18. Proof
Part Two: Sumire
The Education of Sumire Min is a previously unpublished novel by S. Jae-Jones. Chapters will be emailed to paying subscribers every Friday at 5PM EST. If you are not yet a subscriber and would like to read the rest of the book, as well as receive all sorts of behind-the-scenes access—including a Discord server—why not give it a try?
🚨 content warning: dubious consent, implied sexual coercion 🚨
Success. It was nearly as sweet a word as victory. As Corliss had intimated, Britannia and Nippon came to an amicable agreement over trade and military alliances after many weeks of negotiation, and there was jubilation on all fronts. The Britons could finally return to the comforts of home and hearth, while the Nipponese had the wherewithal to exercise their sovereign rights as a nation—nay, empire—of equal status at last. And what better way to celebrate the conclusion of months of negotiation than a party, hosted on estate of the Foreign Minister himself? An unexpected excursion out to the countryside would do everyone a spot of good, they all agreed.
A heavy snowstorm had struck the city a few nights prior, much to the consternation of their means of transport, but aside from a few minor delays, Sumire and the other guests arrived at the Minister's estate, now a picturesque fairyland of ice and snow. It would be the first time Sumire was at any party as a guest, rather than a hostess, and she felt the difference in status keenly. As far as parties went, it was more intimate than the formal banquets arranged by the Ministry, but larger and more formal than the geisha gatherings thrown by Sumire. She was not here upon the Count’s blessing, she was here on her own merits. It was a strange feeling.