Chapter 70: The Summer Siege (Fuji's Side)

I am in hell.

It is a very polite, quiet, well-decorated hell.

My day is a prison schedule.

0600: Wake. Dress.

0630: Briefing with Kenichi-san on today's Imperial news.

0700: Breakfast with my sister, Akiko. (She is nice, but she pities me. Worse, she is terrified of our father.)

0800: History and Protocol Tutoring. (They are treating me like I forgot how to be a prince.)

1200: Lunch. Alone.

1400: Calligraphy.

1600: Imperial Finance Briefing.

1800: Dinner with my father. Silent. Tense. Awful. He reminds me that my engagement to Lady Mariko is being arranged.

2100: Escorted to my room.

2101: The door locks.

I have not seen the sun as a free man in a week. My grandfather, the Emperor, is stable, but weak. I am allowed to see him for five minutes a day. He just holds my hand and sleeps.

My father is using this illness to control everything. To lock me down.

He thinks he has won.

He is wrong.

He forgot one thing.

This Palace is old. And I am smart.

I am not just a fighter like Aoi. I am a strategist.

I am in the Imperial Library. It is my 1400 Calligraphy lesson. My tutor is an old man who falls asleep. My guards are outside the door.

They think I am practicing my kanji.

I am not.

In the back corner of the library, behind a sliding panel, is an old servant's terminal. It's from the 90s. But it is still wired to the internet. It is so old, it is not on my father's modern security network.

It is my only link.

My fingers fly on the ancient keyboard.

I cannot email Aoi. Her email is too simple, it will be flagged. I cannot call her.

I need a messenger. Someone smart. Someone chaotic. Someone who is not afraid of a scandal.

Someone who owes me one.

I log into an anonymous email account. I send a message to the public fan-mail portal for the Suzume Hiroto Agency.

Subject: URGENT SCRIPT REWRITE - SEASON 2.

Message: The Main Lead is trapped in the Ice Castle. He needs a distraction. The Cherry Blossom Festival. The Wildcard (Hiroto) needs to create a public scene. Something the press cannot ignore. Tell Angel the penguin apron is still my favorite memory. She will know this is real.

I pause. That is good for Hiroto. But I need more. I need a rival. I need... him.

I open a new message. To the official contact form for Deception Gaming.

Subject: Guild War.

Message: Deception. This is the Guild Master of the Silver Vanguard from Cyber-Blade Online. (My dad was surprised I was a Guild Master. He never knew my gamer tag.) My account is locked. The Summer Siege is next week. My guild is trapped. I am naming you interim Guild Master. I need you to log in and take command. The password is... RivalBeatMeBy1.

He'll know. He's smart. He hates me, but he's a gamer first. He will understand that I am locked out of my own life. He will know it is a call for help.

I hit send. I delete the history. I slide the panel shut.

I go back to my desk.

My calligraphy tutor is snoring.

I pick up the brush.

I paint a single kanji.

Patience.

The Cherry Blossom Festival is in two days.

Phase one is complete.

Your move, idiots. Do not let me down.