Yatagarasu Series
Volume 2:
The Raven Does Not
Choose Its Master
Author: Chisato Abe
VOLUME 2 - MASTER POST
Part 3: The Valley
“I never thought secret passages were real,” Yukiya said as he ducked his head in the darkness.
The only light came from a small lantern shaped like a quiver. The Crown Prince held the lantern low to the ground so that it illuminated all of their feet. Lantern light flickered eerily on the rock walls closing in on both sides. The air was damp and chilly and their voices and footsteps echoed.
The Crown Prince kept his voice down when he said, “There are a lot of tunnels like this inside the mountain. It wouldn’t surprise me if many more shops on that street have secret passages just like this one to help store goods or escape in case of a battle or a siege.”
The Crown Prince’s over-robe was embroidered with white silk thread that shone like moonlight as he walked.
“Really?” Yukiya asked. “How many do you think there are? Were they made because of safety concerns?”
“No,” the Crown Prince said. “We’re not going to one of the well-known or authorized entertainment districts in the city. We’re headed for the Valley. Places like Moonwatch Tower are legitimate businesses with licenses and permission to operate. The Valley’s businesses aren’t like that. They can’t be acknowledged as businesses or supported by the government in any way because they’re openly corrupt and immoral.”
The Crown Prince told Yukiya that most nobles contented themselves with legitimate businesses for their entertainments, but most was not all. Some nobles took an interest in the more dubious offerings of the Valley. Nobles could not visit such places openly, of course, so secret passages were made leading from legitimate businesses to illegitimate ones.
The Crown Prince had paid the proprietor of Moonwatch Tower and the proprietor had led them to this passage in the basement. The proprietor had brought Yukiya and the Crown Prince new outfits to change into before they’d left through the passage. Sumio had gone out the front door of Moonwatch Tower—he had investigating to do in the city.
The money was payment for the proprietor’s silence and discretion. Businesses with secret passages like this one could make a decent income from such payments if they were careful.
The secret passage itself began at a set of elaborate double doors. An altar to the mountain god was set in front of them. The doors themselves were decorated by five transformed Yatagarasu surrounded by auspicious beasts, all painted in lacquer. The altar was festooned with sacred evergreen tree branches wrapped in paper streamers that had prayers written on them.
Yukiya hadn’t understood what was happening. “Are we supposed to do something?” he’d asked, gesturing to the altar and the double doors.
That was when Moonwatch Tower’s staff had opened the double doors, revealing the passage beyond.
“Sometimes a legitimate shop or store will do business directly with the Valley as well,” the Crown Prince said. “Though that’s not always the case, of course. These passages are also useful to throw off pursuit. If you want to go somewhere without being noticed, tunnels like this are most effective.”
“Is that why you visit Moonwatch Tower so often?” Yukiya asked.
“Well… it’s not the only reason,” the Crown Prince said.
“To think that they would hide a secret passage behind a sacred altar,” Yukiya said. “I can’t decide if that’s clever or sacrilegious.”
“Why not both?”
The passage was narrow and unlit, but it was well-maintained. Yukiya didn’t trip once. The air was a bit chilly, but not cold. Walking was easy.
Yukiya and the Crown Prince reached the end of the passage after about fifteen minutes of walking at a steady pace. They passed through a wooden gate and stepped onto a mountain path. The gate was cleverly hidden from view by strategically placed boulders.
This was the Valley. Yukiya saw small huts densely packed together, almost stacked on top of each other. Limited by space, the residents of the Valley had built up from the ground all the way to the top of the sheer cliffs to either side. Buildings on the cliffs were constructed in the same overhanging style as many noble residences in the Imperial Palace, but the details were crude and disordered.
“So this is the place,” Yukiya said.
“Indeed. It doesn’t look like much in the daylight, but at night it’s spectacular. Rows of red lanterns are lit on every street. You’ve never seen anything like it.”
The mountain path sloped steadily down until they reached a set of stairs. Yukiya went down the stairs, following the Crown Prince. He kept looking around, taking in the Valley for the first time.
Women’s high-pitched laughter echoed as they stepped onto a narrow street at the end of the stairs. Latticed window shutters painted scarlet marked every building Yukiya saw. A courtesan dressed in a casual and carefree manner waved her hand at them as they passed. She lacked all the refinement of the courtesans he’d seen in Moonwatch Tower. He shuddered and looked away.
Some scruffy-looking men and women noticed the Crown Prince, who was very obviously out of place in the Valley. They called out to Yukiya and the Crown Prince, hurling insults and innuendos.
The Crown Prince paid the ruffians no mind. He seemed accustomed to this environment. He was calm and composed, but Yukiya still wished that they had Sumio with them.
“Your Imperial—er, young master. Is this safe?” Yukiya whispered. His eyes darted around, searching for potential threats.
“No need to worry. It’s still early morning. They won’t reorganize themselves so quickly after that attack. Besides, the best defense is a good offense. We came here via secret passage. No one knows we’re here yet.”
“But there’s always a chance that something could go wrong, isn’t there?”
The Crown Prince sniffed dismissively. “I do have some training in martial arts, you know. If the worst happens, I’ll fight.” He tapped a wooden sword he’d received at Moonwatch Tower.
Yukiya’s unease progressed to full-blown anxiety. “I’ll say it again: one day, your reckless behavior is going to get you killed.”
“Everything’s fine. I’m a true Golden Raven, after all.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Is it not?” he asked as he breezed through the Valley.
They halted on a wooden stage built on a rocky ledge. The wood was untreated and not even sanded. Yukiya watched his step, making sure he didn’t put his weight on any rotten boards. The same ruffians who’d called out to them before were following them. Yukiya tensed, thinking they might force a confrontation, but the ruffians came no closer.
One of the men waved. “Oi, Lord Sumimaru! So, you’ve finally decided to settle up with us, huh?”
The Crown Prince nodded gravely. “That’s right. Tell your boss that I’m about to win back what I lost.”
Loud laughter and shouts from the small crowd of ruffians. “That’s exactly what we wanted to hear!” their spokesman shouted.
The ruffians ran off ahead of the Crown Prince, disappearing down the street.
“Sumimaru… is that your name here?” Yukiya asked quietly.
“That’s right.”
“And… how much did you lose here before?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Yukiya made a face. “What did you really come here for?” he asked, giving the Crown Prince a bit of side-eye.
“You’ll find out soon enough.” The Crown Prince walked ahead of him.
Yukiya really didn’t want to get involved with any of this. He could just leave now. Maybe he should, but he’d promised. He sighed heavily and followed the Crown Prince.
The crude wooden stage became an equally rough path for a few blocks, but it soon gave way to a proper path made with paving stones. Men dressed in exotic outfits lounged along the sides of the paved path. Unlit lanterns that smelled like cheap oil were set up in a roughly even line.
It was loud on this street. Vendors advertised wares or invited people into one of the many gambling dens. The entrances of all the gambling dens were wide open, allowing everyone to look inside. Gaudy decorations were displayed inside and outside the gambling dens to draw attention.
One gambling den was so crowded that the street outside of it was in chaos. That was the one the Crown Prince headed for, of course. He navigated through the crowd easily, pushing people out of the way without a moment’s hesitation.
Some of the ruffians they’d seen before helped clear the way. “Move, you fools! Lord Sumimaru has come to settle his debt!”
“Let him through!”
“Make way, everyone. It’s Lord Sumimaru!”
Witnessing this strange excitement and street-wide recognition made Yukiya want to run, but there was nowhere safe to run to. He kept close to the Crown Prince’s back as the crowd parted around them.
Yukiya gritted his teeth as people jostled him. “What is going on here?” he asked.
“The other day, I lost big in a game of odds and evens. I had to give up my favorite sword as collateral, so today I came to win it back.”
Yukiya frowned. He didn’t think the Crown Prince was telling the truth. The amount of excitement he saw all around them was too excessive.
As they entered the crowded gambling den, the Crown Prince removed his embroidered over-robe. “Look. It’s embroidered with spider silk thread,” he said, handing over the robe as collateral.
In the Valley, high-quality goods were bartered just as often as currency was exchanged.
The man the Crown Prince had passed the robe to inspected it. “Very well. This will do.” He bared his yellow teeth and then laughed. “But this is only the collateral for what you’ve lost so far, Lord Sumimaru.”
The Crown Prince nodded. “I’m here to win back everything I’ve lost, so I’ll double my wager. One more game.”
“Whoa, that’s impressive!” a ruffian called out.
“That’s Lord Sumimaru for you!” another added.
Cheers, jeers and laughter broke out all around Yukiya and the Crown Prince.
Yukiya went pale. “Are you sure about this?” he asked. “Though I’m sure you have plenty of clothes that you could use as collateral.”
“I don’t,” the Crown Prince said. “The last kimono I could exchange for cash was the one I left at Moonwatch Tower. I’ve lost almost everything else.”
Yukiya could not scream outwardly, so he settled for screaming internally. “How much did you lose?”
“I’m contributing to Yamauchi’s economy. You shouldn’t judge.”
One of the ruffians nodded sagely. “Say, did you hear that? Our Lord Sumimaru is doing his civic duty and contributing to Yamauchi’s economy.”
“That’s amazing. We respect him so much,” another said, sketching a mock bow at the Crown Prince.
“He’s so manly, I might fall for him.”
More people were laughing than cheering now. Yukiya was starting to understand why ‘Lord Sumimaru’ was so popular. It wasn’t because he was a good gambler; far from it. He was an easy mark in a den of thieves.
Yukiya stood there, shocked and concerned with no idea what to do.
The man facing the Crown Prince shook his head and then said, “Well then, young master. How will you settle your debts if you lose? You could work to pay it back yourself.”
“That’s right! Lord Sumimaru could do all kinds of meaningful work,” someone in the crowd shouted.
They were attracting rude stares, but the Crown Prince remained as unflappable as ever.
“I can’t hand over that sword, and I have no intention of working here,” the Crown Prince said.
“Then what are you planning to do?”
“If it comes down to it—” The Crown Prince rested his hands on Yukiya’s shoulders. “I’ll leave this guy here. If I lose, you can do whatever you want with him—boil him, roast him, I don’t care.”
All eyes in the room focused on Yukiya.
“Huh, this guy?”
“He doesn’t look too bright, does he?”
“He’s not particularly good-looking either.”
Yukiya blinked and asked, “Huh?” Since when could people be wagered in gambling? And why had the Crown Prince wagered him?
The Crown Prince promoted his attendant to the crowd with unbridled enthusiasm.
“He’s healthy and works hard. He’d be the perfect younger brother.”
“He’s certainly young, and healthy enough. Looks like he has all his teeth, too.”
“Hey, wait a minute!” Yukiya shouted.
No one paid him the slightest bit of attention.
“Do you think one servant can cover the amount you owe?” a man asked. He sniffed dismissively. “Clothes or money are more useful.”
“We can settle all our accounts later,” the Crown Prince said. “Shall we proceed?”
A man sitting at the head of a gambling table nodded amiably. The crowd erupted in cheers. It seemed that negotiations had been concluded.
Yukiya’s own feelings were far from settled.
The man sitting at the head of the table gave commands, and then others started hustling and bustling around him, preparing the game.
Yukiya grabbed the Crown Prince by the collar, forgetting all propriety and rank for a brief, panicked moment. “What the hell are you doing? I’m worth less to you than a sword? If you lose, you sell me to them? How can you be so heartless?!”
The Crown Prince leaned closer to him and whispered, “You’ll be fine. Just trust me.”
Only Yukiya had heard him say that clearly. The words had the force of command behind them—a shadow of the power Yukiya had seen in the Imperial Hall.
Yukiya’s mouth snapped shut. He let the Crown Prince go.
The Crown Prince took a seat at the gambling table. Yukiya glanced sidelong at him, but the Crown Prince wasn’t paying any attention to him at all. He didn’t appear to be too enthused about gambling, either, but he was doing it anyway.
Something was going on. The Crown Prince had a scheme of some sort, but Yukiya couldn’t fathom it yet. There was no way that the Crown Prince had ended up in this situation out of carelessness or thoughtlessness. And Yukiya couldn’t ask about his plans here, where they’d be overheard.
Yukiya closed his eyes to quiet his lingering anxiety and left his fate in the hands of the Crown Prince.
The man at the head of the table rolled two flashy, bright-colored dice on the red-lacquered tray between him and the Crown Prince.
“The final match being a single odds-or-evens showdown is a bit dull, don’t you think?” the man asked. “How about we do it this way instead?”
“Very well.”
The new game being proposed was called kanakorogashi. The red tray was called a flower tray because it was decorated with gold and silver-lacquered flowers: plum blossoms, chrysanthemums, hollyhocks, and camellias.
Plum blossoms were worth one point, chrysanthemums two points, hollyhocks three points, and camellias four points.
To play, a die was rolled onto the tray. The number on the die was multiplied by the point value of the flower it had landed on. That was how the score was determined. The players each got two rolls, and whoever had the highest score at the end was the winner.
To add a bit of complication, the tray was divided into red and black areas. Red flowers were worth positive points and black flowers were worth negative points.
Yukiya’s family had a kanakorogashi set, so he knew the rules.
The man at the head of the table rolled first. He pinched a die between his index and middle fingers and stared intently at the tray. Then he flicked the die out. The die spun vigorously across the tray.
“Come on, come on! What’s it going to be, what’s it going to be?”
“Red, come on, red!”
The crowd cheered as the die stopped moving.
“Six, red hollyhock,” the gambler said smugly. “Eighteen points.”
That was quite a high score.
Then it was the Crown Prince’s turn. He tossed the die onto the tray with no emphasis or flashy moves. The die hit the edge of the tray, bounced and spun around.
At first glance, kanakorogashi looked like a game of chance, but experienced players knew how to roll the die just so to give them an advantage. Yukiya winced at the Crown Prince’s handling of the die. He was leaving everything to chance. The people around him doubtless thought he was naïve or a fool for acting that way. It seemed like he didn’t even know how to handle dice.
Then the die stopped. The crowd gasped in surprise.
“Five, red camellia, twenty points.” The Crown Prince raised his head and met his opponent’s gaze without flinching.
The other man chuckled. “Not bad, not bad.” He rubbed the die with one finger. “But the next roll will be the real challenge.” He flicked the die out as before and said, “Here we go!”
The die spun beautifully and stopped right on the red camellia.
“Six, red camellia! Twenty-four points! Combined total, forty-two points!”
Stunned by the score, Yukiya glanced over at the Crown Prince. He could only win by rolling the red camellia again, and rolling a six.
“Y-young master,” Yukiya choked out, remembering to address him that way instead of using his formal title.
The Crown Prince was immovable. He showed no interest at all in the jeering crowd all around him or his unfortunate attendant who was almost in tears. He played with the die in his hand for a moment, rolling it in between his fingers.
“If I win, I get fifty gold coins,” the Crown Prince said. “And no take-backs.” His eyes fixed on the gambler before him, deep like pools that could suck people in to drown. His smile was smug. He was confident of victory.
“Oh, of course. But if you lose, we’ll be taking this kid and putting him to work for us.”
The Crown Prince smiled briefly—so quickly that Yukiya almost missed it. “As if I’d ever forget that.”
The gambler seemed puzzled by the Crown Prince’s new bravado, but he said nothing.
The Crown Prince gripped his die tightly and then released it onto the tray.
This was the throw that would decide Yukiya’s fate.
Clatter, clatter, clatter. The die bounced and spun across the tray.
“Come on, red, come on, red!”
Yukiya paid little attention to the voices all around him. All of his attention was fixed on the die.
“Come on, come on, come on!”
Yukiya’s blood pounded in his ears, louder than the crowd.
Red camellia. Camellia. Please, come on…
Yukiya prayed fervently as the die slowly lost momentum.
The gambler’s eyes opened wide.
The die had landed on the camellia.
The number on the dice was six.
The place where the die rolled to a stop was not red, but black.
Six, black camellia.
Twenty minus twenty-four.
“Huh?” Yukiya gasped out.
The house had forty-two points and the Crown Prince had minus four. The difference was forty-six points.
Yukiya was stunned. He kept counting up the points in his mind, but of course the result never changed.
As Yukiya stood frozen, the Crown Prince rose smoothly to his feet. He bowed his head slightly and then apologized in exaggerated, and largely insincere, fashion.
“Um, well, uh… sorry?”
It was a crushing defeat.
All Yukiya could do was laugh. When he calmed down enough to be angry, he shouted, “Don’t fuck with me, you bastards!”
The gamblers laughed at him.
The Crown Prince didn’t say a word.
Yukiya had been sold to the Valley.
***
“Hey, Yukiya. You can go home now.”
Yukiya was holding one end of a bit of twine in his mouth when the man’s voice jolted his attention away from his tasks. It had been more than a month since he’d been sold.
The Crown Prince had said he’d been pawned—only until he could come up with fifty gold coins to ransom him. But no one ever came to ransom him. The people in the Valley usually looked on him with pity. Some of them apologized to him on the Crown Prince’s behalf, saying, “Maybe your master has abandoned you after all.”
Yukiya had spent more time in service to the Valley than he’d spent as the Crown Prince’s attendant. His life in the Valley wasn’t all that different from what it had been like in the Sun Palace. Every day, he was given a mountain of miscellaneous chores to do, and every day, he did them. The occasional brawl livened things up, but he mainly cleaned up other people’s messes. Drunken customers made plenty of messes, as it turned out.
As time passed, Yukiya found out about other people like him—people who’d been used as collateral and sold. Those he encountered were drunks and drifters with an axe to grind. Most of them had served nobles and hadn’t had any idea what was happening to them. Sometimes they got violent. The gambling dens had a hard time managing them all.
Many people sold as collateral remained sold. Their masters never returned for them. Maybe that was why they’d been sold in the first place. Their ignorance of their own position and general foolishness contributed to their ultimate downfall.
Yukiya didn’t want to wind up like the worst cases. He didn’t know where all the discarded human collateral ended up, but from what he’d seen, it was nowhere good. The thought of being deemed useless and sold off somewhere else, somewhere worse, terrified him. He worked earnestly and with more dedication than when he’d served the Crown Prince. People in the gambling den were impressed with him. Of course they were; he was working like his life depended on it. For all he knew, it did. He was careful not to let his anxiety show on his face.
Today he’d been tasked with repairing a crude wooden passageway. A few patrons had gotten into a fight and made a rather large hole in one wall. Yukiya fixed new logs in place, tying them to one another and the existing structure with thick twine. It was almost time to cook dinner for the gambling dens’ more senior patrons. He thought about this as he worked, placing his tasks in order of priority so that he wouldn’t miss anything or forget.
Being interrupted made him go stumbling backward. The back of his head banged into another log wall. He recovered quickly, looking up. “Is that true? Have I been ransomed?”
“It’s true. Your master is here.”
Yukiya dashed to the front of the gambling den while the man was still speaking. “Young master!” he called out.
The Crown Prince gave him a casual wave.
Yukiya smiled sweetly, bowed, and then punched the Crown Prince in the face.
Or he would have, but the Crown Prince dodged out of the way too fast. He really did know some martial arts. Yukiya’s force carried through and he pitched forward, losing his balance.
The sight of Yukiya on the floor made the other patrons snicker. They were used to seeing brawls every day.
“What do you think you’re doing?” the Crown Prince asked.
Yukiya would be less angry with him if he weren’t so calm. “Punching you. You should just let yourself be punched properly as punishment. You deserve it.”
The Crown Prince offered a hand to Yukiya to help him up. “I won’t let myself be attacked. I deserve something, perhaps, but not that.”
Yukiya frowned sourly. “That’s what you think? Haven’t you had plenty of time to think about what you did to me?”
“Stop talking nonsense and go say goodbye to everyone.”
Yukiya sighed, then got up on his own. He tidied up the work tools he had left behind and went around to the people who had looked after him to thank them. The managers he had grown so familiar with were reluctant to see him go. One of them asked him to stay.
Yukiya declined politely and left the gambling den.
The Crown Prince had come here riding a horse—not Sumio. Yukiya rode in front of him on the same horse. As they ascended, their surroundings brightened considerably. They passed through the Valley, which was shadowed by high cliffs even during the day.
The backs of Yukiya’s eyes grew hot as he suppressed tears. He hadn’t flown in the mountains for a long time, and he’d missed it. “The sun is wonderful to see,” he said.
It had been almost a month and a half since Yukiya had been to the Sun Palace. The Crown Prince praised Yukiya’s efforts and his patience.
Yukiya listened, then asked to take a bath. He was filthy. He hadn’t noticed it as much in the dimness of the Valley, but bright sunlight made his hygiene much more apparent. As soon as they returned to the Sun Palace, Yukiya washed himself with well water and then sat down for a few moments in the Crown Prince’s room.
The Crown Prince himself sat at his writing desk. He threw a bunch of sugared kumquats at Yukiya when he sat down. Yukiya caught all five or six of them before they hit the ground, causing the Crown Prince to applaud in mock-admiration. “So? Do you have anything to report to me?” he asked.
Yukiya bit into a kumquat, frowning.
The Crown Prince handed him a tall bamboo cup full of water.
Yukiya drank it and then sighed. He wasn’t a total idiot. He’d understood why the Crown Prince had sold him after a few days.
“Yesterday, a nobleman with a hidden face came to the gambling den with a few others. They visited a courtesan named Kureha.”
The gambling den was attached to a large-scale brothel. Yukiya’s duties had taken him to both the gambling den and the brothel during his indenture. He’d caught Kureha’s eye while collecting dirty dishes from the low tables that courtesans sat at to entertain their guests.
Kureha was a beautiful woman, almost too lovely for a place like the Valley. Her skin was as pale as ivory and her small mouth was like a flower petal. Her abundant black hair was elegantly arranged with several ornate hairpins. The corners of her meltingly soft eyes were long and slender. Her long eyelashes cast shadows on her pale cheeks.
Yukiya knew that many men compared women to flowers, but to him, Kureha was like a tortoiseshell flower hairpin worn until it turned amber. Her allure was partly based on the suffering she’d experienced. She lived in comparative luxury, but she was still a courtesan in the Valley. In fact, she was the most popular courtesan there. Even nobles visited her in secret.
On the day he’d met Kureha, she asked him to watch the door for her. “I’m so sorry to make this request, Yukiya, but… I always worry about something unpleasant happening. What if it does and no one from management is here to intervene? You’ll watch over me, won’t you?” she asked, fluttering her eyelashes. Her voice was deep and husky.
Well, when she asked like that, how could Yukiya refuse? No man would.
Kureha told Yukiya that he didn’t need to intervene unless she called on him to do so. Yukiya waited just outside the guest hall, performing surreptitious tasks.
It didn’t take Yukiya long to notice a pattern. All of the people gathering in the guest hall were noblemen who lived and worked in the Imperial Palace.
The earthen walls of the guest hall had crumbled in places, leaving narrow gaps that Yukiya could peek through if he was careful. He observed all the noblemen as they sat around a long table on a rice mat floor. Some of them whispered to one another.
Including attendants, Yukiya counted roughly thirty people in the guest hall. Why so many, and why meet in the Valley, of all places? Surely the Imperial Palace could accommodate this many people for official business.
Yukiya was immediately suspicious.
All the nobles in the guest hall went silent as Rokon entered. “Is everyone here?” he asked in a deep, booming voice. He walked rudely past several nobles and sat down at the head of the guest hall’s table. His hair was unkempt and he was wearing the same red kimono with the pattern of gold wheels on it that Yukiya had seen before.
Yukiya gasped. Prince Natsuka’s bodyguard was here.
Rokon glared sharply at the assembled nobles.
“I don’t like long speeches, so I’ll say this first. If anyone has an explanation for this blunder, say it now. If you complain about it later, I won’t listen,” he said, spitting his words like a snake’s venom.
The room went still.
“Lord Rokon.” A noble Yukiya didn’t recognize spoke first. “You speak cryptically. We don’t even know why you summoned us here today.”
Rokon’s lips pursed. “Some among you do know. If you have an explanation, now is the time to speak. Step forward.”
Not even a fool would step forward so readily. All of Rokon’s statements were thinly veiled threats.
Tap, tap, tap. Rokon drummed his rugged fingertips on the armrest of his chair as he looked around at the nobles.
The nobles remained silent.
Rokon snorted. “So that’s how it’s going to be, is it? Fine. Let us discuss recent events. There was an incident in the pleasure quarters where the Crown Prince was attacked. The Crown Prince is not making a fuss about the matter, so few people are aware of it.” He closed his eyes for a moment. His expression was pained. “Is this not a grave situation? Imagine the insolence, to attack the future Emperor who will bear the weight of responsibility for Yamauchi’s future.”
That sounded unusually kind. Yukiya hadn’t expected Rokon to speak for the Crown Prince in any way.
When Rokon opened his eyes, they glittered with golden light. “Who was it that acted so rashly?” His low voice sounded like a beast’s growl.
Yukiya hugged himself instinctively as a chill went up his spine.
Rokon had sounded threatening at the start, but now he sounded murderous. Anyone would be frightened. Some of the nobles winced visibly.
Attentive to his audience, Rokon barked out a laugh. “Don’t be so stiff and formal. If you have nothing to feel guilty about, you can hold your head high. I only want to hear from one of you.” His voice sounded lighter when he said this, almost cheerful. He reached into a pocket and scattered golden good luck coins on the table. The same good luck coins that Sumio had found on the men who’d attacked the Crown Prince.
“You recognize these, don’t you?” Rokon asked. His face twisted into an insincere smile.
None of the nobles spoke. Some of them relaxed, obviously not recognizing the coins for what they were. They shook their heads at Rokon, denying knowledge of anything.
“You don’t look well, Lord Kitashijōke,” Rokon said. “What’s wrong, Kazumichi?”
Yukiya gasped. He knew that name from somewhere.
“Denying what you know is foolish,” Rokon said in a sing-song way. “You were called here because your activities have been exposed. You should know that already.”
Yukiya frowned and then took a closer look at Lord Kitashijōke.
Lord Kitashijōke was the father of Kazumaro, the priest who’d stolen mochi during the New Year’s celebration. That was where Yukiya had seen him before: the night of the New Year’s celebration at the Lord of Hokke’s estate.
“How dare you!” Lord Kitashijōke suddenly stood up, his voice menacing.
“I told you many times, didn’t I? Rash actions are strictly forbidden. You’ve committed the worst blunder imaginable.” Rokon’s eyes narrowed. “The Crown Prince’s people are investigating the matter. They know the origin of these coins,” he said, gesturing. “It’s only a matter of time before they implicate you. If their investigation exposes evidence that ties you to Prince Natsuka, what then?”
Rokon stood up and then approached Lord Kitashijōke at a languid pace, moving like a predator stalking prey.
“Watch your tone,” Lord Kitashijōke said. He sounded calm. “You do not have the right to make such accusations. Being from the Minami Tachibana family does not grant you such a privilege.”
“You’re an idiot,” Rokon said. “You still don’t understand what kind of trouble you’re in.” He sighed, exasperated, and then kicked Lord Kitashijōke in the shins.
What happened after that happened fast; Yukiya’s eyes couldn’t track it all.
Lord Kitashijōke went flying from the force of Rokon’s kick. He slammed into a wall, making one of the holes larger. Yukiya felt the whole wall thrum like a beaten drum. Lord Kitashijōke screamed and writhed in agony.
Then Rokon slowed down again. He stepped up to Lord Kitashijōke and stomped on his chest hard enough to break ribs.
“Your deeds are known,” Rokon said. “Just admit it already. Those coins mean something to people in Hokke territory, don’t they? Everyone knows that your family is in dire financial straits, or you’d never spend this year’s good luck coins. You even borrowed money from commoner merchants. You’re drowning in debt.”
Lord Kitashijōke didn’t deny anything. His face was white from pain and terror.
“I’ll ask you once more. If you have an explanation, let’s hear it.”
“I… I only did it because I was thinking of our own goals. If I had succeeded, you would be thanking me,” Lord Kitashijōke said. “You have no right to blame me for anything!”
Rokon shook his head slowly. “Did you hit your head, or are you just that stupid?” His foot was still on Lord Kitashijōke’s chest. He crouched and then gripped Lord Kitashijōke’s head in both hands. “Your logic is backwards. You didn’t succeed. You failed. If you were going to do it, you should have done it well.” He smiled—a faint, cold smile that made Yukiya want to hide.
“If you had managed to take the Crown Prince’s life, well, that would have been something to brag about. I would have praised you as much as you want. But you failed at everything, and what we’re left with is your pathetic results and the consequences of your failure. You defied orders and weakened our position.” His hands tightened until Lord Kitashijōke’s bones rattled in his skull.
Lord Kitashijōke whimpered.
“I won’t share the same fate as you. If you care about our benefactor at all, then choose to die honorably before your blunder taints his glorious name.”
Yukiya heard a strange sound from Lord Kitashijōke’s skull as Rokon applied more pressure. Lord Kitashijōke screamed even louder than before and struggled desperately to free himself from Rokon’s grip.
Rokon barely moved a muscle. He looked down at Lord Kitashijōke, his smile twisting further in distaste.
None of the other nobles intervened to assist the unfortunate Lord Kitashijōke. Some frowned, disgusted by Rokon’s violence. Others trembled in fear and winced in sympathy. But no one moved.
Yukiya was terrified, himself. Lord Kitashijōke might die right here. His heart thumped sickeningly in his chest.
Then a young man sprinted into the guest hall at full speed and shouted, “No! Stop it! Lord Rokon, what on earth are you doing?”
The young man wasn’t as handsome as the Crown Prince or Natsuka, though a beauty mark near his eye made him striking at least. He also resembled both princes slightly—Natsuka more than the Crown Prince.
Yukiya bit back a gasp. He recognized the young nobleman. He’d been sitting in the Imperial Hall during the meeting. Yukiya had to think for a minute or two to put a name to the face.
Atsufusa.
“What’s all this?” Prince Natsuka asked. He’d followed close on Atsufusa’s heels. He walked calmly. His face was concealed by a dark green hood.
Everyone tensed, even Rokon.
The guest hall’s silence had a different character now. People were more stunned than afraid. Prince Natsuka’s appearance here had not been expected.
“What brings you here?” Rokon asked. He yielded his seat of honor to Prince Natsuka.
Natsuka accepted the seat without a moment’s hesitation. He removed his hood. His hair was neatly arranged and not even mussed a little, which struck Yukiya as unfair somehow.
“Atsufusa insisted, so I came.”
Hearing him speak brought back Yukiya’s memories of the New Year’s celebration. Prince Natsuka had spoken to him politely and smiled. Yukiya never would have dreamed that he was responsible for an assassination attempt back then.
“Now, then,” Natsuka said. “What’s all this commotion?”
Yukiya thought he looked completely out of place in the Valley. Prince Natsuka was the kind of man who didn’t need to announce his rank: everyone could tell who and what he was with a casual glance.
Rokon showed no inclination to answer Prince Natsuka’s question honestly. He grunted. “Nothing. It’s nothing. I was simply punishing selfishness and recklessness.”
Atsufusa was tending to Lord Kitashijōke. He shot a sharp look at Rokon. “You call this barbarism punishment? It’s a lynching. He’d be dead if we hadn’t come. By whose authority do you commit such violence?” he asked.
Only Atsufusa was brave enough to say what Yukiya and the other nobles were thinking.
“All final judgments belong to Prince Natsuka alone,” Atsufusa said. “You overstep your place, Lord Rokon. You are the prince’s bodyguard, not his representative. You do not wield his power.”
Rokon sneered. “As always, you misunderstand everything. I perform the duties that our rightful prince cannot. That is my place. And what is yours? Do you seek to expose us all? What rash insanity drove you to the idea of bringing Prince Natsuka here?” His intense gaze fixed on his lord. “I am certain that Atsufusa did not tell you everything. Atsufusa considers my methods to be lawless vigilantism, but there must be some punishment in this case. Perhaps it would be better for that punishment to be private. Will you allow me to handle this, Your Imperial Highness?”
Natsuka remained silent for a long moment, considering. Then he nodded. “Very well.”
“Prince Natsuka!” Atsufusa cried out in alarm.
Natsuka ignored him. “However, you will be responsible for the consequences of whatever comes of your punishment, Rokon.”
“Of course. I would never shirk my responsibilities.” He smiled slyly at the prince who understood him so well. Then he returned to Lord Kitashijōke’s side.
“Ah! Ah!” Lord Kitashijōke gasped. “Prince Natsuka! You’ve come!” He was shaking from head to toe. “Please help me! I was only thinking of you!”
“Was it you who plotted all this, Lord Kitashijōke?” Rokon asked.
Lord Kitashijōke didn’t answer him. His gaze was fixed on Prince Natsuka.
“You will speak,” Rokon said. He slapped Lord Kitashijōke hard enough to break a tooth. Fresh blood dripped onto the rice mat floor.
“Yes!” Lord Kitashijōke wailed. “I thought that if the Crown Prince was taken care of, there would be nothing in Prince Natsuka’s way. I was only thinking of Prince Natsuka’s future.” Lord Kitashijōke feared violence, and he feared pain even more. He talked, confessing everything.
Rokon had been angry before, but Prince Natsuka’s permission had made him calmer, more composed and methodical. “So you thought that if the assassination was successful, all of your wrongdoings would be erased as if they’d never been?”
Lord Kitashijōke froze. He barely breathed.
“Did you think I didn’t know? When you realized you couldn’t borrow money under your own name, you went so far as to use Prince Natsuka’s name.”
“That’s… but I…” A completely different kind of fear drained the color from Lord Kitashijōke’s face.
Prince Natsuka sighed and then slowly shook his head.
Lord Kitashijōke screamed. “No! It’s not true! That’s a lie!”
Rokon’s lips pursed. “I gave you the opportunity to explain yourself. You refused.”
Rokon’s underlings had been watching everything from the sidelines, but one stepped forward now with Rokon’s greatsword. The weapon was almost as tall as Rokon himself. “Now there’s no need for any more explanations. All your deeds are known.”
“Lord Atsufusa!” Lord Kitashijōke gasped out. “Help me! Please!”
Rokon shook his head sadly. “This is what has to happen. Your actions, if known more widely, will be blamed on Prince Natsuka. You can’t be permitted to act further.”
Lord Kitashijōke crawled away from Rokon on the floor.
“You can’t even obey orders,” Rokon said. “You’re worse than a dog.” He cast the scabbard off his greatsword. The silvery blade glinted in the dull light of the guest hall’s lanterns.
“I’ll do anything. Anything! Please stop!”
“Useless cur.”
“Anyone, please help me!”
Lord Kitashijōke’s final scream was silenced by Rokon’s blade. The greatsword sliced from his hip to his shoulder, biting flesh and shattering bone. Lord Kitashijōke crumpled to the floor, nearly cut in half by that single strike.
The upper part of Lord Kitashijōke’s body flew through the air toward the wall where Yukiya was hiding. Yukiya looked down into the man’s lifeless eyes. He almost cried out, but bit his tongue and forced himself to be silent.
The iron tang of blood wafted through the air.
Yukiya couldn’t bring himself to look into the room again for awhile after that. He clutched at his own chest; his heart was beating as wildly as a panicked bird’s.
When he finally calmed down enough to spy again, Yukiya looked into a guest hall in chaos. He’d rarely imagined hell, but he thought that the guest hall was something like it. The nobles sitting closest to Lord Kitashijōke were spattered with blood. Some were screaming. Others were too shocked to make a sound.
Lord Kitashijōke’s blood pooled on the floor in a spreading stain.
Prince Natsuka and Atsufusa were the only ones in the room who had no blood on them at all. Natsuka’s eyes were closed. Atsufusa was as pale as a ghost and covering his mouth with his sleeve. Rokon stood a little bit in front of him, dripping blood on the floor.
“Listen up, you dogs,” Rokon rasped in a menacing voice. “I won’t stop you from acting on your own because I can’t. If you want to kill the Crown Prince without Prince Natsuka’s involvement, then do it.” He bared his teeth. His canines were sharp like fangs. “But if you fail… you know how you’ll end up. I am Prince Natsuka’s sword.” He laughed ferociously. “No one here is allowed to go against Prince Natsuka’s will. Try it, and you won’t be forgiven. Remember that. Engrave it on your hearts.”
Nobles stumbled out of the room, running to escape. Rokon, Atsufusa and Prince Natsuka were the only people who remained in the room.
Atsufusa fell to his knees before the pool of blood.
“There’s no point in my being a bodyguard if I can’t do things like this,” Rokon said. “This is a deterrent. No more betrayals. We can’t afford any.”
Atsufusa shook his head violently. “Rule by violence is not the way. You call this a deterrent. I say it will make people think twice before supporting Prince Natsuka.”
“We don’t need squeamish allies.”
Atsufusa got to his feet and pitched forward, grabbing Rokon by the collar. “Do you have any idea how difficult it was to win over this many allies?! Prince Natsuka visited the Lord of Hokke personally this year to win his favor. Was all that effort for nothing? We haven’t just lost Lord Kitashijōke’s support, but his family’s, and the support of all the families that worked for his.”
“If a new ally harms Prince Natsuka, they will be discarded,” Rokon said bluntly. “We can’t risk everyone’s safety for the sake of one useless soldier.”
“They are not your soldiers!” Atsufusa fumed.
“They’re not much different,” Rokon said. “I take care of the bloodier business so that Lord Natsuka doesn’t have to get his hands dirty. Just keep doing what you do, and I’ll keep to my own role.”
“Do you think I’m an idiot?” Atsufusa said. “What can I do when you go around chopping people in half?”
“If the root is rotten, it must be cut off. If not, the poison will spread to the whole plant.”
“You have no talent for seeing the long game,” Atsufusa said. “Lord Kitashijōke was a fool. I admit that. But he would have been useful when it came time to negotiate with the Lord of Hokke. You have rendered years of planning meaningless.”
Rokon shoved Atsufusa away from him, brushing off the hands gripping his collar. “As you said, he was a fool. Who’s to say he would have proved useful when it came time to negotiate? His son has fallen out of favor because of some scandal earlier in the year, so the Lord of Hokke would not have given Lord Kitashijōke a fair hearing in any case.”
Yukiya swallowed a lump in his throat.
Atsufusa shook his head adamantly. “Scandals at court are common enough, and Lord Kitashijōke’s son was involved in a trivial matter. He will be forgiven. If the Lord of Hokke learns that you murdered Lord Kitashijōke, he will turn against us. Violence should always be a last resort.” He lowered his gaze.
Rokon shrugged his shoulders in an exaggerated gesture. “You fuss over minor matters. The ends justify the means. Prince Natsuka will be the next Golden Raven. Isn’t a strategist like you supposed to make sure our allies don’t make any careless moves? You worry about shedding blood, but you lose sight of our ultimate goals.”
“I have not,” Atsufusa said. “Spilling blood needlessly will lose us allies.”
“And not spilling it when required will allow traitors to take root among us,” Rokon said. “Your way of thinking is too naïve.”
“And yours is too rigid.”
“I understand both of your perspectives, I think,” Prince Natsuka said. “For now, you should do something about your appearance.” He looked Rokon up and down with a slight frown of disapproval.
Rokon appeared mildly embarrassed by his blood-drenched clothing. “My apologies.”
“After you’ve changed, come with me to my residence,” Prince Natsuka said.
“You’re not returning to the Imperial Court?”
“My residence is closer.”
“We should not leave with matters unresolved,” Atsufusa said. “If our opinions remain divided, we cannot make effective decisions.”
“I must change,” Rokon said, dodging Atsufusa’s statement. He bowed to Prince Natsuka and then left the room.
“I don’t like this,” Atsufusa said.
“Endure it for now, Atsufusa,” Prince Natsuka said.
Atsufusa looked down at Lord Kitashijōke’s corpse and wept quietly.
Prince Natsuka squeezed Atsufusa’s shoulder.
“Lord Kitashijōke has a wife and children. What am I supposed to tell them?” Atsufusa looked down at his hands, which were stained red from Rokon’s clothes. “At the very least, we must offer condolence money. He was reckless, but this is too cruel.”
“Endure it,” Prince Natsuka repeated. “Rokon’s methods are extreme, but he was not entirely in the wrong here. Think of it as him having taken on all the dirty work for us, and endure what comes.”
Atsufusa remained silent for a moment. Then he nodded.
***
“I think that’s everything,” Yukiya said. “I don’t remember anything else.”
The Crown Prince and Sumio were somber and silent. The Crown Prince spoke first.
“I see. So Lord Kitashijōke was acting on his own.”
Yukiya wasn’t sure if the Crown Prince was relieved or confused by that information. It didn’t seem like the Lord of Hokke was involved with any of the attempts on the Crown Prince’s life, at any rate.
Yukiya looked up at the Crown Prince. “You’re not surprised, are you? Even when you heard that Prince Natsuka was there, you didn’t look shocked or anything.”
“No,” the Crown Prince said. “I’ve known about his involvement for quite some time.” His voice was low and colorless, devoid of emotion. He gave Yukiya a look that reminded him of his stepmother’s habitual care and worry.
“Are you all right?”
“What do you mean?”
“You look pale,” Sumio said.
Sumio was concerned about Yukiya, too. Yukiya brushed aside their attention with a shrug. “I only saw all of this last night, you know,” he said. “It was a terrible thing to see, and before that I spent more than a month working hard in the Valley. Of course I look pale.”
Yukiya hadn’t slept a wink the previous night. He’d kept seeing Lord Kitashijōke being cut in half whenever he’d closed his eyes.
The Crown Prince and Sumio looked even more worried about him now, but Yukiya tried not to pay attention to that. “I have a lot on my mind,” he said defensively. “But I only did what I had to do. ‘Reflect, don’t regret’ is my motto.”
Yukiya wasn’t all right, not really. But there was nothing the Crown Prince or Sumio could do about that.
Sumio ruffled Yukiya’s hair roughly with one hand and smiled a little.
The Crown Prince’s brow furrowed. “Yukiya. There’s one more thing I want to ask. While you were in the Valley, did you see the archer?”
“No.”
“They weren’t accompanying Lord Kitashijōke as a guard?”
“No, I looked. The archer wasn’t there.”
Sumio frowned deeply. “According to my own sources, all of the guards Lord Kitashijōke had accompanied him yesterday. If the archer isn’t connected to Hokke…”
“…then they’re a mercenary,” the Crown Prince said.
Mercenaries were common enough in the Valley, so the Crown Prince’s conjecture made sense.
But If the archer had remained in the Valley for more than a month, Yukiya probably would have seen them.
“I ran all over the place running errands,” Yukiya said. “Did you ask them to tell me to do that?” he asked.
“Yeah. As long as you pay, they’ll do anything.”
So all that work hadn’t been for nothing. Yukiya had been right; the Crown Prince had sold him to the Valley deliberately so that he could be a spy. Yukiya had reason to fear the archer, so he’d looked for them wherever he went. He hadn’t seen the archer, though, which meant that the archer probably wasn’t in the Valley.
“And you couldn’t have told me that from the start?” Yukiya snapped. He’d spent a few miserable days wondering whether or not the Crown Prince had actually sold him before he’d started learning useful information.
“Sorry about that,” the Crown Prince said absentmindedly. “But anyway, now we know that the Lord of Hokke likely wasn’t involved. We can surmise that Lord Kitashijōke had his own allies, however. We know that he paid the people who attacked us, but the delayed poisoning of the attackers and the archer who shot the man who was about to talk tell me that the attack was well-planned. Too well-planned for a fool like Lord Kitashijōke to be the mastermind.”
“So that’s why Rokon asked if anyone else was involved,” Yukiya said. “He suspected other people, too. But he killed Lord Kitashijōke before he could talk.”
“Yes,” the Crown Prince said. “And isn’t that strange? He knew he was about to die, but he still didn’t talk. He didn’t have nerves of steel, so what motivated him to remain silent?”
Sumio and the Crown Prince mulled over that question for a few moments.
Yukiya raised his hand and requested permission to speak, which was granted. “I don’t understand exactly how Rokon and Atsufusa are involved in all this. They’re definitely helping Prince Natsuka, even more than the others in the guest hall.”
“Rokon is Natsuka’s bodyguard,” the Crown Prince said. “He’s extremely capable.”
Sumio made a face. “He’s strong, but I wouldn’t call him capable. He’s too reckless. He’s famous for it.”
“Famous?”
“Yes. There are some truly incredible tales about him, like nearly beating an instructor half to death in a match or accidentally killing an intruder who broke into the Keisōin. The stories are pretty wild.”
“But those are just stories, right?” Yukiya asked. He was remembering the previous night. The stories Sumio spoke of sounded believable.
Sumio grimaced. “Who knows? But I wouldn’t do well against that guy. I don’t want to fight him if there’s any other choice.”
Yukiya understood that sentiment perfectly. No ordinary warrior could cut a grown man in half in a single strike. Rokon’s physical strength was terrifying.
Sumio seemed displeased by the look on Yukiya’s face. “It’s not that I can’t fight him,” he said. “The reason I don’t like him isn’t because he’s strong. There’s something off about that guy. I hate him because you can’t reach him with words. It’s like talking to a wall.”
“Oh,” Yukiya said. “Why?” He’d seen Rokon’s violence up close, so he kind of understood what Sumio meant, but he also thought that there was a story there.
“Rokon’s original name is Michichika of Minami Tachibana. His family has a high rank at the Imperial Court. He could have used the shadow ranking system to get whatever position he wanted, but he decided to enter the Keisōin on his own and earn his rank.”
The shadow ranking system was an open secret to almost everyone. Children gained position at court by relying on the support of a famous father or grandfather. This kind of nepotism was so rampant that it was normalized. Most of the attendants working in the Imperial Court entered service using the shadow rank system. Lord Kiei had used it himself: his connection to the Lord of Hokke had granted him a high rank at the Ministry of War despite his young age.
Rokon could have done something similar, but he hadn’t. He’d entered the Keisōin and had graduated at the top of his class.
“He could have been an Imperial Guard, but he became Prince Natsuka’s bodyguard instead,” Sumio said. “I don’t like giving him so much credit, but it’s obvious that he’s a combat genius. Men of lower rank look up to him. He has a following among the Yamauchishu. He has his own faction in the Imperial Court. I don’t like him at all, but we’d be fools to ignore his influence.”
Yukiya nodded. “And Atsufusa? What do we know about him?”
“He’s an imperial attendant like you, but he serves Nanke and is the nephew of the Lord of Nanke by marriage. His position at court isn’t as strong as Rokon’s. I think he’s had a lot of trouble winning over allies.”
“So his position at court isn’t as strong because of his mother’s family?” Yukiya asked. Nanke was one of the Four Families; if Atsufusa had their full support, he would have had much less trouble.
“In part,” Sumio said. “His mother’s family are minor nobles who had no influence until they married into the Nanke family. Her father’s only surviving child is her. Atsufusa is the closest thing that family has to a legitimate male heir. It’s no exaggeration to say that the fate of the family depends on his efforts.”
Yukiya groaned. All that explained why Rokon hadn’t had any compunctions about talking down to Atsufusa. “I see. So that’s the situation.”
There was a silence. Then the Crown Prince looked to Yukiya. “Hmm… You know that the Boys’ Day festival is now, right?”
“Yes, of course.”
The Boys’ Day Festival was a grand celebration held over two days. On the first day, nobles led by the Golden Raven carried out a special hunt sponsored by the Ministry of Medicine. The Golden Raven himself didn’t hunt, of course. The Ministry of Medicine bred many creatures and grew plants for medicinal ingredients. One of the creatures was a nine-colored rainbow deer. The Golden Raven cut off the antlers of one of these deer during the hunt. The antlers were then used to make a precious elixir. Hunting ordinary deer and other creatures was also encouraged during the festival.
On the second day, the antlers and venison obtained from the hunt were dedicated to the mountain god. A ceremony was held to deliver the consecrated meat and materials to women in the Imperial Palace.
This year, the Crown Prince was expected to participate in the hunt on the first day and deliver the consecrated meat and antlers to Sakura Palace on the second day. His future bride, whoever she would be, was at Sakura Palace.
“It’s the second day, so come with me to Sakura Palace,” the Crown Prince said.
“To Sakura Palace?”
“That’s right. You might have the chance to play an active role,” he said, patting Yukiya on the shoulder. “I appreciate your hard work. Do your best again next time, attendant.”
“I will do my best to be of service, Your Imperial Highness.”
Translator's Notes
The words used for the branches on the altar concealing the secret passage are sasaki and tamakuji. These are branches of a sacred tree (especially Cleyera japonica, an evergreen tree native to Japan) with paper or cotton strips attached.
Tortoiseshell or tortoise shell is a material produced from the shells of the larger species of tortoise and turtle. The distinctive wave-like patterning caused it to become a luxury material since ancient times. Modern techniques preserve the color of the tortoiseshell during processing, but this was not always the case; aged tortoiseshell can lighten or darken depending on storage conditions.
Lord Kitashijōke’s family name identifies him with Hokke and the northern territory of Yamauchi; the first kanji means “north.” The -ke suffix uses the same kanji as that of the Four Families (Touke, Nanke, Saike, and Hokke). Kazumichi is his first or given name.
Tenyakuryou translates as “court physician bureau” or “ministry of court physicians” and is translated in the text as Ministry of Medicine.
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