"Oh?"
At those words, Nadare Rōga froze for a moment, then seemed to seize on something incriminating. The sneer on his face deepened, and he raised his voice deliberately so everyone present could hear. "It seems our ever-loyal Lord Asama Sandayu was quite 'diligent' about lining his own pockets while serving Lord Sōshun!
"Two million ryō!
"Tsk, tsk. Surely you couldn't have saved that much from your meager salary and Her Highness's acting fees?
"Could it be that you had a hand in Lord Early Spring's supposed squandering of the treasury back then?"
His vicious insinuations were calculated to strike at the heart. He was not merely trying to paint Sandayu as a corrupt hypocrite, but to thoroughly blacken Kazahana Sōshun's name and undermine the trust the film crew-and even Kazahana Koyuki-placed in Sandayu.
The crew exchanged glances, doubt creeping into their eyes.
Indeed, where had an old minister in exile found such an enormous sum?
Could Nadare Rōga really be right?
Was Sandayu a treacherous, corrupt official?
Kazahana Koyuki knitted her brows, her gaze on Sandayu full of conflicting emotions.
She refused to believe Sandayu would embezzle money, but the source of those Two Million Ryo was indeed a mystery.
Faced with this sudden slander and everyone's suspicious looks, Asama Sandayu did not panic. Instead, he straightened his hunched back and scoffed, his laugh brimming with contempt for Nadare Rōga's despicable tricks.
"Hmph! Only a scoundrel would think that way!"
His cloudy old eyes were unusually clear at that moment.
"I, Sandayu, have never lined my pockets. My conscience is clear before heaven and earth, and before Lord Sōshun.
"This money came to me honestly. It was heaven's blessing, proof that fate still held a shred of mercy for the Land of Snow!"
He drew a deep breath, as