“Sakura, are you . . . really a spy?”

While Sakura was happy with herself for taking down the big man, the lonely voice of another man reached her ears from the woods behind her.

She was shocked to turn around and look into his eyes.

Harun.o.bu? Why is he here? How much did he see of what just happened?

“Master, this girl is so powerful! Good thing I’m strong enough! If you had chosen someone slim, he would’ve been seriously injured by her strange movements.” The man removed the cloth that covered his face, exposing a thick beard as he went up to report to Harun.o.bu. “Yamamoto Kansuke is good. If I hadn’t fought her myself, I wouldn’t have believed a little girl like her could be so powerful! Master, please be at ease. I have ordered the bowmen to circle the woods. She won’t be able to escape.”

“Forget it. . . Tell the bowmen, Hana, that without my order, n.o.body can loose an arrow.”

Harun.o.bu called him Hana? Yes, she remembered that man was the strongest military officer, Hana Toratane. When he mentioned the name Kansuke, Sakura soon understood that she had been framed by that man. Kansuke pretended to be irritated by her, and used the same method to meet her as before. It’d been his plan to let Hana wait for her in the woods, and then he brought Harun.o.bu to come and see her defeat the strong man. . .

She lost, totally. Maybe Kansuke was destined to thwart her. Anyway, she couldn’t escape from him. She lowered her head, feeling the pain in her heart.

“Why do you lie to me?” Harun.o.bu came closer; his steps were heavy.

Biting her lips, Sakura stared at his face, and her heart continued sinking. This face without any expression was so strange to her. Was this the same one who sneaked into her room and promised to protect her?

“I know that any explanation at this time will mean nothing to you. I just want to tell you, even if I have some plan for you, I am not a spy.”

“The fears you confided in me before were all fake, right?” He smiled desperately, and his look was cold, filled with a will to not accept the truth. “Father told me, during this period, anyone but you could be a spy. But if you can handle this in an appropriate way, even a spy can be your servant. I just want to know . . . to know your true heart. Did you even love me?”

“Harun.o.bu. . . ” Her throat choked with sobs. Though she wanted to tell him so much, she could only say his name.

“Still hesitating? Or was your heart like Yiu’s? Being forced by me, you prepared to defeat me someday at a suitable time? Or will you tolerate it until my death, then take control of the family?”

“You don’t believe me anymore. It’s no use for me to say anything.” Sakura drew down her lips bitterly.

In this life, she even had the chance to enter the prison. What a special experience, she thought. Sitting on the dry gra.s.s, she took a look at the environment. Three walls with one iron fence door. Though any of the ancient buildings around her were cultural relics, she was in no mood to appreciate them.

Three days had pa.s.sed. Not once did Harun.o.bu come to see her. Even Kansuke didn’t. What was more, the two neighboring rooms were empty, so she didn’t have anyone to chat with. The guard told her that the fact that the master hadn’t taken her in for interrogation and torture was already very peculiar. She knew that he still loved her, but he wouldn’t release her, or he was unable to persuade the family officers to do so. But how long did he plan to keep her locked up here?

“Come out!” While she was sadly mulling over this question, the guard’s voice called out to her.

“For what, fellow? Interrogation or execution?” She had prepared for the worst. If they were going to torture her, she’d figure out a method to flee. If she failed, she could take a knife from them and commit suicide, instead of suffering from the torture.

The guard sneered as a reply. “Execution? Even the headsmen aren’t willing to cut a little girl. It’s officer Itagaki n.o.bukata that wants you. I guess he would like to take you as a maid, or sell you to a whale house to be a prost.i.tute. Come with me.”

n.o.bukata is back from Suwa? Sakura’s heart turned bright. She followed the guard to go out immediately.

“You can leave now.” n.o.bukata sent away the guard and took her to a carriage. When she got out from the carriage, she saw he had brought her to his own house.

“n.o.bukata, what does this mean?” She turned to see he was smiling at her. She didn’t know what he was playing at.

“If you don’t have a place to live, stay at my home. This is my private house I use for undertaking the master’s special missions. My family lives in another apartment, so the underlings here are also few in number. You can settle down and take care of the house for me.”

n.o.bukata brought her to the reception room. “In fact, I knew you are not an ordinary woman when Yae was defeated by you last time in the Inner Compound. Since then, I’ve secretly been paying attention to your movements. Until this time, when I heard the message, I ran back immediately to ask the master about you.”

“You already knew this?” Sakura was surprised.