After the bridal procession stayed at the State Guest House for one day, the wedding was held as scheduled.
The weather was good. It was neither gloomy nor bright, merely ordinary and refreshing enough to put people in a decent mood.
The only thing Kichō was not used to was the cold air of this country.
Was it because of the cold current blowing in from the east of the Land of Night?
That area had once belonged to the Land of Iron, a country locked in winter all year round. Now, it was also part of the Land of Night.
The samurai had been defeated, subdued, and turned into one of the pillars of the newborn country.
As the capital, Yomi Castle sat at the border between the former Land of Waterfall and the Land of Iron. Perhaps because it was affected by the climate of the former Land of Iron, winter here might arrive much earlier.
I am not used to the cold. Will life here truly not be awful from now on...?
Kichō wore an elaborate and gorgeous furisode kimono. Compared to the plain white she had worn before, her current outfit was decorated with many precious ornaments she had never seen before.
Kichō subconsciously shrank into herself.
The Land of Fire also had winter, but it was impossible for the air to become this cold in September.
She instinctively gripped the fabric inside her sleeve.
It was soft, comfortable, and carried a trace of warmth.
This wedding dress had been carefully tailored and sent over by that shogun.
The silk used for it was of such high quality that, under normal circumstances, she would likely never have had the chance to wear it in her life.
She had seen weddings within the clan before. The wedding clothes used there were all made from relatively rough materials, usually sewn from coarse cloth. Wealthier families would use silk, but the material was average and not comfortable enough to the touch.
The one she wore was different.
No matter how she touched it, it felt as wonderful as a young woman's skin.
Wearing it, she actually did not feel cold at all.
It was merely her mind playing tricks on her.
"Does he think of me as some kind of puppet doll?"
She had heard that the Shogun of the Land of Night was someone who played with puppets.
He would not have some strange, perverted hobby, would he?
Kichō maliciously speculated in her heart.
She had once accompanied her clansmen to protect certain nobles. All she could say was that those nobles matched exactly the kind of nobles she had imagined.
Greasy-looking men, fat-faced and big-eared, who liked dressing young girls in all kinds of beautiful clothes, playing dress-up with them, then indulging themselves day and night.
"Do you have any instructions, Kichō-hime?"
The two branch family girls following beside Kichō were also wearing fine ceremonial clothes, serving her on both sides.
Perhaps because one of them heard Kichō muttering, she subconsciously asked.
"It is nothing, Aoi. I am simply not used to the climate here. It is a little cold, is it not?"
Kichō looked toward the branch family girl beside her and answered with a smile.
No matter how much grievance or dissatisfaction she had, she still had to greet life with a smile.
After all, crying would not change anything.
So she might as well smile more. Perhaps then she would encounter something good.
"Yes. The climate here is different from the Land of Fire. I heard that farther east, it is winter all year round. It is normal for that to affect this place too."
Hyūga Aoi nodded in agreement.
She also wore a white kimono embroidered with beautiful, colorful patterns, though it was not as grand as Kichō's.
Her long black hair was tied into twin tails, revealing a cute and pure face. Her tone was slightly lively, making her seem like a cheerful girl by nature.
"Perhaps it will snow in October."
The other Hyūga branch family girl, Hyūga Rinko, also spoke softly.
She was a beautiful girl whose cuteness and purity did not lose to Hyūga Aoi's in the slightest.
She wore the same white embroidered kimono as Aoi and had shoulder-length black hair.
Her voice was light and delicate, as if she did not quite dare speak loudly. In terms of personality, she might be the shy and sensitive type.
However, the two of them had one thing in common.
Their foreheads were both wrapped in white cloth, concealing the Caged Bird Seal marked there.
As members of the branch family, Aoi and Rinko were not especially outstanding in strength or talent. The only thing truly worth praising was their pure and lovely appearance, which suited male tastes very well.
In age, they were the same as Kichō.
Their families had also come with them. From now on, in the Land of Night, all Hyūga branch family members here would regard Kichō as their mistress and take root within the Land of Night's system.
"Stop talking. Shogun-sama is here."
Hyūga Aoi interrupted the conversation. Her originally relaxed expression immediately became proper, giving off a careful and meticulous impression.
Hyūga Rinko also straightened her body, though her eyes drifted somewhat, as if she did not dare look forward.
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They had come as part of the bride's attendants. In other words, they would also become women of this shogun.
When Kichō, their mistress, found something inconvenient, they would be expected to step forward.
At a time like this, no matter how much they told themselves not to panic, nervousness and shyness still filled their hearts.
So tall...
And such a strong body...
This was the first thought that appeared in Aoi and Rinko's minds after they secretly glanced at Yayoi.
As ninja, their eyesight was sharp.
A ninja's physical quality could be seen from the surface.
This shogun had a tall build, standing close to 185 centimeters.
His body was hidden beneath loose wedding robes, but when he approached, Aoi and Rinko subconsciously held their breath. Their bodies were instinctively pressured by a powerful aura, making it easy for them to judge that this Shogun-sama was a ninja with extremely strong taijutsu.
Clearly, he held the title of "Puppet Master" and should have needed to hide behind puppets in battle, yet his own taijutsu was also outstanding.
Have puppet masters these days started specializing in taijutsu?
The same thought appeared in both Aoi and Rinko's minds.
Yayoi came before the three of them. His gaze passed over the two pure and beautiful branch family girls at the side, then settled directly on the girl in the center.
Her body was petite, and she was very young.
This was also a common sight in this era.
In an age where the average lifespan was less than thirty, marrying and having children as early as possible in order to continue one's line was the best choice under the larger historical background.
At this moment, the girl lowered her head as if shy, hiding her face beneath a white veil. He could only vaguely see that her skin was very pale.
Yayoi knew almost nothing about the wedding arrangements. Fortunately, such things did not require him to handle them. Naturally, professionals had already taken care of everything.
The wedding venue this time was a large shrine nearby.
The accompanying shrine maidens and priests had made the ceremony quite grand.
Yayoi reached out and held the pale, delicate hand of his young wife. He could feel that she was very nervous and unused to being touched by a man. Her palm was sweating.
The wedding proceeded in an orderly manner.
Blessings, vows, rites, and formalities.
Yayoi completed all of them step by step.
If this had been a wedding between ninja, it would have been much simpler. There would have been no need for such complexity, and everything could have been kept brief.
But he was the ruler of a country.
The people under his rule were not only ninja and samurai. Officials large and small from every region of the Land of Night were also an important part of his system.
The complicated ceremony continued from daytime into night before finally coming to an end.
At that moment, the inner and outer courts of the Shogun's Residence had set aside their usual solemn atmosphere.
In one courtyard of the inner court, arranged like a painted landscape, bright lanterns shone beneath the night, driving away the darkness and lighting the place as bright as day.
At the entrance of the prepared wedding chamber, Aoi and Rinko stood straight-backed.
"S-Shogun sama."
When the two branch family girls saw Yayoi come alone, they grew nervous, and their speech became somewhat halting.
Yayoi glanced at them twice.
He knew these two were daughters of the Hyūga branch family who had come as part of the marriage escort to strengthen the position of the main family daughter.
Both of them were beautiful, with pure and gentle temperaments. They were the sort of traditional women who seemed likely to obey a man's words.
"You two should go eat something first."
"Yes."
Hearing Yayoi's instruction, the two of them seemed relieved and quickly left.
Yayoi opened the door, stepped inside, and closed it.
The bedroom was as warm as spring.
It was a single, open room, roughly two hundred square meters in size.
However, there were not many things inside, so most of the space was empty.
Only in the center, on tatami large enough for three or four people, had a wide futon been laid out. Several exquisite screen-like clothes racks surrounded it, along with storage cabinets and a dressing table.
Several glass coal lamps burned on lamp stands arranged in the four corners. They were delicate and bright, illuminating every corner of the room. Even the high beams overhead could be seen clearly.
Ninja probably would not use such ornate and complicated lighting devices.
Only someone like him, who needed such things to embellish his status, would decorate with them.
There was no helping it. Since his previous life, he had been the sort of person who liked sleeping with a bedside lamp on.
After coming to this world, that habit had been preserved quite well.
Yayoi immediately saw the girl kneeling on the futon in the center of the room.
The gorgeous and beautiful furisode kimono looked completely natural on her, as if it had been made only to serve as leaves adorning the flower of her beauty.
Although she kept her head lowered most of the time, during the wedding ceremony, Yayoi had caught a few fleeting glimpses of her. He knew how stunning and outstanding the girl's appearance was.
"On a night like this, do you need to hold something as dangerous as a sword?"
However, compared to the appearance of his young wife, the unsheathed samurai sword resting across the kimono on her lap drew Yayoi's attention even more.
On a wedding night, placing a sword across one's lap looked unlucky no matter how one saw it.
"Because for a girl, this is a very important tool for self-defense."
The girl still lowered her head, as if she had not understood Yayoi's hidden meaning. Her voice was clear as she spoke.
"You call that a self-defense tool?"
Yayoi walked over.
He had already taken off the cumbersome wedding robes and casually thrown them aside.
He now wore only thin clothing, revealing a sturdy body tempered through countless trials.
"You mean you need to guard yourself against me, your husband?"
Bending down, Yayoi gently pinched the girl's snow-white chin.
The girl's pale face lifted, meeting Yayoi's gaze directly.
Yayoi did not use much strength. His movement was very gentle.
He saw a pair of very clean, pure eyes, carrying a soft smile.
There was neither panic nor fear. She simply smiled as usual.
Their pupils reflected each other's figures.
"Yes. Because tonight, my husband will be taking me fully into his household, will he not? So I need just a little protection."
Yayoi could not tell whether the girl was looking forward to it or feeling something else.
But that smile seemed a little like a carefully maintained false smile, deliberately layered into place.
"Can you show me a more genuine expression? And that way of referring to yourself... do you normally speak like that?"
"Does my husband dislike my smile and my manner of speaking?"
With her chin still held by Yayoi, Kichō blinked her beautiful, lively eyes. Suddenly, she looked wronged, as if the moment Yayoi said "I dislike it," she would break into pitiful tears.
"It is not that I dislike it. I simply prefer seeing a person's most genuine side."
Yayoi released Kichō's chin.
"I understand. Then tonight, I will try to be honest with you. But you will also have to make some effort, my husband. Please do your best to understand me properly, even if it takes until dawn."
The girl raised her fist slightly. Like a blank sheet of paper, she used her bright, pure eyes to encourage Yayoi.
"..."
Yayoi felt as though something had just run straight across his face.
Still, since the girl had already summoned her courage and invited him like this, he naturally would not be so tactless as to refuse the moment.
Besides, as a husband, he did not need a reason to cherish his wife.