Volume 3 - CH 1.1

I’m back guys~~! This is the volume where a bunch of new characters are introduced and we start the overarching plot of the series. 

Translation Notes

1. Banka is written with the characters 晚霞 which means “evening glow,” while Chouyou’s name is written with the characters 朝陽 which means “morning sun.”

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At the deep, deep bottom of the sea, stretched out in the silence of the night, I am always waiting.

In the dead of night, Ishiha woke up. He quietly rose from his bed so as to not make any sound. He felt like he just had a bad dream. It was because his throat was dry. The rain he had been hearing before he fell asleep had already stopped, but the damp scent of rain that was characteristic of the end of a shower drifted in the air.

――It’s different from the scent of the sea.

It was different from the smell of the tide, mixed in with that somewhat fishy smell, that clung to his skin. Ishiha hugged his knees on his bed. He hated waking up in the middle of the night. That was when he was the loneliest and the saddest. Memories of his hometown and of the time when he was made into a eunuch swirled around in his head, making his chest squeeze tight. He was having trouble breathing and he pressed his forehead against his knees. He choked back a sob.

“…You can’t sleep?”

He heard Onkei’s voice in the darkness. He felt him getting up in the bed next to his. Ishiha shared a room in Yamei Palace with his senior, Onkei. He hastily apologized.

“I’m sorry, I woke you up.”

It was dark, so his tear-stained face couldn’t be seen, but he sounded nasal. He could feel Onkei staring at him. Onkei slipped off his bed and left the room. Just as Ishiha was panicking, wondering if he had irritated him, Onkei immediately returned.

He was holding up a candlestick. His face emerged from the darkness with the flickering flames of the candle.

“Here.”

Onkei held out a cup. It was filled with water. He seemed to have drawn it from the water jug in the kitchen. “You must be thirsty.”

“Y…yes. Thank you very much.”

Ishiha drank the water, wondering how did he know. His parched throat now quenched, he let out a sigh of relief.

“Everyone has nightmares for a while after they become a eunuch.”

That was all Onkei said in his quiet voice. He was a beautiful man, but there was an unapproachable coldness in his appearance that made Ishiha too nervous to approach him. However, the gentle smile that sometimes appeared on his lips told him that he was a warm person at heart.

“Mr. Onkei, was it like that for you as well?”

There was no answer to that question. Onkei blew out the candle and darkness returned to the room. The faint wisp of smoke from the blown-out flame faded quickly. The smell of smoke and water mingled together. There was the sound of Onkei crawling into his bed, and Ishiha laid down as well. The water that soothed his throat slowly seeped into his chest and loosened his stiffened heart. His eyelids naturally drooped, and he was lulled to sleep as though rocked by the waves. In the waves, the image of his hometown floated and disappeared. His parents, the village elders. The fireside on stormy days, the sound of the wind beating at the window, and the starry sky after the storm had passed, like silver sand scattered across the sky. The elders’ tales. The islands born from the chopped-up god. The lost souls blown into the cove. The one or two new lives raining down from the river of stars. He wondered if the baby born next door was growing up healthy. He wondered how his siblings were doing. How was his childhood friend, Ayura, doing——

It seemed that the rain had stopped. Jusetsu turned her attention to the latticed window. Late at night, beyond the lattice, all she could see was a deep indigo darkness. Water was seeping into the darkness. When the rainy season began, there would be large downpours of rain all at once, but they didn’t last long. After the rain, the soil, greenery, and even the darkness became fresh, as if they had come back to life. The scent of life was strong. Jusetsu didn’t care for this time of the year. No, it might be Wulian Niangniang who didn’t like it. She didn’t know. Jusetsu looked at the table. What she had been looking at until then was placed there. It was a necklace of two strands of black pearls. A delicate rainbow pattern played on the jet-black surface in the light.

These black pearls were the feathers left behind by the “Owl.” The remains of what was once Shougetsu, who was created by the Owl. Shougetsu had turned into feathers and disappeared, but Jusetsu had gathered those feathers and stuffed them into a hemp sack. They turned into black pearls overnight. She asked the Directorate for Imperial Manufactories to string them into a necklace.  

We were born from sea foam—that was what the Owl had said. Was that why his feathers turned into pearls? Jusetsu let out a sigh, placed the pearls in a mother-of-pearl box, and put it in the cupboard. It wasn’t as though she would know the answer just by staring at it.

Jusetsu no longer knew who she was. Was she the Raven, was she “Jusetsu,” or was she a mixture of both? The Raven came here from the distant Kakurenomiya. This was the taboo island where gods who committed crimes drifted to. The Raven was trapped in Jusetsu so that she couldn’t escape. Just as the Owl made the doll called Shougetsu, Jusetsu was a vessel for confining the Raven. If she was shattered, would her body turn into feathers and become pearls as well?

Jusetsu let out a small laugh. At night, when she had her attendant Jiujiu retire for the night and was left alone, an unbearable emptiness began to take root in her chest. Loneliness could be endured. However, emptiness ate into her heart little by little. Right now, she wasn’t being swallowed up by it because Jiujiu and the others were here with her. Even if she was disobeying Reijou’s words in the process.

Xingxing, who had rested its wings at Jusetsu’s feet, raised its head. Jusetsu looked back at the door. Xingxing spread its wings and made a fuss. Jusetsu gently flicked her hand and opened the doors. It was a visitor who had come to ask for a favor from the Raven Consort.

Now, she could understand painfully why the Raven Consorts had accepted the requests of the people of the inner palace until now. They wanted to be connected to people. As they weren’t even sure of their own minds, if they couldn’t rely on anyone, they would at least like to be useful to someone and have a connection with others, even if it was just a thin thread.

“L-Lady Raven Consort. I have a matter I wish for you to…”

Before she could speak, the doors opened, and the flustered palace lady falteringly said this.

“You may enter.”

Jusetsu sat down in a chair. The palace lady also sat across from her while looking around nervously. Judging from her appearance, she seemed to be an attendant of some palace. Her ruqun was of fine silk, and her sash was adorned with an ornament of white coral with a violet-colored decorative cord.

“I am the Crane Consort’s attendant at Hakkaku Palace. My family name is Ki, and my given name is Senjo.”

The attendant introduced herself. She was a thin woman with a slender and pale face. Her hands were tightly clasped together in front of her chest, and her body was trembling slightly.

“What is your business here?”

When Jusetsu asked her that, Senjo took a deep breath. Hesitant to speak, her gaze wandered, then she looked at Jusetsu with imploring eyes.

“A ghost has been visiting me.”

Senjo’s nails were digging into her clasped hands. She closed her eyes and repeatedly exhaled and inhaled, perhaps to calm herself. She touched the white coral hanging from her sash, and as she stroked it, her breathing finally evened, and she spoke again.

“…The ghost only comes on rainy nights. It comes to the door of my room. It doesn’t even knock on my door, much less come in. How do I know that a ghost is visiting me? I hear its footsteps. Footsteps walking in the rain. It walks steadily and stops in front of my door. When the rain stops, its presence disappears. There is a puddle in front of the door. It cannot be a person. A few times, I couldn’t help but peer through the lattice window. I see a black shadow there. But I can’t make out its appearance. It’s right there, but I can’t see it. Only its feet in long boots are visible. All that I can see other than that is water dripping from its clothing. No matter how hard I look, its face is indistinguishable, as if it’s covered in shadows.”

After speaking with a trembling voice, Senjo let out a deep breath. Her shoulders were heaving. While she was talking, even now, she was stroking the white coral frequently. It seemed that she couldn’t calm down unless she was fiddling with something. Jusetsu got the impression that she was high-strung, but that might be because she was haunted by a ghost. Her almond eyes, which would be charming otherwise, were red.

Jusetsu peered at her face, and then spoke.

“When did this begin happening?”

“It began on the first rainy night on my journey from my hometown to here.”

“It didn’t start after you came to Hakkaku Palace?”

“Yes. I have always been an attendant of the Saname clan—”

“Saname clan?”

“It is Lady Banka’s family. Do you not know it?”

“I know not. Who is Banka?”

Senjo’s eyes widened in surprise. Perhaps remembering that the Raven Consort was someone isolated from society, she cast down her eyes and said, “I beg your pardon.”

“The Saname clan is a wealthy family from Ga Province. They are a clan that migrated from the country of Kakami a long time ago, and they were once feudal lords who governed the whole of Ga Province, but now they have stepped away from government and are a powerful family with a large number of manors. Ga Province is a rich land, and the Saname clan is in no way inferior to that of a great merchant.”

Jusetsu recalled hearing that the Crane Consort’s family was wealthy when she visited Hakkaku Palace before.

“This Banka is the Crane Consort, yes?”

“That is correct, Lady Raven Consort.”

“Despite her family name sounding foreign, her given name is in the Shou-style.”

“Lady Banka’s name was given to her by His Majesty when she entered the inner palace. Since long ago, the Saname clan has never revealed their true names to others. Since the head of the Saname clan, Lady Banka’s father, calls himself Chouyou, His Majesty gave Lady Banka her name to match him.” (1)

“I see, afterglow, huh.”

It was a stylish name. That man could do something so elegant? Jusetsu thought of Koushun’s face, which always lacked expression.

“Master Chouyou was also very happy. And—um…”

Her face said, What were we talking about again?

“We were talking about when the ghost appeared. You said that it was after you left your hometown, and you have been an attendant of the Saname clan for a long time.”

“Yes, that was the case. So, nothing happened when I was with the Saname clan in Ga Province. When it was decided that Lady Banka was to be married to His Majesty, on the way from Ga Province to the capital, there was a night when it rained, and that was when it started. It happened when we were staying at an inn.”

Seeming to recall that time, Senjo trembled.

“Even after the rain stopped and the ghost disappeared, I couldn’t sleep for the whole night. Even now, when it starts to rain after dark, I’m out of my mind terrified. Tonight as well—”

“It was raining just now, was it not?”

Senjo nodded while trembling.

“After I confirmed the rain had stopped and the ghost had left, I couldn’t bear it any longer and came here. I have no other choice but to rely on you, Lady Raven Consort.”

“Do you wish for me to drive away the ghost?”

“Yes. Please fulfill my request. I will prepare compensation for you, so please—”

Jusetsu thought about it for a moment. A ghost that only appears on rainy nights—?

“…I’m quite curious.”

“Eh?”

“The fact that it doesn’t come through your door weighs on my mind. You say that it only stands there and does nothing?”

“Yes, but,” Senjo was about to protest, but Jusetsu held up her hand to stop her.

“On the other hand, I am also concerned about the fact that it is following you. It seems that it isn’t a ghost that has settled down in the inner palace.”

Senjo paled at the words “following you.”

“I wish to investigate where the ghost appears. Tomorrow, I shall visit your room. And then—”

Jusetsu stood up and brought over a piece of hemp paper from the cabinet.

“’Tis merely for peace of mind, but I’ll give you this amulet. It is for protection. It’s the type of thing that sorcerers walk around giving out, but weak ghosts will not come near you with this.”

Senjo gratefully accepted the amulet, which had strange characters written on it in ink.

“Do you not have any clue as to the identity of that ghost?”

At Jusetsu’s question, Senjo hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. “No.” She hugged the amulet against her chest and quickly left the pitch-black palace.

Jiujiu was always noisy in the morning. She talked incessantly while bringing in the water basin for washing her face or while getting breakfast ready. It was like the chirping of a little bird. She rambled on about things like how it wouldn’t rain today because winter wrens were flying high in the sky, or how it was good weather for laundry, or how the rice cakes in the kitchen had mold on them.

“In my hometown, they say that if the Fishing Star looks hazy, then it’s going to rain,” Ishiha said as he helped prepare breakfast.

“They don’t say that around here. We don’t have the custom of looking up at the night sky because they close the doors at night.”

Ishiha’s hometown was a small fishing village. For those who made their living by fishing, the stars were an important guidepost for finding directions.

“For us, it’s very important to know where the stars are and when they appear.”

“Then, your tribe isn’t afraid of the night, then? They say that Yeyoushen appears at night.”

“No, we’re afraid of Yeyoushen. That’s why we wear charms against our skin and don’t go fishing on starless nights. We’re afraid of monsters coming out of the waves and dragging our boats down to the bottom of the sea on dark nights.”

It was very interesting to hear about Ishiha’s hometown, which was very different from this area. Jusetsu had never actually seen the sea with her own eyes. The exception was through the eyes of the Raven who slipped out of the inner palace on nights of the new moon.

“The sea must be a terrifying thing.”

Jusetsu murmured as she scooped up her porridge with a spoon. Ishiha laughed brightly. His tanned skin wrinkled tightly.

“It’s scary, but it’s also warm. It’s like a cradle.”

“A cradle?”

“The waves. They come and go, like a very big cradle,” Ishiha gestured like he was rocking a cradle. “Besides, they tell us that you have to be afraid. Otherwise, people will underestimate the sea. We should be afraid of it.”

“Did your village elders tell you that?”

“Yes. They taught us a lot about the sea and the stars.”

Jusetsu supposed that it was similar to what Reijou was like to her. She blew on her scooped-up porridge to cool it. The congee with snow fungus and dried day lilies was so hot that it would burn her throat if she didn’t cool it down enough. It would be nice if they could serve it a little cooler, but the old servant Keishi would never allow it. She always said that food must be served when it was hot because it would quickly get colder and colder. She finally put the cooled porridge into her mouth. The crispy snow fungus was one of Jusetsu’s favorites. The pine nuts sprinkled on top of the porridge were fragrant and nourishing. In Keishi’s mind, Jusetsu would always remain a small, underfed child, and she still only prepared nourishing food for her.

“Niangniang, what are your plans for today?”

Jiujiu asked. Usually, her answer was “nothing in particular,” but today was different.

“I’m going to Hakkaku Palace.”

“Oh, you’re going out? It’s been a while,” Jiujiu suddenly sounded excited. “Then, this is a good opportunity for you to wear the clothing that was given to you by Hua Niangniang recently. The pale purple raw silk robe and peach-colored skirt…the crystal hairpin will do.”

She spoke like a full-fledged attendant. “I don’t need to dress up so excessively,” Jusetsu reminded her, but the exuberant Jiujiu wasn’t listening. Since she seemed to be in a good mood, Jusetsu thought, Oh well, and gave up. Jiujiu liked dressing up Jusetsu. According to her, it was boring how Jusetsu usually dressed in black.

As soon as she finished breakfast, she was made to change clothes. The colorful clothing was a gift from Hua Niangniang—the Duck Consort, Un Kajou. Kajou wanted to take care of Jusetsu as if she were her younger sister. She often had garments tailored and sent to her even though she said she didn’t want them, and Jusetsu, unable to ignore them, reluctantly accepted the gifts. Why did those around her never listened to her?

Jiujiu kept changing the sash and hairpins, taking on the task of changing her clothes until she was satisfied. Jusetsu simply stood there. She kept silent, because it would only prolong the process if she interfered. “Are we finished?” Jusetsu asked Jiujiu, satisfied with the pale red crystal hairpin and the dangling gold hairpins. “I believe so,” Jiujiu nodded with an air of importance. Kougyou, who was helping with Jusetsu’s change of clothes behind her, had her shoulders shaking with amusement.

Leaving the care of Xingxing to Ishiha, Jusetsu left Yamei Palace with Jiujiu. For some reason, the usually-difficult Xingxing had taken a liking to Ishiha and became attached to him. Xingxing—didn’t the Owl call it Harara? Could that be its real name? As Jusetsu passed through the woods surrounding Yamei Palace, she looked up at the treetops. With a cry of “gah,” a bird landed there. Brown wings with white spots. It was the spotted woodpecker. She thought that bird had also disappeared when Shougetsu scattered into feathers, but it was living in this forest.

――Didn’t he say that this bird is a tsukaibe?

Was that why it was staying here? Nothing could be gleaned from the eyes of the woodpecker—Sumaru.

They went through the woods and headed north of the inner palace. Onkei, who was Jusetsu’s bodyguard, was most likely watching over her from somewhere in the shadows. That was why she was walking without much caution. Within the inner palace, it was filled with trees, blooming flowers, waterways, and sturdy mud walls. The tiled roofs of the palaces looked like waves as they reflected the sunlight. Just as Jiujiu said, it didn’t look like it would rain today. Senjo must be relieved as well.

“What business do you have at Hakkaku Palace?”

Jiujiu asked as they walked down the alley between the mud walls.

“I received a request.”

“Ah, so a visitor did come last night. You slept until quite late this morning, so I wondered if that was the case,” Jiujiu pouted a little, like she was sulking. “That’s why I always asked you to let me stay up until much later.”

“One never knows when visitors like that will come. It is useless to stay up late for them. You and the others have to wake up early in the morning.”

“But…”

Jiujiu didn’t look happy. Jusetsu would lose if they continued this quarrel, so she changed the topic.

“Do you know the consort of Hakkaku Palace?”

“Was it the Crane Consort who visited last night? No, I’ve never met her.”

“It was the Crane Consort’s attendant. Even if you’ve never met her, do you know anything about her?”

Jiujiu tilted her head.

“I don’t really know much. Hakkaku Palace doesn’t have a very high rank within the inner palace, and it’s located on the outskirts. Rumors about it don’t reach this far. I believe she is a princess of Ga province. I heard that she is the youngest daughter of an old and powerful family, and that she is a generous person without the primness of a rich young lady.”

Jusetsu also heard that she was very generous in giving away fabrics and hairpins before. Senjo had also been wearing fine clothing.

“There’s talk that since the position of Magpie Consort is now empty, the Crane Consort or Swallow Mistress might be promoted. If anything, it seems more likely that the Swallow Mistress——”

“…”

Jusetsu still felt depressed when she thought about the Magpie Consort. The image of her blood splattering as her throat was bitten open flashed through her mind.

Jiujiu, who seemed to have sensed Jusetsu’s feelings, changed the subject in a panic.

“Oh, Niangniang. By the way, we have the peaches that His Majesty gifted us the other day. I’ll peel them for you when we return to Yamei Palace.”

“I can peel a peach by myself.”

“But your hands will get all sticky. Ishiha makes quite a mess of himself, getting the juices all over his face.”

“He is a child, so it can’t be helped.”

Jusetsu let out a soft laugh. Ishiha wasn’t accustomed to eating fruit, so he always made a big mess. It was quite adorable to see his mouth sticky with fruit juices.

A hedge of juniper trees came into view. It was Hakkaku Palace. There were crane ornaments on the roof tiles. Jusetsu went around to the back entrance. When she came here before, she also entered from there. Just as before, there were palace ladies drying clothes nearby. There was a palace lady who remembered Jusetsu and had a look of “Oh?” Jusetsu called out to her.

“There is an attendant I would like you to call for me.”

“Aren’t you an attendant of Yamei Palace?” She tilted her head in confusion. “But you aren’t dressed like an attendant today.”

It would be bothersome to explain, so Jusetsu didn’t answer her question. “Call an attendant named Ki Senjo here. She’ll understand if you say it’s someone from Yamei Palace.” However, before the palace lady could leave, there was the sound of running footsteps.

“Lady Raven Consort,” it was Senjo. “I’ve been waiting for you. I didn’t expect you to come from the back entrance.”

Apparently, she had been waiting for at the front gate. Looking between Senjo, who was out of breath, and Jusetsu, who was called the Raven Consort, the palace lady’s eyes widened. The palace ladies drying the clothes at the back were whispering to each other about something. There was awe in their eyes. It was the fear directed towards the Raven Consort, who lived quietly in a jet-black palace, darker than the darkness of night, deep within the inner palace, and took on any request from searching for lost things to curse killings. Jusetsu glanced at one of them, sensing something different in her gaze. Standing a short distance away, a palace lady was staring at Jusetsu. There was no fear in her eyes. That said, she didn’t know how to describe it. It was neither friendly nor hateful. It was, dare she say it, something like earnestness. Did she have a request for the Raven Consort?

“Lady Raven Consort, please come this way.”

Led by Senjo, they headed for the palace. They were guided to a palace next to the consort’s residence in the center. It was the residence of many attendants. Across the courtyard was the building used by the emperor when he visited. Double-layered gardenias were blooming in the courtyard. The white flowers were as vivid and distinct as summer clouds, and their fragrance was strong. Their whiteness and scent would be recognizable even in the middle of the night.

“Apparently, peonies used to be planted here,” Senjo explained after following Jusetsu’s gaze. “I heard that His Majesty ordered the garden to be reconstructed. He must be pained by the memory of his mother.”

Koushun’s mother was the previous emperor’s Crane Consort. “I see,” was all Jusetsu said, and she looked away from the garden.

Senjo’s room was in a corner of the palace. It had a door and lattice window facing the outer corridor. When Jusetsu entered the room she saw that there was also a door and window at the back, and guessed that the ghost came from that side. She tried opening that door and going outside. The back was poorly lit, shadowed and cool. It was even darker because of the trees planted there. Beneath the shade of the leaves, Jusetsu stared closely at the ground. This was where the ghost was standing.

―There is certainly indications here.

The faint remaining presence of a ghost.

――But, this is…

“How is everything, Lady Raven Consort?”

Senjo timidly asked from inside the room. Jusetsu turned around.

“There is no doubt that there is a ghost coming here.”

Senjo paled and pressed her hand to her chest. Jusetsu took a step back and pulled out a peony from her hair. She blew on it. The flower instantly turned into smoke and spread like a thin curtain as it wavered. Soon, the figure of a person began to appear beyond the smoke. It was indistinct at first, but gradually became clear. Its contours took distinct form, and vacant eyes and slightly opened lips emerged. Bloodless, pale lips. The ashen face belonged to a man in his twenties with a dishevelled topknot. Loose strands of hair fell over his forehead, and there was no light in his sunken eye sockets. There was the sound of water dripping. A puddle was created at his feet. No, it wasn’t water. It was red. Something red was dripping from the hem of the man’s robes. It was blood. His body was slashed from the base of his neck to his chest. Fresh blood poured down from his neck unceasingly. His blood stained his clothes and dripped onto the ground.

Senjo collapsed onto the floor with a sharp, shrill scream. Jusetsu blew on the smoke and the man disappeared. She rushed over to Senjo and was relieved to find that she hadn’t fainted. She and Jiujiu helped her to a couch.

“That was Saku Hashuu.”

Senjo said with a pale face. Her voice was trembling and shrill. Her breathing was erratic, so Jusetsu rubbed her back to encourage her to take deep breaths. After taking two or three deep breaths, Senjo’s complexion improved considerably. She squeezed the white coral hanging from her sash.

“…That ghost just now was named Saku Hashuu.”

Senjo said after drinking some water brought by a palace lady and calming down. Her voice was still trembling.

“Was he an acquaintance?”

“Hashuu was my fiancé. We lived in the same neighborhood, and we had been friends since childhood…even though it was called a betrothal, it wasn’t so formal that we didn’t even know each other’s faces until the bride’s veil is lifted at the ceremony, but rather a relationship where we knew each other well,” Senjo spoke softly, sometimes at a loss for words. “In our region, we have a tradition of paying a visit to the shrine of the local god before getting married. Three years ago, we went to visit the shrine. I was accompanied by my mother and a servant, and Hashuu was accompanied by his parents and a servant. It takes two full days to get to the shrine on the mountain and back, so it was a bit of a sightseeing trip. Pilgrims would dismount from their horses at the foot of the mountain, and from there they either ascend on foot or by palanquin. Hashuu was a good walker, but everyone else were women or elderly, so we had to go by palanquin. That was a mistake.”

Senjo sighed with deep regret.

“Starting from the first palanquin, Hashuu’s parents, my mother, and I rode in that order, and the servants followed Hashuu’s parents and my mother on foot. Hashuu accompanied my palanquin on foot, and since it was a mountain road, the palanquin bearers walked slowly and without haste. We proceeded without issue in this way for a while, but then it began to rain. The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and I could no longer see the palanquin in front of me, but it seemed that only the palanquin I was riding in was falling farther and farther behind. Hashuu became suspicious and urged the bearers to go faster, but the two bearers only gave vague replies and made little progress. I had heard that some bearers were miscreants who would threaten customers with exorbitant prices or even mug them, I had never imagined that I myself would cross paths with such wicked bearers. When we were picking bearers, we picked young men who looked as simple and honest as possible. They decided that it would be easier for them to attack me and Hashuu, who were unaccompanied by escorts. In the rain, they finally bared their fangs. They abandoned the palanquin and pointed knives at us, demanding money and goods. If that was all, Hashuu might have obeyed them for the time being. But they were also trying to kidnap me. Because of that, he——”

Resisted.

“Hashuu held the bearers back and told me to run. He told me to follow my mother’s palanquin and ask for help, and he wouldn’t be far behind. I ran. I fell many times because my feet got stuck in the wet ground. I had never hated the rain so much as I did during that time. By the time I returned after calling for help, Hashuu was already…”

Senjo couldn’t get the words out. She took a breath and then said in a hoarse voice, he was already dead.

The bearers had fled the scene, but they were soon caught by the police. Since they mugged and murdered someone, they were of course sentenced to death. They had already been executed.

“…If Hashuu hadn’t let me escape during that time, I don’t know what would have happened to me. I can’t believe that he…didn’t cross over to paradise and wanders around as a ghost…”

Senjo covered her face with her sleeve. However, it wasn’t unusual that he would become a ghost if he was killed. Jusetsu wondered if Senjo had vaguely foreseen this. Last night, when she asked Senjo if she knew anything about the ghost, she had hesitated in her answer. She probably didn’t want to consider it, her betrothed becoming a ghost.

But, that ghost…

Jusetsu turned to the door again and looked outside.

“The ghost didn’t appear when you were still in your hometown, yes? Also, he doesn’t come in through the door.”

Senjo turned around. “Yes,” she answered and nodded.

“One thing is certain,” Jusetsu pointed at the door. “That ghost is what we call a tsukaibe.”

Senjo tilted her head. “A tsukaibe…?”

“Someone has set him to work and sent him to you. To put it simply, he’s being used as a tool. As a tool of a curse.”

Senjo’s eyes widened. “A…a curse?”

“The traces of sorcery are immediately recognizable. But I know not the curser or their goal. There’s no meaning in a sluggish curse where the ghost is simply standing outside a room only on rainy nights without haunting its target to death. I don’t understand their intentions.”

Jusetsu frowned.

At this stage, I can only think that they simply want to scare Senjo.

“Returning a curse is easy. However, it’s not wise to return a curse without a clear idea of the other side’s intentions. This level of curse will not kill the curser even you return it. Rather, by returning it, they might even cast a new curse on you. Do you have any idea who is likely to curse you?”

Senjo shook her head vigorously.

“Then, I’ll have to investigate a little more now.”

“Investigate…what do you mean by that?”

“The people around you.”

“Haa…” Senjo looked worried. “Are you saying that someone I know has cast this curse on me?”

“A curse wouldn’t be put on you if the person had nothing to do with you. In fact, it would be easier to find you if they did.”

Senjo ducked her head and looked around.

“What…what should I do?”

“Think carefully about whether there is any reason someone would cast a curse on you, or anyone around you who can cast curses.”

“Yes…” Senjo nodded nervously.

“For now, I’ll put a ward around your room. It seems that the ghost doesn’t enter your room for now, but this is just in case he tries to enter.”

Okay, Senjo pressed her hands to her chest, looking a little relieved. Jusetsu took out a shaft with thread wound around it from her pocket. She unwound the thread and circled the room with it, from corner to corner.

“…This technique was originally used by sorcerers. My arts aren’t suited for delicate work.”

Jusetsu muttered as she unspooled the thread across the floor. The principle was the same as the barrier that was previously used on the Jakusou Palace pond. The arts of sorcerers and the Raven Consort were similar yet different, different yet similar. Were they originally the same, or were they completely different—?

Jusetsu tied the ends of the thread in front of the door.

“This will do,” she said and stood up. Senjo thanked her profusely. “This is not a fundamental solution, though.”

“No,” Senjo shook her head at Jusetsu, who was bewildered by her gratitude. “I can sleep peacefully knowing that no one will come in.”

“…I see.”

Jusetsu studied her pale face.

What good would it do to curse such a frail, powerless woman?

She couldn’t figure out the curser’s goal. Curses were more or less magic that placed a burden on oneself. If it was returned to you, it could kill you, depending on the degree of the curse, and the greater the power of the returner, the greater the danger. It wasn’t something with much benefit.

Is the curser a sorcerer who’s this confident that the curse can’t be broken?

However, if that was the case, she didn’t understand the point of aiming for a mere attendant like Senjo. It would be different if it was someone with status like Koushun.

The more Jusetsu pondered it, the deeper the wrinkles between her brow became.

I sense something troublesome.

These kinds of hunches were usually right.