The sliding door was tightly shut, and the screen was open.
Inside the room, Kasahara Fumi was dressed in a wedding kimono adorned with golden phoenixes, kneeling and half-lying down. Her ticulously powdered white neck bore silently dropping locks of her impeccably styled orange-red hair, and her small, snow-white feet, devoid of socks, were exposed in the firelight.
Upon Fujiwara Reya’s entry, Kasahara Fumi instinctively lowered her head in greeting.
It was unclear if it was due to a guilty conscience or the realization of her status as a wife, but she lowered her head almost to the ground. However, to preserve the powder on her forehead and her neatly styled hairline, she didn’t let her forehead touch the floor.
Fujiwara Reya observed all these subtle actions.
He sat down beside Kasahara Fumi and smiled, "I apologize for keeping you waiting!"
Kasahara Fumi bit her lower lip slightly and said nothing.
Feeling that anything she said would be used against her, she simply refused to give him the opportunity.
Fujiwara Reya turned to look at her, "What a beautiful outfit."
Hearing this clear and bright voice, Kasahara Fumi slightly lifted her head, "Thank you."
As she spoke, her delicate nose tipped upward slightly, and her breathtakingly beautiful face bore a fleeting hint of a smile, which quickly disappeared.
Fujiwara Reya waved his hand.
The maid brought in so food and wine, along with a small wooden box and a little brazier. Then another pair of maids entered, replacing the screen painted with cranes with one depicting a scene from "The Tale of Genji."
Finally, Fujiwara Reya instructed the maid to turn off the chandelier, leaving only the brazier to illuminate the room.
The flickering flas dimly lit her vision, and Kasahara Fumi’s gaze caught her own reflection as she blinked repeatedly, the hairpin in her hair glinting.
The alluring and enchanting paintings on the screen filled the entire room with an irresistible and heart-pounding ambiguous atmosphere.
"Aren’t you going to look?" Fujiwara Reya asked while sipping his wine.
Kasahara Fumi discreetly glanced at the screen.
The beginning of the colorful painting depicted a monk and a young widow alone together in a room. The technique of the artwork rendered the figures vivid and lifelike.
The second part of the painting showed the monk lunging at the young widow, attempting to force himself upon her. Though she struggled fiercely, her clothing’s hem was already in disarray, the two entangled together, the widow’s expression dazed with pleasure, her tea-colored tongue extended.
The third part depicted so young monks outside the room.
They peered curiously into the room, barely able to suppress their heightened excitent.
The fourth part showed the room’s door being knocked down. The widow tried to escape and hide, but her spirit, frightened out of her body, turned into a fierce female ghost. Imdiately after, she turned back to attack the monks, pulling hard on their belongings with her mouth.
Kasahara Fumi watched for quite a while, furrowing her brows slightly, "Why look at this?"
"Under normal circumstances, I would explain so of the Buddhist theories and thoughts contained in the painting, but right now..." Fujiwara Reya shifted his body closer to her and said, "Right now, I just want to look at the book with you."
"..."
Kasahara Fumi stared at him in silence for a mont, then tightened the collar of her wedding kimono.
Showing a book to one’s superior, this subordinate is too much... she thought in irritation, vowing to record a major derit against him upon returning to Tokyo, preventing his future promotion!
"Do you really have nothing to say?" Fujiwara Reya looked at her with amusent.
The light shining on her face, making her look as noble and beautiful as a woman from the Imperial court, enhanced by her Kyoto-red lips in all their "fiery red" glory.
"..."
Kasahara Fumi slightly furrowed her elegant brows.
Always straightforward, now she found her path blocked by a wall.
She could either turn left or right.
After a long silence, Kasahara Fumi asked in her usual flat tone, "You should go out. As the host, you should attend to the other guests."
"Mrs. Miki can handle the other guests."
"...then go accompany your Mrs. Riho."
"Mrs. Riho wouldn’t mind coming to see Mrs. Fukaeri first."
"I’m not a ’Mrs.’!"
"So you’re saying the wedding was just your trick on then."
"I wasn’t lying!"
Suddenly, a guilty anger surged, and Kasahara Fumi stood up abruptly.
"Stay if you like, I’m leaving now."
"Oh, why is that?" Fujiwara Reya sat leisurely on the tatami, making no move to stop her.
"I don’t want to be toyed with anymore!" Kasahara Fumi, recalling the inexplicable wedding, felt a strong revulsion. Even Fujiwara Reya, sitting before her, was lumped in with the schers.
Fujiwara Reya didn’t move an inch, "I ca here to have a private heart-to-heart with you. You see, I’m in formal attire, and so are you. The room’s atmosphere is quite romantic and elegant, isn’t it ideal for a chat?"
"I don’t want to talk!"
Kasahara Fumi was frustrated by her own exasperation.
Having thought she could leave boldly, she found herself stuck after standing up, compelled to oblige him by listening further.
"Actually, it’s not about annoying matters, just setting others aside and opening up about inner thoughts. You don’t have to worry about being rough with you—if the director found out I dare be rough with you, she might very well strangle . Of course, if you don’t want to listen, I’m not forcing you."
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