ML's people: We'll exploit you in using the name of friendship and comradery yo persuade you, having you believe you have a choice in the the matter in whether or not you'll serve us. Plus, we give you basic human necessities (but jazz it up a little) to make it seem like we REALLY care about YOU and not your ABILITIES, so that you'll fight against your former home country for us.
FL's side: THEY TREAT ME SOOO MUCH BETTER HERE, I'M ACTUALLY BEING TREATED AS A PERSON! Maybe living here won't be so bad...
(╯°Д °)╯╧╧ No matter what spin they put on it, she's a captive of an enemy nation. If she declined to help them she'd be executed, meaning her only value to them is her power. The ML is her captor and this "romance" trope is ridiculous(〜￣△￣)〜
SORRY EVERYONE, I'VE BECOME CYNICAL IN MY OLD AGE! ╮(￣▽￣)╭
Yes would've been less icky if she wanted revenge or surrendered her skills knowing her value
First it's "I'm not gonna be scared anymore"
Then immediately
That damn clock is bothering me! I thought there was something wrong with my eyes!!
This recent chapter ends on chapter 45 in the novel :)
But doesn't that clothing store sign look like a stick figure storyboard of a murder? Why do the melanated people in these stories always look so ashy?
So, she lost her mother at a young age and had to "mature quickly" but she is shown to still behave childishly. Her whole demeanor is off considering that she is a duchess/ comes from a ducal family (I guess like a regal bearing?). She comes off as feeling more like a commoner/ low ranking noble who is mistreated by her family (Timid, or unsure of herself). Why is she suddenly so naïve? She was well loved by her father, and it was never mentioned that he neglected her, so why did she cling so hard to this supposed "love" for the prince (just because he was occasionally nice), and just blindly believed in him? With her father apparently a key player in the noble faction, how was she so ignorant of everything? (i.e. the competition between factions) Was she a shut-in with no friends? What about relatives from either side? Is the Emperor a tyrant? Even if he's been ill, there's no way Viktor and the other guy(can't remember his name) could just scheme all/ get away with that shit unless the replaced all the Emperor's people with their own (which would have taken a few years at least, to avoid suspicion). How did the church get that powerful? Even if they had the support of the Imperial family, without the support of the nobles, they'd be a paper tiger....The church is only formidable with the support of the commoners, so why not create a different temple or adopt another religion to keep their power in check? Oh and I'm still lost on that "your only sin was love" bit...
Damn this is a long-ass rant!
I'm sorry this story doesn't feel hashed out to me, it's missing SOMETHING and I don't know what it is...(maybe more backstory, but that could be coming later) ┑(￣Д ￣)┍
I think we're not giving her trauma the depth it deserves. She was basically kidnapped from her father, who seems to have been her only relative and taken to a religious authority figure who basically starved her, beat her and psychologically abused her for years.
Her one out from all this was the Prince.
She is basically isolated from anyone and everyone while under the religious dude's authority, so the Prince is like her saviour.
Then he makes that fake promise to love her....Not only abandoned her, but also tortured her and condemned her to be *burnt* at the stake...
I think she's behaving quite maturely for someone who is still haunted from all she experienced in her last life.
***
Regarding why the temple is likely so powerful. The timing of the Oracle is suspicious as hell, as was contents.
It is hinted at there have been quite a few natural disasters in the kingdom. When there's uncertainty and suffering religion (unfortunately) flourishes.
Especially with the help of a saintess under their control.
Just wanted to respond, but I hear your points (⌒▽⌒)
I'm not downplaying her shit origins but...
Y'all know she's been killing all maids ESPECIALLY blonde ones because she fears that they'll do to her what she did to Navier...oh wait am I spoiling the story?(⊙…⊙ )
You get an oracle from God, telling you that you f'd up, and that you're given a second chance to find the real saintess, but you've done jack sh!t because "everyone deserves a chance"?!
Like, I'm happy he's genuinely a good old man, but DO SOMETHING???? TAKE HER OUT OF THERE AND GO ON A VACATION OR SOMETHING
So if she just so happened to return unexpectedly, or y'all get found out for another reason...wouldn't y'all be accused of treason and executed anyway? What's the contingency plan?
In the light novel Rashta had any blonde/ attractive maid "taken care of" because she was afraid they'd steal Sovieshu's affection from her, like she did to Navier. Plus any maids who were a part of her assassination schemes were killed afterwards so nothing could be traced back to Rashta...
That was SO cruel