A few days later, Harano, as usual, went to Oda Nobunaga's residence as a guest. But the moment he dismounted, he sensed something was off—several grooms had unfamiliar faces and looked grim, everyone nearby was coming and going in a rush, and there was a tense undercurrent in the air.
Harano glanced back at Ah Man, then turned around as if nothing had happened, maintaining a calm demeanor as he headed to report to Oda Nobunaga like before. Yet the security near Nobunaga's quarters was noticeably tighter, scheduled activities were put on hold, and Nobunaga had other urgent matters to attend to.
Of course, Harano wasn't surprised, but he still found an opportunity to corner Maeda Toshie and quietly confirm the situation. "What's happened?" he whispered.
Maeda Toshie saw it was him asking, so didn't conceal anything, lowering his voice, "There was an incident at the stables. Several people were poisoned to death."
