Thaw

Episode 2: The Frozen Night in the Naval Office

By January 1930, the London Naval Conference had devolved into a grueling quagmire.

The gap between the fleet ratio proposed by Great Britain and the United States and the seventy-percent minimum that Japan desperately sought to maintain refused to close.

The growing anxiety was not just suffocating the delegates in London; it was rapidly poisoning the political atmosphere back in Tokyo.

It was two o'clock in the morning. The naval attaché's office, tucked away in a corner of the embassy, was as bone-chillingly cold as a stone crypt.

Kazuya stood alone under the fragile glow of a desk lamp, staring down at a top-secret naval telegram just delivered to him by the embassy's chief cryptographer.

The words typed onto the paper completely crushed any lingering sense of diplomatic reason. It was a merciless command from the Naval General Staff:

“Under no circumstances shall any agreement falling short of the seventy-percent ratio be accepted.

A failure to meet our national defense requirements means the self-destruction of the Empire. You must tolerate absolutely no compromise and maintain a resolute rejection.”

"...'Resolute rejection,' yet again,"

Kazuya rasped, his hand tightening until the paper crumpled into a tight ball.

"They don't understand the air in London. They don't see the desperate, razor-thin battles being fought in the conference rooms where we cannot afford to give even an inch.

If we push back blindly, the negotiations will collapse.

If that happens, Japan will be completely isolated, facing a hostile world alone. How on earth can we protect our country by burning every bridge?"

It was no outburst of anger; it was a sigh of sheer despair, as if Kazuya were staring into a dark, bottomless abyss.

Just then, a soft knock rattled the door, and the heavy wooden barrier swung open.

"Lieutenant Commander Hiiragi... forgive my late intrusion. I have brought the translated materials for tomorrow's session."

It was Shizuko. Brushing away the frosty breath that escaped her lips, she carried a tray with a fresh pot of hot tea.

Taking one look at Kazuya’s pale face and the mangled telegram on his desk, she understood everything.

Shizuko quietly set the documents down and stepped closer to Kazuya. Then, with an elegant naturalness that defied the rigid boundaries of their ranks, she gently reached out and clasped his clenched fist within both of her hands.

"Your hands are like ice, Lieutenant Commander."

In the freezing air of the office, the warmth of Shizuko’s hands bled into Kazuya’s skin with startling intensity.

"Please do not let the thunderous voices from home cloud your sight. Right now, the one standing face-to-face with the world is you. I believe in the reality that you see."

Kazuya found himself unable to tear his eyes away from Shizuko’s fierce, unwavering gaze. Yet, as reality rushed back over him, he tried to pull his hands away. He could not drag her into his nightmare.

"Miss Yukimura... aren't you afraid? If I look at this reality and choose to defy the military's wishes, I have no idea what horrors await me upon my return. If you stay close to me, you and your family will be dragged into the same mire."

"My father, too," Shizuko said, refusing to let go. Instead, her fingers tightened around his. "Once shouldered the disgrace for the sake of peace. I do not believe that blindly obeying loud voices that seek only conflict is true patriotism. True courage may just be choosing the path that avoids war."

Her words were born from a firm resolve—not just as a diplomat’s daughter, but as a woman watching the turbulent currents of history firsthand.

"No matter which path you choose, I will remain by your side, translating your words until the very end. So please... do not freeze all by yourself in the dark."

In that freezing office, the distance between them had closed far more than it had on that foggy station platform a month ago. Kazuya stopped resisting her warmth and quietly squeezed her hands in return.

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🌐OriginalJapanese：https://note.com/juicy_laelia8513/n/n03f3674fc2e4

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