Yatagarasu Series
Volume 2:
The Raven Does Not
Choose Its Master
Author: Chisato Abe
VOLUME 2 - MASTER POST
Part 6: Answers
“We got Atsufusa,” Rokon said. Then he sat down. His bulk made the floor shake. “He was planning to burn you all in Moonwatch Tower. My men chased him down when he tried to escape after setting the fire. The Yamauchishu that betrayed you have been arrested, too. And Kazumi is safe. He’s injured, but he’ll live. He’s being treated now. My men found him a little while ago.”
Rokon boasted about his capable subordinates for a few minutes.
The Crown Prince inclined his head in thanks. “We were all saved thanks to your efforts. Thank you, Rokon.”
“Thank Prince Natsuka, not me,” Rokon said. “Or my subordinates. They did most of the work.” He’d brushed off all of the Crown Prince’s attempts to thank him. He didn’t want to give the impression that he’d done anything for the Crown Prince’s sake. He gave Prince Natsuka credit for everything.
“What did Atsufusa say?” Prince Natsuka asked.
“Nothing,” Rokon said. He snorted. “He must know it’s useless to try to make excuses now. He’s clammed up and won’t say a word. This is just a hunch, but I’m fairly certain he incited Lord Kitashijōke to do what he did.” He shifted himself into a cross-legged sitting position on a cushion.
That explained a few things. Lord Kitashijōke hadn’t given up any new information at the meeting because Atsufusa was there. Maybe he’d believed that Atsufusa would save him somehow. Yukiya had witnessed him appealing to Prince Natsuka for help, but it was certainly possible that he’d been looking at Atsufusa instead. Atsufusa had been seated right beside Prince Natsuka, after all.
“Is someone going to tell me what’s going on at some point?” Yukiya asked.
Night had fallen. The Crown Prince, Yukiya, Natsuka and Rokon had gathered in a cozy bedroom inside the estate. There was no seat of honor here; all the cushions were on the floor. Yukiya had never thought that he’d be sitting in a circle with Prince Natsuka beside him as an ally. Even a few hours ago, such a thing would have been unthinkable.
The Crown Prince sat to Prince Natsuka’s other side, relaxed and at ease.
Yukiya wondered if they were sitting inside Prince Natsuka’s own personal bedroom right now.
The incense poisoning had worn off shortly after the rescue, so both the Crown Prince and Sumio were able to move unattended.
Rokon showed no inclination to answer any of Yukiya’s questions.
The Crown Prince shrugged, apologetic. “As you’ve probably guessed, my greatest supporter is my older brother. This isn’t new—he’s been my closest ally since childhood. Ever since he abdicated, he’s been trying to protect me from behind the scenes.”
“You fooled me good,” Yukiya said. “I really thought that you wanted to be the next Golden Raven, Prince Natsuka. But you never wanted that, did you?”
Prince Natsuka nodded solemnly. “I am half-Nanke, but my loyalty lies with the imperial family of Souke.”
When the Crown Prince was declared a true Golden Raven, the previous Emperor had still been alive. Prince Natsuka had been educated by his grandfather since birth to be the next Golden Raven, so everyone expected him to be disappointed.
On the contrary, Prince Natsuka supported his grandfather’s wishes wholeheartedly. He’d wanted to abdicate in his brother’s favor right away.
“Grandfather was the first to teach me what a true Golden Raven actually is,” Natsuka said. “And how important it is. Every member of the imperial family should understand that. There is no doubt that Nazukihiko is a true Golden Raven. I would be a fool to oppose him.
“There is great meaning in the birth of Golden Ravens,” Natsuka continued. “It always happens in times of trouble—war, strife, famine, disaster. When it seems like the mountain god has abandoned us, a new Golden Raven is born. That is when a Golden Raven is needed. We certainly need one now.”
Yukiya nodded solemnly.
“Imperial power has declined since my father ascended the throne,” Natsuka said. “The Empress has no pride in being a member of the imperial family. She clings to her birth family above all else. She has shifted the balance of power toward Nanke and destabilized the government. If a Nanke prince became the next Emperor, nothing but disaster would follow. As bad as things are now, they would get much worse. The Four Families would act to defend their positions or to seize more power.”
Natsuka explained that he was in an unstable position. It would not do for the next Emperor to be a Nanke prince, but the Nanke family wouldn’t accept his relinquishment of his claim to the throne. He walked a narrow line, appeasing his mother’s family and doing all he could to keep his younger brother safe.
“We tried to persuade my mother,” Natsuka said. “Me and grandfather both. But she wouldn’t listen. Then Nazukihiko’s mother and the Emperor died in quick succession, and Nazukihiko was vulnerable. There was no one left to protect him except for me.”
Repeated poisonings in childhood had left the Crown Prince in fear for his life, so he’d moved to Saike territory to be taken care of by his mother’s family.
“I knew almost right away that Saike territory wasn’t the right place for me to be,” the Crown Prince said. “They wanted to use me, not help me. Natsuka made arrangements for me to study abroad. Our father made no plans at all for my future or my education. He is a puppet of other officials, nothing more. If Natsuka hadn’t looked out for me, I would probably be dead now.”
Nazukihiko explained his and Natsuka’s plan. The first step was to send Nazukihiko as far away from Yamauchi as possible for his own safety. When he grew up and was able to protect himself, he could return. In the meantime, Natsuka resolved to seize control of the Imperial Court behind the scenes. He promised that when Nazukihiko returned, he would be his strongest supporter.
Fortunately it never occurred to anyone that Natsuka himself had no interest in usurping his brother’s place. The brothers had decided to use this to their advantage. Natsuka never corrected the misconceptions of others. He encouraged people who wanted to harm Nazukihiko to gather around him so that he could learn their plans.
“So that’s why the Crown Prince never reported the assassination attempts against him,” Yukiya said. “There was no need. You already knew everything.”
The Crown Prince had given excuse after excuse for why he’d never reported the attack in the pleasure district. Now Yukiya knew why. The Crown Prince and his brother were purging hostile forces and thwarting plans from within the enemy camp.
“Did you swear loyalty during the meeting just to provoke your supporters?” Yukiya asked Natsuka.
Natsuka made an eloquently displeased face. “You didn’t have to rub my nose in things like that,” he said to his brother. “Even neutral officials in the Imperial Court might have turned against you for pulling a stunt like that.”
Nazukihiko shook his head. “The point was to provoke people who were already loyal to you. It had nothing to do with neutral parties. I doubt that they cared much.”
This showed that Natsuka and Nazukihiko didn’t view matters at court identically. It also explained the flash of anger in Natsuka’s eyes when he’d been made to kneel before the Crown Prince.
“What about the Star Festival? Did you arrange to meet the Lord of Nanke together?” Yukiya asked.
“Together but separate,” Natsuka said. “We wanted to figure out what he was planning. I managed to get him to confess his true feelings, but it was like pulling teeth.”
“Did Rokon know everything all along?” Yukiya asked.
“No,” Rokon said bluntly. “I noticed that Prince Natsuka was passing information to the Crown Prince a long time ago, but that could easily have been a bit of misdirection. I assumed he was sending false information. I didn’t know they were in cahoots until they said so just now. I suspected something when Atsufusa started plotting, though. I was waiting for Prince Natsuka to confide in me, but Atsufusa acted too quickly.”
He hadn’t expected Atsufusa to act today. If he’d brought his suspicions to Natsuka earlier, the attack at Moonwatch Tower might not have happened.
Natsuka shifted in his seat. “Part of this is definitely my fault. I didn’t communicate my true intentions because I had to be sure. It was useful to observe you and Atsufusa to see what you truly thought of my brother. I didn’t want to interfere prematurely and color your judgment.”
“That’s a lot of words to say you didn’t trust me,” Rokon said gruffly.
Natsuka was speechless for a moment. Then he nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry for doubting you. I didn’t think I had another choice.”
“Well, you trusted me in the end, so I guess that counts,” Rokon said. “We’ll call it good.” He rolled his shoulders. “But enough about me. You amaze me, Yukiya.”
“I do?” Yukiya asked.
“I’ve been serving Prince Natsuka for a long time and never figured out that he was helping the Crown Prince,” Rokon said. “You’ve only been in service for a few months. How did you figure it out?”
“I’d like to know that, too,” Sumio said. “We didn’t tell you anything, Yukiya, and that’s mostly my fault. Up until now, we’ve always had warning when the bad guys were planning something. I got complacent. I was too careless, and we all almost died. I’m sorry.” He looked frustrated with himself.
“No one’s dead,” Rokon said.
“Not this time,” Sumio said. “There’s always a next time. So. How did you figure it out, Yukiya? We’d like to know.”
Yukiya didn’t like all the attention focused on him. He frowned slightly. “It wasn’t that hard. I remembered what His Imperial Highness said to me when he asked me to become his personal attendant.”
“What did I say?” the Crown Prince asked.
“You knew that I would have to go to the Keisōin as punishment if I didn’t stay in your service for a year,” Yukiya said.
“You figured out that Prince Natsuka was an ally just from that?”
“Yes,” Yukiya replied. “I’m the second son of a warrior family in Hokke territory. Most boys in Hokke would consider going to the Keisōin a privilege, not a punishment. The only ones who knew that I would have to go to the Keisōin—and that I didn’t want that—were my family and Prince Natsuka. If other people in Hokke knew I was so terrified to go to the Keisōin, they’d laugh their heads off. My family wouldn’t tell—they care too much about keeping up appearances. Prince Natsuka is the only person who could have told you.
“Also,” Yukiya added, “you were always so well-informed about the doings of Natsuka’s faction. That made sense if Natsuka himself was your ally. I didn’t know that for sure, of course, but I was fairly certain I was right. Then I went to the Valley and found out that Prince Natsuka had an estate between the city’s pleasure quarters and the Valley, and things really started making sense to me.”
“You saved us,” Sumio said. “Your quick thinking saved us all. Thank you.” He pressed Yukiya’s hand in his briefly.
Natsuka bowed slightly to Yukiya. “You are a true ally of my brother and saved his life. I thank you as well.” He asked Yukiya to continue supporting Nazukihiko, both in public and behind the scenes.
Yukiya pulled his hand out of Sumio’s and stepped back. “Stop it, all of you. You don’t need me anymore, do you? Think about everything that’s happened since I started serving in the Imperial Court. I never wanted to stay here.”
Yukiya’s year would be up soon, and then he could return to Taruhi Village without punishment, as he’d planned. He explained this patiently.
Prince Natsuka laughed. “Out of the question. You’ll be my brother’s personal attendant from now on.”
“Of course he will,” Sumio said, nodding. “The Crown Prince has gained a strategist. I can finally relax a little.”
Yukiya glared at them. It felt good to do that. They deserved so much more. “Stop joking around. I’m just the son of a village leader. I’ve never belonged anywhere near the Imperial Court.”
Natsuka laughed again. “You,” he said, “are the Lord of Hokke’s grandson. Of course you belong in the Imperial Court. You are one of the highest-ranked boys in all of Yamauchi.”
Yukiya was growing pale.
“Maybe that’s enough, Natsuka,” Nazukihiko said.
“It certainly is not,” Natsuka said. “If he’d waited until he turned twenty-one, he could have used the shadow rank system to get any position he wanted.”
Sumio nodded. “Given your abilities, Yukiya, you could easily rise higher than your cousin Lord Kiei.”
“You’re a perfect messenger to the Lord of Hokke, too,” Natsuka said. “Just think of the possibilities! You could appeal directly to your grandfather to assist the Crown Prince whenever needed.”
“Natsuka,” Nazukihiko said, more sharply this time. “You’re terrifying the poor boy.”
Sumio had been smiling, but he stopped. “Yukiya? Are you all right?”
Yukiya said nothing.
“I pegged you for a Hokke brat the instant I saw you,” Rokon said. “It’s obvious just by looking at you. You said you had a different mother than your brothers—was that a lie so that I wouldn’t try to keep guessing?”
“Yukiya didn’t lie,” the Crown Prince said. “His mother was the Lord of Hokke’s daughter. His brothers have a different mother.”
Rokon whistled, impressed or surprised. “Yet the son of a concubine will inherit the village leader title. That doesn’t seem quite right to me.”
“My stepmother is a legal wife, not a concubine,” Yukiya gritted out.
“What?” Rokon asked.
“Of course you wouldn’t know.” He sighed. “My mother was the second daughter of the Lord of Hokke. She was born frail and sickly. No one thought she would ever have children. Few records of her remain. In Hokke, no one speaks of her. It’s like she never existed.” Yukiya spoke without emotion. “She married my father because she loved him. The Lord of Hokke let her because she wasn’t expected to live long.”
At the time, Yukimasa’s paternal grandfather—the previous village leader—was ill and about to retire. Yukimasa was still young, so some people thought it might be better to entrust the role to someone else.
The interest of the Lord of Hokke’s daughter was a boon to Yukimasa’s family. Having the Lord of Hokke’s daughter as a legal wife was a major political asset. Yukimasa assumed his position as village leader and encountered little opposition.
Against all expectations, Yukiya’s mother lived for many happy years with her chosen husband. She was expected to die within a year of her marriage, but a year became two, then three, then four. Her continued survival was cause for celebration, but the Lord of Hokke had his own troubles that were connected to her. He had no sons and needed an heir.
Yukiya’s mother was healthy by her own standards, but not healthy enough to bear a child. The Lord of Hokke had thought of marrying Yukimasa to someone suitable after his daughter passed away, but at this rate, the village leader of Taruhi would remain childless forever. Was that any way to repay a man who would care for his daughter until her death?
Six years after the Lord of Hokke’s daughter wed Yukimasa, the Lord of Hokke approached Yukimasa and asked if he would take a concubine.
“I don’t know if my father was given the option to refuse or not, but he took my stepmother, Azusa, as a concubine then,” Yukiya said.
Azusa had been selected by the Lord of Hokke personally. She was a wonderful woman with impeccable lineage and irreproachable character. Her family were all city nobles originally, but an ancestor had moved to Hokke territory and had entered the lord’s service. Azusa had been raised like a daughter by the Lord of Hokke and his wife.
A short time after becoming a concubine, Azusa became pregnant and gave birth to Yukima. The Lord of Hokke rejoiced to hear the news and doted on Yukima as if he were his own grandson.
The Lord of Hokke’s daughter was furious. She hadn’t been told that Yukimasa had taken a concubine until Yukima was born; the whole thing had been kept secret from her. Learning that the concubine was Azusa, who was like a sister to her, was like a slap in the face. Scandalized and indignant, she’d done everything in her power to become pregnant with Yukiya. His birth had killed her. She’d expected it to. She’d passed away before she could even hold Yukiya in her arms.
Yukiya had been raised by Azusa. Like the Crown Prince, he had lost his mother in infancy.
“I’m a second son, but some people thought I would inherit my father’s place and not my older brother.”
Azusa became Yukimasa’s legal wife shortly after the death of the Lord of Hokke’s daughter, but that did nothing to change Yukiya’s status.
“I think I was five or so,” Yukiya said. “I learned to read early—earlier than my older brother did. I could read some difficult poetry even at that age. Some people heard about that and approached my father, asking him to make me his heir. It all seems ridiculous now, but my father was troubled by the request. My mother’s death was blamed on Azusa. Azusa was a young mother without family protection, so the whole situation was a mess.”
Yukimasa had not openly moved to protect Yukima or Azusa.
“Oh, no,” Natsuka said. “No way. You’re kidding. That’s why you are… the way you are.”
Natsuka’s contemptuous humor made Yukiya freeze for a moment. Then he nodded. “I never surpassed my brother at anything ever again.”
“So you pretended to be incompetent,” Nazukihiko said.
“I did,” Yukiya said, “or there would have been trouble in my family. I don’t want trouble in my family. I love them.” He said this defensively and with no warmth. “My father didn’t protect Azusa or my brother, so I did. I’m the second son, and I will defend my family and my older brother’s place in it.” He shifted slightly to face the Crown Prince. “You already knew all this, didn’t you? You wouldn’t have made me an attendant without looking into my background.”
Nazukihiko shrugged, then nodded. “I knew. Most of it, anyway.”
“Since when?”
“From the very beginning. I knew when I met you at the Sun Palace.”
“So you know I’d never introduce myself as the Lord of Hokke’s grandson,” Yukiya said. “I’m the son of a village leader, that’s all. I don’t want to be used as a political pawn for Hokke’s sake. I refuse.” Then he laughed. “You were thinking of using me to get the Lord of Hokke on your side, weren’t you? That’s crazy.”
“It’s not,” the Crown Prince said. “What you care about does not change who you are and what you represent. Not entirely. Consider this: the Lord of Hokke’s support is valuable. He is a competent lord with military experience. You are his grandson, and your father’s lineage poses no issues within Hokke or elsewhere. You becoming my attendant was a signal to others—a show of Hokke territory’s support, albeit veiled. I took you with me to various places so that you would learn what you needed to know about the Four Families and their status in the Imperial Court. I let you witness the botched assassination attempt so that the Lord of Hokke would learn of it.”
Yukiya frowned. “When we were attacked in the pleasure district, you knew that the Fujimiyaren were involved already, didn’t you?”
The Crown Prince’s face went blank.
Sumio gaped. “No, I… we didn’t know…”
“And when you looked into it, you found a connection to Hokke and isolated me in the Valley so that I would be out of the way,” Yukiya said, every word an accusation. “You couldn’t let a member of the Lord of Hokke’s family investigate a scandal that involved Hokke in some way. Then you found out Lord Kitashijōke was responsible and called me back. Am I wrong?!” he asked, almost shouting.
All the blood drained from Sumio’s face. Even Natsuka appeared intimidated.
“Calm down, Yukiya, and I’ll explain what I can,” Natsuka said.
“I’m calm,” Yukiya said. “You’re the one who’s agitated. As you should be.”
Prince Natsuka had suggested that Yukiya should go to the Imperial Court in Kazumaro’s place. This whole situation was his fault.
“Please, just listen to what I have to say,” Natsuka said, thoroughly flustered. “I’ll admit that Sumio and I deliberately acted in certain ways, more or less as you’ve described. I sincerely apologize for any harm that has come to you. But Nazukihiko is different—he didn’t try to use you. I asked him countless times to use you as a go-between to the Lord of Hokke, and he always refused.”
“I told him not to give you so much difficult work on your first day,” Sumio said, “because of who you were, but he refused. I spoke for you later, but he never let up with your workload. I’m sorry. The Crown Prince never once treated you like the Lord of Hokke’s grandson.”
“But you still saw me that way, didn’t you?” Yukiya asked. He looked at Nazukihiko.
The Crown Prince closed his eyes and breathed deeply.
“Otherwise you wouldn’t have sent me to the Valley for a month and a half,” Yukiya said. “You pretended to treat me as the simple son of a village leader while involving me in the investigation of my own family for an assassination attempt. You used me like the others did, for your own purposes.”
When the Crown Prince opened his eyes, he looked sad. Natsuka and Sumio said nothing in their own defense.
“You need to cool your head, kid,” Rokon said. He smacked Yukiya lightly in the temple.
“Rokon.” Yukiya glared at him, but it was hard to direct too much anger his way. Yukiya being here like this wasn’t his fault. He’d saved all their lives.
“You’re not entitled to being treated the way you want to be treated,” Rokon said. “So they used you. So what? What does taking out your frustration on them accomplish? You’re not dumb. You might even be smart. Think about it for a few seconds before you fly off the handle again. I’m not gonna defend the Crown Prince—he can do that himself if he wants—but sending you to the Valley kept you out of trouble. What if the Lord of Hokke had been involved? You could have gotten caught in the cross-hairs. He used you, but he also protected you. And he did that because you’re the Lord of Hokke’s grandson—like it or not. That’s what your lord should do. He made use of your talents and protected you from danger. That’s praiseworthy. You can criticize how he did it, but not what was done.”
“I can so,” Yukiya said petulantly. “I didn’t ask to be the Lord of Hokke’s grandson. It isn’t something I want or need. And I never consented to being used. I’m not okay with it.”
“You’re in a poor position to bargain,” Rokon said. “This is politics. Feelings are ancillary in politics. No one cares about your consent. People are used like you have been all the time. It’s just business. Throwing a tantrum over how the world works makes you look childish.”
Yukiya fumed. “Prince Natsuka used you, too. And you aren’t mad about that?”
Natsuka’s shoulders trembled finely. He couldn’t look Yukiya in the eye.
“Prince Natsuka made you get your hands dirty and never explained why,” Yukiya said. “Didn’t that bother you? You’re feared and hated by so many people because of his commands. How is that fair? Is that what you would have chosen?”
Natsuka bowed his head, accepting Yukiya’s censure without comment.
Rokon grinned like a predator and then laughed again. “I’m happy about all that. Being used means I’m useful. That’s better than the alternative: life without any purpose at all. Don’t get any funny ideas about me, boy. I do what I do because I’m good at it. It suits me. No one’s better at keeping those imperial shits in line and cowering than I am. I told Prince Natsuka to use me, and he did. Very effectively.”
Yukiya couldn’t understand this perspective at all. His confusion showed on his face.
“Relationships—all of them, friendships and family ties included—are transactional,” Rokon said. “Everyone acts out of self-interest, or in the interests of their friends or family. This is normal and natural. We all use one another to get ahead. The Imperial Court is a web of relationships where everyone makes use of everyone else’s skills and resources. I benefit from serving Prince Natsuka in various ways, and he benefits from making use of me. Everyone wins.”
Yukiya bit his lip.
“Didn’t you become the prince’s attendant to benefit yourself?” Rokon asked.
“No,” Yukiya choked out. “That’s not true at all.”
Rokon ignored him. “Consider Atsufusa. Up until yesterday, his goals and Prince Natsuka’s were aligned. That was the only reason they worked together. In the end, Atsufusa acted to benefit himself, but not Prince Natsuka, and the bond between them broke. So you see, I’m right. This is what service means, and what being used means. We are all used, and we all use others. That is the way of things.”
Yukiya was speechless.
“There are pretty words like self-sacrifice and loyalty,” Rokon continued, “but they’re just words. No one gives without taking. Those words are beautiful lies, nothing more.”
“That’s what you think,” Yukiya said. “I don’t see the world the same way you do. Not at all. I can believe that you act only out of self-interest, but how could you possibly know Atsufusa’s motives, or mine for that matter?”
Yukiya believed that Atsufusa was truly loyal to Prince Natsuka. He wouldn’t have risked so much otherwise. That was part of the reason Yukiya was so mad at Natsuka and the Crown Prince. They’d exploited genuine loyalty. That went against his fundamental values.
“What do you mean?” Rokon asked.
“I mean that Atsufusa is loyal,” Yukiya said. “He didn’t betray Prince Natsuka. He came up with an assassination plan that would benefit his chosen lord. It’s not his fault that he didn’t know Prince Natsuka’s true intentions. No one ever told him.” He glanced between Natsuka and Rokon.
Atsufusa wasn’t a stupid man. He knew that the Crown Prince was far more capable than he seemed. He’d been planning for Prince Natsuka’s rule for many years, and he’d seen that future vanish before his very eyes. Prince Natsuka had turned a deaf ear to all of his warnings. In desperation, he’d come up with a plan to kill Nazukihiko to preserve the future he’d worked so hard for. All for Prince Natsuka’s sake.
“Atsufusa may not have acted on orders, but he did everything to benefit Prince Natsuka,” Yukiya said. “I’m not saying I agree with his methods or anything, but he was betrayed by his lord—the person he was trying the most to protect and serve. Isn’t that a terrible thing? If he’d known what Prince Natsuka’s true intentions were from the start, none of us would have ever been in danger.” He faced Rokon squarely. “Don’t make the mistake of believing that everyone thinks the same way as you. They don’t.”
Rokon seemed amused. “I like your spirit,” he said.
“That’s all you have to say for yourself?” Natsuka asked. He sounded exhausted.
Rokon shrugged. “He’s not wrong. I betrayed Atsufusa.”
“Because you knew your lord’s true intentions and he didn’t,” Yukiya said.
Rokon spun toward Natsuka. “Maybe we should have him talk to Atsufusa. Do you object?” Rokon asked.
“No,” Natsuka said. “Do as you will.”
Rokon turned his fierce grin on Yukiya. “Go, then. He’s in a storage room in one of the outbuildings. I’ll tell the guards to let you in. You can ask about his motives yourself.”
***
The inside of the storage room was darker than Yukiya anticipated. Moonlight spilled through a pitifully small latticed window. Dust motes danced in the silvery light.
Atsufusa sat on the floor. His hands were bound, but he didn’t look like a captive. He leaned against the wall and watched Yukiya approach. One eyebrow lifted in surprise, but he swiftly composed himself.
“To think that we would meet like this,” Atsufusa said. “I never would have imagined it.”
“Yeah, me neither,” Yukiya said.
“Really? You’re the reason I’m trussed up like this and under guard,” Atsufusa said. He gave Yukiya a wry grin.
Atsufusa blamed Yukiya for his captivity. Yukiya winced. He let his gaze wander for a few moments so that he wouldn’t do something stupid like admit blame. “Are you hurt badly?” he asked.
Atsufusa’s main injuries had been fake, but he could have gotten hurt in the fighting afterward. It was a ridiculous question to ask the man who had tried to kill him, but Atsufusa didn’t laugh.
“Thank you for your concern,” Atsufusa said. “I’m fine. No serious injuries.”
“I see,” Yukiya said. He didn’t know what else to say.
“Is there something you came here to talk to me about?” Atsufusa asked calmly.
Yukiya nodded. “I wanted to ask why you did it.”
Atsufusa chuckled. “So you’re my interrogator now? I wasn’t aware that the Yamauchishu were done asking me questions.” He shrugged. “I suppose I owe you some kind of explanation, though. Fine, I’ll tell you. I did it for Prince Natsuka. You could have guessed that. And I failed.” His face fell. “No one listened to me. I told him not to underestimate the Crown Prince. I had no choice but to act on my own. I couldn’t let the Crown Prince take the throne.” He tilted his head. “I’d prefer if it you didn’t tell anyone else what I said. I did all this for Prince Natsuka, but he knew nothing about it. I acted alone.”
“Stop, Atsufusa,” Yukiya said. “You don’t need to protect him anymore.”
Atsufusa frowned.
“Prince Natsuka has been working with the Crown Prince all along,” Yukiya said. It hurt to say that. What would Atsufusa think now that he’d learned he’d been working against Prince Natsuka’s true intentions for years? He closed his eyes.
“I know,” Atsufusa said. “I’ve known that for a long time.”
Yukiya doubted his own ears. He relaxed his arms at his sides and let out a slow breath.
“Rokon noticed,” Atsufusa said quietly, “and he’s as dense as they come. Did you think I wouldn’t? I knew full well that Prince Natsuka wanted his brother on the throne and not himself. I also knew that they were planning something together now that the Crown Prince has returned from abroad. If I hadn’t acted when I did, I would have missed my chance. I was so close to succeeding, too.”
“Why?” Yukiya asked again. “You said you did this for Prince Natsuka, but this isn’t what he wanted at all. You tried to kill Prince Natsuka’s younger brother.”
“I never said I acted based on Prince Natsuka’s desires,” Atsufusa said. “I did it for his own good, not because I was trying to do what he wanted.”
“Huh?”
“The best future for Prince Natsuka is as clear as day. I must look out for him and secure the best outcome, regardless of his wishes.”
Goose-flesh rose on Yukiya’s arms. “And what is Prince Natsuka’s best future?”
“I’m glad you asked,” Atsufusa said.
Yukiya wasn’t. There was bile in the back of his throat.
“Prince Natsuka would marry Nadeshiko, the Duchess of Nanke. With the blessing of the Empress, their child will become the next Emperor. That is the best possible future.”
Yukiya considered the current circumstances of the Nanke family. Nadeshiko was the Lord of Nanke’s daughter and Atsufusa’s cousin.
Yukiya sucked in a breath. “That isn’t the best future for Prince Natsuka. It’s the best future for the Empress.”
“Those are the same thing,” Atsufusa said. “The Empress will certainly make Prince Natsuka the Emperor eventually. It’s only a matter of time. Prince Natsuka and the Lord of Nanke are confused about what they truly want, so they seek to thwart the Empress’ plans in different ways. I had to prevent Prince Natsuka from losing the Empress as an ally, and that meant I needed to kill the Crown Prince as soon as possible.”
Yukiya’s skin crawled. “You confuse me,” he said.
“How so?”
“You serve Prince Natsuka, not the Empress. If you were truly loyal to him, you would stand with him and defy the Empress.”
“That’s impossible,” Atsufusa said. “It can’t be done.”
“It can,” Yukiya said. “You’re talented. You have influence. You could rely on Lord Rokon and Prince Natsuka to support your efforts. Prince Natsuka talked to you himself ten years ago and earned your respect, didn’t he? Why wouldn’t you show him the same courtesy?”
Atsufusa burst out laughing. “I never would have met him if not for the Empress! When my aunt married into the imperial family, she brought the rest of her family to the Imperial Palace. I never would have had the opportunity if not for the Empress. She was the one who arranged for me to meet Prince Natsuka.”
Yukiya remembered Atsufusa mentioning that someone had made introductions between Prince Natsuka and Atsufusa before their first meeting. Had that person been the Empress?
“And Rokon is a buffoon,” Atsufusa said. “He was born into the Minami Tachibana family, so he’s never had to work for anything or do too much thinking. He’s incompetent. He couldn’t help me do anything.” He laughed again. “Blood and connections mean everything in the Imperial Palace. Certainly, I am talented. I would still be an imperial attendant of some sort without my connection to Prince Natsuka. My family status guarantees that. Without those connections, I’d be nothing at all, regardless of my own capabilities. You’re only here because of your connection to the Lord of Hokke, after all.”
That dismissive comment was like a knife to the heart. Yukiya clutched instinctively at his chest and just stared stupefied for a few seconds.
Atsufusa smiled. “I’ll tell you something, since we’re talking. Everything is going to plan. The Empress will win in the end. This is nothing more than a simple test. A small obstacle. She will recover and be stronger than ever. Thanks to the circumstances of my capture, she knows now that Prince Natsuka is working with the Crown Prince. Prince Natsuka himself is unhurt and his reputation is undamaged. I will bear the brunt of the punishment, and he will become the next Emperor.”
Yukiya didn’t understand this logic very well. It was clear to everyone now that Prince Natsuka didn’t want to become the next Emperor. Why would the Empress force him?
“I endure this humiliation for Prince Natsuka’s sake,” Atsufusa said. “Even if he doesn’t want or understand the future the Empress is planning. It’s for his own good.”
Yukiya’s legs felt as heavy as lead.
Atsufusa didn’t notice his unease and said rapturously, “The Empress will kill the Crown Prince, and then Prince Natsuka will have no choice but to become the Emperor. And then I will be released on the Empress’ command, and have as much power as I could ever wish. After it’s all over and the dust has settled, Prince Natsuka will thank me for my service. I will mediate between him and the Empress until he is Emperor and Nadeshiko is Empress. I’m the only one qualified to be his personal attendant.”
Bound and trapped in this storage room, Atsufusa still hadn’t given up on creating the future he’d worked so hard for.
Yukiya bit his lip and shook his head violently. “Prince Natsuka won’t thank you,” he said. “That isn’t what he wants. Not at all.”
Atsufusa scoffed. “That isn’t what he wants now. Give it a few years. He’ll change his mind. I pray for that day to come. Soon.”
His smile made Yukiya feel deeply uncomfortable.
“When Empress Nadeshiko holds their child in her arms for the first time, Emperor Natsuka will finally understand everything,” Atsufusa said. “I live for that moment. Prince Natsuka must understand that I have always been his most loyal servant.”
Yukiya remembered what Rokon had said. “There are pretty words like self-sacrifice and loyalty, but they’re just words. No one gives without taking. Those words are beautiful lies, nothing more.”
“Beautiful lies,” Yukiya said under his breath. “You’re not a loyal servant at all. You say you’re doing all this for Prince Natsuka, but really, you’re only doing it for yourself. You come up with convenient excuses to justify your actions. You’ve never once considered what Prince Natsuka wants.”
Atsufusa didn’t protest or defend himself. He smiled. “After you spend a bit more time in the Imperial Palace, you will understand.” He appeared entirely reasonable.
That made Yukiya feel worse. Atsufusa wasn’t insane, though some of his ideas definitely were.
***
When Yukiya left the storage room, the Crown Prince was waiting for him.
“We should talk,” the Crown Prince said. He started walking toward the garden.
Yukiya followed him, lacking the energy to object.
“Atsufusa gained a position at court after his aunt married into the Nanke family and Nadeshiko was born,” the Crown Prince said. “I’ve always found that timing a little suspicious.”
A marriage between Natsuka and Nadeshiko would cement Nanke’s power in the Imperial Palace. Natsuka had spent over half of his life as a priest who could not marry; his return to secular life would mark a major shift in imperial power. The idea that Natsuka didn’t want to return to secular life had never occurred to Atsufusa.
“Every time my brother or the Lord of Nanke took a step back from what he thought was their proper place, Atsufusa would object. When they didn’t listen to him or do as he said, he got desperate.”
Atsufusa’s thinking aligned closely with the Empress’. Both of them wanted to be blood relatives to the Emperor. They believed that if that happened, their own position in the Imperial Court would improve dramatically.
“Does it have to be Prince Natsuka?” Yukiya asked. “Why not some other man from the Nanke family?”
“It has to be my brother,” the Crown Prince said. “No one else is more suited to the role.” He sighed. “After you left, Rokon said, ‘It’s normal to lose your head when you’re in the political arena. Atsufusa should have accepted that you win some and you lose some, but he couldn’t. He stubbornly clung to the idea that he was loyal, and that made him touched in the head. It’s stupid. Lying to others is one thing. Believing your own lies is so much worse. How could you ever know what’s true if you think that way?’”
Yukiya privately agreed with Rokon’s assessment. He wasn’t as angry at the Crown Prince as he’d been before.
“What Atsufusa said is mostly true,” the Crown Prince said. “If I die, my brother will rule. So much is simple.” He looked at the ground. “Right now, my brother supports me and Rokon supports him. If I died, all of that would change.”
“Is that what Rokon meant when he said, ‘If you were going to do it, you should have done it well?’” Yukiya asked. “He was reprimanding Lord Kitashijōke for not taking him and Natsuka into account during his planning?”
“That’s right. While I’m alive, I have Natsuka’s support and Rokon’s by extension. Rokon will protect me as he does Natsuka.” He gave Yukiya a cynical smile. “But if I were dead, Rokon wouldn’t really care. He’d rejoice if my brother became the Emperor instead of me. I doubt he’s the only noble who thinks that way.”
Yukiya nodded. People like Rokon and Atsufusa were only ever provisional allies. They didn’t serve their lord for their lord’s sake. They served because they expected to get something out of it.
“Yukiya. You seem quite angry that I chose you, but I wasn’t lying. I truly need an ally I can trust.”
The night wind blew through the garden. Clouds tore apart, edged with silver moonlight. The air carried the smell of rain.
“Sure,” Yukiya said, “but what do you think that means?”
The Crown Prince half-turned, his feet crushing gravel. “I chose you. You didn’t choose me. If you don’t, then you won’t be my ally of your own free will. That isn’t what I need. So. Will you choose me?” His loose black hair fluttered over his shoulders.
Yukiya frowned at the insufferable man. The weirdly beautiful man that so many people despised and called a fool.
The kind man who’d protected him and shielded him from harm.
“Don’t take this the wrong way or think that I’m backing out of anything, because I’m not. Shiratama’s my cousin and I was really offended at how you treated the four duchesses in Sakura Palace, at least until you explained things to me. I saved you. You saved me. You don’t see the duchesses as political tools and aren’t trying to hurt them—or me. You’re selfish and easy to misunderstand, but I don’t hate you. I decided to serve you when I had the opportunity to defect because you saw me as a person, not just as an extension of my family’s power.” He looked at the Crown Prince’s face as he would a blooming flower. “I was happy when you said you could trust me.”
“I do trust you,” the Crown Prince said.
Yukiya steeled himself. “All right, then. Listen to my request, and I might choose to serve you.”
The Crown Prince nodded firmly. “I’ll listen.”
“If you truly want me to be your ally, I want you to stop being the Crown Prince.”
Nazukihiko blinked. “Is that a joke?”
It wasn’t. Yukiya never made jokes.
“You and your brother get along well. There’s no need for you to be at the top, is there? If so many people want Natsuka to be the Emperor, why not just give it to him? Why risk your life to be the next Golden Raven?”
The Crown Prince said nothing.
Yukiya locked eyes with him and said, “I don’t dislike you. I don’t want you to die. I don’t know what it means to be a true Golden Raven. Is it so important to you that you’d trade your life away to become the Emperor?”
The corner of the Crown Prince’s eye twitched.
“I am already a true Golden Raven,” the Crown Prince said sadly. “If you took that from me, I would be dead.”
That stung. Yukiya closed his eyes. He was finally starting to like the Crown Prince. A little, anyway. Yes, he was infuriating, selfish, and gave unclear instructions. But he wasn’t a bad man. Yukiya couldn’t say he disliked him anymore with any honesty.
He also knew that his request was unreasonable. Being betrayed and nearly killed had spooked him.
There was one thing that Yukiya knew with total certainty: he didn’t want to end up like Atsufusa, who stubbornly clung to a lie and concealed his true feelings.
“Then it’s your own fault I can’t serve you,” Yukiya said. He was disappointed in himself. He wasn’t a loyal attendant after all. “Die where you want, somewhere far away from me.”
***
In the seventh year of Kanu during the month of the blooming cherry blossoms, Atsufusa of Nanke, a junior official of the fifth rank and assistant to the Ministry of Justice was arrested on suspicion of plotting the assassination of the Crown Prince.
Yukiya accompanied the Crown Prince to Sakura Palace so that he could choose his bride, and then he resigned from his post and returned to Taruhi Village in Hokke territory. He had served the Crown Prince for a year and was not sent to the Keisōin.
Many people were sad to see him go, not least the Crown Prince and Prince Natsuka. They tried to persuade him to stay. Yukiya’s fellow officials called him a fool for leaving to his face.
Yukiya laughed at them all. “Sometimes, playing the fool is the wisest move one can make.”
Translator's Note
Kanu is the furigana given at the end; the name means “peaceful or lenient raven.” It is unclear if this is an era name, a title, or the Emperor’s given name.
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