i actually was tearing up when i saw how empathetic penelope was towards the original pene...

It's more a miscommunication on both part. Context and Perspective matters here. It's not just bc she "calmed down" which is not the reason tbh.

The original Penelope just like with Siyeon(sorry if spelled wrong anyway Korean isekaid girl) didn't speak up and tended to bottle their feelings. The girl was also calm too but, she was constantly bullied, antagonized and people (staff & nobles) exaggerate when she fights back. Everyone around her was biased and actively made me her unpopular bc 1) the staff was misguided to believe the duke/stepbro hates Penelope thus they do the same & Original Penelope never complained about the mistreatment thus giving the staff free reign in abusing her. 2) nobles figured out by making up that original Penelope is a savage and horrible person they can get free lands from the duke 3) the duke is absolutely unaware of all the abusing because the servants/staff lies to him. The Butler is prob not aware either because why would the staff confess they are abusing their employers? 4) original Penelope kept her distance from the duke and her step siblings too. This caused the duke to distance himself believing Penelope hates him. 5) stepbrothers just like the the duke is unaware of the abuse had been fed for years by everyone that Original Penelope is a problematic child. For years thus they don't trust Penelope and easily believe the lies because there's precedent. Original Penelope doesn't speak bc she knew everyone else will twist her words. Stepbrothers are terrible ofc yet you also have to take into consideration that they were KIDS when they lied about Original Penelope stealing stuff. A prank to get her out of Yvonne's fav place/room. They didn't expect the servants to escalate their action and dislike of Penny into actual long term abuse.

I ain't gonna say everyone are saints. That dad should have checker on Penelope more instead of relying on servants. The stepbros where kids but should have acted when the staff disrespected Penelope in halls etc.

What truly changed them and how they reacted to Penelope is when Isekaid Korean Penelope reached out to them. By calling the duke Father, he got confirmation she didn't resent him and see him as such. By speaking of the abuse and the disrespect in a logical approach aka does the exact opposite of the fake Penelope the staff/noble made up allowed her to break the gaslighting and the free reign the servants had on her and show she is being abused.

Imagine all your life you are told the world is flat. Your parents, your neighbors, friends, classmate, books,... Everyone told you it is flat. You'll naturally believe it's true bc you assume the ground is flat like the table you on top of it.
But it's not flat. And you failed to notice bc you didn't bother checking for yourslef. Pretty much the duke and stepbro are like this.... They believe in the lies so much that it doesn't matter whatever Original Penelope says. Sadly they never knew who was original Penelope either.

okay i just skimmed your replies but youre basically saying that it was based on them believing lies about penelope and the dad+brothers choosing to be ignorant. the main issue that i see is that OG penelope DID try to complain about the mistreatment, but the issue is that she was born as a commoner and never realized how to calmly convey her emotions in nondestructive ways. the fact that they immediately resourced to treating her as an outcast, the staff treating her as a fraud, making rumors about her led to her immediate position of being the scapegoat and seen as essentially useless. OG penelope only reacted to this change in environment she experienced with what little she knew/had. keep in mind the fact that she first began to experience all of this at such a young age, which led her to develop such a defensive nature against the rest of the family and those around her. you cant put ANY blame of how she acted when she simply didnt know better, didnt have the opportunities to learn better, and simply no one to guide her to better. its exactly like how you used the metaphor of being told the earth is flat. except the difference is that the duke is a full grown man who has the ability to learn better and seek different advice. penelope was in no position of power to do anything.

Rather than fault it is a cause. OG Penelope's predisposition, "lack of knowledge and any guidance plus agressive environment etc" is also a reason that lead to her mistreatment etc. I never said it is her fault etc but that it is a matter fact that her actions lead to the misstreatment and the family and staff distancing themselves from her. There is a cause and effect. As for the duke i never said he has no fault either but just stated that it is not just a matter of "Penelope calming down" that changed them. They are very blind of her mistreatment. I'm not saying this either it is stated multiple times that the stepbrother, Butler and the duke didn't know of the abuse... And YES same for OG Penelope she didn't know how her defensive and destructive stance is seen negatively by the the staff and family.

so you went on a whole rant because i decided to summarize it with "penelope calming down" instead of going into full description of the first 50 chapters in this forum