After Okabe Motonobu stood silently in place for several seconds, she finally noticed that the Akaname on her arm had been so frightened that it had frozen completely still. It held its breath and began pretending to be dead.
"Mr. Tetsu... Sorry for the trouble. I lost my composure a little."
The woman narrowed her eyes again and smiled at the slightly stunned Uesugi Tetsu.
The sticky, foul-smelling, and bone-chilling atmosphere around them immediately vanished.
"Ah, it's fine."
Uesugi Tetsu shook his head without showing any unnecessary emotion.
He had not expected Okabe Motonobu to react so violently just from hearing the words "Mikawa Rebellion."
Seeing that he had not, like so many others, shown fear and backed away after witnessing her "other side" from close range, Okabe Motonobu let out a sigh of relief. She carefully teased the Akaname with her finger.
"There, there. Don't be afraid. It's all right now..."
Only after the Akaname slowly tried opening its eyes and began squeaking did Okabe Motonobu raise her head and slowly explain to Uesugi Tetsu,
"The previous disturbance in the Mikawa region was personally suppressed by me under the lord's command..."
At that, she let out a long breath and continued speaking calmly.
"It hasn't been long, yet trouble has broken out there again. That can only mean I failed to do my job properly back then."
To Okabe Motonobu, having someone else say those four words was like having them slap her straight across the face.
No, it was a slap in Imagawa Yoshimoto's face.
If this matter had only concerned her personally, Okabe Motonobu would not have become so enraged in an instant that she could not even maintain her usual demeanor.
Listening to that exceptionally gentle voice, Uesugi Tetsu could not help clicking his tongue twice