sadslime's manga / #Shoujo(6)

Sheltered and rich young schoolgirl Botan falls head over heels for the train attendant Koganei who saved her during her first attempt to use the public transit system. After that, she starts stalking and eventually confesses to Koganei, who swiftly rejects her. But to protect her maidenly heart, her butler creates a love contract to get Koganei to date her with the goal of leaving her with good memories but ultimately getting her to break up. Koganei figures it won't take long, because outside of work he's a total asshole, so she'll surely give up soon. But her tenacity and obsessiveness is greater than he realizes and begins to wear him down. Trigger warning: relationship with a minor.

Loretta and Alto are siblings not related by blood who have never gotten along due to Loretta's intense tsundere nature that makes it impossible to say what she means. But Alto recently had a one night stand with a mystery woman that he's desperate to track down, and Loretta has a secret: it was her all along. She's always loved her brother, she just doesn't know how to express it! It's pretty predictable stuff but not terrible. No explicit scenes, btw. Trigger warning: mild incest (siblings by adoption)

Byletta is the daughter of a knight family who seems too aggressive for marriage, until Arnald, a knight away at war, suddenly asks for her as his bride. She's sent to live with his family in the meantime and duels his alcoholic father to get him on her side, then befriends his sister and starts a business with her uncle. But a few years later, Arnald is coming back and she has no desire to be tied down as his wife, so she sends him a letter asking for a divorce. Arnald returns, and thinking that she's seduced all the men in her life, decides to punish her by offering a bet in which if he gets her pregnant in one month, they'll remain married, but if not, she can go. So now their month of marriage begins. Arnald is an idiot, a slut shamer, and a total asshole. Byletta is a strong FL, which makes it all the more infuriating to see her forced into the romance plot with him. Trigger warnings: domestic violence, dubcon, attempted rape.

In a world where all children inherit powers by the age of 8, Fumi is an adopted child whose powers never manifested, marking her as a "cursed child." Her adoptive family abuses her until the wealthy and powerful Togo with the power of clairvoyance comes to request her as his wife. Though he seems kind at first, he quickly turns cold, but Fumi would rather stay with him than her nasty family, and he may have his good points. Not impressed with the lack of communication, but otherwise seems solid. Trigger warning: abuse

Nanao was supposed to marry the lord of her clan due to her strong spiritual power, but when she was taken and marked by an ayakashi, she became an outcast in her home and lost everything. When the famous Lord Benitsubaki, head of the highest onmyo family, comes seeking a wife, Nanao is told to stay out of his way. But when he saves her after she was misunderstood, he doesn't seem to fear her curse at all and tastes her blood before declaring boldly that she's the one he's been looking for! The abused girl getting taken out of her bad situation by a new husband trope has been done before, but I don't mind seeing it again, and the setting is interesting. Trigger warnings: abuse, implied rape, implied bestiality.

Bernard is a fifth son of a minor noble family who he felt he had no choice but to become a knight to make a name for himself, and Lady Agnes is the flower of high society who should have nothing to do with a low ranked noble like him. Still, when he tries to introduce himself to her at her debut only to get glared at, he holds a grudge against her for looking down on him for years, which is why when she ends up with nothing after her father commits treason and comes to see Bernard at the knight's hall, he impulsively offers to take her in as a maid, intending to crush her pride. To his surprise, she's delighted and thanks him profusely, and now he gets to deal with housing a traitor's daughter who acts nothing like the haughty lady he was expecting. Still, a knight's oath is to protect those who can't protect themselves, so he can't turn Agnes away now! I like this one so far, especially the interesting touch of having it told form the ML's point of view, but it felt a little cliche once they introduced his mother and the "fiance" plot. Trigger warning: stalker.