The Yasha King’s Beloved (3)

At the cold voice, Mei’s heart seemed to freeze. The familiar voice brushed against her eardrums, and her ears began to ring. A powerful force dragged her forward, pulling her body into the fissure.

The world turned pitch-black in an instant.

“Princess!!”

Gen’s voice sounded almost like a scream. She heard the footsteps of the Aberrations rushing toward her.

She could tell those sounds were growing farther and farther away.

The darkness, which seemed as though it might last forever, was suddenly flooded with blinding light.

“…!”

Her entire body slammed into the ground.

When she planted her hands to push herself up, she found the grass and soil slightly damp and muddy. Grimacing at the unpleasant sensation of dirt against her skin, she tried to move, only for a dull ache to run through her whole body.

“Ugh…”

At the groan that slipped involuntarily from her lips, she sensed someone laughing above her.

“Long time no see.”

“Eh…?”

At that voice, Mei jerked her head up.

“You look healthier than I expected. I’m surprised.”

Io stood over her, looking down with an eerily gentle smile.

Unable to process what she was seeing, Mei stared blankly at his face.

“Io?”

She looked around in disbelief, only to realize that this was no longer the forest she had been in moments ago, but a familiar landscape.

“This place… No way.”

The blood drained from her face. Her fingertips grew painfully cold, and her lips trembled.

She did not want to believe it. It could not be. It must not be. That was impossible. Countless denials raced through her mind.

She blinked again and again, telling herself this had to be a bad dream.

But Io did not disappear. He remained there, smiling. His hand reached out and gently stroked Mei’s hair like a mother soothing a small child. He had never once treated her so gently before.

A chill rose from deep inside her body.

“Welcome home, Sister.”

At the cruelly delivered truth, Mei let out a strangled scream.

West Suo, to which she had been dragged back after half a year, had not changed at all.

If anything, it felt worse. The gazes of the exorcists she saw for the first time in months were even colder than before, some of them now containing outright hatred.

In one corner of a tatami room filled with a hostile atmosphere, Mei curled herself up as small as possible.

Heavy, rough footsteps approached, and the sliding door was thrown open.

“Mei! You!”

“F-Father…”

Shiro stormed into the room, eyebrows raised and eyes narrowed sharply with rage.

He strode straight toward Mei, then raised his right hand with force.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!”

His palm struck her cheek with all his strength, sending Mei tumbling to the floor. Apparently dissatisfied with hitting her only once, Shiro raised his arm again.

“Stop it, Father.”

The one who caught Shiro’s hand and stopped him was Io.

At the sight, not only Mei but Shiro and the exorcists in the room widened their eyes.

Until now, no matter how badly Mei had been treated, Io had always stood by and watched without interfering.

“Io! Why are you stopping me?!”

“Because it’ll look bad. Someone from the main household is coming soon, right? What are you going to say if Sister’s face is swollen? There’d be no point in bringing her back if that happened.”

“Y-Yes… You’re right.”

At Io’s unusually fluent reasoning, Shiro nodded and immediately lowered his arm.

Mei watched the two of them, blinking slowly in confusion.

“The main household? Why would the main household…?”

“Oh, right. You don’t know, Sister. Sakuma still hasn’t regained consciousness since then. He’s been asleep for the entire six months.”

“…!!”

A voiceless scream escaped her at the completely unexpected revelation.

Sakuma had collapsed that day after Io struck him. Mei had begged Ryoga to save him, and Ryoga had said he would let him go.

Smiling as though he enjoyed Mei’s distress, Io crouched down and peered into her face. His large eyes gleamed brightly, as though trying to see into her very thoughts.

“Apparently he was affected by the power that oni released.”

Mei shook her head, trying to say that could not possibly be true, but Io continued. He deliberately shivered and hugged his own shoulders, putting on a frightened act.

(—But Sakuma-san collapsed because Io…)

She wanted to say it clearly, but her mind could not keep up, and the words stuck in her throat.

“Sakuma was originally an exorcist from the main household, remember? Apparently they found out something happened, and they contacted us to say they’d come inspect West Suo while they were here to visit him. And they only told us yesterday. What a nuisance.”

“Indeed… He’s caused us unnecessary trouble.”

Shiro nodded wearily at Io’s words. The fact that neither of them seemed remotely worried about Sakuma was abnormal.

Mei slowly shook her head, thinking something was wrong, and Io leaned closer with a mocking laugh.

“…You understand what’ll happen if you say anything unnecessary… right?”

He whispered the words into her ear.

“If you tell them the truth, I might get expelled from the clan. Is that what you want?”

“…!”

Unable even to answer such a blatant threat, Mei trembled all over.

Apparently satisfied by her reaction, Io chuckled low in his throat.

“You must have been terrified, right? Being kidnapped against your will and used as a tool. Poor Sister.”

“That’s not—”

Io’s hand clamped over her mouth as she tried to shout that he was wrong. Even though he had just told Shiro not to hit her, the tips of his nails dug painfully into Mei’s cheek. She heard a faint sound as her skin split.

“They dressed you in such pretty clothes… like a doll. How did they treat you? Did they dote on you like some pet?”

At the mockery in his words, heat gathered around her eyes.

She was frustrated. Furious. She could not forgive him.

“Stop it!!”

She slapped away the hand gripping her face with all her strength.

“What…!”

Apparently never imagining that she would resist, Io lost his balance and fell backward onto the tatami. His eyes widened, and open surprise appeared on his face as he stared at Mei.

The surrounding exorcists and Shiro also stared at her in stunned silence.

“You don’t know anything! They… Ryoga-sama…”

She hated that only a hoarse voice came out. The hot sensation running down her cheeks told her that she was crying.

She wanted to go back. She wanted to return home. She wanted to see him. The desperate urge rose from deep in her throat until it felt as though it might consume her.

(—Ryoga-sama.)

She felt as though her longing for him would drive her mad. She had been trying to forget him, yet the moment she realized she might never see him again, her miserable, stubborn love came surging wildly back to life.

At the same time, she felt anger for the first time in her life.

No matter how cruelly she had been treated until now, Mei had only ever been able to feel sadness. She had only ever been able to ask herself, Why me? Why?

But this time was different.

“The Aberrations were far kinder than any of you. They accepted me. They needed me… They treated me like I mattered.”

To Mei, the place where she had lived with Ryoga and the others was more precious, beloved, and beautiful than anything else. For the first time in her life, she had felt that it was all right for her to be alive.

She had learned the happiness of being needed by someone. The joy of hearing someone say thank you. Even if only a little, she had begun to feel that she possessed some worth of her own. She did not want that to be trampled on so carelessly.

“They never treated me like a tool. I went there because I wanted to.”

Staring straight at Io, Mei drew a short breath.

“Don’t insult them.”

All expression vanished from Io’s face. It became like a blank sheet of paper, devoid of any emotion at all, and Mei glared straight back at him.

This was something she would never yield on. She did not care what he thought of her. But she would not allow him to look down on Ryoga and the others.

“…It seems you’ve been bewitched by that oni, Sister.”

Io murmured in a frighteningly quiet voice and slowly rose to his feet.

“Someone, take Sister to a cell.”

“N-No!”

She should have tried to run, but she could not react quickly enough. The exorcists seized Mei’s arms and pinned her down.

“Don’t worry. I’ll properly exterminate the oni that’s made you strange.”

“What are you planning to do?! Please, stop!”

“Why are you trying to stop me, Sister? Aberrations are our enemies. Get a grip.”

“You’re not supposed to attack Aberrations that haven’t harmed anyone!”

The Aberrations living in the Otherworld had done nothing to Mei.

Most of them were harmless to humans. Some simply became distorted after accidentally crossing over into this world.

“It seems Sister really isn’t in her right mind.”

“Io!”

“Have you forgotten Sakuma still hasn’t regained consciousness? That oni is undoubtedly evil.”

“No, that was—”

Hadn’t Io been the one who hurt Sakuma first that day? The instant Mei tried to shout that out, Io seized her jaw, his hand covering her mouth.

“That oni will definitely come to take you back. I know it will.”

Mei caught her breath at his low, cold voice. Io’s eyes gleamed with something dark as he stared at her, and fear seized her so strongly that it felt as though her heart might freeze solid.

“Keep her locked up securely. And make absolutely sure you don’t hurt her.”

“…I… Io! Please, listen to—Mmph!”

The moment Io let go, a gag was shoved into Mei’s mouth.

Her arms were swiftly bound behind her back, leaving her unable to move.

Then she was simply lifted up as though she were a piece of luggage, and tears of frustration welled in her eyes.

The sliding door was thrown open, and she was carried out into the corridor. It should have been a familiar sight, yet the hallway somehow felt bleak and cold, draining all warmth from her toes.

As Mei tensed, wondering where they were taking her, Io suddenly called out loudly from behind.

“Oh, right!”

“To lure the oni here, let me have just a little piece of Sister.”

“Mmmph…!?”

Io strode toward her with a small knife in his hand.

Mei froze in terror. Io gently stroked her cheek, then moved the blade without the slightest hesitation. With an unpleasant snip, he cut off a lock of her hair.

He tucked it into his clothes, then smiled brightly.

“…You’re going to live here for the rest of your life, Sister. Right by my side.”

His voice and expression were cheerful, yet only his eyes remained dark.

A chill ran across Mei’s skin at the terrible premonition that something very bad was about to happen.

(—Ryoga-sama.)

She could not imagine Io getting the better of him, but if Ryoga suffered even slightly because of her, Mei knew she would never forgive herself.

She did not care if he forgot all about her. She only wanted him to remain safe. She wanted him not to take Io’s bait.

Praying desperately for that, Mei let out a muffled scream.