The Twelve Kingdoms: Dreaming of Paradise

clearly lost it. If Daishou had found fault with Shishou, and in the end they had come to blows—
    "No, no. Aren't the East Palace and the Koukyuu separated by walls? Kijuu can't be ridden inside the Imperial Palace, but only because of custom and protocol, not because kijuu aren't incapable of it. That means someone with a flying kijuu could skirt that obstacle quite easily. It'd be possible to approach the Imperial Palace above the Sea of Clouds and make your way into the East Palace. Even a foreign spy could pull off something like that. The walls and gates are more feel-good measures and ways of preserving people's privacy, not guaranteed no-trespassing measures."
    "Yes, that is true," Seiki said with an emphatic nod. Then his face grew grayer. "In any case, Taiho Sairin is an equal concern. We don't want something like this making her condition any worse."

Part III
    he next day, the Ministry of Heaven made the news of Daishou's demise public. Nothing was said about the cause of death. The confusion and unease deepened. For the first time in a long time, Shishou didn't attend the Privy Council in the Imperial Court that day or the next.
    Then in the evening, he suddenly showed up dead drunk in the Sesshuu Provincial Offices where Sairin ruled as Marquis, causing an uproar among the officials.
    That night, Shuka and Seiki were called to the Naiden Office of the Left.
    Eishuku was waiting there with the Minister of Heaven. He looked dead on his feet. He hadn't returned to the manse since the announcement of Daishou's death. And not just Eishuku. The Ministers of Heaven, Summer and Fall had been shuttling back and forth between the Naiden and Gaiden without a moment's rest. Their exhaustion was to be expected, but Shuka was not a little surprised by her husband's fatigued state.
    "There were a few things we wanted to ask you about, Seiki in particular."
    "Me?" said Seiki, taking his seat.
    Eishuku sat down as well, his desk between them. The Taisai and Shousai were also there in the room.
    "The day that the Taisai passed away, you apparently had a conversation with the Taiho, the King's brother."
    Seiki blinked. "With Junkou-sama—yes. We met in Shouka Park. I'd come here with a change of clothes for Eishuku-sama. We met on the way back. We chatted briefly in one of the gazebos."
    "What did you talk about?" Shuka nervously interjected. "What was on his mind? He disappeared shortly thereafter."
    "And his whereabouts remain unknown. That night he left the Sankou offices with the Taishi and Taifu and briefly returned to Kaei Palace, and then left again. According to his bodyguards, he went to Choumei Palace. As he wasn't sure when he would return, he left instructions for the gates to be closed at the appointed time. He never returned to his residence. He didn't again pass through the East Palace gates. Nobody knows where he is."
    Daishou's corpse bore the mark of a blow from a sword on his back, more than deep enough to kill a man under normal circumstances. But it was his blessing—or curse—to be a wizard. After being wounded so, he had still tried to escape and his assailant pursued him. Daishou had received six wounds of varying sizes. The one that ended his life seemed to have been delivered to his neck as he lay on the ground.
    Eishuku grimaced as he relayed this information. "Hence the inside of Choumei Manor being splattered with blood, not to mention his room and the hallways. And yet seeing all this, the Daishiba thought it a bit odd. It seemed more than a single human body contained."
    "You mean—the Taiho too—?"
    "I don't know. A carpet from the main hall is missing. It's possible that he was murdered as well and his body wrapped in the carpet and removed. Perhaps he managed to rout the assassin, and then overcome by the horror of the crime, fled himself. Or he assaulted the Taishi and then killed his accomplice to silence him."
    "How can you—!" Shuka exclaimed. "He is not that kind of person!"
    Eishuku sighed deeply. "Shuka, there have been rumors about that he bore ill will toward His Highness."
    "What?" said Shuka, her voice rising. "That's nonsense!"
    "I didn't believe them myself and gave them no credence. The word was that he was jealous of his older brother's accomplishments. With His Highness appearing to falter, he decided to take advantage and something happened. I took such insinuations to be nothing more than vulgar gossip, but now—"
    Eishuku didn't finish the sentence. He instead