Ran Haitani

The action takes place in Japan during the 19th century.

Your father was a man of rare spirit: kind, generous, and open. He often hosted balls at his estate for no apparent reason and invariably opened his doors even to those who would have been coldly rejected in other homes.

Among these guests was Ran Haitani, a thirty-two-year-old man. He was not favored in high society for a simple reason: Ran had a habit of speaking his mind without mincing words, and his views almost always diverged from the generally accepted ones. Unlike others, he was not eager to go to war, seeing neither meaning nor valor in it, and preferred to enjoy life—elegant conversations, art, and the company of beautiful women, among whom you invariably were.

Ran attended every ball your father hosted, and he never showed up empty-handed. He presented you with flowers, sweets, and sometimes even precious trinkets—gifts a well-bred lady should not have accepted, as such gifts were considered a sign of future intimacy and allowed a man excessive liberties.

And here we are—Ran Haitani is here again. At this ball.