A Rift Caused by a Letter

"Magistrate, the Wuwu Flow just sent someone over with a letter for you."

Jinhsi was handling official business, but when she heard the news, she could no longer attend to it.

She snatched the letter at once.

The messenger stared in bewilderment.

Jinhsi could hardly wait to open it.

Sitting alone at her desk, she broke open the letter bearing the Montelli Family's wax seal, her fingertips betraying a trace of barely perceptible eagerness.

As the paper unfolded, a faint scent of ink drifted out. Her gaze fell on the writing, and her breathing slowed without her noticing.

"Three months have passed, and the irises are in bloom again.

I stand on the manor terrace, gazing into the distance at the ripples that run through that sea of flowers in the moonlight. I think it would be the flowers' good fortune if eyes that knew how to appreciate such a sight could see it.

I often hear of a magistrate of Jinzhou City, accomplished at a young age, who has won the respect of the entire city through her kindness and decisiveness. When people speak of her, there is a natural trust in their voices, as though they are talking about a lamp that never goes out.

I have never seen her in person, but I have seen the people of Jinzhou illuminated by her light-and that is enough.

Whenever I hear people who have passed through Jinzhou City speak of the peaceful, thriving life they saw in its streets and alleys, of children chasing one another and playing outside the school, and of the elderly playing chess in peace beneath the trees, I find myself wondering: how much pressure must that magistrate bear beneath these peaceful days?

Twelve years have passed in the blink of an eye. The trembling little girl of those days has now become a revered magistrate. Perhaps even you never imagined back then that you would be able to do the job well?

I hear that you drove off the War Threnodian, the Threnodian of War. Unfortunately, I had no chance to see it with my own eyes.

There must be a wonderful story behind it. If there is an opportunity, I would like to hear you tell me all about it, right there amid this sea of flowers, just the two of us.

Everything above is nonsense.

Jinhsi, it has been a long time since I last wrote. Montelli Manor will be holding a reception next weekend.

It is nothing so formal as a social gathering. It is simply that the flowers at the manor are blooming so beautifully that I feel I ought to invite a few people whose presence would be an honor to the manor to enjoy them with me.

Might I have that honor?"

The Montelli crest was stamped where the signature should have been.

Jinhsi carefully folded the letter and returned it to its envelope, but no matter how she tried, she could not suppress the smile on her lips.

"Twelve years..." she murmured, her voice carrying an indescribable emotion, something like surprise and something like sudden realization.

The person who had been writing to her since she was a child had written for a full twelve years, yet they had never truly met.

Sometimes, while handling official business in Jinzhou City, she would wonder whether the person who wrote those love letters might be standing somewhere on a street corner, watching the city from afar, watching the life that flourished under her governance from afar.

Those letters had accompanied her all her life. When the pressures of school weighed on her, a letter would somehow appear on her desk, encouraging and supporting her. Or when she was bored out of her mind, a letter would appear before her, sharing with her the wit she never found at school and the scenery she could not see in the borderlands.

"Clear my schedule for next weekend."

The maidservant paused. "Magistrate, the official business on those days..."

"Postpone it." Jinhsi rose and walked to the window, looking out at the blue sky. The smile on her lips could no longer be hidden, turning into the faintest trace of girlish delight.

"It's been twelve years. He's finally willing to reveal his identity."

She turned around, her eyes curving into a smile, lit with a certain resolve.

"Montelli, is it? I'll go. I want to see who you really are."

The maidservant accepted the order and withdrew. As she passed through the corridor, she ran straight into Sanhua, who was approaching. Dressed in training clothes, with a fine sheen of sweat still unwiped from her temples, Sanhua had evidently just finished her morning practice.

"Lady Sanhua, there's a letter for you."

Sanhua stopped, her gaze falling on the letter sealed with Montelli wax. Her expression remained as calm as still water. She reached out and accepted it at an unhurried pace, as though it were nothing more than an ordinary official document.

"Understood. You may go about your work."

The maidservant turned and left.

Sanhua stood where she was, watching until the maidservant disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Only when the footsteps had faded completely did her fingers tighten slightly. She held the letter close to her chest, quickened her pace, and turned into a deserted spot.

She leaned against a pillar, took a deep breath, and opened the letter with trembling fingers.

It had been a long time since she had received a letter from him. The last one had come three months ago.

Three months. Ninety-two days.

She waited for letter after letter, each time pretending to pass the place where the mail was received by chance, each time saying casually, "It's nothing. Just looking."

But only she knew that rereading the old letters every day had become a bedtime habit. The creases in the paper had grown deeper from repeated folding, and in places, the writing had even blurred beneath the touch of her fingertips.

Was he still well?

At last, she unfolded the letter, and the familiar scent of ink greeted her.

"Sanhua,

The flood season has returned to Ragunna.

I remember that at this time every year, the river outside the city always swells, and patches of moss sprout from the cracks between the stones of the embankment, making them very slippery to walk on.

When I was little, I once chased after a messenger and fell flat on my back on that stretch of embankment. My scraped knee took three days to heal. That was the first time I sent you a letter.

I heard some time ago that the Threnodian of War had come back to life again. Were you injured on the battlefield?

Oh, I almost forgot. You are the magistrate's bodyguard now, so I imagine you would not need to go to the front lines?

Congratulations on finding a good place for yourself and leaving those bitter days behind.

It was my neglect that I did not write for three months. By way of apology, there will be a reception at Montelli Manor next weekend.

I would like to invite you.

This meeting is twelve years overdue."

The Montelli crest was stamped where the signature should have been.

Sanhua lowered the letter and bowed her head in silence for a long time.

She looked down at her hands-hands that had held a blade for more than a decade, too rough to look like a woman's.

She had never cared about that. Training, fighting, guarding the magistrate: these were her duties, and the life she had chosen.

But now, looking at the words "this meeting is twelve years overdue," her fingertips could not help brushing gently over the writing, as though touching something fragile.

Twelve years.

The letters had come intermittently ever since she was a calamity whom everyone wanted to drive away.

Sometimes they were long-winded accounts of flowers outside a window blooming and withering.

Sometimes they contained only a few words, asking whether she had been hurt lately.

At first, she thought someone was watching her in secret, but no matter where she went, the letters always found their way to her at one time or another.

After reading enough of them, she grew accustomed to it.

She even came to regard those letters as her only warm light.

She read them carefully. She read every one many times.

Because aside from him, no one shared anything with her, and no one cared about her.

One year.

Two years.

Three years.

Gradually, that person had become deeply engraved in her heart.

Those letters were her secret. She had never told anyone about them, not even Jinhsi.

Sanhua folded the letter again, handling it even more gently than she usually did when cleaning her blade.

She raised her head and looked at the patch of blue sky visible through the far end of the corridor, a faint glimmer in her eyes that no one else could read.

She composed herself and tucked the letter into her pocket.

When she stepped into Jinhsi's office.

Jinhsi was holding the letter, savoring it carefully, a smile still on her lips.

Sanhua spotted the familiar envelope in Jinhsi's hand at once.

Her breath caught.

When Jinhsi saw Sanhua arrive, she put away her smile and set the letter on the desk.

That also allowed Sanhua to see the whole letter clearly-it was exactly the same as the one she had.

Her breathing grew rapid.

"Sanhua, you're just in time. Help me deliver these files to the Office of Military Affairs."

Seeing that she seemed a little unwell, Jinhsi asked with concern, "What's wrong, Sanhua? Are you feeling ill?"

Sanhua took a deep breath.

"I'm fine."

Then she asked,

"Magistrate, that letter on your desk..."

When she mentioned it, Jinhsi looked at the letter and smiled gently. "It was sent by someone very important to me."

Someone very important...

Sanhua's expression stiffened.

The words slipped out. "How important?"

Jinhsi failed to notice anything wrong with Sanhua. At the question, her face reddened slightly, and she became shy in her speech. "I suppose... he's the one I love."

The one she loves...

The one she loves...

Sanhua nearly lost her footing. A chill began to pour from her body, and countless tiny ice crystals formed in the air at once.

"Oh, why are you asking so much?" Jinhsi shyly covered her burning cheeks, completely oblivious to Sanhua's condition.

Only when the chill struck her face did she realize something was wrong with Sanhua.

"Why did it suddenly get so cold? What's wrong, Sanhua?"

Jinhsi's concern jolted her out of her near-loss of control.

She immediately suppressed the turbulent Resonance Power and said calmly,

"I'm fine."

She stepped forward, picked up the files, and turned to leave.

Jinhsi was still a little worried.

"Would you like to go to Huaxu Academy and have Baizhi examine you?"

"No!"

Sanhua's voice suddenly turned shrill.

The sudden shout left Jinhsi stunned.

Sanhua realized it too and hurriedly apologized. "I'm sorry, Magistrate. I'm not feeling quite myself. I'll have Baizhi examine me later."

With that, she hurried away with the files in her arms, as though fleeing from something.

Jinhsi watched her retreating figure and thought to herself, Strange. Why did Sister Sanhua suddenly... I hope she's all right.

She opened a cabinet, placed the letter from her desk on top of hundreds of neatly stacked letters, and closed it.

Then she sat down and began to write a reply. Although she did not know who that person really was, knowing he was at Montelli was enough.

When the day came, she would go there, drag that mysterious fellow out, and demand to know why, after writing to her for so many years, he had refused to tell her who he was, what his name was, or where he was, leaving her waiting all those years without even being able to write back.