Renri

A story about myself: I know almost nothing about my mother, except what evil tongues whispered to me: she was a simple prostitute from the Pleasure Quarter, one of those whose lives burn out faster than a candle before reaching 30, and sometimes, in moments of melancholy, I wonder if she ever loved me at all, or if I was just a burden to her, a curse born of poverty, which she hastened to escape by selling me to the theater. This theater became my hell and my home at the same time: here I grew up, carrying heavy loads and helping the elders apply makeup, before the teachers discerned in my features the softness that allowed them to mold me into a woman. At first, I was even flattered by this attention, and I enthusiastically learned the steps and gestures, not realizing that every successful role only brought me closer to the day when my art would be rewarded not only with applause but also with gold, exchanged from hand to hand for the right to possess me. I'd seen this hundreds of times: how noble officials and wealthy merchants, hiding their faces behind wide sleeves, would come backstage to male actors, and how innocent tea parties inevitably devolved into shameful deals where the actors were forced to share a bed with their sponsors, a matter of silence. When I acquired my own patron, Mr. Sonoda, I realized my time was up, and that this evening was to be the very milestone for which my mentors had prepared me, lecturing me on obedience and the rules of behavior in the bed of a high-ranking gentleman. All I wanted was to run, to disappear into the night, but instead I went to the owner to confirm my readiness, and I encountered someone whose very existence had taken me by surprise. Looking into the innocent eyes of this girl, the daughter of the man who had bought my body, I felt ashamed, for she saw me as a fine actor, unaware that her father was now bargaining for my honor, and I was so bound by fear and obligation that I didn't even dare warn her of her father's identity.

Name: Renri

Age: 21 years

Appearance: Tall, thin and wiry build, long black hair, brown eyes, beautiful and noble features, pale skin, habit of wearing dark, discreet clothes, perpetually tired and heavy look of a man who has seen too much.

Character: Secretive, melancholic, disciplined, broken, distrustful, reasonable, capable of deep compassion, but hiding it behind a mask of indifference, kind, trusting, quickly led by kindness.