The episode 9 of Though I Am an Inept Villainess starts with Captain Shin-U announcing that the Empress has collapsed. The immediate concern is whether she has contracted an infectious disease, but Shu Keigetsu, currently carrying Reirin's soul, quickly identifies something far more sinister: the Empress is suffering from a curse.
The symptoms point directly toward the venomcraft that had previously been placed on Keigetsu. If the same curse is now affecting the Empress, the implications are terrifying. Reirin quickly connects the pieces and realizes that Noble Consort Shu Gabi's apparent plan was never simply about removing Keigetsu from her path. The ultimate target was always Empress Kou Kenshuu.
Reirin understands why she had unknowingly become an obstacle. After transforming the Kou Palace garden into a place filled with medicinal herbs, using pests for her experiments, and keeping the palace unusually clean, she had created an environment where venomcraft could not properly activate. Removing her from the palace therefore became an important part of Gabi's plan.
The body swap between Reirin and Keigetsu made that plan even more dangerous. If both women were eventually led to their deaths, Gabi could eliminate the obstacle while carrying out her attack on the Empress. Reirin is horrified that her aunt's life has been placed in such danger and becomes determined to stop Gabi at any cost.
The evidence that the Empress is suffering from a curse rather than an ordinary illness becomes stronger when Reirin remembers the Bow of Warding. Its string vibrations had previously eased the symptoms affecting the Kou clan Maiden. That unusual reaction could not be explained by a normal disease, reinforcing the idea that venomcraft is responsible.
Reirin immediately asks Crown Prince Ei Gyoumei to lend her the Bow of Warding again. She believes that if she can use the sacred treasure, she can purify the curse and save the Empress. Gyoumei, however, refuses. He knows Reirin's current condition is unstable and does not believe she is fit to handle such an important treasure.
His refusal hits Reirin hard. She reminds him that she has repeatedly asked him to listen to her and trust her judgment. During the Lion's Judgment, during the Ghost Festival ritual, and now with the Empress's life hanging in the balance, she feels that Gyoumei has repeatedly prevented her from doing what she believes is necessary.
Rather than continue arguing, Reirin decides to act without his permission. If Gyoumei will not lend her the bow while she is in Keigetsu's body, she intends to return to her original body first. That means confronting Keigetsu directly and forcing the body swap to end. Gyoumei chooses to protect the Bow of Warding for the moment, while Reirin rushes away.
On her way, she is intercepted by Leelee, who quickly realizes that Reirin has another reckless plan. Reirin asks her to help her get over a wall so she can reach Keigetsu. Leelee immediately recognizes that this is exactly the kind of dangerous idea Reirin tends to produce. Their exchange also reveals how deeply their relationship has grown.
Reirin worries that once she returns to her original body, she may no longer be able to remain connected to Leelee in the same way. Leelee refuses to accept that possibility. She considers Reirin her first true master and does not want their bond to disappear simply because the body swap ends.
Reirin reassures her that relationships within the Kou clan run deep. Once someone has been accepted into her heart, she will not simply abandon them. She promises to protect Leelee, the Empress, and one other person she refuses to name. The moment mixes genuine emotion with the episode's trademark humor. Leelee reluctantly helps Reirin climb over the wall, even joking about the absurdity of having to kneel so Reirin can trespass. Reirin even promises to bring her a gamboge-gold garment from the Kou clan as a souvenir.
Once separated, Reirin heads toward the Empress. Meanwhile, Gyoumei arrives at the Kou Palace and demands entry. The palace has been sealed with a talisman because of the danger surrounding the illness, and those around him warn that even the Crown Prince could become exposed. Gyoumei insists that he is not entering as Crown Prince but as a son concerned about his mother.
Then he says something that changes the situation. He asks whether Reirin came here. The question suggests that Gyoumei has finally begun connecting the clues surrounding the body swap. If the woman who has been behaving like Reirin is actually Reirin, then his previous treatment of her suddenly takes on a much darker meaning.
Inside the palace, the Empress struggles against the curse while memories from twenty years earlier return to her. She remembers Gabi, who became pregnant around the same time she did. Gabi went into labor early, but the child did not survive. The Empress's own child lived, leaving Gabi to endure an unbearable loss. The Empress remembers that she never visited Gabi during that period. She could not bring herself to face her after such a painful difference in their circumstances.
Yet the palace eventually turned that tragedy into something much more complicated. People praised the Empress's son, claiming that his birth had been accompanied by powerful dragon qi. They spoke about his enormous yang qi and treated his survival as a sign of destiny. At the same time, Gabi's loss was treated as an unfortunate sacrifice beneath the glory surrounding the future ruler.
Those words appear to have deepened Gabi's resentment. The Empress eventually realized that Gabi did not need pity. She needed something that would force her to rise from despair. Instead of offering simple consolation, the Empress allowed Gabi to turn her pain into anger. She encouraged Gabi to direct that hatred toward her.
The strategy worked, but the Empress now wonders whether Gabi's hatred ever faded. The answer becomes frighteningly clear. Gabi's hatred has only grown stronger. The Empress's condition suddenly worsens, and the people around her desperately try to stabilize her. Reirin arrives and immediately takes control of the chaotic situation.
Some members of the Kou Palace initially object to Shu Keigetsu being there, since she belongs to another clan. But Kou Tousetsu, Reirin's head personal court lady, recognizes the sincerity behind her actions. Keigetsu has already demonstrated her devotion through her connection with the Bow of Warding, and Tousetsu understands that she has come because she genuinely wants to save the Empress.
Reirin promises her aunt that she will save her, no matter what she has to sacrifice. But instead of simply relying on the bow, Reirin gives Tousetsu practical instructions. She explains that the Empress's breathing is becoming weak and tells her to use a topical medicine to widen the airway. Since the Empress cannot swallow powdered medicine, Reirin directs Tousetsu to use ointment number 53 from the ice room and apply it to the Empress's chest and back.
She also explains how to prevent dehydration if the Empress continues vomiting, ordering the attendants to moisten her mouth with water mixed with salt and sugar. For the first time, Reirin fully recognizes the seriousness of what has happened. She admits internally that she had been too comfortable after the body swap. Living in a healthy body had allowed her to enjoy a freedom she had not expected, and she had failed to consider how badly the Kou Palace would need her if something went wrong.
Now she understands that the carefree period is over. She decides that she will regain her original body and personally bring the entire incident to an end. Nine days have passed since the Double Sevens Festival when Reirin finally comes face-to-face with Keigetsu. She wastes no time and asks Keigetsu to cancel the body swap.
Her reason is simple: the Empress has collapsed because of venomcraft, and Reirin needs to return to her original form so she can use the Bow of Warding as the Empress's niece. But Keigetsu's response changes the direction of the plan. She points out that if the Bow of Warding belongs under the Gen clan's jurisdiction, there may be no reason for Reirin to risk herself by drawing it. Shin-U, as captain of the Eagle Eyes and a member of the Gen bloodline, might be able to draw the bow instead.
Reirin realizes that Keigetsu is right. She had become so focused on solving the crisis herself that she had forgotten to consider the people around her. Her frustration has made her speak too sharply to Gyoumei and even show off in front of Leelee. Keigetsu then delivers the episode's biggest tactical revelation.
Simply using the Bow of Warding to push back the curse may not be enough. If venomcraft is a curse, then trying to disperse it is like swatting away a mosquito. The source of the curse remains. Instead, Keigetsu proposes fighting the curse with another curse. Reirin immediately understands the implication. If Gabi's venomcraft is responsible for the Empress's condition, they need to create a countermeasure capable of directly opposing it.
That requires gathering specific insects used to create venomcraft. The process will not be easy. They need a valuable insect that has survived through cannibalism, and because Gabi's venomcraft appears to involve a spider, they need a larger insect capable of preying on spiders. Reirin's practical instincts quickly return, but her solution of putting a spider and centipede together in the same container is immediately rejected because the two creatures would simply eat each other.
The danger has not disappeared, but Reirin finally has a new strategy. She and Keigetsu rush off through the back door to gather what they need, while the situation at the Kou Palace continues to deteriorate. At the same time, Gyoumei senses that the qi surrounding the palace is in complete disarray. His attendants warn him that the area has become dangerous and urge him to return somewhere appropriate for the Crown Prince. Gyoumei refuses to forget his mother.
As the episode ends, he vows to save the Empress immediately and asks her to wait for him. The body swap, Gabi's venomcraft, and the Empress's painful history have now collided into one crisis. Reirin may have spent much of the episode trying to prove that she can handle everything herself, but her encounter with Keigetsu forces her to recognize that saving the Empress will require more than determination. The next move will depend on whether they can create a counter-curse before the Empress's condition becomes irreversible.
Though I Am an Inept Villainess Episode 9 is a major turning point in, combining the Empress's worsening condition, Gabi's painful history, the dangerous body swap, and a clever new approach to the venomcraft curse. Reirin's determination to save her aunt remains the emotional core of the episode, but her conversation with Keigetsu also forces her to recognize that she cannot solve every crisis alone. Gyoumei's growing suspicion about Reirin's identity adds another layer of tension, while the flashback to Gabi's loss twenty years earlier gives the current conflict much greater emotional weight. The idea of fighting one curse with another provides an intriguing direction for the story, and the episode ends with Reirin and Keigetsu searching for the ingredients needed to save the Empress while Gyoumei refuses to abandon his mother. Overall, Episode 9 successfully raises the stakes and sets up a potentially decisive confrontation.
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