The Twelve Kingdoms: Dreaming of Paradise

replace him—simply that there was no other way to stop him.
    "And once I had stopped him—in the worst way possible—my duty was done. Or so I thought. Under normal circumstances, we would be tried and convicted as traitors. Or erased from the Registry of Wizards. But do that, and as you said, there would be no one left to run the kingdom. The best I can do to make recompense is retire to my provincial palace. Do you find that so strange?"
    The Kei general only gave him a long and hard look.
    "What?"
    "Oh, nothing. The Chousai filled me in about the Royal Hou, but only the rough outlines. He left me with quite a different impression."
    "A different impression?"
    "Based on what I heard from the Chousai, I'd formed the image of a hard, cruel man. But after listening to what you had to say, I can see that it's not that simple." Sei nodded to himself. "You seem to be saying that the Royal Hou was something other than an unpardonably bad man. So perhaps that is source of your guilt?"
    "I wouldn't disagree with that." But even as he spoke, Gekkei had the feeling that Sei was saying something entirely unexpected. He still stood convicted by his crimes. But somehow "guilt" didn't quite describe what occupied his thoughts. At the same time, to deny it was indeed guilt felt like a lie as well.
    He was lost in his thoughts until Sei's words hit home again. The general said, a faint smile on his lips, "I guess I have a pretty straightforward view on life. I'm fine by whatever's best for the people. If that means taking down a king that's oppressing the people, I'm fine with that too. Our rulers exist for the good of the people, the same way soldiers like ourselves exist to fight. A soldier who can't fight should find something else to do. And if he can't admit it to himself, then his friends and officers should make him see the light. I think it's the same with kings and empresses, though it's even harder for them to face the truth about themselves."
    "I am a coward."
    "That's not what I meant. I'm from Baku Province in the Kingdom of Kei. To tell the truth, I'm a hanjuu."
    Gekkei blinked at this sudden confession. "A hanjuu? And a general?"
    "Yes. Before the reign of Her Highness, hanjuu could not serve in the government. Naturally that included generalships. As foot soldiers, yes, but they could not rise through the ranks. Yet I was appointed to the Baku Provincial Guard."
    "Despite being unable to win promotions?"
    "The Province Lord of Baku said he didn't care. The previous empress had expressed little interest in matters of government at all. Civil servants busily fattened themselves at the expense of the people. They couldn't care less what the Province Lords were up to, so neither did my liege care."
    Sei chuckled. "A bit of forgery, an unfortunate tear in the koseki record where my hanjuu status was mentioned. Nobody was bound to check anyway, my lord said. And if persons in high places did take a second look, it'd be passed off as a clerical error, or a case of mistaken identities. And if somebody got really insistent, then a little money might change hands and that'd be the end of it."
    "But—that's—"
    "Yes, doing the wrong thing for the right purpose. Letting the ends justify the means. I couldn't help questioning his character at first. But even the Baku Province Lord shrank from striking the Late Empress directly."
    A firm expression came to Sei's face. "I believe he was truly conflicted. In particular, after the Late Empress ordered that all the women be driven from the land. In one way or another, they nevertheless chose to remain. When this became apparent and the word came down to arrest and execute them, his consternation only deepened. Baku Province faces the Blue Sea, and the women to be exiled gathered in the port towns. Nobody wanted to leave. But they would be killed if they remained, and so they had no choice but look toward foreign shores. This grieved the Baku Marquis considerably, and he concocted excuses like the ships weren't rigged and there weren't enough of them. Or everybody was willing but weren't able to go all at once. Or they were just waiting their turn and these things took time. He made up excuse after excuse, all the while stiffening the defenses around the port towns. Luckily, things resolved themselves before anybody's bluff was called. But that he would go to such lengths must have meant he was resolved in his own mind."
    After this soliloquy, Sei craned his head to the side, as