Definitely going through reader bias because if Cardel was the FL I would’ve dropped this story.
This has to be one of the most outrageous harems because the whole “MC needs to have a kid with atleast one girl from each village” is strange. Also, I hardly paid attention to the plot while reading this so take this lightly.
First, if MC becomes a whole broodmare, the fight for his throne is most likely going to be bloody in the future. His children are going to be born with targets on their back, and there’s no way he’s going to be able to raise them to care about him. The most ideal situation is that they all look up to his as their lord/father and even then, that’s ………
Second, the whole village problem could be resolved (again hardly paid attention to the plot because it wasn’t that interesting and the design of the women were nice to look at) with a village representative body. Have everyone in the village, send a man, and vote on stuff. Or you can have each village come together and send their vote. I don’t know I just feel like making the MC a brood mare is the last solution, the world has cars and idol shows I just think we can find a democratic way to solve this. I know it’s a fantasy so maybe democracy doesn’t really exist, but surely we can bend the rules if we have advanced technology. Also, terrible world building in terms of the things that exist and things that don’t but not that important I guess.
Lastly, can we stop talking to the old friend group after the we will break the spell that is controlling the heart of the Hero (whenever that arc happens)? I understand talking to the Hero, Thats his best friend from high school, possible angst there. The love interest, I don’t see what she can bring that the countless other girls we’re already dealing with in the fief can’t measure up to. Even for Cross, our merchant friend is filling that gap (if there was a gap). Ema, I wish MC scolded her more at chapter 70ish, throughout my scrolling she hasn’t said 5 nice things to him in total. Shes even spilled the love interest crush causing MC to be profiled harder. Elf guy, is meh.
There’s no good enough reason to justify her being 17 when he’s 32. I love the plot and I know shes nearly 50 mentally but in the eyes of everyone in this world shes 17.
Yes shes an adult in that world, but the world building didn’t need to make the FL 17 and the ML 32 to drive the point. A 15 year age gap, with what is usually perceived as a minor is icky!!! Whenever he pops up, it makes me think of a Highschool senior baby sitter getting with the dad of the kid they’re watching.
And I know spoilers of what happened to him and the first reality but their is still not need for these ages, her being 20 or him being ATLEAST 27 would not change anything in the plot!!! Nothing, the long wait due to his trauma would still be acceptable at 25, he didn’t need to be in his thirties when she is 17.
It’s so hard to ignore because of the romance budding, he could be her dad and again, he and those around them don’t know shes 50 mentally, all of their actions and conversations is being done with a 17-18 year old and a very later spoiler
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In the side stories, I’m realizing that all the couples meet when the woman is below 18. FL is 17 and ML is 32 when they are married. Emperor is 22 and Empress is like 15 when they meet. Even the future crown Prince and FL’s future daughter are hinting to get together but crown Prince is like nearly 10 years older than her it seems? I understand that these age differences can show how women operate in society (ex. Game of thrones), and this manga does seem to handle women’s rights, but not to the extent where this necessary and I don’t see it being properly acknowledged outside of that one conversation between the butler and ML.
I agree with everything, but I think she's still only 36-37 mentally, because she only remembered her past life at 17. I don't think the years would have compounded unless she remembered everything from rebirth like they do in most other childcare stories.
MC’s secret has to be one of the worst kept secrets ever. The maid of the princess knows the secret? Why?? Why did she even need to know, they’re just casually shopping at the market, he can’t use his powers there.
Also, why did he tell the princess that he has his past memories. They’ve known each other for less than a season and he hasn’t even started the Royal academy, why are we rushing all relationships in this manga?
So Fl likes Weiss for 10 years, and spent a few of those years nearly single handedly paying back millions of dollars of debt while not being contacted by him for YEARS.
Then, when he comes back with an adopted kid, pays for the house there in (as well as some other random teen he picks up) so our ML doesn’t even NEED to get a job and can’t even confess her feelings??? Not even when drunk!!
They're friends. Friends are like that... s
I love that this isn’t a reincarnation, transgression, isekai etc. because it FORCES you to watch Annette “redeem” herself. Like she has to bear the consequences of her ignorance, even though, sometimes it felt like the hate she received was unfair to her. But it’s also unfair to those who had to suffer at the hands of her family, and unfortunately / fortunately shes the only one alive so she has to bear that resentment. And it was interesting having to see how she had to understand that (also the backstory showing her saying “my condolences” after hearing that Hein was the last man standing??? I’m glad the creator had the balls to show us she was that bad and wasn’t a completely misunderstood character.)
Hein was such a complex character where I was swinging between hating the man and wanting to cry for him. And it’s understandable because so many other books in this genre brush over the ML’s trauma to make him “cold” but yeah Hein is “cold” times but it’s NOT a good thing at all. And it’s not shown as a good thing, they show how his past affected him in detail and damn they showed him being genuinely VULNERABLE while it was happening and after. He was a kid when they had him killing other kids, he was a young adult when he was being tortured as an renter boy, he was barely an adult when he had to lead a war, post-Revolution! (Also, I liked how they showed that his motives for the revolution wasn’t necessarily for “the people”. His desire for a revolution was selfish, unheroic in a sense but he fulfilled his duty. Regardless of reason, and the goddess pedestal he put Anne in when she was just a child as well, he served his people and wasn’t on any cowardly bullshit!) And throughout, they showed why thats traumatizing and didn’t just tell us in some backstory!
Even the side characters were interesting, Charlotte, a heart made of gold, the sentiment of the people was understandable at most times, Charlotte (did I mention Charlotte, AGAIN Charlotte and her beautiful family). Even the red haired girl, they didn’t make her some jealous side woman, the marriage proposal made sense and her reaction was refreshing, she didn’t waste time adding to tear Anne down, shes a whole woman’s suffragist she has bigger fish to fry!!
It’s obvious the story borrowed from European history, and it’s entertaining but the accuracy of everything is a bit off (not accuracy to actual history but they timeline of how things unfolded were a bit outrageous, which the creator was less hesitant to age the characters, especially during the war). But I’m not a history fanatic so I can’t explain that very well.
I have so much more I could say but I’m glad she didn’t adopt Joseph. I’m also glad the ending didn’t show her miraculously having children to have some perfect life. They showed her and Hein being content, which isn’t the happiest end but it’s not a bad one at all. And it showed that they will continue to try and be happy.
Loved this book and procreator has to be one of the best eldest brothers I've ever read.
Just read through some spoilers and the novel is about 1000 chapters and they’re now at chapter 170.
Going to have to let this build up for a few years.
If it’s good, I hope they take time to adapt it or got contracted enough seasons to adapt the full story. So many times I’ve read stories where they adapt it so well in the beginning, pacing it well, but then realize they don’t have enough seasons to finish or it’s taking too long, so they end up rushing and skipping a ton of important things and I can only cope from novel readers telling us what was skipped in the comments
But my only hope is that it doesn’t suddenly get axed after adapting half the story. That is like the worst case, truly ;;