Fujiwara no Mokou stood by the window of her home, staring blankly at a crimson feather in her hand. One moment, she would think of something happy and smile; the next, she would grow a little sad.
"Ha..."
Fujiwara no Mokou felt utterly helpless. Her father had already accepted someone else's betrothal gifts and had even set a date. If Eastern Island had not suddenly seemed on the verge of apocalypse, she might already have been preparing to marry.
But that person... still had not come to her home to ask for her hand, making her begin to doubt herself.
Thinking about it carefully, what was there about a girl born to a servant that made her worth seeking in marriage?
Had she thought too highly of herself?
It seemed so... When she had been with Fu Hua... she had been pampered again after so long that, without realizing it, she had started to think too highly of herself.
But she truly liked the time she spent with that person. Even if she could not be the principal wife, that would be enough...
"Mokou..."
Just as Fujiwara no Mokou's thoughts ran wild, a long-lost voice reached her ears once more. Her face instantly lit up with joy.
At that moment, she cast aside every anxious thought. Her heart held only happiness.
"You're here!"
Fujiwara no Mokou turned toward the voice with a long-lost smile.
But in the next instant, her smile froze. She quickly calmed down, took several steps back, and warily watched the newcomer. "Who are you?"
For that brief instant, she had thought Fu Hua had come. But the person before her was not "Fu Hua," but a woman.
This woman looked remarkably like Fu Hua. She had the same long hair, the same spirited features, the same