Fujiwara no Mokou, a very special child in the Fujiwara family.
Her mother was Fujiwara no Fuhito favorite concubine during her lifetime, but with her death, Fujiwara no Mokou status in the family became a little awkward. After all, her mother was not from a prominent family and could not give her any help. But the only good news was that Fujiwara no Fuhito was relatively concerned about Fujiwara no Mokou because of his affection for her mother, which allowed her to grow up smoothly in the Fujiwara family.
But that was all. The people in the Fujiwara family would not actively look for trouble with her, but they would not care about her either. The attendants and guards in the family also knew that Fujiwara no Mokou future would either be marrying a certain court noble as a concubine, or marrying down to a certain young talent favored by Fujiwara no Fuhito. Therefore, they rarely communicated with this 'Miss' except for necessary contact, because the effort (possibly getting into trouble with Fujiwara no Fuhito wife and daughters) and the reward (the reward Fujiwara no Mokou could give) were simply disproportionate.
Does this seem very realistic? But this is a necessary skill for ordinary people to live in large families. After all, the number of corpses moved out of such large mansions every year is considerable.
This also caused Fujiwara no Mokou not to like communicating with others. The reason why Fujiwara no Fuhito took Fujiwara no Mokou out this time was also because he noticed that Fujiwara no Mokou seemed to be becoming a little strange and decided to take her out for a walk.
For Fujiwara no Mokou, her life was very simple. She lived in the large mansion of the Fujiwara family, and besides her father, she only had her Shishōs, siblings she wasn't very familiar with, and guards wearing the same clothes, that was all.
Fujiwara no Mokou was very excited about going out before, after all, she hadn't been out for a long time since her mother passed away.
And what surprised her even more was that she actually saw Youkai and a powerful 'Samurai'.
As a 'daughter of the Fujiwara family' whose future had been planned since birth, Fujiwara no Mokou understanding of the outside world, apart from her parents' words, came from books. The books she read since childhood, besides the ones her parents required her to read, were some miscellaneous books like 'myths' or 'biographies'. The story she liked most was the story of 'Susanoo slaying the Yamata no Orochi and later marrying Kushinadahime', and that 'powerful Samurai' made her feel very surprised.
'The Youkai that even Father guards couldn't defeat were easily defeated by someone. That person must be very powerful.'
The innocent Fujiwara no Mokou undoubtedly had a good first impression of Lancer, but that was all. After all, she knew that after she returned to the Fujiwara family, she probably wouldn't have the chance to come out again. As expected, she would probably be married by her father to some unknown man, and then give birth to a child like herself, and then live out her life...
But she didn't expect to see that 'powerful Samurai' again at the entrance of her courtyard.
'Did Father find him?'
Out of curiosity, she decided to sneak to her father place.
Fujiwara no Mokou indeed had no sense of presence in the Fujiwara residence, but this was also a good thing at this time. After all, no one knew whether Fujiwara no Mokou was running around alone or looking for her father on Fujiwara no Fuhito order. If it were any other child of Fujiwara no Fuhito running around in the mansion, they would probably have been caught by the attendant and sent to their serving attendant or maid.
However, what she didn't expect was that when she was peeking at her father room, she was actually discovered by the other party. She was sure that when their eyes met, the other party smiled at her.
She didn't know if it was because of shyness, or because she was afraid that her running around would be discovered by her father, so she turned around and ran without hesitation, and just at this moment, footsteps came from behind...
She turned around and saw that 'Adult samurai' walking towards her. Her heart instantly became even more nervous.
'Did my eavesdropping just now make the Adult samurai angry? And is running like this not ladylike enough? Will Father be angry?'
Because her mind was a mess, she actually didn't notice the railing in front of her...
"Aah!!"
Because she wasn't running very fast, even when her abdomen hit the railing, she didn't hurt herself. Instead, she lost her balance and her whole body fell outwards.
"Be careful!"
But just at this moment, She heard a startled scream from behind., and then only felt a gust of wind rushing towards her. When she opened her eyes again, she found that she was already held in the arms of that 'Adult samurai', with his arm around her waist.
Did she run around and hit herself?
And after she fell, she was held in the arms of that Adult samurai?
The Shishō said that women should not be touched by men other than their husband, father, and brother, on parts other than the hands...
"Pū~!"
After her brain overloaded for a moment, Fujiwara no Mokou fainted directly.
——————
"Ah... troublesome..."
Looking at the little girl in his arms who had fainted with a flushed face, Lancer couldn't help but feel a headache.
'Did the other party not only hit her stomach but also her head just now?'
He looked around, and after confirming that there was no one, he felt even more helpless.
What should an adult man do when holding a faint Loli near an empty corridor?
If Lancer saw it, he would definitely call the police, but the problem was that Lancer was standing in the position of the one being reported...
'At least send her back first, right?'
"Hey! Does anyone know where this child's room is?"
Lancer calling out to the empty courtyard seemed a little strange, and undoubtedly, since there was no one, there would naturally be no response. However, Lancer just frowned, and at the same time, a surge of blood energy welled up in his body...
"Do I need to personally grab you out?"
This time, after Lancer finished speaking, several strange 'creatures' crawled out of the adjacent courtyard.
The few small Youkai that originally lived in the mansion felt like they had terrible luck today. Why did they run into such a formidable being? But they could pretend to be dead before, but now the other party had directly 'threatened' them. What could they do? They were also very desperate!
"Sir..."
"Do I need to say it again? Take me to this child's room."
"Yes!"
Lancer was not at all polite to these small Youkai.
For Lancer, the biggest benefits of being hired by the Onmyōryō were 'intelligence' and 'knowledge'. The knowledge also included the common sense of this world, such as these ordinary small Youkai. Most of them appeared because of the malicious thoughts or filth gathered by humans. Generally speaking, the Onmyōryō would not attack these small Youkai, as it was too much of a waste of time and energy.
Simply put, these small Youkai could not harm humans at all, and even if ignored, they might disappear at any time, unless thousands of small Youkai gathered together, which might cause some trouble. However, if they really gathered to a certain number, the Onmyōryō would also take action.
And if there were really threatening Youkai in the home of the 'Minister of the Right', the Onmyōryō would not ignore them, so Lancer didn't bother with them when he discovered them before. But now, it was just right to let them lead the way.
Then, an extremely bizarre scene appeared.
A few small Youkai without even a name walked in the middle of the road, followed by a tall man carrying a fainted little girl...
——————
Lancer hadn't paid much attention before, but now holding the little girl, Lancer carefully observed her appearance.
Her long black shawl hair looked very smooth, and the kimono on her body was not too luxurious, but it was worn meticulously. Although she hadn't fully grown up, based on Lancer experience, she should become a beauty when she grew up.
'Should I say she's worthy of being the daughter of that handsome uncle?'
Lancer didn't know if he was lucky, or if the few small Youkai deliberately led Lancer around the attendants. In short, when Lancer brought this strange little girl to her room, he didn't encounter anyone else, which made Lancer breathe a sigh of relief. Although he was upright and not afraid of slander, it was also good to avoid some trouble.
However, when Lancer arrived in front of her room, he ran into another difficulty because he didn't know whether he should just leave her in the room or wait until she woke up before leaving. He wasn't worried about her safety. This was Fujiwara's mansion after all. He was afraid that after the little girl woke up, she would overthink things and cause some strange changes.
If Lancer was most confident about anything, it would probably be his 'luck'.
It usually didn't have much impact, but in some strange areas, it would plummet...
"Forget it, I'll wait a while. Anyway, that funashiyaku hasn't come looking for me."
Lancer leaned against the corridor, resting the other party's neck on his thigh. Although he felt quite innocent, the other party fainted because of him after all, and Lancer inevitably felt bad about letting her lie directly on the tatami mat. This could tentatively be considered... a knee pillow, right?
——————
The warm sunlight shone on her body, and Fujiwara no Mokou couldn't help but let out a strange moan. It was obvious that she had slept well, but she felt a little strange when she woke up.
'Why is the pillow a little hard?'
Just as a strange thought popped into her mind, a somewhat helpless voice came from beside her.
"I apologize, my leg is all muscle."
"Aah!!"
Fujiwara no Mokou, sitting up in panic, realized at this moment that what she was leaning on just now was not a pillow, but the calf of that 'Adult samurai'. And what made her even more shy was that there seemed to be a puddle of water on the hem of the Adult samurai's kimono...
Fujiwara no Mokou, with a flushed face, sat there wringing her fingers, at a loss. Lancer, however, smiled and didn't mind.
When the other party woke up and vaguely said, 'Why is the pillow a little hard?', he was indeed stunned for a moment, but he didn't feel angry at all. Instead, he found this confused little girl a little interesting. He had prepared a lot before, such as whether to cover her mouth if she woke up screaming? Or how to restrain her if she attacked directly. But no matter how he thought about it, he didn't expect the other party to be even more at a loss than him.
"I apologize for just now. Did I scare you?"
"No! Adult samurai..."
"Lancer, my name is Lancer, and I am not a samurai."
"Sir Lancer, are you not a samurai?"
"No, if you count by profession, I should be an 'Exorcist' now."
"Eh? An 'Exorcist'? That's amazing!"
Should he say it was fortunate that she was a child? Lancer didn't even deliberately change the subject, but as they talked, the other party's attention shifted to strange places.
And perhaps because she stayed at home all year round, the other party seemed to have little understanding of the 'outside world'. Lancer would casually mention some things, and the other party would shout in surprise.
Lancer, having gone through many things, could basically achieve a state of not being delighted by external gains or saddened by personal losses, but facing a child who genuinely 'adored' him, Lancer couldn't help but feel a little happy.
For Lancer, it was just a long-lost relaxation, but Fujiwara no Mokou, sitting next to him, looked at Lancer with excitement. For her, let alone 'Youkai', she hadn't even met many strangers. Now, listening to Lancer describe the strange appearance and living habits of some Youkai, she couldn't help but want to see them with her own eyes. But just at this moment ——————
She suddenly noticed that Lancer seemed stunned.
"What's wrong, Sir Lancer?"
Looking at Fujiwara no Mokou, who had pressed down on the hem of his kimono at some point, Lancer also shrugged helplessly.
"It seems I have to leave."
Only at this moment did Fujiwara no Mokou notice that the sun had risen to the top of the head. Her face instantly turned red again. It was obvious that she only realized at this moment that she had been talking to a man all morning.
Full of shyness, she quickly backed away several steps on her knees.
"I apologize, Sir Lancer, for delaying you for so long..."
"It's okay. I was quite happy, after all. At least it was more interesting than listening to two uncles chat~"
"Puchi~"
As soon as Lancer finished speaking, Fujiwara no Mokou couldn't help but laugh, but then quickly covered her face with her sleeve, only revealing her forehead. However, her rosy appearance proved that its owner was very shy.
Perhaps being accustomed to being on edge and scheming, Lancer couldn't help but walk over when he saw such a pure child.
"If Miss Fujiwara doesn't mind, can I come back to chat with you again later?"
"Won't it bother you, Sir Lancer..."
Looking at her carefully putting down her sleeve, although her face was still flushed, she had an expectant smile. Lancer also subconsciously placed his hand on her head and gently rubbed it.
"Haha~ It's about balancing work and rest~"
Lancer smile at this time was a little strange. He couldn't possibly say that bragging about his own actions in front of a child felt great, could he?
——————
Fujiwara no Mokou, sitting in the corridor, only seemed to come to her senses and covered her flushed face after Lancer, who had slipped into the bushes, completely disappeared.
"I wonder what kind of story Sir Lancer will bring me next time?"
For the first time, Fujiwara no Mokou began to be interested in the world outside the 'Fujiwara family'.