Disclaimer: Please don't sue me; I own nothing recognisable.
The Diplomat's Daughter
Chapter One
It would be unfair to suggest that Saito Daichi didn't love his daughters equally; he just sometimes wished that some would be more like others, and that others would be more like, well… like him. He didn't pretend to understand them, nor did he pretend to try, but he couldn't help but feel that sometimes they would do this on purpose. And that sole purpose was to cause him an aneurysm.
He supposed it was his own fault for thinking that having successfully married off his eldest three into respectable families, the next would be easy. Simple. A piece of cake. But Takara was a jewel by name and precious by nature. She wasn't going to settle for just any old respectable husband. And despite the fact that she had several suitors vying for her hand, none of them had proven themselves worthy.
Takara, the youngest of four surviving children from his first marriage, had always been given special treatment and everything that she ever wanted. She was spoilt, of that there was no doubt, but who could deny a child so young when she had lost both her mother and elder sister to the same sickness? His eldest three daughters had already left home at that time- the first two married and the third a student at the Shinōreijutsuin, the Shinigami Academy, and Takara was subsequently surrounded by a comprehensive team of nurses, maids, two governesses, and a seemingly endless plethora of female family members.
Whilst she undoubtedly received the very best care available to a wealthy family, she was, perhaps, given too much license and she had grown to expect such lavish treatment, regardless of the situation.
Yet it was his youngest daughter that concerned him the most. Hisana. Born unto his fourth wife, his commoner wife, his most loved and treasured wife. He was under no illusion that his family felt he had shamed them by bringing such a woman into their home, but after a lifetime of duty and pleasing others, he had selfishly married for love, reputation be damned!
He had, of course, failed to mention that his previous two marriages had come to abrupt endings when his overzealous daughters had set about making life most miserable for the women involved, but Su-Mei, hardened by a life in the outermost districts of the Rukongai, had taken their pettiness in her stride. Most graciously, too. Humble, unaffected by wealth and power, kind and hardworking. Yes, she was a wife he could be proud of.
So much like her mother, Hisana was the blessing that came in the eighth year of their partnership. However, the fates had deemed him unfit to know such bountiful happiness and Su-Mei was taken from him as quickly as she had come. Still, Hisana was a joy to behold and he would always be grateful for her presence. He just wished that she could see how beautiful she really was, not just in looks but her entire being. Instead, it would appear that the Saito clan had made an impression on her and she now resigned herself to a life of servitude, existing entirely in the background, going unnoticed and never appreciated.
Afterall, who would want to associate with the daughter of an opium den whore?