By Chidori Hama and Wan Hachipisu. Released in Japan as “Akuyaku Reijō, Brocon ni Job Change Shimasu” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Rymane Tsouria.

One of the things that you see a lot in villainess books, and especially this one, is having your cake and eating it, too. Our protagonist is a villainess trying to avoid her doom, and turns out to now be smart, sweet, and beloved? That’s all very well and good, but you still need an ACTUAL arrogant girl in the book, preferably with drill curls. The brother and sister are wonderful nobles who are working hard to recover their family’s reputation and work for the sake of their people? Sure, but better show some stupid, evil nobles as well, because stupid, evil nobles are what this genre does. Ekaterina may be changing her fate, but the world itself still inspires bad actors to be around, and it’s implied that the nobles that flitter around the royal family are even worse. Fortunately, neither she not her brother have to worry about that, as they’re far too busy making everyone stare with their G-rated brocon/siscon shenanigans.

School’s out, after final exams show Ekaterina coming in… third! (It’s fine, the prince and the “heroine” are first and second, so this works for her not-so-secret agenda.) Now she and her brother are returning to their ancestral home for the first time in a long time… and for her, the first time since she got her memories from Japan/became a massive Alexei otaku. Back home she finds some servants who don’t like her, but that’s balanced out by the people who have been hired back after the death of her grandmother, who turn out to be fantastic. This will culminate in a ball where Ekaterina will make her debut as the head of house. Unfortunately, there are also a lot of scheming nobles who want to get their hands on Alexei’s power and fortune. Luckily, those scheming nobles are complete idiots.

I know I keep bringing up the incest, but it really is impossible to avoid – it’s the premise. And yet I still applaud the author for somehow managing to make it so these two are disgustingly in love with each other, and also that he is impossibly handsome (something she notices all the time) and that she is voluptuous and beautiful (something every male around her notices all the time), and yet it STILL is as sexless as you could possibly want. These two adore each other yet absolutely are not down to fuck, and that’s terrific. It’s terrific mostly because their shameless pawing and flirting, when contrasted with, say, the drill curled noble throwing a tantrum, is so sickeningly sweet it’s hilarious. They’ve somehow weaponized incest subtext, and are using it to kill off their enemies. Amazing.

I’m not sure where the series is going next, except that, as implied by the ending section, Ekaterina will be getting a horse soon. But as long as it continues to have these two lovey-dovey siblings be not remotely sexual, I’ll stick around for it.