BL Master's Favorite

Please don't judge this story or the characters (including Cinderella!!) too early. Moreso than a romance, this story is about sisterhood, family, and women discovering their independence in an era/place where it isn't really allowed. These four women go through a lot, but all of their struggles are around supporting and protecting each other against the world no matter what.

I don't want to spoil too much but.......
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Iris (the eldest daughter) and the Crown Prince fall in love. However, Iris refuses his pursuit for a long time. For one reason, its because she doesn't think she's good enough for him. But the bigger reason is because she believes its her responsibility to protect the Countship and her mother and sisters. If she married the prince, then the countship would fall to her sister's husband and her sister would have to marry someone she doesn't love. Furthermore, no one would accept her as Crown Princess and there would be a lot of struggles to go through and other nobles would target her family. She doesn't want to put them in that position. For that reason, her plan is to marry a very wealthy older man (like 3x her age). Because he's so old she basically would be in charge of things so she's be able to provide for her stepmother and sisters.

Lily (the second eldest) desperately wants to be a painter, but professional artist is one of the many jobs that women aren't allowed to have. Despite that Lily is determined to paint. A knight (the prince's swordmaster) falls in love with her and she loves him back, but more important to her than romance is her dreams and ambitions! She refuses to marry him until she's 30 because (a) she wants to try to pursue being a painter despite the social obstacles and (b) she wants to protect Ashley (Cinderella) by shielding her until Ashely is strong enough and prepared enough to fight for the right to be Countess in her own right, without marrying.

Ashley (Cinderella) despite being clumsy and initially very emotionally weak, she is very very hardworking and determined once she decides on something. At first, she just wants to not be hated by her step-sisters and step-moth, but after they become close thanks to the FL, she feels the warmth of family for the first time (her mother died in childbirth, her father ignored her completely and spent most of his time on trips, and the servants didn't do anything but feed her). After that, her greatest wish becomes to protect and be together with her family forever. She doesn't have a love interest AT ALL. Her entire focus is on helping Mildred make money and eventually she plans to take over the Countship without marrying so that she can support her stepmother and also provide backing for her stepsisters.

i would like to thank CdawgVA for bringing me to this fantastic BL story. Um, i had a grand time (▰˘◡˘▰)

this manga is a big WTF!! but a good one