"Gion, looks like our Lady Toki still hasn't recognized the situation," Rosse said with a smile.
'Her name is Gion?'
Kozuki Toki silently took another glance at Gion, repeating that somewhat familiar name in her heart.
In just a second, Toki thought of something and looked at her in shock, "Gion… You're the world's number one great swordmaster right now?"
That title, not even Kozuki Oden had ever received it.
And because of that, Oden had been rather bitter about it for a while, often bringing it up in front of her.
"If you think so, then sure. But Lady Toki, it seems you still haven't figured it out. Some things aren't up to you," Gion looked at Toki with interest.
Green long hair, 190 cm tall, legs over a meter long, 36D, gentle mature-woman aura.
'No doubt about it, Rosse's type.'
'No wonder Rosse is willing to spend time and effort watching this show.'
Since Rosse was interested, she didn't mind giving him a little help.
That quality of appearing strong but actually fragile made her especially curious to see what Toki would be like in private.
'Would she be bold and open, or shy and flustered?'
"Why? Even if I know this, I can just choose not to say it," Toki pursed her lips, stubbornly staring at the two in front of her.
Gion's gaze made her very uncomfortable. She had seen looks like that before, but never from a woman.
And this woman, both in figure and in looks, was above her.
'If he already has such a beautiful woman, why does he still have to toy with me,' Toki sighed in her heart, her eyes unconsciously drifting to Rosse.
She wasn't ignorant. Just by looking at Rosse and Gion's positions, and at Gion's casual attitude, she could tell the two had an intimate relationship.
And if she wasn't mistaken, Gion was Rosse's first wife.
"Not say it? Then what if I tell Kanjuro what you know? What would you do then?", Rosse said with amusement.
"Eh? Tell Kanjuro? What's that got to do with me?", Toki asked in confusion.
"The five-year deadline isn't far off. Kanjuro will very likely do something. If he accidentally exposes Kozuki Oden's existence, guess who'll take the blame?", Gion said flatly.
She glanced at Toki's chest and clicked her tongue softly.
'Not even as big as mine. And so brainless.'
'How can she not understand something so simple?'
"Ah? Me?", Toki pointed to herself in disbelief, staring at the two in horror.
'Why? Have I committed some cardinal sin?'
'Why does everything have to be dumped on me?'
And the more she thought about it, the more she realized this could really happen.
She wasn't very trusted in the Kozuki family to begin with. If Kanjuro really was a spy, and also knew she knew his identity. The result was obvious. To protect himself, the best option would be to get rid of her.
Killing her outright probably wouldn't work, but he could absolutely spread the news that Oden was still alive and pin it on her.
There were plenty of ways. With Kanjuro's position in the Kozuki family, he could easily order some Kozuki retainers to do it.
As long as those retainers came in contact with her before spreading the news, and other retainers witnessed it, she could never clear her name. Not even if she jumped into the sea.
At that thought, Toki felt a chill all over, "Why do I have to be the one to inform? Even if I did, Oden wouldn't believe me."
Toki felt aggrieved.
'That fool Oden. His fake death, everyone knows about it.'
Even the enemy had played tricks with his fake death, and yet he smugly thought he hadn't been exposed. The gap was too big.
'Why do I have to follow such brain-dead teammates?'
Originally, Toki wasn't this calculating. Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog. Even if Oden failed, at worst she'd just die with him.
But Oden's distrust and indifference, combined with the retainers' neglect, slowly changed Toki's mindset.
If they didn't care about her, why should she care about them?
"Exactly, you just said it yourself, he won't believe you," Rosse looked at her with a smiling expression. Yes, what he wanted was exactly for Oden not to believe her.
"Ah?"
Toki opened her mouth, a little dazed, 'If he wouldn't believe me, why say it?'
But half a second later, she reacted, her face flushing with anger.
'Right, Oden wouldn't believe me.'
'But he is making me say it anyway, isn't that just for fun?'
"Is this funny to you?", Toki shouted angrily.
'Have I bullied his ancestors or done some great evil?'
'That I traveled here from 800 years ago, only to marry a fool of a prince, and now be mocked like this by Saint Rosse?'
"Not funny? You trust him so much, yet he doesn't trust you at all. Watching that kind of play, isn't it very entertaining?"
Rosse smiled, not feeling there was anything wrong.
He loved watching these family dramas, especially when someone was left speechless and helpless.
"Wow!"
Rosse's mocking, playful exclamation was like the last straw that broke the camel's back. It instantly shattered the fragile defenses of Toki's heart, already on the verge of collapse.
She suddenly crouched down, tightly hugging her knees, burying her head deep in her arms, trying to shut out the world.
But hot tears still slipped uncontrollably, silently falling one after another, spreading beneath her, reflecting her utterly broken state of mind.
Seeing Toki collapse and cry, Rosse and Gion's expressions didn't change.
Rosse was cruel by nature, but even Gion just watched indifferently.
Toki ending up like this, one could only say she deserved it.
Rosse undeniably loved playing with people's hearts.
From Olvia, to Sora, Titi, even Otohime, their downfalls, Gion had witnessed them all.
Their experiences were similar to Toki's. They all told the same story: Rosse was despicable, yes, but these women's tragic fates had been decided long ago.
In this cruel sea, men tended to extremes.
Either utterly useless and gentle, or free and careless, treating women like clothing.
For beautiful women, both were sins in this brutal world.
If not Rosse, there would be someone else, someone more cruel, who would either rip open their hearts or destroy their bodies.
"Boring," Gion gave a glance at the crying Toki on the ground, then turned and left.
Right now, Toki was of little interest, still too immature.
When Rosse had trained her properly, then she would be curious to see what kind of brilliance Toki would bloom with.
Now, even the light of Sora and Otohime made her turn her head and give them heartfelt respect.
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