The lively sounds of erhu and drums echoed through the palace and signalled the beginning of the Elegant Incense Gathering.
The Elegant Incense Gathering was the biggest event in Shinzui, where incenses are highly valued. Riri was rushing down the corridor of Beautiful Flower Palace while thinking about the opening ceremony which was supposed to take place outside the palace.
“I heard that the Ministry of Incense’s new technology will be unveiled to the guests after the opening ceremony… I want to see it so badly!”
The royal families of the neighbouring kingdoms, Koran and Sairin, were also visiting. She could hear the chatter of people even from here, and it was apparent to her that a glamorous ceremony was being held.
But the people at the Beautiful Flower Palace were too busy to pay attention to the ceremony. Everyone was preparing for the banquet that was to be held the day after tomorrow under the guidance of Hisui, who was once again put in charge of the event.
“I can see the new technology after the Elegant Incense Gathering, so I have to be patient. I have to hurry now!”
She was able to change her mood. Hisui had asked her to check on the dance, so she stepped into the ballroom and heard a man’s voice.
“No, no! Dance more boldly and beautifully!”
The voice belonged to Seirai, who had returned from Koran about six days ago. He was standing at the front of the stage, so that he would get a clear view of the entire stage. His arms were folded, and he was wearing a stern expression on his face. About ten consorts, including Ranran, were dancing on the stage accompanied by music. Riri waited for the song to end before approaching Seirai and softly said.
“May I have a moment of your time, Seirai-sama? How is the dance going?”
Seirai turned around. He was always calm, but he had a serious expression on his face.
“It’s a bit tricky to train them. I was surprised when you asked me to watch them practice when I returned. They had only just decided on the routine and begun practicing. What the hell happened with this year’s Elegant Incense Gathering?”
She bowed at the sound of his exasperated voice.
“I am sorry! I asked you to do this because I am an amateur, but you were so good at teaching and helped me learn how to dance. Would the consorts here be able to dance by the time of the banquet?”
She asked timidly and Seirai shrugged.
“It’ll be difficult, but I’ll do my best to coach them. I can’t refuse if you ask me to do something since I owe you a debt. It helps that all the consorts have learned how to dance, so they pick things up quickly. They might be able to get the routine down if they continue to work hard…”
Ranran came down from the stage and approached them even though she couldn’t hear Seirai’s words well.
“Seirai-sama. I am responsible for our delay. I will sacrifice my sleep to practice. I will follow along no matter how strict you are, so please teach us!”
Ranran bowed her head and her attitude was completely different from the arrogant one she had a few days ago.
Ranran turned to look at Riri.
“Consort Riri. Thank you for asking Seirai-sama to teach us. He is an excellent coach. I will practice hard and give my best performance at the banquet.”
This must be what people mean when they say someone is no longer possessed. Ranran bowed with a serious expression on her face.
The consorts who had sided with her also suddenly changed their attitude when they saw that Ranran was showing respect to Hisui. They were all obeying Hisui now and were preparing for the banquet.
“I’ve come to deliver the outfits!”
Shoei entered the ballroom.
She was in charge of preparing the outfits and accessories. She approached the stage with their glistening outfits in hand.
“Can you take the outfits? If the measurements are wrong, then I will fix it as soon as possible.”
Shoei looked at Riri but spoke to Ranran.
“I can. Everyone, gather around!”
“I’ll go take a break outside.”
Seirai acted tactfully and left the ballroom.
Riri moved to the wall so that she wouldn’t interrupt the consorts, and Shoei quietly approached her.
“I can finally talk to you, Consort Riri. I was very worried when I heard that you were in jail. I am glad to see that you are fine.”
Shoei smiled like a blossoming flower.
“I am sorry for worrying you.”
She had asked Shoei to tell her where Ranran’s living was so that she could find evidence.
She hadn’t had the chance to talk to her since then and she was curious about how she had been.
“Consort Ranran suddenly changed because you did something, right? You are amazing!”
Shoei looked cute as she clasped her hands together and slightly widened her eyes in amazement.
“I am not the one who changed Consort Ranran, it was Consort Hisui. I’m glad to see that the banquet is proceeding well without a hitch.”
“Me too… Hmm, I couldn’t do anything to help at all in the end. I really don’t have any guts. I wanted to help you when you were thrown into jail, but I was scared. I am sorry…”
Shoei looked down slightly and her voice trembled a bit.
(Come to think of it, Consort Shoei was also there when I snuck into Consort Ranran’s living room and got caught.)
Riri put a hand on the sad Shoei’s shoulders.
“The banquet is proceeding well because you helped me… You are cute, smart and a good seamstress. I think you should be more confident, even though it is not my place to tell you what to do.”
Riri believed Shoei did her best to help her, so she didn’t want Shoei to be sad about this.
Shoei looked up and smiled widely.
“I’m happy to hear you say that Consort Riri. I… admire you. You’re kind, have your own beliefs and the ability to act.”
“You do? I troubled everyone though. I often act with good intentions but my plans always backfire on me. The conflict between the palace and the Beautiful Flower Palace was resolved and things moved in a positive direction thanks to my actions, but I regret that I hadn’t conducted myself better.”
Riri revealed her real feelings. She looked down and Shoei shook her head a little.
“No, you are very reliable. Thank you very much for saving the Beautiful Flower Palace.”
Shoei’s words made her happy. She smiled softly and Ranran, who was standing near the stage, beckoned.
“Consort Shoei, this outfit is…”
“Yes, I’m coming.”
She knew that the dance would turn out well and was relieved as she watched Shoei rush off.
Juka said that they had managed to prepare the food and alcohol for the banquet on time.
All the consorts were now working together to decorate the banquet hall in Beautiful Flower Palace, which will serve as the venue for the banquet.
The banquet will be held but there was still one big problem.
“Mokuren will do something at the Elegant Incense Gathering.”
She muttered as she filled up with anxiety. She had met him at the place where he was hiding.
She had hoped to persuade him to stop but she failed. She had told Kousho and Garan that Mokuren was planning something, so twice as many soldiers were deployed to guard the banquet.
Defence at the palace was perfect but she was scared since she could feel Mokuren slowly approaching.
“Mokuren. Please stop. You will be caught if you come here.”
She wanted to do her best for Kousho, who would become the emperor, and she didn’t want Mokuren to ruin the banquet that everyone had all worked hard to prepare. Those thoughts clashed with her feeling of not wanting her master and benefactor to get caught. These feelings hurt so much that she felt as if her heart was going to burst.
The Elegant Incense Gathering was going well and it was the last day of the event. All the guests were scheduled to arrive at the Beautiful Flower Palace in the evening. The consorts were dressed in matching light pink chogori and were busy preparing the food and alcohol that would be served at the banquet. Riri had set up an incense burner in a discreet place so that she wouldn’t disturb them.
“It’s all done… Ah.”
She noticed that Kousho had entered. He was coming straight towards her.
“Riri, how are the preparations for the incenses going?”
The hall was quite large and there were a few consorts and soldiers around, but there was no one near her. She whispered after making sure no one was around.
“It is going alright… Kousho-sama, did you find out what Mokuren is planning to do at the banquet?”
“No, not yet. I’m not sure what he’s planning, so the only thing I can do is increase the guards.”
Kousho folded his arms.
“The emperors of Koran and Sairin are here, as well as their nobles. They were really satisfied with the skills of the Ministry of Incenses. It is customary for Shinzui to treat them to a banquet at the end of the event. This banquet will also be a venue where the emperors and dignitaries of various kingdoms can talk. We have no choice but to take precautions if there is danger.”
Kousho’s tone was strong as if he was convincing himself.
The organiser of the Elegant Incense Gathering was Kousho. She was also determined to make it a success for his sake.
“I know. I don’t know what Mokuren is going to do, but I think there is a good chance that he will try to do something with incenses, his speciality. I believe my olfaction will be useful. I will let you know if I smell anything.”
“Please do, and I’ll say this again, don’t do anything rash. You must let me know if something happens.”
Riri smiled at Kousho’s worried expression.
“I will.”
Kousho nodded, put his hand on her head and turned again. She felt the warmth of his large hand on her head and her desire to make the banquet a success for him became even stronger.
(The other thing I can do apart from noticing if there is something wrong with the aroma is…)
She watched as Kousho approached the stage and glanced to the right of the hall.
She saw Rarai speaking with a guard.
Rarai had accused the Grand Chancellor of accepting bribes, but he backed down when it was proven that the evidence he had proved was fake. He had only accused the Grand Chancellor because it was the right thing to do, and he claimed that he didn’t know the evidence was faked.
After that, he continued to help with the banquet preparations as if nothing had happened. Those who had agreed with Rarai and accused the Grand Chancellor had also backed down and the matters around the palace settled down.
(But the palace still smells of discontent and hatred… Everyone is only acting like they’ve backed down.)
She felt a crisis was about to unfold. The man who Mokuren had spoken to at his hiding place had Rarai’s scent on him. In the past, Rarai had framed Garan and left the capital because Kousho had demoted him. Rarai looked nonchalant when he looked at Garan and Kousho but he radiated with hatred to the point that it made Riri want to choke.
“If Rarai-sama is connected to Mokuren…”
Normally, Mokuren and the Dark Perfumers wouldn’t be able to easily enter a heavily guarded palace.
But what if Rarai will help them sneak into the palace?
(I should probably tell Kousho-sama about Rarai-sama.)
She thought about telling Kousho many times, but she had only smelled Rarai’s scent at Mokuren’s hiding place, she didn’t see the person to confirm that he was Rarai. Kousho would be in a sticky situation if she told him about Rarai and he arrested him without being able to prove that he and Mokuren were connected.
(I thought this when the palace was going to be divided into two, but Rarai-sama seems to be very good at controlling people. It seems that there are people in the army who would rather listen to Garan-sama than Garan. If we give him a reason to criticise Kousho-sama, then it might cause a commotion that would divide the palace.)
She knew she had to be careful. They had all been busy preparing for the Elegant Incense Gathering, and she couldn’t bring herself to tell him. A voice suddenly called out to her while she was pondering.
“What’s wrong, Riri?”
She turned around and saw Garan standing behind her. He was also in charge of the security for the banquet. He came to check up on her.
“It’s almost time for the guests to enter the hall. Are the incenses alright?”
“They are… Garan, can I discuss something with you?”
She couldn’t stay silent if Rarai had done something to the banquet.
She boldly asked and Garan frowned.
“What is it?”
“I couldn’t say this before since it was something I had smelled with my olfaction but…”
She told him about what had happened at Mokuren’s hiding place. She didn’t believe this was something she could solve herself.
Garan put a hand on his chin when she finished.
“Rarai…? It’s possible that he would team up with Mokuren to bring Shinzui to ruin.”
Her eyes widened when Garan said that.
“He tried to frame you before, right? Could that be his reason for doing all this?”
“Yeah. Three years ago, a man said he had evidence that I had done something illegal. No one believed me no matter what I said, and I was thrown into jail. I could have been executed, but Kousho-sama proved that I was innocent. I was released thanks to him.”
Garan looked at Rarai and sighed.
“When the man who had said this was arrested, he confessed that he did it because Rarai told him to, but Rarai kept insisting that he hadn’t done anything like that. We investigated this matter, but we couldn’t find any evidence that Rarai had instigated him. He was supposed to be appointed as the general, and there were many people in the military who supported him, so they all matched up their stories and covered for him.”
“What?! Wait, was Rarai really supposed to be the general?”
She heard from Kousho that Garan and Rarai had been competing for the position.
But she never heard that Rarai was supposed to be a general.
“The previous general two generations ago was his father, but he died with honour after fighting rebels who attacked the Emperor. Rarai was still young back then, so my father, his father’s younger brother, succeeded him as general. He was supposed to take over the title when he became an adult.”
Garan folded his arms and looked at Rarai, who was standing by the wall.
“But he always tried to manipulate people with money and other things. Many people still support him in the military because of the many favours he has done for them. My father doesn’t like that, so he made me succeed him as general.”
Riri believed that was something Rarai would do.
She shuddered when she thought about what he would have done if he had become the ‘Phoenix’ who protected the Emperor.
“Rarai hates me. My father nominated me as the general when I had just joined the military, and I believe that he has held a grudge against me ever since and has been trying to bring me down.”
Garan looked bitter. He went through a lot to reach his current position. It hurt her to think about the hardships he had to endure.
“Garan…”
She muttered and he smiled bitterly.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m happy that I’m the general. I take pride in protecting Shinzui, and most importantly… I met you.”
Garan’s smiling face was so dazzling that she had to look down.
“Ah… Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring this up… Anyway, Rarai hates me, so it’s possible that he teamed up with Mokuren. Rarai’s hobby is to make incenses, and he must have been in contact with Mokuren when he was the head of the Ministry of Incenses. They have common ground.”
Garan’s expression stiffened.
“But we can’t hold him just because you said you smelled his scent at the place where Mokuren was hiding. It would be problematic to have people question why you were there in the first place.”
She thought that as well. She nodded and Garan looked at her.
“Rarai is cunning. He will quickly deflect and escape if we don’t have concrete evidence… I’ll keep an eye on him at the banquet. He may look like a feeble man, but his swordsmanship is top-notch. I don’t even know if I’m a match for him, but I will die trying to stop him if I see him trying something.”
She heard that Garan was a spear master and that no one could beat him in the army.
She was surprised that Rarai was strong enough for him to say that.
“It’s not safe for you to face him alone.”
“I’ll be fine. Don’t tell others about this without proof. Have you told Kousho-sama about this?”
“Not yet. I didn’t tell him since I only had what I smelled at that time as proof.”
“Good. I’ll find the proof. Leave it to me.”
Garan turned away while smiling.
A gorgeous dance started accompanied with the sounds of the erhu and drums.
On a stage built at the back of the hall, about ten consorts, including Ranran, were performing a bewitching dance.
Riri lit the incense burner while watching them dance from a corner of the hall.
Over two hundred guests had been invited to the banquet. They were all well-dressed, and many of them had silver hair, light brown hair, green or blue eyes or other exotic features unlike the black-haired and black-eyed people from Shinzui.
Kousho, the organiser of the Elegant Incense Gathering, was busy entertaining guests. The consorts from Beautiful Flower Palace were in long hanfus and were walking around serving food and drinks and taking care of the guests.
The consorts who weren’t in the hall were helping out with the dance and music.
The banquet, which began in the evening, was in full swing by the time the stars coloured the night sky.
She smelled the smoke rising from the incense burners to confirm their fragrance while looking at the stage and the guests.
(I’ll burn a strong fragrance at first to express the energy of the dance, and I’ll change it to a gentle fragrance once the dance starts to slow down…)
The fragrances she had come up with as the banquet process were ones she could be satisfied with.
“Riri, long time no see.”
She turned around when someone spoke to her and saw Tou Aren, the Emperor of Koran, with his aides.
“Your Majesty. Welcome to Shinzui. How is your health?”
She quickly bent her knees and curtsied. She had heard that he would be coming to the Elegant Incense Gathering but he was in his mid-sixties and had a heart condition. She was worried about whether he would be able to make the trip to Shinzui.
“It’s been well thanks to the Heart Soothing Incense you made me. I arrived a few days earlier since I wanted to have a nice long conversation with you but I can’t enter the inner palace. I was sad that we couldn’t meet… So, did you decide to become Seirai’s wife?”
It sounded as if he was joking but she knew that he was being serious. He had kidnapped her and nearly forced her to marry Seirai when she went to Koran.
“I apologise, Your Majesty. I still have things I want to do in Shinzui. Please forgive me.”
Aren sighed loudly.
“I see. That’s too bad, but I won’t give up. I won’t be pushy anymore, but I will continue to persuade you. Let me know if you change your mind… I’m sorry for what I did to you. I’ll help you with anything you need. I’ll make it happen, no matter what you want.”
Aren tried to force her to marry Seirai when she went to Koran because he wanted to keep someone who could make incenses by his side to help him relieve him of his heart attacks.
He was insane at that time.
But he finally regained his composure after a lot of things happened.
She bowed deeply towards the composed Emperor.
“Thank you very much. I hope you enjoy the banquet today, Your Majesty.”
When she smiled, Aren smiled too. The man she had met in Koran and the one in front of her now were different people. This was proof that he had calmed down both mentally and physically.
Aren left and she turned her attention to the stage. The curtains were just about to come down on Ranran and the other consorts.
(There’s still a little time before the next performance. I’ll go out into the corridor and get some clean air. The smell of alcohol and people are making me feel sick.)
She turned around and walked towards the entrance away from the chatting guests.
There was a wide corridor leading straight outside of the hall and there was a garden to the right. Several guests were talking with drinks in their hands here too. She turned towards the garden and took a deep breath.
“Phew. My head is hurting because of the different scents mixed together. The air feels nice.”
Having an overly acute sense of smell was inconvenient at times like this. She would be able to put up with it normally, but she had been so busy preparing for the banquet that she had hardly slept the past few days, so she wasn’t at her best.
“The incense next to the stage will go out soon. The next incense I will burn is…”
She suddenly smelled a certain fragrance while she was confirming the order of the incense in her head.
“Huh?”
It was a very faint smell, so faint that she thought she had imagined it, but the scent that blew upwind was the same as the scent that she was emotionally attached to.
“I created a gentle and warm scent with the elegant sandalwood as base… I worked hard to create it while thinking about Mokuren. This…”
She worked hard to create this incense for her master when she had just started learning how to make incenses.
She still remembered the expression on Mokuren’s face when she gave him the first incense she ever made.
“You’ve come to the palace Mokuren…!”
The wind blew strongly, shaking her long black hair.
“I must tell Kousho-sama that Mokuren is here!”
She returned to the hall when she smelled Mokuren’s scent wafting down the corridor.
She had promised Kousho that she would tell him straight away if she sensed that something was wrong, but she stopped as soon as she entered the hall.
“… The Elegant Incense Gathering has concluded…”
The person standing on the stage where the dance had just taken place was Kousho.
Kousho addressed the guests.
(Huh? Why is he greeting the guests? There’s still one more dance left to perform. I thought Kousho-sama was supposed to get on the stage when all the performances were over. Ah! Perhaps, something happened, so his speech got moved up.)
The Emperor, accompanied by his aides, was listening to Kousho’s speech below the stage.
(His Majesty will go up on the stage and formally present Kousho-sama as the next emperor after Kousho-sama’s speech. One of the purposes of this Elegant Incense Gathering is to announce the next emperor. That’s happening now, so I can’t get close to him for a while.)
She looked around quickly.
“What should I do? I can’t see Garan either. Rarai-sama isn’t here either, so Garan must be keeping an eye on him. I can’t tell anyone else about this. Do I wait for Garan to come back? But Mokuren might do something while I wait…”
She couldn’t talk about this to Kousho or Garan but she couldn’t just wait here for them to be available since she had smelled Mokuren’s scent. She had caused Kousho a lot of trouble and worried him a lot before the Elegant Incense Gathering started, so she vowed that we would never act without his knowledge again, so it would be a bad idea to go see Mokuren without telling Kousho. She pondered about what she could do when she suddenly saw a familiar face.
“Consort Shoei.”
She approached Shoei, who was looking up at the stage, and gently spoke to her. Shoei widened her eyes in surprise.
“What’s the matter?”
“I have a favour to ask you. Could you please tell Kousho-sama that something bad has happened after his speech is over?”
“S-something bad…? What happened?”
“Kousho-sama will know what you mean if you pass him this message. I will go check it out first, so please tell him this for me.”
She became impatient when she thought about what Mokuren could be up to while she was wasting her time here. She turned her back on Shoei, who was blinking in confusion but nodded, and left the hall.
If she had been mistaken about smelling Mokuren’s scent and stopped Kousho’s speech to inform him that she had, then it would disrupt the banquet. Kousho will take measures to deal with Mokuren if Shoei tells him after his speech.
Kousho will have to take responsibility if a disturbance occurrs at a banquet where royals from other nations are gathered. She wanted to do what she could for him, and what she could do right now was check if Mokuren was in the palace.
She ran down the corridor and imagined Mokuren’s face. She knew that she didn’t want him to get caught somewhere at the back of her mind. She asked herself if this was the right thing to do as she sped up.
There was a small garden at the back of the Beautiful Flower Palace that Kousho liked.”
Riiri walked along the edge of the small pond after she entered the garden.
“I can smell him from here. He feels pretty close.”
She walked while keeping low and observing the area when she suddenly noticed a figure around the pavilion. She hid herself behind the plans and saw someone come out of the pavilion.
He was dressed in black and was wearing a black mask, but she recognised his back and the way he walked.
(It’s Mokuren…! It’s him! I have to tell Kousho-sama about this!)
She was going to inform Kousho as soon as she confirmed that Mokuren was here.
She had to tell him to make the banquet a success, but then she suddenly thought of something.
“Are you hungry?”
He had asked her that when they had first met.
She moved to the downtown area with her mother after her father passed away.
Her mother was frail and couldn’t work much, so they lived on empty stomachs every day. That was when he showed up, brought them food, and taught her how to make incenses so that she could survive on her own.
She never forgot the look on Mokuren’s face when he told her that it was okay to cry if she was having a hard time.
She wouldn’t have become who she was today if he hadn’t spoken to her back then.
She might have been so hungry that she would have stolen, and she might have died alone with her mother.
Mokuren had saved their lives even though he had approached her because he wanted to know how to make the treasured incense. If she were to tell Kousho about Mokuren being in the palace, he would get caught and would face the death penalty.
(If Mokuren gets caught and executed, then I’ll never be able to see him again. He won’t be able to teach me how to make any more incenses and I will never see his kind smile again… Am I alright with that?)
Her calm mind was telling her that she shouldn’t be thinking these thoughts but she couldn’t stop herself from being swayed from her emotions.
“Mokuren…”
She stood up from behind the plants and spoke up. The man dressed in black stopped and turned his head towards her.
“It’s you, isn’t it? I can tell from your scent. Let me see your face.”
She approached him slowly. She knew this action might destroy her.
Why can’t you make the correct decisions? She asked herself.
But the thought that Mokuren was someone very dear to her pushed her body forward.
The man stood still for a while and then eventually took off his mask.
She smiled despite the situation she was in when she saw him.
“You wore your glasses underneath your mask? Oh yeah, you can’t see anything without them, can you?”
Mokuren pushed up with glasses.
“It takes a lot of skill to wear glasses and a mask. It’s hot and stuffy and I don’t like wearing masks.”
It was funny to hear Mokuren say that with a serious expression on his face.
It had been a long time since they’ve had a casual conversation like this.
“You came. I didn’t want to see you here.”
Those were her true feelings. Mokuren looked at her sharply.
“This is Nine Tailed Fox’s and my destiny.”
The thing he was holding caught her eye.
“… What are you going to do with that incense burner?”
The incense burner seemed to be filled with some kind of incense. It hadn’t been lit yet, but the slight aroma coming from the incense burner wasn’t something she was familiar with. It was probably something Mokuren had created, and she couldn’t tell what it would do. Mokuren looked at the incense burner and laughed.
“We are Dark Perfumers who use poisonous incenses. What do you think we secretly planted?”
Only one answer popped into her mind.
“Are you saying you’re going to plant poisonous incenses in the hall where the royals and nobles of other nations are gathered?”
She was afraid to say those words out loud, still she remained strong.
“Yeah, but that’s not all. We also placed them in other places too. Poisonous incenses with strong effects will kill anyone nearby just by opening the lid. You don’t even have to light them. If all the incenses are lit, then there will be no one left alive in the palace. The palace will be filled with a mountain of corpses in the blink of an eye.”
She suddenly felt uneasy towards Mokuren who was saying all this calmly.
“Is that really a poisonous incense?”
Riri asked him and he looked at her sharply.
“Why are you asking?”
“I know you. You love to make incenses so much that you even forget to eat when you make them. You’re especially good at making incenses for medical use.”
She gently closed her eyes, and her head was filled with the memories of her time downtown.
“I remember you made an incense for a boy who was injured in the downtown area. The boy finally stopped crying when he smelled the incense you had made. You were really happy when the boy thanked you for making an incense that eased his pain.”
She wanted to become a perfumer like him when she saw him saving people.
“Even Ryouka’s mother was treated with incenses. Ryouka was so thankful towards you that she even helped you with everything even when she knew that you had turned your back against the palace. And you still use the mortar that we brought together with great care.”
She remembered that the mortar was in his hiding place. She could tell at a glance that he had been using it for a long time.
The aroma that came from the mortar reminded her of the incense he used to make when he wanted to ease people’s pain.
“When we brought the incenses, you told me to use it to make incenses that will help people, since you will do the same. I believe you have kept your promise. You’re a kind person who loves incenses and likes to save people with incenses. I don’t believe that you would use incenses to kill people.”
She opened her eyes and stared at Mokuren.
“I’m sure the incense inside that incense burner isn’t poisonous.”
Mokuren laughed.
“I’m the head of the Dark Perfumers who utilises poisonous incenses, and I’m not that kind. This incense is poison. Many people will die from this point forth.”
Mokuren declared but Riri’s mind was screaming that he was wrong.
“… I believe in you, so let’s make a bet.”
It took her a lot of courage to speak.
But this was the only way to be sure if she was right.
“A bet?”
Mokuren tilted his head curiously and she put a hand on her chest before taking a deep breath.
“Yes, I believe that you’re a kind person and that you won’t kill anyone with incenses. So… I will smell that incense.”
Mokuren was dumbfounded.
“What idiotic nonsense are you saying?”
“It’s not idiotic nonsense. I believe in you, so I don’t think what you’re holding is poison. I win if I don’t die. I want you to stop your revenge if I win.”
She folded her hands in a prayer gesture, but Mokuren didn’t change his expression.
“You’ll really die.”
He sounded cold and cruel.
Her heart was trembling with fear, but she tried hard not to let it show on her face.
“I won’t, because you won’t use incenses to kill people.”
She rushed towards Mokuren at the same time she said those words. Mokuren’s reaction was slow, perhaps because he was caught off guard.
“Riri!”
She forcefully snatched the incense burner from his hands.
Mokuren reached for the incense burner, but she was quicker. She turned her back on him and opened the lid.
“You can’t!”
Incenses with strong effects are effective just by smelling it, so you didn’t need to light them.
She brought the incense burner close to her face and inhaled the fragrance.
“Stop!”
Mokuren quickly took the incense burner and put the lid back on, and Riri felt her consciousness fade away.
She was about to fall but Mokuren helped her stand.
Her eyelids were getting heavy, and she couldn’t even see how worried he was.
(I will never see Kousho-sama again if I die like this…)
That was her only regret.
Kousho got a bad feeling after he finished his speech because he couldn’t see Riri.
He noticed that she wasn’t there while he was talking to the audience.
He wanted to go look for her, but he couldn’t leave the stage.
His father hadn’t been feeling well and wanted to rest early, so he moved up his speech but it took longer than he expected. When he finally got on the stage, the first thing he did was look for Riri.
“Consort Hisui. Where’s Riri?”
Hisui, who was in charge of the banquet, was watching the stage from down below and giving instructions to the other consorts.
He asked her where Riri was because he thought she might know something, and saw her expression harden for a moment.
But she soon returned to her usual calm expression.
“Consort Riri should be handling the incenses, is she not in the hall?”
“She isn’t. I told her to tell me if something happens, but she…!”
He was so worried that he blurted that out. Hisui pursed her lips.
“I’ll ask someone who is free to look for her.”
“No, you don’t have to do that. I’ll have my guards look for her. I’m just asking in case you knew where she was.”
“Please wait.”
Hisui called out to him as he turned his back towards her. He turned around and saw Hisui put her hands on her chest.
“… I want to ask you this at least once. Who is Consort Riri to you, Kousho-sama?”
She sounded as if she had plucked up all her courage to ask this question.
“Consort Riri is the only person who you call without suffixes. I have seen the two of you talk many times. You both look very close and Consort Riri is the only person who you look at kindly… Consort Riri isn’t one of the Four Consorts, so the other consorts will be jealous if you give her special treatment. I don’t think that will end well for anyone.”
“Are you also included with the ‘other consorts’, Consort Hisui?”
He said this with a mixture of sarcasm since he couldn’t believe that Hisui was saying this because he had heard that she and Riri were friends. Hisui looked startled but then quickly lifted her face.
“Yes. I consider Consort Riri my friend, but that is a separate matter when it comes to you.”
He believed she was a strong-willed woman, and he didn’t dislike it.
“I don’t want you to talk about what is going on between Riri and I. Riri… is special.”
He hesitated for a moment before speaking honestly.
Hisui widened her eyes in shock, then quietly bowed her head.
“I understand. Please excuse me.”
He had learnt that a woman’s jealousy was terrifying.
His mother had lost her life because of the jealousy of the consorts.
He didn’t want Riri to go through that.
There was no guarantee that Hisui would not become jealous and attack Riri, but he wanted to believe that she wasn’t stupid enough to do so, that was why he told her how he really felt about Riri.
He turned his back towards Hisui and approached the guards at the entrance.
“Have you seen Consort Riri?”
“Consort Riri was heading that way a while ago…”
“Wait! What? What is this…”
He put his hand over his nose. A pungent smell suddenly entered the hall from outside the open doors and windows.
“What is this smell…?”
“What’s going on…?”
The guests in the hall started complaining.
The incense that Riri had prepared had been wafting through the hall until a few minutes ago. The smell wasn’t strong, but it wasn’t too light and was very calming, but the smell that was now wafting into the hall wasn’t a very good one.
The ‘strange scent’, which he had never smelled before, made him think of the worst thing that could happen.
“Is this incense from… the Dark Perfumers?”
He muttered to himself. Riri said she had heard that Mokuren would do something at the banquet.
Of course, he had been careful, and security was tight since royals from other nations were attending the Elegant Incense Gathering. He believed it would be difficult for Mokuren and the Dark Perfumers to enter the palace.
But Riri would have noticed if they slipped through a gap and entered the palace and would have followed them…
And if Mokuren and the Dark Perfumers planted poisonous incenses in the palace then…
The worst was here. He turned to the guard.
“Where’s Garan?”
“I do not know.”
“How could he disappear at a time like this… Alright. Gather the men and evacuate the guests!”
“Right now?!?!”
“YES!”
BOOM!
He heard a loud explosion as soon as he shouted. He panicked for a moment, but then he saw fireworks lighting up the night sky from behind the wide-opened door. He remembered that Garan had told him that there would be fireworks at the end of the banquet. The guests in the hall came out into the corridor.
“Oh! What beautiful fireworks!”
“Was that gunpowder I smelled earlier?”
He heard the guests ask, but he knew that it was something else.
The guests also seemed to notice that something was off.
“Wait a minute. This isn’t the smell of gunpowder and it’s different from the scent in the hall earlier.”
The guests started panicking. There was a pungent smell earlier in the hall, but it had changed into a soft and gentle aroma.
He wondered what was going on and saw a girl step onto the stage.
“Riri…!”
He widened his eyes. Riri smiled and bowed.
“I am a consort from the Beautiful Flower Palace, my name is Riri, and I am the person who has prepared the incenses for tonight’s banquet. What you are smelling right now in the hall is a ‘Transforming Incense’. The incense helps sober you up once it has been lit up. After a while, it will change into a mild and gentle aroma which will lure you into sleep.”
Riri’s explanation left the guests stunned, probably because they had never heard of a fragrance that changes. She suddenly heard a round of applause in the quiet hall.
She looked at the person who was clapping and saw that it was the Emperor of Koran, Tou Aren.
“I see. I appreciate your concern. It is a very nice fragrance. Thanks to it, I will be able to get a good night’s sleep. I’m sure everyone is surprised since you’ve never heard of a fragrance that changes, but in Shinzui, even women can make such wonderful incenses. I hope our nation can learn from their example and use incenses to improve our lives.”
The guests agreed with the Emperor of Koran.
“It really does smell nice. I was surprised at first, but it was an interesting performance.”
“Hmm. I can feel her consideration in the incense. You have a very thoughtful consort in the Beautiful Flower Palace.”
More people clapped and Riri bowed once more in embarrassment.
Aren approached her in a dignified manner.
“Kousho-dono, this year’s Elegant Incense Gathering has been the best yet. The new technology from the Ministry of Incenses was wonderful and the banquet was a lot of fun. Thanks.”
Aren put his hand on his chest and bowed. The guests gasped at his gesture.
“Oh, that Emperor Aren has thanked Kousho-dono…”
“Is it true that Shinzui and Koran have reconciled?”
It was a well-known fact that Koran and Shinzui were enemies because of the mine at the border of these two nations.
So, it was rare for Emperor Aren to attend the Elegant Incense Gathering, and even if he had come to Shinzui in the past for the gathering, he never greeted anyone from Shinzui.
The guests at the banquet were aware of this and were taken aback by Aren’s behaviour.
Kousho also put his hand on his chest and bowed.
“Thank you for coming to Shinzui. I hope that there will be an everlasting friendship between Shinzui and Koran.”
He was smiling but he felt differently inside. Riri didn’t make a fuss, so the pungent smell was probably not poisonous. He had confirmed all the incenses that were going to be used at the banquet but he never saw the Transforming Fragrance on the list. Riri standing on the stage and speaking was also unplanned.
Something had probably happened that he wasn’t aware of, but he couldn’t talk about it with Riri right now. The banquet was about to end. It was important to end the banquet without letting the guests know that anything was wrong.
All the guests moved to the garden after he exchanged pleasantries with Aren.
He ran up to Riri, who was coming down from the stage, when he saw that all the guests were engrossed with the fireworks.
“Where have you been, Riri?”
He whispered, so that others around them wouldn’t hear him. Riri looked up.
“I apologise. I was making a bet.”
“A bet?”
He raised his eyebrow and Riri nodded.
“I will tell you what has happened.”
Riri didn’t look good.
He was glad that she was okay. He listened to what she had to say while figuring out what was going on.
Riri saw Mokuren’s worried expression when she woke up.
She had made a bet regarding whether she would die or not by sniffing the incense burner which Mokuren told her contained a poisonous incense. She fainted and lost consciousness, but it seemed that she had only fainted for a short amount of time, judging from the surroundings.
“… I won the bet. I knew you couldn’t kill people with incenses.”
Her throat was stinging. Her body was numb, but she felt alive thanks to these feelings.
Mokuren looked at her in astonishment.
“You’re reckless. You would have died if that really was poison…!”
“I believe that you would never use poisonous incenses… Honestly, I thought I was going to die here, but that would have been my destiny.”
She could finally move her body, so she stood up slowly. Mokuren raised his eyebrow.
“You’re saying something absurd.”
“I knew I would be executed if I were discovered when I decided to leave the palace and go to find you. I believed you might have been moved if I had died here. I… was prepared to die to stop you.”
Mokuren took a step back as if he was overwhelmed by her voice. Then he chuckled.
“I’m no match for you.”
“Mokuren. I won the bet since I didn’t die.”
She extended her hand and smiled. Her head hurt a little, but everything else was fine. Mokuren sighed.
“The incense burner only contains a numbing incense. It won’t kill you since it’s not poisonous, but it will make you numb for a while, and you will lose consciousness. If something happens at a banquet where royals and nobles from other nations are gathered, then the host, Kousho-sama, will be held responsible. That would be more distressing for Shinzui than killing everyone.”
Mokuren’s words were strange.
“Say, Mokuren. Do you really want to abolish the Emperor as the Nine Tail Fox?”
She had been thinking about this for a long time.
“I told you that is my destiny.”
Mokuren’s reply was unusually quick which reinforced the idea that something was off.
“But your words and what you’re doing aren’t the same. You’ve had many chances to kill His Majesty with a poisonous incense before this, so if you really believe that you would have done it. You even used a numbing incense this time instead of poison. You’ve been giving all kinds of reasons for your actions, but aren’t you just saying you don’t intend to kill him?”
Mokuren fell silent. Riri was convinced she was right when she saw this.
“There’s… something that’s been bothering me. You created that piece of fake evidence that was used against the Grand Chancellor, didn’t you? But you must have known that all the paper used in the palace was made from hemp from when you worked here. Bamboo is used as a raw material for paper only in a few areas.”
This had been bothering her for a long time.
“And yet you went to the trouble of making the fake piece of evidence with paper made from bamboo. You did it because you knew my olfaction would be able to detect that, didn’t you?”
Mokuren looked down.
“Mokuren, I won the bet, so tell me the truth. I risked my life, so please meet me halfway.”
She knew this was selfish of her. She had made the bet and carried it out without his confirmation.
Mokuren didn’t need to reply, but she waited for him to reply anyway. He seemed hesitant and was repeatedly mumbling. But he finally spoke after she waited patiently.
“I know one answer which is worthy of what you risked your life for. I wanted to keep this a secret for a long time, but it seems like I have no choice but to confess.”
Mokuren’s voice sounded heavy. She waited patiently to hear what he would say.
“Riri, I… am not the real Nine Tail Fox.”
The words he said were shocking. She widened her eyes in surprise and couldn’t understand the meaning of what he had said for a moment.
“You’re not the Nine Tail Fox…?”
“There is a genius who is a part of the Dark Perfumers who has overwhelming talent when it comes to making incenses. Everyone thought he would be the next head, but he was still a child when the last head passed away. That was why I was entrusted with this position until he came of age. The real Nine Tail Fox has grown up now and he is taking every opportunity that shows up to target this nation.”
Mokuren put his hand over his chest.
“He told me that he had succeeded in making one of the treasured incense, the Memory Restoring Incense. It’s only a matter of time before he recreates it perfectly. He will destroy Shinzui completely once he perfects the treasured incense.”
Mokuren sounded strained. She listened, stunned by a truth she had never expected.
“I am still in a position where I can restrain him since I’m still the head of the Dark Perfumers. As for revenge… I’m actually more inclined to end it all now. I also believe that it would be better for everyone if we lived new lives instead of trying to get revenge, but he doesn’t think like me.”
Mokuren looked very sincere.
“He would use any means he can to destroy Shinzui if I don’t restrain him, and then many people will die from incenses. You’re right, I want to save people with incenses. I think that’s what makes life worth living. I don’t want to see people die from incenses. He is ――― a very dangerous person.”
“… Then, you were worried about everyone…”
He wanted to stop seeking revenge, but he won’t be able to stop ‘him’ from going out of control if he does.
She could understand his feelings so well that it was painful.
“I know I can’t be like this forever. I can’t hold him back forever.”
It was the first time she had seen Mokuren’s lips tremble with pain.
He must have been suffering too. Riri’s heart squeezed tightly when she thought that.
“Mokuren, there’s no need for you to suffer anymore. Just leave the Dark Perfumers and run away.”
She grabbed both his hands, but he shook his head.
“I won’t be able to restrain him if I do that. What will happen to this nation if he gets serious… Besides, he hates you.”
Mokuren stared at her, and she gulped.
“Me?”
“As I said before, he’s trying to make the treasured incense. From my point of view, you and he are equally talented. I don’t know which one of you will complete the treasured incense first.”
Mokuren gently reached out and rubbed her cheek.
“He seems to think that either you or him will complete the treasured incense, that’s why he hates you. I don’t know what he’ll do to you if I’m gone.”
“Mokuren… So, you’ve stayed in the Dark Perfumers for me…?”
She asked and Mokuren smiled wryly.
“No way.”
She immediately knew he was lying. Tears welled up in her eyes because of his kindness.
“Please, Mokuren, don’t do anything you don’t want to anymore. I’ll be fine. I told you that I’ve made a lot of friends since coming to the palace. I’ll work together with my friends to overcome anything that happens. I don’t want you to suffer alone…!”
She shook her head repeatedly. She was crying, but she wiped her tears with her sleeve and did her best to stop herself from crying.
Just crying wouldn’t deal with difficulties or suffering.
She knew she had to stop crying to move forward.
She wouldn’t have thought like this if she was still living downtown.
She knew since she came to the inner palace a few months ago.
“It’s not right for you to be torn between conflict because of an unwanted vendetta. I’m fine, so run away.”
She looked at the kind eyes behind the glasses and Mokuren looked slightly troubled.
“It’s not that easy… I don’t have time to run away and if I don’t burn this incense then the Dark Perfumers who have infiltrated the palace will come and kill me. They all believe I have betrayed them. The only thing I can do is burn this numbing incenses instead of a poisonous incense, so that no one will die.”
Mokuren’s smile was philosophical, and he looked as if he had given up on everything.
“No. I will buy you time to run away. I’ll make the Dark Perfumers believe that you burnt the numbing incense, so use that time to escape.”
“It won’t go well.”
“Let’s try to make this work. I’ve said this to you many times, Mokuren. I’ll be fine. Both Kousho-sama and Garan help me when I need them to. I will complete the treasured incense before ‘he’ does and I will stop the Dark Perfumers from taking revenge. So please, don’t suffer anymore…!”
She wanted to save Mokuren. He saved her life, was her teacher and was still protecting her without her knowing.
Now it was her turn to protect him.
“But…”
“Mokuren, I’m not a child anymore.”
Mokuren looked shocked by those words.
“I’m not a child who doesn’t know anything, and without any skills to survive like I was when I first met you. I can take care of myself and when I can’t, I have friends to help me.”
She continued as Mokuren widened his eyes in shock.
“I don’t need you to protect me, I can look after myself. You taught me how to do that. If you keep worrying about me then it means you don’t recognise me as an adult. It may become dangerous, but I have my friends with me, so I’ll be fine.”
She looked at him straight in the eyes and tried to speak strongly.
Her persuasion would fail if Mokuren felt even the slightest hint of uneasiness in her voice. She didn’t want him to sacrifice himself anymore than he already had.
He quietly closed his eyes, pondered for a moment then smiled gently.
“… You’ve grown up. You were still… a child who feared nothing before you came to the inner palace. You were reckless, never had a plan and strong-willed. [1]”
Mokuren smiled wryly and then pouted.
“I may have been like that but you didn’t have to say it out loud.”
“You grew up in the blink of an eye, and sadly, you’re no longer under my care.”
Mokuren narrowed his eyes. His other hand reached out and he gently cupped her cheeks with both hands.
“I’ve been looking after you ever since I met you. I first approached you to find out more information about the treasured incense, but soon, that wasn’t the only reason why I came to see you.”
Memories of her childhood flashed through her mind.
“You would scold me harshly every time I failed to make an incense, but you always gave me candy after scolding me. You used to say it was my reward for the day.”
The sweetness of that candy still lingered in her mouth.
“I want you to be happy. I don’t want you to suffer. I believe you would suffer if I ran away… But I was wrong. You’ve become an adult. Leaving might be the best thing I can do for you right now.”
He slowly removed his hands from her cheeks.
“So, I will disappear. I’m sure you will suffer a lot in the future, but I believe you can overcome your suffering.”
“I can, so please don’t suffer anymore.”
He nodded, then took something out of his pocket.
“Take this. It contains everything I can do for you right now. I’ve been holding onto it for a long time, hoping that I would be able to give it to you one day. This is the least I can do to ‘atone’.”
She took the letter while wondering what was written on it.
Mokuren suddenly hugged her just as she was about to open the folded letter.
Then he whispered in her ear.
“I hope you’ll forgive me since I won’t be in the Dark Perfumers anymore. There are some Dark Perfumers who share the same opinion as I. They make up half the group. The Dark Perfumers will weaken if I take them with me. Just be careful. The real Nine Tail Fox has already infiltrated the palace.”
Those words came as an unexpected shock to Riri.
“‘He’s’ in the palace?”
“He is. He’s hiding and waiting for an opportunity in the palace. You mustn’t let your guard down.”
Mokuren hugged tighter.
“I can only do so much now, but I will always watch over you. I had something I really needed to tell you, but I’m a coward, so I’ll leave without saying it. I will become stronger, and I will come to rescue you when you’re in danger. Stay healthy.”
The lonely expression on Mokuren’s face as he let go of her imprinted in her mind.
“Mokuren left the palace with the Dark Perfumers who agreed with him. The incense that was burnt earlier was made to look as if the numbing incenses had been lit, so that I could buy them time to escape. I’m sorry for worrying you.”
Riri bowed her head at Kousho. Kousho lifted his eyebrow.
“I told you to let me know if something was wrong!”
His scolding was drowned out by the sound of the fireworks and went unnoticed by the others.
But she heard it clearly.
“I’m sorry… I know, but you were addressing the audience on the stage, so I couldn’t interrupt you. I was going to report to you as soon as I confirmed that Mokuren was really in the palace. I told Consort Shoei to give you a message, did you not get it?”
“I didn’t. I went to look for you as soon as I finished my speech, so she was probably too busy to tell me at that time. I know you had no choice but to go since it was urgent, but I was terrified when I realised that you were missing from the hall.”
She bowed again at Kousho who had his hands on his hips.
“I really am sorry, but I succeeded in persuading Mokuren. He and the other Dark Perfumers who share his opinion retrieved all the incense burners containing the numbing incense that was planted all over the palace.”
Kousho folded his arms in astonishment.
“Thanks to them, the banquet wasn’t ruined. But still, who is this real Nine Tail Fox person that Mokuren mentioned?”
“I… couldn’t ask him because someone was walking towards us. Mokuren called that person ‘him’. He said that ‘he’ was still a child when the former Dark Perfumer head passed away, so Mokuren became the temporary head. So, we can assume that he is still a young man, and I’m sure he’s skilled in making incenses.”
Kousho looked conflicted as he pondered on Mokuren’s words.
“That’s not enough information to identify him. Who in the world is he…?”
Fireworks went off with a bang as Kousho spoke.
People cheered louder and the party had reached its peak.
“I’ll need to investigate this... but first, let us celebrate that the Elegant Incense Gathering has concluded successfully despite all that has happened.”
She was relieved to see the satisfied faces of the guests.
A little further away to the right, she could see Emperor Tou Aren.
He noticed her gaze and raised his hand slightly. She bowed deeply towards him.
(I poured a strong fragrance at first to buy Mokuren and his fellow Dark Perfumers to escape, and I was worried that the guests would panic, but His Majesty Aren did a good job calming everyone down.)
Aren said that he would help her out if she needed his help.
She was certain that he was one of the first to notice that something unusual had happened and managed the crowd.
Aren who helped her when she needed help the most and Seirai who taught everyone how to dance. The consorts at Beautiful Flower Palace who worked together to prepare the banquet. Shoei who helped Hisui and Ranran who changed her mind. Garan who always gives her advice and Kousho who protects her with his influence; they were all important people.
She knew that a great enemy would continue to target Shinzui in the future and she didn’t know what she could do.
She had been protected by Mokuren until now, but it will be different from now on.
She had her olfaction which no one else had and incense making skills taught to her by Mokuren.
Riri wanted to make use of those two skills for Kousho, who will become the emperor and to protect Shinzui and her friends who live here.