Lin Qing wasn't good at comforting people.
So he only said two things.
The first was, "I'm sorry for your loss."
The second was, "I'll avenge him. I promise."
Yui took out her hairpin, and scalding tears dripped onto it.
Lin Qing handed her a tissue, and she wiped away her tears.
"Lord Lin Qing, please don't worry. I'm not grieving because my husband died."
"We'd known each other for over twenty years. Many times, we'd come close to death together. At our age, we'd long since come to terms with life and death."
"I'm just sad..."
She lowered her eyes to the hairpin.
"My husband had great ambitions, but he was born at the wrong time. He spent fifty years accomplishing nothing, then finally got the chance to make his mark and be remembered in history. Before he could fulfill his ambitions, he died young."
"How tragic."
If not for his principles and ambitions, Blind City Official's abilities would have been more than enough to earn him a position as an advisor in some small town's gentry household.
He might not have grown rich, but at least he could have lived comfortably, without becoming a Rat or being forced to wander from place to place all these years.
Yui wiped away her tears.
"Thank you, Lord Lin Qing. I'd like to be alone for a while. Please go."
Lin Qing nodded and closed the door.
He stood outside. A few seconds later, another bout of sobbing came from inside.
Muffled by the door, it sounded like a mermaid's lament rising from the bottom of the sea.
Lin Qing turned to leave.
Lord Shirakawa was waiting outside with a plate of pastries in his hands. He offered one to Lin Qing. "Have some. Sweets can help lift a gloomy mood."