"Mitsuki, I'm so glad you're here!" she said happily. "Quick, tell them what you know!"

Mitsuki looked at their intertwined arms and slowly disentangled herself from her mistress. "P-please don't touch me."

Ayaka's smile froze, when she recovered, she once again took her maid's arm but the latter pulled away. "Mitsuki?" there was an obvious strain in her voice. "What's wrong?"

"Lady Ayaka, let us not act in front of the shogun," Mitsuki said.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I'm breaking free from your clutches. I can no longer put up with your att.i.tude and the daily abuse you subject us to."

Ayaka looked around with a smile, "She's probably just tired and it's quite hot today. Come, Mitsuki, take a seat on my chair. It's okay, I won't mind."

"Enough!" the head maid said. "Lady Ayaka, it's too late! I'm no longer going to keep quiet and follow you around!"

Ayaka wanted to say something but Kaname finally interfered.

"Lady Ayaka, return to your seat," he ordered. "Do not interfere with the procedures. I brought her here to tell us everything she knows… Now, Mitsuki, it's time for you to begin. Don't leave a single detail out."

"Hai, tenka bito," the maid bowed her head. "B-but where do I s-start? There's s-so much I k-know."

"Start with what really happened on the day of the festival," Mami said while staring at the maid. "Is the second wife's family truly innocent?"

"First wife, don't forget whose servant that woman is!" Ayaka glared furiously at her. "Don't just order her round!"

"And don't forget that I am a rank above you," Mami reminded her. "Compared to my words, what weight do yours have?"

As she couldn't say anything, Ayaka had no choice but to just gnash her teeth and ball her hands into fists.

"Don't mind her," Mami told Mitsuki. "Just focus on telling us what really happened that day."

"Hai," she bowed again. She took a deep breath and started recounting how it all began, "When Lady Ayaka found out about Lady Hinata's pregnancy, she hurriedly sent word to her father about it. She told Hasekursan that her place in the palace was being threatened by the third wife's gravidity. As someone who practically grew up with her mistress, I know how much the daimyo dotes on his daughter. Naturally, upon hearing about his daughter's situation, he sent word about his plan on how to fix her problem. All she had to do was make sure that she gave birth on the day of the festival, it was the distraction he needed to ensure his plan's success."

"You traitor!" Ayaka charged towards her maid angrily.

Upon seeing what she was doing, Kaname signaled his guards to stop her.

"My lady, she hasn't finished stating her testimony yet," he reminded her.

"But she's lying, my lord!" she insisted while struggling to free herself from the guards. "She is slandering me and my family!"

"I will decide whether she's telling the truth or not," he brushed her off and motioned for Mitsuki to continue.

"To play her part, Lady Ayaka started ingesting small amounts of castor oil to induce labor a week before the festival. When she noticed that—"

"Stop! You filthy liar stop ruining my reputation!" Ayaka screamed and clawed at the guards. "Ungrateful wench, my family fed your family for years and this is how you repay us!"

"Shut up!" Kaname slammed his hand on his armrest. Everyone, even the battered prisoners, jumped at the sound. "If I hear one more sound from you I swear to the G.o.ds I will cut your tongue out!"

Ayaka paled and opened her mouth to speak but her father beat her to it.

"Child, this is our fate," Hasekursan told her. "Let that servant finish and accept whatever punishment will befall us."

Kaname suddenly laughed a mirthless laugh. "Giving up so easily? Hasekursan, how very unlikely of you!"

"Why don't you just get on with the punishments? Must you humiliate us in public like this?"

"You want me to be swift? Too bad, I am not in the mood for that right now! I want to enjoy this moment the same way you salivated at the thought of besting me!" Kaname roared furiously. "For years I tried to find the culprit behind my mother's death, who would have thought that a wave of unfortunate events would give me the answers that I need! I will no longer ask why you did it for it will be useless! Your confession will not bring my mother back, nor will it heal my departed father's heart!"

"But now, sixteen years later, you plan on doing the same thing to my innocent wives! Your ruthlessness knows no bounds and because of that, I will make sure you will experience what it is like to be unmasked in front of everyone before dying a slow and painful death!"

Seeing him so furious and about to lose control, I went to his side and held his right hand. When he saw my face, his rigid face relaxed a bit. Kaname gently pulled me close and made me sit beside him. His chair was wide enough to fit two people, making this possible. As if to calm himself, he began rubbing my belly. He then gave Taneyuki-san a nod as a sign for him to take over. He knew I was worried, I didn't have to say it but he understood.

Taneyuki-san cleared his throat and told Mitsuki to continue her story.

"W-when she noticed that it wasn't giving her the effect that she wanted, she purposely doubled the amount of castor oil she was drinking. It worked and she gave birth to the young lord two days later."

"Is there anything else?" the old man asked.

"That is all I know about the incident during the festival."

"Thank you for being brave enough to come forward and tell us the truth."

"I couldn't sleep and eat properly as I was wracked with guilt. I also could not stomach the fact that she has no care for her son. She is only affectionate towards him whenever people were looking but behind closed doors, she would transform into a totally different person. It wasn't true that she couldn't produce enough milk to feed the young lord, there was totally no need to hire a wet nurse for him. It's just that Lady Ayaka was afraid that breastfeeding him would affect her body. She didn't want the shogun to find her bosom 'ugly and deformed.' When her son cried, it was I who soothed him. Not once did she supervise his bathing nor did she attempt to change his soiled underthings. She is simply not fit to become a mother."

When she heard Mitsuki's last sentence, Ayaka started to scream and shout again. Kaname gently let go of me to stand up and walk towards her. He then took the dagger I gifted him from his sleeve, forcefully opened her mouth with his other hand, dug out her tongue, and cut it off! It all happened so quickly I didn't know how to react!

Ayaka's hands covered her bleeding mouth as she moaned in pain. Tears streamed down her cheeks incessantly. Seeing her daughter, Hasekura Yorimoto stood up and attempted to tackle Kaname, his hands were tied tightly together so this was the only thing he could do. Seeing his futile attempt at retaliating, Kaname launched a powerful kick that connected to his midsection. The burly old man fell on his back and curled up in pain.