The young girl put her golden chicken Shinshin down at her feet. The floor was covered with floral patterned-rugs.
Appalled by the girl’s words and attitude, Eisei scowled and was about to give her a piece of his mind, but the emperor held him back. The two men entered the room and stood in front of a small table with a brocade tablecloth on top of it. The area was filled with the smell of incense wafting from an intricate silver container.
“I have a favor to ask of you, Raven Consort. Hear me out.”
Having announced his intentions, Koshun sat down in a chair. The young girl frowned and made no effort to draw closer. Undeterred, Koshun put his hand in his pocket, took something out, and placed the item on the table.
“I’ve heard that your role is to undertake any task that is asked of you, whether it be placing a deadly curse, benediction, or finding a lost item. Is this correct?”
The girl frowned even more as she glared at the item that Koshun put on the table. It was a jade earring. Instead of being a pair, it was one singular earring with a large, droplet-shaped piece of jade dangling from a gold clasp.
“I won’t undertake any task. And all requests come at a price.”
“A price?”
“There’s a saying that goes, ‘If you curse another, dig two graves.’ If you want to place a deadly curse on someone, then another life must be sacrificed to that end. If it’s benediction that you desire, then your material possessions must be offered up. The price of finding lost items is up for negotiation.”
“And if I simply wanted to know who this earring belongs to?” Koshun asked, picking up the jade earring.
The deep green jade, as bright as freshwater, glowed gently in the subtle radiance of the light.
“I decline.”
“How come?”
“You could soon solve that mystery yourself—all you would have to do is ask around. Is that beyond your capabilities for some reason, or do you just have too much time on your hands? Whatever the case, I doubt anything good will come of this. I have no intention of getting embroiled in something so petty.”
She’s smart, thought Koshun about the young woman in front of him.
“People say you are either immortal or a ghost…” Koshun placed the earring down again and stood up. He drew closer to the girl. “But you’re a normal girl, aren’t you?” he said quietly, taking hold of her hand.
It was a warm, humanlike hand. The girl tensed up.
“I heard that you were found and brought here at a very young age. Now that I think about it, I still haven’t asked for your name. What is it?”
The girl darted her eyes about. Her voice was nothing more than a quiet whisper. “…Jusetsu.”
“Ryu Jusetsu… That’s a nice name,” Koshun replied nonchalantly.
Jusetsu glared up the emperor with a hint of redness in her cheeks. Koshun found himself thinking that she resembled a cat whose fur was standing on end. He looked down at the girl’s hand in his. Her arms were pale and slender, but he could see small marks on her skin. They were reddish-brown and shaped like flowers—but they almost resembled burn scars.
Jusetsu shook herself free from Koshun’s grip.
“Your request doesn’t interest me. Now leave.”
That was a bit harsh, thought the emperor—but at that same moment, Jusetsu took a peony out of her hair. As soon as she placed it in her palm, it dissipated in a wisp of smoke and transformed into a pale red flame.
Koshun wasn’t the type to be fazed by much, but this understandably surprised him and caused him to take a step back.
When Jusetsu blew air into the flame, a powerful gust hit Koshun and he was overcome by a peculiar sense of vertigo. He closed his eyes tight and turned his face away from the wind. Once the emperor steadied his wobbly legs and looked up, he found himself outside with that jet-black doorway standing in front of him.
Nobody said a word. Koshun simply stared at the doors, dumbfounded. What was going on?
“You’ve forgotten something,” Jusetsu called out.
The doors opened slightly, and the earring came flying out of the gap between them. Koshun quickly reached out and grabbed it, and the doors slammed shut again with a loud thud.
“Looks like we’ve been locked out…”
Eisei stood by the emperor’s side, looking confused. “Was that an example of the Raven Consort’s mystical abilities?”
“It looks that way. I suppose I upset her though, haven’t I?” Koshun put the earring in his breast pocket and took a moment to catch his breath.
She may have been called Jusetsu—a name written using the characters for “longevity” and “snow”—but her temperament was more reminiscent of fiery summer heat.
Koshun descended the stairs outside the palace and began to go back the way he came. Eisei picked up the lamp he dropped from its place on the ground and followed suit.
“Who is the Raven Consort?”
“She’s…some sort of shrine maiden, I suppose.”
“What do you mean?”
“She may be descended from the shrine maiden who served the goddess Uren Niangniang. There used to be a shrine here, long ago. After that, the previous dynasty built the imperial estate here.” Koshun sounded as if he were reading straight out of the Duo Encyclopedia of History.
“The emperors held the mystical abilities that the shrine maiden possessed in such high esteem that they wanted to keep them all to themselves. As such, they decided to keep her in the inner palace and bestow her with a special title—the Raven Consort. Or, at least, that’s what it says in the book.”
Koshun’s grandfather inherited the throne from an emperor from the previous dynasty—thus establishing the current one—and kept the capital and the imperial estate the way they were. The Raven Consort’s presence was just another part of that.
“The Raven Consort doesn’t get replaced when a new emperor comes to power. The previous Raven Consort had been there since the previous dynasty, and the current Ryu Raven Consort took on the role two years ago.”
Which was before Koshun ascended to the throne.
“They say it’s that golden chicken that finds the Raven Consort’s successor. I’m relieved you didn’t strangle it, Sei. Your hasty impulses could have got us in a lot of trouble.”
Eisei looked embarrassed. “Even so, do you really need to ask a favor from a little girl like that, master?” It seemed like Eisei couldn’t bear the way Jusetsu spoke to the emperor as if he were an equal—no, as if she were his superior.
“No one can order the Raven Consort to do anything. That’s what makes her special. Who am I to break a rule that has been in effect for generations?” Koshun hated breaking the rules. He believed that reason was to be respected, and both benevolence and righteousness were to be observed.
“You take these things far too seriously, master,” Eisei grumbled.
The corners of Koshun’s mouth turned up slightly. “Word has it that the walls of the Yamei Palace are painted black because they’ve been soiled with the blood of those who tried to harm the Raven Consort. Did you know that, Sei?”
Eisei scowled, almost as if he could smell the blood himself.
Koshun patted his chest. The jade earring was inside his breast pocket.
“Well, what do we do now?”
Koshun had to get Jusetsu to accept his request, even if it meant appeasing her.
After all, it was likely something that only she could help him with.