personal attendant; valet; maid
to pull (the puppet) strings; to direct things from behind the scenes; to stretch out (and keep going); to linger on
to wake up; to awake; to perk up; to awaken (to the truth, etc.); to come to a realization; to come to one's senses
sting (of a bee, etc.); stinger; needle covered with poison
to graze (e.g. bullet); to scratch; to touch lightly; to take a percentage; to exploit; to squeeze
minuscule amount; extremely small quantity
coma; deep sleep; falling fast asleep
inquiry; enquiry; investigation; (police) interview; questioning (e.g. witness, suspect); hearing
appearance; presence; attendance; surrender (e.g. to the police); turning oneself in
to raise someone's position; to raise someone's standing
taking great pains (to do); making every effort; having a lot of trouble (doing); racking one's brains
selection; choice; choosing; picking; election
whitewashing; glossing over; lip service; (arch.) deftly finishing up; (arch.) putting on the final touches
common person; foolish commoner
bright person; talented student; prodigy
to install (a king, emperor, etc.); to appoint (to a post); to promote; to assign (to study under)
to follow (a rule, precedent, style, etc.); to conform to; to be in accordance with
reliability; trustworthiness; dependability
to incline toward; to slant; to go down (sun, moon); to sink; to decline; to wane
mediocrity; ordinary ability
sudden windfall; unexpected piece of good luck; (lit.) azuki-covered mochi (fallen) from a shelf
to roll in; to tumble into; to visit (esp. to stay overnight as an unwanted guest); to fall in one's way; to fall into one's lap
something that requires thought; something that should be thought over carefully; something questionable; puzzle; riddle
useless; worthless; silly; trivial
angry voice; one's voice when shouting with anger
(sound of) footsteps; sense or sign that something is approaching
suicide (carried out with a blade, gun, etc.)
thanks to ...; owing to ...; because of ...
with a start; with a jump
body guard; military escort
even more; still more; one layer; lowest floor (of a building); rather; sooner
rather; sooner; preferably
monologue; soliloquy; talking to oneself
lone criminal; sole perpetrator; crime carried out by one person
capital crime; crime resulting in a death penalty
(doing something) in tears
to have one's breath taken away; to gasp (in surprise, wonder, etc.); to have one's breath catch in one's throat; to gulp
biological younger brother
mischief; prank; mischievous; naughty; pastime; hobby