Lauvil's manga / #Cold ML(56)

Ch. 26

Paused ch. 19

Duke Croft's daughter, Ellia, fell in love with an illegitimate prince, Raymond, of the imperial family at a young age and they grew up together as childhood friends. However in their late teens Raymond shares the happy news with her: he's fallen in love with a young marquis' daughter, Regina. Heartbroken, but supportive of her friend, she hides her feelings and stays on sideline during her friend's short romance that ends when Regina is married of to a neighbouring country's old king. Raymond is naturally distressed, but it becomes worse when his mother is executed due to the pettiness of the crown prince. Enraged, Raymond stages a rebellion, and with the help of Ellia's father, he topples the imperial family and takes the throne. When he needs a wife, he marries Ellia to reward the Duke for his contributions. He can't promise her love in the marriage, so he promises faithfulness instead, which is good enough for Ellia. At least until the day Regina returns from the kingdom with her young son in tow, whom she claims is the emperor's. At this point the relationship between the emperor and the empress has grown cold and strained, and the emperor's old flame returning with their supposed love child, is the last straw. Ellia herself just found out that she was pregnant a few days prior to Regina's return, but she chooses to keep this a secret and file for a divorce instead. Partly to protect the unborn child, partly to not get in the way of the past lovers, and partly because Ellia is exhausted from heartbreak. At first the emperor is shocked and angry at her suggestion, rejects it and actually locks her up in her palace for a couple of days, but when she pleads with him he finally gives in. And so she leaves the palace and, with her father's help, finally the country. The comments already warned me, so I knew it'll be a frustrating read... But still, god. Frustrating! And if spoilers are right, the emperor/ex-husband is the ML. Which I really don't like. Some people argued that he's "done nothing wrong" since he didn't cheat on her etc, but emotional abuse is also abuse. And yes, it's also still abuse even if the abuser is unaware that they are being abusive. This type of story really frustrates me. Bc the woman always end up settling. Yes, the ML might learn something and improve, but never beyond the bare minimum. And this change is also only ever achieved through a woman's suffering. But because the man goes from being an awful human being to a tolerable man, he apparently deserves her. Like no, bitch. Achieving the bare minimum does not earn you a gold star or the right to a woman's love. And it most certainly does not erase the hurt you caused. But I see a lot of these stories that push this idea. Which just shows that the bar is on the floor when it comes to the patriarchy and women's expectations. Some comments say he will get a lot better, she won't forgive him right away, they will have a happy ending, and yadayada. But my expectations are not high. However I will probably continue to read, if for no other reason, than to have my suspicions confirmed. Ch. 41

Astelle Leston is the daughter of duke Leston and the unlucky partner of the crown prince, who was married for less than a day before she wa kicked out of the palace. The prince was convinced that Astelle didn't love him, so when the emperor died on their wedding night, he immediately divorced her to free himself of the relationship and his ties to his bride's power-hungry father. Even though they only spent one night together and even used contraceptives, Astelle still managed to get pregnant from this fleeting encounter. However, since she knew her father and other greedy nobles would try to use the child once it was born, she hid herself and the child to raise him safely, as a commoner. Years later the emperor comes looking for her because of his grandmother's will, to take her home to the capital and get things sorted out. Thus begins Astelle's struggles to hide her child's parantage and keep him safe from the clutches of the emperor and other nobles... The ML is a bit of a self-absorbed asshat, tbh. Like, he divorces his wife after just one day? And AFTER he's taken her viginity. Damn, that's cold. Like throwing away a rag after using it. Not gonna lie, it's gonna take a lot to make him likeable in my eyes. Even if he acted on a misunderstanding, it's really shitty behaviour. The FL is awesome, though. I'd read the story just for her and her cute-af son. She's intelligent, cunning and strong-willed, while also being a fiercely protective and loving mother. A great model for a female character. She's not perfect, and the story does a great job of portraying her struggles and weaknesses. I also both love to hate sir Bellian. He's such a well-written character. He definitely holds a villain-role right now, but only because he has opposite goals to the MC at the moment. His goal is not to harm her - only to protect his master - which makes his villain status temporary. His suspious nature, cunning intellect and fierce loyalty actually makes him a very interesting character. Though he's also arrogant and a bit classist, which makes him somewhat unlikeable, but a good character should have flaws. It means there is room for growth. I'm certain he'll be a strong ally in the future. A character I'm not a fan of, though, is Marianne Kreuzen (blonde girl who clings to the ML). Not because she's unlikeable or an antagonist, but because of the trope and mindset she represents. She's literally the first non-mob female character we meet in the story, aside from the MC, but she embodies the worst traits of "femininity": She's vain, entitled, arrogant, greedy and dumb. It's just striking that we are introduced to two antagonists around the same time, and while the male character gets to be cunning, loyal and interesting, the female character is superficial, childish and unimportant. So, I hope to see some more diversity in the future. For the story is just my cup of tea. The tension, the suspense, the subtlety *chef's kiss* 4.5/5 stars.

Veillyn is the eldest daughter of count Orlando, and she is neglected and abused by her family. One day she falls ill and wakes up with memories of her privious life and the knowledge that the world she lives in, is inside a novel. She then also realizes that she was just a minor character whose death from an unknown desease, sparked events of the novel. Determined not to live out the rest of her days as pitifully as the novel's Veillyn, she draws up a plan to escape her abusive family by the only legal means available: Engagement. And the only eligible candidate for such an arrangement, is the third, and illegitimate, son of duke Liesentstein, Jellard, who also happens to be the obsessive male lead of the novel. So far, this seems very promising. A strong minded FL, who uses her knowledge to change her circumstances. An ML who acts cold but probably isn't. He's just become used to being shunned by others. And a mysterious desease which puts a time limit on their developing romance. Colour me intrigued! It's a bit of a cliché plot line, but honestly it's one of my favourite tropes. Love the angst and the drama. And neither of the leads seem toxic, so it passes. 4/5 stars.