Idk I feel like it was also something like that to some extent. Like, the more of an actual dick they were, the better the brainwashing worked. Like they were nice to "Selonia" because she was their crewmate and hot, but would still possibly be dicks to a rando lady (especially Macryan and whatshisname fiance). The fiance in particular strikes me as a person who would be an ass to a server at a restaurant for no reason. That's just my impression tho
I had to stop reading because these men weren’t shit. Why was y’all even talking to that hoe at the banquet? Why were you even at a banquet when your comrade was down? when your fiancé was down? We don’t celebrate unless we all celebrate together the fuck. And that was before the brainwashing.. So apparently they got what they got for partying without their person.
Ummm no? All these events happened while they were being brainwashed. Not before. The brainwashing started as soon as they got back from the expedition.
Oh well I dropped it so I don’t know. ╮(￣▽￣)╭
From what we've been seen so far, there's no basis to assume they were already an aholes before the brainwashing. Except for the dragon maybe? But even then, he was described as someone reliable. Idk about the priest dude, however there were quite a few instances where the fiance's subordinates were surprised about the drastic change in his personality. And in the recent chapters, after he's woken up and free of the brainwashing, his concern was mostly for Selonia, not himself.
I think what mostly sells that theire personality wasn't similar to how they acted toward MC during brainwashing is that MC decides to forgive the dragon and priest. If they were jerks in general, she wouldn't have done so. And this is also what pmo the most. If she can forgive the other two, why not the fiance? She doesn't have to go back to him or love him but he was just as much as a victim as the other two. Maybe even more? The dude was influenced so much by the black magic, his features started to turn monstrous.
What chapter do we find this all out and the forgiveness starts? Please and thank you. I want to be mad with you my friend
Yk I hate stories where it turns out that the ML candidates started acting shitty under the influence of magic or brainwashing. IMO, that makes them more of a victim than the actual MC. Yeah MC might've been treated bad by them but the guys literally had someone mess with their head and/or control their actions. They also end up with bad rep and face the consequences of something they had no control over. Even in this story, MC forgives the Priest and Dragon dude but is holding onto a grudge against the fiance. He was also a fucking victim!
This trope is best done in the "The one within the villainess", where it turned out that the magic/brainwashing only worked on people who had those thoughts anyway and the brainswashing just amplified their feelings.