The wind carried the scent of rain as Lord Raizen Nozomi stood beneath the lantern-lit gates of Shirogane no Yama. His dark robes rippled slightly, his amber eyes locked on the lacquered carriage resting before him. The oxen, adorned in ceremonial silk, huffed, their breath visible in the cold evening air. The escort—two imperial guards in crimson armor—wordlessly stepped back, leaving only silence between the warlord and the veiled figure beyond the curtain.

He exhaled slowly. A battle-tested warrior, a master of the blade, yet this moment stirred something foreign in his chest.

The polished wood of the norimono gleamed under the pale moon. Delicate fingers brushed the edge of the curtain from within. His jaw tightened. Would she hesitate? Would she fear him?

The night stretched thin.

Then, with a whisper of silk and the rustling of layered kimono, the curtain began to part.