Eighth Arc: What Relationship Does the Wagtail Priestess Want with the Golden Eagle Emperor?
Chapter Seventy-Three: Turning a Blind Eye
AFTER the summer festival, Sekirei Palace was swamped with work. We fulfilled our duties in ceremonies on the current emperor’s Accession Day and the previous emperor’s Remembrance Day, but that wasn’t all: we also had to manufacture the skin care products that traveling merchants had ordered in preparation for their journeys to other nations. And as if that weren’t enough, we still had to attend to our more menial, routine assignments such as housekeeping and administration, and so on.
The court ladies immediately delved into the mountain of tasks upon returning from their holiday. They tackled their jobs enthusiastically, and none of them ever voiced even a single complaint about the workload.
One afternoon, a maid approached me. “Lady Sai, it is time to head to the imperial court.”
I nodded. “The business meeting, right? I’ll get ready.”
I passed on the message to the lady-in-waiting in charge of the matter and to the guard who would accompany us, a subordinate of Lord Yukinari. Then I left a step ahead of them on a rickshaw. I preferred the vehicle over the palanquin since it was faster and more mobile, and required only one runner to pull me around.
Such transportation hadn’t originally existed in the imperial palace, and once, in a hurry, I had crafted one by magically combining a wagon, chair, and umbrella lying around in the garden. It had begun as a hasty stopgap whipped up on the spot. Later, I adjusted the design based on information from my previous life, and furniture makers had since further upgraded it to the final version. It came in very handy whenever I wanted to zoom across the palace complex.
As I rattled aboard the rickshaw, I placed my hand over the earrings vibrating at my throat—I had pinned the gift onto the collar of my clothes the night before. I had accepted the earrings without a second thought, and after a better look at them, I had realized that they were the type that required pierced earlobes. Most adult men and women had ear piercings in Orient, including the emperor. He must have assumed that I did too.
When I reached the room we had prepared for the discussion, I saw Suzuiro inside. She had arrived long before me and neatly arranged the items our clients had ordered as well as a display of select sample products. Suzuiro had an excellent eye for beauty, and whenever I left setup to her, she transformed our wares into an elegant exhibit of colors and shapes. She was an invaluable assistant.
“Ah!” She perked up. “Lady Sai, everything is ready!”
“Thank you. The merchant and the supervising court lady haven’t arrived yet, so shall we take a small break?” As we spoke, the maid that had been assisting Suzuiro promptly prepared refreshment.
I noticed Suzuiro’s gaze on me while we enjoyed our chilled, refreshing cups of tea. She was staring hard at my collar. Ah. I figured she would notice immediately.
“Hey, my lady, if I’m not mistaken… Did you get those from a certain accessory shop?” She told me the shop’s name, and indeed, it was the right place. As the daughter of a wealthy merchant, she had a vault of knowledge about such matters.
I nodded. “I’m surprised you recognize it.”
“The main branch’s primary work is actually making mizuhiki and silk embroidery dedicated to clergy, but on the side, the craftsmen occasionally sell their stuff in an accessory booth at festivals. All the accessories are one of a kind, so they’re super popular.”
“I see…” I glanced down at the earrings. “That makes sense, since their wares are gorgeous and of excellent quality.”
“Why are they pinned to your collar?”
“Well, you see…” I pinched my earlobes for emphasis. “I don’t have pierced ears.”
“Ohhh!” Suzuiro nodded to herself. “Huh, you really don’t have any! I’m surprised!”
“Does everyone have pierced ears in Orient?”
“Pretty much, yes! Some people pierce their ears after their coming-of-age ceremony; some people do it when they get their first job… Every family has a different tradition, but most people get it done during an important rite of passage!”
“I see. So it isn’t done on one specific occasion, huh?”
“Yep! I haven’t gotten my ears pierced yet either!”
I blinked. “Is there a reason for that?” Suzuiro’s face abruptly turned cherry red. I had never seen such an expression on her before. “Miss Suzuiro…?”
“I-It’s nothing! It’s still too early for me!”
“I…see?” Maybe she doesn’t want to talk about it. I decided to leave the topic at that.
“By the way,” she asked, “were those a present from someone?”
Suddenly I was the one flustered. “Huh?!” My voice shook. “Ah, um…” I couldn’t meet her eyes. “Does it…look like a present?”
“Hee-hee-hee…” She cackled triumphantly. “That’s a ‘yes’! I guessed right!” She puffed out her chest and made a “V” with her fingers.
My mind resorted to escapism. The peace sign… I did it once without thinking, and somehow it became the hottest trend among the court ladies.
My thoughts were a jumble as I put a hand to my forehead. Someone help me. “How did you figure that out?”
“Well, you sometimes wear jewelry that other people give you, and most of it is either promotional items from merchants or priestess ornaments that you received from the clergy, right?”
“Yes, pretty much…”
“I can recognize accessories that don’t fit those categories with one look!”
“H-How?”
“Because I’m a daughter of a merchant family! My eyes are instantly drawn to new or unfamiliar things! And also because I know everything about you, Lady Sai!”
“That…means I can’t hide anything from you…”
“Exactly!” She nodded proudly. “Now then, my lady…” Almost hawklike, her eyes glinted with curiosity as she edged closer to me. “Please! Tell me! Who did you get them from?!”
“U-Um… Weeell…”
“Ah!” she gasped. “That reaction means it was definitely a man…!”
“Uhhh… I, um…” I had enough common sense to know that I couldn’t tell her the truth—that the emperor had visited a street stall and bought a one-of-a-kind accessory specially for me. I inched backward, and Suzuiro nudged forward.
“Teeell me…” she whined.
“Um…”
“Pleeease?”
“Ummm…”
She was relentless. Eventually, my back was against the wall. Her eyes were shining as she exclaimed, “Come on! Please tell me! Who is this mystery man?!”
“Weeell… I received it from, um…a certain man…”
“A! Certain! Man!”
“Um, I don’t want to cause him any trouble… Sorry, I’ll have to keep his name a secret…”
Suzuiro let out a loud squeal.
Panicking, I hushed her. “P-Please keep it down!”
“Yes, of course!” She thumped her chest with her fist in a “you can trust me” gesture, but her voice was still deafening. “I swear I’ll never tell another soul about the existence of a man who’s intimate enough with you to give you presents in private!”
“Y-Your voice is, um, echoing…”
“You like him back, right?”
“Huh?” I croaked out.
She froze. “Huh?”
Suzuiro hadn’t even hesitated before making that assumption, whereas I was reduced to a stuttering mess. She was blinking her large eyes at me in consternation.
“Does that mean…you don’t like him…?” She sounded as if she was asking a perfectly normal question.
I was at a loss. “‘Like’ is…well… I mean, he is a special person to me, but my affection for him is more out of respect and reverence…”
“That’s wonderful! He’s someone you both admire and love!” she gushed, completely oblivious. She flashed me an innocent smile as she offered me her blessing. “After all, only a man with a good personality is worthy of you! If the person you end up with doesn’t treat you well, my lady, I would drown in tears!”
She was ecstatic. Knowing her, I suspected she was fantasizing about an amorous man wooing an infatuated woman. Yet whatever love story she was cooking up in her head, I was certain that she was totally off mark.
“Please tell me his name one day!” she begged.
I need to end this conversation before I let something slip. I could only grant her a feeble nod and a promise. “I…will…”
✦ ✦ ✦
🐦🐦🐦
THE business meeting went smoothly, the merchant indicating interest in our new products and the prospect of another bulk order the following year. If everything continues to be smooth sailing, Sekirei Palace will earn enough to independently sustain itself by next year.
I had returned to Sekirei Palace and was sorting through documents when I sighed. “Should I not have worn them? Would hiding them be wiser?”
I removed the earrings from my collar and weighed them in the center of my palm. I admired them for a while, then, after a moment of indecision, I pinned them at my neck once again. “But…I don’t want the gift to go to waste.”
The emperor had chosen an accessory from a street vendor—not anything fancy or sacred—so he probably wanted me to wear them often. He knew that I avoided donning expensive articles whenever I could.
That being said… Suzuiro wasn’t going to be the only one who came to such conclusions. Others might gossip as well upon spotting them. And though Suzuiro was a tight-lipped girl, unfortunately, she had a rather loud voice. Sorry for thinking that. Even if she didn’t intend it, I was willing to bet that everyone would soon hear that I had accepted a gift from a mysterious man.
“Maybe I should put them away until I pierce my ears. I should try to stop the rumors, at least.”
Contrary to my words, I didn’t have it in me to tuck the earrings into a drawer. I stared at the window. A while back, the emperor had visited me as I worked, and we had sat down together to eat steamed red bean buns.
The chair was still there. The emperor wasn’t.
I hadn’t seen him at all since the summer festival. We hadn’t met for probably over two weeks. In the absence of any summons to be his nightly companion, he had suddenly become a distant person out of my reach. Technically, I had audiences with him in an official capacity as the Wagtail Priestess, yet those occasions allowed only for his fleeting presence. He presided on his faraway throne, the bamboo blinds in front of him like an insurmountable wall between our worlds.
No. This distance is how it should have been in the first place. It’s abnormal for a mere priestess like me to be permitted to enter the bedchambers of the divine descendant of Amawashi. It’s unthinkable that we should lean in and talk so closely that I feel his warmth and his breath on my skin. Comparatively, our past relationship seems far more absurd than how things stand now.
Yet. The longer we were apart, the more I missed his gentle, husky voice, his ash-blue eyes framed by long lashes…
“Will I…ever have the chance to talk to him again?”
I cast my gaze in the direction of Kita Palace, the emperor’s residence. The day counter was still going—I hadn’t received his summons that day either.