The Duchess' Lewd Invitation
God. I don't even know where to start my complaints about this story... I certainly hope that the author intends to adress the gender equality issue they created in this world, otherwise: why the fuck make it that way in the first place? I really don't get why it's become a trope to make stories in a setting with rampant misogyny, when the author has no intention of addressing it. It's just a backdrop to make the reader sympathise with the female lead's pain and anger, but otherwise it serves no greater purpose. She doesn't change anything or inspire anyone else to change it. All she shows the reader is that it's nice to be the exception in that kind of world. But she still needs a man to "allow" her to be respected and happy. And for that to happen, you need to be different from "other girls." You need to be "special" to "deserve" being treated fairly. It's not exactly inspiring and it gets me angry every time I read the trope. Aside from that, all I'm reading here is that a woman got married to a man because her parents decided it. Because of that, she did not trust her husband and thus didn't enjoy sex with him. This caused him to be disinterested in her and so he solely focused on satisfying his own desires with no regard to hers. This only deepened the rift between them until he eventually tired of her. Then finally his interest was re-awakened when she displayed a mind of her own and a desire to take the reins to satisfy herself, before circumstances would again remove that option. But rather than allow her some freedom momentarily he thought it fair play to let her have the illusion of freedom and power, while he was actually manipulating it all behind the scenes. We're only 7 chapters in, so there is still the possibility of the webtoon averting expectations and giving the mc and the women of the story a liberating plot, but I highly doubt it. If it lives up to expectations, all we'll get is a "happy" ending for the mc, while any other female character fend for their own. And by happy ending, I mean an ending where she is still 100% controlled by her husband and societal norms, but at least now he loves her.
The Villain Discovered My Identity
Paused ch. 60
I’Ll Twist The Neck Of A Sweet Dog
Chloe loses her mother at a young age and is taken in by her abusive father and his family. Here she lives a worse life than a dog until she catches the eye of visiting Duke Kylos Ludwig. He saves her from the misery. Though it is only to put her through an entirely new version of hell. He raises her with false love and kindness, only to groom and manipulate her into becoming the weakness of his brother, the emperor. And she is deceived by his honey-coated words into loving him blindly. His plan proceeds without a hitch and the emperor falls i love at first sight with the young Chloe at her coming-of-age ceremony. She becomes his mistress and then the mother of his child - just like the Duke wanted. Ultimately she is used to lure the emperor into a trap and he is killed, and the Duke takes over the throne. Chloe is brainwashed enough to believe she feels nothing for the emperor and doesn't allow herself to mourn his death. However, something in her broke that day. And the only thing that could've healed her, is taken away from her: Her daughter. The heartache and loneliness leaves her shattered and ill, until a young knight takes pity on her. He helps her find and reunite with her child, but as the two try to run away, they are captured by the Kylos. The knight is killed, the daughter stolen away again and Chloe is locked up. This is when Kylos' spiteful wife comes to her and offers her poison. At this point Chloe has nothing left to live for, so she accepts it. However, instead of dying time is reversed back to the day after she spent her first night with the emperor. Now she has to figure out what to do: Repeat the miserable past in order to reunite with her child? Or change history, but lose the only family she could ever call her own? Or perhaps she is not the only one who remembers past events and want to change them... Omg. I can NOT understand why this story doesn't have a higher rating. It is *chef's kiss* ...or I actually do understand that some people would rate it low. It's definitely not a cute or fluffy story, and probably too dark for a lot of people. But I think that just makes it better. The characters are so realistic, complex and tragic. The storytelling is impeccable and the art is both beautiful and eerie. I can't wait to read more and hope the manwha will continue to uphold the same quality as the first 20 chapters!
Moritat