This novel is the second part of the Sa arc. Don’t read this if you haven’t seen the anime series, because it’s the climax of the second half of the series.

The story starts with the scene of Chuushou (Enjun’s younger brother, grandfather of Sou, Saku, and Kokujun) discovering the slaughter of the main house, and Enjun kneeling, holding the dying body of the heir, who seemed to have liked him. Enjun never bothers to explain his actions or lack of them to anyone except for Eiki, so he just allows everyone to believe that he’s a murderer. It was a bloody age and the Sa Clan were generally considered a problem, so I guess the emperor was fine with it. Considering the Sa clan, it also makes sense he didn’t try to exonerate himself, too. It probably helped keep them all in line.

In the book, the conversation between Tei Yuushun and Sakujun is longer. (In the anime, it just seemed kind of random because we hardly knew who Tei Yuushun was, whereas in the novel he’s had quite a bit of exposition devoted to him.) We also have more explanation about Reishin’s actions, for the sake of Shuurei’s career, the only thing he’s going to do

As for Ensei’s shishou (teacher), he doesn’t like to be seen. Even though Yuushun has known him/known of him, he still hasn’t seen him, only his black-gloved hand. Master Nan (am not sure how to translate his name. You could also translate the Nan as Southern, I suppose) has also run up some debt and put it on Ensei’s tab (poor Ensei. XD), but Yuushun says he’ll help pay up. As in the anime, he knocks Yuushun out and somehow gets him out of there, after which Yuushun pretends to be Official “Yu Jun.” It’s kind of hard to disguise Tei Yuushun, though, because even though he’s not really that flashy, he does have trouble walking, and frankly, Ensei kind of messes up. (“Uh…. Why doesn’t Yu get up? Um. Uh. He can’t really… No! He doesn’t want to! Walk because he is um… very lazy! Yes, that’s it! Even though he tirelessly is doing paperwork 24/7.”) In the anime he’s just kind of randomly there because Tei Yuushun really isn’t that built up as a character.

I think Ryuuki’s competence as emperor is increasingly shown, even when he’s not on page; there’s a scene where they discuss how the emperor killed many birds with one stone by sending Eigetsu and Shuurei to Sa Province, and Shuurei notes that it will be difficult for her to keep her promise to Ryuuki and see him as “Ryuuki” and not as “the Emperor,” because with such a personage, feelings of love and friendship have a tendency to turn into awe. BTW, this is random, but also Sa Enjun did send letters to the mayors in Sa Province instructing them to gather evidence and stuff against the clan.

The conversation between Seiran and Shuurei is interesting. Seiran is extremely shaken by her saying that he is her second favorite person in the world. Exceedingly so. He has no idea how to respond to this and sits around feeling like a moron. I suppose this is one reflection of Seiran’s personality. Ensei says that his pride is higher than that of anyone he knows; I think it’s like in the opening to that Soseki book, “if you live by pride, you become confined.” Probably it is because, as Seiran reflects, that Ryuuki was the only person in the palace he truly loved, and who truly loved him, and he took on the role of “perfect elder brother,” supporting Ryuuki, and he tries to do the same to Shuurei, which is why he is adrift when she tries to support him. I can’t recall whether they go on to say this in the anime, but Shuurei reminisces about the death of her mother, and how possibly she avoids becoming closer to people because she doesn’t want to lose them.

As for Sakujun, Sub D and I were discussing whether the anime overplays his evil. As Sakujun and not as Senya, though, Sakujun in the book is pretty darn evil and creepy. Eh, I don’t think, though, that the extreme of evilness was intended to show he was wrong for Shuurei, because even had his crimes not been so extreme, he really doesn’t understand Shuurei and wouldn’t make her happy, especially with his jealousy, extreme childishness, and continual need to be entertained. Really, Sakujun compared to all the other semi-plausible suitors in the series just seems rather a wash. As a card-carrying villain fangirl I find it hard to respect him as a villain, also. Sure, he’s very effective, but his motivation is boring, because it’s…. boredom. I hope the villainy improves in the later books.

Speaking of Sakujun, there’s an amusing scene where Shuurei is telling the gang about Sakujun, and she mentions that he doesn’t put on his own shoes, to which Seiran is like “yeah, there are stupid people like that,” and Sai Shou is like “that’s such a huge waste of $$$; his servants must be happy to have such a freespending master,” and Eigetsu is like “huh? But wouldn’t it be faster to put them on himself?” And later Shuurei reveals that Sakujun shaves his legs or something, which prompts Ensei to offer a spirited defense of his beard, and then suddenly Sakujun pops up and declares that they are philosophical opposites. (Later Ensei says, when Eigetsu is surprised at how pretty Sakujun is, not to be fooled by him and that his face is the only thing good about him; and he shouldn’t follow him even if he says he’ll give him candy. Oh Ensei. XDDD) My memory of the anime is kind of bad; I remember a scene where Shuurei does go with Sakujun, but it didn’t include this much humor before it.

Even if Kokujun isn’t weak, I still thought it was dumb of him to go and decide the best course of action was to admonish his grandfather. So then he gets dumped in jail. It’s the drugs, but he then starts to think about what Sa Enjun was supposed to have done, killed off the main family. He then starts thinking it might be a good idea to kill off all the wrongdoers at the ceremony to choose a new clan head, and then someone offers him a sword and says he needs to try it out. So this makes it more plausible that later Kokujun believes he’s killed his father and grandfather, because he was already thinking murderous thoughts, and his mind is totally messed up, and he hardly even realizes what’s going on by the time Shunki comes to the rescue. Anyway, the general flow of events is quite similar. I hope we get to see Kokujun become a great leader, because he’s going to need to; as the book notes, Eiki is not immortal, so when she dies the rest of the clan is probably going to challenge him.

We get a bit more info on the incense: it seems that the perfumes were harmless individually, but if added together, could produce an addictive, mind-altering substance. But, since it required specialized knowledge, it seems likely that Sakujun’s grandmother and mother (who were from the main line and thus resented their husbands), who were wastrels, probably did not come up with the idea themselves. (Later, they’re scared of the police, and try to abscond with their bling, but end up drowning because of the weight. More angst for Kokujun.) However, again there is no hard evidence linking this to Sakujun. I can’t remember whether this was in the anime or not, but it seems beforehand, Seiran drank an antidote, and as for Sakujun, he spent his spare time building immunities to various poisons anyway (and plus, by this time, he was already dying) so he didn’t care anyway. As he dies, Sakujun reflects that although he thought he would become tired of Shuurei, he was wrong, that she was truly special to him, because the time they spent together in the mansion was filled with nothing but everyday things, but those still were fun. So, he is filled with regret, the first in his life, for totally being a nuisance to her. (DUH. This is why I say that Sakujun is an inept seducer, because honestly, he continually does things that he knows will piss Shuurei off and keep her from getting things she wants, yet he somehow thinks this will make him special to her?) Anyway, Sakujun thought that he would die without any regrets or lingering attachments, but now he is wrong. (HA HA. Okay, that was mean, although this makes me feel somewhat more sympathetic to Sakujun, because he realizes how dumb he has been, but it’s not like he feels bad about the other things he’s done).

And here’s something different: Shuurei goes off to get Eigetsu, but as Sakujun has these thoughts, a voice speaks to him, asking if him if he wants to live, and saying that it’s always been watching him, and that he is the most interesting. Then Sakujun seems to die, but I don’t think so, somehow.

(Actually, I’m curious. What if Seiran had become emperor, after surviving the war of the princes? Emperor Seien would have no reason to abstain from ruling, and Seien’s ability at both civil and military affairs was praised. The fact that the previous emperor’s reign was so bloody in the early stages does explain something quite curious, the fact that the imperial family seems to have no members except for the emperor and his children. Normally if the family has been ruling for generations, there are tons of uncles, aunts, cousins, etc. )

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