Episode 40
In the Moonlight.
En
Kankyuu
Rokusui
Fuukan...
You came...
Aren't you happy to see me?
Yeah right, you only show up before the rainy seasons.
Besides, you didn't even come here last year.
Do you have a room?
The one with a view of Mt. Shou, right?
What's so fascinating about that mountain anyway?
Although people say there's the grave of a man who committed a great crime...
It's really the grave of the director of Gen Province.
Fuukan, did you know him?
I guess it's not possible...
After all, it happened hundreds of years ago.
Being located in a place like this, customers eventually stopped coming...
Though, there were once some infamous brothels in this area.
Indeed.
As if you know!
Are you going up the mountain tomorrow?
Yes.
Kankyuu
Taiho!
Excuse me, Taiho.
Taiho!
Okay! I'll attend the conference!
Itan, Seishou, Shukou!
Stop it, already!
Chototsu the Reckless, Suikyou the Crazy, and Mubou the Thoughtless...
These three officials drag the poor Taiho...
...out of his bed and to the morning conferences...
I'm sorry to bother you.
We told them that we would wait, but...
It's not you, he's Mubou the Thoughtless.
Huh?
I was given the nickname by his Majesty.
His Majesty has given a nickname to the Taiho as well.
He is a cross between a horse and a deer, so he calls him Baka the Idiot.
I came to En to bid Rakushun farewell...
...but I thought I also wanted to speak with King En.
Where is Shouryuu?
Oh, right. He's at Mt. Shou.
Mt. Shou?
It's on one of the royal lands, the king's private property.
He goes up there by himself around this time every year.
Alone?
But I doubt he would mind if you went up there.
Why don't you pay him a visit?
What about you, Taiho?
This is the Chosai, Hakutaku.
I think you've met him before, haven't you?
Yes, during the battle with the false queen.
He also endorsed my pass back then.
There's something I have to speak of with the Chousai, so would you two go on ahead?
Sure.
Where's Keiki?
He could not leave his post.
I had the new general of the Royal Army escort me here.
I'll have a room arranged for the general.
There's no need. He's already headed to the Kingdom of Hou.
Hou?
It's been almost four years since the previous king fell, hasn't it?
There should be an interim government by now.
I heard that some general was temporarily in charge.
The Lord of Kei Province has been running the interim court.
He's been acting as a ruler, or so I've heard.
Hou
I am the Lord of Kei Province, Gekkei.
You are the envoy from the Kingdom of Kei?
I am Seishin, the general of the Royal Army.
Although this is not an official visit, I am here to...
...deliver a personal message from Queen Kei regarding an internal affair.
A personal message?
To a mere Provincial Lord from the Queen of a kingdom?
We've heard that you have been governing this kingdom.
I believe this message is addressed personally to the Lord of Kei Province...
...as well as the representative of this kingdom.
If that is the case, I cannot accept the message.
The Chousai here represents this kingdom, and will take the message.
Have you not accepted the interim rule of this court?
It is unwise for a provincial lord to become an interim ruler.
This is not an interim court.
When a ruler suffers Shitsudou or resigns and the throne becomes empty...
...the kingdom is under an interim rule until next ruler is found.
However, we rose up and killed our ruler.
"The false court" might be a more accurate description of this situation.
That would be true only if someone corrupt were to seize power...
None of us desires to become the ruler.
While I did lead the coup, I am not shameless enough to desire the throne myself.
I must not be allowed to rule after having committed such a great sin.
My lord!
I must gather my belongings.
The former ruler despised vice.
No matter how slight the sin was, he would not forgive it.
Six hundred thousand people lost their lives over petty vices.
Six hundred thousand...
Finally, Lord Gekkei of Kei Province led the ministers to revolt against the king.
Together, we deposed the ruler.
The Lord of Kei Province would accept the throne...
That's what we were hoping, however...
It turned out that the Lord of Kei never thought of taking the throne.
We have entreated him to remain in the court for these four years...
...however, this morning...
Even though the ruler is absent from the throne...
...mere officials like us have no right to run the court as we wish.
Over the course of four long years, the court has finally become organized.
Shouyou, why don't you return to your original post as the Chousai?
It is my great pleasure, I shall serve and support you as the Chousai.
Lord Gekkei, so you have finally made up your mind, sir?
Shouyou, it is your duty to maintain the kingdom in good condition...
...to be handed over to the next ruler.
There should not be an interim ruler.
There is no excuse for a provincial lord like myself...
...to remain in the court any longer.
Then why?
Why have you decided to do all this in the first place?
You rose up against the ruler to save people from tyranny, did you not?
Then why?
Why does he not wish to save the people from living in a kingdom without a ruler?
Forgive me.
No, forgive me for bothering you at such a time.
So then, I should deliver this message to you.
But...
After viewing the message, you may pass it on to the Lord at your discretion.
I am certain that her Majesty would not mind.
Also, this message may be discomforting to you, but...
And, that is...
It is a letter from one of the officials of the Kingdom of Kei to Lord Kei.
But what could an official of the Kingdom of Kei possibly want with our Lord Kei?
The official's name is Sonshou.
Princess Shoukei is in Kei?
Please wait!
The Lord of Kei was the one who was most concerned about Princess Shoukei's welfare.
I've heard that Princess Shoukei escaped from the Kingdom of Kyou.
She now serves as a courtier in the Kingdom of Kei.
At the Queen's side?
However, she is still registered as a citizen of Hou.
So she is not technically a citizen of Kei.
I have come to request a transfer of her residence to Kei.
General Seishi, are you an acquaintance of Princess Shoukei?
Yes, she aided me during the rebellion.
Princess Shoukei aided you?
Her Majesty saw her noble deeds...
...and strongly wished to appoint her as a courtier.
However, there is a rumor that she stole jewelry from Queen Kyou.
The rumor is true.
Therefore, she cannot officially visit Kyou without Queen Kyou's permission.
At this moment, another envoy is heading to Kyou.
Queen Kei has accepted her into the court, despite knowing all of this?
People do change...
...fortunately.
I am originally from the Baku Province of the Kingdom of Kei.
Actually, I am a Hanjyuu.
Until recently, Hanjyuu were not allowed to become ministers in Kei...
...much less generals.
But you were a general, were you not?
That is because the Lord of Baku Province approved.
There. You are no longer a Hanjyuu...
...at least on paper.
No one would bother to come from the royal court to investigate anyway.
He simply ignored the law.
Even so, he was very reluctant to strike down the former queen, Yo-Ou.
How can I obey a decree to exile all the women from this kingdom?
Keep the women in port.
Report to Kinpa Palace that there aren't enough ships...
...so the women are waiting for new ships in port.
But what if the royal court finds out and comes here?
She wouldn't be so reckless.
We should assemble forces to strike Kinpa Palace...
I won't allow that!
But my lord, she won't be...
When the time comes, we'll decide what to do.
Don't say anything yet.
Now I think that even if the women were to be slaughtered...
...he might not have raised an army...
I realized how serious the crime of treason was.
Yet, Lord Kei, you still have made that decision.
I knew the King of Hou, Chuutatsu, before he ascended the throne.
In all of the Kingdom of Hou...
...he was the most innocent and purest man, to the point of blindness.
He tried to build a completely pure society.
He would not allow even the slightest of vices.
However, sin persisted.
The law became stricter, and the punishment became harsher.
Someone had to stop him.
Underestimating treason...
That is a greater crime.
Knowing how great the sin was, still you made the decision.
You must have greatly cared about the people of Hou.
It is certainly not my place to say, but such a great figure deserves the throne...
No!
This is...
This is not something that is to be decided with some glib little story.
I'm sorry, but I must return to the provincial palace of Kei today.
A small sin?
Even you are going to say such a thing, Gekkei?
Once you commit a sin, you must atone for it with your life.
Were I to sin, I would accept my own death.
I wish to speak with you a little longer, so I borrowed a Sekikuu.
This is an ink stone that his Majesty gave me.
He would never reward us with jewelry...
...but with ink stones, ink, and writing paper...
Although those things are not precious by any account...
...he was not even aware of that.
I once thought of throwing it away, but I couldn't.
You respected King Hou, did you not?
The people resented his Majesty, it was only natural, yet painful.
I did not want to hate him.
To me, he was pure as fresh, white snow...
That was why...
I did not want to hate him any more...
...I killed him.
It was not for the sake of the citizens, it was personal.
It's the same thing!
To you, the ideal ruler must benefit the citizens.
And you wanted King Hou to be so.
I still cannot ascend the throne.
If I do, that will make me a usurper.
Then there will be no excuses for what I did!
Excuses?
Excuses to whom?
You must forgive me.
It's all right.
I did, in fact, want to make excuses to his Majesty.
I neither hated, nor disrespected his Majesty, much less desired the throne.
No, I wanted, at the very least, to justify it to myself.
If I ascended the throne...
...I wouldn't be able to even make excuses to myself for what I did.
Princess Shoukei would surely laugh at me if she were to see me now.
"As long as the Lord of Kei Province governs Hou..."
"...the kingdom will not fall into ruin."
So Shoukei said, and her Majesty decided to send me here.
I told you it was a civil war, but actually we instigated it.
What?
I am a sinner as well.
But, even if the sun goes down...
...and deep darkness covers the path, the moonlight will shine forth.
Why not call it a Court of the Moon?
Neither an interim court nor a false one.
If the ruler is the Sun...
...in its absence would be the moon, wouldn't it?
Living by the moonlight, and waiting for the sunrise...
I see.
I have spoken with General Seishi...
Lord Kei...
You must have been suffering a great pain.
However, I must still beg of you...
In my letter to Gekkei, I wrote how foolish I was.
I never thought about what it meant to be a princess.
As a result, my parents were put to death...
...and the innocent citizens suffered.
That is my sin.
Even after losing my position as princess...
...I never realized how I had been freed, and continued to torment myself in Kou.
I rejected Gekkei's kindness.
And I now sincerely regret it from the bottom of my heart.
I would like to send a letter to Queen Kyou.
I have heard that Princess Shoukei was already on her way to Kyou.
Yes, she intends to subject herself to the punishment of Queen Kyou.
I would request that she be merciful.
Thank you very much.
Forgive me for asking, but...
From what position do you intend to make this request?
You have a point.
A mere provincial lord...
...cannot request restraint from a ruler in the judgment of a criminal.
In that case...
I humbly request it as the ruler of Hou.
It seems that people are indeed capable of changing themselves.
Ryuu
A Kitsuryou?
Queen Kyou is apparently furious at both Queen Kei and King Hou.
It's my right to bring the criminal against Kyou to justice!
I will not accept interference from other kingdoms.
That doesn't surprise me.
And Queen Kyou continues, saying...
I will exile the princess from the Kingdom of Kyou!
From today on, she will never be allowed to set foot in the land of Kyou!
"If she is ever found in Kyou again..."
"...she will be thrown out!"
What should I do?
Get on. Let's go back to Kei.
I can't go back yet, I have to atone for my sins!
Queen Kyou has already determined your punishment.
You're free to go wherever you wish.
The Lord of Kei Province also wished to apologize to you.
Gekkei?
Why?
He said that he was going to take your father's place.
He also said he is no longer worried about you.
That is how it should be.
The citizens are waiting for Gekkei.
He said one more thing...
That he really liked your song.
You lie!
Why do you say that?
That was just a song about a doll.
The song about a doll that doesn't know she's a doll...
I hate that song now.
Why did he...
Why did he say such a thing?
I'm glad.
What are you doing here?
Enki told me you were here.
Are we interrupting?
No.
If I remember correctly, this place used to be a grave...
Quite an old one.
What made you come all the way here?
Is it Shoukou?
I cannot let those who corrupted the court go free.
I'll see that all of their illegal deals are revoked and that they're punished.
Shoukou dared the Heavens...
...to find out if I was a genuine queen.
There's no such thing as the will of the Heavens in Hourai.
That's why it was also hard for me to believe it...
So you feel as if he's being executed for your crimes.
Over there...
My other self sleeps...
I was counting the sands of time without realizing.
In a false dream I became speechless.
I would stare into the fire...
...as I swore to be true forever.
Let my prayers be heard, I will overcome hardship...
...and keep my oath until the end of the world.
When Rokuta calls out, the boy turns around.
He smiles and stands up.
The Twelve Kingdoms episode 41...
Episode 41
The God of the Sea in the East, the Mighty Ocean in the West, Chapter One
The God of the Sea in the East, the Mighty Ocean in the West, Chapter One.