In a dark corner of the room, far from where everyone had gathered around the balcony overlooking the garden to gaze up at the night sky, there sat a man dressed in black from head to toe. This gentleman, whose face showed not a flicker of expression in the presence of all these stunning women, was the captain of the Eagle Eyes—the officials responsible for enforcing discipline in the inner court. His name was Shin-u. Save for the calculating look in his eyes, he had been blessed with rather handsome features.
Men were forbidden to enter the inner palace; traditionally, the Eagle Eyes’ ranks were comprised of eunuchs. However, there was a good explanation as to why a man—and such an attractive one, at that—was serving as the captain of the order: He was a descendant of the emperor.
Meanwhile, his mother had been anything but a daughter of one of the five clans; as a foreign slave, she’d never stood a chance of becoming a consort. A hundred years ago, she might have been granted the position of a lower concubine, but there was no place for her in the modern incarnation of the inner court. Instead, she had been dismissed with a reward, and her son, Shin-u, had been taken in by a childless military officer and raised as a vassal. Despite demonstrating great skill in the art of war, his complicated lineage had ultimately consigned him to the inner court. On the off chance he did lie with one of the women, it would be immediately apparent if the child was Shin-u’s. Though the man’s black hair was common enough, his blue eyes were an impossibly rare sight among the people of Ei.
His role was to resolve any violent disputes that arose within the inner court and to root out any women who proved vulnerable to temptation. Several court ladies had already made advances toward him, drawn to his good looks, and been imprisoned for their trouble. Ever since, the girls had come to fear Shin-u as a ruthless executioner.
Fortunately, the cold-blooded captain of the Eagle Eyes hadn’t taken offense to their irreverent comments. His only responsibility was to crack down on serious transgressions or scandals, and he held little interest in idle gossip. As soon as the girls remembered as much, relief washed over them, and they went right back to their imprudent chatter.
“We all know that Lady Reirin is the empress’s favorite, and His Highness cares for her just as deeply. The throne is as good as hers. My Maiden even said that she’s given up on the position of empress and set her sights on becoming the Noble Consort.”
Ordered from highest to lowest, the ranks of the four consorts were the Noble, the Pure, the Virtuous, and the Worthy.
“The same goes for mine. She’d hate to take the title of the Worthy for the second generation in a row. But then again…” She broke off and cast a meaningful glance toward the balustrade. “She’s fortunate to be in the same batch as Shu Keigetsu. There’s no question who the Worthy Consort is going to be.”
The court ladies’ eyes held an unmistakable glint of disdain. The subject of their gaze was the girl standing next to Reirin, a Maiden by the name of Keigetsu.
Her hairstyle was crooked, and perhaps in an effort to offset her freckled, sinister features, she’d dressed herself in garish attire. Her embroidery left something to be desired. Never from her lips fell a pretty line of poetry, and she would clam up whenever Gyoumei went out of his way to speak to her; then the moment he turned his gaze elsewhere, she would cast a woebegone glance his way and a baleful glare at Reirin.
It was a well-known fact that Keigetsu pined for Gyoumei with his good looks, virile charm, and mastery of the pen and sword, as was it common knowledge among the court ladies that she was deeply jealous of Reirin.
“Now there’s a girl who doesn’t know her place. Her ungainly frame is the only ‘grand’ thing about her, and there’s always a sneer in her eyes—the very picture of the court ‘sewer rat’! And to think her guardian is the most prestigious of the four consorts, Noble Consort Shu! The world works in mysterious ways.”
“I heard Consort Shu chose Lady Keigetsu as her Maiden out of pity. She couldn’t turn her back on the most wretched of her relatives. The depth of Lady Keigetsu’s ineptitude speaks to the depth of Consort Shu’s compassion.”
Though it sounded like she was speaking in Keigetsu’s defense, in reality, her words bore nothing but the utmost contempt. And it was no wonder why—the Maiden had a reputation for fawning on her superiors while coming down hard on those below her. As these girls were privy to the grumblings of Keigetsu’s own court ladies, there was no one more despicable in their eyes. The nickname they had given her was the court “sewer rat.” It was a far cry from Reirin, who was extolled as the prince’s “butterfly” for her place in his good graces.
From their cloth-covered seats upon a raised section of the floor, the empress and four consorts watched over the fledgling Maidens. Even they didn’t bother to hide their sighs and sneers over Keigetsu’s boorish conduct. Discomfited, her guardian tried to redirect the conversation.
“My, do you see that? Comets. There’s even a shooting star! How auspicious,” said Noble Consort Shu. And indeed, a glance in the direction her fan pointed revealed a parade of stars leaving their trails through the night sky.
Some time ago, predictions held that this summer would mark the first sighting of a comet in hundreds of years, and the Maiden Court’s pagoda had been constructed in time to see it happen. Excitement bubbled within the crowd. Everyone was delighted that the comets’ advent had not only coincided perfectly with the night of the Double Sevens Festival but that it had even arrived with a shooting star to wish upon.
“Oh, we have to make a wish before it disappears! Though given how slowly it’s moving by, we ought to have plenty of time.”
“The big, slow one is a comet, silly! You’re supposed to make your wish on the star streaking by over there. Oh no! There it goes. Looks like I missed my chance.”
“Don’t be so sure! Here comes another one! And another!”
“Wow, that’s quite a number…”
The meteor shower grew in intensity until it looked almost like a rain of light. The onlookers devoured the sight, their breath stolen by the miraculous spectacle.
And then…
Just as a single comet in the swarm of meteors shone so brightly it nearly blotted the sky in white, there came a dull thud.
“Begone, you accursed woman!”
“Eeeek!”
That spiteful shout and the piercing cry that followed snapped the court ladies to their senses. They looked in the direction of the voices, only to find Reirin dangerously close to tumbling over the balustrade.
“Reirin!”
“Lady Reirin, take my hand!”
“Eagle Eyes! Help her!”
Gyoumei and the court ladies spun on their heels, throwing themselves out over the balustrade like a crowd possessed. Alas, their efforts were in vain, and Reirin’s hand slipped past the railing as she slammed down against the eaved roof below.
“Reirin!”
Fortunately, the long trail of her ruqun’s skirt caught on the balustrade like a lifeline, bringing her descent to a halt.
Seeing this, Gyoumei began barking orders, flames of anger burning in his calm, light-brown eyes. “Captain, rescue Reirin at once! The remaining Eagle Eyes are to take that woman—Shu Keigetsu—into custody!”
The subject of his glare was none other than Shu Keigetsu’s limp, unconscious figure, her arms left outstretched from shoving Reirin over the balustrade.