She finally arrived again............ .

Morning sunlight streamed through the window as Shimizu sat quietly at the breakfast table, pushing scrambled eggs around with his chopsticks.

He overheard the servants chatting nearby.

“Did you hear? LADY Yamiko and young Shizuka are returning to Tokyo for a week.”

“Really? That’s rare. Isn’t Yamiko the Vice Captain of Imperial Mage Squad 5?”

“Yes. She’s on temporary leave for some reason. And Shizuka—well, she’s still in training under her.”

Shimizu’s hand paused mid-air. He looked up.

“Apparently, Shizuka’s magic lets her visualize everything within a one-kilometer radius… every object, every movement. She can even turn it into a holographic image that others can see.”

Shimizu muttered under his breath, half-impressed, half-exhausted, “Of course she can…”

“And Yamiko's magic, now that one is something else—she ca—”

Suddenly, the front doors creaked open.

“—speak of the devil,” Shimizu whispered.

SHIMIZU stood up from his seat, stretching slightly — and before he could react, something small and fast collided with him.

> “Oni-chan!!”

Shizuka practically launched herself into his arms. “How have you been?! I missed you so much!”

SHIMIZU chuckled, stumbling back a little.

> “H-Hey, Shizuka—easy there. You might choke me…”

And then she walked in.

The soft tapping of footsteps, the shift in air pressure — even before she spoke, the room felt colder.

> “Long time no see, Shimizu-san,” said Yamiko Toyotomi.

She stood near the entrance, her presence both graceful and distant. She was seventeen, with a slender frame and fair skin that caught the morning light.

Long, wavy gray hair spilled over her shoulders, parted neatly with bangs framing her face. A delicate light blue, lily-shaped hairpin shimmered in her hair, its beads swaying gently.

Her eyes — large and pale blue — were calm, unreadable, and piercing all at once.

She was beautiful. Immaculate.

But to Shimizu, there was always something else.

A pressure. A weight. A dark aura he couldn’t explain.

He had never asked her about it.

And maybe, deep down, he didn’t want to know the answer.

Yamiko says, “Master wants to see me.”

She doesn’t delay, doesn’t engage in small talk. She puts duty first, even if her cousins are in the room. This shows her deep sense of responsibility and discipline.

Yamiko stepped into the Yard, where Kagehisa Toyotomi stood waiting. The early sun cast sharp shadows across the stone floor, but neither of them blinked.

Kagehisa turned his head slightly.

“Yamiko. How is Shizuka’s curse progressing?”

Yamiko bowed respectfully, her voice calm.

“I’ve sealed it — for now. But I don’t believe it will hold forever. The curse runs deep… ever since it passed from Aunt Ayaka.”

She raised a hand to the back of her neck, fingers brushing the hidden scar beneath her cascading gray hair.

Kagehisa narrowed his eyes.

“And yours?”

Yamiko replied evenly, as if discussing the weather.

“It came from the Demon King himself. Containing it is… difficult. But I can manage. It’s not something I allow to interfere with my duties.”

She paused, then asked quietly,

“Master… may I speak freely?”

Kagehisa folded his arms.