CH 3.2

Volume 1.3.2 - Reirin, Moving to Paradise (Part 2)

Shin’u frowned at the path, which was getting dimmer the further he walked.

(So even in the palace of the flame-loving Shu clan, there’s a place that is quite gloomy.)

He looked around at the garden, which looked more and more neglected as he moved away from Noble Consort Shu’s chambers, and narrowed his eyes.

Right now, he had just come to inspect Shuku Palace with Bunkou, a eunuch he trusted.

The Beast Interrogation Rite was a strict thing, and the verdict was absolute. Shu Keigetsu, who was found innocent, should be treated the same way as the other Nestlings, and any private punishment should be unreasonable. As the one enforcing discipline and public morals in the inner palace, Shin’u proceeded to this place to make sure there were no excessive punishments.

“There is no need to worry. Even among the four consorts, Noble Consort Shu is reputed to be gentle and tender-hearted. In the first place, she even took in that Shu Keigetsu as a Nestling. Therefore…Sir, let us not irresponsibly use the eagle crest and enter the palace without the lady’s permission.”

Eunuchs and consorts didn’t always have the best relationships. There were times where you thought they had formed a clique, but then they were dragging each other down by picking on each other’s slightest failures.

Bunkou was complaining because in the midst of all this, Noble Consort Shu was the more moderate of the four consorts and more gentle with the eunuchs, and he was afraid of a confrontation with her.

“But gentleness is also a weakness of control. It is possible for the ladies-in-waiting to act recklessly, even if Noble Consort Shu does not want them to.”

“We’ll deal with it when the time comes. To begin with, sir, were you always so enthusiastic about your work? Please return to being the usual exceedingly head official with the exceedingly cold-hearted attitude that is careless about people’s lives and seems to think everything in the world is worthless.”

“…Oh ho. Is that how you see me?”

“Look! There it is, that look in your eyes like you’re looking down at trash! I told you to use that when you’re doing your professional duties.”

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He looked down at him coldly, but the small-framed eunuch only pretended to cry and didn’t correct himself.

Bunkou was a person who got carried away easily and liked to make things easy for himself, but he was also a very smart and capable man. Shin’u took in a breath and let it pass, then turned back to the path in front of him.

Gradually, the gravel began breaking up and weeds became more and more prominent on the path. As they walked down the path that had become so narrow with the grass closing in from both sides that it was difficult to walk on, they soon saw remarkably verdant trees and a storehouse with the plaster peeling off.

“…Are you really telling me that the Nestling was driven off into a place like this?”

“That’s from the testimony of a lady-in-waiting who was confronted with the eagle crest, so it must be true. Hmm, I wonder if it was a calculation to gain the sympathy of those around her by purposely getting banished to this horrible situation, or if the ladies-in-waiting who are reputed to hate Shu Keigetsu bared their fangs at once when they saw that their prey was weak.”

“Either way, this is too much.”

Unlike the prison, there was light shining through, but the building was almost completely decayed. The soil was damp, and when Shin’u saw an insect crawling near his shoes, he unconsciously stepped on it and crushed it.

Grass that was almost ferocious, and insects. Perhaps even some kind of mold, judging by the walls that were in a horrifying color.

It was by no means an environment where a noble girl could live.

Near the storehouse, a woman who seemed to be a lady-in-waiting had her back turned to them and was plucking the grass, perhaps to welcome the arriving Shu Keigetsu. But from the looks of it, she seemed to be the only servant here.

The way she sat in the grass, with sweat beading from her thin back and the occasional wiping of her forehead, made even Shin’u knit his eyebrows.

“Shu Keigetsu is not a criminal. And this is no place for a respectable person to live.”

“Mmm…”

In contrast with Shin’u, who was filled with pity, Bunkou shrugged his shoulders, the corner of his mouth twisting.

“You seem to be quite sympathetic to Shu Keigetsu, sir, but well, that can’t be helped, can it?”

“What did you say?”

“I, for one, feel more annoyance than pity looking at this scene.”

Bunkou’s narrow fox-like eyes were filled with cold emotion.

“Shu Keigetsu may have been acquitted of the allegations of pushing Lady Reirin, but that doesn’t mean all of her deeds have been exonerated. She is a foolish, arrogant person who doesn’t hesitate to abuse those in a weaker position. A eunuch must never hurt a Nestling——I can’t tell you how many of my colleagues had the blame put on them, punished, and made to suffer by that woman who misuses that ridiculous rule.”

He said resentfully, pointing at the girl tearing at the grass.

“And now, that girl is paying the price for her stupidity. The person who was supposed to be under house arrest has not even shown up. She’s probably in her room, screaming at the top of her lungs that she doesn’t want to leave, isn’t she? I’ll bet on it.”

Compared to Shin’u, who had only taken office for half a year and was the head Eagle Official, Bunkou, who had been in his position for many years and was only a eunuch, seemed to have a lot of resentment towards Shu Keigetsu.

However, the complaints Bunkou was about to continue with suddenly disappeared.

“Let’s just leave her alone. If Shu Keigetsu is picked on, that is her getting her just deserts. If she were to see you, sir, I’m sure she would butter you up like always, drag you into troublesome things and never let you go—”

“My, if it isn’t the head Eagle Official! And, Lord Bunkou?”

The woman who had been plucking the grass turned around and bowed to them with a smile.

“Good day to you, sirs. What can I do for you today?”

Seeing her face, Shin’u and Bunkou both widened their eyes.

“——Shu Keigetsu!?”

“Eh? No…ah, I mean, yes, that’s me…?”

Even though they had called her name, for some reason she opened and closed her mouth slightly, then nodded vaguely.

Her lightly freckled skin and the upturned corners of her eyes. The two couldn’t hide their shock at the fact that no matter how many times they looked at this woman with a scarf tied around her head like a farmer, she looked exactly like “Shu Keigetsu” herself.

“What exactly are you doing here…?”

“Eh? As you can see, I am weeding…”

“Weeding.”

She answered so naturally that he couldn’t help but repeat it.

Noticing the dubious look in his eyes, she held up her hands as though to make an excuse.

“I have been told to live here, so I decided to make this place comfortable for me.”

“…What happened to your maidservant?”

“Um…yes, she is out on an errand.”

When Shin’u asked in a low voice, the woman answered with her gaze roaming around slightly. As expected, there was no doubt that she had been abandoned by the ladies-in-waiting.

“Shu Keigetsu. Is there anything you want to tell me?”

“Eh!?”

The Eagle Official was in charge of regulating public morals in the inner palace. If the punishment was overly excessive, this time Shu Keigetsu was the one who could take the Shu clan to court. For some reason, even though Shin’u prompted her to speak, she was pressing her cheeks like she was panicking.

“S-Something I want to tell you? Well, there certainly are things, but…I finally have a garden…and the weeding…yes, the sun should be setting soon, so it doesn’t have to be today, does it?”

“It’s just past noon.”

“Oh…I only meant that there is no need for me to bother the busy Head Eagle Official and Lord Bunkou right now. Y-You see, since I’m dressed like this, if I could have a chance to talk to you, I would like to do so at a later date, when I can offer the both of you some tea.”

“Tea.”

At that word, Bunkou was also speechless.

It would be one thing to invite the Head Eagle Official, but the only Nestling who would invite a eunuch to tea would be Kou Reirin, called a celestial maiden. He had never expected such a comment from Shu Keigetsu, who was known as the most wicked among the Nestlings.

“Yes, so please give me a day…no, several months…no no, a few days, and then I will call on you. Can you allow that?”

“…Uh huh.”

She seemed to have made a slip up on the unit of measurement in the middle of her sentence, but when she asked that with an entreating look on her face, Shin’u had no choice but to nod.

Looking from the outside, she was in a terrible situation, having been driven to a shack and abandoned by her maidservants, but if the person herself didn’t want to be saved, then there was no reason for Shin’u to take action.

“Now, knowing how busy the two of you are, I do not wish to keep you here for long, so I shall now take my——”

“Oi.”

When the girl tried to end the conversation quickly, Shin’u stopped her at once.

“Yes?”

When the other party blinked at them, Shin’u and Bunkou looked at each other.

Shu Keigetsu had always tried to flatter whichever high-ranked person she saw, and had always been vocal about her misfortunes.

The fact that she would try to get rid of the Head Eagle Official who had come all this way to visit her went beyond unexpected.

“So…what is it. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Something you can do for me?”

The woman, her white cheeks completely stained with mud, tilted her head as if she had been told something unexpected.

“No, the real pleasure I’ve finally obtained would be ruined if I had the both of you help me…”

“Real pleasure?”

“I misspoke. I meant to say that it would be too shameful for me to ask for your help.”

When his brows knitted together in doubt, she shook her head with a crisp face.

The two looked at each other again at the laudable remarks that one would never have expected to come out of Shu Keigetsu’s mouth.

“But…if I could be impudent and presume upon your kindness, Head Eagle Official…”

Eventually, however, the woman hesitantly made her request.

Seeing that she was beginning to glance upwards, Bunkou gave Shin’u a look as if to say, “See, I knew it.”

As expected, this chain of meek behavior was all just an act.

After weakening the other parties’ antipathy, would she request ladies-in-waiting, money, or mediation with Noble Consort Shu——?

“May I have some salt?”

“Salt?”

“Yes. I was very fortunate to be able to secure rainwater and potatoes, but salt is not something that can be refined in a day…”

This time, both Shin’u and Bunkou were at a loss for words.

What on earth did this woman, who was like the embodiment of arrogance and laziness, plan to do?

“…Salt and oil, live coal and water jugs are things that are given to even sinners in exile. I can’t imagine they couldn’t be given to you, an innocent Nestling.”

“Eh? Is exile so easy?”

The woman put her hand over her mouth in surprise when Bunkou answered in a mutter.

When she described the situation of exiles as “easy,” Bunkou suddenly turned his head and whispered to Shin’u.

“…Is this really Shu Keigetsu?”

“Actually, I’ve been thinking that all morning.”

Shin’u nodded mysteriously and narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Don’t you think she has the same mildness and modesty as Kou Reirin?”

“Don’t say such a stupid thing with a straight face! His Highness’ Butterfly, the gentle and delicate Reirin, would never have such a rustic idea as salt making!”

His statement, which got right into the heart of the matter, was immediately shut down by Bunkou, who was very fond of Reirin.

In fact, even Shin’u didn’t expect the fragile and reserved “His Highness’ Butterfly” to show such boldness in her words and actions, so he easily retracted his statement.

“I guess so. Even she said that she wasn’t the same person she used to be. Perhaps prison drove her crazy, or she was very remorseful.”

“The power of the dungeons is that great, huh…?”

Bunkou nervously looked at the woman with the scarf around her head and muttered.

Seeing his subordinate, who always spoke sarcastically, completely drained of his venom, the corner of Shin’u’s mouth lifted despite himself.

(I wonder why. Why is it when Shu Keigetsu is concerned, nothing but amusing things happen?)

And so, he gained a rare point on his talkative but skilled subordinate.

“Well, Bunkou. The weeding Nestling herself has requested it. Now that you’ve lost the bet, go and bring some salt, oil, a water jug, and some coal.”