The Whims of Fate

Early morning in Heian-kyo, at the Onmyoryo's Astronomical Pavilion.

The rising sun cast its brilliance upon the earth, and the faint light of dawn filtered through the windows of the Astronomical Pavilion, illuminating the utter chaos within.

Ritual tools were scattered everywhere, books were piled haphazardly, and long scrolls lay unfurled across the floor. Various divination tools were strewn across the tatami mats; in short, the Astronomical Pavilion was the very definition of a mess. This exclusive office, always reserved for the head of the Onmyoryo, had never been this cluttered, not even during the tenures of Kamo no Tadayuki or Abe no Seimei.

"Ugh... is it... is it already... morning?"

At a desk buried under a mountain of official documents, Yura—clad in a kariginu, her hair disheveled—slowly sat up. With heavy dark circles under her eyes, she stared at the sun on the horizon through the window and spoke in a weak, exhausted voice. It was clear she had barely slept a wink last night.

Ever since she heard that Seimei was participating in Princess Kaguya's Marriage Selection, Yura had been restless, unable to eat or sleep properly. Her mental state had been poor, trapped in a constant state of internal conflict and distress. This agony reached its peak yesterday when she heard that Seimei had successfully passed the first round of testing and moved on to the second. The news had kept her awake the entire night.

Initially, Yura had been deeply worried when she heard Seimei was joining the selection, but she had clung to the hope that the amnesiac Seimei was simply curious and joining for the novelty. After all, with so many young noble lords participating, it wouldn't be unusual to just want to see what the fuss was about.

But to her dismay, Seimei was actually taking it seriously. He had quickly passed the first round, standing out among the numerous noble sons to reach the second. This proved beyond a doubt that he wasn't just there for the experience—he was playing for keeps.

"Wh-why is this happening... Based on Seimei's personality, he shouldn't be interested in little Kaguya... Could his personality have changed after losing his memory? Argh!" Yura thought, clutching her hair in frustration as her anxiety and panic intensified.

In truth, Yura had long wanted to confess her feelings to Seimei. She had dropped countless hints to the old Seimei, yet she had never received a response. That experience had left a deep scar on her, creating a psychological shadow that made her—already lacking confidence in matters of the heart—even more hesitant to reveal her true feelings.

Now, Yura felt like an ant on a hot griddle. Although she was desperate, she had no idea what to do. Fortunately, even though the situation was dire, a glimmer of hope remained.

After a moment of thought, Yura exhaled softly and turned her gaze to the other side of her desk. There sat a wooden basin filled halfway with water. Strange images were reflected on the surface—it was the entrance to Seimei's courtyard on Tsuchimikado Avenue. These images were being transmitted by the shikigami she had secretly stationed around his residence.

At this moment, the gates in the image were tightly shut. The surroundings were quiet, with no sign of them opening. Since Seimei had returned home yesterday, he hadn't stepped foot outside. Seeing this, Yura breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

"Phew... Good. The alarm hasn't been triggered; Seimei hasn't come out. Little Kaguya's riddles seem to be truly difficult. Seimei hasn't solved it yet... If he can't solve the riddle and find the treasure in the end, I'll have nothing to worry about." Looking at the scene in the water basin, Yura's expression relaxed slightly. Her greatest hope now was that Seimei would be stumped by Princess Kaguya's challenge and fail the test.

If that happened, this crisis would fizzle out on its own, and she could finally set her mind at ease for a while.

Heian-kyo, Tsuchimikado Avenue, Seimei's Courtyard.

The scent of fresh grass filled the morning air. Seimei, dressed in casual clothes, stood by the pond, leisurely feeding the goldfish. Beneath a tree on the other side, Kagura sat watching him, with Little White lying beside her, looking rather sluggish.

"Is Seimei not going out for a walk with Little White today? Usually, you don't like staying home at this hour," Kagura said with a hint of confusion. Seimei gave a slight, wry smile in response.

"Because of some special circumstances, I don't plan on leaving the house for the next few days. It's a pity, but we really can't go for a walk. Sorry, Little White."

"Ugh... It's okay, Lord Seimei. Little White can go for a walk by himself even if no one takes him," Little White said, his mood slightly dejected. Seeing this, the confusion in Kagura's eyes deepened.

"Seimei only wants to stay home... Is it because you want to focus on solving Princess Kaguya's riddle?"

"No, it's precisely because I don't want to solve that riddle that I've chosen to stay inside," Seimei answered bluntly. His words only confused Kagura further.

"You don't want to solve it... so you're staying home?"

"Yes... I'm afraid that if I go out, I'll have a sudden flash of inspiration and solve the riddle for no reason. Then, I might accidentally stumble upon the corresponding treasure on the side of the road, and finally, get lost all the way to the Asakura residence to hand it over to Princess Kaguya and complete the test. To prevent all that from happening, I've decided to stay home for a few days and go nowhere."

Seimei spoke with total composure, but his words left a cluster of question marks hovering over the heads of both Kagura and Little White.

"Uh... Seimei gets inspiration just by going outside?"

"And you'll find the treasure immediately after solving it? Lord Seimei... aren't you overthinking things? How could anyone in this world have such incredible luck? That would be like having divine favor!" Little White said, utterly bewildered. He couldn't understand why Seimei would suddenly have such a bizarre thought.

"Destiny is a curious thing. Some things always happen in unexpected ways, whether you want them to or not... Humans are far too small in the great river of fate. All I can do is try to avoid contact with other things as much as possible to lower the probability of some strange destiny descending upon me," Seimei replied slowly. His words made Little White scratch his head in confusion, while Kagura nodded thoughtfully.

"I see. However, for us mortals, fate is ultimately unavoidable. If something is destined to happen, no amount of hiding will help. Seimei, you may be hiding at home to escape fate, but fate might just come knocking on your door."