Volume 3 - CH 4.2

On that day, Koushun came to Yamei Palace while it was still light, which was unusual for him.

“I’m a little busy, so I can’t stay here for long, but I came to see how you’re doing,” he said matter-of-factly without even sitting down in a chair.

“You needn’t come if you’re busy,” Jusetsu said in exasperation, but Koushun didn’t say anything and just stared at her face.

“…What?”

“If you’re well, then that’s good.”

Just as Jusetsu was wondering what that was all about, Koushun was already outside the doors.

Gazing after him as he left, Jusetsu rose. She was about to leave the room when Xingxing started to kick up a fuss, but she ignored it and chased after Koushun.

“Koushun.”

Koushun seemed a little surprised by her chasing after him.

“…Was there something you have to tell me?”

“No. I’ll see you off until you’re outside Yamei Palace.”

“…See me off?”

“Yes.” Even she herself wondered what she was doing.

Koushun slowed his hurried pace and matched Jusetsu. Ei Sei glanced back at her, but instead of giving her a sharp look, he abruptly turned back around.

She was thinking of talking about Banka, but that wasn’t something that could be done in a short distance, and it wasn’t something she had to talk about right now. It seemed Koushun had the same thought. “I have a few things I want to talk about, but it would be difficult to keep it short,” he said. “I’ll talk with you later.”

“Are you busy?”

“A little.”

It was a meaningless conversation. Once in the woods, the area became dimly lit due to the thick foliage, but it was still extremely humid.

Jusetsu stopped walking when they reached the edge of the woods. Koushun turned around.

“I’ll come visit again.”

There’s no need for you to visit—that was what she would have responded a short while ago.

“Okay.” That was all she said, and she watched him leave. The shadows darkened, perhaps because the sun was covered by clouds. Jusetsu was left behind in the dim forest.

The cries of the spotted nutcracker echoed.

Koushun returned to the inner court from the inner palace and headed for Koshi Palace on foot. He had summoned Shiki there.

Quietly located in a corner of the inner court, Koshi Palace was a small, unusual palace. Its outward appearance was simple, the pillars not even painted red. The decorative tiles depicted an old man riding a large turtle, and cast-iron lanterns hung from the eaves. Once inside, one would find a line of copperplate flags hanging along the walls. They shook and made a rattling sound when one passed by. No one knew why the building was designed this way. The stone floor was engraved with stars in gold paint.

There was no furniture except for a folding screen, a couch, and a table. Shiki was kneeling next to the couch. Koushun sat down on the couch and told him to raise his head.

“…There is a place I would like for you to go,” Koushun said quietly. Shiki glanced up at him and nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“It’s close to Meiin’s house. It’s a mansion in Tourin Row.”

Shiki looked up in surprise. “That’s—”

“I’ll have someone of the Northern Command act as your escort.”

A soldier of the Northern Palace Guard. Tourin Row was the area where the Un estate was located.

“I want you to meet Eitoku. If you tell him that you’re here on my order, he will meet you.”

Shiki silently waited for the order of what he was going to do when he met Eitoku. Koushun leaned toward him, who was still kneeling.

The image of Eitoku, who he adored as his teacher since childhood, flashed through his mind and disappeared.

There was a commotion at Yamei Palace when the dim light of the evening was deepening.

Xingxing was the one who started making a fuss, but before they could feel the presence of a visitor, something akin to a scream rang out.

“Lady Raven Consort! Lady Raven Consort, please help us!”

It was Senjo’s voice. She was terribly distraught. She flew in when Jusetsu hastily opened the door.

“Lady Raven Consort…”

It seemed that the attendant, who was not accustomed to running, had run all the way here. She collapsed to the floor, panting. Jiujiu went to the kitchen to get water, and Jusetsu ran to her side to help her up. She rubbed Senjo’s back as she coughed, gave her the water, and waited for her to calm down.

“What happened?” Jusetsu asked once she settled down.

“Lady Banka…the Lady Crane Consort suddenly collapsed.”

“Collapsed? Did she suddenly become ill?”

“No—I don’t know. She’s suffering from a high fever.”

A high fever.

She recalled the story about the curse she heard from Banka during the day.

“We called for the doctor, but something strange happened when Lady Banka collapsed—”

“Something strange?”

“In the evening, a package arrived from the Saname clan—this is a common occurrence. Fabrics and accessories are often sent to her. This time, there were several accessories. It seemed that something strange was mixed in among them. It was a bracelet, but as soon as Lady Banka put it on, she collapsed.”

“…Was it coated with poison?”

Senjo shook her head. “That was the first thing we suspected, so we immediately removed the bracelet to check.”

However, there was no evidence that poison had been applied to the bracelet or implanted.

“And then, Lady Banka developed a fever…Lady Raven Consort, what do we do?”

What do we do…how am I supposed to know?

“I am not a doctor.”

“Isn’t there any way to cure her? Prayer, or anything… Anyway, will you please take a look at Lady Banka?”

Jusetsu weakened. What could she do even if she saw her? But, there was one thing that concerned her: the fact that Banka had a fever, just like the Saname curse.

“I can’t promise anything,” Jusetsu stood up. “For now, I will take a look at her condition.”

“Thank you very much,” Senjo prostrated herself. It was as though she was entreating a deity, and Jusetsu felt uncomfortable. Accompanied only by her escorts Onkei and Tan Kai, Jusetsu hurried to Hakkaku Palace.

At Hakkaku Palace, the moment she passed through its gates, she could feel the unsettled atmosphere. Eunuchs and palace ladies rushed back and forth in the corridors, and attendants were also going in and out of Banka’s room. When Jusetsu entered the room, she saw Banka lying on the bed. Her face was visibly red, her eyes were moist with fever, and she was panting in pain.

“The doctor left just now…he prepared some medical decoction for relieving her fever, but she seems unable to drink it.”

The elderly attendant by the side of the bed explained the situation. She was the oldest of all of Banka’s attendants. Her name was Rokujo. She was pale and trembling with agitation as she tried to calm herself down.

“Where is the bracelet?” Jusetsu asked, and one of the attendants brought a box that had been placed on the table. It contained a gold bracelet.

Gold? Even though Banka prefers silver?

Jusetsu frowned as she held the box and looked at the bracelet.

This is…

These kinds of things were immediately recognizable. Just like the time with Senjo.

“This is a cursed item.”

The attendants in the room gasped or let out faint screams.

“W-What does that mean, Lady Raven Consort?” Rokujo asked fearfully.

“A curse has been laid on this bracelet. Did you say that this was in a package sent by the Saname clan?”

“Yes—oh, but this isn’t a gift for Lady Banka.”

“What?”

“Lady Banka wrote a letter to the master saying that she wanted to be friends with a consort because she was close to her age, so perhaps this was a gift for that purpose—”

“Wait. What are you saying? By consort who’s close to her age, you don’t mean—”

“She was talking about you, Lady Raven Consort.”

Jusetsu’s gaze returned to the bracelet. “So, this was meant to be a gift for me?”

Was that why it was gold instead of silver.

“Yes. However, when Lady Banka saw the bracelet, she said that it wasn’t pretty and that it didn’t suit the Lady Raven Consort, so she decided to give you a hairpin that was presented to her and keep this bracelet as her own.”

“In other words, they were switched. This was originally supposed to be for me.”

Rokujo nodded.

The one who was supposed to be cursed was me.

This was a deadly curse. Someone was trying to kill Jusetsu. But why?

Jusetsu stared closely at the bracelet. The gold bracelet was inlaid with a milk-white gem. Where the gem was set, there was a decoration carved into it… She looked at it closely.

The carved details were in the form of a toad. The toad was holding the gem. That was what was carved.

A toad. The god that was killed by the Saname…

Jusetsu peeled off the sheeting of the box that contained the bracelet. A curse talisman was pasted to the bottom of the box. The handwriting was familiar. Curses were difficult to grasp as individual characters, the flow of the brush, the way the ink blurred, and the sweeping strokes and upward turns all reflected the idiosyncrasies of the writer, just as in the case of characters. The handwriting was very similar to the talisman used to curse Senjo.

Banka muttered something, and Jusetsu leaned in closer to listen.

“…I’m sure, it’s…Hakurai…”

“Hakurai? Are you saying that this curse is the work of Hakurai?”

Banka nodded slightly.

“I…hate…that man…”

She wrung out her voice under her labored breathing.

“He…cozied up…to Father…” Banka said, sounding half-delirious.

Hakurai—the founder of the Eight Truths. He tried to curse Jusetsu, the Raven Consort.

Could Senjo’s curse also be…

What if, apart from the purpose of cursing Senjo, there was some other intention, such as testing the power of the Raven Consort, or harassing her?

“Lady Raven Consort, what do we do?” Rokujo asked weakly.

“…I will break the curse.”

The attendants let out cries of relief and astonishment. Jusetsu asked them to leave the room and was left alone with Banka. She placed the bracelet and the box side by side on the table and stared at them.

A toad spell.

She remembered hearing about that. It was a spell used by sorcerers. The items they used, such as toads, snakes, and poisonous insects, differed depending on the person. The bracelet was adorned with a toad and a grayish-white stone, which was said to be obtained from the head of a frog. It was called a toad stone.

According to one theory, silver was made from condensed moonlight, and gold was made from concentrated sunlight. Wulian Niangniang, who was Yeyoushen, was weak against light. Was this bracelet gold because of that?

Jusetsu glanced at Banka. Her face was hot, and sweat beaded her forehead and neck. Her breaths were fast and shallow. She wiped her sweat with the handkerchief placed by her side. Banka opened her eyes slightly and tried to look at Jusetsu with unfocused eyes. Lady Raven Consort, she seemed to say with a hoarse voice.

“No need to worry. I’ll break the curse,” Jusetsu told her. She didn’t know if Banka heard her or not, but she knitted her brow slightly and closed her eyes.

Jusetsu pulled out a peony from her hair. Whether it was a toad or snake, these curses could be broken by breaking the curse tool.

The flower transformed into pale red smoke that drifted in the air. She drew it close with her fingers, manipulated it, and shaped it into an arrow. Jusetsu grabbed it and aimed it at the toad stone on the bracelet. She swung down all at once. The arrowhead shattered the toad stone—or at least, it was supposed to.

“!”

The moment the arrow hit the stone, the arrowhead slowly unraveled and disappeared as though it was being sucked in.

“…This is…”

The same thing happened with the Owl.

What does this mean? At that time, if I remember correctly…

It’s pointless to fight with your own family. If you’re going to fight, use a toribe.

Yes, that was what the Owl told her.

Jusetsu scrutinized the bracelet. She was able to return the curse cast on Senjo. Why couldn’t this spell be broken? A toad spell. Toad. The same as the god who cursed the Sanames.

“…I need the power of a god?”

The Sanames were cursed. At the same time, they possessed a sacred treasure. An orb that held the power of a god.

I can also use that.

Jusetsu glared at the bracelet, but raised her head and ran to the lattice window. She opened the lattice. The starry darkness was spreading.

Which way was Yamei Palace? Jusetsu looked around. It didn’t matter. She was calling it anyway. The answer was given to her by the Owl.

“Sumaru!”

Jusetsu’s sharp voice resounded in the darkness. What felt like an incredibly long time passed before she heard the flapping of wings.

The flapping of its wings and its raspy cries tore through the silence. White spots appeared in the darkness. Brown wings. Jusetsu stretched out her arm. The spotted woodpecker flapped its wings restlessly as it descended and perched on her arm. Its claws dug into her arm, and Jusetsu’s face twisted a little in pain. However, this wasn’t the time to complain.

“Sumaru, give me one of your feathers.”

The spotted woodpecker let out a cry, as if giving permission, and Jusetsu plucked out one feather from its wings. When she shook her arm, the spotted woodpecker flew away. The feather transformed into a double-edged sword. The shining brown blade was dotted with white spots like stars. Jusetsu slashed through the air with the sword, making a light whoosh sound.

Jusetsu stood in front of the table. She looked at the gold bracelet and raised her sword. She swung it down with all her might.

The blade made a hard, sharp sound. She felt some resistance pushing her hand back. A gray-brown smoke began to disperse from the toad stone. It enveloped the bracelet, as though to protect it. Jusetsu dug her heels in and pushed the sword down with even more force. There was a sensation like breaking through a membrane. She heard water splashing furiously. A deafening, piercing, and unpleasant cry resounded.

The voice lingered for a long time, but gradually became quieter and thinner, and then finally faded away. She looked and found the smoke had disappeared, the stone was shattered, and the bracelet was broken in half. As she looked on, the bracelet crumbled like ashes.

Silence returned. Jusetsu let out a breath.

She heard a knock on the door.

“Lady Raven Consort, what was that sound just now…?”

It was Rokujo. “You may come in now,” Jusetsu said. The door opened, and the attendants nervously entered. Rokujo was the first to run to Banka’s bed.

“Her fever…!”

She touched Banka’s forehead in surprise. Banka’s complexion had returned to normal, and her breathing became regular and calm. She was sleeping well.

“Lady Raven Consort,” all the attendants knelt before Jusetsu. They were prostrating themselves as though worshiping a god. “Thank you very much, Lady Raven Consort…”

“There’s no need for this. That curse was originally directed towards me.”

Jusetsu backed away at the sight of the attendants. She wasn’t a god, and she didn’t want to be worshipped.

“No…! What would have become of Lady Banka if you hadn’t been here, Lady Raven Consort?”

Rokujo began to cry, perhaps out of relief. The other attendants also began to cry or soothe each other, and the room became noisy. Jusetsu slipped out of the room quietly. Onkei and Tan Kai were waiting outside the door.

“Are you injured, Niangniang?” Onkei asked.

“No,” she responded and began walking away. She was exhausted. The moment she exited the gate, she staggered. Onkei and Tan Kai held out their arms at the same time to support her, so she didn’t collapse to the ground.

“I shall carry you on my back.”

Onkei turned his back to her and knelt down. Under normal circumstances, she would have refused, but right now she found it too exhausting to even open her mouth, so she silently entrusted her body to his back.

Why did the leader of the Eight Truths, Hakurai, try to kill me?

The Owl, who also tried to kill her, didn’t hold a grudge against her. He only tried to kill her out of necessity.

But, this curse was different. There was a clear intention to have her “die painfully.”

The depths of her heart went cold.

Am I hated?

Is it because I’m despised?

When those thoughts crossed her mind, her heart trembled, and she couldn’t move. She no longer knew what to do. And she didn’t even know if it was her own heart that was trembling with fear, or if it was the Raven’s.

I don’t know anything.

Jusetsu felt like she was still that child cowering in the darkness of night. There was no one to point the way. Reijou raised her so that she could walk on her own two feet, require no one’s help, and never need to ask for anyone’s help. That was who the Raven Consort was, after all. Jusetsu had also intended to live her life without asking for anyone’s help.

However—.

In the darkness, she felt the warmth of Onkei’s back, and for the first time, she wanted to cry out from the bottom of her heart for someone to help her.

Shiki was led down a hall in the Un mansion. Instead of sitting in the chair offered to him, he waited for Un Eitoku. The soldier escorting him was waiting outside the door.

The room was very modest. The desk and cabinet were probably made out of good-quality rosewood, but they weren’t painted with expensive black lacquer or decorated with mother-of-pearl. The blue-and-white porcelain vase on the stand didn’t seem to be too expensive.

It wasn’t all that surprising. One could tell by Eitoku’s appearance that he didn’t like extravagance. The room was clean, but not luxurious. Perhaps that was what it meant to be a distinguished family.

After making him wait long enough to fully examine the furnishings in the room, Eitoku arrived. He threw a cool glance at Shiki. At times like this, Shiki always felt like he had been stripped naked. People of distinguished families always looked at him like he had nothing. It was probably subconscious. That was why it showed in his glance.

“Sit,” Eitoku told him after sitting down himself.

“No, I shall remain standing.”

Shiki could have obeyed him without any protest, but he stubbornly refused. His Majesty never looked at me like this. He simply looked at Shiki with a transparent, colorless gaze. That was why Shiki served him. Koushun never broke his polite demeanour even for someone like Shiki, but possessed a dignified and noble manner.

“So,” Eitoku cast a sharp glance at Shiki, who was still standing. “What sort of business is so urgent that you need to meet with me at this hour?”

“I am here at His Majesty’s command.”

Eitoku’s mustache fluttered. “His Majesty, you say. What kind of order is it?”

“I understand that you have been patronizing a silk merchant from Ga Province lately.”

“His wares are good. That is all. –Ga Province is associated with the Sanames, though. Could it be that His Majesty thinks that I’m working with the Sanames and plotting a rebellion?”

Saying this frankly, Eitoku laughed, while Shiki stared at his face without smiling. Eitoku grimaced, looking displeased.

“Speak your business now. But even if you say you’re dragging me before His Majesty on suspicion of treason, I won’t believe you. His Majesty isn’t such a fool. Now, tell me what you want. This is no time to vague.”

Eitoku’s voice held the confidence and composure that had supported Koushun for many years. It was a calmness that came from trust of Koushun’s intelligence.

That finally brought a soft smile to Shiki’s lips. “I feel the same way.”

Eitoku looked puzzled.

“I apologize for doing something so audacious as testing you. His Majesty has charged me with giving you a message. ‘Tell Reiko Shiki everything you can find out and use it.’”

Eitoku’s eyes widened.

“Please let me know how I can help you. I will do my best.”

“—Has His Majesty noticed?”

“Just as you said earlier, His Majesty is no fool. His Majesty knows you well, just as you know him well. You were investigating the silk merchant from Ga Province under the pretense of being swayed by him. You used your ‘ears’ in the inner palace to investigate the Sanames.”

Shiki took a step toward Eitoku and lowered his voice.

“What His Majesty wants to know most of all is who is working with the Eight Truths. –It’s not Saname Chouyou, right?”

Eitoku looked in Shiki’s eyes and nodded firmly.

The copper banners were shattered. Hakurai, who was standing in the center of the room, let out a groan and crouched down, covering his left eye.

The toad spell was broken.

I can’t believe it. Does she still have that much power left? That was a spell that borrowed the power of a divine treasure—.

There was a burning pain in the left half of his face. A lukewarm liquid overflowed from between his fingers. Blood dripped onto his clothes and the floor.

Groaning, Hakurai groped around in his pocket. The divine treasure he took out—the Twilight Orb—was shattered into pieces. In Hakurai’s palm, it turned into dust and vanished.

How stupid.

Hakurai pressed his handkerchief against his left eye and stumbled out the door. The main house was noisy. He could see torches burning. Hakurai put his hand on the wall and staggered on unsteady legs down the corridor toward the main house.

Someone was talking. It was—the voice of this mansion’s owner. It was the Saname elder’s voice.

“What are you trying to do, Chouyou! Pointing a blade at me—at me!”

Hakurai turned the corner of the corridor and appeared in front of the main house. Standing in front of the door was the master in his nightwear and a man facing him. The man was in his forties with sharp features. He was accompanied by his retainers, who were holding torches behind him.

He was the head of the Saname clan, Chouyou.

“Do you think you can talk your way out of this, Uncle? I understand that you were trying to infiltrate the Un clan by sending your own man to the capital, and that you were scheming to regain your own vested rights as well.”

“So what? I’m the Saname elder.”

Chouyou looked coldly at his uncle, who didn’t even attempt to make an excuse for himself.

“Yes. The Sanames take care of their elderly. It is precisely because we respect you as our elder that we have turned a blind eye to you until now.”

Chouyou let out a somewhat theatrical sigh.

“Have you forgotten in your old age what you did during the time of the empress dowager, conspiring with the worthless chief official of Ga Province, who bought his position with money? You falsified the profits of the domain, put it all in your own pockets, bribed the chief official to turn a blind eye, and poisoned my subordinate who tried to inform the central government of your wrongdoings. When the empress dowager was overthrown and the chief official dismissed, you came crying to me when you found yourself in a dire position. If the matter came to light, not only you, but the Saname would also not be able to escape punishment, so I dealt with the aftermath and protected you. All I asked you to do was to never leave the mansion. And yet you’re still dissatisfied with that?”

Chouyou gave his uncle a chilling look. His uncle turned pale. His gray hair was disheveled, and there was no longer a shred of the Saname dignity in him. He staggered back, but perhaps because of his weak knees, which he hurt on a regular basis due to his age, he fell onto his behind.

“I…I simply wanted to fulfill Saname’s earnest wish! To gather strength and return to Kakami! That is all. You also understand, don’t you?”

The old Saname elder looked up at Chouyou as though pleading. Chouyou simply looked down at him coldly.

“You have never thought about the Saname. You’re only thinking about yourself. Secretariat Un is of a different caliber than the former chief official. A paltry bribe won’t work on him. On the contrary, your contact with Secretariat Un has aroused suspicion, and your past wrongdoings will soon be revealed. That isn’t all. That deputy inspector you poisoned is now a scholar who serves the emperor. We can no longer cover things up. The Sanames will be punished. All because of you.”

Chouyou put his hand on the hilt of the sword hanging from his waist.

“I asked His Majesty to grant his forgiveness in exchange for your life. I hope at least your head will become useful to us.”

There was a flash of light.

His skill was magnificent. With a single stroke, the head detached from the torso and flew into the air. Blood spurted out. Chouyou stepped back and dodged the blood. The retainers behind him immediately rushed to the body and head and started cleaning up.

Chouyou turned his gaze to Hakurai. Hakurai was kneeling there. After Chouyou looked down at him fixedly, he said, “You must leave Ga Province.” It was an order of exile.

“Yes,” Hakurai answered obediently.

“…Did you injure your eye?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll let you receive treatment for it, at least. Bring him to the mansion and call for the doctor.”

A servant approached. Hakurai called out to Chouyou’s back as he was about to leave.

“Injou is in the detached house. A little girl is there. She will come with me as well.”

Chouyou turned around and looked at Hakurai briefly, then motioned to one of his servants.

“You should learn from this and resign as sect leader.”

After saying that, Chouyou left for good. Hakurai watched him intently as he disappeared into the darkness.