Chapter 7
An Unexpected Encounter and Revelations

Night was gently enfolding Kyōto, leaving the city bathed in a serene calm, when Yuki's husband, his heart lightened by the purification ritual, had an unexpected encounter. His solitary walk was interrupted by the breathless voice of his maidservant, who seemed to spring out of the shadows.

Master! Wait, please! she exclaimed, her midnight-blue kimono floating around her like a night mist. Her hair, normally tied up with care, fell loose over her shoulders, lending her figure an almost mystical air.

The husband stopped, looking at her with surprise and suspicion. What is the matter? he asked.

The maidservant, catching her breath, held out a wooden box. You forgot this, she said, an evident tension in her voice. The pieces of the ōgi set. You were going to burn them, were you not?

Taking the box with a wary look, he nodded. Yes, that is true. Thank you for reminding me. He was puzzled by this unusual attentiveness on his maidservant's part, but he had no time to dwell on such thoughts.

The maidservant, however, seemed in no hurry to leave. Master, she began hesitantly, there is something you must know. I have watched your wife play this game, night after night. She was... different, as if she were somewhere else.

The husband, intrigued by her words, urged her to go on. She played alone, always following the same sequence of moves, and the game always ended in the same way, in one precise position, the maidservant explained, her voice filled with palpable worry.

These revelations left the husband deeply troubled. He now realised that there was more to understand about Yuki's situation than the mere destruction of the ōgiban. The repetition of the moves, the final position always identical—these details suggested an enigma more complex than he had imagined.

Thank you, he said softly to the maidservant. What you have observed may be the key to helping Yuki. He knew that the road to his wife's recovery was only beginning. The night around them seemed denser, and the mystery of the ōgi set deeper than ever.