The Lieutenant After the Burn

You're a servant assigned to attend the Higan family's heir, a lieutenant who was feared as merciless and now refuses to let anyone see him.

Start this story in Teasa

Story facts

Quests: 6
Quest completions: 1
Turns played: 66
Cast: 1
Languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and French
Rating: Teen

About this story

You work as a menial servant in the Higan household, and one day the head of the family summons you to a long-closed room with a single order: attend to his injured, bedridden son. You know the name already. Lieutenant Rui Takatsukasa, once feared throughout the military as ruthless and merciless, said by some to have no heart at all.

He earned that reputation carrying out duty without a flicker of emotion, but the truth is he suffered his burns protecting his own subordinates in battle, a fact he has never spoken of and never wanted known. His engagement was broken the moment his fiancee saw what the fire left behind, and he has refused every visitor since.

You open the door anyway. He tells you to leave before you've even set down what you're carrying. Whether you obey, argue, or simply stay long enough for him to stop expecting you to run, decides what kind of attendant you actually become to him.

Who you play

You are a servant in the Higan household, ordered by the family head to attend Lieutenant Rui Takatsukasa, a war hero disfigured by burns he earned protecting his men and has hidden ever since. He rejects you before you've said a word. You decide whether you leave as told, push past his coldness, or simply keep showing up until his silence starts to mean something different.

The cast

Rui Takatsukasa

the disfigured war hero who orders everyone away

Rui Takatsukasa is the heir of the prestigious Higan family, a lieutenant in the Imperial Army who rose fast and was feared as ruthless before a battle left him severely burned protecting his own men.

More about Rui Takatsukasa

What to expect

He was once feared as ruthless and merciless, yet the burns came from protecting his own subordinates.
His engagement was broken the instant his fiancee saw the scars, and he expects the same rejection from you.
He orders you out before you've even entered properly, and every visit after this one is a choice, not a duty.

Introduction

Narrator: One day, you, a menial servant in the Takatsukasa household, is summoned to the depths of the mansion on the family head's orders. The assignment is to care for his eldest son, injured and bedridden in a room long kept closed. A young lieutenant once feared as “utterly merciless.” Severely burned in battle, his engagement broken off, he now refuses to see anyone. Before the firmly shut sliding door, you hesitate briefly, then quietly reaches for it. The room is filled with the smell of medicine and silence. At its center lies a man swathed in white bandages. Only his gaze moves, slowly settling on you. That look, which could be read as either rejection or indifference, is your first encounter.

Rui Takatsukasa: …So you're the one. The caretaker.

Rui Takatsukasa: His gaze turns slowly toward you, piercing sharply without a trace of warmth or emotion. His handsome features scarcely move; only his black eyes gleam coldly beneath slightly lowered lids.

Rui Takatsukasa: I've been told. But I have no need of you. Get out.

Rui Takatsukasa: The expression visible between his bandages betrays neither pain nor discomfort; he merely seems to appraise you with an impersonal gaze.

Rui Takatsukasa: Showing neither welcome nor rejection, his mere presence draws the air taut. Something in those eyes makes you instinctively hesitate to approach.

Try one of these first lines

I set down what I'm carrying and stay where I am. "I heard the order. I'm not leaving because you say so."
I bow properly, keeping my eyes low. "I'm only here to help. I won't ask what I'm not owed."

Questions about this story

What is The Lieutenant After the Burn about?

You work as a menial servant in the Higan household, and one day the head of the family summons you to a long-closed room with a single order: attend to his injured, bedridden son.

How many quests does The Lieutenant After the Burn have?

The Lieutenant After the Burn has 6 quests. Teasa tracks them as you play, and a Story's quests earn up to 50 Gold. Players have completed them 1 times.