I'm going to share my thoughts on the story from Chapter 1 to Chapter 43, as those are the only chapters I've been able to read so far.
Before I begin, I'd like to mention that I'm not very experienced at writing reviews, and I don't always express myself as clearly as I'd like because my vocabulary is quite limited. For that reason, I'll be using a translator while writing this review. I apologise in advance if any part of it sounds awkward or is difficult to understand. (￣∇￣")
• About the story: There isn't any real romance, at least not at the moment. There are a few subtle hints of it, but it isn't a major focus. Instead, the story centres on revenge, the protagonist's struggle to survive the many ordeals thrown her way, and her determination to protect her beast daughter, Lily. I don't know why, but I get the impression that this story feels more like an otome game, where you'll ultimately only be able to choose one male lead. I can also imagine there being a few extra chapters afterwards featuring a harem ending as an alternative route.
• Art: The artwork is absolutely stunning. To be honest, it's the very first thing that draws you into the story and immediately captures your attention.
• Regarding the main characters: Martina (the FL) wasn't a good person in her previous life, unlike the person she has become now. However, that's clearly a result of the circumstances she was forced to endure. Both in her past and present, she was driven to make ruthless choices simply to survive. Much like in real life, where some victims eventually become perpetrators as a consequence of their trauma, Martina was forced to become a villain in order to survive and, above all, to protect her daughter.
• Mayfield, the brother and the main villain, is honestly one of the most confusing characters to understand. At times, he seems to genuinely care about his sister, yet the next moment he wants to kill her or see her suffer. Trying to make sense of him is enough to give me a headache.My interpretation is that, much like his sister, he became the person he is simply to survive.
Perhaps the time they spent together as hostages affected him far more deeply than he lets on.
Sometimes I think he genuinely wants to protect her, and that's why he's doing everything he can to make her give up the throne so he won't have to kill her. At least, that's the interpretation I want to believe.What I still can't make sense of, though, is why, in the previous timeline, he stood by while she was exiled and even allowed her to receive a hundred lashes, only smiling as it happened. My guess is that he expected her to beg him for help, but when she refused to do so, he simply let her suffer.
I also think that, in the previous timeline, after Martina was exiled and he became King, he ordered his soldiers to find her and bring her back to him so he could force her to stay by his side, rather than hunt her down to kill her.Another possibility is that he's being manipulated by his father through magic that has twisted the love he once had for his sister into hatred. That would explain why he treats her the way he does, especially if his father is determined to prevent a woman from ruling the empire.
These are just a few of the many theories I've come up with after reading the story.
• Siegfried and Lily are absolutely adorable together. I have a feeling Siegfried will eventually leave Mayfield for Martina, and I genuinely hope he does.
• Now, regarding the potential male lead candidates:
Mikhail is still my favourite candidate. Even after everything he's done recently, I can't bring myself to hate him because I strongly suspect his current actions are ultimately meant to help Martina. That said, some of his behaviour before the betrayal was undeniably questionable. In particular, confessing his feelings, kissing her, and then immediately telling her he was going to leave her was an absolutely idiotic thing to do.
I also think his decision to betray Martina has a lot to do with his insecurities when he compares himself to the other potential male leads. If I'm being honest, they're far more powerful than he is and are able to protect Martina much more easily. Mikhail, on the other hand, is held back by his past as a slave, which seems to have left him feeling inadequate.
What really made me angry, though, was seeing him standing alongside Mayfield. After everything Mayfield did to him when they were children, Mikhail still chose to side with him. Then, to make matters worse, he greeted Martina as though nothing had happened. That genuinely infuriated me. One thing I absolutely loved, however, was Lily telling him that she hated him. It was a very satisfying moment.
• Ryan is my second favourite candidate, and honestly, I adore him. A future general, too.
I was genuinely surprised to find out that he'd already fallen for Martina in the previous timeline. It explains so much about why, in the current timeline, he developed romantic feelings for her so quickly. It wasn't rushed at all, his feelings had been there all along.
One of the scenes that completely broke my heart was when, after the war in the previous timeline, he went looking for Martina, only to find her dead in the forest. That scene was absolutely devastating.
At this point, I honestly feel like Ryan is the true male lead. He's suffered so much throughout his life, yet whenever his illness flared up, there was never anyone by his side to help him. His mother died from depression, and his father couldn't do much for him because he was dealing with his own struggles as well.
• Fayenix. Physically speaking, he’s completely my type. I have a weakness for characters with white or grey hair, so he immediately caught my attention. He’s a genius mage, but despite his talent, his childhood was incredibly lonely. The people in his community looked at him with admiration and reverence from a very young age, which only made him feel more isolated.
I still can’t really see him as the ML yet because of his age. Eighteen still feels too young to me. Maybe when he’s older, I’ll consider him a stronger ML candidate, but for now, I mostly see him as a young man who has a crush on his teacher.
I genuinely felt sorry for him because of his past, especially after what he went through with his former sponsor, who physically abused him terribly. Thankfully, he’s no longer as alone as he thought he would be for the rest of his life. Now he has Lily and Martina by his side.
Out of all the candidates so far, he was actually the one I thought had the highest chance of betraying Martina. So I have to admit, he completely proved me wrong. I was genuinely speechless when the person I least expected turned out to be the traitor.
I originally thought the ML was going to be Mikhail, but after finding out that Ryan and Martina shared moments together in their past life, and that Ryan remembered those memories in the present, I was already 90% convinced that he was the ML. Then Mikhail’s betrayal happened, and that pretty much confirmed for me that Ryan is the male lead.
On top of that, in their past life, Ryan and Martina were the only ones who spoke with the legendary tree that allowed them both to return to the past. That detail alone makes me even more certain that Ryan is the true ML.
• Regarding the supporting characters: The parents are, quite simply, awful. The mother is especially frustrating; she’s the type of person who only truly cares about her husband and abandons her children because of him, while still pretending that she loves them. The father, at least, was honest from the very beginning, he made it clear that he only saw his wife and children as tools to use in order to gain more power.
Honestly, the parents are the real villains of this story, especially the father. They are the source of many of the problems, and their actions make them far worse than most of the actual antagonist.
For now, that's everything I think about the story. I should point out, though, that the male lead hasn't been officially confirmed yet—it's just that all my suspicions point towards Ryan being the ML. Aside from him, there are two other characters who also seem to be potential candidates, one of whom is a blonde woman.
I'm going to share my thoughts on the story from Chapter 1 to Chapter 43, as those are the only chapters I've been able to read so far.
Before I begin, I'd like to mention that I'm not very experienced at writing reviews, and I don't always express myself as clearly as I'd like because my vocabulary is quite limited. For that reason, I'll be using a translator while writing this review. I apologise in advance if any part of it sounds awkward or is difficult to understand. (￣∇￣")
• About the story:
There isn't any real romance, at least not at the moment. There are a few subtle hints of it, but it isn't a major focus. Instead, the story centres on revenge, the protagonist's struggle to survive the many ordeals thrown her way, and her determination to protect her beast daughter, Lily. I don't know why, but I get the impression that this story feels more like an otome game, where you'll ultimately only be able to choose one male lead. I can also imagine there being a few extra chapters afterwards featuring a harem ending as an alternative route.
• Art:
The artwork is absolutely stunning. To be honest, it's the very first thing that draws you into the story and immediately captures your attention.
• Regarding the main characters:
Martina (the FL) wasn't a good person in her previous life, unlike the person she has become now. However, that's clearly a result of the circumstances she was forced to endure. Both in her past and present, she was driven to make ruthless choices simply to survive. Much like in real life, where some victims eventually become perpetrators as a consequence of their trauma, Martina was forced to become a villain in order to survive and, above all, to protect her daughter.
• Mayfield, the brother and the main villain, is honestly one of the most confusing characters to understand. At times, he seems to genuinely care about his sister, yet the next moment he wants to kill her or see her suffer. Trying to make sense of him is enough to give me a headache.My interpretation is that, much like his sister, he became the person he is simply to survive.
Perhaps the time they spent together as hostages affected him far more deeply than he lets on.
Sometimes I think he genuinely wants to protect her, and that's why he's doing everything he can to make her give up the throne so he won't have to kill her. At least, that's the interpretation I want to believe.What I still can't make sense of, though, is why, in the previous timeline, he stood by while she was exiled and even allowed her to receive a hundred lashes, only smiling as it happened. My guess is that he expected her to beg him for help, but when she refused to do so, he simply let her suffer.
I also think that, in the previous timeline, after Martina was exiled and he became King, he ordered his soldiers to find her and bring her back to him so he could force her to stay by his side, rather than hunt her down to kill her.Another possibility is that he's being manipulated by his father through magic that has twisted the love he once had for his sister into hatred. That would explain why he treats her the way he does, especially if his father is determined to prevent a woman from ruling the empire.
These are just a few of the many theories I've come up with after reading the story.
• Siegfried and Lily are absolutely adorable together. I have a feeling Siegfried will eventually leave Mayfield for Martina, and I genuinely hope he does.
• Now, regarding the potential male lead candidates:
Mikhail is still my favourite candidate. Even after everything he's done recently, I can't bring myself to hate him because I strongly suspect his current actions are ultimately meant to help Martina. That said, some of his behaviour before the betrayal was undeniably questionable. In particular, confessing his feelings, kissing her, and then immediately telling her he was going to leave her was an absolutely idiotic thing to do.
I also think his decision to betray Martina has a lot to do with his insecurities when he compares himself to the other potential male leads. If I'm being honest, they're far more powerful than he is and are able to protect Martina much more easily. Mikhail, on the other hand, is held back by his past as a slave, which seems to have left him feeling inadequate.
What really made me angry, though, was seeing him standing alongside Mayfield. After everything Mayfield did to him when they were children, Mikhail still chose to side with him. Then, to make matters worse, he greeted Martina as though nothing had happened. That genuinely infuriated me. One thing I absolutely loved, however, was Lily telling him that she hated him. It was a very satisfying moment.
• Ryan is my second favourite candidate, and honestly, I adore him. A future general, too.
I was genuinely surprised to find out that he'd already fallen for Martina in the previous timeline. It explains so much about why, in the current timeline, he developed romantic feelings for her so quickly. It wasn't rushed at all, his feelings had been there all along.
One of the scenes that completely broke my heart was when, after the war in the previous timeline, he went looking for Martina, only to find her dead in the forest. That scene was absolutely devastating.
At this point, I honestly feel like Ryan is the true male lead. He's suffered so much throughout his life, yet whenever his illness flared up, there was never anyone by his side to help him. His mother died from depression, and his father couldn't do much for him because he was dealing with his own struggles as well.
• Fayenix. Physically speaking, he’s completely my type. I have a weakness for characters with white or grey hair, so he immediately caught my attention. He’s a genius mage, but despite his talent, his childhood was incredibly lonely. The people in his community looked at him with admiration and reverence from a very young age, which only made him feel more isolated.
I still can’t really see him as the ML yet because of his age. Eighteen still feels too young to me. Maybe when he’s older, I’ll consider him a stronger ML candidate, but for now, I mostly see him as a young man who has a crush on his teacher.
I genuinely felt sorry for him because of his past, especially after what he went through with his former sponsor, who physically abused him terribly. Thankfully, he’s no longer as alone as he thought he would be for the rest of his life. Now he has Lily and Martina by his side.
Out of all the candidates so far, he was actually the one I thought had the highest chance of betraying Martina. So I have to admit, he completely proved me wrong. I was genuinely speechless when the person I least expected turned out to be the traitor.
I originally thought the ML was going to be Mikhail, but after finding out that Ryan and Martina shared moments together in their past life, and that Ryan remembered those memories in the present, I was already 90% convinced that he was the ML. Then Mikhail’s betrayal happened, and that pretty much confirmed for me that Ryan is the male lead.
On top of that, in their past life, Ryan and Martina were the only ones who spoke with the legendary tree that allowed them both to return to the past. That detail alone makes me even more certain that Ryan is the true ML.
• Regarding the supporting characters:
The parents are, quite simply, awful. The mother is especially frustrating; she’s the type of person who only truly cares about her husband and abandons her children because of him, while still pretending that she loves them. The father, at least, was honest from the very beginning, he made it clear that he only saw his wife and children as tools to use in order to gain more power.
Honestly, the parents are the real villains of this story, especially the father. They are the source of many of the problems, and their actions make them far worse than most of the actual antagonist.
For now, that's everything I think about the story. I should point out, though, that the male lead hasn't been officially confirmed yet—it's just that all my suspicions point towards Ryan being the ML. Aside from him, there are two other characters who also seem to be potential candidates, one of whom is a blonde woman.