beta
the combined subtext of elias’s fake dates with girls and the lying about what he’s doing (in a gentlemans club no less) legit made me think he was gay or smth. thats combined with the random panel of the guy smiling and complimenting him AND being told he’s able to socialize with other young noble men I LITERALLY THOUGHT i was over the moon cause like thats so good…the parallel abt lying and the subtext of why he got interested in gambling in the first place…i literally forgot ohera existed and when she showed up i was like OH LOL
no more husband hides his face, no more predatory marriage, no more broken ring bullshit bc this blows so much of the more popular stuff out of the water. its peak, it just executes things well in areas that are sorely lacking in other works, and actually the genre as a whole. the political angle is nothing new but i was genuinely so engaged with the plot, which tends to get pretty dull quickly with some other stuff i've read. everyone in this story really feels like they have their own needs and motivations. overall this felt refreshing for manhwas that involve more generic reincarnation tropes and arranged marriages. not that being generic is bad but the element of mystery surrounding shuri and johan's marriage is a REALLY good hook. it also has the added benefit of evolving beyond its reincarnation premise and truly becoming its own story/timeline. the pay off for plot and characters is fantastic too.
yea, i find that the one thing that instantly elevates a story is when characters actually have depth and are well written, instead of being extremely one dimensional