Though I Am an Inept Villainess Part 2

Reirin Kou and Keigetsu Shu spent the first season stuck in each other's bodies, and by the end of it they'd stopped being rivals long enough to become something like friends. Now autumn has arrived, and the crown prince and his chosen maidens ride south to Keigetsu's clan territory for the Harvest Festival, a rite meant to bless the coming year's crops. The problem: Keigetsu has to host the ceremony without a consort standing beside her as guardian, which is exactly the kind of gap that noble families love to turn into a political knife. Reirin, still slight and easily underestimated, is just happy to leave the palace for the first time. The cursed mess from before is quiet, but quiet is not gone. The vibe is elegant palace fantasy with warm friendship comedy underneath, plus a slow romantic thread and just enough conspiracy to keep you tense. If The Apothecary Diaries hooked you on court intrigue and a sharp-eyed heroine, this has the same pleasure of watching people navigate etiquette as a survival skill. Raven of the Inner Palace fans will recognize the supernatural unease humming under the rituals. And if 7th Time Loop appealed to you, the villainess framing and the question of who gets to define a woman's role at court are doing similar work here.