# E4 - An Imperial Council
Source: [Crunchyroll](https://www.crunchyroll.com/watch/G50UZ0DDQ/an-imperial-council)
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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
**[00:02] Nazukihiko**
An Imperial Council is the most
powerful gathering in Yamauchi,
**[00:06] Nazukihiko**
limited to royalty and
select members of the Four Houses.
**[00:10] Nazukihiko**
Only the Kin'u can convene one.
**[00:13] Nazukihiko**
Meaning someone has
put His Majesty up to this...
***SIGN*** Purple Hall
**[00:17] Nazukihiko**
...in an attempt to disinherit me.
**[00:21] Genya**
So in short, the selection of
the crown prince 10 years ago was flawed?
**[00:27] Genya**
Is that what you're getting at, Shoin?
**[00:31] Shoin**
Just so.
**[00:32] Genya**
And you hope to prove that *now*,
with His Highness absent?
**[00:38] Shoin**
The former kin'u and the priests
named His Highness heir to the throne.
**[00:44] Shoin**
But immediately afterward, His Highness
left Yamauchi on the pretext of study.
**[00:49] Shoin**
Thus, neither the Four Houses nor
even His Majesty, the present kin'u,
**[00:55] Shoin**
ever ratified the decision.
**[01:01] Akira**
Nonsense!
**[01:02] Akira**
His Highness is a true kin'u.
What more does he need?
**[01:06] Toru**
Some say the birth of a kin'u
heralds troubled times.
**[01:11] Akira**
Watch your tongue, Lord of the South!
**[01:13] Haruhito**
Now, now.
**[01:14] Haruhito**
I have heard that old saying,
**[01:17] Haruhito**
but such disagreements
may portend worse to come.
**[01:23] Shoin**
Then, perhaps we should
revisit the choice of heir.
**[01:27] Akira**
So that's your game.
**[01:29] Akira**
I wonder whose interests it serves.
**[01:32] Shoin**
Still your beak!
**[01:34] Shoin**
As Imperial secretary,
my words are His Majesty's.
**[01:39] Rokon**
Why, Your Highness.
**[01:42] Rokon**
You seem to have arrived a bit late.
**[01:46] Nazukihiko**
Rokon.
**[01:47] Nazukihiko**
Were you ordered to stop me?
**[01:50] Rokon**
Surely you jest?
***SIGN*** Natsuka's bodyguard
Rokon
**[01:52] Rokon**
Lord Natsuka would never
command such a thing.
**[01:55] Rokon**
Not that he would need to. This door
has already been locked from the inside.
**[02:07] Nazukihiko**
Open.
**[02:09] Shoin**
Now, let us vote on—
**[02:18] Shoin**
What is this?
***SIGN*** YATAGARASU
***SIGN*** The Raven
Does Not
Choose
Its Master
**[04:14] Empress**
The prince has not yet visited
the Cherry Blossom Palace?
**[04:17] Shoin**
Indeed.
**[04:18] Empress**
I see he has keen instincts.
**[04:21] Empress**
But no fool can serve as kin'u.
**[04:25] Empress**
Do you not agree?
**[04:28] Shoin**
Yes, Majesty.
**[04:28] Empress**
I mean to recall Natsuka to worldly life
and ensconce him as crown prince.
**[04:34] Empress**
To that end, we must disinherit
the Prince at any cost.
**[04:40] Empress**
For the Southern House.
**[04:50] Yukiya**
*What was that about just now?*
**[04:53] Yukiya**
*This is creeping me out.*
**[04:56] Yukiya**
*There's Lord Natsuka.*
**[04:58] Yukiya**
*And behind the screen...*
**[05:00] Yukiya**
*Is that the current Kin'u?*
**[05:04] Nazukihiko**
Scheming behind my back.
**[05:07] Nazukihiko**
Shoin, everyone knows
who lurks behind you.
**[05:12] Nazukihiko**
That saves me some trouble.
**[05:19] Nazukihiko**
Your Majesty, you must realize
after what just happened.
**[05:23] Nazukihiko**
Two kin'u bring disaster to Yamauchi.
**[05:27] Nazukihiko**
You were a stopgap, so to speak.
**[05:29] Nazukihiko**
Now I have returned,
and you have served your purpose.
**[05:34] Nazukihiko**
Vacate that seat.
**[05:47] Emperor**
How...
**[05:48] Emperor**
How dare you?!
**[05:50] Emperor**
How dare you speak
to your own father like...
**[05:53] Emperor**
What do you know of me?!
**[05:56] Emperor**
Well?
**[05:58] Emperor**
What do you—
**[06:03] Nazukihiko**
Enough.
**[06:07] Nazukihiko**
I appreciate your service.
**[06:15] Nazukihiko**
See him out.
**[06:17] Page**
Your Majesty!
**[06:23] Nazukihiko**
Well, that's one problem solved.
**[06:27] Nazukihiko**
Next is—
**[06:28] Natsuka**
Don't you think...
**[06:29] Natsuka**
that was needlessly cruel of you?
**[06:33] Nazukihiko**
Brother.
**[06:34] Natsuka**
His Majesty has, after all,
governed Yamauchi for 20 long years.
**[06:40] Natsuka**
Surely you could have dealt
with him more peaceably?
**[06:44] Nazukihiko**
Really, Brother, you think of everything.
**[06:48] Nazukihiko**
Doesn't it frustrate you,
watching your foolish little brother?
**[06:53] Nazukihiko**
You must be imagining
what you'd do as crown prince.
**[06:56] Natsuka**
Perish the thought.
**[06:58] Natsuka**
I came here only out of concern for Yamauchi
as a member of the Royal House.
**[07:05] Natsuka**
If Your Highness will bring peace
and harmony as a true Golden Raven,
**[07:12] Natsuka**
then the likes of me
could never take your place.
**[07:17] Nazukihiko**
Will you swear it, then?
**[07:20] Nazukihiko**
Here and now, will you kneel,
bow your head, and pledge fealty to me?
**[07:27] Crowd**
What?
**[07:29] Crowd**
Lord Natsuka...
**[07:30] Yukiya**
*What's going on* now*?*
**[07:33] Yukiya**
*Aw, man. I want to go home to Taruhi.*
**[07:36] Atsufusa**
Please wait.
**[07:39] Nazukihiko**
Ah, Atsufusa of the Minami-omiya family.
**[07:42] Nazukihiko**
What is it?
***SIGN*** Natsuka's aide
Atsufusa
**[07:43] Atsufusa**
With all due respect, Lord Natsuka
could never practice duplicity.
**[07:48] Atsufusa**
He thinks always of Yamauchi.
**[07:51] Atsufusa**
And for Your Highness, he feels only—
**[07:52] Natsuka**
Enough, Atsufusa.
**[08:06] Natsuka**
I hereby pledge my life in service
to his beloved Majesty, the true Kin'u.
**[08:17] Nazukihiko**
That will do.
**[08:24] Shoin**
Please wait!
**[08:25] Shoin**
I do not believe anyone can claim
the Four Houses have given their assent yet!
**[08:30] Akira**
I've been telling you all along.
**[08:32] Akira**
He's a true kin'u. What more does he need?
**[08:37] Haruhito**
I see nothing particularly objectionable.
**[08:42] Toru**
Lord Natsuka pledged his fealty.
Why should the Southern House protest?
**[08:49] Toru**
Let His Highness ascend
to the throne without qualms.
**[08:53] Genya**
I wish to raise one question.
**[08:56] Nazukihiko**
Lord Genya of the North. What is it?
**[08:59] Genya**
A consort customarily
joins in enthronement.
**[09:03] Genya**
But though Your Highness
visits the pleasure quarter,
**[09:07] Genya**
you avoid the Cherry Blossom Palace.
**[09:10] Genya**
Do you truly intend to take a wife?
**[09:13] Genya**
My assent depends on your answer.
**[09:17] Nazukihiko**
Of course.
**[09:18] Nazukihiko**
I will ascend to the throne
in one year's time.
**[09:21] Nazukihiko**
I swear I will take a lady
to be my wife before then.
**[09:31] Nazukihiko**
We're leaving, Yukiya.
**[09:43] Atsufusa**
Lord Natsuka!
**[09:46] Natsuka**
One year.
**[09:47] Natsuka**
Until then, no matter what...
***SIGN*** Central Pleasure Quarter
**[09:54] Yukiya**
Uh...
**[09:56] Yukiya**
Excuse me, but...
**[10:00] Yukiya**
What do you think you're *doing*?
**[10:03] Nazukihiko**
Hm?
**[10:04] Nazukihiko**
Just what it looks like:
hiring every courtesan here.
**[10:06] Nazukihiko**
This party is in your honor.
Drink as much as you like.
**[10:11] Courtesan 1**
Don't act so nervous.
**[10:13] Courtesan 1**
We're all here to welcome you.
**[10:15] Courtesan 2**
That's right.
**[10:16] Courtesan 2**
The Young Master's paying for
everything today, so let's drink up.
**[10:20] Yukiya**
I haven't come of age yet.
**[10:24] Nazukihiko**
I hear northern warriors dip their
newborns in sake instead of bathwater.
**[10:29] Courtesan 1**
Come, young sir.
**[10:31] Courtesan 2**
Let's have some fun.
**[10:32] Yukiya**
I... I need to use the lavatory.
**[10:35] Courtesans**
Oh, he's adorable!
**[10:39] Townsman 1**
Looks like a busy night
at the Watchful Moon.
**[10:42] Townsman 1**
That "Young Master" again?
**[10:44] Townsman 2**
He rented out the whole place.
Wish I had that kind of money.
**[10:59] Nazukihiko**
The lavatory is that way.
**[11:02] Yukiya**
Listen—
**[11:06] Nazukihiko**
Have four today.
**[11:11] Yukiya**
Your Highness—
**[11:11] Nazukihiko**
Call me "Young Master" here.
**[11:14] Yukiya**
Young Master, I can't believe you.
**[11:18] Nazukihiko**
Really?
**[11:19] Yukiya**
Just think about it.
**[11:21] Yukiya**
You have assassins after you,
**[11:23] Yukiya**
but here you are, living it up in this
rowdy place without so much as a guard.
**[11:27] Yukiya**
And that council, too.
**[11:29] Yukiya**
What did you do there,
except make enemies?
**[11:39] Nazukihiko**
Are you worried for me?
**[11:45] Yukiya**
Were you listening?
**[11:48] Yukiya**
Oh, fine. Suit yourself.
**[11:59] Yukiya**
The red light district looks like
a different place in the morning, huh?
**[12:19] Yukiya**
Young Master, um...
**[12:32] Ruffian 1**
Hand over that sword.
**[12:36] Nazukihiko**
What do you want? Money?
**[12:40] Ruffian 2**
Quit yapping and do what we say!
**[12:43] Yukiya**
Y-Young Mas—
**[12:44] Nazukihiko**
Very well. We'll obey.
**[12:55] Yukiya**
Lord Sumio?!
**[12:57] Sumio**
Get back!
**[13:05] Ruffian 4**
Die!
**[13:14] Ruffian 2**
We're out of luck. Retreat!
**[13:21] Sumio**
What are you after?
**[13:23] Sumio**
Tell me!
**[13:25] Sumio**
Or else you'll lose more than an arm or two!
**[13:29] Ruffian 1**
I... I was just following orders.
**[13:32] Sumio**
Whose? Speak!
**[13:34] Bandit 1**
I-It was...
**[13:39] Sumio**
Damn.
**[13:48] Sumio**
Poison.
**[13:49] Sumio**
They must have planned
to silence him from the start.
**[13:53] Sumio**
By now, the others must also be...
**[13:56] Nazukihiko**
I see.
**[13:58] Nazukihiko**
Whoever arranged this takes no chances.
**[14:01] Sumio**
If kidnapping had been their goal, such
fast-acting poison wouldn't have been used.
**[14:05] Sumio**
They wanted only one thing.
**[14:07] Nazukihiko**
My life?
**[14:13] Nazukihiko**
Yukiya?
**[14:26] Yukiya**
Your Highness.
**[14:28] Nazukihiko**
Feeling a little better now?
**[14:30] Yukiya**
I beg your pardon. I disgraced myself—
**[14:36] Nazukihiko**
Don't push yourself.
**[14:38] Yukiya**
Right.
**[14:47] Yukiya**
You know who attacked you,
don't you, Your Highness?
**[14:55] Nazukihiko**
Have you heard that Natsuka has backers?
**[15:01] (Flashback) Kiei**
Even so, court ravens who hated
to lose his wisdom organized in secret.
**[15:06] (Flashback) Kiei**
Rumor has it Lord Natsuka's mother,
the Empress, is plotting something.
**[15:13] Yukiya**
Yes.
**[15:14] Nazukihiko**
The faction has its roots in the
Southern House, the Empress's birth family.
**[15:19] Nazukihiko**
But you must have realized
when you saw the council.
**[15:21] Nazukihiko**
No one wants to take my side.
**[15:26] Nazukihiko**
Most court ravens would find it
more convenient if I died.
**[15:32] Yukiya**
That can't be.
**[15:34] Nazukihiko**
I have faced attempts
on my life since childhood.
**[15:38] Nazukihiko**
They claimed other victims.
My mother, for one.
**[15:42] Yukiya**
What?
**[15:43] Nazukihiko**
Like those ladies you saw
in the Cherry Blossom Palace,
**[15:48] Nazukihiko**
my mother came as a lady of the
Western House, her heart full of hopes.
**[15:53] Nazukihiko**
She didn't become consort,
but she was admitted as a concubine.
**[15:57] Nazukihiko**
After giving birth to
my sister, Fujinami, and myself,
**[16:00] Nazukihiko**
she became a casualty
of political scheming.
**[16:05] Nazukihiko**
To escape the assassins, I went to live
with my mother's family, the Western House.
**[16:10] Nazukihiko**
But they only used me.
I had no allies there.
**[16:15] Yukiya**
So you went abroad?
**[16:17] Nazukihiko**
Yes.
**[16:18] Nazukihiko**
The person who wrote to warn me
against the Cherry Blossom Palace
**[16:22] Nazukihiko**
must know of my history and sympathize.
**[16:26] Nazukihiko**
At this age, I've finally returned to
Yamauchi with the means to fight back.
**[16:33] Nazukihiko**
But it would be no exaggeration to call
999 out of 1000 court ravens my enemies.
**[16:41] Nazukihiko**
So tell me, Yukiya...
**[16:46] Nazukihiko**
Will you be that one in 1000?
**[16:50] Yukiya**
Huh?
**[16:52] Nazukihiko**
Become my aide.
**[16:55] Yukiya**
Your aide?
**[16:58] Yukiya**
What?!
**[16:59] Yukiya**
You mean an *aide* aide?
**[17:02] Yukiya**
Your future confidant,
on the fast track to success?
**[17:05] Nazukihiko**
Indeed.
**[17:06] Nazukihiko**
When I become kin'u,
I want you to be my right-hand man.
**[17:11] Yukiya**
Wait, slow down.
**[17:13] Yukiya**
Why would you want that?
**[17:14] Yukiya**
I'm just the blockhead second son
of a lord from the backwaters.
**[17:18] Yukiya**
Central nobles must have sons
who can think rings around me.
**[17:23] Nazukihiko**
Only you completed every task
I assigned you in the allotted time.
**[17:28] Yukiya**
Well, sure, but people in
the Center don't shift shape much,
**[17:32] Yukiya**
so I bet they borrowed horses
to fetch the water.
**[17:35] Nazukihiko**
You left the flowers you watered alone,
even when they withered.
**[17:40] Yukiya**
I mean, I figured you were comparing
water from the well and the falls.
**[17:46] Nazukihiko**
You didn't do my poetry assignments, either.
**[17:48] Yukiya**
I didn't think you needed me to.
**[17:51] Nazukihiko**
Correct on all counts.
**[17:53] Nazukihiko**
But the others panicked when the
flowers died or lost sleep writing verses.
**[18:00] Nazukihiko**
Some even hired people
to work for them in secret.
**[18:04] Yukiya**
Your Highness is no saint,
either, if you ask me.
**[18:08] Nazukihiko**
You are no blockhead.
**[18:10] Nazukihiko**
I assume you had your reasons for
that fuss at the Northern House, too.
**[18:15] Yukiya**
How else could I keep Taruhi
safe from tyrannical nobles?
**[18:21] Yukiya**
You're not a fool like
everyone says, either, are you?
**[18:26] Nazukihiko**
I don't care how others choose to see me.
**[18:32] Yukiya**
Anyway, I respectfully decline.
**[18:35] Yukiya**
Although I'm honored by the offer.
**[18:38] Nazukihiko**
Is that so?
**[18:40] Nazukihiko**
Won't you go to Unbending Reed Monastery
if I send you home in under a year?
**[18:46] Yukiya**
Huh?
**[18:47] Yukiya**
What, so you're threatening me now?
**[18:50] Nazukihiko**
Not threatening. Just reflecting.
**[18:54] Yukiya**
Now, hang on!
**[18:55] Yukiya**
How do you even know that?
You weren't at the Northern House's party!
**[18:59] Nazukihiko**
Well, I *am* a true kin'u.
**[19:03] Yukiya**
That doesn't explain anything.
**[19:05] Nazukihiko**
Yukiya, I plan to finish things
in under a year.
**[19:10] Nazukihiko**
I shall take a bride from the Cherry
Blossom Palace and ascend to the throne.
**[19:15] Nazukihiko**
But I cannot marry before
I capture those who want me dead.
**[19:21] Nazukihiko**
Right now, I need allies
I can trust without question.
**[19:28] Nazukihiko**
I am so inept, I do not blame
anyone for calling me a fool.
**[19:34] Nazukihiko**
But you know, Yukiya...
**[19:36] Nazukihiko**
I still consider myself
a good judge of people.
**[19:40] Nazukihiko**
You will never betray me.
**[19:46] Nazukihiko**
Why? Because I doubt my enemies
can offer you anything you would value
**[19:52] Nazukihiko**
more than the trust I place in you.
**[20:09] Yukiya**
Very well. I'll become your aide.
**[20:13] Nazukihiko**
Really? You accept, then?
**[20:16] Yukiya**
But like we agreed at first,
I'll take my leave after one year.
**[20:21] Yukiya**
I care about my family
and my home in Taruhi.
**[20:26] Nazukihiko**
All right. I do not mind.
At least for now.
**[20:29] Sumio**
Your Highness, I have returned.
**[20:32] Nazukihiko**
Sumio, Yukiya just agreed.
**[20:35] Nazukihiko**
He says he'll become my aide.
**[20:37] Sumio**
What? Really?
**[20:39] Sumio**
That's great!
**[20:42] Yukiya**
U-Um...
**[20:45] Sumio**
Oh, you see, we've known
each other since we were kids.
**[20:49] Sumio**
But it wouldn't look right if we got
too chummy in public, you know?
**[20:54] Yukiya**
Lord Sumio...
**[20:56] Sumio**
Just "Sumio" is fine.
**[20:58] Sumio**
Sorry I startled you.
**[20:59] Sumio**
But from now on, you're one of us.
**[21:03] Sumio**
Try not to get too uptight.
**[21:06] Yukiya**
Uh-huh.
**[21:07] Sumio**
Anyway, I'm glad that worked out.
**[21:10] Sumio**
I thought we were
cutting it close this time.
**[21:13] Nazukihiko**
Yes. The risks we ran paid off.
**[21:20] Yukiya**
Um, excuse me.
**[21:22] Nazukihiko**
Yes?
**[21:23] Yukiya**
Did you just say something
about "running risks"?
**[21:29] Nazukihiko**
You heard me right.
**[21:31] Yukiya**
So you did that on purpose,
knowing they'd attack you?
**[21:36] Nazukihiko**
Yes.
**[21:37] Yukiya**
"Yes"?!
**[21:38] Nazukihiko**
I didn't think I could convince you
unless you understood my situation.
**[21:44] Nazukihiko**
I stirred up trouble at the council,
so I expected them to make a move soon.
**[21:49] Yukiya**
You "expected"...
**[21:51] Yukiya**
Then, that whole hullabaloo was...
**[21:54] Nazukihiko**
Bait to draw out the traitors, of course.
**[21:58] Nazukihiko**
Quite effective, wouldn't you say?
**[22:00] Yukiya**
What are you, *stupid*?!
**[22:03] Yukiya**
What do you take your enemies for?
**[22:06] Yukiya**
"Bait to draw out the traitors"?
One of these days, you'll die for real!
**[22:09] Sumio**
Now, now. He didn't mean any harm.
**[22:12] Yukiya**
Huh? What difference does that make?
**[22:15] Yukiya**
He's the crown prince. There's no way
he should be taking a risk like that.
**[22:20] Sumio**
Don't worry. I know what you mean.
**[22:23] Sumio**
But he can't get things done any other way.
**[22:27] Sumio**
You'll understand sooner or later.
**[22:32] Nazukihiko**
And there you have it.
**[22:33] Yukiya**
You don't get to say that.
**[22:36] Nazukihiko**
Yukiya, you're worth 100 men to me.
**[22:40] Nazukihiko**
I'm counting on you.
**[22:43] Yukiya**
Jeez. Just for a year, okay? I mean it.
**[22:55] Nazukihiko**
Forgive me.
**[22:56] Yukiya**
You monster!
**[24:31] Narrator**
* Having accepted the post of aide*
* for only a single year,*
**[24:36] Narrator**
* Yukiya unwittingly infiltrates the Ravine*
* and witnesses a dreadful conference.*
**[24:45] Narrator**
* Who orchestrated*
* the assault on the Prince?*
**[24:49] Narrator**
*Next time: "A Purge."*
***SIGN*** A Purge
***SIGN*** YATAGARASU:
The Raven
Does Not
Choose
Its Master
***SIGN*** Illustration: Natsuki