Keiko's words reverberated in my head.
His secret!
I hadn't been in the Edo period for long, but if there was a samurai with a secret, it would be anyone but my father. From everything I had heard about him, he was the dullest, most straightforward samurai in all of the Nagano countryside. I mean, the worst that servants said about him was that he demanded that the pond in the courtyard be kept crystal clear.
Keiko's candle flickered again, and I blinked, snapping out of my daze.
I reached into the cavity under the mat and pulled out the box. It was twice the size of the palm of my hand, all covered in engraved symbols and patterns.
I could feel Keiko's breath on my shoulder and she was staring at the box with as much amazement as I was.
"Such a pretty box," she murmured.
On the front of it was the lock, small, but seemingly sturdy. I ran my fingers over it, searching for any way to unlock it. There was no key in the space under the floor, and there was no other way to unlock the box.
"What about this?" Keiko asked, pulling out a hairpin and holding it out.
I turned the box to the light. The opening was tiny.
"You try. It must be easier for you to use your pin," I said.
She nodded and leaned in, her fingers carefully working on the lock. Her face was serious and focused, and for the first time since meeting Keiko, I noticed the intelligence in her eyes that I hadn't paid attention to before.
There was a soft click, and the lid of the box trembled.
"I think it worked," Keiko said, her eyes widening in surprise.
She sat back, waiting for me to open the lid. I reached forward, both curious and scared of what I might find.
Lifting the lid, I saw that the box was filled with papers. I quickly sifted through them, checking the bottom to make sure there was nothing else hidden inside.
"Letters… Documents…" I said, somewhat relieved. "I'd better study them in my room, where I can find more light."
"Yes, of course," Keiko nodded readily.
I looked at her trusting face, and my stomach turned.
"Let me escort you back to your room," I said.
She smiled shyly. "Don't worry, my lord. I'll find my way back. I was able to get here, after all."
I set the box down and pulled her in for a kiss. I felt sorry.
"Forgive me for all my injustice to you," I said. "I was such a fool."
Her breaths grew faster. "Don't say that. You did me no injustice. I'm yours, my lord, body and soul. You can hit me, you can love me, you can kill me – I will love anything you'd do to me."
"I'd never hit you, my precious," I said. "I tortured you enough, for which I'll be forever sorry."
"No!" she interrupted me. "You shouldn't be. I enjoyed our every moment together." She looked at me so purely, that I felt nauseated about my past transgressions. "Every single one."
We fell back onto the mat, and, short on breath, I kissed her neck, and chest, and her entire body. I lifted her robe and kissed and licked her gorgeous little breasts. She moaned, pressing my head closer to her skin.
"I'm sorry," I kept repeating, sucking and licking her breasts.
She twisted and turned from side to side, sinking her fingers into my back.
"I want you!" she exclaimed.
I wanted her, too. I penetrated her again, burning with desire to refill her pussy to the brim with my cum.
"I love it… I love it so much…" she breathed, smiling and biting her lip. "I love you!"
We thrust hungrily our hips into each other, until I came again, gritting my teeth, gazing right into her eyes, as she gazed back, shuddering and moaning. I felt like I was now able to read not only her mind, but her very soul.
When I finally pulled out and fell on the mat, she put her head on my chest and held my cock in her hands, caressing it lightly.
"I'll never disappoint you," she murmured. "I'll do anything you tell me to do to make you happy. Because I love you more than anything in the world."
We lay for a long time, and then stealthily sneaked into the dark corridor.
Back in my room, I lit a couple of candles and inspected the papers.
My father's writing – if it was my father's writing – was hard for me to read. But I couldn't allow anyone else to see it until I knew what it contained.
The first document was addressed to me.
"My son," it began, "these are my informal instructions to you in case of my death, as I can't bring myself to tell you this in person, and they don't belong in the lawyers' scrolls. First off, remember to honor your late mother, even if you learn things about her that might surprise you."
I stopped. Wait, what? Were these the types of secrets I was going to confront? What had my mother done? What were the things that might surprise me about her, obviously, not in a good way?
I sighed. This family's affairs were clearly not as straightforward as they seemed. My Edo-era report was about to get a lot more complicated…
"Second, you must swear on your own life to keep Keiko-sama in this household. The only reason for her to ever leave this home would be if the emperor's son offered to take her as his wife."
Keiko!
What a coincidence!
Or maybe not a coincidence… I hadn't realized my father cared for her this much. It seemed strange for a man of his age to be so deeply enthralled by a modest young woman who had no interest in power or success.
"Lastly, and most importantly, there is a great secret that you are going to uncover—if you can piece together three clues from the relevant letters in this box. This secret is so important that I didn't even know whether I wanted you to learn about it. However, even if you didn't, there was still a chance it would come to haunt you and our family, so I decided that you should be aware of it and determine for yourself the best course of action. I'll give you my advice, but that's all I can do now that I'm not around."
I slowly set the paper down on the table in front of me.
My soul felt weighed down by an impending doom.