just a long rant

i feel like there were a lot of bits that were unnecessarily dragged on or made a big deal out of. like i think especially the aftermath of the "kidnapping", we were all waiting for the villains of the story to receive their punishments and for the couple to reach their "happily ever after". However, the process, including the whole ordeal with Anne's interrogation, how Susan ran away and was captured, as well as how Adele kept getting mad at the duke for not realising his feelings, was not really gripping enough to make us want to keep reading it. Everything was dragged on for so many chapters, having something like 20-30 chapters from the kidnapping until the ending.

I think the whole series should have ended at around 50-60 chapters, or perhaps even shorter as it was a very simple and stereotypical plot line revolving around the villains' schemes getting in the way of the heroine's happiness. The beginning is worth reading and it definitely got me interested. I also feel that the character's personalities don't carry a level of depth to them and were not complex enough, the fl never displays any flaws and Susan is just there to show how superior the fl is. Throughout the whole series, the fl and ml couple moments were cute and wholesome, but it felt uncalled for as the only thing that really allowed them to bond was their mutual hatred and annoyance for Susan.

The characters and the art were really good, though, the storyline really didn't do them justice. I think Susan was a good way to move the plot forward, though it certainly could have ended earlier or differently. I would have liked if she wasn't just a maneater who only knew how to seduce and manipulate people, it would have been more interesting to know some of her backstory and how she ended up like this, perhaps it would have also been interesting had she been the one to approach the aristocratic faction and come up with a proposal to take down the imperial faction. I would have also liked if there was another arc to move the story forward and show the wit of the mc other than Susan, for example a famine or some kind of financial crisis in the empire which allows the mc to use her "duke's fiance" position to step in and help.

Overall, there's just a lot of things I find unsatisfying about this webtoon. I had a lot of hopes for this webtoon when I first read it, but it got more disappointing for me as it continued. The art is really beautiful and there were definitely some moments in between that I did somewhat enjoy the series, though I think it would have been a much more gratifying experience had the plot been better. I can't really blame the authors as it seems that Adelaide is one of their first projects, so I hope that they are aware of the flaws in this series and would make better work in the future. I definitely look forward to seeing that, and perhaps I would purchase the series on the official raw website.