Seiran Si

Seiran Shi
File:Saiunkoku Monogatari Seiran Shi.JPG 茈 静蘭 (Shi Seiran)
First appearance	Manga Volume 1 Story 1 Anime Episode 1
In-universe information
Nickname	"Flower" of the Royal Princes Little Whirlwind
Title	Prince (exiled) Royal Guard's Captain (former) Exclusive Officer
Family	Ryuuki Shi (younger brother) Senka (father, deceased) Four brothers (all deceased) Mother (deceased) Grandfather (deceased)

Seiran Shi (茈 静蘭, Shi Seiran) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Saiunkoku Monogatari.

Personality

Seiran can be construed as an intelligent and gentle person. He often puts others' well-being before his own and can sometimes be considered as being over-protective (He once threw a boy, who was constantly hitting on Shuurei, into a river, in the middle of winter). He often keeps to himself and doesn't let anyone get too close to his mysterious past. Shuurei often goes to him when she feels concerned about something or just to have a relaxing conversation. Rather than being directly involved in their actions, Seiran prefers to support others by watching and helping from the shadows. Still, he is always ready for action when he feels that those he cares about are in danger. Even though he is often seen with an amiable disposition, he could be quite ruthless to those who put his loved ones in danger.

Background

Seiran Shi was introduced as a low-ranking army officer and the sole remaining retainer in the Kou household. Thirteen years ago, Seiran was taken in by Shouka Kou and has made a vow to spend his life repaying that kindness. He helps the Kou family by protecting them at their home, performing repairs on the family estate, and taking small guard jobs to earn money. He is very skilled in both fighting and swordsmanship.

Prince Seien

Seiran was later revealed to be Ryuuki's older brother, Prince Seien, the second oldest of the six royal brothers (all born to different mothers). He was known as the "flower" of the royal princes due to his handsome looks, kind heart, and also his physical and intellectual superiority over his brothers. At the age of 12, he decided to participate in the Palace's Annual Fighting Tournament. After Seien won the tournament, the Emperor (his father) said that he, having distinguished himself in both the scholarly and the martial arts, was worthy enough to receive their family's esteemed twin swords, Kanshou and Bakuya. He gave one of the twin swords, Bakuya, to his little brother, Ryuuki. Out of all his other brothers, Seien was the only one who treated Ryuuki with kindness.

Due to Seien's potential abilities, his brothers and other royal families grew jealous of him. It did not take long for them to view him as a threat in the race for becoming heir to the Emperor's throne. Not wanting to be just another low-level official, his grandfather, along with his mother, conspired to make him Emperor. Due to a trap by the other royal families, who wanted to do away with Seien, their conspiracy was quickly discovered. Seien, who knew nothing of the plot, and his mother were exiled for treason, while his grandfather was executed. The other royal families, who saw this as a chance to completely annihilate him once and for all, sent assassins to kill him. He killed all the assassins and survived all the attempts on his life; however, his mother was killed by an assassin. (Like Ryuuki, Seien also had a mother who regretted giving birth to one of the Emperor's children. She was a sickly person who would often tell him that she would have had a better life if she had never gave birth to him, even with her very last breath. Though Seien was unsure of his love for his mother, he expressed that he did not hate her because he is grateful for the life she gave him.)

Some time later, a mysterious man found Seien laying on the ground unconscious. Unbeknownst to Seien, this man brought him into the Satsujinzoku, a murderous band of theives in Sa Province (Brown Province). During his time in the band (who knew nothing of Seien's past), he was given the nickname Shousenpuu (小旋风), or Little Whirlwind. He also encountered a young man, Ensei Rou, who also became part of the Satsujinzoku. The two soon discovered that they could no longer allow the existence of the contemptible band of thieves and decided to destroy the band themselves. Seien left Sa Province after the conflict with the Satsujinzoku.

Kou household

After travelling away from Sa Province, he soon found himself wandering alone. As he was about to give up, a married couple, and their daughter, found a debilitated Seien lying on the snow-covered ground. This group turned out to be members of the Kou household, one of the most powerful clans in all of Saiunkoku. The married couple, Shouka and Shoukun, decided to take in Seien into their home, while their young, good-natured daughter, Shuurei, decided to take it upon herself to befriend Seien.

Since Seien did not speak at all during his initial stay in the Kou household, Shoukun gave him the name 'Seiran' (静蘭), which translates into Silent Orchid. The first time he spoke was when Shoukun blew up a medicinal soup she was concocting for Shuurei, in which Shoukun replied, "You...can speak?". He was also given the surname 'Shi' (茈), which is pronounced the same as the Emperor's family name, but has different kanji. During his stay in the Kou household, he undertook the position of retainer, doing many of the house chores himself.

Having went through many unpleasant events as 'Seien', he decided to wholly devote himself into being 'Seiran', the sole remaining retainer of the Kou household. Due to this, he did not reveal his true identity as Seien, a prince of Saiunkoku, to any member of the Kou household (Though it was later revealed that Shouka knew of his true identity beforehand, unbeknownst to Seiran).

By the start of the Saiunkoku Monogatari story, thirteen years have passed since he was taken into the Kou household.