Chapter 89 - The fundraising event 1

Hangaku Tokimasa and his wife settled into their seats and awaited their drinks. He looked around the room, scanning who was seated. It was becoming quite a turnout.
Just as he scanned the room, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Hangaku Mae and Sakamo Ryu standing, waiting for the hostess. The look between him and his wife was evidence of his displeasure.
Tokimasa quickly stood up and stomped to the entrance, taking the time to nod politely and greet other guests as he passed by them.

Hangaku Mae saw him approaching and spoke in a low voice, “I think my father is coming to us. Should we wait or...?”

Sakamo disguisedly hid a grin. “Yeah, let him come. I doubt he will cause a scene.”

The hostesses were busy and hadn’t come to escort Mae and Sakamo to their table.
Mae continued to stand near Sakamo, watching her father coming. She noticed he didn’t look very happy.
Sakamo pretended not to notice the upcoming arrival of his father-in-law, as he looked around the room.

Before her father could greet them, Mae began, “Why so sour, father? What seems to displease you now?”

Once Tokimasa was closer, he noticed Sakamo’s attire and scoffed in disgust, “What are you doing here?”

Because he didn’t answer, Tokimasa growled under his breath to Sakamo, “Your kind doesn’t fit well with ours.”

His attention quickly turned to Mae. “You are more deserving than this type of mongrel.”

Mae exclaimed, “There’s nothing wrong with him!”

She continued as she raised her eyebrow, smirking, “Besides, there’s no need to bring this up in public, unless you want me to cause another scene?”

Sakamo pretended to be shocked and unsure of Tokimasa’s words. “I don’t understand your surprise; you knew very well that I was also invited.”

He then frowned a little. “If you wish to complain, go say something to the one that organised this. Oh, wait, you can’t, because she likes me, and she is only vaguely acquainted with you, right?”

Rolling her eyes, Mae interjected, “Do we need to keep waiting for the hostess? Do you mind if we sit with mother and you, father?’

Sakamo stared at Tokimasa with cold eyes, doing his best to remain calm and not go to his throat.
Tokimasa puffed out his chest and looked around, checking to see if they were being watched. The hostess approached cautiously, seeing the stern looks on the men’s faces.

She motioned with her arm towards the tables. “Can I take you to a table?”

Tokimasa spoke coldly. “Very well, join us. We can speak more about your departure from our home, Mae.”

He said to the hostess and followed her lead. “To my table.”

Sakamo offered his arm to the almost-bursting with laughter girlfriend and followed the angry father-in-law.
As Hangaku Tokimasa returned to his table and sat next to Hangaku no Maki, his growing dislike for Mae’s rebellion and his obvious disapproval of her persistence in being with Sakamo could be read in his eyes.
Despite the curious looks he was gathering from the people on other tables at seeing an unknown man with the well-known heir of the Hangaku family, Sakamo kept on walking.

He pulled a chair for Mae while smiling at her mother. “It is a pleasure to see you again, Hangaku-san.”

A deep bow followed his words, and he sat without waiting for an answer. Hangaku no Maki looked at her husband and then at their daughter and Sakamo. “Why are you here? Like that?”

She eyed him up and down, disapproving of his attire.

Sakamo looked at his impeccable suit. “What? This was a gift, and it was also tailored by hand.”

Tokimasa placed his hand on his wife’s hand and asked, “What can we do to bring you back home, Mae?”

Maki greeted Mae with a smile, though she was hiding her displeasure at seeing her with Sakamo. “I have missed you, dear. I would love it if you would come back home because I still have so much to teach you about being a good wife. You are still far too young to commit such a sin without being properly married. With a better suitor, of course.”

Hangaku Mae curled her upper lip, trying to contain her grin. “Don’t be rude, mother; he looks amazing, and I don’t want to return home. Things are different now compared to when you were both young.”

Sakamo maintained a perfect poker face, not showing his despise for being near such a man, one that he knew very well that was the cause of so many killings.
He was aware of how much Hangaku no Maki cared about appearances, and the fact that he was seated there, a mere commoner in the eyes of all the rich people around her, made her uncomfortable, but she didn’t show any sign. For that reason alone, Sakamo took a deep, slow breath to lower his heartbeat and, at the same time, his anger.
If she was going to remain unaffected, and Tokimasa was still staring at him, waiting for a reaction, Sakamo would not give them the pleasure of showing any sign of weakness.
Mae affectionately took his hand, feeling Sakamo’s tension next to her, and wondering to herself why his status bothered them so much. They both knew she didn’t care about something like that. It was strange that they seemed to look at her for the first time and were genuinely surprised by her choice.

Sakamo intertwined his fingers over the table and said, “What about if we put the cards on the table? None of you likes me. Tokimasa-san got offended because I accepted his money and took his daughter, and Hangaku-san thinks I am unworthy of joining the Hangaku family. You both know where I was raised, and I already told you that money means nothing to me. I can live with very little, and I don’t have any addictions or need luxuries.”

Tokimasa answered, and his look showed his despise. “You live with the lowest means, which implies that you have the lowest standards. My daughter is worth more than your low means.”

His hand tightened ever so slightly on Maki’s hand. “So, you are correct, you are not the right suitor for my Mae. How much can I pay you to let us leave with our daughter and never come back again?”

Tokimasa finally asked directly. If that disgusting young man wanted negotiations, Tokimasa was a betting man.

Sakamo slowly shook his head. “You may think you are correct, but who told you I have low standards? I chose Mae, not someone else.”

And then, Sakamo grinned. “Besides, are you really asking such a thing? After what I did last time? You will pay me, I will accept, and Mae and I will have more money for our daily expenses. I thought you were smarter than that, considering you own such a big and well-known company! I am not forcing Mae to be with me, but it seems you want to force her to be with you! Strange, no?”

Tokimasa was almost blowing in anger, and Hangaku no Maki touched his hand while glancing around, to check if they were calling the attention of the other tables.

Sakamo lowered his voice and leaned over the table, staring directly at Tokimasa with angry eyes. “If you are so willing to make sure I can give Mae a good life, by all means, write a cheque. A bigger one, this time, to last for, I don’t know, ten years of living expenses?”

Sakamo waited, without averting his eyes, searching for a reaction. If he could push him just a little further and make him throw a punch…

Tokimasa looked at Hangaku no Maki and laughed hysterically enough to attract the attention of other tables. “Ahahah! You are a fool, Sakamo-kun. I could buy you out of anything you own. I could buy your home, and I could make you poorer than you already are. Don’t toy with what you don’t know or understand.”

Sakamo muffled laughter. “Pfff!... Tokimasa-san, you are suspicious about me, but you only know what I let you find out! People tend to underestimate me, and eventually, they find out how wrong they are.”

Tokimasa raised one eyebrow at Sakamo’s answer, but Sakamo wasn’t done toying with him. “Tokimasa-san, you were invited to be here because of your company. I was invited to be here by a very powerful woman who considers me her dearest friend. That should give you a heads-up about my influence.”

The servers came along and dropped off the drinks and a plate of food samples. Tokimasa took a sip of his drink and spoke, “Many men and fools have done the same to me. It’s best to not underestimate me, Sakamo-kun.”

“I could say the same thing to you, Tokimasa-san”

Mae, disgusted by this conversation, spoke with an annoyed look, “And yet you still paid him to leave me, and now you want me back at home. I would rather you just let me live my life and quit showing off.”

As Hangaku no Maki was about to say something, an overwhelming silence alerted her. The noise of the conversations from the other tables came to a halt.
She looked around, trying to find out what was happening, and her heart stopped. The organiser of the event entered the room, none other than Empress Nabito Soka.
Sakamo looked back when he noticed the paleness of Hangaku no Maki, and grinned at the presence of her friend, the one that saw him as if he was her adopted son since she met him.
The one that invited him to that event and told him to bring his girlfriend to meet her. She was the one that knew that Tokimasa despised him. The one that said to him, when Sakamo returned home after that dreadful first meeting, that she would ruin Tokimasa and squeeze his throat for treating him like rubbish.
Next to her were the Emperor and their daughter, smiling and greeting everyone.
The Empress nodded at her husband and touched her daughter’s shoulder, telling them she wouldn’t be long.
She glided to the table where Sakamo was, with Mae and her parents staring dumbfounded at her. When she reached the table, she gave a big smile towards Sakamo.
Sakamo immediately got up and made a deep bow. Mae did the same, and greeted her with a trembling ‘High Highness’, after standing back up.

The Empress declared loud enough for their table and nearby ones to hear, “Sakamo-kun, my prodigy, my dear, you should know that there is no need to bow to me. You have my respect. On the other hand, others need to learn from your actions.”

She turned her attention only briefly towards Hangaku Tokimasa and Hangaku no Maki with a look of deathly daggers. “I believe you were told to bring your new friend.”

While looking past Sakamo to Mae, she said, “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

The Empress reached out for Mae’s hand and held it in her own and said, with a genuine smile, “Any friend or suitor of my Sakamo is a friend of mine. Please come visit us soon. You are both more than welcome.”

She gave Sakamo and Mae a slight head bow before departing and returning to her own family, who were waiting for her.
Tokimasa was staring blankly at the floor, still frozen in his deep bow that he failed to do when the Empress was near because he was too surprised, and he bowed in a rush after realising she was looking at him.

Sakamo sat at the table again and tilted his head. “I think you can sit down again. She already left. People are looking...”

Tokimasa and Hangaku no Maki, both sat simultaneously, darting glares at each other.

Tokimasa said in a low tone, his face still flushed from the humiliation. “I suppose that this was to up-show me. You will suffer my wrath one way or another. My daughter will marry someone whom I consider worthy. Come, Maki.”

He motioned with his head for his wife to depart and said, “Farewell for now, Mae.”

Sakamo frowned. “Leaving so soon? I was hoping you would offer a large amount for the Empress’ fund-raising event. She won’t be pleased, you know? She might put some blockades to your business if she is up to it.”

Tokimasa fumbled through his attire and laid a cheque on the plate over the table.

“From my family to her. I will not be humiliated any further. I will remain a reputable man, not be made a fool in front of others by the likes of you, regardless of your kinship to the Empress.”

Sakamo shrugged and spoke, “I will deliver that to the Empress. She might even reconsider. Or not, she is overly protective.”