🐦🐦🐦
ON our way to Kita Palace, we spotted my father in his wheelchair and Lord Raiya.
Suzuiro greeted them cheerfully. “Hello, Lord Raiya, Doctor Cutrettola. Were you visiting Kita Palace?”
“Yeah.” Lord Raiya nodded. “If we don’t go out of our way to come here, that emperor of ours will immediately start walking around recklessly.” He shrugged shoulders that were delicate for a man and shook his head with a sigh. Beside him, my father wore a wry smile.
“I see that you have chosen this form once again,” I noted.
“Mm.” Lord Raiya twirled the white ribbon tying his hair. “Was thinking that it’s about time I graduate from my child form.” Recently, he had started to spend more time in his young adult body.
Emperor Haruka had brought Lord Raiya’s accomplishments and contributions to light before the imperial parliament. Finally, he’d managed to dispel Lord Raiya’s past infamy as the Wicked Fox. If one carefully reviewed the reforms Lord Raiya had been involved in and what had happened in the years thereafter, it was clear that his policies about disaster response and establishment of a bureaucratic exam that allowed commoners to become government officials were both of great merit.
Above all else, the fact that his pupil, Emperor Haruka, had implemented many changes that profited the empire was one of the main reasons Lord Raiya was able to regain his political status. After all, the emperor had reclaimed Oriental territory, successfully established an alliance with Meridiona, and even returned the clan of the Wagtail Priestess to Orient. Although officially Lord Raiya still belonged to the Department of Print, he seemed rather busy as departments throughout the imperial court pursued his opinion.
“Where are you two heading now?” I asked.
“Naturally, I have to prepare for the wedding of my beloved daughter.” My father winked and smiled. “That aside, I can’t believe it’s not just Sai who’s getting married. Sakura’s going to wed soon too…”
“Okay, I think that’s enough, Doctor Cutrettola.” Lord Raiya sighed. “Grumbling in front of the bride is unseemly, so let’s go to the Department of Print.”
The two looked like old friends as they traipsed across the imperial grounds. Lord Raiya had been eagerly asking my father about Meridiona and Centoria of late. My father, meanwhile, apparently enjoyed learning about Orient, and he cherished his chats with Lord Raiya in between his work as a physician.
“Let’s go, Suzuiro,” I said.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” She nodded maturely. She had changed a lot in the past year. The loud-voiced girl frightened of ghosts had become one of my most reliable court ladies.
✦ ✦ ✦
🐦🐦🐦
IN front of Kita Palace, Suzuiro kneeled and bid me farewell. When I entered, I found Lord Yukinari. It had been a long time since I had last seen him and his long, calf-length hair.
“Your Majesty,” he said in greeting. “The emperor is waiting for you inside.”
“It has been a while.” I paused. “Have your wife and…young Haruiro been faring well?”
“Yes. My wife’s delivery was in winter, and it was rather hectic, but the pair have recently been wandering in the gardens more often compared to before.”
“I am very glad to hear that.”
Lord Yukinari’s voice was soft with fatherly compassion, and tenderness shone in his eyes as he murmured, “I do hope she grows up into an energetic girl just like the other Haruiro we know.”
The general was referring to Emperor Haruka’s alias when he assumed his female form, and I had to stop myself from giggling. Emperor Haruka could no longer transform into a woman.
“It is a little regrettable that we can never spend time with Lady Haruiro again,” I admitted.
“I have had enough of having a younger sister. I cannot even count the number of love letters I had to deal with.”
After parting ways with Lord Yukinari, I pressed on alone toward the emperor’s suite. The guard at the door acknowledged me with a bow, and I stepped into the room through the many layers of curtains hanging from the ceiling. When I finally pushed past the last one, I emerged into the spacious bedchamber. All the storm shutters were open and the windows ajar; beyond the railing of the balcony, I could glimpse the distant sky and sea.
A gentle breeze snuck inside, shifting the curtains. On the far side of the room, I saw Emperor Haruka.
✦ ✦ ✦
Chapter One Hundred Fifteen: Blessing the Birds Bound by Red Thread
“EMPEROR Haruka.”
“…Sai.”
His hair had grown slightly longer since that day. It fluttered as he turned to me with a soft gaze. He beckoned me with his free, right hand, and I walked forward until I stood next to him. His lone wing wrapped around my shoulders like a hug, enveloping me in his gentle warmth.
✦ ✦ ✦
Only a single wing remained, yet it had already recovered to its beautiful state. Due to the weight imbalance of his body, Emperor Haruka usually supported himself with a staff, as he was doing right then.
“The sea’s beautiful,” he murmured.
“…It is.”
And the conversation guttered out there. Seeing that I had fallen silent, Emperor Haruka caressed my cheek. “You don’t look very happy.”
“I…I am the person who made you lose your other wing. Is it really all right for me to appear before your people as empress?”
“This again?” He raised an eyebrow in exasperation. “Sai, you put your life on the line to fulfill your duty. As for me, it was only because of my wings and magic that I managed to bring you back from the other world. I mean… True, I can’t do as many things since my mana pool has decreased drastically, but…I think that’s for the best.”
He stroked my hair. During our return from the other world, my hair had reverted to its length a year before, when my house had been torched. It had only recently grown long enough for me to wear ornamental combs and hairpins.
“Thanks to my smaller mana pool, I can appear before my people without hiding my face. And after I lost my wing, the curse of Amawashi was lifted. It was a miracle—including the fact that you avoided losing your life. And of course, all miracles demand payment. If a sole wing will suffice, I will happily offer it.”
“Emperor Haruka…”
“Some god or gods determined convention and destiny according to their own desires without our knowledge or consent, and we don’t need them anymore. We can live beyond the myths, beyond our predestined ends.”
He touched my ear before inclining his forehead to mine. I wrapped my arms around him to support his body, and joy softened his features. After he lost the wing, I felt that he was even more divine and majestic than before—even more beautiful. It was almost as if he had thrown away his doubts and grief along with that wing.
“And there’s one more good thing about losing my wing,” he whispered.
“A good thing…?”
“Yeah.” His gaze was tender as he leaned in further to press his lips against mine. He clasped my hand in a firm grip. “Now you will always have a reason to accompany me during my duties instead of my staff, right? I can brazenly be with you wherever I go.”
“…I will never leave your side again.”
“Do that for me. Never leave me.”
He squeezed me tighter. I straightened and leaned fully into him, and when I looked at the sky, I felt as though we were flying together again, just like before.
And although he had forfeited a wing, we had much more freedom and happiness than when they had been whole.
The emperor had also lost his abilities as the Amawashi, so a major reform of Orient’s system of government was vital. And while the power of the Wagtail Priestess hadn’t vanished with the banishment of the Saint and had instead been inherited by my sister, that could influence our future as well. Centoria, which had almost ceased to function as a country, would eventually dissolve.
There was much to consider and no end to my anxiety and unease. But for the rest of our lives, we would support each other as husband and wife, and for some reason, that fact alone gave me the strength to look forward and press on without doubt. I wondered why.
A stronger sea breeze than all the ones before rushed into the room with a howl. What appeared to be a white powder drifted in its wake like dandelion seeds. Snow, the last memory of winter, lamenting the forgone season.
“It almost looks like sekka,” I marveled.
“Yeah… It’s almost like we’re receiving a blessing.”
“From whom, I wonder?”
“Who knows?” He shrugged. “But honestly, it doesn’t matter whether we have the blessing of the heavens or not, because I’ll reach a happy future either way. Definitely.” He cast his eyes down at the snow before smiling at me. “Let’s live long, fulfilling lives, Sai. We’ll free ourselves from our curses, our pasts, and even our destinies as we march toward the brightest, happiest future possible.”
I saw my reflection in his eyes the color of the hazy spring sky. “Yes, Emperor Haruka.” I leaned forward.
So that no deity or anyone else could overhear, I whispered my words of love directly onto the lips of my beloved golden eagle emperor.