Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court is a Japanese light novel series written by Satsuki Nakamura and illustrated by Kana Yuki. The series originated on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website in July 2020 before it was acquired by Ichijinsha. A manga adaptation, illustrated by Ei Ohitsuji, has been serialized in Monthly Comic Zero Sum since December 2020.
Set in a fictional kingdom based on Imperial China, the story follows a beloved but physically frail imperial consort candidate whose body is forcefully swapped with that of her widely despised, jealous rival. Instead of despairing over the situation, she is thrilled to finally possess a healthy, robust body and uses her unbreakable spirit to navigate the dangerous political conspiracies brewing within the palace.
An anime television series adaptation produced by Doga Kobo aired from July to September 2026, with a second cours scheduled to premiere in January 2027.
Contents
Plot
In a kingdom, there is a secluded palace where the unmarried daughters of the five great noble families are gathered and trained to become future queens. Kou Reirin, the princess of one of these families, is known as the "Butterfly" for her extraordinary beauty, elegance and kindness, while Shu Keigetsu, the princess of another noble house, is despised throughout the imperial court and cruelly nicknamed the "Court Rat". Consumed by jealousy, Keigetsu resorts to an ancient Taoist art to exchange their bodies during a sacred ceremony.
Reirin finds herself trapped inside the body of the woman everyone despises, while Keigetsu inherits Reirin's status and admiration. Unable to reveal the truth due to the spell robbing her the ability to speak about it, Reirin chooses to remain true to herself despite the circumstances. Through her kindness, dignity and resilience, she gradually transforms the Court's perception of Keigetsu, while Keigetsu comes to realize that the happiness she had always envied carries an unexpected price.
Characters
Main
Kou Reirin (黄 玲琳, Kō Reirin)
Voiced by: Manaka Iwami, Natsumi Kawaida (in Keigetsu's body) (Japanese); Brianna Knickerbocker, Rebecca Wang (in Keigetsu's body) (English)
The maiden from Kou clan who is regarded as the "court butterfly". Reirin is renowned for her beauty and her kind disposition. While she is loved by everyone, she has a frail constitution and a weak body. Despite this, she possesses a strong resolve and is quite optimistic. She is the target of Keigetsu's rage and jealousy, which ultimately leads to them swapping bodies. However, Reirin is happy to have a healthy body and is fast to adapt to the new harsh environment that "Keigetsu" has to live. She holds no anger or resentment towards Keigetsu and has been trying to become friends with her.
Shu Keigetsu (朱 慧月)
Voiced by: Natsumi Kawaida, Manaka Iwami (in Reirin's body) (Japanese); Rebecca Wang, Brianna Knickerbocker (in Reirin's body) (English)
The maiden from Shu clan who is disregarded as the "court rat". Keigetsu grew up being ridiculed by her clan's court ladies for being made the maiden out of pity by the clan's noble consort. As a result, Reirin became the target of her rage and jealousy. She secretly learned forbidden magic to swap bodies with Reirin to steal her status and reputation, but gives up her healthy and strong body in exchange for Reirin's frail body. Keigetsu later regrets her actions and apologizes to Reirin after they discover the true reason why the swap occurred.
Ei Gyoumei (詠 尭明, Ei Gyōmei)
Voiced by: Makoto Furukawa (Japanese); Kaiji Tang (English)
The 20-year-old Crown Prince of the Ei Kingdom and Reirin's cousin. He is initially unaware about Reirin and Keigetsu's body swap.
Shin-u (辰宇)
Voiced by: Yūichirō Umehara (Japanese); Aleks Le (English)
Consorts
Shu Gabi (朱 雅媚)
Voiced by: Ai Kayano (Japanese); Grace Lu (English)
The Noble Consort who is the descendant of the Shu clan and Keigetsu's relative. 22 years ago, Gabi was once the favorite of the emperor and was supposed to be the future empress until the emperor became ill and Kenshuu chose to tend him. As a result, Kenshuu became the empress instead of Gabi.
Kin Reiga (金 麗雅)
Voiced by: Kotono Mitsuishi
The Pure Consort who is Seika's aunt. She has an arrogant and manipulative personality.
Ran Hourin (藍 芳林, Ran Hōrin)
Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa
The Virtuous Consort who is Houshun's aunt. While she comes across as being nice and friendly, she actually has a smug personality.
Gen Gousetsu (玄 傲雪, Gen Gōsetsu)
Voiced by: Takako Honda
The Worthy Consort who is Kasui's aunt. She rarely shows her emotions.
Maidens
Kin Seika (金 清佳)
Voiced by: Mai Nakahara (Japanese); Emi Lo (English)
Maiden from the Kin clan. While she comes across as being graceful and refined, she can be quite calculating and judgmental.
Ran Houshun (藍 芳春, Ran Hōshun)
Voiced by: Inori Minase (Japanese); Xanthe HuynhEp. 5 credits (English)
Maiden from the Ran clan.
Gen Kasui (玄 歌吹)
Voiced by: Yui Ishikawa (Japanese); Alejandra ReynosoEp. 5 credits (English)
Maiden from the Gen clan.
Kou clan
Kou Kenshuu (黄 絹秀, Kō Kenshū)
Voiced by: Rei Igarashi (Japanese); Caitlyn Elizabeth (English)
The empress who is Gyoumei's mother and Reirin's maternal aunt. 22 years ago, Kenshuu and Gabi were close friends. However, when the emperor became ill, Kenshuu decided to tend to him despite the risks, which caused Kenshuu to become the empress over Gabi.
Kou Tousetsu (黄 冬雪, Kō Tōsetsu)
Voiced by: Farahnaz Nikray (Japanese); Mori Calliope (English)
A court lady of the Kou clan who serves Reirin. Like Leelee, Tousetsu knows that Reirin's soul is in Keigetsu's body, having learnt that the two swapped bodies. Learning the truth causes her deep regret. Despite this, Tousetsu is told by Reirin to not do anything to Keigetsu and protect her going forward.
Kou Keikou (黄 景行, Kō Keikō)
Voiced by: Yuichi Nakamura
Reirin's oldest brother.
Kou Keishou (黄 景彰, Kō Keishō)
Voiced by: Shun'ichi Toki
Reirin's second-oldest brother.
Others
Unran (雲嵐)
Voiced by: Chiaki Kobayashi
A young man who is the leader of a village.
Media
Light novel
Written by Satsuki Nakamura, Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court began publication on the novel posting website Shōsetsuka ni Narō on July 15, 2020. The series was later acquired and published in print by Ichijinsha with illustrations by Kana Yuki on December 28, 2020. As of September 2026, thirteen volumes have been released.
In March 2022, Seven Seas Entertainment announced that they have licensed the series for English publication.
Manga
A manga adaptation illustrated by Ei Ohitsuji, began serialization in Ichijinsha's magazine Monthly Comic Zero Sum on December 28, 2020. As of September 2026, the series' individual chapters have been collected into eleven tankōbon volumes.
Seven Seas Entertainment is also publishing the manga in English.
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on March 17, 2025. It is produced by Doga Kobo and directed by Mitsue Yamazaki, with Yoshiko Nakamura handling series composition, Ai Kikuchi designing the characters, and Yukari Hashimoto composing the music. The series was originally scheduled to premiere in April 2026, but was later delayed due to production progress issues, eventually airing from July 12 to September 21, 2026, on TV Tokyo and its affiliates. The opening theme song is "Sunny", performed by Milet, while the ending theme song is "Hōkiboshi" (ホウキボシ; "Shooting Star"), performed by Rokudenashi.
Crunchyroll, Hulu (United States), Disney+ (Canada, Latin America and Europe), and Netflix (select regions of Asia) are streaming the series. An English dub produced by Bang Zoom! Studios premiered on July 26, 2026.
Following the airing of the final episode of the first cours, a second cours was announced, which is set to premiere in January 2027.
Reception
Along with Jin Kizuki's Shinya Eigyō Kujiratei: Gozen 0-ji no Napolitan, the series won the grand prize in the light novel category at NTT Solmare's "Minna ga Erabu!! Denshi Comic Taishō 2023" competition in 2023. The series has 3 million copies in circulation.
In the 2022 Next Manga Award, the manga ranked seventh in the print category. In the 2023 edition of the Kono Manga ga Sugoi! guidebook, the series ranked seventeenth on the list of the top manga for female readers.