"Lady Hinata, we grilled the mushrooms as soon as we got back. Here," she offered me a bowl covered with a plate. "Have some."

I was taken aback. She came here just to give me my share? "You didn't have to. The mushrooms are all yours."

"But I insist!" she took one of my hands and placed the bowl on my upturned palm. "I've been craving for grilled matsutake everyday for weeks now. My own staff have gone crazy looking for them. Who would have thought that the things I've been wanting to eat could be found in our backyard?"

I smiled and set the bowl aside. "What else have you been craving?"

"Rice porridge and chicken," she answered. "I'm salivating just thinking about it."

I laughed as she made an exaggerated lip-smacking sound. "Where I come from, we have this rice dish called arroz caldo. It's rice mixed with chicken, ginger, scallions, and egg. I can cook you some if you want."

"That sounds delicious," she took my hands and stared at me with puppy dog eyes. "Lady Hinata, you must make me that dis.h.!.+"

I nodded. "I'll ask Ryuko-san to prepare the ingredients." I was about to stand up when the young concubine suddenly enveloped me in a hug. "Lady Ayaka?"

"I have no sister and my mother died delivering me into this world. I grew up with men and have never experienced sisterly love," she said. "Thank you for giving me a chance to experience it."

She is too trusting, I said to myself. "Lady Ayaka, are you not afraid that I might turn out to be a two-faced person? What if I'm just pretending to be nice to you so I could easily harm you?"

She looked up from her embrace and shook her head. The little gesture made my heart skip a beat, she reminded me of a fluffy bunny for some reason. "I believe you're a nice person. If you wanted to harm me, you would have given me false mushrooms to poison me."

"And what makes you certain the ones I gave you aren't toxic?" I countered curiously.

"Like your witch twins, I also have my own food examiners. They taste my food before I do."

"I see," were the only words I could think of as a reply. Well, it seems like I was the last person to know about the capabilities of my own staff. I regret not talking to them earlier.

Ayaka stayed until dinner. During her stay, I learned that she wasn't as fragile and innocent as she appeared. She was actually very smart and aware of her surroundings. The reason why she acted the way she did was because of Mami. She has seen through the shogun's wife and does not want to cross her.

~~~

The next few days, Ayaka accompanied me to my temple visits. She became my constant companion for five days straight. On the sixth morning, Ayaka came over to invite me to go and watch a kabuki play with her. She said it was scheduled to be after our temple visit. I have never seen one before, so I agreed.

We arrived at the theatre minutes before the play was about to start so it was almost full. Ayaka led me to a vacant corner which she later on told me was her usual spot. As we pa.s.sed by the other patrons of the show, a man in black and gold brocade caught my eye.. Or rather, the man deliberately did something to catch my attention: he intentionally placed his hand on the floor, making me almost step on it. I missed it by only a few centimeters.

I intended to give him a sharp look but when I saw his face, my jaw almost dropped. The man's nose, lips, eyes, and even face shape.. They were carbon copies of Tyler Lorenzo's. When our eyes met, something I couldn't tell flashed in his eyes before he looked away to focus his attention on the stage. If it wasn't for Ayaka calling my name, I would have remained standing there like some sort of idiot.

I tried my best to watch the show with rapt attention despite feeling the man's eyes boring into my back. When the show ended, a tiny man in a servant's uniform handed me a piece of paper then left.

"Ooh, what does the note say?" Ayaka asked curiously, her powdered face br.i.m.m.i.n.g with curiosity.

"I don't know and I don't care," I crumpled the paper and was about to toss it away when she grabbed my wrist to stop me. "Lady Ayaka, I don't really care about what's written inside."

"Just read it, it might be some sort of love confession."

"All the more reason to get rid of it. I don't want to get in trouble with the shogun."

Ayaka pouted before forcefully taking the crumpled paper from my hand. She opened it and read its contents, "My lady, your bare-faced beauty has captured my heart. Please meet me at the pavilion behind the theatre, I would like to get to know you better."

"Ugh," I scrunched up my nose as if I smelled something unpleasant. "See? I told you we shouldn't open it!"

"Oh, Lady Hinata, you've got yourself an admirer!" she looked around. "Who could it be?"

"I'm not interested."

"But why??"

"Ayaka," I dropped the honorific. "We are Kaname's wives. We belong only to him."

"But you can meet with this man and tell him you're married. I want to see his face, that's all!"

"But I don't. I'm really not interested." I gathered my robe and walked to where the exit was. Thankfully, Ayaka dropped the subject and albeit disappointedly, followed me out.

We were queueing to the exit when we b.u.mped into Tyler's doppelganger. I gave him a quick and uncaring glance (I've recovered from my shock) before focusing my attention to the line before us. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him turn left.

"The play was very good," a man in his fifties who was standing ahead of us told his female companion.

"Indeed, it was," the woman nodded. "Even the crown prince was there to watch the show."

"The crown prince is a loyal patron of this theatre; although he lives in Kyoto, he travels here to Edo whenever a new play is scheduled to be shown."

The woman suddenly giggled meaningfully before whispering something to the man's ear. The man gaped in shock at what the woman said before furrowing his brows.

"My dear, don't say such things." The man lowered his voice, careful that no one would hear him. "There is nothing effeminate about the crown prince at all. Trust me, he does not fancy men. My brother works for him and he is known as a rake. He has many women and is known to have sired eighteen children already."

They continued whispering to each other until we reached the exits.