Waka Game | Weekly Short Short Note

A poetry contest was held in the presence of the Emperor.

The theme was 'Less Than Love'.
Rumor had it that the winner would be granted the Emperor's favor.

The court ladies, whose names were known to all, let their crimson robes flutter as they recited magnificent waka poems.
Their poems were colored with elaborately crafted decorative language and brilliant metaphors, competing to catch the Emperor's eye.
The courtiers let out sighs of admiration at their skill.


Seated at the very end was a nameless, low-ranking lady-in-waiting.
Her robes were pale, her voice was faint, and she was a presence that caught no one's eye.
However, she quietly took up a brush, wrote a single poem with trembling fingers, and gently presented it.

'Though I know well that I must not speak of it, even as I gaze upon you, my sleeves tell the tale of the feelings I cannot stop.'

The Emperor kept his gaze fixed on that poem alone for a long time.

That night, the lady-in-waiting was quietly summoned.

However, from that moment on, the lady-in-waiting was nowhere to be seen.

The next morning, a single sheet of washi paper was posted on a pillar in the corridor.

'Even the Emperor, though he may pluck the flowers, does not ask their names; many loves are lost in the fragrance.'

The winner's name was never recorded, and the lady-in-waiting vanished into the bustle of the palace like a scent.

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