Though I am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court (Novel) Vol. 05

Though I am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court (Novel) Vol. 05

TESTING THE MAIDENS’ METTLE!

Three months have passed since the Harvest Festival, and the five Maidens now face the Rite of Reverence—the test that will set their hierarchy in stone. The pressure is on, and each girl has her own inner demons to contest with! Unconcerned with the rankings, Kou Reirin supports her nervous wreck of a friend, Shu Keigetsu…until the two get into a knock-down, drag-out fight! To make matters worse, an unknown force is out to sabotage Reirin. Does the indomitable Kou Maiden finally have her back to the wall?!

Series Overview: In the Kingdom of Ei, five clans put forth their maidens as imperial consorts—but only one will be crowned empress. Just when frail and beautiful “court butterfly” Kou Reirin seems poised to marry the crown prince, jealous “court rat” Shu Keigetsu steals her body! Reirin wakes up in the dungeons as the conspirator, and things look dire…or do they? Now that she’s got a robust new body, not even the looming threat of execution can stop her!

Biographical Notes:

Satsuki Nakamura is a Japanese writer who has penned multiple series, most notably the Though I Am an Inept Villainess light novels and manga.

Kana Yuki is a Japanese designer and illustrator who has worked on numerous novels, manga, and games, including Though I Am an Inept Villainess, I’ll Never Set Foot in That House Again!, and the mobile game Icchibanketsu.

Title Notes:

Winner of the top Comic Solmare 2023 prize in the Light Novel category, with popular genres of shojo/josei, fantasy, romance, court intrigue in a historical China-inspired setting, new spin on the “villainess” subgenre with body-swapping/switched identities.

Perfect for fans of My Next Life As a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior, Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter, I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again!, The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent, Thunderbolt Fantasy.

Color inserts and roughly a dozen black-and-white manga-style illustrations complement 250-350 pages of text.

This title has crossover appeal with YA audiences (rated Teen 13+).

More details on Satsuki Nakamura & Kana Yuki:

More work by Satsuki Nakamura

Satsuki Nakamura’s Twitter account

Kana Yuki’s Twitter account

Publisher’s Twitter account