Though Kourin could be seen mainly pacing in her room again, her expression showed something different this time. It already reached her that Seiichi was rescued under strange circumstances, as Takeru described it to her. Yes, that man personally reported the events to her and she wasn't surprised. But her eyes widened when Takeru told her that they found Seiichi fighting Oceanus.
She knew who Oceanus was and what that traitor was capable of. So it was no wonder why the news surprised her. Then again, she had never really known Seiichi for her to realize what that young man could do. However, she could tell that her late brother had a hand with it -- again. And was it possible that Seiichi's grandfather could also be involved in it?
The clan princess doesn't know the old man for her to make even a vague guess. One thing she was aware of, however, was that Kyoichi Yasuhara had always been known to be a formidable man. Hitoshi would always reiterate that. It was as if... her brother truly knew what that old man could do.
"You sure like pacing around here, my lady. Dahan-dahan lang at baka mahilo ka naman niyan."
Kourin smiled as she raised her head and saw both Shuji and Tetsuya entering her room. Hindi na siya nagulat sa pagdating ng mga ito at basta na lang pumasok sa kuwarto niya. Pero alam niyang nakakapagtaka pa rin ang biglaang pagdating ng mga ito roon.
"It's rare to see both of you here. Did something happen that I'm not aware of?"
"Wala naman. We're just two incredibly handsome young men looking for company in making sure our young leader isn't doing anything stressful again," Shuji bragged that only made her roll her eyes.
Pinagtaasan din niya ng kilay ang dalawang ito nang tingnan niya. "You've got to be joking, right?"
"Nope. We don't dare joke around in front of you, my lady," Tetsuya said and smirked.
"Yeah, right," she muttered and proceeded to the swivel chair near her study table. "But seriously speaking, bakit kayo nandito? The last thing I heard, both of you were still on a hunt for certain artifacts."
"I'm not looking for artifacts at this point, my lady. May ibang nangyari kaya kami napabalik dito. By the way..." Tetsuya paused and faced Shuji with a frown. "Did Lord Hitoshi ask you to look for something?"
Kourin instinctively looked at Shuji who only looked down. It appeared that he hadn't mentioned his mission to anyone but her.
"Oo, may iniutos siya sa akin na hanapin. An artifact that... I'm not even sure if it exists," was Shuji's answer.
She saw Tetsuya nod which only made her frown. "Weird. Why are you nodding? May alam ka ba sa tinutukoy ni Shuji?"
"Honestly, that's not the first time I heard of that answer whenever I'd ask that question to anyone affiliated with Lord Hitoshi. But Shuji's answer had already given me an idea of what he had to find. I can only think of one answer to that."
"And that is...?"
Tetsuya faced Kourin and stared hard at her. "The Four Swords of Ascension. And it means that your brother had given you a task greater than any of us had known."
Tuluyan nang nakuha niyon ang atensyon niya. "What do you mean? I know that the Four Swords belonged to certain groups of clans from hundreds of years ago. Pero ano’ng kinalaman n’on sa kapatid ko? And how did you know about the swords?" Honestly, with the way Tetsuya would say things to her, it seemed like he had been more aware of some of the secrets belonging to the Shrouded Flowers than she did. Bagaman hindi na nakakapagtaka iyon, hindi pa rin siya mapalagay, for some reason.
Her shadow guardian sighed, perhaps after contemplating whether or not he'd answer her questions. Moments later, he faced her. "To be honest, even I don't know if the Four Swords even existed. But several records that I've read stated that they do. The only problem was that the forgers of those swords had hidden them away as part of the test to those who the leaders of each group had predicted to change the fate of the Thorned Blades."
"Thorned... Blades? What is that?" Iyon yata ang unang pagkakataon na narinig niya ang mga salitang iyon. At mukhang ganoon din si Shuji.
But Tetsuya just shrugged and sat on one of the stools near her bookshelf. "There wasn't a clear explanation to that term, to be honest. At least, if I'm going to base it on the small number of records I've read. Ganoon kahirap hanapin ang impormasyon tungkol sa mga iyon. But if I'm guessing this right, Thorned Blades should refer to the four groups in which each of them had their respective chosen ones, as I'd like to call them. And in the Shrouded Flowers' case, I think Lord Hitoshi was so sure that it's you, Lady Kourin."
Nanlaki ang mga mata ni Kourin sa narinig. Honestly, she doesn't know what to make of that sentence. She could only scratch the back of her head as she shut her eyes. Not long after, she took a deep breath. "Seriously, for someone who's already dead, my brother still knows how to put pressure on me."
"But I'm sure you're aware of your brother's precognitive ability, my lady," Shuji said, making Kourin look at him. "That ability that usually activates whenever he'd read your journals, your answers to your brother's written questions, had what prompted him to do what he could to prepare everything and everyone."
Alam niya iyon. At alam din niya kung gaano kadelikado ang kakayahang iyon ng kapatid niyang iyon. "And yet the problem lies as to whether or not they'd believe him. Even if they were aware of his unique ability, my brother remained closed off about what he saw and what he knew about future events related to the Shrouded Flowers."
"Even so," Tetsuya spoke this time. "Lord Hitoshi knew you'd be able to figure it out sooner or later. Your insight was what he had feared from you all this time. At least, Shuji mentioned that Lord Hitoshi would say that to him from time to time."
Kourin couldn't help chuckling bitterly. A man like Hitoshi would fear a girl like her? Was her brother joking? At ano’ng “insight” ang pinagsasasabi ng mga ito?
"There wasn't a hint of a joke whenever Lord Hitoshi would say that to me, Lady Kourin," Shuji said as if responding to the questions she had in mind. "It was the same as he would also fear Lady Mari's abilities as the 13th Knight. Your insight about the situation and the Shrouded Flowers could truly push us through this battle with the Dark Rose."
Now the clan princess couldn't think of what to say to that. Even she could tell that Shuji wasn't joking as he would say those things to her. When she faced Tetsuya, the young man nodded, as if agreeing with what Shuji said. She heaved a sigh and looked outside the window. No clouds were in sight in the blue sky, which made her smile a little.
"Let's see if this insight I have would allow me to figure out the reason why the Dark Rose captured Seiichi at that time. If this is still about my brother, then I have to know what it was that they wanted from him," Kourin declared and faced the two shadow guardians who were looking at her with a frown.
"My lady, how are you supposed to do that?"
But Kourin smiled at Tetsuya before standing. "You'll know soon. But right now, I think I'd better go to the hospital and check on Seiichi. Getting close to him ㅡ again ㅡ is one way for me to draw out information from him, even though I know it would take some time."
"You have to realize, Lady Kourin, that Seiichi is one heck of a curious fellow. I should know since I've been doing my best to guard him since Lord Hitoshi died," Shuji warned with a smile. "He could be trying to figure you out, as well."
Kourin nodded. "I know that already. But perhaps I could use that curious mind of his for me to realize the truth. The Yasunaga clan, the four roses, the Iris Sword, and Seiichi ㅡ I have to figure out the truth how they all tie up together."
Maybe it was a little absurd to include Seiichi on the list. But at the moment, she had that feeling. The sight of the four roses alone was giving her headaches that could be tied to her missing memories. The very same symbol that she had asked Kana to use to find something for the clan. She didn't know how she became aware of that, though.
But she knew. If it was intuition, insight, or just a wild guess, she had no idea. It could also be an old memory. Whatever was her basis for trying to learn the truth, she had no choice at the moment but to rely on it.
"I'd better go."
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