Damn im enjoying this so much, what a breath of fresh air… the spoilers are making me giddy for what happens in the end.
I like a monstrous “ML” that actually sticks to their title of being horrible and a FL that actually cares for their life, like what part of murderer and cold-blooded do people not understand. She ran away and tried to find home, shes selfish, shes going crazy and thats very human. People dont change that easily from their old ways but some are forced to change quickly due to trauma, it represents both of them well.
I think im in love with this story and its characters, i love the FL and ML. I love how it shows cruelty of war on both sides, i also love how Anette grew and stood up for herself.
I love the foreshadowing of how Heiner sees Anette because the first thing he sees wasnt her but that painting of the saint on the ceiling that was oddly similar to how Anette looks like, thus it mightve added to his delusion of her being “divine”. Theres also definitely a mental issue with Heiner, with what hes been through, all that severe trauma definitely messed him up. It doesnt excuse his behavior and wrongdoings but my god, i cant pressure it all on him.
Also no, Anette isnt innocent, she said it herself. She had a choice to learn and make a choice about society and its struggles but chose not to/or couldnt, yet she chose to right her wrongs in ways she knows how. Ive never been so proud and im glad Heiner is slowly learning as well, like you cant just change yourself overnight, they have progress
Shes slowly learning how to love others and herself while He is slowly learning how to move on and acknowledge his regrets, wants, needs, behavior and etc.
I just remembered, Heiner wS CONTINUOUSLY pumped with drugs when he was a kid and it affected his emotions and his way of expressing himself.
I feel like ill be writing a longer paragraph with how much i adore this story.
I hate jaekyung, we all do i get it but im just so curious why hes like this? Like how did he turn out like this? Hes not the typical emotionless top but a really really emotional and moody one with tons of anger issues, and hes very fucking insecure about what people think of him and his career. Hope we do get more info, it wont change his wrongdoings but it makes us understand his behavior more. (Not tolerate it of course)
As happy as i am about the reunion, im still feeling horrible about gren. The poor kid got caught up in drugs and lived a horrible life and genuinely wanted to get better (he was getting better too), god i hope that bastard ross gets a painful death or outcome.
RIP to Gren
RIP gren
Rip gren
r.i.p gren, my baby
Rip to our brother, Gren
I made an old comment about how stupid madelyn is for letting go of the chance to not be in prison but honestly, i dont hate this outcome and i dont hate that she makes mistakes.
Its frustrating but at the same time a relief that we have an mc thats imperfect and not always getting what she wants. Its a good representation of nobles and how they react in regular situations, you cant expect a person that used to be a rich character to all of a sudden be what we expect her to be, actually its amazing that she even started working to just support herself and cut off her father.
She didnt want to go back to ian because she’s ashamed of herself for disappointing him, i dont think she can bear to be by his side (a noble, a duke) after being a prisoner (one that threatens the position of royalty too). She chose to stick by her moral code and accepting her punishment (its stupid but that takes a lot of fucking balls to do) and she decides to venture forth and create a new beginning.
Im gonna ask you, just how many MCs have you seen that said “im gonna leave this place and create a new beginning” and actually stick to it? Not a lot right. Madelyn made this choice and actually went through with it, and i also dont hate what Isabel has done. Youd think of Isabel as this rebellious idiot that just made trouble, but mind you she is a sister of a duke, she didnt have to look at the people suffering under the rule of monarchy and focus on herself, she didnt have to help turn their manor into a hospital but she did, she looks at these people and believe all should be equal. This is not some game she decided to play because shes bored, this is how revolution happens. Her brother just came back from a war that was pushed by their rulers, ones that they do not have to participate in. I dont know how much more info we got about the royal family but with the state of soldiers dying and not even getting proper medical treatment outside the manor is insane.
People like Isabel are the reason why some countries nowadays have democracy instead of monarchy and dynasties (theyre still a problem). You can have the right to vote because of people like her, i commend the strength for her to go off too and cut herself off her family tree. The setting in this story isnt the usual medieval ones we read from other mangas, theres no magic, this is probably the industrial revolution as well and trust me, being a woman and not a royalty at that time is hell. Bombs and guns are being invented and used in war, and a lot of innocent people from villages and such are dying from the choices of a tyrant/king. I know we look at this differently because people want romance only but this is much more than that, it kind of asks the question “Would you fight for the people and your country or stick with your lover and bask in sunshines and rainbows in your mansion”.
Its a pretty good breath of fresh air, this manga i mean.
Before you reply, im not defending them and saying theyre "good people". Madelyn and Isabel have made wrong decisions and thats how life works, i wont defend their wrongdoings as well.
Also ive seen some complaints about Madelyn being an idiot in the beginning because she let the doctor do shit to lan. Shes not a medical expert and shes a spoiled noble, nobles would use chemicals on themselves just to look pretty even if some people have been reported dead to it. Were a THIRD PARTY that can see what these characters dont see, we know that doctor is sketchy but madelyn wont probably think hes being sketchy about the treatment and just being a total fucking creep and flirt to her instead. We know the bad shit that these treatments do to people because were in this era, its sad how many people have been abused and tortured by old treatments and trust me, no one would fucking listen to you if you say no to that shit back then.
PTSD isnt a general thing either, not everyone has the same trigger and not every soldier has it. That was probably the first time it triggered Ian and she panicked as well (people freeze up when in bad situations) and its understandable.
Back to the treatments, people literally will listen to doctors say “Oh were gonna use cold therapy, just gonna put him in an ice bath naked”, “Were gonna put him on a chair and electrocute him just bit by bit and increase it”, “Were gonna put screws into his brain to fix him” and STILL would do it. This practice of doctors being fucking wrong happens a lot even until now trust me, the amount of times ive seen or heard people being misdiagnosed/mistreated and it leading to their death is countless, my own family has experienced this as well.
what Ian needed was a psychiatrist or psychologist, and in that time? Those were looked down upon (being diagnosed with mental issues is practically a death sentence for your image in society) and once you leave it alone, it'll just gradually get worse. I cant blame everything on Madelyn for that one, shes selfish in some cases but what did you expect. Shes naively kind at heart but shes not an angel.
Im open to criticism or if i missed something from the manga
Beautifully said.
i think you communicated your point very well and i definitely agree with how you feel. its unfortunate that despite the storyline being lets say progressive thus far it will probably bend itself backwards and completely discard the efforts made by these women to ensure madelyn and ian are endgame.
I dont really mind if theyre endgame or not, i just hope its executed properly and not too quickly. Also thank you, i do hope it doesnt end up discarding their efforts like you said.
LETS GOOOOOO THEYRE BACK BABYYYY