A Century-Old Mystery

"Before the Asakuras? Do you mean that tyrant king's clan, the Doujis...?" Princess Anna wondered out loud.

"Your Highness, I'm impressed. You've learned a lot about Kasai in your short stay here." Faust beamed at the Kouku princess.

"King Asaha Douji, as we all know, became a threat to the four kingdoms. Thankfully he was unmarried so there was no direct heir to claim his throne when the Asakuras overthrew him more than a hundred years ago. There was a Kasai tradition that the heir to the kingdom should carry the royal family heirloom which was said to have been forged during the reign of the first king. Yohken Asakura wanted to give that heirloom to his son so that it would legitimize the rule of his clan. But it was nowhere to be found."

"The Douji monarch was cruel and unlovable but he was fond of one of the palace maids. There were rumors that their secret affair produced a bastard son who they hid from the whole kingdom for many years. After King Asaha was executed, the palace maid and her teenage child left without a trace. It was believed that the former Kasai king had handed the heirloom to them before the palace was taken over by the Asakuras."

"To mark the beginning of a new reign, King Yohken decided to change Kasai's symbol to his family's emblem. He had another pin made into the likeness of the lost heirloom but slightly changed the design. Any documents referencing to the Douji family heirloom were stashed and kept in the king's private library so that people would forget about it."

"And they did forget..." Princess Anna touched the gold star pin with a five pointed star engraving in the middle. "But how did it ended up in Kouku?"

"Good question, Your Highness. If King Asaha's bastard son wanted to escape, the nearest place that they can hide from the Asakuras is on the other side of the Great Spirit's River. At least that was what King Mikihisa and I suspected to have happened." Faust turned to the Kasai king who stood up to continue his tale.

"King Asaha's lover would have been afraid of the Asakuras. There was a big possibility that she and her son could have applied for work under the Kyouyamas who were clueless, of course. That way, the Asakuras can never find them since the Kouku royal family would have never invited the new Kasai rulers whom they were yet to trust."

"When I became king, I had to spend time reading books in the Kasai mini library so that I could familiarize myself about the monarchy's history. It was there where I had discovered correspondences between King Yohken's son, Yohmaru and a woman who I eventually realized was the princess of Kouku. They were love letters at first but the last ones told of her distress over her family's disapproval of their love affair."

"It was revealed to her father by someone to whom she had entrusted their secret - - - a stable boy who was newly hired along with his mother. This betrayal resulted to the young man being promoted from a lowly stable boy to a lieutenant in the Kouku army. Because of this change in his social status, he was emboldened to make advances and express his love despite the fact that the girl was also arranged with the prince of Kaminari. She rejected him for Yohmaru, of course."

"Her last letter to her lover was a plead to take her away. They were to meet at the Great Spirit's River like they frequently did at night when their relationship was discovered. The plan did not materialize since King Yohken found out about it. He had his own son thrown into the dungeons before he could do anything that would anger Kaminari and Kouku."

"The princess waited that night by their meeting place amidst the storm. Her naked body was found the next day. There were signs of strangulation around her neck and bruises on her wrists. She was clearly defiled by someone."

"The brothers of the Kouku princess and the Kaminari heir blamed it on Yohmaru despite having no concrete evidence. This led to the second war which lasted for only a short time because the Kasai prince had surrendered to prevent the destruction of his kingdom. The Kouku king had agreed not to behead the prince who was beloved by commoners but demanded that Kasai pay for the damages done and for the four kingdoms to create a treaty that we all know today.

"The Kouku king also requested that the nature of his daughter's death be erased from historical records. As a father, he felt guilty for letting the crime against his daughter go unresolve because he had put the kingdom first over her. At least, that was what the old Kasai scholar who wrote the peace treaty told me before he died."

"We know too well how stringent the treaty is. It's impeding progress to our land. We cannot share our skills and resources. We cannot visit each other's turfs to experience each other's cultures and traditions. If Kasai would be able to prove that Yohmaru did not kill the Kouku princess then perhaps we can abolish the peace treaty. It's an idea that I have shared with King Hideki Kyouyama through a common friend. We would indirectly communicate overseas away from spying eyes."

Princess Anna gasped. That would explain her father's frequent absence from the palace. She had always wondered what had caught her father's interest enough to make him stay away from Kouku for days.

"I knew it! Hideki was a traitor!" King Yuan clenched his fists. "General Tori had warned me about this potential betrayal from his king. I did not believe him at first but Hideki had brushed off reports that Kasai and Kouri are preparing to attack us. Perhaps he wanted to abolish the treaty so you can all gang up on Kaminari?!"

"Uh oh. Someone's trust issues have resurfaced," Prince Hao blurted out.

"Preposterous! My father would never do such a thing! How could you even accuse him? I thought you were long time friends?" the Kouku princess rebuked.

"Yes, we have been preparing but that's in case YOU attack us, not the other way around. You have it all wrong, you delusional old man!" King Horo Horo was red from anger. His sister and Tona were trying their best to prevent him from rushing to the other side of the throne room.

"Father, I think you have been paranoid. Anna's father just wanted peace." Prince Ren tried to explain.

"Hideki had been talking to the enemy behind my back. What part of it does not ring betrayal to you, boy?!" King Yuan raised his fist.

The Kaminari soldiers looked confused but they began eyeing their Kouku counterparts with suspicion. The Kasai palace guards had their hands over the hilts of their swords in case they were needed for reinforcement. But with whose side, they did not know yet.

Then someone in the room started laughing hysterically. Everyone shifted their attention to General Ryuuken Tori. "Pathetic..." He finally said. "I knew you had that craziness in you, King Yuan."

"What did you just say, You ungrateful creature?" The Tao king gritted his teeth.

General Tori ignored him. "I had a hard time convincing King Hideki to take up arms against Kasai and Kouri. Now I know why. The sneaky bastard had been in talks with the enemies all along. But you, King Yuan, were so easily triggered. Just a small rumor about your favorite enemies and a few spy missions to Kouri and I had you stirring up trouble. Was it not your idea that led to the Kouku Royal family's demise?"

"What is he talking about, King Yuan?" Princess Anna asked in a threatening voice. She closed her fist holding the pins so hard until her hand bled.

"Why don't you answer your future daughter-in-law's question?"

The Tao king lowered his gaze in shame.

"Father, what have you done?" Prince Ren felt coldness all through out his body.

"Ahhh... the usually loquacious king is speechless. Let me make this quick for you... Was it not you who ordered the murder of the Kyouyamas?"