Lauvil's manga / #Time reversal(65)

Guinevere used to be a princess of a kingdom that fell when she was six. With the help and self-sacrifice of her nanny, she managed to get out of the castle and was taken in by an Abby's orphanage. She lived there for about 10 years, during which time she got to know the young heir of a dukedom, Lawrence, who would often come visit the Abby with his mother. One day Lawrence tells Guinevere that he will be gone for a while, and ask her to promise him to wait for him, to which she agrees. However, the young man doesn't return no matter how long she waits. One day she is offered a marriage to a wealthy nobleman, which will also help the Abby's finances, and to give back to people who took care of her, she agrees to the marriage. The nobleman is much older than her, and has a daughter, but he is not interested in her romantically or physically. He just needed a mother for his child, and his new wife was to be just that - nothing more, nothing less. They spend a few happy years together, when the family has an accident at sea. Her husband and daughter drowns and Guinevere is helpless to stop it. Heartbroken and suffering from survivors guilt she then becomes the target of manipulation for her late husband's brother, Jeroh. He uses Guinevere's guilt against her to make her do his and his mother's bidding and they use her for everything from cleaning and cooking, to killing their political enemies. The last part ultimately resulting in Guinevere's execution in front of the emperor and her treacherous family. In her last moments she laments being so stupid, naive and foolish that she fell for Jeroh's words and manipulation, but also that she never did get to see Lawrence again. However, she doesn't die. Instead she travels back in time, waking up on the day of her husband's and daughter's funeral. But this time she knows what kind of snake Jeroh is and she will not let herself fall for his manipulation. And if she cannot live a peaceful life from here on out, she will have her vengeance instead - possibly with help from a young nobleman and general of the army, who recently returned from war after many years of no-contact... So far I like the story. We stan a female lead who takes matters into her own hands and handle the men in her life like a boss! The ML is a sympathetic, non-manipulative, kind man, who is capable of showing emotion, for once. So, great plus as well. There are some minor flaws and plot holes, though. Not that it ruins the story at all, it just takes away some of the realism. Because Guinevere was supposedly manipulated, coerced and forced to do Jeroh's bidding, which included killing A HUNDRED people for him. She was also then burned alive as punishment. Yet she show barely any signs of trauma when she has regressed. She's had enough of Jeroh and won't stand for his shit anymore, but I find it weird that she's not more affected. She's just emotionally hardened, when I'm pretty sure I would be traumatized. There is only a single callback to her past life's trauma in recent chapters (like Ch. 20 or something), when Guinevere displayed fear towards the emperor who ordered and oversaw her execution. But how many people she killed and how that affected her was thoroughly glossed over. Barely even mentioned, and there is no indication that Guinevere feels anything about that part of her past. I think that's a pretty big flaw, tbh. Especially because the author could've just changed the details about the murders so Guinevere was framed, but never actually guilty, and it would've had the same impact on the story. Her being a murderer seems like an unnecessary addition to her backstory, if the author is not going to use it in any meaningful way. But, with that said it's still an enjoyable read. The story doesn't make you leap on out of seat from excitement, but it's easy to read, easy to follow and the FL is a boss bitch.

Julia von Rozental dies a tragic death at the hands of the man she loved and had dedicated her life to, the emperor. His last words to her, as he stabbed her himself, were full of disdain and disgust for her and her appearance, which had been altered long ago by a curse that affects her family. A curse that is finally broken in those last few moments before her death, making everything in vain. Except, she doesn't die and is instead returned to a time, 9 years prior, when she has yet to swear her allegiance to the to-be-emperor-now-crown-prince and suffer his betrayal. Determined not to repeat that bitter fate, she decides to break her curse, refuse the crown prince - both as a ruler and as a lover - and live only for herself, her sword and her empire. So... This story really tries to be an empowering story about a girl boss who bosses so hard she gets the career, the man and recognition she deserves, but unfortunately it trips over its own internalized mysogy. First we gotta talk about the beast-becomes-the-beauty trope, which I'm really not a fan of. I know that beauty comes with a privilege that many envy or dream of achieving, but I personally dislike the trope because I think it perpetuates the idea that for a woman to be worthy of love, respect and attention, she must be beautiful. I especially don't like how they don't even show the face of the main character until she breaks the curse that made her "ugly". As if she wasn't fully a person and was not even worthy of the reader's attention, before she became pretty. One thing is for characters inside the story to dehumanise the MC (which they definitely did), as that is a plot device. But it's something completely different when it's the author/artist who does the dehumanising. What a poor message to send. Not to mention that as part of her transformation, when she breaks the curse, she gets paler skin. So both body-shaming AND racism in one neat little package. GrEaaaT... But, as if that wasn't enough of a red flag, the next - and so far only other - female character we are introduced to is an antagonist. A selfish, vain, superficial, narcissistic villainess character who hates the MC because the men who should be giving her attention, gives it to the MC instead. It just screams: "women in general are awful, but don't worry; The MC is nOt LiKe OtHeR gIrLs"....... What an old, outdated, sexist plot line. Finally, the male characters of this story are not much better. Any man who is not a complete fool, are walking tropes of potential love interest characters. The only male character I found even remotely interesting was the vice commander, employed under the MC. He struggles with the fact that a young woman was appointed as his superior, when he was counting on landing her job himself. She then proves to be much stronger and more talented, which further wounds his pride. I thought it would be very interesting to see him overcome his hubris, accept his position and then learn and grow from his working relationship - perhaps even friendship - with the MC. But the reveal of his thought makes it very clear that I should quash those hopes as he will probably just turn into another low-tier villain. Critique aside, though, I might read on for a little longer. I know some social issues haven't progressed as far in the east and Asia, as in the West and I genuinely think the author WANTS to write something semi-inspiring. Even if it's a poor attempt. So it might be harsh to judge by the same standards, and it really is not nearly as bad as other manwha and LEVELS above most manga. So, for the good points: The MC is strong, cool and independent. She's kind but not a pushover. She's also kinda wild and unhinged, and not apologetic about it. The story also gets points for not treating it as a big deal that she, as a woman, could become a knight. Or framing it as her becoming one "despite" being a woman. It doesn't go unmentioned, but her gender is not the most important part of the conflict surrounding her leadership or knightage in general. It seems maybe Kyrant is the ML, which I don't mind. He's a walking stereotype, but he's at least sensible, respectful and treats her like a peer. We'll see what happens. It could go both ways from here. So I'll give it a solid 3.5/5 stars.

A tyrant king sits on the of Aden. He abuses his power, opresses his subjects and kills anyone for the slightest offence. Two victims of this king's ruthless bloodshed are count and countess Luxen - parents to two daughters; Rubiana and Callena. Angered by the loss and injustice these orphaned sisters swear to get revenge, and once they've both come of age, they organize a rebellion. Slowly but surely, their army conquers the land surrounding the capital and finally behead the tyrant king. In his stead Callena is crowned Emperor and Rubiana, and two other most loyal subjects, are granted the title of duke and land to match their status. Rubiana is granted the harsh territorie in the north, but accepts and overcomes the challenge of securing and cultivating the land. Now, she is ordered to return to the capital. And while she is here, she decides to initiate her quest to find a suitable husband, so she can fulfill her promise to dedicate her first child to God and the emperor, and also conceive an heir to her dukedom. But how to find a suitable husband when you've got a reputation as a bloodthirsty war-demon? That is the question... Omg, this is so good, I'm squealing!! It's a complete reversal of the tropes and I'm HERE FOR IT! Firstly, there is not just one, but TWO powerful women in the forefront of the story. Callena is a bit selfish and demanding, but (so far) she is not framed to be evil, just harsh in her methods. Rubiana mostly dresses like a man, but it's not something she has to do, just a personal preference. And it's not framed as weird or even something for other characters to notice or judge. SHE IS JUST BEING HERSELF AND SHE IS ALLOWED IN THIS SETTING AND IT'S AMAZING! I'm just so stoked to see a setting that's not a patriarchy. It's completely normal for heads of noble houses, warriors, etc to be women, in this story. Gender roles are not completely erased, unfortunately, but it's a massive improvement compared to the majority of other manga/manwha/webtoons. 10/10 And the ML is a time regressor! What a role reversal. He's an illegitimate child of the tyrant king, so after the rebellion he is killed and this has now repeated 7 times. In this life he's managed to survive because he hid in the House of Scholars, but his life is still hanging by a thread. His hope is that by clinging on to the MC he might be able to save his life this time. It's literally just a reversal of the usual trope where a young time regressing woman asks for marriage from a powerful duke to survive. But even though it's essentially the same trope, changing the genders makes if fresh again. Especially since the story is being told from the duke's perspective. I simped so hard for both the FL and the ML in the chapter where she goes to save him. Omg, it's so good. 100/5 stars!!!

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Translation quality went down. Hoping that another scanlation team picks it up.