The shining Genji was dead, and there was no one quite like him. Niou, the third son of the present emperor, and Kaoru, the young son of Genji’s Third Princess, were both thought by the world to be uncommonly handsome. Kaoru was a constant companion of both the reigning emperor and the retired Reizei emperor. He had a mysterious fragrance around him. As he had been in doubt about his birth since childhood, he wanted to retreat from the world. Niou was his rival in everything and especially in the competition to be pleasantly scented. He looked for blossoming flowers to blend with perfumes to wear. Their characters were different. Niou was frivolous and Kaoru prudent. Everyone called them "fragrant captain" and "his perfumed highness."