Sleeps In Sunbeams's manga / #Female Protagonist(3)

Completed story Commander Liza Mary of the Imperial Knights returns victorious to the Empire of Phaeton after a long war to subjugate an enemy kingdom. But little did she know that her beloved fiancé Illian would leave her for Flora, the princess of the fallen enemy kingdom… After drinking herself into a heartbroken stupor that night, Liza awakens to the modern world in the body of timid high schooler, Doeun. Puzzled and confused, Liza seeks to find out what happened and return to her own world, aided by Doeun’s friends Ian and Lora, who look suspiciously like Illian and Flora!

This was a lovely story. Carnelia (FL) was isekai’d into the role of the villainess who would be executed at the hands of her husband. However, she was nothing like the character from the story and set about to survive by becoming friends with the prince she was forced to wed when they were both 12. And that friendship was what set this story up for a wonderful foundation for a plot of political machinations for the emperors throne and ofc love. I loved the MCs, their strong bonds of friendship turned love are amongst my favourite tropes. The supporting characters were such eye candy and the art overall was impeccable. There were sweetly funny moments like the Prince perpetually having his nose buried in a “How To” book and Carnelia having to fix that. Definitely a story to reread.

Completed Story Opinion: A nice story, let down in a couple of areas but the sisterly bond was great. Main couple: 7/10 FL: 7/10 - Countess Charlotte De Perol. Childhood full of physical abuse and neglect. Becomes a powerful woman and has a sweet sister relationship. ML: 8/10 - Arthur, Duke of Cardiff. One of the last magi, capable of wielding the infernal flame. General of the Kings armies. Actually a very sweet guy who didn’t get enough story time with more pages dedicated to the king (who held him in a form of obligated servitude). Unable to live his life for himself. Story/Concept: One of the most refreshing aspects of this story was the sister bond between FL and her mercenary sister Kara. The story suited the title “Cheerful Countess Sisters” more than “Countess and the Blade” because little of the story had time between FL & ML and he was a magi more than a knight. There were let downs for me but the main one would be the amount of story dedicated to the king. He was responsible for a lifetime of misery for the ML because his need for power was his priority over their close brotherly bond and he never faced any consequences for that. In fact, with the exception of having the FL love him, his life was pretty perfect and given his cruelty (which the author attempted to balance with his love of the FL) and petty selfishness. He was also in the story a LOT more than the ML. Tropes: Shoujo. Historical. Royalty. Nobility. Sisterhood. Ending: Happy. Side stories were ok. Art: Pretty and colourful. TW's: Child abuse.