"The news was brought to Osaka last night by messengers sent in hot haste by the princes; the latter were hurriedly striving to fortify their provinces. The Daimio of Arima arrived this morning at dawn and confirmed the news of the messengers. Scouts were instantly sent to various points, and the Shogun ordered me to recall his ambassadors as swiftly as possible, to hold a council." "Let us return to the palace," said the Kisaki. The party set out silently; only the princesses whispered together as they stared at the young warrior. "What a beauty he is?" "You might take him for a woman!" "Yes; but what daring in his eye!" "What coldness too! His tranquil gravity disquiets and alarms." "He must be terrible in battle." "Terrible, too, to her who loves him; his heart seems to be of steel, like his sword. Do not look at him so steadily." Nagato rode up to the Queen. "These events will delay your marriage, Iwakura!" said she, with a strange feeling of delight. "Yes, Queen," said the Prince; "and the chances of war are many: perhaps it may never take place. However, as Fatkoura is publicly known as my betrothed, I wish her to go, until the wedding, to my castle of Hagui, where she will live with my father. If I die, she will bear my name, and be ruler over the province of Nagato." "You are right," said the Kisaki; "but death will spare you. I will make vows for your preservation." Nagato looked at her reproachfully. He dared not speak, but his eyes expressed his thought; they said plainly: "You know that death would be sweeter to me than the union which you force me to make." The Kisaki, deeply moved, turned away her head and spurred on her horse. They returned to the Dairi. When the Mikado learned the tidings of probable war, he seemed afflicted; but in secret he rejoiced. He did not love the Regent, nor did he care much more for the Shogun. Although he was their sovereign lord, he had a confused feeling that they ruled him. He knew that they both kept a watchful eye on him, and he feared them. He was therefore delighted to think that they would mutually inflict on each other all the evil that he wished them both. That same day the envoys of Fide-Yori left Kioto and returned to Osaka. CHAPTER XV. THE USURPER. In less than two months, as Signenari had stated, Hieyas had made himself dreaded; he had at his beck and call an army which public report numbered at five hundred thousand. The provinces of Sagama, Mikawa, and Sourouga, which belonged to him, had furnished large bodies of soldiers. The lord of Owari, the most devoted of Hieyas' allies, had commanded every able-bodied man in his principality to take up arms; so that there was not a laborer left upon his lands. The Prince of Tosa was powerfully entrenched in the large Island of Shikoku, lying to the south of the kingdom, opposite Osaka Bay. From that point he threatened the Shogun's capital.