Chapter 1:
Reirin Switches Bodies
“I…WHAT?” the accused murmured in disbelief.
Tousetsu gave a derisive snort at Reirin’s—no, “Shu Keigetsu’s” reaction. “Don’t play dumb with me. In a fit of irrational jealousy, you took advantage of the moment we were distracted by the shooting stars to push the helpless Lady Reirin from the pagoda. All those present heard you disparage her as an ‘accursed woman.’”
“I…” She did recall that.
Indeed, Reirin had heard Keigetsu yell as much as she closed in, her hair flying in all directions. Moments later, she’d felt the flash of the comet’s light burning her up from the inside out, and before she knew what was happening, she’d found herself crouching on the spot. And then, on the edge of her fading consciousness, she’d heard what sounded like “Reirin” screaming and something hitting the roof.
In other words…that was the moment Lady Keigetsu and I switched bodies. As unbelievable as it was, that was the only explanation she could come up with.
Her hands clutching the iron bars, Reirin thrust herself toward Tousetsu. “Um, I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but I’m—”
However, the moment she attempted to finish that sentence with “Reirin,” to her great dismay, she felt the air rush from her lungs. Again and again she tried to say her name, but each time, her voice vanished into thin air. Reirin was at a loss.
What’s going on?!
She tried to communicate that she wasn’t Shu Keigetsu, if nothing else, but her lips refused to form the name. And not just the name—any words that could have described her situation, like “switched places” or “different person,” failed to form a sound in her throat.
Drawing her own conclusions as to why Reirin kept opening and then closing her mouth, Tousetsu scowled in disgust. “Do you mean to tell me you meant her no harm? How laughable that you can’t even manage a decent excuse.”
It appeared that Tousetsu held “Shu Keigetsu” in the utmost contempt.
How do I tell her I’m Reirin?
Hit with a flash of inspiration, Reirin raised her voice. “Tousetsu! I know you like sweets. You’re especially fond of moon cakes. Red bean paste is your preferred filling. Horse mackerel is your favorite fish. You have a low tolerance for alcohol, which makes things hard when your position so often calls for social drinking with the bureaucrats. Isn’t that right?”
Her idea was to recite facts only the two of them would know. Surely Tousetsu, who was known for her intelligence and composure, would realize what was going on soon enough.
“You have one younger brother. His name is Kouyuu. The age difference is just right to make him the apple of your eye. Oh, I believe he was the same age as me! That’s why, not long after you first began to serve me in the Maiden Court, you asked me to think of you as an older sis—”
“Silence, you rotten witch,” Tousetsu interrupted her. Her voice was immeasurably darker than the one she’d been using only moments ago.
Reirin gulped. “Tousetsu?”
“I never want to hear you…an impudent sewer rat like you, without a scrap of beauty or talent or decency to your name, emulate Lady Reirin! Let me tell you something: I’ve already heard about how you snuck into her room and stole her diary a few days ago.”
Reirin was taken aback by her court lady’s harsh tone, but even more so by what she was saying. I don’t even have a diary!
Tousetsu continued to fume, heedless of Reirin’s consternation. “She came clean to us about your theft in spite of the awful fever racking her body. ‘I didn’t report it sooner so as not to worry you, but I fear Shu Keigetsu might use clues from my diary to hurt those close to me or perhaps even sway them to her side. It wouldn’t be right to keep quiet about it any longer,’ she said.”
At that, the court lady gave Reirin a look that could kill. “Did you think that if you read her diary and imitated her mannerisms, you could turn yourself into Lady Reirin?! Well, you were sorely mistaken!” she roared.
“What?!” Reirin was baffled.
But I am Reirin!
As ridiculous as it sounded, there was a good chance that “Reirin’s” body currently housed the soul of Shu Keigetsu. Her actions—that is, plotting to keep anyone from finding out that “Shu Keigetsu’s” true identity was Reirin herself—suggested no small amount of malice. In other words, this switch had been no freak accident, but something she had orchestrated in order to take Reirin’s place.
“For a grimy rat like yourself to even envy the lovely, wise, benevolent Lady Reirin, one who graced our land like a celestial maiden in the flesh, is the height of arrogance.”
“A celestial maiden?! Erm, I’d say that’s going a bit too—”
“You dare ridicule a soul as pure as Lady Reirin’s, you sewer rat?!”
“Yes, ma’am! I’m a sewer rat!”
There was no understating the authority in Tousetsu’s tone—or rather, the intensity of her love for her Maiden. It was enough to make Reirin parrot back her insult in the heat of the moment.
What to do? Her loyalty is blinding her to her mistress’s predicament…
Given how rarely she showed emotion on her face, Reirin had taken Tousetsu for the levelheaded sort, but it seemed she was quite enamored of her mistress. Or perhaps it was Reirin’s frail constitution that led her to see the girl in such an idealized light.
“E-excuse me…”
“In accordance with the laws of the inner court, suspects like yourself are to undergo the Lion’s Judgment. Your victim, Lady Reirin, is to stand witness. Yet, in her own words, she has no desire to watch something so distasteful as the spatter of your foul blood… How sensitive and compassionate she is.”
“Are you sure that’s the appropriate reaction…? I mean, uh, nothing!”
“Consider this Lady Reirin’s mercy. You’re free to swallow it.”
While Reirin was still reeling from this heated display of loyalty, Tousetsu thrust a small pill before her. It didn’t take much imagination to figure that it was poison.
“Um…”
“I’ve already spoken to the guards. The Lion’s Judgment will begin within the hour. By the time this candle goes out, I implore you to reflect on your sins and bring your own life to an end.”
Delivering that final line in her usual mild tone, Tousetsu removed the candle from its stand, handed it to Reirin between the gaps in the bars, and turned swiftly on her heel.
Having accepted the offered candle on reflex, Reirin furrowed her brow in bewilderment. “I’m to die for the crime of hurting myself?”
How ironic was that?
“Hee hee… Aha ha ha! Serves you right!”
That was when she heard a resounding burst of laughter.
“Huh?!”
Reirin lifted her head in surprise—but no, the voice had to have come from somewhere right beside her. She glanced around, almost disbelieving, and there in the flickering flame of the candle was none other than the smiling face of “Kou Reirin.”
“Surprised? This is the art of the flame mirage. Fire is the faithful servant of our Shu clan. With enough concentration, any flame can manifest the image of the practitioner.”
“The practitioner? Are you a cultivator who’s mastered the mystic arts? No, before that…” She’d asked out of sheer surprise, but as she wet her lips, Reirin reconsidered her question for the girl reflected in the flames. “Are you…Lady Shu Keigetsu?”
“Yes, that’s right. Though I’ve become ‘Kou Reirin’ now,” Keigetsu answered without a moment’s hesitation. She then twisted Reirin’s face in a smirk. “And you’ve become ‘Shu Keigetsu,’ the big bad villainess who tried to murder her. How are you liking the Maiden Court’s dungeon? With all the rats and bugs crawling around, your average girl would lose her mind in a matter of hours.”
“Why would you…?” Reirin murmured before she could stop herself.