[YUZUKI]
Yuzuki didn't sleep that night, nor the next, and certainly not on the third night after she had threatened Rinko's life. She had kept going, obsessed with everything but Yamashita and the mating ceremony.
For a moment in that haze and rage, she contemplated what her council members had suggested earlier. Maybe she would host the mating ceremony. But that wouldn't give her the chance to explore Yamashita like she had wanted to.
She needed to go back.
One more time.
And while she was so desperate, Yudkin knew that she would ruin everyone who tried to mess with her. She didn't care that her body had gotten so worn out that she was so close to losing her mind.
All she wanted was answers.
About Matsui.
About Yamashita's weakness.
About Ayami and how Ayami could be useful to her over the next months or years until she got her Matsui and brought down Kazuya. It was not easy, but she already knew that and had made her peace with it.
She didn't know if this was eternity or if this was the last chance she was getting.
She needed her vengeance, and no one would stand in her way. She would bring them all down. Perhaps that was why on the fourth day, she stepped out of her chambers, looking haggard as fuck.
"Rinko, prepare yourself. We are going to the river," Yuzuki ordered and Rinko sighed. She saw the way that her queen was struggling to even keep her eyes open, yet Yuzuki was determined to get back on schedule.
It had been two weeks since she had stepped out of the palace or even gone to get some air. She needed to breathe and yet as she stepped out her first command was to make sure that the plans were placed.
This was not what Rinko had imagined, but what else was there for the woman who had been sworn to serve the craziest woman in the realm?
Then again, it was a good thing that Yuzuki had stepped out because honestly, if she stayed cooped up in the chambers more, then the council members would put her to sleep, and she would end up killing them all.
It was not easy dealing with Yuzuki, but even Yuzu knew that about herself. She knew that a lot was happening, and she needed to catch her breath one too many times. She hated what she had turned into, but for Matsui, she had to keep going.
"Yes, your majesty," Rinko said, not putting up a fight.
"You won't challenge me on this?" Yuzuki asked, curious. But then again, there wasn't anything that Rinko could do for the woman that would make her change her mind.
It was a truth that Rinko had gotten to learn in the worst of ways and now she had nothing to say to the woman.
She was her servant, and if Yuzuki wanted to be challenged, then it wouldn't be Rinko who did that. The woman had grown to understand the kind of logic that Yuzuki had done.
There could come a time when they will be on the same page, but until then, Rinko wouldn't complain.
"No, your majesty. You look like you need a break, and if the river trip is the only way for you to catch a breath, then I shall do as you wish without complaint," Rinko said, and Yuzuki felt something tug at her heart.
"I suppose the river trip is just going to wear me out, eh?" Yuzuki said absentmindedly before she turned to Rinko;
"I'll go get some sleep. You will go to the river and check if Ayami is there. We need to know if her schedule changed or if that had just been a coincidence and the intel was flawed."
"Your majesty," Rinko began, and Yuzuki raised a brow at the woman.
"What is it?"
"Other servants and I are going to the river daily, to keep up appearances. I figured that this was important, and if we went once and disappeared, the target would be suspicious," Rinko said respectfully.
Yuzuki stared at her like she was not sure what the fuck the woman was on about. A lot of things were suspicious, and instinctively, Yuzuki reached out to Rinko, grabbing her by the neck.
She hated traitors, and right now, it seemed a lot like Rinko had been playing her. Maybe it was because she was tired from all the work she had been doing, or maybe she just had had enough.
She couldn't take any more betrayals, and goddess help Rinko if she was a traitor, because Yuzuki was not exactly the most forgiving person out there. Anyone who had long interacted with her knew that by now.
"Explain, very carefully, because if I sense a lie from you, I will rip your vocal cords out of your body," Yuzuki warned, and Rinko nodded frantically.
She knew that this was a sign that she had to be careful. Yuzuki was not the kind of woman to be messed with and while Rinko was scared of her when Kuramitsu, right now, the rage was one and the same.
"It is what you trained us for, your majesty. You said to be intelligent and useful, otherwise we would be…"
"…Sitting potatoes," three words rolled off Yuzuki's lips with so much ease like she had spoken int a hundred and one times and yet she had no recollection of what had happened.
She knew that there would be challenges when she had woken up in Kuramitsu's body, but what the hell was this? So much seemed to have taken root, and Yuzuki Fukada wasn't even certain that life would ever be worth living without Matsui.
Yuzuki couldn't let anything stand between her and the woman she loved. Not even the kingdom that she was supposed to care for and love so very much that nothing came between her and Kurayamis.
Matsui would.
And Yuzuki would let her.
But where the fuck was Matsui then?
"What did you find?" Yuzuki asked, her tone unwavering. She knew that there was a lot that was pending on her end, but she also needed to understand why Rinko had gone through with the plan that was so dangerous.
"She has been looking for you. Ayami Araki believes that she needs to see you. The high warlock cast a spell on one of the servants to look like you, and Ayami invited you to the mating ball. It was a personal invite, almost like she was intrigued.
"There was no ill intent in her voice, but just like with everyone outside of Kurayami, we have been careful. Ayami is to get her answer for you tomorrow," Rinko reported, and Yuzuki's hold on her throat loosened.
She looked like she couldn't believe she had an intelligence team embedded as servants. Then again, she could remember fragments of what it meant to have women like Rinko around her.
For a queen who was known to hide every time, and that no one knew her face it would never make sense for her to surround herself with regular servants. And for the first time since she had woken up, Yuzuki felt her mouth curling up in a smile.
"I'll go rest. Prepare what you must," Yuzuki said as he released Rinko before disappearing to her chambers, leaving a confused servant rubbing her neck.