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| Original Title | 魔像 |
|---|---|
| Author | 林 不忘 |
| Genre | Popular Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In the shadowed halls of Edo Castle, a simmering feud erupts between Kamio Kyōnosuke, a young samurai of striking beauty and quiet resolve, and his vindictive superior Tobe Ōmi-no-suke. Tormented by jealousy over Kyōnosuke’s marriage to Edo’s most coveted beauty, Tobe orchestrates relentless humiliation, pushing the courtly tensions to a breaking point. When Kyōnosuke’s defiant laughter echoes through the guard post, it ignites a chain of violence that leaves Tobe’s severed head rolling at his comrades’ feet. Branded a fugitive, Kyōnosuke vanishes into the labyrinthine streets of Edo, his face now etched into wanted posters as the shogunate hunts him for a crime shrouded in whispers of betrayal and vengeance. \nDisguised as a laborer, he seeks refuge with Kabedatsu—a plasterer bound by duty to apprehend him—only to entangle Kabedatsu’s daughter O-Tae in a dangerous web of loyalty and forbidden attraction. As Kyōnosuke vows to exact retribution on seventeen conspirators who destroyed his life, the line between justice and obsession blurs. Amid New Year’s revelry and the rigid codes of samurai honor, a tale of love, bloodshed, and unyielding defiance unfolds, where every shadow hides a blade and trust may prove deadlier than betrayal. |