Following his conversation with Kaguya, Nathan left her room and headed toward another part of the castle.
The wedding was over.
Outside, Minami Kyoto was still celebrating.
Music drifted through the open windows along the corridor. Somewhere beyond the castle walls, a group of soldiers had started another song, their voices uneven from sake and exhaustion. Lanterns illuminated the streets, and the occasional cheer rose above the rooftops before fading into the night.
Tomorrow morning, Nathan would leave.
He would travel north with Kaguya and Ayame, finally returning to the capital after spending far longer in the South than he had intended.
But tonight was not an ordinary night.
It was his wedding night with Sakura.
Nathan slowed near the end of the corridor.
Two guards stood outside the room prepared for her. They straightened immediately upon seeing him and bowed, their hands moving away from their swords.
"Shogun-sama."
Nathan acknowledged them with a nod.
