Title: Peerage
Rating: K
Pairing: KyoyaXRenge
Prompts: Japanese nobility, Empire of Japan, peerage
1890, Kyoto, Empire of Japan
Houshakuji-hakushaku sat before the fireplace letting the warm light bathe him. To his right his ever faithful concubine, Noriko, sat in her lavish dark green kimono, tendrils of reddish-gold hair framing her face. As second to his consort she should not have been permitted to sit by him so closely, yet the death of his first wife, Akane, had yet to release him from its grief. He turned just slightly to look at her. Jelena Deminova had come from the steppes of Russia, sold by her father to a danshaku who had died never having gazed upon her. The danshaku's wife turned her out and so she was forced to beg for a living. On one cold winter day she had the fortune of coming to his door just as he was leaving. Noting her beauty even under the filth that covered her, Houshakuji-hakushaku offered her the position of mistress. It was wise of her to say yes.
Twenty years later, she was the mother of his only child: a daughter. Akane had been unable to provide him with a child, suffering from a string of miscarriages in the early years of their marriage that left her unable to ever get pregnant again. Jelena had been the perfect solution to their problem. She fell pregnant months after coming to them, yet her progeny had been stillborn. She had given birth to a son that first time. Three years later she was with child again. That one would become his heir, Houshakuji-hime, Renge. Initially Jelena had named her daughter Vera but it was soon changed to Renge, Jelena herself being gifted the name of Noriko. Renge had been the light of their lives, a happy and healthy child, beloved of her family.
But now the girl was seventeen. She was in full bloom and people had started to notice, especially because of her looks so close to her mother's. Renge was a pint sized fair-haired, dark-eyed girl who had other nobles stepping over themselves to have her smile at them. Of course, she was also very fortunate to be the sole inheritor of her father's wealth. No doubt the other peers knew about that. Still, little Renge was quite adept with her pointy tongue, so as to cut through them like lightning. She was too dear to her old father's heart to be given to some ungrateful aristocrat who would have no idea how to please her. Nonetheless the pressure put on their family was growing. Renge was of a certain age and people expected her to make an advantageous union.
The hakushaku's ears were still ringing from Ootori-koshaku's proposal. A high ranking noble, old in his age, the koshaku wanted his youngest son married and Renge was deemed a suitable match. At this very instant the two younglings were together in another room, closely supervised by a housemaid. Houshakuji-hakushaku could only imagine what the young man was saying to his precious Renge. She was a treasure, one he would not part with unless absolutely necessary. Although to be fair Ootori-koshaku's son was an extraordinary person, capable and driven by ambition. If any man could make his daughter happy, it would surely be Ootori Kyoya. Kyoya would one day reach the position of hakushaku upon the death of Renge's father and maybe even that of koshaku. Undoubtedly Renge would fit quite well in his life.
To explain a few things: The titles and ranks in this piece pertain to the age when Japan was known as an Empire, namely between 1869-1947. The peerage was known as Kazoku (literally "flowery/illustrious lineage") and its titles were hereditary.
Here you have a list of titles and their counterparts that are better known to us:
Prince / Duke - kōshaku
Marquess - kōshaku
Earl / Count - hakushaku
Viscount - shishaku
Baron - danshaku
Nota bene, hime is a term that refers to any lady of noble birth, not only to a princess. Also, for a princess the title ōjo is used.