-_-

We are rooting for her because we are seeing her perspective. She just wants to survive that's why we want to root her. But the fact that she tried to manipulate without being hold accountable for her actions is a 'protagonist' thing to do. Lots of protagonists in a transmigrated world can just get away with anything they could do because apparently they had a sad backstory yada yada. It's just like excusing a toxic ML.

Let's try to see it reverse. Then everyone of us will be pissed off. The importance of seeing everything is acknowledging that it's not only our main character who is suffering. Penelope and Eclipse are way similar to each other. Both are alone in a way at the very start. Penelope born in a neglect/abusive family while Eclipse was born without a family because everyone got killed in the front of him.

The original Penelope might not deserve all those misery, but the "current" Penelope is not the one who get tortured and forced to be a villain. The "current" Penelope just came out of nowhere and start taking advantage of a person who's not even the one who has been torturing the og Penelope all this time. She act nicely and avoid people who hurts her yet being a manipulative b*tch to poor eclise.

I think the "current" Penelope deserve what eclise did to her. Just like how the duke family deserved to be miserable because the way they treated the og Penelope.

I feel like you're forgetting that the "current" Penelope is being forced to do whatever she can to survive. Her character is no where near being a saint, (and why should she?) But what makes this story interesting is that she's three dimensional in her way of thinking under duress. Her shitty childhood (giving her belief that life is shit, and being nice wont get you anything) + her rationalization that she's in a video game (all these people aren't real/are strangers) + trying not to die + the pressure of being on a time limit = Doing whatever she thinks is necessary to survive. I'm not saying her actions are commendable, just understandable given her situation. Pluuuus, isn't it fun to see a transmigration plot that doesn't immediately get nerfed by 'The power of friendship!'?

But his alternative was unrequited love anyways xD if I remember correctly, in the oh story line Eclis loved Ivonne but she didn’t love him back? Penelope was using him to survive, yes, but she’s did not mistreat him, and she was going to keep him on her side after she’s managed to clear the threat that loomed over her head, no? ╮(￣▽￣)╭ am I remembering wrong?

Still doesn't excuse her for being a manipulative person. She can be a caring human if she wants, which is proven when she "kinda" fell for Callisto. So why can't she do that to Eclise which she think as the only way to win the game? Because of how manipulative and heartless she act towards Eclise (who's never hurt her even once before), she deserved to be betrayed by him.

No. She's never, not even once, ever think that she would keep him on her side. Because her goal is to win the game and get tf out of this game world. Meaning that she would abandon him anyway. And unlike yvvone who's kind to Eclise without taking advantage of him, Penelope is. She's manipulative and never sincerely care for him, she would just sweet talk him and shower him with gifts and then gonna left him all alone by himself for God know just how long (noone likes him in the duchy, and all knights bully him).
I mean if she can be care enough to "kinda" fell for Callisto who almost killed her, why can't she do that to Eclise instead? It's kinda unfair that she used Eclise, thinking that's the only way to win the game yet she gave her feelings for Callisto and not a single shi for Eclise??

The part where she left him alone with the other knights was indeed very sad :C maybe she likes other types of psychos xD Can't fault her for that