The city of Unkei, which I think of as a place that mixes praise and criticism in equal measure, is a city of contradictions in the summer months.

This place—Amber Kingdom’s royal capital—is a large metropolis built around the royal castle. Though the country itself is only around 120 years old, it has a long history that surpasses even the nation’s age, being a town older than the country itself.

The city, surrounded by high walls, collects people and goods from neighboring nations. It is larger than three or four rural towns combined. On the main street, large stores with grand towers line the road, and the hustle and bustle feels like the New Year’s celebrations every day. Anyone who comes to Unkei is captivated by the grandeur of the royal capital and amazed by the merchants’ energy. Yet, sometimes, this city shows a different face.

I was reminded of this when I was working at a familiar tavern.

“Miss, this is bad… If the master finds out, he’ll be angry!”

The frantic voice of my servant, Kafuka, was ignored as I continued to climb the ladder.

Holding a large brush, my slender form became even more noticeable. With long black hair pinned in place with a hairpin, and wearing a modest, unflashy robe and jacket, I certainly didn’t look like a craftsman.

The vivid red skirt was beautiful and likely caught the eye from a distance. Even though I had tied it with a ribbon for easier work, every time I climbed a step, the large flower-patterned sleeves swayed, making me look like a daughter of a good family.

Unfortunately, real daughters of wealthy families don’t climb ladders with brushes in hand. However, when I get absorbed in my work, sometimes I forget about my appearance.

“On the sea, a bright moon shines, and across the sky, we share this moment…”

I read aloud a five-character regulated poem while writing it on the wall, using the whole space. Since the tavern entrance is busy with people passing by, many stopped to watch with curiosity, wondering if it was some sort of entertainment as I swung the large brush over the clay wall.

“The Ken Sen Tower is still doing well, huh… I heard several taverns in the lower town have closed… Some of the workers have died.”

“Last summer was really the worst.”

Among the people who came for lunch at the tavern, many complained about the recent state of Amber Kingdom. Their gossip blended with the noise, and it reached my ears.

—This is when Unkei shows its other face.

(Last summer, huh…)

I almost wanted to agree with the gossip. However, I couldn’t stop working in the middle of it. I dipped my brush into the ink pot that Kafuka held up for me, and just as I shifted my weight on the ladder…

“Natsuki, what in the world are you doing!”

My father’s angry voice echoed, and I instinctively shrank back. He was a middle-aged man with some gray in his hair, wearing the robes of a high-ranking official. It seemed he had come to the tavern for work.

“Father, what are you doing here—ah!”

As I turned on the unstable ladder, I felt it sway dangerously away from the wall.

“Miss!”

Kafuka rushed to grab the ladder, and the cry of “watch out!” from the customers echoed in the tavern.

—Just as I regretted my mistake, I couldn’t tell whether the impact of falling onto the floor or the light fragrance that suddenly surrounded me happened first. In the next moment, I was caught in the arms of a stranger.

“This tavern… Is it designed for people to fall in from the entrance?”

His tone was sarcastic, but he seemed amused, looking down at me curiously in his arms before lightly setting me down on the floor, as if I weighed nothing.

“Ah, thank you…”

Still in shock from the fall, my heart raced. However, what stunned me more was the appearance of the man who had helped me.

He was a remarkably handsome young man.

With long black hair and wearing a white robe with large sleeves—frost clothes, a style completely out of place for a tavern—he resembled a nobleman or a high-ranking official sneaking out in disguise. Even I, who normally didn’t take much interest in others, found myself captivated by his face.

“Heh heh heh… A girl falling off a ladder is amusing. It would be troublesome as part of the meal’s entertainment, though.”

(How is it that he’s saying this after I’ve thanked him?)

I tried to suppress a laugh, but I couldn’t hold it in. Just then, I noticed my father’s furious expression from behind the stranger’s shoulder, and the faint feeling I had vanished almost immediately.

“Really, what’s wrong with you… How could you…”

My father’s worry turned into anger, and his words got stuck in his throat. Grabbing my shoulder, he shook me as if trembling with rage.

“You didn’t go to the dinner with your fiancé! Zhu Dongyin says he’s breaking off the engagement! Why can’t you act like a normal girl… To top it off, you’re doing some kind of circus stunt. How could the daughter of the Lan family behave this way?! You’ll end up without a marriage partner!”

My father, Lan Sijing, looked as if he might collapse from his anger.

“I’m sorry, Father… But I’ve already turned down the dinner invitation, and I’ve told you many times that I won’t get married. Why can’t you understand?”

While lowering my head in a modest attitude, I glanced at Kafuka for help.

“Master, I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop Miss Natsuki… Well, of course, I did try to hold her back…”

It was always like this.

As someone who could only write, I felt happy when my skills were needed. I wanted to do a good job for the task I was entrusted with. But somehow, the more I tried to do my work properly, the angrier my father became, and the colder the gazes of those around me became.

(I’m always just focusing on my work, but why does it turn out like this…)

I found myself holding my head in frustration as I faced my father.

“Anyway, let’s go home. We’ll talk about this when we get back.”

“But I still haven’t finished my work…”

“The show is over, I said.”

With my father’s firm words, I reluctantly started to clean up. The onlookers probably thought the entertainment was over and went back to their previous topics.

“The king of Amber Kingdom surely doesn’t have the mandate of heaven, does he?”

“Is the drought a curse from the Tianyuan Kingdom that destroyed it?”

I only half-listened to the murmurs as I cleaned.

The people of the city, whose history stretched back longer than the dynasty itself, took pride in living in the royal capital. However, they watched the rise and fall of the dynasty with cold eyes. When the drought continued, and more people died from hunger and heat, someone would always whisper bad rumors in the shadows—that was the other side of Unkei.

Up on the second floor, the young man in the frost clothes, who had saved me, was eating his meal while listening to the gossip. Little did anyone know, not even I, that this was a god from the human world walking among us.

In this ancient city, it was not strange for gods, immortals, or even ghosts to walk through the streets, hidden in plain sight.