CH 2

Volume 1.2 - Reirin, Facing Execution

Shin’u looked up at the sky with weary feelings, saw the dazzling blue, and sighed, feeling fed up with it all.

Clear skies with not a single snowflake in sight. It was a perfect day for an execution.

“The Beast Interrogation Rite, huh…”

He muttered in a low voice as he stroked the ceremonial sword on his hip. That was the name of the ceremony he was about to perform. The suspected person and a lion would be put in the same cage. It was actually a cruel and arbitrary “investigation” where if the person wasn’t eaten, they would be acquitted, and if they were eaten, they would be condemned to death as it were.

It was said that the enlightened hermit 1 who led the Kingdom of Ei was not attacked by beasts because of his noble soul, and this ceremony was supposed to be patterned after that story, but the beast was purposely starved and agitated, then put into the cage. The survival rate was zero. In other words, this was no different from execution.

At the end of the corridor, in the Pear Garden2 where there was a large cage set up, the women and eunuchs of the inner palace gathered around, their eyes shining like spectators at a show. All of them were purposely dressed in crude ink-black clothing so that they wouldn’t be covered in the flying blood.

Shin’u let out another sigh.

(It would have been better if they just killed her instantly.)

It wasn’t because he was compassionate that he thought this way. It was because he found the sight of a woman who would most probably scream shrilly, beg for her life, and crawl around the cage in an unsightly manner detestable.

He had witnessed the Beast Interrogation Rite several times before, and even a large man couldn’t help but scream. It was depressing to think about how a woman, and in addition to that, Keigetsu, would no doubt rampage around.

(Shu Keigetsu is a troublesome woman, just from what I know of her.)

Recalling all the troublesome matters that had been brought to the Eagle Official’s office, he unconsciously grimaced.

The infamous Nestling of the Shu clan had been sweet-talking and edging up close to powerful people such as Gyoumei, Shin’u, and the four consorts, while on the other hand, she had been tyrannical to the eunuchs and lower-ranked ladies-in-waiting. Abuses and insults were commonplace. There were times when she would make up crimes for the ladies-in-waiting and not pay them under the pretext of punishment, as well as pick on the eunuchs.

However, since she was a Nestling—the highest rank within the Nestling Court, and had never committed any serious crimes such as stealing or killing, he had no way of arresting her as an Eagle Official. But now that she was a suspect, the animosity that had been swirling inside the Nestling Court would erupt all at once and attack her. Normally, there would be time for something called “mercy feeding,” where those who felt sympathy for the suspect would feed the beast—the more virtuous the person, the more likely they would be saved—but in her case, there would be no such people.

In other words, it was his job today to ask a wailing woman some formal questions and lastly, collect the meat.

(The title of head Eagle Official might be imposing, but all I do are just menial jobs.)

Shin’u’s mouth twisted in irony as he walked with heavy steps towards the Pear Garden.

A prince without the right of succession was a troublesome situation. Both for the people around him and for himself.

Shin’u understood why he was given such a bloody and burdensome role. Basically, he was being tested. Could he devote himself to subordinate work? Would he be able to eliminate those who were enemies of the imperial family as he was ordered to?

There were always numerous stares directed at Shin’u.

Suspicious gazes wondering if he would change his mind. Gazes that feared him as a ruthless executioner. And the most absurd of them all were the ones filled with unsightly flirtation, from the women who were tempted by the beauty of a piece of skin——.

(I’m sick of it all.)

It was all incredibly annoying. When he was in the inner palace, he could see that inside this gorgeous compound, there was nothing but malice, self-protection, and selfish desires swirling around.

As a result, Shin’u’s lips had never parted into a smile since he became the head Eagle Official.

At the same time as Shin’u’s entrance, the back gate of the Pear Garden opened, and a huge lion, the size of three adults, was brought in. Shin’u received it and carefully put it into the cage. At the exact same moment, the empress, Gyoumei, and the four consorts appeared and sat down in the dignitaries’ seats.

All the Nestlings except for Shu Keigetsu were seated one row back, but Kou Reirin, who still had a fever, was allowed to spread out a rug in a pavilion a little further away and watch from there. She looked even more light-headed and helpless than usual.

“——The Beast Interrogation Rite for Shu Keigetsu will now be held.”

Gyoumei eventually announced in a cold voice after casting a worried glance at Reirin.

After stating the charges against Keigetsu, he then asked if anyone would like to perform mercy feeding, to which the people around him immediately responded, “No.”

The gentle face of her guardian, Noble Consort Shu, clouded over, but she eventually made a deep bow and spoke.

“If she is innocent, she will not be eaten. If she is guilty, she will no longer have anything to do with the Shu clan. Either way, there is no need for mercy feeding.”

In other words, she was saying that she didn’t need a relative who was a criminal. The people around her raised their eyebrows in silence at her faltering but tolerable and safe response.

“Bring Shu Keigetsu here.”

As Gyoumei raised one hand, the other gate opened.

Shin’u, who had been prepared to be greeted with an unsightly and pathetic scene as soon as she arrived, turned around and knitted his eyebrows in puzzlement.

It was because Shu Keigetsu came quietly.

A carefully raised young lady would have lost her mind if she was thrown into jail, but there was a light in her eyes, and she was walking straight ahead with her gaze unmoving. Her vermillion outer garment, as ostentatious as ever, looked a little more elegant, perhaps because of the grace of her walk.

“——I am here.”

The way she came to the front of the cage and bowed to the nobles was also refreshing.

The audience blinked, wondering how even a villainess could be so quiet before her execution.

“Wicked Shu Keigetsu. You have pushed my butterfly, Kou Reirin, who is as pure as a heavenly maiden, out of a high tower. No one saw the moment of the push, but from your shout, Reirin’s testimony, and the circumstances before and after, it is clear you intended to harm her. Do you admit your guilt?”

“No.”

She immediately answered Gyoumei’s cold question with a denial while bowing.

But then, for some reason her eyebrows gathered in discomfort and mumbled something.

“Not quite right on every point, I’d say…including the adjectives used to describe me…”

“What did you say? You not only won’t admit your guilt, you’re calling yourself virtuous?”

“Oh, no, that isn’t what I meant, but…I knew this would happen…”

When the expression of Gyoumei, who found fault with her, became increasingly grim, Shu Keigetsu looked up in panic and gave an unintelligible answer. It seemed that the words became stuck in her throat after that, as she moved her mouth soundlessly with a frustrated expression on her face. The people who reconsidered her earlier murmured, “Well, she’s the same as usual after all,” and regained their cold gazes.

Gyoumei also sighed in disappointment and shook his head, “Oh well.”

“That is the reason for the Beast Interrogation Rite. If you are truly innocent, the beast will not eat you. Also, at the request of the kind Reirin, I will allow the Eagle Official’s blade. If you prostrate yourself and apologize, I will substitute the Beast Interrogation Rite with the piercing of your heart.”

“No, um, isn’t that extremely unreasonable no matter which…”

Shu Keigetsu lowered her brows as though at a loss, and then irreverently leaned forwards towards Gyoumei.

“I beg of you. Please listen to me, just for a moment. If you are my dear kind cousin who has been called a wise ruler——”

“Shut your mouth.”

However, she was cut off by Gyoumei. The corners of his eyes were lifted.

Gyoumei’s voice trembled as he cast aside his usual composed demeanour.

“There is only one person in heaven and earth who can call me that—Reirin. I heard you stole her diary. Did you think you could win my favor by acting like that lovely and adorable girl, you villainess!?”

“Yes, I’m a villainess!”

Faced with his threatening attitude, Shu Keigetsu nodded rapidly, as though speaking reflexively.

Apparently still unable to contain his anger, Gyoumei gave a signal to Shin’u.

“Take Shu Keigetsu to the cage.”

It was the beginning of the Beast Interrogation Ceremony.

Shin’u pushed the Nestling’s back and led her to the cage. She seemed to be completely frightened and didn’t resist.

“Uuu…I repeated the same mistake in such a short time. His favor is so heavy…”

No, rather than being frightened, she pressed her forehead with both hands and seemed to be reflecting on something.

The lion noticed the intruder and slowly approached while making growling sounds with its throat.

However, her eyebrows were still knitted together and she was still moaning about something, so Shin’u became suspicious and called out to her from the other side of the cage.

“Oi. The Beast Interrogation Rite has already begun.”

“Eh…? Ah, it seems so.”

She looked up a little, but her response was quite half-hearted.

He stared at her to see if she had finally lost her mind, but her eyes were focused. However, even though the beast was approaching at point-blank range, she was letting that situation pass like a spring breeze. That made Shin’u ask her again.

“Do you understand? You’re being put into the same cage as a starving beast?”

“Yes… If those fangs pierce me, I’ll die, I see.”

“No…I think this goes beyond ‘I’ll die, I see.’”

Shouldn’t she have a little bit more of the anticipated reaction? No, it wasn’t that he was expecting anything, but he felt strangely unsettled when people acted too calm.

(What the hell…? Was she this kind of woman…?)

Even a man who excelled in the military arts would not be able to keep his composure if a ferocious beast approached him at such a distance. The woman in front of him was like a military commander who had struggled through countless battlefields calmly surveying the state of the war, or like an immortal hermit who had been through countless hardships and had reached the realm of elegant simplicity. She simply stood there, unshaken.

“…You’re not afraid of death?”

“I’m used to it.”

“What?”

When he looked back at her, wondering why a Nestling protected deep within the Nestling Court would say such a thing, her eyes became a bit distant and she replied matter-of-factly.

“You are alive until you are dead. In the same way, you are not bitten until you are bitten. So, if you are in pain before you are bitten, you are not strong enough, yes?”

That argument seemed both reasonable and nonsensical.

The only thing he understood was that she wasn’t intimidated by the beast at all. Perhaps the beast was also not stirred up by the calm girl, or perhaps it was wary of her calm demeanour, but it only moved its snout towards her sleeve and didn’t show any signs of attacking. Only after Shin’u saw this did he reexamine the legend. Indeed, perhaps self-possessed immortal hermits don’t get attacked by beasts.

“My, to think that the beast didn’t attack her.”

“Does this mean Shu Keigetsu is innocent?”

“It’s true that no one saw her push Lady Reirin.”

“But for that situation, no matter which way you look at it…”

People whispered to each other in bewilderment at the unexpected turn of events.

The one who was irritated by the noisy atmosphere was the righteously indignant Gyoumei.

“This is getting us nowhere. Head Eagle Official, prod the beast.”

He instructed him to agitate the beast more.

“…But then, the fairness of the ceremony would be…”

“Head Eagle Official. I said to prod the beast.”

When Shin’u slowly opened his mouth, Gyoumei cut him off with a decisive tone.

“This is for mocking Reirin earlier.”

In the eyes of his half-brother Shin’u, Gyoumei wasn’t a foolish ruler. Rather, he was a man who loved reason and cared for the weak, and was regarded as a future great emperor. But that was why he didn’t hesitate to punish those who behaved unreasonably and didn’t apologize for hounding a weak girl.

The crown prince’s orders were absolute. Shin’u glanced at the woman in the cage and wordlessly poked the side of the beast with his sword, while keeping in view that she was still standing as quietly as ever.

——I didn’t think that this ceremony would cause me to feel guilt towards Shu Keigetsu.

Grrrrrrr…!

Immediately, the lion, who had been quiet until then, roared.

The crowd screamed as it opened its jaws wide while banging its body all over the cage and drooling.

The lion came at the woman with quick movements.

She had been standing still and straight until that moment, when the beast’s fangs grazed her sleeve and she pulled back her arm in surprise.

“No…no, you mustn’t!”

Was she finally getting scared?

Shin’u unconsciously looked away.

(Aaaaaah! T-The remains of Mr. Rat are in this sleeve!)

In fact, the reason why Reirin suddenly started to panic was because the rat she had just encountered in the prison was tucked into the sleeve of her outer garment.

Actually, just before she was taken out of the cell, she had been letting the rat play and it had accidentally swallowed the poison Tousetsu had given her. Reirin had completely forgotten that she had dropped it on the floor when she was startled by Keigetsu’s flame image technique. Feeling responsible, Reirin kept its body in her sleeve, hoping to hold a funeral for it when she had the chance.

“P-please calm down. I understand, yes, that you instinctively want to go there.”

(After all, you are a member of the same group as cats, aren’t you…)

Reirin made her heels move back slowly as she made a desperate attempt to persuade the lion.

“This is the natural order of things, but are you saying that I need to brace myself, or perhaps you would like me to take responsibility in my own way?”

Seeing Shu Keigetsu suddenly visibly panicking, the crowd got excited. However, Reirin was so desperate that she didn’t even register that.

“Um, it may sound like an excuse, but it is also for your own good. If you eat it, it definitely won’t be good for you.”

Her heels, deprived of their shoes, felt the chill of the steel bars. She couldn’t retreat any further.

——Grrrrr!

“If you could just calm down a little, you would realize that there are some issues with the freshness and quality of the food…kyaaaaa!”

The persuasion was in vain, and the hungry and agitated beast sprung at her with vigor.

The sound of ripping clothes and an even louder stir resounded in the area.

The people who quickly closed their eyes or turned their faces away opened their mouths wide when they looked back at the scene before them.

The lion swallowed down the thing that ripped with a fierce speed, but then a few beats later, it suddenly slumped down to the ground.

“Hah…?”

“What…? The lion was the one that died…?”

“Aaah…” While people were stunned into silence, the woman collapsed to her knees.

“I told you so…no, this is also my sin…I’m sorry…”

She gently stroked the lion’s body, and when she saw that it had breathed its last, her shoulders slumped dejectedly.

“Uh…the lion died…?”

Eventually, the crowd began to whisper in confusion.

“So, does this mean the ceremony is over?”

“Isn’t it? Because, well, one of them is dead.”

“That means Shu Keigetsu is innocent…?”

There had never been a case of the beast dying and the suspect surviving in a Beast Interrogation Rite. In this case, no one knew how to judge the outcome.

“Oi, Shu Keigetsu. Can you stand up? I want to make sure the lion is dead. Get out of the way.”

Finally, Shin’u turned the lock and entered the cage.

After carefully checking the lion’s state while pointing the tip of his sword at its throat, he muttered, “Poison?” and then pointed the sword at the girl.

“Did you set this up?”

“No, sir. It was a complete accident.”

“An accident?”

“Well, Mr. Mouse…”

Even though she was being held at swordpoint by the executioner everyone feared, Shin’u was at a loss for words when he heard about what happened from the depressed girl.

“A rat crawling around in your cell? You wanted to give it a funeral, so you put it in your sleeve?”

“Yes, sir. He lost his life because of my inattentiveness.”

She answered as though it was a matter of course, but was she really the type of person who would act in such a responsible and compassionate manner?

“But I never thought it would even react to the corpse… As a result, I have taken away the lives of two animals, and I sincerely repent for that from the bottom of my heart.”

In front of the woman who solemnly informed him of that, the edge of Shinu’s mouth quivered.

“…Kuh.”

For the first time in he didn’t know how long, he felt the urge to laugh.

The women of the inner palace were captivated by the first smile of the beautiful head Eagle Official they had ever seen, and then raised their eyes to the heavens in fear that it might snow.

Shin’u coughed and managed to disperse his laughter.

“…If it had at least been given mercy feed, the lion might have been able to make a more sober decision.”

He wondered how many had realized that irony.

The women who didn’t pacify the beast even though this was the execution of one of their own, and the woman who was supposed to be the criminal who tried to give a filthy rat a funeral. Heaven had conferred mercy on the latter.

Shin’u stepped out of the cage, knelt, and reported to Gyoumei.

“Reporting to His Highness, Prince Gyoumei. I am pleased to inform you that with the death of the lion, the Beast Interrogation Rite has been completed without incident. If she is eaten, she is guilty. If she is not eaten, she is innocent. In accordance with the solemn rules of this ritual, I hereby declare Shu Keigetsu’s innocence.”

A stir ran through the Pear Garden.

For a while, Gyoumei pondered with a serious look on his face, but then he opened his mouth at last.

“——I accept.”

Because it was a ceremony where a life was at stake, the judgement was absolute. There was no way for even Gyoumei to defy this result.

“No…”

“Forgive me, Reirin. I will protect you.”

Seeing the girl lying in the pavilion turn pale, Gyoumei’s brows knitted in distress.

He turned a stern face to the woman who nervously stepped out of the cage.

“Shu Keigetsu. I acknowledge your innocence and allow you to continue your stay at the Nestling Court. But do not be mistaken. You have only been cleared of the charge of pushing Reirin with the Beast Interrogation Rite. Keep in mind that you have not been forgiven for your mockery of her.”

“Oh? But I do remember you saying ‘this is for mocking Reirin’ and urging the head Eagle Official…”

The woman calmly put her hand to her cheek and murmured in confusion.

——She had been listening?

Gyoumei’s eyes widened slightly at the other party showing unexpected sharpness. “Then,” he coughed.

“I will not tolerate it in the future. If you show any disrespect to Kou Reirin, or behave irreverently such as pretending to be her, expect to have your head chopped off at once.”

“Pretending to be her…”

“It is aggravating that a woman like you even imitated Reirin’s words and actions, pretending to be her. You must realize that you are a villainess in the end and act accordingly.”

When he spat those words at her, she opened her mouth again, and then nodded, as though finally giving up.

“Villainess… Very well, Your Highness. Though I am an inept villainess, I shall behave correspondingly…”

If one only looked at her listlessly drooping head, she would look like a flower that had been hit by the rain. It was because Shu Keigetsu was usually seen with a flattering smile or otherwise arrogantly looking down on others that her meekness stood out even more.

Gyoumei let out a single sigh, as though he had lost all motivation. After reaching an agreement with the empress and four consorts, he announced that the ceremony was dispersed.

(Thank goodness, looks like the “cleanup” is going to be a lot easier.)

As the spectators, still with lingering excitement, walked away talking about this and that, Shin’u maintained an ironclad blank expression, but inwardly he was watching with amusement.

He glanced at her and saw that the woman who had been acquitted didn’t look particularly happy, and was still standing there dispiritedly, as before.

However, when the garden was almost empty, she pulled her cheeks, seeming to have finally switched out of that mindset.

“Yes, a woman has guts. We have no choice but to do what we can. Let’s speak out!”

You showed your courage not during the ceremony, but at this moment? And what is with that way of firing herself up?

“For the present…Mr. Lion, as well as Mr. Rat. I am truly sorry for what I’ve done to you. Please allow me to pray for the repose of your souls.”

And the first “thing I can do” is to pray for the souls of a lion and rat?

Every action of the woman was mysterious, and he couldn’t help but get caught up in her every move.

“Shu Keigetsu.”

Before Shin’u knew it, he was calling out to her.

“Was that the kind of person you are?”

“…Do I seem like someone else!?”

For some reason, that made the woman’s eyes light up.

However, after leaning forward and making her usual mouth flapping movements a few times, her shoulders eventually slumped.

“All I can tell you is that…I am not the same person I used to be.”

Did that mean she decided to make a fresh start in life before her execution? It was true that most women lost their sanity in jail, and some might change their behavior before they were killed.

“…Hmm?”

Shin’u nodded vaguely for now.

The dull woman Shu Keigetsu. Arrogant and talentless. Only knowing how to butter up to others.

However——.

(I’m curious.)

In front of the woman who didn’t display any of the hostility, self-preservation, and cajolery that were swirling around in the inner palace, Shin’u stroked his chin silently.

Will probably split the next chapter into two parts since it’s pretty long

Footnotes

The word used here is 仙人 which is an immortal mountain wizard in Taoism. Pear Garden, with the reading of niwa in Japanese, is the name of the first known acting and theatrical arts academy in China, founded in the Tang Dynasty.