The Rotten Tooth 

A roar filled Haruka’s ears, a silent, deafening explosion in his mind. He understood instantly. The mastermind the terrified maid was talking about was Momozawa Ai. No wonder she had been so reluctant to speak, resorting instead to desperate, clumsy hints. The reason she had finally uttered the word “you” was likely twofold: one, out of a final, desperate resentment toward Momozawa Ai for her betrayal, and two, as a way to curry favor with him, the new, rising power.

Haruka looked on with a complex, unreadable expression as Momozawa Ai inserted the pliers into the maid’s mouth. With a single, gentle, horrifyingly efficient twist, a half-broken, bloody incisor clattered to the gravel. “I have pulled this bad tooth for the Second Young Mistress,” she announced, her voice as calm as if she were arranging flowers.

“Good!” Kiyohime cheered from behind, her face flushed with a vicarious, cruel excitement, as beautiful and unnerving as a cherry blossom blooming in late May.

Momozawa Ai then inserted the pliers into the maid’s mouth again. With another casual tug, as if pulling a stubborn, rotten radish from the earth, she extracted a large, blood-soaked molar.

Haruka was astonished. This was the same decayed tooth he had failed to pull out earlier. Even a brawny bodyguard would have had to struggle with it, yet she had removed it with such nonchalant, terrifying ease. He looked at her slender, graceful figure, amazed that she possessed such hidden strength, then glanced at the delicate, blonde Sakuya. They’re all so strong, he thought.

Momozawa Ai, still holding the tooth in the pliers like a trophy, walked over to Haruka. She released the pliers, and the tooth rolled to a stop by his feet, a grotesque offering. “I have pulled this servant’s rotten tooth for the Young Master,” she said.

Haruka nodded. “Rotten words come from rotten teeth. Now that the tooth is gone, this should be the end of it.”

“Young Master, I see this servant’s mouth is full of rotten teeth. I’m afraid she will continue to speak ill of the young mistress.” Momozawa Ai’s voice was a soft, silken threat.

The maid, who had been on the verge of unconsciousness, was jolted back to her senses by Momozawa Ai’s words, her body beginning to shake uncontrollably with pure, animal terror.

“There’s no need to pull any more,” Haruka said, his voice quiet but firm. Seeing the maid’s innocent, terrified expression, he added, “Have a few good teeth put in for her. I’m sure she will remember Mrs. Butler’s kindness in the future.”

The maid, hearing him plead for her, began to murmur her thanks, but with no teeth and a ruined mouth, her words were small, airy, and incomprehensible sounds of gratitude.

Kiyohime, knowing Haruka wanted to let the maid go, suppressed the excitement Momozawa Ai had stirred in her. “That’s right, Ai-obasan. I think that’s enough.” She then pointed a threatening finger at the maid. “If any more rumors appear in this house, we’ll know who to look for.”

The maid’s face turned ashen, and she shook her head frantically, her eyes wide with terror.

Haruka said to Momozawa Ai with a meaningful look, his eyes locking with hers, “Mrs. Butler, have someone get her teeth fixed. With good teeth, I’m sure she will only speak good words in the future.”

“The Young Master is magnanimous,” Momozawa Ai said, playing dumb, her own expression a perfect, unreadable mask. She turned to the maid. “Aren’t you going to thank the Young Master?”

The maid tried to say thank you, but no one could understand her.

Haruka could only see her as another pitiful person with no control over her own life. Seeing her miserable state, he said to the bodyguards, “Hurry up and take her to get her wounds treated.”

But before they could lead her away, Kiyohime called out, “Wait.”

Haruka looked over. A hesitant, conflicted expression slowly appeared on Kiyohime’s face. She had been about to order the maid to pick up her own broken teeth from the ground before she would be allowed to leave, a final act of humiliation. But seeing Haruka there, his quiet disapproval a palpable force, she thought, Forget it. My brother took my side, I’ll let you off this one time for his sake.

And so, she said, “Don’t wag your tongue behind people’s backs anymore. Take her away.”

Only then did the two bodyguards dare to lead the broken maid away.

Kiyohime kicked the teeth on the ground, sending them scattering into the gravel. She turned to the other servants, her voice sharp with authority. “Now, start looking. There are four whole teeth. No one rests until they are all found.” She didn’t need to say what would happen if anyone else was caught gossiping. The message was brutally clear.

Seeing them all bent over, frantically searching like desperate scavengers, Kiyohime couldn’t help but smile, a feeling of exhilarating, intoxicating power washing over her. But before the smile could fully form, Momozawa Ai said, “Second Young Mistress, the Lady wishes to see you.”

Kiyohime immediately looked at her with suspicion. “Mama wants to see me again? She already made me wait all morning.”

Sakuya, hearing this, felt a sudden, bone-deep chill. The rumor—“Fujiwara Kiyohime is not Lady Murasaki’s daughter”—had been confirmed as true in her heart by her mother’s earlier words. So why was Lady Murasaki summoning her now? Sakuya didn’t dare to think further. As if to comfort herself, and Kiyohime, she said, “If the Lady is calling for you, it must be for a good reason.”

“It is indeed important,” Momozawa Ai said flatly.

Sakuya’s body felt as if it had been frozen solid. It would be better if it weren’t important, she thought, her heart pounding with a nameless dread.

Momozawa Ai called to Ryo and Shiraki. “You two, take the Second Young Mistress to see the Lady.”

“Isn’t Sakuya coming with me?” Kiyohime asked, confused.

Sakuya was about to speak, but Momozawa Ai pulled her back. “She has other matters to attend to.”

Sakuya has things to do? Kiyohime thought. But before she could ask, the two maids were already ushering her away.

Sakuya shot an angry glare at her mother, but a single, sharp glance from Momozawa Ai made her fall silent. Momozawa Ai leaned in and whispered a few words in her ear, and Sakuya had no choice but to close her mouth, her face pale.

“Go,” Momozawa Ai said. “Have you forgotten who you are? Go and help them find the teeth.”

Sakuya, helpless, had no choice but to go, her shoulders slumped in defeat.

Haruka stood to the side, feeling that something was strangely, terribly wrong, though he couldn’t put his finger on it. But he had other, more important things to ask Momozawa Ai.

“Mrs. Butler, do you have a moment to speak with me?”

“More than a moment, Young Master,” Momozawa Ai said, her full attention now on him. “I have all the time in the world for you.”

“Good.” Seeing that there were too many people around, Haruka walked to an empty area nearby. Momozawa Ai followed. Suzune, seeing this, also followed, maintaining a suitable, respectful distance.

Haruka was tired of beating around the bush. The moment they were alone, he asked directly, his voice cold, “Was that woman acting under your orders?”

Momozawa Ai was a little surprised by his directness. She hesitated for a fraction of a second. “Yes, she was…”

Haruka let out a sarcastic laugh, a sound devoid of all humor. “Mrs. Butler, I remember when I first arrived, you told me there were some rumors in the Fujiwara family that you couldn’t control. I actually believed you then. Thinking back on it now, I was a real fool.”

“I was not deceiving you, Young Master. That was the situation at the time.”

“Then how is it that you have them under control now?”

“Because a different mistress is now in charge.”

Haruka froze, understanding that all the rumors, all the whispers, all the chaos, had been spread by the butler, under Lady Murasaki’s orders. After a long moment, he managed to ask, “Why would you have the servants spread those rumors?”

“With the Young Master’s intelligence,” Momozawa Ai said, her voice soft, “I’m sure you don’t need me to explain. You must already have the answer in your heart.”

“I would still like to hear you say it with your own mouth,” Haruka said, his voice hard as stone. “Only then will I be satisfied.”

“Very well, then I will tell you. The Lady wished to build your prestige.”

“By having the servants spread rumors,” Momozawa Ai explained, her eyes glittering, “the news often travels faster and is seen as more credible than the truth. Especially when the rumor is the truth.”