Yatagarasu Series
Volume 8:
The Raven's Reminiscence
Author: Abe Chisato
Epilogue: Answers
“Your Excellency,” Haruma said.
Yukiya—he went by Sessai now—looked up. There was a stack of documents on his desk that only had about half of his attention. The cares and worries of the years since the Sun Palace had burned down were etched into his face. White streaked his dark hair. It had been more than ten years since Hamayū and Shion had gone missing.
Prince Nagihiko was still young. Sessai exerted an outsize influence on the boy’s education and activities. He had not kept Nazukihiko’s policies in place; instead, he had created new ones to mitigate the coming threat to Yamauchi’s existence. He’d secured a labor force by suborning the Valley and the Underground’s people. He’d provided horses to complete large infrastructure projects. He put former courtesans with no ties to nobles in charge of medicinal herb gardens and research. Wandering musicians from Touke Territory were employed by the government to spread propaganda. He expanded on the educational reforms that Nazukihiko had made with the purpose of raising successors—people capable of challenging his ideas and proposing new ones.
Haruma had always revered Yukiya, and that had not changed over the years. The Yellow Raven sat before him in his seat of power.
Nagihiko was a healthy boy who had almost no interest in politics. He was playful and mischievous and adored his mother, who was addressed by the title Empress Oumurasaki, just as her predecessor had been. He responded to petitions with only three words: “So be it.” As a ruler, he was remarkably like his father.
Sessai actually governed Yamauchi, and everyone knew it.
Haruma had made his choice that day on his knees in mud when he’d sworn to be loyal to Yukiya. He’d never disobeyed a command. He carried pride in the quality of his service. Helping Yukiya was practically second nature to him.
If something required confirmation, Haruma would confirm it and bring the information forward at a later time. It was unusual for him to interrupt Sessai while he was occupied with paperwork.
“What is it?” Sessai asked.
“I have an urgent matter to report that requires your attention.” He approached with several reports in his hand. He spread them on the desk.
Sessai set down his brush and read over the reports, his head tilted slightly. “A list of candidates for the imperial civil service examination?” he asked. “Why am I looking at this, Haruma?”
Most nobles took their positions in the Imperial Court by using the shadow rank system to select their own position, but not everyone did. In the past, it was customary for nobles to pass an examination that certified them to be capable of the work of governance. Most people who took the examination were second or third sons without better prospects. Sometimes even commoners passed the exam, since it was open to everyone.
“That is… well, Lord Sumio and Lady Masuho no Susuki of Saike have a daughter who has signed up to take the examination this year.”
“Akane?” Yukiya asked.
“No. The other one. Her name was Aoi.”
“Aoi.”
“That’s right.”
Sessai had never met Akane’s twin. She’d spent much of her early life being attended to by various doctors because of her delicate health. Akane had often played with Princess Shion, but Aoi had made no appearances. Neither Yukiya nor Haruma had never seen Aoi’s face.
Sessai and Masuho no Susuki had never gotten along particularly well, which explained why he knew little of the goings-on of her household.
“Does that mean she became a rakujō?” Sessai asked. Only men could sit for the imperial civil service examination.
“It seems she obtained permission from Empress Oumurasaki three years ago to change her name, yes.”
Sessai made an annoyed expression. Asebi never interfered in politics at all, but she still pulled underhanded things like this on occasion. She was impossible to predict or control because she did so little thinking. She was incapable of deception except by obfuscation or omission.
“Aoi has taken the new name Sumio,” Haruma said.
“Because she is Sumio’s child, naturally,” Yukiya said.
“She was born in Saike Territory, but she has moved around quite a bit because of her health. At present, she has no major health problems. The Lord of Saike is sponsoring her to take the examination.”
Sessai was silent for a moment.
What a vexing issue. Aoi—now Sumio—was the Lord of Saike’s grandchild. She could have used the shadow rank system to enter the Imperial Court, but she hadn’t. Why would she take the imperial examination when she didn’t have to? There was something strange going on here.
The examination wasn’t easy. Sumio would have to study if she expected to pass it.
“What will you do? We could fail her on the grounds that she is disrupting public morals,” Haruma said.
“Ridiculous.” Sessai shook his head. “If public morals are so easily disrupted by that, they might as well rot.”
Haruma nodded and then shrugged.
“Approve her. She will sit for the examination.” Sessai had decided this on a whim, but all of his decisions were firm. He wasn’t surprised when Haruma asked him for confirmation anyway.
“Are you certain?”
Yukiya waved his hand dismissively. “If problems arise, we can remove her from a government position at any time. I say we leave her alone. I doubt she’ll wish to remain in the Imperial Court for long.”
Sessai had built his reputation as a champion of meritocracy, but everyone knew that women faced more challenges and restrictions than men in Yamauchi. If Sumio had the strength to overcome those restrictions, he would welcome her in his government with open arms.
Smiling, he said, “Besides, I owe it to her father to give his daughter a chance. He helped me a lot when I was young.”
***
The imperial civil service examination was held in a large hall in the Imperial Court. All the examinees were either disgraced nobles or common-born. Led in a long line through the hall, they were all tense and wearing their best clothes. They held their heads high, their bravado concealing deep insecurities.
Only one examinee was different. She entered the line with unfeigned enthusiasm, drawing curious stares from all who noticed her. Her jet-black hair was cut brutally short. She wore a high-quality blue imperial attendant uniform. The nape of her neck, white as a courtesan’s, was completely exposed; it was practically indecent. Her eyebrows drew gentle arcs like they’d been painted on. Her lips were coral-colored and glossy. Her eyes were perhaps her most striking feature. Their corners turned up sharply, and her long lashes cast shadows on her cheeks. Her pupils were as dark as the night sky, and her gaze was arresting. Those who looked her in the eye found it difficult to look away.
She was beautiful—and completely out of place. Other examinees admired her openly, calling out compliments that she ignored. The older examinees had met Nazukihiko face-to-face and flinched at the sight of her, who was his exact image.
The woman examinee looked a lot like Nazukihiko. It was only a matter of time before someone commented on it.
“Isn’t that Princess Shion?”
“Why would the princess take this exam? Don’t be stupid.”
“Wait. It says on the roster that her mother is Lady Masuho no Susuki of the Saike family. She was the true Golden Raven’s cousin, right?”
“So it wouldn’t be strange to resemble him by blood…”
“To resemble him that much is abnormal.”
The examinees whispered to one another in agitation. The woman under scrutiny paid them no mind.
Yukiya and Sessai came to the examination hall after the test was already in progress. Haruma hadn’t reported the presence of Sumio on the list until just before the examination began, because that was when the list was provided to him. Yukiya had hesitated to interrupt the test, but Haruma had convinced him to make an appearance, and not only to satisfy his curiosity.
“These people are our future,” Haruma had said. “If Your Excellency were to say a few words to them, they would surely be moved by the honor. You can use this opportunity to inspire the next generation.”
Sessai had shrugged and said, “Very well.” A strange mood was upon him. He wanted to see Sumio, so he let Haruma have his way.
After the last of the examinees turned in their test, Yukiya and Haruma entered the hall where the examination was conducted without fanfare. They were recognized immediately.
“Lord Sessai!” an examinee cried out.
“Please don’t make a fuss over me,” Yukiya said. “Focus on your tests, everyone. I shall wait patiently.”
The examiners sprang to their feet and shrank back in embarrassment. Most of the examinees stared blankly.
Sessai’s eyes met Sumio’s. She didn’t look away.
Haruma took in her appearance and nodded to himself. She did resemble Nazukihiko, but her appearance was most like Princess Shion’s.
Sessai’s face might as well have been carved in stone as Sumio returned his stare. She did not glare, nor did she seem amused. She was cool and aloof as she waited for his attention to shift elsewhere.
“And who are you?” Sessai asked the girl.
“My name is Sumio,” she said. She had the accent of an imperial noble. “My father is Sumio, former member of the Yamauchishu and bodyguard to the previous true Golden Raven. My mother is a duchess of the Saike family.”
“Why would you, a woman, sit for the imperial civil service examination?”
Had Sumio relied on her mother’s connections, she could have lived comfortably enough and attained any role in the Imperial Court that she wished for herself. Sessai asked why she had chosen to become a rakujō and study for the examination when that was not required of her.
“With all due respect, I have heard that when Your Excellency was young, you entered the Keisōin and achieved excellent results there.” Sumio said this without so much as a trace of a smile. “You profess to value meritocracy in public. I believe that if I chose a position in the Imperial Court for myself, my abilities would not be respected.”
“Why?”
“Because I am a woman,” she said simply, as if she were commenting on the weather. “Yamauchi is not an easy place for women to live. I have heard that you, Lord Sessai, wish to make things better. I am confident that I can help with that. That is why I came to take the examination.”
Those around them witnessed this conversation in tense silence.
Sessai looked down at the impertinent young woman, who said, “I suffered from many illnesses as a child, so I traveled the length and breadth of Yamauchi, visiting renowned doctors. I have recovered, as you can see. I saw many things in my travels. Saw, and learned.” Her eyes burned like cold flames.
“What do you think making Yamauchi better would entail?” Sessai asked.
“That’s easy. A better Yamauchi would mean happiness for all Yatagarasu.”
Sessai experienced a shock of recognition. The true Golden Raven cared for the happiness of all his children.
“And do you believe that Yamauchi can be made better?”
Sumio smiled at him for the first time. “Was that a hypothetical question, or do you want a real answer?” Her smile was beautiful, but its beauty was more like that of a sharp and shining blade than of a flower.
“Give me your real answer.”
“I believe that it is something we should strive for.”
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