The Twelve Kingdoms: A Thousand Leagues of Wind

confessed to torturing her with this knowledge. As a consequence, she had betrayed Shoukei's identity to the townspeople.
    Gekkei stepped into the room. Gobo knelt and bowed low before him.
    "Please, as you were."
    Gobo looked up at Gekkei's serene face. Gekkei said, "The princess royal will be leaving Hou. I cannot tell you where, but she will never return to Hou again."
    Of course, Gobo nodded, staring down at the ground. Of course he'd let the girl off with a slap on the wrists. She'd been hoping for Gekkei to regret the fact that he hadn't punished Shoukei severely enough and would be thrashing her on her behalf.
    "You'll be dismissed from your position as headmistress and superintendent."
    "I know that."
    "For the time being, the townspeople will not be well disposed toward you. I've arranged for you to be relocated."
    "Thank you, but I do not think that necessary."
    Gekkei examined Gobo's upturned face. "You demonstrated a remarkable concern for the girl's fate. So why did you persecute her so severely?"
    "I couldn't forgive her." Gobo averted her gaze. "Chuutatsu murdered my son. I knew that it could never make up for everything I felt, but whenever I saw her, I couldn't help but take it out on her. I'd get so angry I'd lose control of myself. But it was she who told me. She said she was the princess royal, said she didn't know anything of what her father did. I couldn't forgive that."
    "I see," said Gekkei.
    "The princess royal has responsibilities of her own to own up to, to live up to. To simply cast the past aside and beg shamelessly for mercy, that is unforgivable. She never did what she was supposed to. Around here, you forget to tend to the livestock and people go hungry. She never pulled her own weight. She'd come right out and tell you she hadn't done her part and expect you to feel all sorry for her because of how hard it was. I thought to myself, why should I let her get away with this?"
    "Of course."
    "That girl doesn't understand her guilt in all this. She still doesn't think she has anything to apologize for. Even seeing her parents killed in front of her, she still thinks it's all about her, about her suffering, about her pain. A lot of people suffered the same, but she won't admit that any of it came about because she didn't do the right thing when she was supposed to."
    "I understand how you feel, but you can't make another person feel your pain. I think we'd all be better off forgetting about Chuutatsu. Leave the past in the past. Don't you agree?"
    Gobo nodded.
    "I'm pleased you had the presence of mind to let me know what was going on. What you did constituted no crime against the townspeople. For now, though, they will bear you no little malice. So in their stead, let me offer you my sincere thanks."
    Gobo bowed her head. The tears that had run dry the day her child had died welled up and spilled onto the floor.

Chapter 18
    " I believe this is the first time we've met."
    Empress Kouko nodded to the woman entering the room. Ten days had passed since the young girl had collapsed at the gates to the Hall of Government. During that time, Kouko had met often with Suzu, and had sent orders to the relevant ministries requesting more information about this Riyou, mistress of Suibi Grotto.
    Riyou haughtily raised her head. With barely a "Hello," she strode to the large table, pulled out a chair and sat down. "I haven't been to the palace for a long time, now."
    At first glance, you would have observed the grandmotherly Kouko opposite the much younger Riyou, apparently in the flower of her youth. But, in fact, Riyou was twice the age of the Empress.
    "Feels like old times, almost. Hardly a thing has changed."
    "I have given shelter to a girl by the name of Suzu. Apparently, she had been living at Suibi Grotto."
    This brought an ingratiating grin to Riyou's lips. "For which I am grateful. Quite useless as a maid, but I do consider her a member of the family."
    Kouko sighed to herself.
    Riyou said, "And just what has she been telling you? Does the Royal Sai actually believe her? Servants never hold their master in high regard. I certainly wouldn't take anything she said at face value."
    "Suzu swears that you tried to kill her."
    "Oh, nonsense," Riyou laughed. "I certainly wouldn't on purpose. If I got tired of having her around, I'd just kick her out and be done with it. To tell the truth, I've considered doing so many times. But every time, the little brat gets down on her hands and knees and begs