working nonstop since he regained consciousness, and had deliberately avoided eating, which worried his right-hand man.
Everything regarding the Man he had laid himself down for, was of utmost importance, therefore he had to keep his eyes and ears open.
Not long after Ane went inside to inform her Lady about his presence did Hana coming rushing out.
Hana was currently doing needlework with Haruka when Ane brought the news and immediately she heard he was waiting outside, she dropped her work and hurriedly got to her feet.
Hearing that Daisuke was around, Haruka's eyes shone brightly at his presence and the sheath he had returned to her.
She had wanted to come along with her mother to show her gratitude, but when her mother's firm gaze landed on her, forcing her to take her seat and taking away any chance for her to speak, she resigned herself to her fate.
And because she couldn't leave her work halfway without permission, she sat back down with pouted lips to avoid her breakfast being withdrawn.
"Mr. Suke, welcome," Hana greeted as soon as she set her eyes on Daisuke, with a smile that formed four streaks at the corner of her eyes.
Daisuke lowered his head slightly before immediately whipping out the porcelain bottle he was asked to pass to her from his wide sleeves.
Handing it to her, after acknowledging her greetings, he informed briefly, "My Master asked me to give this to you."
Taking the item with a look of surprise on her face, she glanced carefully at the bottle before shifting her confused gaze to him.
"Why would your Lord give this to me? What is it for?" She asked with a questioning look.
Hana was very interested to know the answers to those questions as no one in her family was familiar with Naoki for him to want to pass something to her.
Daisuke was the only one they knew; if he had brought the parcel himself, she wouldn't have thought much of it.
Alas, it was his Master! It was only normal that she got curious and suspicious.
Without mincing words as there was no time to waste, Daisuke recalled his Master's words and immediately said them out to her.
"My Master said the dye you use on your daughter's hair can be easily washed out during a heavy downpour, so he made one which can last for a year without losing its effect, come rain, come sunshine."
Instantly, time seemed to have stopped for that moment as Hana felt her heart freeze in her chest.
She felt the hairs on her body stand due to the sudden cold as her eyes widened in a mixture of fear and shock.
BADUM! BADUM!
At this point, the thudding of her heart was the only sound she could hear while her mind tried to figure things out.
Her fingers tightened around the porcelain bottle as the other fingers on her left hand, trembled by her sides.
No one knew of this fact. The dye in her daughter's hair. However, a mysterious man whom they had only met once in their lives knew.
Her quivering lips uttered without knowing, her gaze never leaving his face.
"H-How D-Did your…" she breathed out harshly. "How… Did your M-Master C-Come to know O-Of this?"
No matter how Hana wished to see it, she was still shocked about how her family's little secret became known by someone whom she had just met the previous night.
Even the male servants of her household were not aware of this fact. How then did he get a wind of it?
Fortunately, Mr. Ito was not around, which put Daisuke at ease to speak so freely, yet he didn't want to stand outside for too long, to avoid any attention.
Everything must be done carefully in order not to arouse suspicion from the Daimyos' watchful eyes.
Instead of giving a straight response to her questions, he answered suggestively.
"If my Master can see it, some other people like him can see it as well."
In essence, he was telling her that Naoki had seen beyond the disguise the normal eyes could not see and that there were other people who might discover it too.
Ito Hana was dumbstruck and left to her confusion.
Her brain seemed swirling about with different thoughts in it, but she couldn't place her hands on any particular one to hold onto.
But finally, she seemed to have been able to grasp an important hint and her eyes flew wide in apprehension.
"Are you by any chance saying that the Daimyos are after my daughter?" She whispered with quivered lips as a narrowed glint appeared in her eyes.
One look at her and he could tell she was scared of her conclusion, however, her words held high caution as she spoke.
Ito Hana knew that a rare combination of two different hair colors could attract so much attention that her daughter may be labeled as a witch by the people, worth more if the Daimyos heard about it.
Knowing how those great Lords including the Shogun ruled, Hana knew that her family would be implicated with only a small matter such as this.
With that, she did not care if her fear was evident on her face or not. Her family was much more important.
To her question, Daisuke offered no response as he had not received any order from Naoki to reveal anything about some century-old secret.
The matter was not something to be revealed so easily and also, he was in no position to say anything to her.
His Master would be the one to have a deep conversation with her because there was something very important, she and her husband still had to know.
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