Kousho has been fond of the small garden located at the east of the palace ever since he could remember.
It was a garden with only a pond, so not many people visited it. As a newly turned 14-year-old, the garden was like a secret hiding place where he could be alone and feel comfortable.
On a hot day when the sun was blazing down and he was sweating, he brushed aside the plants and stepped into the quiet garden.
But then he suddenly stopped. Today, there was a person by the pond. He was surprised and at the same time, he smelled a sweet and sour scent. The scent seemed to be coming from the girl who was sitting on the edge of the pond.
“What are you doing?”
He spoke to her, and she turned around. He had never seen her before. She looked a little younger than him.
She was too young to have entered the harem, and she wasn’t a part of the royal family. She had lovely, big, black eyes and long black hair which she wore in a braid. She was reasonably well-dressed, but her hair ornaments weren’t expensive.
“Ah, I’ve been found. Even though Father had told me not to let anyone find me…”
The girl looked troubled as she stood up in a panic. She looked at him and seemed dazed.
“I’ve never seen anyone with red hair and greyish-brown eyes before! It’s so beautiful… Are you a foreigner?”
“A foreigner, you ask…? Don’t you know who I am?”
Everyone knew that the royal family had different hair and eye colour.
And yet she didn’t know this, so she must be an ignorant girl.
“Are you perhaps a palace guard? Please don’t tell anyone about me.”
“You don’t want me to tell anyone you’re here, so you must be someone who isn’t supposed to be in the palace. If so, then I’ll call the guards.”
Just as he was about to turn around, the girl came up to him and grabbed his arm.
“Wait. I’m not anyone suspicious.”
“How can you say you’re not when you’re sneaking around?”
“Well, that’s true, but… Huh?”
The girl suddenly blinked her eyes and looked at him.
“You have a sad ‘scent’ on you.”
Kousho widened his eyes. The girl who he had met for the first time had just seen right through him. He had hidden his emotions so well that even his close aides couldn’t tell that he was sad, so how did she know?
“What do you mean I smell sad?”
“I have a really good nose. So, I can tell a person’s physical condition and emotions by their scent. Father said that my olfaction can probably detect even a minor change in a person’s scent.”
It was hard to believe but it was true that he was sad. The girl tilted her head.
“Why are you sad? Did something bad happen?”
He hesitated but his mouth opened on its own.
“… My mother passed away.”
Why had he said that? He immediately regretted saying it. His mother, the Empress, had suddenly passed away just a few days ago. Even as a child, he understood that she hadn’t passed away from illness or because of an accident. He knew she had been murdered by someone.
The culprit was probably one of the women in the inner palace. There are hundreds of women in his father’s inner palace.
The all-female scheming world had taken the life of his mother, who, as the Empress, was the sole recipient of the emperor’s love.
He hated the women in the inner palace who had taken his mother away from him. He had decided that he would not have an inner palace if he grew up and became emperor. All he needed was one person to love.
He wondered why he told this to a girl, whom he didn’t know, and suddenly realised that he might have just wanted someone to listen to him. He realised that was how sorrowful his mother’s death had been. For as long as he could remember, he had been educated to be an emperor, and he had been trained not to show his emotions.
Yet, no matter how sad he was, he regretted sharing his feelings with an unknown girl.
He turned to look at her while thinking he shouldn’t have done that and saw that large tears were flowing from her eyes.
“Why are you crying?!”
“Because it’s sad. But you’re holding it in and acting as if everything is fine. I thought about how much pain you are in and tears just… Uoaaah!”
The girl started crying and tears flowed down her cheeks.
It was his first time seeing a girl cry, so he didn’t know what to do, but he still put his hand on her shoulder.
“Hey, don’t cry. Argh! Wa…”
A sob began to well up in his throat, but he managed to hold it back. The girl put her hand on top of his, which was on her shoulder.
“… You can cry. I definitely won’t tell anyone.”
The girl’s kind words triggered his emotions. He couldn’t help but hug the girl as they both sobbed. His father and mother told him to always be cold as the Crown Prince, and he had always disciplined himself to be so. This was the first time he had cried in public.
A long time passed as they cried and finally calmed down.
“I’m sorry. You’re sad, but I cried first. I’ll give you this.”
The girl wiped her tears and pulled out a small incense container from her sleeve. The incense container was made of ceramic and had wisteria flowers painted on a white background. When the girl opened the lid, he saw several white packages inside.
“These are calming incenses. Try burning them when you feel sad, they’ll calm you down.”
The girl’s kindness made him happy. He could be honest in front of her since she didn’t know he was the Crown Prince.
“Thanks. Oh yeah, what’s your name?”
He wanted to talk to her more about these painful feelings that he had to keep inside.
He felt that she would listen to what he had to say no matter what.
“I’m…”
He heard a rustling sound coming from the plants. He turned his head in surprise and saw several men standing there.
“Kousho-sama, come with us.”
He didn’t know them. When he saw that they had drawn their swords against him, the Crown Prince, he realised they were enemies.
The men inched closer and closer. He realised that she would be caught up in this when he saw the puzzled look on her face. His instincts were screaming at him to protect her, so he immediately grabbed the girl’s hand.
“This way!”
He pulled her hand and ran in the opposite direction of the men. They ran as fast as they could, but the men were adults. They soon caught up to the boy and girl and blocked their path. The girl, with tears in her eyes, screamed at the men.
“Don’t do anything horrible to him! He’s very sad! I won’t forgive you if you do something to him! Someone! Anyone, please help~!”
He was happy to hear the girl’s scream even though they were in a situation like this. She didn’t know his status. He was filled with a sweet feeling that he had never experienced before while thinking that she was genuinely concerned about him. No one had ever seen him for himself; they only saw him as the Crown Prince. Even his father and mother treated him as a child with the title of Crown Prince. He had always wondered if there was anyone who would see and cherish him for himself.
But here she was.
She had just met him, but she cried with him and accompanied him in his sadness. Her hands were shaking, so she must be scared, but she was still trying to be brave to protect him from the enemies.
He had never met a girl like this before. He wanted to protect her, and he strongly wanted to hold her in his arms and never let go. He had a feeling that meeting her would change his destiny.
“That was my first love,” Kousho chuckled as he looked at the pond where he had met the girl.
The memory of that day was so strong that he hadn’t forgotten it for six years, not even for a single day.
After that, the soldiers, who had heard the girl’s cries and her father, who had been looking for her, drove the enemy away. Their lives had been saved since she risked her life to shout.
Ever since then, the only thing his only relaxation was reading a book while looking at the pond and remembering her.
He noticed a woman appear in front of her as she loitered around as he was relaxing. Her name was Riri. She was a somewhat rash woman who had entered the palace in order to make the treasured incense.
Today, Kousho wasn’t in the pavilion where he usually sat, instead he was sitting on the ground near the plants on the other side of the pond as he read his book. She must have come looking for him since she looked troubled when she saw the pavilion.
There was something that he hadn’t told Riri.
“You’re so heartless for forgetting me and this pond. It’s a memory I’ll never forget.”
The girl who he had met six years ago was Riri.
He smiled when he realised that her lovely, big, black eyes, her lustrous black hair and strong sense of justice and sympathy towards people hadn’t changed a bit from six years ago. He remembered that day as if it was yesterday, but she had forgotten everything. This was because of the treasured incense.
Her father, Saido, who had come to rescue them at that time, had told him that the enemy who had attacked him were Dark Perfumers.
He predicted that the Dark Perfumers wanted to kidnap Kousho and exchange him for the newly created treasured incense. He said that the existence of the Dark Perfumers mustn’t be known and that he felt bad, but he had to erase his daughter’s memory because she had seen how the treasured incense was made.
Kousho felt sad that the girl would forget about him when Saido took her away. However, he knew that she was Saido’s daughter, so he believed they could meet again.
However, Saido was attacked by Dark Perfumers who wanted to steal the treasured incense that night and died in battle. Kousho heard that Riri had seen the battle but didn’t remember because it happened right after the treasured incense was used on her.
He failed to ask the girl’s name because of the commotion caused by the attackers, and he regretted it greatly. He shouldn’t have been so careless to think that he would see her again soon just because she was the daughter of someone he knew.
Soon after Saido’s death, Riri was taken away by her mother and they both disappeared. He tried to find out her name at least, but Saido had been afraid that people would abuse his daughter’s super olfaction ability, so he rarely took her out. He hadn’t even allowed the servants to get close to her, so no one knew her name.
“She grew up. I hadn’t realised it was her at first.”
The memory of his first love was very important to him. He had decided that if he was going to have a wife, then she should be able to smell emotions, have the kindness to cry for others and the strength to help others out when they’re being attacked.
However, several years had passed since then and his feelings for the girl changed slightly. Even if he could meet her again, she had already forgotten about him. He was afraid that she would hate him even if he redid their encounter.
He knew he was arrogant, but he believed he wouldn’t care if anyone hated him since he would be responsible for this kingdom and wanted to create a new world.
However, there was a part deep inside him that didn’t want to be hated by her.
In a sense, the feelings that occupied his mind for so many years was like a curse. He always thought about the girl when he looked at other women. Sometimes, he even wished that she had turned into a selfish and detestable woman.
Then, he could finally let go of this first love that felt like a curse.
The reason why he gave Riri permission to concoct the treasured incense and said that he would punish her if she failed was all to test her. He feared the Dark Perfumers had infiltrated the Ministry of Incenses, so he had her concoct it at the Beautiful Flower Palace.
He would have been disappointed in her had she ran away because of her adversity towards the inner palace.
He thought that he could finally get rid of his obsession with his first love and be at ease if she did that.
However, Riri went beyond his expectations.
“I’ve been pestered to choose an empress within a year, but I guess my first love will always influence me.”
He was convinced that the girl he had met hadn’t changed even after she grew up as he watched her behaviour in the inner palace.
Since that was true, there was only one person who could be his empress. But there was a big problem that prevented him from making her his wife.
“I want her to remember me…. But because of the treasured incense… How troublesome.”
If he forced her to remember, then her memories would be in chaos and she will be shocked mentally and physically, and in the worst case, she may even die. That was what Saido had told him, so he believed it would be bad if he forced her to remember. So, he showed her the incense container that she had given him and talked about his memory, but it had no effect. If he used the treasured incense then she would get her memories back, but the formula only existed in her erased memories.
“… It’s no use. Either I wait for Riri to create the treasured incense, or…”
He looked at Riri and chuckled softly.
“It’ll be fine if I make her fall in love with me.”
Riri seemed disinterested in love, so it will be difficult.
However, he was finally reunited with his fated love, so he had no intention of letting her slip away.
“Are you sure Kousho-sama is in the garden, Riri?”
Riri nodded as Garan spoke to her from behind.
“Yes. He’s always reading in that pavilion. I wonder where he is.”
She looked around and sighed, then remembered that she had something to say to Garan.
“Garan. It’s not often that we get to talk together, so let me take this opportunity to thank you. Thank you for coming to my rescue when Mokuren attacked me.”
“You don’t need to thank me. I owe you.”
“You don’t owe me; you saved my life… Your social status is a lot higher than mine and you’re older than me, but I consider you a friend. Is it alright for me to be your friend?”
She spoke to him in a friendly tone. She looked up at him timidly and saw that he was smiling broadly.
“Yeah, I’ll be honoured if you thought of me as one. I hope we can be friends from now on.”
“That’s great!”
She had fun talking to Garan since he wasn’t two-faced, and she could rely on him. She felt an unpleasant feeling coming from her right while she was feeling happy. She turned to the right, she noticed that Kousho was standing nearby with a sullen expression on his face.
“Ah, Kousho-sama. His Majesty is looking for you. Garan was looking for you, so I showed him here.”
She smiled, but Kousho’s sour expression didn’t change.
(He seems to be in a bad mood. Well, he’s only in a good mood when he’s scheming or being mean.)
She thought this was harsh even though she was saying it only in her mind, but it couldn’t be helped since it was the truth.
“It looks like you two are getting along pretty well.”
Kousho stared at Riri and Garan, then spoke in a low voice.
“Yes, I’ve become friends with Garan!”
Riri smiled broadly and Kousho’s mood soured even more.
“What does that expression mean? Even I can make friends too.”
She was annoyed that he thought she was incapable of socialising. Kousho looked down.
“That wasn’t what I meant.”
(Something’s weird. Sometimes I feel like he wants to act sulky when he talks to me.)
She thought it was suspicious, but then brushed it off as her imagination. There was no way the Crown Prince of this kingdom would act so childishly. Kousho took a deep breath and looked at Garan.
“Tell His Majesty that I will be right there.”
Garan kneeled down and bowed, then left. Riri looked at Kousho again when the two of them were the only ones left in the garden.
“Kousho-sama. Thank you for everything. If you hadn’t put in a good word for me with His Majesty, then I wouldn’t have been able to stay in the palace. It’s thanks to you that I’m able to continue making the treasured incense. I will definitely complete the treasured incense and become a master perfumer.”
“His Majesty gave you this opportunity because he thought you had the potential. Live up to his expectations.”
“I will! … Oh, come to think of it, I have something else to thank you for. You arranged for my mother to be transferred to the National Medical Centre. Thank you very much.”
The National Medical Centre is the best medical facility in Shinzui. It has doctors, medicine and incenses, but it costs a lot of money and is only available to the royal family and nobles of high statuses.
“I wrote to the doctor at Shinko’s medical clinic to ask about my mother’s condition, and he told me that my mother had been referred to the National Medical Centre by you. I wrote a letter to my mother soon after that too. I didn’t tell her that I entered the inner palace since I didn’t want her to worry, but I told her the truth.”
“… You even told her about Mokuren?”
The tone of his voice didn’t change but his slightly downcast eyes showed that he was worried.
“No. That’s the only thing I can’t tell her. My mother trusts Mokuren a lot.”
She was shocked by Mokuren’s betrayal. It felt as if her heart had been ripped out of her chest. She didn’t want her mother to experience the same feeling.
“That’s fine. It would be better not to add to her heartache. The National Medical Centre has excellent security as well as medical care. If you complete the treasured incense, then some people might try to take your mother hostage in exchange for the treasured incense. I’ll take full responsibility for protecting your mother. Rest assured.”
His reliable words and smile made her heart throb.
(Kousho-sama looks nice when he smiles. It makes my heart throb when he stares at me. He’s really cool even though he has a nasty tongue…)
She didn’t want to know that her heart was throbbing, so she kept her head down and bowed again.
“Thank you very much. Ryouka was also safely released, and Kousho-sama has hired her as my new lady-in-waiting which is a big help.”
Ryouka cried when she learned of Mokuren’s betrayal, but she said that she would support Riri’s dream of creating the treasured incense.
“I can concentrate on making the treasured incense today. The deadline for making the treasured incense has been set for a year, and I will work very hard on it even if I have to neglect sleep. I should be able to make it at the inner palace as long as I have the tools and materials. Oh, but come to think about it, there is something that is troubling me.”
She clapped her hands.
“What is it?”
“My room at the inner palace is big enough to live in, but it’s a little small for concocting. I won’t have any place to sleep if I place all the tools and materials in my room. Besides, I’ve been getting complaints from the neighbouring rooms because of the fragrances.”
The scents that drift about in the air from incense concoction are often unpleasant to people.
The women who lived next door to her often complained while she was making the treasured incense.
“If it’s alright with you… I’d like it if you could give me a bigger room and let me mix in a place where I won’t bother my neighbours.”
She knew it was an extravagant request, but it was something she needed in order to make the treasured incense.
Kousho put his hand on his chin and thought about it.
“… You need a room? I have a good proposal for you.”
His greyish-brown eyes sparkled as if he had found something fun.
“Beautiful Flower Palace will hold a ‘Beauty Pageant’, the winners will be judged by their family background, appearance, grace, beauty, dance and mannerism. The Four Consorts will be chosen from among the noble ladies who hold excellent marks in this pageant. You can have your own palace if you become one of the Four Consorts.”
She was confused since they were all words unfamiliar to her.
“The Four Consorts…? As I recall, they’re the second highest ranking concubines after the Empress in the inner palace. If I remember correctly, they’re the Noble Consort, Pure Consort, Virtuous Consort, and Worthy Consort.”
“That’s right. I have yet to marry my Empress, so those Four Consorts will be the ones who hold the real power in the Beautiful Flower Palace. The Four Consorts get their own exclusive building… In other words, they receive a palace. Wouldn’t it be more convenient for you to have your own palace if you’re going to make the treasured incense?”
That was indeed tempting. On top of being able to make the treasured incense in secret, having a palace where she didn’t have to worry about others would help her concoct better.
“Once you have your own palace, you and your maids will be the only ones living there. You won’t bother anyone with the scents, and no one will complain.”
“Will I really get a palace if I become one of the Four Consorts?”
“Yes, but you have to enter the beauty pageant and compete with the other noble ladies to become one.”
She wanted her own palace, but she didn’t like the idea of participating in the beauty pageant.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to win if I compete…”
“You are originally a noble lady, so you should know a certain level of etiquette. I’m sure you’ll be able to handle it. Participate in the beauty pageant and become one of the Four Consorts. The Empress must be chosen from among them. I’ll be troubled if you don’t.”
She didn’t understand the meaning of his last words.
“Why do you want me to become one of the Four Consorts?”
Kousho quickly held his tongue. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“I told you before about my first love. I might be able to meet her soon.”
“What?! Really? That’s great!”
“Yes, but I can’t meet her right now because of reasons. So, I want to postpone marrying an Empress until I can meet her. If you enter the beauty pageant and become one of the Four Consorts, then refuse to be my wife to buy me time, then I might not have to marry until I meet her. So, please.”
She was speechless since it was too surprising to see Kousho bow his head to her.
(The arrogant Crown Prince is bowing down…! He must really care about his first love. I don’t know what kind of woman she is, but she must be very charming. Kousho-sama loves her so much.)
While she was thinking this, she felt as if she had been pierced in the heart with a needle.
(Huh… Why does it sting?)
She felt Kousho put a hand on her shoulder while she was confused by the sudden pain.
“Are you listening?”
“Oh, yes. I’m sorry. I’m listening.”
“I hope so. Anyway, get an excellent score at the beauty pageant.”
She looked down and pondered. She needed a large room for mixing, and if she receives a palace, then she wouldn’t have to worry about others. She wanted a place where she could concentrate on concocting since she only had a year to make the treasured incense.
“――― Alright. This is something I have to do in order to become a Master Perfumer. I’ll enter the beauty pageant.”
She said, but her heart was filled with anxiety.
“The women in the inner palace are quite strong-willed, and the thought of competing with them is depressing…”
She felt a shiver run down her spine as she imagined a battle where women glared at each other as they tried to get Kousho.
Still, she couldn’t run back home.
“But I won’t lose! I’m going to make the treasured incense!”
She clenched her fists and declared, and Kousho looked relieved for a moment.
She looked at him curiously and he tightened his expression.
“Yeah, that’s the spirit. Make sure you become one of the Four Consorts.”
Her life in the inner palace which was about to begin was going to be filled with big ups and downs.
But she vowed that she would overcome everything for the sake of her dream.