Volume 1 - CH 3.3

Jusetsu walked along the banks of the pond. It was the pond where Princess Skylark drowned. She was checking the plants and flowers growing next to the pond when she suddenly heard the chirping of a skylark. It was that skylark. She looked around, trying to see where it was, but couldn’t find it.

The pond surface was dimly lit even in the late afternoon under the shadows of the trees. Jusetsu was staring absentmindedly at the fleeting sunlight rippling faintly on the water when she suddenly looked up. She heard the sound of footsteps and clothes rustling. She waited, and a palace lady who appeared to be in her twenties appeared from the shade of a laurel tree. Judging from her attire, she was the attendant to a concubine. She was hugging rugosa roses to her chest. She was a dainty girl with pale skin. Although her features weren’t particularly outstanding, there was an appealing charm to her slim figure and long neck. Her single-edged, downcast eyes had a shadow that drew one’s attention.

The attendant stopped in her tracks when she saw Jusetsu standing by the pond, looking completely stunned. The flowers she was holding fell to the ground. She probably didn’t expect anyone to be here. She hurriedly picked them up.

“Are you offering those flowers to the deceased?”

“Eh?”

“Those flowers. Are you offering them to Princess Skylark?”

The attendant stared at Jusetsu in bewilderment, and then ambiguously affirmed it with an “Ah, well…” She seemed to be on guard against an unfamiliar stranger.

“I am the Raven Consort. You are?”

The palace lady seemed more and more bewildered after she introduced herself as the Raven Consort. She was flustered, as though she couldn’t quite believe it.

“Are you You-shi, attendant to the Crane Consort?”

“——You know who I am?” The palace lady knelt, looking fearful. “As you’ve said, my family name is You,1 and my name is Juujou. I apologize for my rudeness.”

Juujou seemed to think that Jusetsu had guessed her name with uncanny powers. Jusetsu had only guessed that she would be the only attendant who might offer flowers to the princess, based on what she had heard from the palace ladies.

“I have been waiting for you.”

“For me…?”

When she saw the flowers laid on the banks of the pond, she knew that there was someone who mourned the princess’s death. She had come here because she guessed that she would be able to meet that person if she waited here.

“I wish to know about the princess. I have heard that you would occasionally bring food to her, but were you close to her?”

“Ha…” As Juujou was about to answer, she broke into a small coughing fit. “My apologies.”

“Are you ill?”

“No, I wouldn’t say I’m ill, but…I get a cough when the seasons change.”

It seemed to be her physical constitution. She might be frail because of her slim figure.

“’Tis cold by the water. You should be cautious.”

Jusetsu led Juujou from the side of the pond to the shade.

“Thank you very much. ——The princess also had a weak constitution, and perhaps it was for that reason that she often worried about me. Even though she was suffering far more than I…”

“She had a weak constitution?”

“It wasn’t serious enough that she had to see the court physician, but on occasion she would get a fever and be confined to bed. She didn’t take any medicine, saying that she would get better if she slept—she couldn’t get any from the medical office even if she asked. They couldn’t prescribe medicine on their own, and she needed the permission of the empress to ask for the court physician, so Consort Sha was unable to do that much for her…”

If Consort Sha looked after her too much, she would attract the empress’s attention. She seemed to have been afraid of that.

“She didn’t have any attendants, so she was someone who could do anything by herself. When I first met her, she was twelve years old, and I was the same age. Even though she was left alone in such a dreary palace at such a tender age…she was an admirable person who lived a quiet life without blaming anyone. I had just entered the inner palace and was missing home, and I had some very hard times, but the princess comforted me a great deal,” Juujou smiled nostalgically. “She was a down-to-earth person who didn’t mind doing kitchen work or working in the soil. She grew vegetables and flowers in her garden, and I sometimes helped her with that.”

“She grew vegetables and flowers by herself?”

“Yes. The flowers are still growing here. Honeysuckles and rugosa roses. These are cut from that garden. They were the princess’s favorite flowers.”

“I see.”

Jusetsu nodded. Juujou seemed to have suddenly recollected herself.

“Pardon me for asking—but why are you interested in the princess at this time, Lady Raven Consort?”

“There was a skylark who was attached to the princess, yes?”

“Yes,” Juujou immediately nodded. Since it had become famous enough to be the princess’s nickname, there was no need for her to trace her memory.

“Do you know that that skylark has still not left inner palace?”

Aaah, Juujou let out a sigh and spoke with pain in her voice.

“I do know that. I thought it was just a rumor, but I see that it really is true.”

“Yes. I wish to do something about it.”

When Jusetsu said that, Juujou nodded several times as if to show her gratitude.

“Thank you very much. If that is the case, I’ll tell you everything I know.”

Please ask anything you’d like, she said, so Jusetsu decided to ask her without hesitation.

“Was that skylark so attached to the princess?”

“The princess fed that skylark millet and doted on it every day. Sparrows and skylarks often came to her, but one in particular had taken to her, and it would sing happily whenever it saw her.”

“That skylark seemed to have also died when the princess passed away.”

“Yes…” This time, she answered waveringly. It wasn’t because she was hesitating over the answer, but because it was too painful to remember. Juujou hung her head.

“She was screaming for help so heartbreakingly, but I hesitated and was too late to get to her. If I had been able to help her right away, it might have made a difference…”

“Since she had a weak body, the coldness of the pond would have been fatal to her. Even if you had been able to pull her out of the water quickly, I think it would have been difficult to save her.”

Juujou smiled slightly. “Thank you very much. But…”

""

“You said you hesitated. Why?”

“That’s…” Juujou cast her eyes down and her expression darkened. “The day before, I had an argument with the princess.”

“An argument with the princess?”

“I was disrespectful towards her without bearing my position in mind. I asked the princess if she could ask His Majesty—the previous emperor—for help since her situation was so wretched. She shook her head and said that she didn’t want to do anything about it and that she was fine with it. I thought she was so noble, but at the same time I felt so frustrated…because she had done nothing wrong. I thought she should have been more dissatisfied and expressed it.”

But, the princess only shook her head.

“She was so stubborn that she wouldn’t listen to me, and at the end I got angry—and excused myself from her,” A self-deprecating smile appeared on Juujou’s lips. “I’m sure that deep down, I also looked down on her as a mere palace lady’s daughter. That was why I could talk to her like that. When I returned to my room, I realized this and was horrified. I’m sure the princess noticed that part of me as well, since she was very discerning…thinking that, I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t face her.”

That was why the next day, even when the skylark was singing for help, she hesitated. ——And then, the princess died.

“I have always regretted it. She died all alone. I wish I could have held her hand before she passed away. I wish I could have told her that I was by her side. When I think about how sad and lonely she must have felt when she passed away—”

Juujou choked up and covered her mouth with her sleeve. She was coughing, so Jusetsu rubbed her back.

“I’m sorry, it’ll go away soon.”

“Ask the medical office for a fritillary decoction. ‘Tis a cough suppressant.”

“Yes…thank you very much.”

Jusetsu turned back to the banks of the pond and stared at it for a while.

“Do you know the reason why the princess fell into the pond?”

Juujou shook her head.

“I don’t know. She sometimes took walks here, so I thought her foot might have slipped somehow or other.”

“I see…”

Juujou looked anxiously at Jusetsu, who was deep in thought.

“Can you help that skylark?”

“I can.”

When she answered succinctly and resolutely, Juujou let out a sigh, like she was relieved.

“Thank you very much. I cannot help but think of the skylark as the princess herself.”

Please save that skylark, Juujou repeated, and then left. Jusetsu started walking around the pond again.

——The princess was…

A gentle breeze created ripples on the water, making a sound that was like flowing sand. Smelling the dampness, Jusetsu crouched by the water’s edge. Flowers were blooming there. As she approached the ground, the scent of decayed greenery and earth grew stronger.

“So you were here?”

Jusetsu stood up at the voice. Koushun appeared from the woods. Ei Sei was behind him.

“When I went to Yamei Palace, they told me you were at Sourou Hall, so I came searching for you. Jiujiu was troubled because you went out by yourself again.”

“I do not like taking an attendant with me when I walk.”

“If you don’t need an attendant, why don’t you return her to Hien Palace?”

“That is—” Jusetsu turned towards Koushun without thinking. And then she turned back to the pond again. “I do not mind keeping her at Yamei Palace.”

Koushun walked to Jusetsu’s side.

“What are you doing here?”

“I am investigating Princess Skylark.”

“Aah—they said she was good friends with a skylark,” Koushun looked around the pond. “Come to think of it, this was the pond where she died.”

For Koushun, she was his younger half-sister.

“Have you ever met her?”

“No.” Koushun’s answer was short.

“But she was your younger sister.”

“Half-siblings are more likely to be seen only occasionally in ceremonies, if at all. We had no acquaintance with each other.”

Furthermore, Princess Skylark was a princess who seemed to have been completely forgotten because her mother was a palace lady.

“What are these flowers?”

Koushun spotted the sprigs of rugosa roses nearby and picked them up.

“They were offered by a palace lady who had interactions with the princess.”

“I see,” Koushun stared fixedly at the flowers. “So she had someone who would offer her flowers.”

“Those flowers are called rugosa roses. Do you know them?”

“Who knows. I forget the names of flowers no matter how many times I hear them. These don’t seem to be in the Gyokou Hall gardens.”

“Apparently, they were planted in the garden by the princess herself. There were also honeysuckle and chrysanthemums.”

“Oh ho,” Koushun’s eyes said, So what?

“Those flowers can all be used in medicine.”

“Oh ho,” Koushun said again in response. This time he sounded surprised.

“Honeysuckles can be used as fever medicine. Rugosa roses improve the circulation of qi. Chrysanthemums can alleviate fevers and serve as painkillers. The princess was said to be weak and often had fevers, but no medicine was prescribed for her. Therefore, she most likely made her medicines and took them herself.”

Jusetsu didn’t know where she learned that knowledge, but it was probably from her mother.

“And so—” Jusetsu looked towards the pond. “The reason she fell into the pond also lies there.”

What? Koushun asked, and Jusetsu pointed at the plants at their feet. Green-tinged white flowers shaped like temple bells were blooming there. There was a black mesh pattern on the inside of the petals.

“Those are fritillaries.”

“Fritillaries?”

“The bulbs are used as a cough suppressant.”

These are medicine as well? Koushun knelt down and stared at the flowers. He then looked around. “I see, she tried to pick them, but her foot slipped.” The area where the fritillaries were growing was sloped, and the ground was muddy from the water.

“She didn’t have to try so hard to pick them.”

Koushun muttered. Jusetsu was silent. ——The princess attempted to pick the fritillaries for You Juujou’s sake. The princess tried so hard to pick the flowers because she got a cough when the seasons changed. This was probably for the sake of making it up to Juujou after their argument.

That wasn’t something she could tell Juujou by any means. That was why Jusetsu didn’t tell her that earlier. It was better for her to not know.

Jusetsu looked overhead. She could hear the cries of a skylark from within the woods.

“How have you progressed with that?”

“That?”

“The wooden bird. You told me that you would finish it by the time you visited me again.”

“The swiftlet? It’s done.”

Even though he couldn’t remember the names of flowers, he was attentive to the names of animals. Koushun took out the wooden carving from his pocket and handed it to Jusetsu.

“…You did a fine job.”

Jusetsu was impressed as she looked at the sparrow figure in her palm. It was so lifelike that she could almost feel the bird’s heat. The finely carved feathers looked soft, and its round eyes were adorably animated-looking. She felt like she could feel a small heartbeat if she stroked its swelled chest.

“Will it be useful? I don’t know what you’re using it for, though.”

“This is how I will use it.”

Jusetsu whistled. She was imitating the high-pitched call of a bird. A few moments after she did that, a skylark flew down from between the laurel trees. It landed on a tree branch next to her. It was the skylark from before.

Jusetsu took out a peony from her hair, and it transformed into pale pink mist in her palm. She blew on it. The mist turned into a small maelstrom, making her sleeves flap. Jusetsu waved her hand, and the maelstrom unraveled and turned into a gentle wind. Her other hand held the wooden sparrow aloft. The sparrow trembled gently, and then immediately gave a great shake and transformed into a real sparrow.

“Go forth.”

Jusetsu told the sparrow, and it took off from her hand as though responding. It flapped its wings and rose up.

“Now, you should follow this bird. The princess is waiting for you at the end of your journey.”

The skylark took off from the branch. The pale pink wind enveloped it. As though pushed up by the wind, the skylark followed the sparrow.

Riding the wind, the two birds flew away. Towards the sea, and towards the other side of it. When she could no longer see the wind or the birds, Jusetsu let out a light breath.

“That is good. That sparrow will lead the skylark to paradise.”

“Then it’s good that it was a bird that could fly well.”

Yes, Jusetsu nodded. “That bird will be able to fly all the way to the other side of the sea without incident.”

“It’s good that I was the one who made it, then. I don’t think that the bird you were carving would have been able to fly up.”

“Be quiet.”

Jusetsu glared at Koushun and stepped away from him. However, she stopped in her tracks after taking two or three steps.

“…You have my gratitude for making a bird that can fly well for me. You were helpful.”

Thank you, she continued in a low voice. She then began to walk without turning around, but was pulled back by her hand.

When she turned around, she was met with Koushun’s face right in front of hers, but he only stared at her, saying nothing. A slight tinge of wonderment was in his expressionless face.

“What is it? Is that surprising for me to thank you?”

“No—” Koushun looked down and let go of her hand like he was surprised. “I was certainly surprised, but more than that, it was refreshing.”

“Refreshing.”

“I felt happy, as though a cat who had never taken to me very well has at last taken to me just a little bit. ——Aah, oi, wait!”

“I have not taken to you at all, not a single bit, not even one iota.”

“Understood. Then, that will do.”

“What do you mean by ‘that will do’? I—”

“Hold out your hand.”

""

“What?”

“Your hand.”

“I refuse.”

Koushun forcibly took Jusetsu’s hand. He put something small in it. It was a wooden carving of a bird. A cute little bird.

“What is this bird?”

“It’s a willow tit.”

He was strangely specific again.

“I would have liked to paint it. It’s similar to you.”

“…Because it is small?”

“It’s small and adorable.”

“…”

She assumed he was talking about the bird. If he felt that way about Jusetsu, then he was completely out of his mind. How could he think that a cantankerous and annoying little girl like her was adorable?

""

Jusetsu stared at the willow tit. It was smaller than the swiftlet, but it was just as elaborate. The fine feathers looked fluffy, and its slightly tilted neck was charming. It was well made.

“…The person who taught you wood carving must have been very skilled.”

“Apparently, he wanted to be a jade craftsman. He said that if he worked with his hands, he didn’t have to talk to anyone.”

Jusetsu tilted her head, wondering what he was getting at. Koushun looked nostalgically at the willow tit.

“Tei Ran was mute. He came from a respectable family, but was put up for adoption because it was impossible for him to become a civil servant, and then he was turned into a eunuch and sent to the inner palace for money. After working in the Palace Maintenance Bureau, he was transferred to the Eastern Palace because of his honesty. As my caretaker.”

Tei Ran, who was skilled with his hands and could make anything well, seemed to have quickly captured the young Koushun’s heart.

“He was a cheerful and easygoing person. Even without speaking, I could understand what he was thinking. Whether he was happy, sad, or troubled. Maybe it was because I was with him all the time.”

Koushun’s eyes softened as he spoke, but his expression suddenly dropped from his face.

“Tei Ran died when I was the deposed crown prince and sent to Gyosou Palace. On that day, he had gone to the Garden and Ponds Office in the inner palace to ask them for mallow. It was the season for harvesting mallow, and pickled mallow was one of my favorite dishes. Even though I told him that I didn’t need it, Tei Ran only laughed and went out. That was the last time I saw him alive. On his way back from the office, he was arrested by the empress’s eunuchs. The empress dowager knew how much I relied on him. That was why she was waiting for a chance to take him away from me. ——They pinned him with the crime of stealing the mallow and tortured him to death. When I ran over there, it was too late. His corpse, covered with the bruises from being hit with sticks and the wounds from being punched and kicked, was like an old rag.”

Despite the gruesome nature of his words, Koushun’s way of speaking was eerily quiet. It was as calm as the surface of the water without wind—or rather, like the stillness of night. It was as if an unfathomable monster breathing quietly in the depths of the darkness.

She thought she saw a glimpse of the quiet hatred that laid deep within him. His hatred was hungry. Even after the execution of the empress dowager, that hunger hadn’t disappeared. The quieter it was, the more it became a beast that devoured the depths of his heart.

“—Have you made up with Jiujiu?”

He changed the topic so suddenly that Jusetsu didn’t know what he was talking about for a moment. She answered after she understood.

“…We do not have a relationship where we have to make up with each other.”

Jusetsu hadn’t given the sipaotang to Jiujiu, and they didn’t have anything resembling a conversation. However, the two of them were consort and attendant, not friends, so it didn’t matter if they made up with each other or not.

“You shouldn’t act tough like that. It will become pointless. You want to be friends with that girl, don’t you?”

“I have never wanted that.”

“Even though you’re worried that you had offended her?”

“——”

She tried to talk back, but couldn’t find the words and closed her mouth.

“You have the freedom to employ an attendant or not. Even though you yourself wish for it, why do you deny that?”

Jusetsu bit her lip.

“Do you push other people away because of your circumstances?”

He was referring to the fact that she was the last remaining Ran clan member. Jusetsu turned her face away from Koushun.

“’Tis my nature.”

“Your lie will not last long. You aren’t so coldhearted that you can force your way through.”

“What are you calling a—”

“Is it because you’re the Raven Consort?”

Jusetsu turned towards Koushun again. “What did you say?”

“I’m asking you if the reason you must distance yourself from people isn’t due to your circumstances, but because you’re the Raven Consort.”

Jusetsu stared at his face carefully. ——How much does this man know?

Without saying a word, she looked away from him.

“Jusetsu.”

“I have no obligation to answer your question, and you have no authority to demand an answer from me.”

That was who the Raven Consort was.

Jusetsu turned her back to Koushun and started walking away. “Jusetsu,” he called her again, but she only said “What is it?” without stopping.

“You should make up with her.”

Jusetsu stopped.

She thought about saying, “None of your business,” but only turned around silently.

“It’ll be too late once they’re gone.”

Koushun’s words were quiet, but they rang heavily. Jusetsu stared at his face for a while, and then left.

When she returned to Yamei Palace, Jiujiu was wiping the latticed windows. Since she had nothing to do, she usually cleaned the palace during the day. When she saw that Jusetsu had returned, she stopped her work and bowed. “I have sent that skylark on to paradise,” she informed Jiujiu. Her expression brightened.

“Is that so? Thank you very much.”

Jusetsu felt relieved at seeing Jiujiu happy. It seemed that all the complaints about going out alone again today had been put to rest with this. Jusetsu sat down in a chair.

——You should make up with her.

Koushun’s voice echoed in the back of her head. From the start, they didn’t have that kind of relationship. Jiujiu was only working as her attendant, and in contrast, Jusetsu didn’t know what to do with an attendant. However—.

“…I apologize for yesterday.”

Jiujiu, who was preparing to boil water, stopped her hands in surprise.

“I heard that consorts give their attendants gifts. That was why I thought that I should give you something as well. I thought that—you would be happy about that.”

That’s right. She wanted to make her happy. She wanted to make her feel glad that she was Jusetsu’s attendant. It was foolish.

“Niangniang,” Jiujiu knelt down on the floor, wide-eyed and ashamed. “No…you have nothing to apologize for. I said something I deserve to be struck down for, for being disrespectful as an attendant. No servant should argue with their master. Even Kougyou-san scolded me. She told me that I shouldn’t forget my place because Niangniang is so relaxed and familiar.”

She said she wondered when she would be punished or thrown out.

“I am not such an impressive person. I have never had an attendant before, so there is much I do not know.”

“Then, will you still keep me here?”

“Do you wish to stay here?”

“That’s because I’m worried about leaving you alone, Niangniang.”

“Until you came here, I did everything by myself.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about. Niangniang, you must be lonely, right?”

Jusetsu blinked.

“…I have never felt lonely.”

“That can’t be true. I don’t know anything about your situation, Niangniang, but you always seem strained. You must be quite tired every day.”

Her words struck home. This girl had seen through the essence of Jusetsu. Even though she didn’t know anything, she understood her just by being around her.

——She is right. I am tired. I truly am tired. But I cannot complain about it to anyone.

Her eyes became misty. She let out a small sigh.

“…The tea is boiling.”

“Oh no!”

Jiujiu put salt in the kettle of hot water and stirred it with a spoon. The steam spread and the aroma of tea filled the air. Jusetsu closed her eyes and inhaled. She hid her trembling fingertips in her sleeves.

“Here you go, Niangniang.”

Jiujiu offered her a cup of tea. Jusetsu looked at it for a few moments, and then sniffed the warm steam and aroma.

“I know that you dye your hair, Niangniang.”

Jusetsu opened her eyes.

“But neither me nor Kougyou-san will ever reveal that to anyone. You must have some reason for it. That’s why, you can be more relaxed in here.”

Jiujiu smiled. Jusetsu stared at the cup.

“…Thank you.”

Jusetsu reached out for the cup.

―With this, the number of things I cannot forsake increases.

Along with that gentle warmth, she was at a loss, as though a heavy stone was tied to her legs. Layers and layers of chains were surrounding her body.

The tea that went down her throat was so warm that it was bitter.

Koushun woke up in the middle of the night. Though he had awakened, he hadn’t been sound asleep until then, only dozing. He had been nodding off while dreaming. Koushun got up from his bed and looked at the curtains. As his eyes became accustomed to the dark, the thin silk curtains appeared vaguely white in the darkness. However—.

He saw a shadow on the other side of the curtains and got off his bed. He parted the curtains and stepped out. There was someone standing in front of the door to his room. It was two people. They just stood there, not moving a step. This happened every night for some time now. Strangely enough, even in the darkness, the two figures stood out clearly. It was a sign that they weren’t ordinary people.

“…Mother. Ran.”

In front of the door stood Koushun’s mother and Tei Ran. Koushun slowly approached them. However, neither of them moved an inch. They were standing still, as though guarding the door. They didn’t look good. His mother coughing up an immense amount of blood from her mouth, and her clothes were stained with crimson. Her face was pale. She had been killed with poison. Next to her, Tei Ran’s robes were torn and stained with mud and blood. His face, which always had a gentle smile, was swollen and mottled with reddish-black and blue bruises from being beaten. Blood dripped from his limbs and fell to the floor.

The two of them only stared at Koushun. He didn’t find himself afraid of them.

——Always, in the morning, Koushun found himself on his bed, and there was not a single trace of them remaining in front of his door.

So this series also got licensed…orz

That’s what I get for translating a popular series that’s getting an anime…I think I’ll pick up a web novel for my next project here

Though unlike the last series, I do want to continue this translation since I’m a big fan of this series, so I’ll move this translation over to sasaranomiya.tumblr.com (I won’t delete the Foxaholic page) so follow me there!

Please make sure to support the official English release!