The kiln in the workshop was still faintly warm even as morning arrived. Hana retraced the events of last night as she walked down the corridor of the Mitsugetsu Tower—the lodging wing for participants on the fourth floor of the Kanro Palace. That strange smell. The lighting that swayed along the wall. She'd told herself it was her imagination, but even now in the morning, it still caught at the corner of her mind. Well, it didn't matter. Today was the first day of competition. Hana switched gears and headed toward the "Kneading Corridor" on the second floor. It was a long hallway lined with each participant's workshop. Her workshop number was twenty-three. That's what the male guide had said. The problem was—while listening to that explanation yesterday, Hana's mind had been running at nearly full capacity thinking about something else entirely. *Yakushoutsutsu*—an ancient technique of infusing the soul into ingredients through confectionery-making, affecting people's hearts and b