The Twelve Kingdoms: The Shore in Twilight

if inferring his meaning and intent from a single word. That is what it seems like to me. I'm the only one who fails to grasp the big picture that he is drawing for the rest of you. Everybody else has taken in the information in big drafts, distilled its essence, and forged on ahead while I'm still checking out my surroundings, half scared to death. I feel like a lost child left at the side of the road."
    "I don't think we all automatically grasp every point His Highness wishes to make."
    "Do you really think that's the case?"
    "Most likely. There is plenty about the way His Highness approaches things that I don't understand. But if that is the tack that he chooses to take, then I'll consider it good enough for me for the time being."
    "So you are able to trust his word and follow." There was a touch of sadness in Kaei's voice, accompanied by the echoes of faint misgivings.
    "Not that exactly. I don't mean to suggest that I trust unconditionally. I'm afraid I'm not making myself clear, but His Highness and I are different."
    "Different?"
    "The first time we met, I thought to myself: This is what it means to be cut from a different bolt of cloth. I mean, we simply looked at the world with different eyes. His is a view of the world that people like myself can't really comprehend."
    Kaei sunk into her thought for a minute. Then suddenly lifted her head as if struck by a thought. "I knew that the reign of King Kyou would not be a long one. And yet I still could not push my thoughts beyond the world I saw right in front of me. Similar to that, you mean?"
    "Yes, like that. I hate to admit it, but I found myself in the same boat. I knew that King Kyou would not rule for a great many years. Tai would fall into chaos. Outlaws and brigands would lead the kingdom into tyranny. I could see that far into the future. But my mind wouldn't reach beyond that point. I didn't even feel the necessity of thinking beyond that point. And worse, I couldn't grasp that that was something I should be thinking about."
    "I understand."
    "Observing His Highness in action, I think to myself: Yes, that's it. The ship of state was listing badly and taking on water. That being the case, then the human resources should be mustered to man the pumps. Cultivating that kind of manpower and installing where it is needed takes time. I have realized that, mourning your kingdom's fallen state, you must prepare to raise it up. But at the time those thoughts never entered my mind. Such lassitude amazes me even now. I could hear the bells tolling, but could not imagine that they ever tolled for me."
    Kaei nodded. "But it was apparent to His Highness."
    "That is what I believe. That's the difference between us. My mind couldn't reach that far. My thinking was insufficient. But I'm not saying what I really mean. I would like to believe that, given the opportunity, I would have come to the same conclusions. However, it was an opportunity I simply wasn't prepared to seize."
    Risai nodded to herself and continued. "That's what I try to remember when I cannot see for myself the objective His Highness is aiming at. I trust that His Highness can see that which I cannot. If I sensed clear doubts or obvious faults, I would object as well. But I don't have those doubts or sense those faults. That's what comes to mind at those times when I lack understanding. That's what allows me to condone his actions. And when I see the results, I'm confident everything will become clearer and I'll see the end from the beginning."
    "I see," Kaei said with no great certainty, again looking at Risai with anxiety in her eyes. "But do you think the Taiho agrees as well?"
    Now she is cutting close to the bone, Risai thought. "That's--"
    "I only know that if and when word of the forthcoming troubles reaches the ears of the Taiho, it will wound him deeply. Isn't proceeding anyway and sending the Taiho off to a foreign kingdom nothing more than a strong-arm tactic? What if the Taiho knew that a purge would be underway while he was abroad? It's not just the existence of a purge that would cause him pain. Will not the fact that he could do nothing, that he could make no appeals for compassion or clemency, leave the deepest scars?"
    Risai fell into silence. Thinking about this from Taiki's point of view, the feeling came to her that he would blame himself for failing to do anything. And at the same time, if he realized that he was being sent abroad to keep him from doing anything, that would hurt