Chapter 7
1152 Words
The bodies of Tarō and Jiro were found a few days after by a group of woodcutters in the forest a few days later.
“Attacked by bears they said, milord. And their swords and clothing most likely stripped by peasants,” Gen, one of Baron Shingo Matsuda’s retainers reported to him.
Tarō’s and Jiro’s corpses - or what remained of them - had been laid out on a white length of cloth before the baron in the rear courtyard of his manor, which was located quite a distance away from his father’s, Lord Matsuda’s, home. Where the baron chose to set up his household was a sign of a long-standing resentment between him and his sire. As far as he was concerned, the farther Shingo was from the elder Matsuda, the better. Which, in turn, suited the old man just fine.
Turning to the task at hand, the baron took a long hard look at the bodies. No detail escaped his probing gaze. Their outer garments were gone, with only their loincloths remaining. The bodies were thickly caked with blood and had both deep gashes and open wounds. Chunks of flesh from limbs and torsos were torn as if some wild animal - or animals - gnawed at their remains. Jiro’s left leg was torn from the knee, and both of Tarō’s arms were gone.
Incidentally, Jiro’s head was missing as well.
Attacked by bears … Hah! … Damn stupid fools! … If this was truly the work of bears, then my name isn’t Shingo! …
What’s more, the corpses were already decaying rapidly and were raising up an unholy stink of putrefaction. The flies buzzing over them were quickly increasing and were starting to become louder.
Baron Shingo, who happens to be an old hand at hiding his true intentions and diverting attention, took advantage of the gathering flies.
“Ugh! Remove these stinky carcasses from my sight! Take them far away into an open field for whatever stray dogs want to eat from them!” he yelled, waving a hand in front of him to drive away the smells and the pesky flies.
“Right away, milord.” Gen and three other retainers bundled up the corpses in the cloth covering, rolled and securely fastened it up before hauling it away.
Stupid fools! … How you two idiots bragged when I hired you to quietly kidnap that wench … ‘Child’s play, milord!’ you say … ‘We’ll be finished before the day is done!’ you say … Hah! … Well, look at you two now! … I should have known better than to hire you two incompetent idiots! …
Baron Shingo turned and walked away as whatever remained of the two ruffians he secretly hired were disposed of.
The consequences of incompetence!
Upon entering the back entrance of his manor, he turned to the left and walked along the corridor that led to his private quarters. As he was making his way there, he passed by an empty bedchamber. The sliding door entrance was closed but he knew what lay behind it.
A luxurious and sumptuously-decorated abode for Aryah, the Northern Valedonian woman who should have been his concubine.
Unfortunately, Lord Matsuda will never, ever stand for it.
Damn that old man! If he didn’t raise such a fuss, I wouldn’t have to resort to kidnapping the wench!
But that was how things usually stand with the baron and Lord Matsuda. Even though he was the eldest son, he was not his heir. Unfortunately, he was given too much freedom and was often over-indulged as a child. This resulted in a man who believed anything and everything was his for the taking - and that he would take whatever he wanted by any means necessary.
Well, he happened to be in the mood for a new concubine so who would be stupid enough to stop him? No one … except his very own father …
“It’s up to you how you wish to conduct your own personal affairs, Shingo. You’re a grown man with a household of your own. But your habit of acquiring a concubine or two year in and year out and then disposing of them once you’ve sated your lust for them is most unseemly. You have no children so far and you have been greatly neglecting your own wife. It is a great shame and a grave insult to her status. Besides, this will prove very bad for your health and constitution in the long run. It will also greatly affect the chances of these girls of ever receiving good marriage prospects as well as their social standing.”
“And what about you, Father? You’ve had your fill of concubines back in the day,” the baron retorted.
“I was but a young man back then, Shingo. But even in my youth, I have never indulged myself in the pleasures of the flesh like you have. I’m well aware of the numerous affairs you’ve had with other men’s wives even though you have no lack of bedmates in your own house, along with the s****l perversions you’ve been practicing!” the aged aristocrat scolded quite sternly.
Uptight, moralizing old fool!
His private chamber was located at the end of the corridor and he was almost there. He passed by another set of closed sliding doors and shuddered a bit. It happened to be the suite of his longsuffering wife, Lady Chiyo. His marriage to the beautiful but haughty and shrewish daughter of a neighboring lord was arranged in the hopes of reforming Shingo’s character and mending his wild ways. It proved to be an embarrassingly spectacular failure for both parties …
So Shingo bided his time, convincing himself that he hasn’t found the right woman yet. Until he first laid eyes on the foreign woman who played a unique stringed instrument during the annual New Year’s Day banquet and concert last year …
Yes, there was a certain unique masculine prestige in having a beautiful, exotic woman from the Western Commonwealth - a part of the world that many in Yashima have never even set foot on - as a concubine …
There must be another way to get that pretty little wench for myself!
Finally, he was opened the entrance to his bedchamber. The first thing he laid eyes on was a folded note on the table in his sitting room. Upon unfolding it and reading the single sentence inside, he became enraged.
I know it was you.
The letter carried the unmistakable official seal of Lord Matsuda.
- Writer
