I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Since Tachibana-kun is already a daimyo, he naturally cannot be careless in choosing his wife."

"Miss Chiba comes from the Chiba family."

"The Chiba family is a world-renowned 'family of swordsmen,' and the head family of the Hokushin Itto-ryu school."

"If we're talking about family background alone... although it's a bit of a stretch, Miss Chiba is still qualified to be Tachibana-kun's legal wife."

“Apart from that, she is perfect in every other way.”

"With bright eyes and white teeth, knowledgeable and reasonable, gentle, kind and frugal, he exudes a grand demeanor in every gesture and enjoys a very high reputation within the Shinsengumi."

"In conclusion, Ms. Chiba is truly a perfect match for Mr. Tachibana."

"If Mr. Tachibana were to marry Ms. Chiba, he would surely receive everyone's unanimous support and blessings."

"However, from what I've observed, it seems that Tachibana-kun has an ambiguous relationship with Ms. Kinoshita."

"besides……"

He paused again at this point, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

He shifted his gaze, giving Kondo Isami a strange look, and then looked at Hijikata Toshizo.

"I don't know if I should say this in front of the two of you... I always feel that Tachibana-kun has very unusual feelings for Okita-kun."

Everyone in the Shinsengumi knew that Kondo Isami, Hijikata Toshizo, Inoue Genzaburo, and Okita Souji had an extremely close relationship; the four of them were like family.

It's really hard to say something like that to your two older brothers, that their younger brother is having illicit relations with other men...

"While I have no intention of criticizing Tachibana-kun's preferences, as the lord of a domain, indulging in so many vices is perhaps a bit too much..."

Knowing that his next words were too vulgar, Yamanami Keisuke simply couldn't bring himself to say them.

So, he stopped at a very delicate juncture, coughed lightly a few times, and then somewhat awkwardly changed the subject.

"Kondo-kun, Hijikata-kun, what do you think? Do you have any ideas about who should be Tachibana-kun's wife?"

Kondo Isami shrugged:

"How could I possibly know about something so private?"

Hijikata Toshizo chuckled coldly a few times.

"In my opinion... Tachibana clearly wants to 'take them all'! He wants to marry Chiba Sanako, Kinoshita Mai, and all the other women!"

As he spoke, he made a "grab" gesture.

"Don't let Ju's serious demeanor fool you. I know him too well. He's actually incredibly lecherous and has a strong desire to 'build a big family'."

Yamanami Keisuke countered:

Even if it's about 'establishing a large family,' you still need to choose a principal wife, right?

Kondo Isami waved his hand.

“Mr. Shannan, I think we don’t need to think about it so deeply for now.”

"What we should do now is advise Tachibana-kun to get married as soon as possible."

"As for who to choose as his wife, that's a question for Tachibana-kun to think about. We don't need to worry about it for him."

After listening, Yamanami Keisuke nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah, that's true..."

……

……

The discussion between Hijikata Toshizo and the others continued, but the three women outside the door chose not to listen any longer.

They slammed the door behind them and strolled leisurely down the deserted corridor.

There are two main reasons why I chose to leave.

Firstly, Hijikata Toshizo and the others were in a meeting, and it was inconvenient to disturb them.

Secondly... for some reason, they wanted to escape that place as soon as possible.

Sanako: "..."

Kinoshita Mai: "..."

Souji: "..."

No one spoke... Even Souji, who always presented a cheerful image, kept his mouth shut at this moment.

All three looked preoccupied, as if pondering the ultimate questions of the universe.

Suddenly, Kinoshita Mai let out a dry laugh.

"Hahahaha..."

Her sudden laughter drew the attention of the other two women.

Kinoshita Mai, while fiddling with her fingers with her head down, said weakly:

"Qingdeng is now the lord of a vassal state."

"Now that he has taken this position, whether or not he gets married is no longer up to him."

“It’s time for Qingdeng to get married…to marry someone who is his equal.”

"Actually, I think Mr. Shannan makes a lot of sense..."

"Compared to me, Ms. Chiba is definitely more suitable for Aoto."

As soon as she said those words, Sanako, who was standing next to her, suddenly frowned and her eyes became particularly frightening.

Kinoshita Mai continued speaking:

"Miss Chiba is the eldest daughter of the 'Sword Master Family,' a family of great renown."

"His appearance, temperament, and upbringing are all flawless."

“Mr. Yamanami is right... If Aoto’s wife were Ms. Chiba, everyone would be overjoyed.”

"So... Miss Chiba, you should marry Aoto soon."

"In this way, the morale of the Shinsengumi will be stabilized."

"Although Qingdeng will definitely start talking about 'three wives' again, for me, 'being by Qingdeng's side' is the most important thing."

"Titles and titles are completely irrelevant."

“Miss Chiba, if you are to be the principal wife, then I am willing to be the concubine.”

After she finished speaking, she gave a relaxed and sunny smile.

A perfect smile without a trace of grievance or sadness.

Despite Kinoshita Mai rambling on and on about a lot of irrelevant things, Sanako's response was quite simple:

"..."

She didn't say a word, just squinted and stared intently at Kinoshita Mai.

"Uh... yeah... that..."

Souji stammered, wanting to say something, but not knowing what to say.

Her gaze darted back and forth between the two women, her eyes gleaming with unease.

Perhaps sensing that something was amiss in the atmosphere, she quickly stepped forward, using her body to separate the two women.

"Ms. Kinoshita, what nonsense are you talking about? This isn't the place to chat, let's go somewhere else. Oh, by the way, do you guys want some konpeito (Japanese candy)...?"

Before she could finish speaking, she was ruthlessly interrupted by Sanako:

“…Okita Tsukasa, move aside.”

Taking advantage of her height, Sanako reached her hands over Souji's head and pinched Kinoshita Mai's cheeks on the left and right, then pulled them forcefully to the sides.

"Ouch! That hurts!! Ms. Chiba, what are you doing?!"

Kinoshita Mai screamed in agony, tears streaming down her face.

Although she screamed pitifully, Sanako showed no sign of stopping. Instead, she exerted even more force, stretching Kinoshita Mai's face to twice its normal size.

Sanako pinched Kinoshita Mai's cheeks hard while saying without any emotion:

"What do you mean by 'you're about to marry Qingdeng'?"

"What do you mean by 'If you were to be the legal wife, then I would be willing to be the concubine'?"

"Now I understand why you always give me an uncomfortable feeling."

"That's it... Kinoshita Mai, it's this part of your personality that I really dislike."

"Are you some terrible, awful guy?"

Why do you always look so pathetic, as if you're inferior to everyone else and only want to back down?

"She's not as pretty as me, doesn't have as good aura, and isn't as cultured—so what? What does that even mean?"

"If you're a completely useless person, then why would Tachibana-kun be so infatuated with you?"

"You're not allowed to say things like that that make people angry again."

After saying that, Sanako released Kinoshita Mai's face.

While Kinoshita Mai was being scolded so badly that she couldn't speak and even forgot to rub her cheeks, she turned her gaze to Souji beside her.

Sanako's aura just now was too strong... so strong that it directly intimidated Souji!

She stood there dumbfounded by the wall, not daring to even breathe.

When Sanako looked at her, she immediately straightened her back and tensed up, just like a student waiting to be reprimanded.

Sanako gave Souji a deep look, then touched her forehead and covered most of her face with her palm.

"That's really enough..."

"It's just a wedding... making such a fuss... that's really not like me..."

"Fine... I'm getting impatient with this limbo anyway..."

"You want to get married, right?"