The three sisters and their aunt ended up staying with the red-haired woman. The aunt, who unlike their mother and sister had never shown her face publicly, was deemed not to be recognizable as a member of the Inu clan.
"Nii-nii, are you leaving?"
The eldest of the three sisters,
Shiraha,
grabbed
Rikuson's
sleeve.
"Just a little ways away."
Rikuson could no longer remain in the Western Capital. If he stayed now, he would surely forget his mother and sister's words. He would bring harm to the people of the Western Capital. With a reluctant heart, he turned his back on the three sisters.
Rocked by the carriage, he made his way to the port.
It grated on him, but
Gyoen
was the only one who could take care of him. A thirteen-year-old child still had no means of surviving on his own. There was apparently a house in the central capital belonging to a former Inu clan family. They had just lost a child the same age as Rikuson. Their builds were similar, and the family was willing to take him in.
"Your household registration shouldn't be a problem either. I'll have them keep your name as is."
Same
rut—
that was what he seemed to be saying he wouldn't repeat.
Rikuson still couldn't forgive Gyoen. This man had said he bore some responsibility. He felt he had every right to ask why.
"Then while you were away, who from the Yang family was behind it?"
Making a troubled face,
Gyoen
murmured.
"My son, probably. Uguisu is not my child."
"...I know."
He recalled the talk about family registers and thought about it in his own way. Uguisu must have been the child his mother had been speaking of.
"So you're trying to dodge responsibility because she's not your real child?"
"More than that—none of the other children are mine either."
"What?"
Rikuson panicked. Here was a man who'd had so many wives and children.
"My body just can't produce children, you see. My first wife gave birth to Uguisu, but in the six years she was with me, she never conceived again. I'm sorry, but I tried with others too, and it didn't work either. Eventually I gave up and looked for a widowed woman who was already pregnant. A wise and strong mother agreed to raise the child as my own. We drew up papers—made an absolute contract, as businessmen do. In exchange for raising the child and providing for their future, she would keep the secret and lend me her talents. Now the family register lists the child as mine as well. A merchant who can't produce heirs just can't keep up appearances."
"Then..."
"I raised them all thinking they were my real children, and I believed every one of them thought of me as their real father. But it turned out someone knew my first wife had been a slave from Saou. They blackmailed me, saying the son was a slave too and his real father wasn't me."
All Rikuson could see was a chubby man clutching his head in anguish.
"Fortunately, it never spread. But they came to threaten me. I silenced them with a contract. They weren't certain either, so they backed down. But once you make a favorable contract with one person, you have to offer the same to all the others. I suppose I've become the kindly newcomer, Mr. Yō."
The surname Yō was probably one he'd taken after leaving the Dog clan. It was the most common name there was.
"I'd always meant to keep quiet. Take it to my grave."
But apparently that hadn't worked.
"Uguisu was looking for various merchandise on her own, separate from me. One of those was the black stone. I never expected to run into a survivor of the Wind-reading tribe there."
That was where Uguisu learned that her mother had once been a slave, and she began to question her own origins. She had apparently had vague suspicions already from not resembling Gyokuen.
The discrepancy in the black stone's output must have been because she'd heard the story from them.
"Then..."
"Yes. Her real father is probably someone from Saou.
Rei
inherited that temperament, so it's not very apparent, but these past few years, I thought their attitude toward Saou and the foreigners was different. It means they already knew."
Gyokuen spelled everything out in meticulous detail. Was it consideration for Rikuson, or did he simply want to unburden himself of the secrets he'd been carrying for so long?
"Then the one who framed the Dog clan—"
"Yes. One reason was revenge, as a member of the Wind-reading tribe."
"One reason?"
"The other reason is—"
Gyokuyou looks at Rukuson.
"I thought the Dog child was my own."
*'What a clever-looking child. May I have him as my son?'*
She recalled the exchange with her mother. Had Gyokuyou been half-serious about that? It was common enough to adopt from relatives if one had no children of one's own.
They had fabricated the story of royal blood just to eliminate Rukuson.
Her sister was a fool. If survival was the goal, her sister was far more important than Rukuson.
Why, then, had she spared Rukuson?
And why was Gyokuyou speaking of this now?
Rukuson desperately suppressed the urge to lunge at her. The carriage was apparently built so that even shouting couldn't reach the driver, but punching her wouldn't do. Throwing her out of the carriage was no good either. The wound on her ankle where Rukuson had bitten still hadn't healed. She wanted to seize an opening, but even a man like this had his uses.
*'You will protect the western lands. That is the duty of a Dog man. Use whatever you can—anyone who is useful, put them to use.'*
She recalled her sister's words. Rukuson could not die here. And to keep the western lands unharmed, he would have to go to the capital.
"So it was the capital that issued that idiotic decree."
There must be some worthless royals there. She had heard that the emperor's mother ran a puppet government from behind the throne.
"Apparently the capital didn't intend for this."
"What?"
What did that mean? That the decree had been issued by some mistake?
"The emperor's seal was on it, but the empress's—no, the empress dowager's seal was not."
So the problem was that the puppeteer's approval, rather than the puppet's, was what had been missing?
"In the capital, the emperor's health has been poor for years, and the empress dowager is advanced in age."
"On such sloppy grounds..."
"That's right. I've learned that deceiving the royals was a mistake, but the matter of the mine cannot be hidden."
"...That is—"
The Dog clan had its share of fault as well.
"Therefore, we intend to seize the mining rights."
"What?"
The fire lit in the eyes of the timid-looking, slightly pudgy man.
"The central government doesn't understand the value of coal. Over there, it would sell for a mere fraction of what it fetches here. We turn that to our advantage."
"You mean..."
"Our bargaining chip is a sloppy imperial decree. They annihilated the clan that governed the western lands. This is a grave matter."
The shrewdness of a merchant gleamed in Gyokuyen's eyes.
"I'll take you to the capital, and as the head of the Ganjū clan, I'll speak directly to the court. Since this was brought about under my seal, I bear responsibility as well."
"But then what about you? What about your family?"
He didn't know anything about that fool of a son called Uguisu, but the merchant's wife had sheltered his cousins too. Even if there was no blood relation, could a man really cast them aside so readily?
"Here, look at this."
Gyokuyen pulled a basket from beside his feet. Inside were several pigeons.
"This is why I was able to expand my business. He who controls information controls the market. Whether they string me up or wipe out my entire family, it doesn't matter. The pigeons will get word out first, and not a single one of my wives is the kind of frail thing who'd up and die easily."
He gave his drum-like belly a resonant thump.
"Still don't believe me?"
"...Not yet."
His thoughts couldn't catch up. Rikuson was still a child. He couldn't tell whether an adult was being truthful or lying.
"Then how about we draw up a written agreement?"
"What kind?"
"I'm a businessman. I'll name as my heir whichever of my children does the most to develop the western capital."
"That includes Uguisu?"
"It does. I wrote the same agreement for every one of my wives — the one who contributes most to the western capital will receive the family holdings."
Pure meritocracy. The merchant's way.
"But at the same time, it carries risk. My lifespan will inevitably be shorter than my children's. So it's entirely possible that one of them, greedy for power, might do something once I'm gone."
Rikuson thought that was exactly the sort of thing Uguisu would pull. In fact, he was already doing it.
"When that happens, I'll have that child removed. And then you'll protect the western capital."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
In the end, this just means becoming Gyokuen's successor, doesn't it?
"Now of all times, you're going to have me clean up the mess?"
"It's not cleaning up a mess. This is the fate of a man who became the wind."
"A man who became the wind, huh."
Rikuson concluded that Gyokuen was, in whatever form, the man of the wind his mother and sister had spoken of.
It was a sly, underhanded way of doing things. All Rikuson could do was accept it.
He had no choice but to acquire the cunning beneath that gentle smile.
To grind a heart like a sharp stone on a whetstone, over and over, until it was smooth and beautiful. And so that when the time came, it could become a blade sharp enough to cut through anything—
"Looks like we've arrived."
When he climbed down from the carriage, they were at a port.
There, he noticed a man moving strangely.
"A ship? No. No way—I don't want to get on!"
There was a fully grown man throwing a tantrum like a child.
"If you don't get on the boat, we can't head back. It's the first ship we've been able to board."
"But... ships, no way."
There was a man named Rakan.
"Hey uncle, what are you doing?"
Rikuson couldn't help but call out to him.
"Hm? Who are you? Some piddly infantryman."
He had completely forgotten about Rikuson.
"You're trying to get back to the capital, right? I think going by ship would be easier than overland."
Being shaken around in a carriage and being rocked on a ship were much the same, and Rikuson figured the shorter duration was preferable.
"Ugh..."
Rakan reluctantly boarded the ship.
"Uncle, I can't say I remember your face at all, but are you really going to be okay?"
"If I rose in the world, that could prove troublesome."
Rakuson wondered whether it was even possible for him to rise in rank at all, but a merchant could never go wrong by building connections with everyone.
"Well then, if I ever do rise in the ranks, hire me. I'll never forget a face, so I'd be more useful than you, Uncle."
"Mm, I'll take you up on that."
It was a lighthearted exchange, but Rakuson never imagined it would actually come true ten years later. And the man who would come to be called the eccentric strategist had long since forgotten all about it.
In the end, the Dog clan was gone. The imperial family had never admitted that the imperial decree was wrong, but a compromise must have been struck.
For one, the survivors of the Dog clan were no longer pursued.
For one, the region was still called Dog Province.
For one, it was Gyoen, a former member of the Dog clan rather than a current one, who ended up governing the western capital.
For one, the coal mines were effectively paid off in the form of hush money — unofficially, of course.
The Dog clan ultimately perished under a cloud of dishonor. Yet Gyoen must have chosen the development of Dog Province over his own pride. A man who sought the prosperity of the western lands more than anyone else was, much as it stung, a greater model for Rakuson than anyone.
Sitting in a pool of his own blood, Rakuson reflected on the past.
The current
governing office
had originally been the Dog clan's estate. And moreover, Gyokuo had turned the very room Rakuson's mother once used into her own office.
Seventeen years ago, a man died stabbed to death in the same place where he himself had committed acts of violence. It was almost too fitting to be mere cause and effect.
Had Rakuson known back when he accepted Gyoen's proposal that the man directly responsible for killing his mother and sister was Gyokuo, he never would have accepted. When he arrived at the western capital and was told that his direct superior was that man — the one most seared into his memory — he thought he would go mad.
But he endured, to honor his sister's dying wish.
When he was told he was related by blood to the Ra clan, it went beyond anger and laughter welled up inside him. The man Rakuson could never forget had not the slightest idea he even existed.
A man raised by Gyoen, however loosely. Even without a blood tie, he had the talent to bolster the western lands. What a shame he was plagued by so much inferiority.
Rather than strengthening the western lands, rather than protecting them, he meant to exploit them and invade the Sauran continent. He had intended to sever his own bloodline through this.
This was the one thing Rakuson could not overlook.
Above all, as though it had all been arranged, the stage was set far too perfectly.
Rakuson pressed the small knife he had been carrying into a farmer's hand and seized the sword Gyokuo had held.
"What's going on? What's going on?"
Rikuson stood alone in the middle of the pool of blood, visible to the people rushing to the scene.
"What—what happened?! Rikuson!"
Gyokuō's deputy asked. The others clamored in behind him. Some of the maids were shriering.
"As you can see, she was already dead when I entered. All I could do was wait for an opening and stab the intruder in the back."
"Is that true?"
The deputy leaned in to look. Every pair of eyes turned on Rikuson with suspicion.
Of course. It was only natural that Rikuson would be suspected. Everyone knew Rikuson had been treated coldly. Everyone knew Rikuson looked suspicious.
She had to handle this carefully, very carefully—
No… or maybe it would be better to be buried in the same place as Mother and Sister—
She was still turning these thoughts over in her head when—
"She was already killed when you entered the room. So you're saying you killed the intruder—is that correct?"
The voice belonged to none other than Rakan. He looked half-asleep, his monocle removed. He must have been napping. Normally, once this man fell asleep, he was nearly impossible to wake.
*It's over,* Rikuson thought.
You couldn't hide anything from Rakan. She had thought he'd be asleep by now.
"Yes."
"That's—that's right."
Rakan addressed the people around them.
"What—what do you mean by that, Grand Commandant Kan?"
"Hm? That one isn't lying. Killed the intruder. What's wrong with that? If anything, it's you lot's fault for letting the guard slip in the first place."
"Wh-what?"
The deputy was caught off guard by the sudden remark.
"I'm sleepy, so I'm going back to bed."
As the crowd murmured in shock, everyone stepped back at the words "If the Grand Commandant says so." The suspicion aimed at Rikuson vanished in an instant.
Part of her wondered if this was really okay.
At the same time, she felt a wave of relief that she could keep her promise to her sister.
"You can tell me about it later. For now, please get changed."
The adjutant addressed Rikuson.
The maid who had screamed earlier timidly held out a hand towel to Rikuson. He had seen the slender maid several times before.
"Is this part of your job,
Suzume,
my dear?"
"...How did you figure that out?"
The voice belonged to the cheerful maid, even though the face was completely different.
"With such an elaborate stage setting, I assumed someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes."
"Oh my. Was I that suspicious?"
Suzume didn't even try to deny it.
"How did you know it was me? I changed my hair color and even my eye size."
"It's the shape of your ears. You have remarkably beautiful ears, Suzume."
"My goodness, are you ogling a married woman's ears?"
The voice was Suzume's, but the timid maid act was a completely different person. She had come along with a change of clothes despite fearing Rikuson's bloodline.
"If the doctor comes in, will I be disposed of?"
Rikuson asked almost on a whim.
"The physician in charge here is Doctor Yō. He takes his work seriously, but he holds flexible views, and above all, he surely wishes for the peace of Seito. Maomao might investigate out of curiosity, though. The other two remaining physicians also seem to have their quirks, so that would have been fine too."
"I see. Then I'll make sure our paths don't cross going forward."
"Right. And while you're at it, please keep quiet about me."
Suzume slipped in a gag order as if it were an afterthought.
"I'll keep quiet, but may I ask you one favor?"
"What might that be?"
Her distinctive voice carried clearly to Rikuson's ears, yet to anyone else, her lips would barely seem to have moved. Even Rikuson himself would never have noticed had he not spent several days with her in the village. The disguise was exquisitely crafted. In truth, he had seen her several times at the office.
"Could you promptly dispose of the household registration you obtained?"
"If too much is discovered about me, dear Suzume, my head will end up rolling."
"It would benefit both of us, wouldn't it? As for the disposal—"
When he had first heard the description of the Lin Kojin, Rikuson had already had a few suspects in mind. He knew that one of them had been speaking with Suzume in her current disguise.
And so, the match was confirmed.
"The consort's true father being some nobody of unknown origin would be troublesome, wouldn't it?"
"My, it certainly would. It'd become such a dreadful hassle."
The voice held no tension, yet the expression alone was rigid. She was quite a capable spy, no doubt.
He had briefly wondered whether she might quietly erase him from the picture, but he wanted to believe that at least wouldn't happen.
There was a possibility that Gyokuyou consort's real father could be uncovered through household registers. If they investigated her mother's previous husband, or even if he was already deceased, tracing his relatives would be problematic.
"I understand why things are difficult for you, Suzume, but why does Rikuson want to dispose of the household registers?"
"There's no particular meaning behind it. It's just that if the secret of someone you've contracted with on paper comes to light, the value of the contract is lost, isn't it?"
It wasn't for Gyokuou's sake. The man who had been foolish enough to endanger the western territories. A bundle of inferiority toward Gyokuen.
The only reason Rikuson wanted to dispose of the household registers was a sense of obligation to Gyokuen, nothing more.
"Very well. I'll consult with my superior."
With that, the disguised Suzume handed Rikuson a change of clothes and went off somewhere.
"She doesn't seem to be directly under Tsukinokimi."
Rikuson wouldn't venture any further. Above all, he was now someone with a grudge to bear.
He returned to the room. Then, once he shut the door, he sank to the floor.
"Why is this happening? It was supposed to be over."
Tears spilled down one after another.
"No, it's not over yet. It's only just beginning."
He blew his nose. Like a child crying.
It was humiliating for a grown man, but today he felt as though his mother and sister were watching over him.
And regardless of what her intentions were, Rakan had shielded him.
"It wasn't a lie, but I should have known the truth."
He considered his former superior as someone who would do something so out of character.
And then—
To protect the western lands, he would have to continue living as the wind.