Do you think your little actions are unknown?

Yoriichi is gone.

After bidding farewell to the siblings.

The sudden news shattered Yuko's original plan.

She had intended to lay low until Yoriichi turned ten and then leave home with him. The future for women in large, feudal families needs no further explanation.

Alas, things did not go as planned.

On this day, while Yuko and Kokushibo were helping to sort through their mother's belongings, they discovered her diary.

Yoriichi had indeed learned he would be chosen as the heir, which is why he left home early.

He also seemed to have known about Akino's illness and impending death, supporting their mother's body with all his might when her left side became uncontrollable.

Kokushibo tightly gripped the diary in his hands, crumpling the pages and causing the veins on the back of his hands to bulge.

He lowered his head as if struggling to breathe, his heart filled with resentment and jealousy.

"Please, don't live in this world. People like you are better off never being born in the first place."

He had always thought Yoriichi was a cowardly, clingy child who only stayed by their mother's side. It was only now that Kokushibo finally understood that he had not only lost in terms of strength but had also miserably failed in character.

Especially Yoriichi's departure, which felt like a handout, nearly consumed him with jealousy and shame.

Kneeling to the side, Yuko, who had also seen the diary, fell into self-reproach, completely unaware of Kokushibo's increasingly twisted inner turmoil.

How embarrassing.

She, with the soul of an adult, had failed to notice Akino... their mother's serious illness.

Even without the Clear World, with an adult's awareness of their surroundings, she shouldn't have been so oblivious.

She knew her mother had always had health problems, but she hadn't expected them to be so severe.

How embarrassing.

In her last letter to their father, their mother pleaded with him not to separate them, to treat his children equally, and to wish them a healthy growth.

Her father was a superstitious man. When Yoriichi was two, he had told him, "You are an unblessed child," "You shouldn't have been born," "You are an unlucky child," and "You will bring disaster to the Tsugikuni family."

Therefore, to avoid bringing disaster to the family, Yoriichi behaved very discreetly, never speaking to anyone, and minimizing his presence as much as possible.

Only in front of his mother and siblings did he occasionally show the smile a child should have.

However, their father also loved their mother. After reading Akino's last words, he seemed to understand the sins he had committed.

He sent people to search for Yoriichi, even dispatching men to that temple, but they could not find any trace of him.

After an unsuccessful search, their father finally gave up.

Upon hearing the news, Kokushibo breathed a sigh of relief from the bottom of his heart.

Whether he was attacked by bandits or eaten by a bear, as long as he disappeared, it was fine.

After that, everything in the Tsugikuni household seemed to return to normal, yet also as if everything had changed.

Kokushibo practiced swordsmanship daily under the guidance of his father's subordinates, waiting for the day he would inherit the family.

Yuko's situation was not as optimistic.

Girls from large, feudal families were often tragic figures, denied freedom and typically used as tools for arranged marriages.

To avoid such a future, Yuko also wanted to leave home like Yoriichi.

But she was only six years old and unskilled. Such a young girl leaving home would only lead to death.

For this reason, she approached Kokushibo.

"Brother, could you please teach me swordsmanship?"

Kokushibo stood alone in the courtyard, practicing with a wooden sword.

Yuko had deliberately chosen this time. If there were outsiders present, they would surely report the matter to their father.

A girl wielding a sword, how improper.

"Why would a girl learn swordsmanship? You only need to master the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. After all, you'll just get married when you grow up." Kokushibo's inherited feudal mindset led him to say this without surprise.

Hearing this, Yuko was so angry she almost wanted to hang him on a certain sweet potato.

You little brat, just you wait until you get blown up.

Even though she had earnestly tried to communicate with Kokushibo, all she received were perfunctory replies and indifference.

This made Yuko finally understand that Kokushibo was already imprisoned by the twisted ideology of feudal society and could not comprehend her at all.

Yuko had always believed that with her adult knowledge and experience, correcting a child's distorted psychology would be easy.

But reality had slapped her hard.

Children obeyed adults not because what adults said was right, but simply because they were adults.

Kokushibo, deeply influenced by the old societal concept of hierarchy, could not listen to Yuko at all.

Yuko no longer asked for his help. During the day, she studied the zither, tea ceremony, and embroidery under the teachers arranged by her father.

In her room at night, she practiced with the wooden sword she'd "borrowed" from Kokushibo.

Though she couldn't quite grasp the knack of training, it was still better than doing nothing.

Plus, she'd occasionally sneak peeks at Kokushibo's training during the day, so overall, she had made some progress.

To thrive in the outside world, personal strength was essential, especially for a girl.

If she didn't work hard, the consequences were all too clear, depicted vividly in those pink apps.

She had no doubt that in this feudal society, people would devour each other even more readily than demons.

Time trickled by, and in the blink of an eye, over ten years had passed.

Kokushibo and Yuko grew taller, their appearances becoming strikingly similar.

Although Yuko was born later, she inherited her parents' features, looking identical to her elder brother. The only difference was her more petite frame and softer, more feminine facial features.

Her long, wine-red hair attracted countless gazes, nearly wearing down the Tsugikuni household's doorstep.

After Kokushibo inherited the family business and married, his father, who had long harbored a deep resentment, passed away early at the age of thirty.

One day, Yuko, who was learning the zither with her teacher, was summoned by one of Kokushibo's subordinates.

Yuko's heart heavy, she approached Kokushibo.

"Is something the matter? Brother," Yuko asked calmly.

Over a decade had significantly dulled the siblings' affection, much like the ingrained sense of hierarchy deep within Kokushibo's mind.

"The General has sent a betrothal gift..."

The very first sentence sent a chill down Yuko's spine.

Without waiting for Kokushibo to utter a second word, she calmly replied, "I understand."

"If there's nothing else, I'll be going back now."

With that, she turned and left, not waiting for Kokushibo to speak further.

In fact, at eighteen years old, Yuko was already considered an old maid in this era, having rejected countless suitors.

It wasn't until now that the General's son proposed a marriage alliance.

Even if she refused, it would be impossible.

Feudal society was a curse.

Yuko grabbed some food from the kitchen as she passed by and returned to her room. She began packing her belongings, intending to slip away under the moonlight that night.

She retrieved the katana from her closet, tightly wrapped in cloth – a sword she had previously "borrowed" from the family.

She also packed a few sets of practical, travel-friendly clothes.

After finishing her packing, Yuko's gaze fell upon a flute in the corner of the room.

Kokushibo had given it to her when they were children. Perhaps when he was carving one for his younger brother, he thought of his sister and made one for her too.

As Kokushibo's mind grew increasingly twisted, she had tossed it into a corner.

After a moment of hesitation, Yuko wiped it clean and placed it in her bag.

Everything was ready, except for the opportune moment.

The sky gradually darkened.

Tsugikuni Yuko, with her bag and the katana at her hip, opened the door.

Good.

The night watch wasn't around this area.

However, as she crept towards the back door, a figure stood silently in the moonlight, leaning against the door.

Hiss~

Were you not sleeping in the middle of the night?!

Yuko gasped, and before Kokushibo could notice her, she used the dim moonlight to stealthily retreat, planning to turn back.

"Yuko," Kokushibo's calm voice rang out.

Yuko froze, realizing escape was impossible. She took a deep breath and emerged from the shadows.

"Did you send people to watch me?"

"You didn't think I wouldn't know about you stealing a real sword, did you?"

Yuko: "..."

She had been careless.

Yuko's eyes turned cold. She gripped the hilt of the sword at her waist and said sternly, "Move aside. I won't be manipulated by you like Yoriichi was."

Kokushibo, who hadn't heard Yoriichi's name in over a decade, stiffened for a moment.

The scene of his pride being ruthlessly shattered by his younger brother felt like it had happened just yesterday.

He slowly drew the long sword from his hip and said in a deep voice, "Then let's see. Show me what you've learned while sneaking around."

Unlike Kokushibo as a child playing with wooden swords, the current Kokushibo, having undergone rigorous training and possessing extraordinary talent, had become a samurai surpassing his father.

Yuko took a deep breath, knowing this battle was unavoidable.

She slowly drew the long sword from her hip.