Tamamo no Mae is the Most Perfect Sinner

"..."

Hearing her husband's words, Minamoto no Raiko's expression immediately turned serious.

She lowered her voice so that only Abe no Taishin could hear, and then began to answer him.

"Husband... do you know what you just said?"

"How could anything have happened to the Emperor?"

Minamoto no Raiko wasn't arguing for the sake of arguing.

She had her reasons.

As the highest authority in all of Kyoto, if anything happened to the Retired Emperor Go-Toba, it would inevitably cause a huge upheaval.

The various interests involved behind this were definitely not something that could be explained in a few words.

Although Minamoto no Raiko didn't think her husband would say something like that without reason, she couldn't believe the claim that something had happened to the Emperor.

After all, everything was calm and peaceful right now.

Abe no Taishin certainly understood this point as well.

So he wasn't in a hurry to explain.

Instead, he waited until Minamoto no Raiko finished denying everything before slowly explaining.

"My lady, I know you can't believe what I'm saying."

"But—"

"If we look at the entire situation in Heian Palace, this is the only possible outcome."

Listening to Abe no Taishin's explanation, Minamoto no Raiko became even more confused.

"Husband, what do you mean by that?"

"It's a very simple principle." Abe no Taishin's gaze fell on Fujiwara no Tokuko, who was still conversing with the assembled officials.

"There must be a reason for doing anything."

"For example, I fell in love with my lady because my lady has done so many things for me."

"Similarly, the roads and plants we saw outside earlier, laid out according to Onmyōdō, were of course made that way for some special reason."

"If you wanted a 'dead person' to stay in the 'realm of the living', who in Heian-kyō do you think would deserve such treatment?"

"..."

Combining what had been mentioned earlier, Minamoto no Raiko quickly understood Abe no Taishin's words.

"Husband, are you referring to the Emperor?"

"Yes, my lady."

Abe no Taishin knew that Minamoto no Raiko was following his line of thought, so he gave her a slight smile.

"Then—"

"Does my lady understand why this would be done?"

"...To avoid causing unrest." Minamoto no Raiko's answer came naturally.

Since the Emperor's death would cause turmoil throughout Kyoto,

Then—

Let him not die for the time being.

In this way, naturally, no turmoil would be triggered.

"As expected, my lady is very experienced in this area, understanding what I'm saying so quickly."

Abe no Taishin didn't hold back his praise.

"Then my lady must also understand why this situation is being maintained, right?"

"..."

Minamoto no Raiko looked towards Fujiwara no Tokuko, who was exercising power in place of the Emperor.

"Is it because the Empress wants to become regent?"

Just like Abe no Taishin had said at the beginning.

There must be a reason for doing anything.

If Fujiwara no Tokuko wanted to become regent,

Then the death of Cloistered Emperor Go-Toba was something that had to be covered up.

Then, by continuously acting as regent like this, power would slowly transition into her hands.

Realizing this, Minamoto no Raiko couldn't help but gasp.

"Husband."

"Is this the reason you wanted to see the Emperor?"

"Yes." Abe no Taishin nodded.

"Although everything seems reasonable, it's ultimately just my own speculation."

"If I could see the Emperor, I could confirm whether the Onmyōdō formation within Heian Palace was truly set up for him."

"If it is—"

Abe no Taishin didn't continue speaking.

But Minamoto no Raiko had already understood the rest of the sentence.

"Then we must find a way to expose all of this."

Their gazes met, and their thoughts achieved perfect alignment at this moment.

"Husband, then let's try to go later," Minamoto no Raiko said.

Abe no Taishin nodded.

"Yes, my lady, you and I think the same way."

"But in that case, we'll need a good reason."

"Husband, you can rest assured about that."

Minamoto no Raiko said while smiling slightly.

"I've already thought about what to do."

Abe no Taishin wasn't surprised by this answer.

After all—

His lady's political skills were incredibly formidable.

[You waited for the end of the court council.]

[This waiting time was not long.]

[You soon reached the time to withdraw from the court.]

Abe no Taishin and Minamoto no Raiko exchanged a glance, both knowing it was time for them to act.

After the officials withdrew, the two once again came before Fujiwara no Tokuko.

"..."

The veiled Fujiwara no Tokuko looked at the Minamoto couple before her.

"What is it?"

"The time for the court council should have ended, right? You should know that this is not a good time to come looking for me."

Although there was no explicit reprimand, the tone was enough to indicate that Fujiwara no Tokuko didn't want to see the two of them.

However—

Minamoto no Raiko wasn't afraid at all.

Although she was a virtuous and obedient wife at home,

As the Minamoto clan's representative in public, when she needed to be firm, Minamoto no Raiko would also stand as a blade, showing a sufficiently resilient side.

"Reporting to the Empress."

"Your subject is of course aware that now is definitely not a good time to trouble the Empress."

"But—"

Minamoto no Raiko's gaze sharpened considerably.

"Your subject has an important matter that requires an audience with the Emperor."

"..."

The moment the Emperor was mentioned, Fujiwara no Tokuko suddenly fell silent.

After a long time, she finally spoke.

"Then General Minamoto can tell me here... I will relay everything to him."

"No."

Minamoto no Raiko shook her head.

"Empress, your subject must see the Emperor in person this time."

"It concerns my late father."

"..."

[You were a little surprised.]

[You hadn't expected Minamoto no Raiko to bring up her father's name for your mere speculation.]

[As a deceased general who had rendered distinguished service since the Heian period, Minamoto no Mitsunaka's name indeed carried significant weight at any time.]

[Even Fujiwara no Tokuko had to be wary.]

Looking at Fujiwara no Tokuko's hesitant expression, Abe no Taishin knew that his previous guess was at least half right.

But the next words would most likely be a refusal to allow them to see the Emperor.

After all, if she had done those things, she would probably be very guilty.

However, what Abe no Taishin didn't expect was that Fujiwara no Tokuko actually agreed directly.

"Understood."

"Since it concerns your father's matter, then I will allow you to see him."

"..."

Minamoto no Raiko and Abe no Taishin exchanged a glance, their eyes showing some doubt.

After all, according to their previous prediction, after Minamoto no Raiko made such a request, Fujiwara no Tokuko should have refused—or at the very least, shown some panic.

But at this moment, she was so calm.

This indicated that she might have already prepared herself.

But since things had come to this point,

Abe no Taishin knew he couldn't give up halfway.

Minamoto no Raiko understood this principle as well.

"Then we thank the Empress for her trouble."

[You and Minamoto no Raiko followed behind Fujiwara no Tokuko.]

[You walked through the long corridors of Heian Palace.]

[You arrived before a rather luxurious room.]

[It had extremely strict security.]

To be honest.

If it weren't for seeing Fujiwara no Tokuko leading the way in front, Abe no Taishin would have mostly thought he had arrived at some kind of dueling arena.

In the corridor leading to the room, there were a full eighteen guards standing.

They all held long swords of the same design, their expressions incredibly serious.

Coupled with the flickering lights on both sides of the wall, it presented a scene that warned strangers to stay away.

The three of them slowly proceeded under this gaze.

"We're here."

Fujiwara no Tokuko, who had reached the end, turned her head and looked at Abe no Taishin and Minamoto no Raiko behind her.

"Please both come in."

"He is here."

With a soft rustling sound, the shoji door was pushed open.

Abe no Taishin and Minamoto no Raiko followed Fujiwara no Tokuko into the room.

However, the scene before them was somewhat unexpected.

A man in his fifties was sitting at a table, holding a writing brush and writing something.

And on the side, there was a birdcage hanging on a stand, with a canary inside pecking at birdseed with its head down.

"This..."

Minamoto no Raiko looked at the scene before her, completely stunned.

After all, this was completely different from what her husband had analyzed.

But before she could figure out the situation, Fujiwara no Tokuko directly spoke.

"Go ahead, General Minamoto."

"Tell him everything you need to report."

"..."

Minamoto no Raiko turned her head to look at Abe no Taishin.

After the latter nodded slightly, she no longer hesitated.

Minamoto no Raiko had never been one to act based on lies—she did indeed have something to report to Retired Emperor Go-Toba.

[Minamoto no Raiko came before Retired Emperor Go-Toba.]

[She reported on the conflict that had existed between the Minamoto clan and the Taira clan since her father's generation.]

[Her tone was very sincere and very serious.]

[You knew that this wasn't a reason she had made up on the spot—it was something that had actually happened.]

[However, you knew that your focus of observation this time wasn't Minamoto no Raiko.]

[The person you really needed to observe was Retired Emperor Go-Toba, who was very different from your expectations.]

[You looked at him and the scene around him, and suddenly realized something.]

[Talent Grand Onmyoji+++ has been activated: You discerned the Onmyōdō formation within the Emperor's room.]

"I see."

Retired Emperor Go-Toba nodded, but the hand holding the writing brush never stopped moving.

"General Minamoto, I understand your thoughts."

"I will find time to deal with these matters."

Minamoto no Raiko could sense the perfunctory nature of this reply.

Just as she was about to say something more, Abe no Taishin interrupted her.

"Understood."

"Thank you for the Emperor's great kindness."

"The Emperor is busy with many affairs, so we will not disturb him further and will take our leave."

After saying these words, Abe no Taishin took Minamoto no Raiko's hand and directly left the room.

[You and Minamoto no Raiko left the room where the Emperor was.]

[You left Heian Palace.]

[You arrived on the streets of Kyoto outside.]

[After confirming that no one was following, you slowed your pace.]

"Husband."

"You are..."

Minamoto no Raiko looked at Abe no Taishin beside her, her head filled with the image of their hurried exit just now.

To be honest.

She was very confused.

However, Minamoto no Raiko didn't stop Abe no Taishin's actions—she believed that her husband must have had a reason for what he did.

So it wasn't until they slowed down that she spoke for the first time.

"My lady."

Abe no Taishin held Minamoto no Raiko's hand, even his breathing becoming serious.

"The Emperor is indeed already dead."

"What?"

[You explained everything to Minamoto no Raiko.]

[The calligraphy that never stopped, and the canary that wouldn't come out of its cage.]

[The Emperor's soul was fixed at a certain moment in his life.]

[The voice that spoke during the conversation with Minamoto no Raiko just now was also definitely not uttered by his own will.]

[The current Emperor is just a death puppet to prevent Heian-kyō from falling into chaos.]

"This..."

Minamoto no Raiko knew that Abe no Taishin would never talk nonsense—especially not in front of her.

"Then is the Empress behind all of this?"

Abe no Taishin shook his head, then nodded again.

"Not entirely."

"The Empress should indeed be the one who secretly ordered these things to be done to the Emperor."

"But the specific caster is someone else."

Abe no Taishin wasn't just making things up.

After all, if the Empress really understood Onmyōdō, she probably would have seen through the problem with the "fox corpse" at a glance during the previous court council.

After all, it was a fake made by him with "earth."

If she was the Onmyoji capable of laying down the formation that spanned the entire Heian-kyō, she couldn't possibly not understand these things.

This showed that there must be another Onmyoji behind Fujiwara no Tokuko.

"Then what should we do now?"

Minamoto no Raiko looked at the Grand Onmyoji beside her.

"Should we expose her immediately?"

"No." Abe no Taishin shook his head.

"My lady."

"I still don't know what's maintaining this formation—after all, using the soul of the deceased in such a way is not a simple matter."

"Even if we wanted to expose all of this, I'm afraid no one would believe us."

"Then—"

Minamoto no Raiko looked at her husband.

"Husband, what should we do next?"

"..."

"Raiko." Abe no Taishin looked at the streets of Kyoto, his expression somewhat heavy.

"I'm afraid we'll have to think about it more."

"Let's go back first."

"Many things are not suitable to be said outside."

"...I suppose so."

[What Minamoto no Raiko didn't know was.]

[The reason you wanted to return to the residence, besides the need for secrecy, was actually another reason.]

[That was Tamamo no Mae.]

[You realized that her capture was not a coincidence—because there was another Grand Onmyoji within Heian-kyō.]

[And Fujiwara no Tokuko couldn't keep the Emperor's soul imprisoned there forever.]

[After all, as time went on, it would definitely arouse suspicion.]

[She had to find a permanent solution.]

[Then—Tamamo no Mae, being a fox demon, was the perfect scapegoat.]

Because she was a fox demon, all the problems could be pushed onto Tamamo no Mae.

Because she was a fox demon, even if there were many suspicious things about the Emperor's death, it would all seem reasonable.

Because she was a fox demon, even if she bore sins she shouldn't bear, no one would speak up for her.

This was the reason why Tamamo no Mae had to enter the court.

She was the perfect sinner, and also the tribute for the Empress's regency.

Abe no Taishin couldn't even imagine what Tamamo no Mae's fate would have been at this moment if he hadn't appeared.

But he knew—

He had to tell that fox demon:

She was never some kind of impure being that brought disaster.

Only the insatiable human heart was the root of all evil.