Translator: Blushy
Editor: delishnoodles
She wondered if it was alright to hold his hand, since she was worried about Garan.
Garan had told her that he liked her. He also asked her to give him an answer when the Elegant Incense Gathering was over.
She wondered how Garan must have felt when he saw her with Kousho since he didn’t let it show on his face.
She liked Garan. She didn’t know if this was as a lover, but he was her closest friend, so she didn’t want to hurt him.
“Riri.”
She reached out and took Kousho’s hand when he urged her to.
She had always worried about everything alone. She was ready to die but she was afraid.
The warmth of Kousho’s hand made her feel delighted.
◊♦◊♦◊♦◊
It was dawn by the time Riri returned to the palace with Kousho and Garan.
She had missed the palace even though she had only been away from it for a short time.
She was grateful that she was able to return here.
Ryouka greeted her with tears when she entered the Fragrance Princess Palace without anyone seeing.
“Thank god you’re safe, Riri-sama…”
“I’m sorry for making you worry.”
She let Ryouka hug her. She rubbed Ryouka’s back as she cried while looking back.
Kousho and Garan were there. Kousho told Riri that Ryouka had told him about Densou Temple.
Kousho knew that Ryouka still kept contact with Mokuren.
“Please don’t punish Ryouka. I asked her to tell me where Mokuren was. She gave him information, but that information was to do with me. She didn’t reveal any important information about the palace.”
Ryouka had only done this because Mokuren had saved her mother’s life.
Her feelings were pure. Kousho sighed.
“I knew you would say that… What Ryouka did is unforgivable, but she gave us information about Mokuren because she was worried about you. I am grateful for that. So, I will overlook it this time, but she cannot contact Mokuren again. Do you understand?”
“I understand…”
She patted Ryouka’s back one more time before turning towards Kousho and Garan.
“Garan, have you done the thing I asked you to do?”
She asked the thing that had been on her mind for a while, and he nodded.
“It took a long time since Rarai wouldn’t give it to me, but I finally got it the day before yesterday. I gave it to the Ministry of Incense right away and got the results yesterday. I just checked the results, and it was just as you said.”
“Good…! I also found something in Mokuren’s hideout. I’m sure I can prove the Chancellor’s innocence with this and the results you got for me…!”
She clenched her hands and Kousho widened his eyes in shock.
“What. What are you two going on about?”
“I was going to tell you about this after I got the results. Please listen to what I have to say, Kousho-sama.”
Kousho had saved her life. She wanted to repay him by doing all that she could.
Kousho nodded puzzlingly.
◊♦◊♦◊♦◊
The next day after she had returned from Mokuren’s hideout, the Emperor and the Crown Prince, Kousho, were gathered in the reception hall, along with the Chancellor, Jin Koudoku, Rarai, Garan, Ranran and Hisui.
Riri sat at the very back. She signalled with a slight nod when she saw that everyone had gathered.
Kousho nodded back at her. He knelt and bowed his head down towards the Emperor, Ju Reibun.
“Your Majesty, thank you for giving us this opportunity.”
“Hmm. What is going on? The palace seems to be in chaos.”
The Emperor had left most of his duties to Kousho since he was in poor health, but he had heard what was going on in the palace.
“I apologise. It seems that evidence has come to light indicating that the Chancellor, Jin Koudoku, has been taking bribes.”
Kousho took out the piece of evidence. The Chancellor turned pale.
“Your Majesty! I have no knowledge of this. Someone has set me up!”
Rarai continued kneeling as he smiled unpleasantly.
“But Your Majesty, that piece of evidence is written in his handwriting and states the amount he received along with his signature. This is clear evidence of his wrongdoing. Everyone in the palace is aware of this. Please punish Jin Koudoku.”
His tone was strong. The Emperor frowned.
“I detest those who take bribes the most. You know this, Koudoku.”
His eyes were on Koudoku.
“I am aware. I would never do anything to betray you, Your Majesty. Please believe me.”
“You must not, Your Majesty. You are holding proof of his wrongdoing. You must not believe what Koudoku-sama says.”
Rarai didn’t yield. Riri looked at his back and focused her attention on her nose.
There were more than ten people in this hall, including guards and officials, so there was a mixture of scents.
But she could still discern Rarai’s scent from the others.
Rarai was probably a Dark Perfumer, but the only thing that could prove that Rarai had met with Mokuren was her super olfaction. People who know about her ability may be willing to listen to her, but it would be difficult to convince people who didn’t know. She was also afraid that she had been mistaken since she hadn’t seen him there.
Rarai would be arrested if she had reported this to Kousho, but if she was wrong, then this would give Rarai reason to attack Kousho.
She was determined to prove what she could now.
“I apologise for interrupting the conversation.”
She bowed her head and Rarai frowned.
“You are being rude in front of His Majesty.”
Kousho moved his hand as if to silence Rarai.
“I gave her permission to speak before this meeting. Please listen to what Riri has to say, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor nodded at Kousho.
“Consort Riri? Alright. Come forward.”
She bowed her head at the command, stood up and walked until she was standing before the Emperor.
The Emperor stared at her.
“Do you have something to say, Consort Riri?”
“I do. I will get straight to the point. The evidence with the Chancellor’s handwriting was forged.”
The whole room started buzzing with noise. Rarai and Ranran’s expressions changed.
“What do you mean? Do you have evidence to prove this?”
Rarai said this and then Ranran spoke up.
“I found that evidence in Consort Hisui’s room. Consort Hisui must have been taking bribes as well.”
Riri glanced at Ranran.
“That piece of paper was initially in Consort Ranran’s possession. She said that she found it in Consort Hisui’s room, but I do not believe Consort Hisui would have been foolish enough to leave it lying around. You would have had to search the room to find it, so how did you find it?”
“I…”
Ranran’s eyes widened in shock, and she started mumbling. Hisui put her hand on her chest.
“I swear by Heaven and Earth that I am not aware of that piece of paper, so it could not have been in my room.”
Ranran was intimidated by Hisui’s firm declaration.
She fell silent and Rarai took a deep breath.
“It does not matter where she got it from. That piece of paper has a Chinese bellflower watermark on it. Everyone knows that Koudoku-sama is the only person who uses this watermark. The amount he received, and his signature is also written on that piece of paper. It would be unusual for it not to belong to him. Paper with the Chinese bellflower watermark on it is custom made and you cannot get it anywhere else.”
Rarai looked elated, but Riri had already come up with an answer for this.
“You are wrong. That paper is not the one that the Chancellor usually uses.”
Rarai’s eyes widened his disbelief and he smiled when Riri pointed at the piece of paper that Kousho was holding.
“What nonsense! How can you be so sure?”
“You may not believe what I am about to say, but I have super olfaction, and can get all kinds of information from scents. The paper that the Chancellor uses is made with hemp. As many of you know, all the paper in the palace is made with hemp.”
Rarai sneered at Riri.
“So what?”
“When I first found that piece of paper, I noticed from its scent that it was not made from hemp.”
Rarai’s eyes widened in shock, but he laughed immediately after.
“So, you noticed this because of your super olfaction? But that is something only you would know. It is a bit reckless to say that the evidence has been faked just because of this.”
“I knew you would say that, so I asked General Garan to have that piece of paper examined by the Ministry of Incense. The Ministry of Incense has a new technique that will be showcased at this year’s Elegant Incense Gathering. This technique can identify the ingredients and quantity in incenses. We could use it to find out what that piece of paper is made from as well.”
She looked at Garan and he nodded.
“I talked directly to Kansou-sama, the head of the Ministry of Incense, and asked him to examine that piece of paper. I was told that it would take a long time since he had never done something like that before, but he had all the perfumers work all night long. The result was ――― that the material of the paper was definitely not hemp.”
The people in the hall were in an uproar again. Riri nodded and spoke with conviction.
“Did he perhaps also mention what it was made of?”
Garan’s eyes widened slightly as he nodded.
“Yes, Kansou-sama said that it was made from bamboo. Consort Riri’s super olfaction is indeed very reliable.”
Garan complimented her on purpose.
Everyone should be able to trust her super olfaction now.
“No way! It cannot…!”
Rarai raised his voice, but Garan glared at him.
“Do you disagree with Kansou-sama’s conclusion?”
The Ministry of Incense’s Kansou was famous for being strait-laced. The Emperor trusted him a lot and soldiers and officials alike acknowledged him. Rarai knew that it would be dangerous to provoke such a person.
Rarai bit his lip in frustration.
“Kansou-sama told me to pass this on, ‘If you have any doubts, then you can come to the Ministry of Incense’. He will explain to you how they reached this conclusion.
Garan held a scroll in his hand and presented it to the Emperor.
“This is a summary of the investigation.”