Main World.
Spring, Year 25 of Konoha.
Imperial Palace, Consort Xin's Bedchamber.
Spring sunlight filtered through the thin window gauze, casting faint patterns of light and shadow across the floor. Outside, the snow in the New Capital had completely melted. Tender green buds sprouted on the branches, and the scent of earth and grass filled the air.
Kushina sat at the edge of the bath, her long red hair draped wetly over her shoulders. Steam swirled around her, flushing her cheeks slightly. This year, she was... no longer young, but the Youth-Preserving Pill kept her face looking as it had in her early twenties. Her skin was smooth, without a single wrinkle at the corners of her eyes. She leaned against the side of the bath with her eyes closed, seemingly dozing.
Rin Nohara knelt behind her, holding a damp cloth and gently wiping Kushina's shoulders and back. Her movements were light and steady, as though she were performing a task that required intense concentration. She was seventeen that year and had been in the Empire for five years. Five years ago, Toyotomi Yinglang had brought her back from death, her memories had been wiped, and she had lived on with an entirely new identity.
She was Consort Xin's maid.
But Kushina had never treated her as a maid.
"Rin." Kushina's voice was languid, carrying a trace of post-bath relaxation. "What are you thinking about?"
Rin Nohara's hand paused slightly.
"I was thinking about His Majesty." Her voice was soft, as though she were revealing some unspeakable secret.
Kushina opened her eyes and turned to look at her. There was no surprise or reproach in those blue eyes, only a faint, knowing calm.
"What about him?"
"About... why he's so good to me." Rin Nohara lowered her head, unconsciously rubbing