Snow White with the Red Hair S1 E7

## Plot

Picking up right where the last episode left off, Shirayuki has just missed Zen. It turns out that he was just upstairs though. He starts coming down, but Shirayuki climbs up a tree to get to him. (Certainly more graceful than her last encounter with a tree). She unexpectedly hugs him. Kiss! She tells him what happened when she talked to his brother, questioning whether she deserved to be here with him. He says that no matter what his brother does, he can't hate him. He tells her a story about Izana. He was a priority because he was the first born, and Zen was always in his shadow. For his 17th birthday, Izana asked for a castle in between two territories. The problem was, the two lords who ruled over those lands had always been feuding, and their people were suffering while the nobility did nothing to help them. It only got worse when both lords started giving large amounts of money to Izana to get into his good graces. They were unfairly stealing this money from their people. Retainers from both lands came to speak with him to get him to stop his construction project, but he refused. He told both lords the same story: That the other was unfairly stealing money from his people to get into Izana's good graces, and both lords said that they'd never do such a thing, even though it was obvious that they were lying. They stopped overtly extorting money and turned to even more unlawful tactics. Izana knew they would do this and had them investigated, eventually overthrowing them both and replacing them with the two retainers who had come to see him. He even gave the money the previous lords had given him back to be used for both lands. This was all for the good of the people, but the way he did it was so manipulative, dirty, and underhanded. Yep, I still hate him. Zen, then 13, looked up to his brother for this admittedly clever scheme, but worried that the former lords could be harboring a grudge. Zen wanted to prove that he was worthy to stand by his brother's side as a prince. Zen also tells Shirayuki about what Raj said at the party, about her being his fiancee. She doesn't mind what anyone might say about the rumor. She's just glad that she can stay in the castle. They hug again, and will you two kiss already?! Raj is given a tour of the medical wing, and he *really* wants to avoid Shirayuki. He comes down with a stomach bug and his attendant leaves to fetch some medicine for him. Zen spars with Izana and yells at him about Shirayuki, who he doesn't even really know yet. Izana doesn't think she's worth getting to know because he sees her as a distraction. *Even Izana* can see that Zen has feelings for her. They can't be together though because of their different social statuses. In the Anglo-Saxon times, women weren't considered important and were married off as political moves to end feuds. Zen warns Izana though that Shirayuki has a way of proving others wrong about her. Mitsuhide and Kiki notice that Zen finally stood up to Izana. Shirayuki and Raj end up running into each other, and it's hilariously awkward. She refuses to respect him until he proves that he can lead her home country. This convinces him to have a change of heart. Izana witnessed the whole thing, and tells her that she'd be better off with Raj, since her life here could be unpleasant with him around. She has no intention of ever returning to Tanbarun though, and likes her new life in Clarines. She refuses to back down against him, and Izana leaves the kids alone for now. Raj *finally* leaves. Yay!