Takaba Akihito had just finished his daily sword practice and was thinking of a quick bath followed by dinner when the daimyo’s personal valet, Toda Ranmaru, came to fetch him.

“The lord wants to see you,” said the valet, who was Takaba’s senior by a few years but still wore the hairstyle of a teenager. “He said to come as you are.”

“Do ( Read more... )