Warning: Description of irresponsible hunting practices.

Chapter 26: Atonement

AZURA

Things only appeared to get worse and worse every time Azura turned her back from Corrin. That morning, Corrin voiced her decision about her pregnancy, much to Azura's dismay, and she could understand the reasoning behind her choice, but it didn't mean that she liked it in the least.

It was already problematic that Xander had to find out, but Takumi…? From all the facts and observations that Azura pieced together, Takumi must've been affected first-hand by Corrin's affair with Ryoma with the subsequent revelation that their blood-ties were a lie, which also explained how Iago got this information through Takumi.

The only consolation Azura could find was the fact that Corrin was intent on convincing everyone aware that the child she was carrying was from a different man, and not Ryoma. But the damage was already done.

She found Takumi later, brooding in a corner of his room and she found out that he's been taking out his anger on the bed, sheets and pillows viciously torn apart and the bedposts broken. The next thing she noticed was his feet, purple for kicking the furniture in a tantrum, she presumed.

"Let me see them", she asked when she approached him, making him turn his face to her. His eyes were bloodshot and had a runny nose. Only gods knew how hard he must've bashed his foot against the furniture to finally break the wood.

Takumi allowed Azura to treat his injured feet in silence; she didn't try to force a conversation when they both know exactly what was happening. Takumi was within his rights to feel nothing but disdain towards the aberrant child, his would-be nibling from that incestuous union.

There would be a better time to think about Corrin's decision to keep the baby, as for now they needed to stay strong together until their plan to unmask King Garon unraveled.

Azura went back and forth from the apothecary as she healed Takumi's injuries, he would flinch in reaction to the pain, but he appeared to impersonate the calm after the storm. "… How are you holding up?"

"Better", he muttered, retrieving his foot from her touch.

"Can I trust you to not do anything reckless after I leave you?" she asked, couldn't hide the small irritation she felt towards the thought.

Takumi sighed, his head fell back. "I can't promise you that."

"But can I ask you for something else?" Before he could agree, Azura's mind was upon the emotions that triggered Takumi's rampage. Nothing useful could be noted of it, but at least she needed to remind him of what was at stake. "Don't take it out on Corrin, no matter how strongly you feel. Right now she's in a fragile state and will need a lot of support, so… can you bear with this until the very end?", she inquired looking at him dead in the eye.

He furrowed his brows and then shook his head rapidly.

"… I don't want to hurt Corrin", he said with a shaky voice, a little bit louder than before, his shoulders stifling as he curled into his skinny frame. "I'm just…—I mean, I don't think I can hate her after all we went through together. But I just don't want to see that pregnant belly grow and always be reminded of what happened. How can I cope with that?"

His eyes were wide open, and Azura could still see the glint of wetness as his jaw was tense with restrained anger.

"How do I get rid of these feelings?" he whispered, the force abandoned his voice with that last question.

"You don't. But it's up to you how you decide to deal with them. Just don't keep them bottled up until they're too much to contain. I'd be more worried if you didn't get upset because of this."

"At least one of us is cool-headed", Takumi sighed but his shoulders were still stiff. "But I'll behave. Promise."

…

The long-awaited arrival of their King had come a little sooner than what everyone expected, the Nohrian base established inside Mokushu grew agitated with the constant awareness that such a prominent and terrible figure was among them.

Of course, Azura wasn't there to meet King Garon, as her true whereabouts were made a mystery with a widespread knowledge that both Corrin and Takumi went missing after Iago's fiasco. But anyone could put their guesses on the air, many agreed that it was for the better that someone so unreliable as Corrin would remain largely uninvolved in this war, for they needn't a moral compass to hold them back. In Corrin's mind this was exactly what she didn't want, but war's meaning didn't need to adapt to her personal beliefs, but Corrin must've learned that by now.

The dawn after receiving King Garon, Azura met with Leo after his family's reunion with the King, the thing using his Father's skin, and Leo seemed to have a few shades of color on his already pale skin. He had already too many things to worry about, but she couldn't help herself but to ask him what was wrong.

"…He is seemingly interested on forcefully seizing Izumo."

"What? But Izuno is a neutral land!"

He shakes his head, wearing a deep frown. "…It's a provocation. He claims to know that Hoshido and Izumo forged a secret alliance not long ago. I presume that before dying, Iago must've disclosed this information to King Garon through a messenger, assuming that he pulled that out of Prince Takumi when he was his prisoner. I could ask him to confirm, but it's not important. Izuno will be under the attack of the Nohrian army whether it's true or not."

Azura felt a rock fall into the pit of her stomach at the thought about Iago contacting the King on such matters. She knew that this was a possibility from the beginning, it didn't fare well for Corrin in the least, but Garon knowing about it could give him the upper hand at the time of their final encounter. Azura wondered how well-prepared Corrin would be for this?

"This won't change our plans significantly, but I've been preparing to prevent the worst outcome. We'll stick to the plan, send Corrin and Takumi up ahead in secret and they'll use that chance to warn Archduke Izana of the attack. There shouldn't be any visible hoshidan forces in there as long as they focus on protecting their borders and respecting Izuno's apparent neutrality… However, we cannot discard the possibility of hidden hoshidan spies within Izuno. I'll have to remind them to be aware of that."

Azura nodded. Maybe it was safer to send them away while King Garon was close around. It was clear that taking any more unnecessary risks could potentially ruin their entire plan. It was bad enough that Corrin was adamant about her pregnancy.

Even Xander seemed to be aware of how dangerous it was to let Corrin stay, at risk of being discovered by his 'Father', as Xander still showed that he deeply cared about her in spite of their clashing points of view.

From what Azura heard later that day, Xander arranged a ship set to sail to the west in order to send the most gravely injured soldiers of their military campaign back home. He probably wanted to use this chance to send Corrin back too…

Of course, Leo was planning way ahead of Xander, as he instructed Felicia to disguise herself as her master to deceive Xander. And where Takumi would be under regular watch, Jakob, Corrin's butler, would disguise himself as the Hoshidan Prince to not raise suspicion. Corrin and Takumi would be taking a small carriage with Gunter, they would arrive to Izuno in a matter of a few days. Leo predicted they'd be in Izuno with at least two days ahead of the rest of the army. It was more than enough time, they hoped.

In the meantime, Azura and Leo would stick together, prepare themselves when the moment of the attack.

…

TAKUMI

He stared at her for a long time after she fell asleep; it was hard to look at anything other than the provision crates and her, snoring softly as her head lolled against her shoulder a few feet away from him. To be constricted inside such a narrow place like this enclosed wooden wagon made it impossible to look elsewhere. Couldn't look out at the windows for too long either, there wasn't much to look outside but trees and clouds, Gunter's broad back while he maintained his horse on course. The fact that he found the sight of Corrin more entertaining to observe than the scenery was troubling, to say the least.

Nothing about Corrin was ever simple. He should be angry, he should be distraught, not only for the series events that led to her pregnancy… but also because she had the nerve of wanting the child even after she made him fight her.

He understood now what she tried to make him do, but he couldn't comprehend why she wanted to do it in such a violent manner, not with a mind contorted like hers. Were these mood-swings part of the dragon she was? Or could they be blamed to the pregnancy? Could they be both at once?

Regardless of the causes, he couldn't distance himself from Corrin, because now more than ever he could be useful. She needed his support, she needed his bow, and he wasn't going to let her down again.

His hand stretched towards his Fujin Yumi, resting close to her Yato; their respective weapons finally at each other's reach. He always felt more comfortable if he carried the yumi at all times, but now he just felt weird about it… he only wanted to let it be next to her for a while longer.

After a long sleep, a strange impulse coursed through him, easing him awake. Before he could reason it, he was on his fours and with his face inches away from Corrin's

Was there anything he wished to prove to himself by leaning this close to her face? Was there anything to be gained from this? His hand found its way on the right side of her face, his thumb touching the soft cloth of the eyepatch when his lips grazed lightly against the corner of her unsuspecting mouth, too cautious of pressing himself too close or even letting his breath come out of his nose, too afraid to wake her from her slumber. Taking any more from this silence would be a mistake. He only dared to close his mouth against the eyepatch, shuddering lightly when he realized that he couldn't draw out anything beyond that touch, except the lingering feeling of nausea that reverberated from the back of his head and down to his loins.

"This is messed up", he muttered, parting away from her immediately. He only bore the sting of shame for even acting on his own curiosity. But it was all beyond the shame.

Even if his feelings for her devolved into something so primal, the trauma of his captivity had thoroughly destroyed and tainted the enjoyment he would get from any sensual indulgence… But why did it have to be Corrin of all people?

She was beautiful, that he couldn't deny, but she was the one he was supposed to call his Sister; she was the missing sister that defined the lives of his broken family, and she was also the one who brought him the most of despair. Seeing her as the object of his desires wouldn't wash away the entire trauma he endured in his imprisonment, but the irrational part of him wanted it to work.

Get a hold of yourself. This is not what you want.

A few minutes after, the car seemingly passed under a large rock, shaking them violently on their resting place. Takumi peeked out briefly to check on Gunter, who still steered his horse without interruption through this path across the grove. The climate was getting warmer as they advanced north, towards Izuno's borders. The car shook once more, making Takumi fall back on his tiny sitting spot, and he grunted in discomfort as the back of his head hit the wagon's wall.

Corrin stirred in her sleep and took a sharp breath, startling him. When she opened her left eye, she weakly smiled when her gaze met him. He simply looked away, feeling a small surge of embarrassment.

An hour later, they stopped the car, they'd have to set up their camp before dark and keep a steady pace for the next day… They wouldn't be starting a fire tonight either, just a precaution to avoid drawing attention to them, Gunter explained as he fed his tired steed.

Rarely the older man talked directly to Takumi, but didn't ever direct any apparent disdain to him through his aloof behavior. Gunter was a surprisingly reliable man for his age, he didn't complain once when he started to do his own chores even when he spent most of the day on his horse.

However, though it was obvious that Gunter was close to Corrin, there was some sort of forceful formality between them… Takumi would think that it had something to do with the most recent developments in Corrin's life, as how she had to accept that she grew up as a prisoner and Gunter had lied to her face during her whole life… it'd be impossible to not get even a little resentful for all of that. Was Gunter's strict servitude his own way to atone for his sins?

Takumi did help even though nobody asked him. Their wagon had a few supplies for one its size, they could have done a little better if they each had their own horse to ride, but Corrin insisted that she didn't want to ride on horseback.

Perhaps she started to truly care about her unborn child. It wasn't a very pleasant idea.

After he finished surveying the area—he heard the gentle song of water streaming nearby, the woods weren't terribly thick and there were plenty of inoffensive wild animals around—it'd be a while before the sunset, so he had a little more time left before they'd start a campfire.

"I want to go bring some water", he said, after placing his Fujin Yumi under his arm, grabbed an extra bow with a quiver and a pair of water gourds. Corrin wordlessly followed him after Gunter reassured them that he'd be fine on his own. He believed him.

Just a she thought, a few minutes away there was a creek and he walked with a little more caution as to not slip on the wet stones guiding the streams. They had little depth, fish nowhere to be found, so the water would have to suffice for now. He didn't realize how dry his mouth was until he scooped some with his hands and drank. He also decided to wash his face with the cold water, rid of the troubling thoughts that invaded him throughout the journey.

And when he turned to his right, he saw Corrin's bare feet standing in the way from where he took water.

"Hey, I was drinking right here!" he grunted, and Corrin was only slightly startled. Was she spacing out? She only looked back at him and smiled softly.

"I just wanted to soak my feet a little. This feels very nice."

It was such a mundane thing, Takumi couldn't be mad about it. He could recall seeing a distant Azura do the same at the pond in Shirasagi's Castle, sometimes could catch Queen Mikoto doing the same, never bothering to understand what it meant. Takumi shuddered and walked past her to find a better spot to fill up the water gourds; he didn't want to think about how similar Corrin was to their Mother now of all times.

"You're so weird", he retorted without looking back. He started to fill up the second gourd. "Just don't go around walking over the stream, the rocks are slippery and nobody is going to like that—"

When he turned his face to look back at her, he flinched as the water splashed on his face. "What the—" Corrin had kicked the stream up playfully. "Knock it off!"

He wasn't angry, but it was silly to suddenly find Corrin splattering the water towards him, as if she was some child.

"Come on, it's just a little water!" she teased, and instead of bothering to speak to her again, Takumi swung his arm against the flow of the water, dashing it towards her. She snickered as she drew back just to leap on the stream again with precision.

The water sprinkled all over his clothes no matter how much he moved back and forth, Corrin somehow didn't care about being about getting her tunic wet as the corners of her mouth were pulled into a hearty laughter. This Corrin was so different from the depressing mad woman she's been in the last few weeks, and somehow she still felt like the same person.

The playfulness in which she kept daring him to fight harder made Takumi feel invigorated, not trying to win or to prove anything, but just to step up on her game. Before he realized, his face started to feel sore for some reason, as he's been laughing for a while now.

How long has it been since he genuinely laughed for anything? It felt so good, and it only took a silly dabber to let it out. And maybe Corrin didn't plan on this, but this brief instant of simple frivolity managed to lift an invisible weight over his heart even if just for one moment.

For one small and precious moment, he felt like they were truly siblings. In the end, that's all they were, it was good enough, and he was happy with this already.

…

He didn't know for how long they engaged like this, but it was over before he could tell. Corrin's smile was still wide, a pleasant kind of tiredness washed over them and the next thing he thought about doing was to lay down on the grass and drink in this brief sense of safety and contentment.

Corrin did the same, her breathing pulsed with the sound of the running creek and the song of birds, the sunlight filtered through the tall pines around them. The peaceful ambience could fool anyone into believing that there wasn't a war going on at the moment. A little bit of pretense couldn't hurt anybody.

When they finally turned around to walk back to Gunter with the water gourds filled and muddy clothes, Takumi suddenly raised his arm to stop Corrin as a shadow moved between the trees. "Shh… I saw something", he whispered.

Corrin rightfully tensed and took a hold of her sword as her movements slowed down, but when she walked closer to Takumi, she visibly relaxed. "A deer?" she sighed. He looked back at her, he readied his regular bow along with an arrow. The animal wasn't big, a female fawn with brown fur and little white spots on her back, still oblivious of the presence of humans.

They could use some meat for dinner tonight.

"Do you have any experience hunting?"

She shook her head after a second of hesitation. "I'm afraid not."

"Then I want you to watch me. Don't do anything unless I tell you to. Just watch."

He drew his breath slowly, strangeness invaded him when he had to stretch the nohrian bow and find the most favorable position to aim for the deer. He didn't have much time to practice again with it, and hunting wasn't exactly the most relaxing thing to do either. And Corrin was watching too, he felt like he wanted to impress her somehow, even when she'd probably insist that he didn't need to do it.

It wasn't a good shot. The deer was alerted one instant before its neck was struck by the arrow, so the poor animal fell to the ground midair when it attempted to jump away. Corrin flinched and looked away, Takumi let out a long sigh and waited for a moment. The deer seemed to struggle a little to get up, which frustrated him greatly. It would've been amazing to get a one-shot kill and an arrow through the neck wasn't a very good thing.

The deer didn't get up, and Takumi asked her quickly for a knife to finish the job, he also asked her to keep an eye on the deer so it wouldn't try to attack him when he tried to slice its throat and put it out of its misery.

It was such a mess. It didn't go as bad as it could, but still…

"Admittedly, I'm not a very good hunter", he said, after deciding to rinse the blood off his hands, his arms were still a little shaky and couldn't look at Corrin in the eye after he watched her eye linger a little too long on the fawn's body. "… Remember that deer skin pelt I used to wear the whole time? It was from the first deer I got to kill, the first time I've ever killed anything. It must've been ruined when I got captured, so, uh… I guess it doesn't matter."

He didn't want to casually bring that up, he was mostly just talking for the sake of talking, and Corrin looked at him with something akin to compassion as her mouth tensed.

"You don't blink an eye when you have to take a life, but there's some sort of tenderness in you when you speak about the deer. You don't actually enjoy killing, do you?"

"I can't say that I enjoy it, but… I'm not what you think I am. I don't necessarily feel the same way as you do about taking lives."

Corrin bore a wistful smile. "… I guess not."

Takumi suddenly felt bad again, he shook his head and his hands in front of her. "I-it's no reason for you to look down! Ugh, I only wanted to eat some meat." He tried to pick up the deer on his own, but eventually Corrin helped him carrying the lower body. "We can at least tell Gunter that we'll be eating something other than soup and bread tonight."

"That'd be nice. We could also try and make a new hide for you."

"I doubt that we have the time and the resources to make one." He sensed that Corrin wasn't very enthusiastic about skinning a deer—or knew anything about how to do it—, but he appreciated her interest anyway. "Thanks anyway. You… uh, having you here has helped me, Sis."

He didn't think he'd catch her off-guard like that, as her head turned to him rapidly, her only eye wide and with a dumbfounded smile crossing her lips. The sight of this made his chest tighten in remembrance of the times he watched his mother smile too, and he felt warm in the face.

And they treaded their path back with a dead deer on their hands, it wasn't dark yet but at this point Gunter would be probably starting the campfire. The sound of the cicadas' song was starting to grow thick around the forest, it'd be hardly surprising that more wild animals would come out soon… he could even hear more strange noises now that they were getting farther away from the water creek.

There was something abnormal about those new sounds over the grove, and Corrin noticed it too, as she pleaded him to let the deer down for a moment. She was very quiet and precise when she stepped across the rough ground of the forest, she'd be an amazing hunter if she ever picked it up. She drew her sword preemptively as Takumi tried to follow her lead by making the least amount of noise as possible.

There was a relief up ahead, and voices could be heard. Voices. None of them resembled Gunter. Takumi could tell they were two of them at least, and his skin crawled when he heard them snicker softly.

Corrin crept slowly and she crouched behind a bush as Takumi followed her closely, she was the first one to see them through the small gap between the leaves shielding them from plain sight.

"Is that…? Those three are Mokushujin, aren't they?" she murmured, Takumi found his own aperture within the bush to take in the view. Indeed, those were three people, all of them dressed in their traditional ninja equipment, wearing the insignia that identified them as mokushujin.

They probably haven't spotted their campsite yet, or they were simply unaware.

However, those men were walking very close to one another, holding back the one in the middle, it seemed like her feet weren't moving cooperatively. Without realizing, Takumi's heart started to beat very fast, his stomach growing sick. "No… that woman seems to be tied from behind."

"That's... Oh no…" The realization hit her at the same time it did to him, as he found that feminine mug and long black hair locks strikingly familiar.

It was Kagero, one of Ryoma's retainers.

His blood froze for an instant and tried to shake off those awful thoughts away from his head, anything other than the question of how did she end up here and why was she captured by the enemy. But it was also important to rescue her, and soon.

"Takumi, how fast can you shoot those men consecutively?" Corrin whispered, he was almost unsettled by the sudden grim tone that left her lips. Other than that, he understood perfectly.

"… I'd have to aim the first arrow into his throat and delay his comrade's realization if he doesn't hear him scream." It wouldn't kill him immediately, and Corrin seemed to be conscious of the fact as she reflexively frowned at his suggestion. "It'd give me enough time to shoot a second arrow to the other guy."

It took her a few seconds of reasoning, before she nodded.

"… Alright, do it. I'll jump in just in case anything goes wrong."

It was a good thing he carried a regular bow, using the Fujin Yumi would give their position away because of the light it shed when he wielded it. Although he was still upset about the deer, he was confident in his ability to strike those men down. Takumi took his time drawing the arrow from his quiver and aiming it, trying to keep his anxiety down and not rush it just like he did with the deer.

He shot the first arrow, swift and silent like a breeze it was suddenly through that the closest man's neck, stopping him in his tracks as slowly as the understanding of what happened dawned upon him a little too late. Before his partner could know, a second arrow had pierced the other's chest. Their female prisoner watched in disbelief how they fell to the ground, but without a moment's waste she went to search for their knives in order to cut her binds as soon as possible.

Takumi didn't see when Corrin ran out of her hiding spot, but he did his best to keep up with her, and he still felt his stomach heavy knowing that he was meeting with Kagero, one of Ryoma's closest attendants, and he wasn't sure what to expect.

"L-lady Corrin?" Kagero stilled when she acknowledged her presence, a genuine bit of emotion showed through Kagero's always-aloof mask. Corrin hurried to her side and helped to cut the ropes binding the woman's wrists with one knife she found on the bodies.

"Are you alright? They didn't hurt you, did they?"

Kagero merely rubbed her wrists and moved her fingers to recover blood circulation in them, as she kept staring sharply at Corrin and then back to Takumi with even greater bewilderment. Takumi found himself avoiding her gaze, feeling suddenly so self-aware of his appearance.

Judging by the sorry state of her clothes and hair, Kagero must've been travelling for a while before she was caught.

Finally, Kagero started to awkwardly fix her clothes, Corrin shifted when she looked back at Takumi for a second, awaiting in silence for the words evidently lost in the air, and the uncertainty of Kagero's motives for being this far away from hoshidan borders.

"Forgive my lack of response, I just didn't think that I'd have to meet you again in a place like this", Kagero said as she directed a nod towards Corrin, her composure restored. Then she inclined her head further down when she locked her attention to him. "Lord Takumi… I'm so glad to see you mostly unharmed. These will be great news to deliver to your sisters."

'Mostly unharmed' wasn't the wording he'd use, but he'd let Kagero think whatever she wanted for the time being.

"Kagero, why are you in Mokushu? I thought that Yukimura and Ryoma would focus their efforts to protect the borders, and you are one of the best warriors under his command. Did he send you here?"

"'Tis a long story, but no, I'm afraid that Lord Ryoma didn't send me here. You both are part of the reason why I infiltrated to enemy territory though. As you can see, I was too careless on my own", she responded apologetically inclining her head again. Then her gaze returned to Corrin. "I'm so relieved that you rescued Lord Takumi; you stayed true to your word, milady. All what is left is to do is to return to Hoshido."

A chill ran down his spine, before Corrin could even formulate an answer, he was the one who needed to speak first. Corrin did tell him before that she made such a promise, but he also had a voice on the matter.

"I'm sorry, Kagero, but I can't go back. Not yet."

"Lord Takumi… I am not thankful enough for your safety, but whatever reason you have to remain here, it surely isn't important enough to make your family wait, is it? It's been months without a word about you! They don't even know if you're still alive!"

"Sorry, I didn't know! But now it's not a good time!"

"You're currently out of the Nohrian's grasp, what is it that is holding you back?"

"We can't talk about it, sorry! It's so complicated!" he answered, growing anxious when Kagero looked at him that way. He dreaded to think about his family, about the real extent of their grief and hopelessness, and he felt like a fool for making himself believe that they shouldn't miss him at all.

Corrin stepped in.

"We have been coming up with a plan to halt the war between both countries." That wasn't what he expected Corrin to say, and he was about to snap at her, but her hand reached his shoulder and calmly looked at him. "I suppose we should at least tell Kagero the truth, Takumi. It's fine."

"I'm not saying that it's wrong, but you can't just freely say it like it's nothing!" he retorted.

"It's going to be fine", she reassured.

Kagero sighed, crossing her arms. "Lady Corrin, you're always too eager to earn other's trust."

"She's right, you know", Takumi added.

"Don't you trust in me, Kagero? After all this time? Would you believe me still capable of raising my sword against you or Hoshido?"

"If you don't, you'd be raising your sword towards Nohr. And I know that you're not going to do that." Kagero's tone as severe, but Takumi could tell that she wasn't trying to be hostile. Corrin didn't flinch.

"No, I won't do it, and I won't need to."

Kagero's shoulders seemed to relax a little. "You'll need to be fast then, because the Hoshidan Army is preparing to defend Izuno as we speak."

Takumi felt his heart jump. "What? How did they know that Nohr was planning to invade Izuno?" he asked louder than he should have. Kagero's expression shifted lightly.

"They don't. But Archduke Izana requested some protection for his capital. He's grown reasonably wary of Nohr after the attempt that occurred months ago with a nohrian mage. He doesn't want to risk the safety of his people anymore with the Nohrian Army practically knocking at Izuno's door."

"… That's certainly puts a dent in our draft, doesn't it?" Corrin said to Takumi, she was clearly calmer than him but there was no telling exactly what she was thinking. "And there's no way in which only the two of us can sway the hoshidan forces from not interfering with our plan, right?"

"I don't know! If we can't, we'll have to think of something else!"

"… If there's anything I can do to assist you, I beg of you to ask me", Kagero said, and Takumi was only letting her speak out because he was unsure on how to carry on his words. "I have come this far just to find you, and atone for my previous mistakes. I am sure that your desires to stop this war are sincere, but if you want a better chance to succeed, you'll need my help."

Right there Kagero knelt down, bowed profoundly for him. He couldn't say why he felt so uneasy about the mannerism she adopted. If she was somehow here in the same of Ryoma, he couldn't know, but he really didn't want to distrust Kagero. He wanted to believe that she wouldn't do wrong for them.

"You don't have to—"

"A lot of terrible things happened because I didn't do what I had to do when the time was right, so please, allow me to serve your cause, milord. For Hoshido. For your family. Please."

Corrin looked back at her brother, and subtly she nodded at him as if he somehow expected her approval, and he didn't know why he waited for that in the first place. It just felt right, to be steered by her.

"Stand up, Kagero. We'll need you from now and on."

"Thank you, milord."