The Queen’s Dogs
Translations are WIP. Name romanizations are not necessarily confirmed. Reader beware!
From ZERO-SUM ONLINE:
Both the Shoukou King, celebrated as a hero of the Kingdom of Ou, and his daughter Kouhi, a proud warrior born from and raised by a consort from the Jokan peoples, aimed to have her become the next king.
Kouhi earned the right of succession by the will of the Shoukou King, who aimed to consider the candidates equally. But in the Kingdom of Ou, there was no precedent for a woman to take the throne. During the time where were many conservative retainers who backed her siblings, believing “We cannot permit a woman to participate in affairs of state”, Kouhi worked harder than anyone to develop the proper nature of an outstanding ruler, and strived at her training daily.
But then one day, something happened that completely changed the fate of the Kingdom of Ou, and of Kouhi herself!?
Thus begins the grand tale of the founding of a nation by the “war princess”!
Spoilers ahead!
Characters
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| 晃日 (Kouhi) |
The first princess. Age 19 (same as Shiki, though he is two hours older). Wields her father’s geki halberd ( |
| 示煕 (Shiki) |
The second prince. Age 19 (older than Kouhi by two hours). There are three other princes, one older (who passed away as a child) and two younger. |
| 惶莅 (Seirui) |
Shiki’s name post-coronation. |
| 螢 (Kei) |
The third prince, age 16. Kouhi describes him as “reserved and obedient, but distinguished in bravery and wrathful as a god on the battlefield”. They haven’t spoken much to each other. |
| 暁魄 (Gyoutaku) |
The fourth prince, age 15. Kouhi senses he dislikes her. |
| 冷妃 (Reihi) |
Kouhi’s late mother. Former queen. Princess of the Jokan, who married the king at age 16. Passed away 6 years before the start of the story from illness. It is Reihi who, on her deathbed, tells Kouhi that she has the special right to rule in a world typically ruled by men, and that she will protect this kingdom. Her posthumous name is Eiki ( |
| 照高 (Shoukou) |
The 14th ruler of the Kingdom of Ou. True name: Kouen ( |
| 董俐蛉 (Tou Riryou) |
The queen. Still not fully recovered from the loss of her first child. |
| 蘭馨夏 (Ran Kyouka) |
A concubine from a noble family of the Ka peoples. The biological mother of Shiki and Gyoutaku. Kouhi describes her as stern and vindictive. Jealous that the king favored Reihi, and treated her as an enemy; ignores Kouhi. Usually referred to by her title, Kenhi ( |
| 狼蘭 (Rouran) |
Shoukou’s slave and concubine. Has golden eyes. Was enslaved 8 years before the start of the story. Generally hides his face with a mask. After his appearance, Reihi was ridiculed for being cucked by a man, and passed away in despair according to Kouhi, who openly resents him. Previously an entertainer in the imperial court of Shou, according to Kyouka. Title is |
| 蘭珊瑚 (Ran Sango) |
One of Kouhi’s attendants. Kouhi believes she is of the Ri family ( |
| 珀𤏐炎 (Haku Kantan) |
A person of the Jokan. Runs the almshouse that Kouhi recovered at. From a family of doctors. The first Jokan that Kouhi meets outside of her mother. Introduced in chapter 3. |
Places
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| 凰国 (Oukoku, The Kingdom of Ou) |
The largest country of (presumably fantasy) Asia. A country of many different peoples. |
| 卍国 (Bankoku, The Kingdom of Ban) | |
| 宵国 (Shoukoku, The Kingdom of Shou) | |
| 瑞州 (Zuishuu, The Province of Zui) |
An economically vital province in Ou. Gyoutaku is put in charge in chapter 3 thanks to Kyouka’s influence. |
| 瑞州 (Kayoushuu, The Province of Kayou) |
A province in Ou along the border with Ban. Kei is put in charge in chapter 3 thanks to Kyouka’s influence. |
Glossary
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| 華族 (Kazoku, the Ka peoples) |
The most populous of the peoples of the kingdom. |
| 女冠族 (Jokanzoku, the Jokan peoples) |
One of the peoples of the kingdom. Have golden hair and purple eyes. Few in number and rarely seen in the capitol.
(from chapter 1) |
Timeline
Time: Shoukou 13
Chapter: 1
Rouran is taken as slave/concubine by Shoukou.
Time: Shoukou 15
Chapter: 1
Reihi passes away from illness.
Time: Shoukou 21, November
Chapter: 1
Kouhi returns home from her successful campaign. Shoukou is poisoned.
Time: Shoukou 21, December
Chapter: 1
Shiki is crowned as the 15th ruler of Oukoku, the Seirui King.
Rouran discovers Kouhi in the river.
Chapters
Chapter 1: 傾国奴隷 (Keikoku dorei, The Beautiful Consort-Slave)
Kouhi crawls out of a river swearing revenge before collapsing, and is discovered by a hooded man. The second prince, Shiki, is crowned as the 15th ruler of the Kingdom of Ou. On the streets, a play mocks the late king and his male lover.
Kouhi returns home after successfully laying siege to a castle of the Kingdom of Ban. She finds some palace maids arguing with a retainer of her brother Shiki, who also shows up shortly after. The argument centers on who deserves more credit: Kouhi for executing the attack, or Shiki for planning it. They also argue over who deserves to inherit the throne.
Shoukou appears with his slave Rouran and congratulates them. He then says they will celebrate that night with a banquet for the inner circle, and his slave will perform a sword dance. Kouhi openly resents this, and Rouran provokes her further by commenting on her resemblance to her late mother.
After Shoukou and Rouran leave, Shiki and Kouhi comment on Rouran. Kouhi talks about a play going around mocking Shoukou and Rouran, as well as other unsavory rumors going around. Shiki cautions her not to incur her father’s displeasure, then tells her that according to the rumors, Shoukou will bestow the right of succession that night.
At the banquet, Kenhi puts Kouhi in a difficult position by asking her
to dance, knowing full well that she lacks the talent. Shiki points out
that the king has asked Rouran to dance, and the king asks what she
wants to do. Kouhi attempts to dodge by presenting a gift, her spoils
of war—gyokkanshu (
Rouran then takes the stage. During the dance, the king suddenly falls ill, coughing up blood before collapsing.
Chapter 2: 大王毒殺事件 (Daiou dokusatsu jiken, The Poisoning of the King)
The doctor announces the king has no pulse. Kenhi accuses Kouhi of poisoning him and craving the throne. Rouran and Shiki defend her; Rouran points out that the king has been sick but refused to take any medicine. Rouran almost manages to make Kenhi stand down…but then one of Kouhi’s attendants speaks up, claiming she saw her adulterate the wine. The doctor then confirms the presence of poison in the wine.
As the guards move to seize her, Shiki tries again to defend Kouhi, but then the queen blocks him. Rouran again points out there is no real evidence, and that everyone is rushing to conclusions. Ultimately, though, people believe the accusation, seeing Kouhi as a woman with designs on the throne, a woman who would stoop to any level.
Shiki then speaks up to defend Kouhi again—well, sort of. He notes that
while there is no proof of her guilt, neither is there proof of her
innocence…and orders her held captive in the Waterfall Palace
(Hisenkyuu,
Kouhi awakens in a small room, noting that her rib and right leg are broken. Rouran appears bringing her medicine, but Kouhi questions why he is helping her. He notes she seems to have lost some of her memories, explaining that she fled from the palace, was washed away in the river, and has been asleep for seven days. At this point, we are caught up with the start of chapter 1.
They argue, with Kouhi blaming him for ruining her mother’s reputation, and Rouran noting that her dearly beloved father came after him every night. After some more quarrel, Rouran tells her to calm down, saying he believes in her innocence. Kouhi rejects his help, saying she needs Shiki as her only ally…but Rouran notes that the “Seirui King” has already taken the throne, and that she herself declared that Shiki betrayed her as she crawled out of the river, though Kouhi does not remember this and finds it unbelievable.
In response, Rouran explains that Sango and Kenhi (real names: Ran Sango and Ran Kyouka) were actually related, that Sango took on the name of Ri right before joining the palace to hide her true origin. He guesses that this was all a plot by the former consort so that her blood son (Shiki) could take the throne, as the late king favored Kouhi, and that Shiki was likely in on the plot as well. And now, Kouhi is a wanted criminal for the murder of her own father.
Rouran has a plan to clear her name, though: he has the official proclamation that the late king had planned to issue, declaring the true successor to the throne. It was provided to him in his capacity as the imperial censor to serve as the king’s will, in case something happened. And in the kingdom of Ou, this proclamation is absolute: Shiki should not have taken the throne without it. But first, she must clear her name, and Rouran proposes that she return with him to do so.
Chapter 3: 瑞州 (Zuishuu, The Province of Zui)
Shiki still seems despondent over Kouhi, with his mother trying to feed him and admonishing him, but it doesn’t work. She has been gone for a month at this point.
In Kyouka’s narration, she describes the plot to have Sango poison the wine and put the blame on Kouhi. It appears he was ignorant of this. She regrets not having separated Shiki and Kouhi earlier, blaming her for his weakness here. Ryuukai, a general, appears to give a report, saying that Kouhi has yet to be found, and that they are searching the neighboring Zui province.
Kyouka suggests having Gyoutaku take charge of the search in Zui, but Shiki sees this as a matter for the palace and will not hand over the responsibility. He orders the general to redouble his efforts, and to make sure that Kouhi is brought home without a single scratch. Kyouka also suggests stripping Rouran of his position as censor, since he was in the previous king’s employ, and Shiki doesn’t need him. But Shiki says he is heading to the kingdom of Shou for diplomatic reasons, and that he would decide what to do once he returns.
Kyouka narrates again. Rouran took the king’s love all for himself, denying it from the other consorts. He was an entertainer in the imperial court of Shou before, and when he joined Ou 8 years ago, he generally hid his face with a mask; many rumors flew about his true appearance, but Kyouka was surprised to see the beautiful true face, and absolutely detests him and the king, finally understanding why he had set her aside for him. She considers it an insult and swears to castrate him someday.
She continues on to reveal more resentments. She should have been the proper queen, but her father lost a battle right before marriage and she was relegated to concubine instead, with the “plain and talentless” Riryou taking “her” position instead. She bore the insults for the sake of kingdom, family, and king, but then the king fell in love with that “wild” princess (Kouhi’s mother), then Rouran. She remembers how she called the king by his true name in bed, but he instead grew angry and hit her, saying he is disgusted by women who try to flatter men—doubly galling in light of Rouran having free will to use his name.
女の処女は男の大義の道具であり
女の腹は男の子どもを孕む道具だと知った
—Kyouka
For Kyouka, seeing Rouran and Kouhi—who violate the “natural order” of their sex—is especially offensive.
Back to Kouhi’s perspective: she is now fully recovered, and is having lunch at an almshouse, run by Kantan, from the same people as her mother. She has recovered (enough to walk) after two weeks, owning to her lineage. Food prices are rising due to the prolonged war with Ban, putting Kantan’s almshouse in a bind. Kantan reveals that this almshouse, as well as others like it, temples, and schools, were constructed thanks to Rouran, but due to the war, Shoukou closed many of them by edict, until Rouran intervened with his own funds.
Rouran arrives and takes her away, revealing he has been staying in the red-light district in the meantime, collecting information. Gyoutaku has been put in charge of Zui province, and Kei has been put in charge of the economically vital Kayou province, greatly concerning Kouhi. But Rouran notes that she should be concerned about Gyoutaku more, given they must pass through Zui to get back to the palace.
And right as he says that, Gyoutaku finds their carriage.