I think the problem with the knowing she was there can be seen as a minor detail, but in actualality can be a big detail, for instance me saying something on the spur of the moment when the person in question isn't there, knowing it won't lead to consequences because they won't know and I never told them versus saying it for them to hear for them to know my actual feelings and this isn't something I said because they weren't there and it won't come back to bite me, he knew she was there, he said it cause he meant every word and he WANTED her to know that despite her being a child, I think that's the difference for her, then he actually lied as if to say "wait you heard that?" Acting as if she wasn't meant to when he clearly did cuz now he knows he fucked up, which it's fine to fuck up, but to purposely say that to a child is what crosses a line, instead of them accidentally or not hearing it all. Everything else you said I don't really have any opinions about, but I respect that you are a "phil hater" she can definitely be interpreted that was as this is just a story.
Ahh although if I was brought back to that palace again after running away basically after being hunted down, I would honestly abuse the power of a"guest" and the emperor's feelings, like I ran away for a reason and you brought me back, it's your fault if I do somd selfish shit, I didn't even wanna be here and you keep trying to prolong my stay, so i take you you don't care what i do, as princess she couldn't reallu say what she really wanted for fear of being hated again, so now she is a spoiled guest with vip privileges, but thats just how I would act, like a true spoiled villian for a bit of revenge hahaha. But I get your frustration in her roundabout ways that are kinda being masked as good, in a way.
Ah also I feel she forgave him on the context of being in the spur moment, not for being an asshole so it kinda revoke the apology if the apology was for something else, like I forgive someone for accident hitting my car then come to find out they did that shit on purpose, that brings about more questions as to why and now you are just a shit person who didn't deserve my forgiveness
I do get what you mean. Obviously it's a lot more hurtful when they know you're there than when not. However, that would be for when you're already aware that they knew, thus you're entitled to act however you want. I'm honestly tired after reapeating this a thousand times, but after he had already apologized in many various ways and she'd accepted it, it's so dumb to react the way she did. I'm not saying she shouldn't have gotten hurt at all, but by then she definitely knew that the emperor loved her as a daughter and there was no way he wasn't drowning in guilt already.
Also more than him meaning every word, I think at the time he genuinely did not care. He didn't even hate or dislike her, he only found her a bother.
Tbf he didn't exactly lie, he'd wanted to confess to her that he had heard her at the time many times, it's just that he was interrupted every single time. (typical korean author logic) And if we're gonna use Phill's childhood to excuse her being frustrating 100% of the time, I think we can cut the emperor some slack as well. The guy dealt with assassins at the ripe age of 9... He never had anyone to teach him how to love, except for his wife who died giving birth to a child that not only looked nothing like either of them, but also kept making trouble for everyone everyday. I think anyone in his shoes wouldn't be able to stand it. If you look at it from this perspective, he actually treated her way better than lots of other manhwa fathers who somehow don't get as much hate.
Tbh I would do a lot of things differently if I were her, but the thing is the story isn't about us, it's about Phill. When her whole personality is "I wanna leave the palace" then she should anything to do so. Let's not forget the literal Archmage is her fucking father. She could've left anytime she wanted (and her bio family would love that as well) but she kept saying shit like "I need to find the truth" which is understandable but she could definitely do it outside of the palace as well.
You explained it perfectly, it would've been fine if she made mistakes and admitted it. But she has this very arrogant vibe to her that made me wanna pull my hair. She whole heartedly believed everything she did was correct even though she was proven otherwise so many times.
I don't really agree with you, since the emperor proved himself to be deeply sorry and regretful about what he did, and there's no way she hadn't realized that the emperor is not a bad person at all, he's just had his own circumstances. I feel bad everytime I see people mentioning "Phill had such a traumatic childhood she's so strong" when she isn't like that at all!! All the credit should go to the emperor for managing to become the best father he could for the sake of his (at the time) child even though he's been through much much more than Phill in his whole life. And Phill has so many people to rely on (her father, brothers, Nassar, some NPC friends and so on) but the emperor literally had her only, and a child who was possessed by another soul. To leave him like that to deal with it himself is just so selfish in my opinion.
Writing small points in hopes that my answers arent gonna be too long for all of our sakes (=・ω・=);
I haven't read the novel, so I am going to use the knowledge I have from the manga, but at this moment the emperor hasn't really apologized THAT much. I also believe that a few spoken apologies aren't enough when you've given your child trauma.I also agree with Bleurgh, finding out that he said these things to her on purpose and wanted her to hear it, changes things. It's not him saying it because he's tired, annoyed, or irritated, it's him saying it because he WANTS her to hear this and WANTS to hurt her. It's different, and anyone would be angry in that kind of situation."The guy dealt with assassins at the ripe age of 9…", is a bad excuse when talking about him being forgiven. Her father's trauma or problems have nothing to do with her, and even if we do measure them, and say he had more problems than her when she was his age, that's not an excuse to project his emotions from his issues onto her. "The child that looked nothing like either of them", ??? What does a child's appearance have to do with you caring for them? He's not the goddess Hera, if I find out that someone stopped caring for their child and emotionally neglected them because they 'looked nothing like them', then I would lose all respect for them, and avoid talking to them.
I found 3 reasons for her staying in the palace:The emperor begged her to stay, and since she was so confused and tired, she agreed, thinking that a few months wasn't that long (however long she is staying, don't remember). I remember her thinking (the manga) that she shouldn't have agreed after sorting out all her thoughts.The people she loved were there, and they all wanted her to stay for at least a little bit longer. She basically grew up with them, and from my point of view, she loved and trusted them more than the emperor. Her maid, butler, and fiance, grew up with them for YEARS and formed close bonds, and if I remember correctly, that is the reason she stayed after thinking "I shouldn't have accepted the emperor's offer".You might think it's bullshit, but her reason for staying to uncover Elincia's secret isn't. When a book prophesizing the future tells you that Elincia is a carefree, kind, and loving angel of a saint, suddenly seems to throw shade your way, and change her whole attitude that even her own mother found weird and creepy, anyone would be suspicious. It's not the main reason (I think) for her staying, but it is still one. Also using Penelope as an example isn't right, her situation was different, she was in a hostile environment, with her brother hating her, her sister almost poisoning her, and Eclis being a bitch. She saw a better way out, and she took it like any of us would.(P.S., She might not feel comfortable leaving with the archmage yet, because she barely knows him and his sons. Again, all her friends and 'family' are here in the empire. I assume from her actions, that she is just using the time she has to say her final and better goodbyes before leaving after the deadline. Again, I only use the knowledge I have from the manga, her personality might not align with the one in the novel/translation.)
I'm not gonna reply to other things because I think I explained myself enough already if you don't wanna get it let's just agree to disagree. But what I meant by "a child who doesn't look like either of them" is that the whole reason the emperor was under a lot of pressure in the novel when Phill was born, was her appearance. People kept telling him she's not like him at all and she doesn't have mana as well so she shouldn't become his heir. And Phill wasn't exactly helping her case being such an annoying daughter. This plus the fact that he had lost the only support he had in his life (his wife) he wasn't in the best mental state. Idk why yall can excuse anything the female lead does so easily but when it comes to other characters suddenly they can't have any flaws. Anyways, Phill's personality isn't exactly much different in the novel it's just there are a Lot more details which made her appear quite hypocritical (to me at least)
Am sorry if I misunderstood anything, since I have no knowledge of the novel, but Phil being 'annoying' might be a sign of the emotional neglect she has from being ignored by her father. This has apperantly led to her throwing tantrums or being 'annoying' to get attention, even if it is negative (Especially if she sees that its effective).
(Not sure when you think she was annoying but) she also wasnt raised very well by anyone tbh, especially her nanny. She realised that she will die in around 10 years, and found out that the people she loved (knight, maids, nanny) hate, her and already think she is a fake. Again, she had no one she could trust or that cared about her in the palace when she was 9, and though it might not rival the emperors childhood, I do think it shaped her, and her personality by a lot.
(Am sorry if am wasting your time, but could you write the things she did that you found annoying? Just curious, and its okay if you dont (▰˘◡˘▰))
Ahhh I see nowww you are looking at the emperor as an individual who is father too and we are looking at the emperor as just a father. As a person we make mistakes and him as a person was quite shitty and had his own circumstances and deserves slack, but when you have a child your mistakes matter whether you like it or not because the affect and shape aniyher human being just like his childhood affected and shaped him, he has a responsibility and fucked it up and made a child act for basically her whole life as someone else, she did not see his good parenting because as soon as he was a good parent it was because she had already changed who she was to survive, trying to be an adult at only 10, which lets be honest was the catalyst in seeing her in a different light, she had to conform to her parents mood, personality, and walk on egshells to get him to like her, instead of him actually being a parent it's almost like she was raising him to be a parent
I see where you coming from and honestly I think it just boils down to a difference of opinion, to me there his circumstances affected the growth of a child his actions did that, it's different when you are a parent and you are just testing the waters, to phil he was probably just not sure what to do and said something like that in front of an adult but learning that he didn't even want to learn or be bothered with her to the point of actually telling her is a problem, he may be regretted it and she saw that, but to her for the context of purposely saying it and affecting her whole life, that regret for that action wasn't enough for the context, she forgave him for an accident/not being a good parent off the bat not the humiliation and assholesery. (Also he did lie, him saying "you heard that" instead of saying I knew you were there" is the lie him trying to tell the truth after doesn't mean he didn't lie, it's on him for not owning up to it after that, he had a chance he just was too guilty to own up to it at that moment, which I also understand, but it's still a lie.
TLDR: Even after posting all this I didn't say it to change your mind or anything, it was to say that we see the characters in different ways and thus our thinking is also different, and honestly from your perspective I COMPLETELY Understand the frustration especially when she forgave him and now it's seems she just took it back for laughs especially with his own guilt and apologies being rescended, it would feel completely shitty to that character, sooooo from your perspective your opinion is hella valid and I don't see why others need to argue about it since its not like you aren't making any sense
They're not excusing anything; they're just explaining why she acted the way she did. No one is saying what she did was okay—it's just that stuff happened, and that's basically it.
The emperor knowing she was there when he said what he said might seem like a small detail but to her is (rightfully) a big deal because it makes her sad childhood hurt even more.
He fucked up yes, but in a way he is still her father as she literally grew up with him since birth. So, yeah, can't ignore him like he is a 100% stranger.
He is the one who insist she stays and be treated like a princess because he never stopped considering her his daughter, she deserves to be greedy and spoiled by him.
I usually hate a plot or character but I keep reading because it's a guilty pleasure, but if a novel/manhwa is making you THIS angry it might be better to just skip it :D
I'm gonna explain myself one more time because so many people lack reading comprehension apparently.
First of all, I am not mad at the fact that she did not forgive the emperor. I'm mad because she did. He recognized that he shouldn't have said those things to someone who was considered his child at the time, and she also recognized that he was deeply regretful. She was even considering to keep living in the palace until suddenly, on a random Tuesday, the emperor mentions how he can tell who's behind his door by the sound of their footsteps alone, which leads to Phill asking if he knew she was there at that time as well, leading to another fucking fight, Phill leaving the palace, and also her never talking to the emperor again. My point is, the act of saying those words was her main problem, and she had already forgiven him for that, now why the fuck did she need to act up again after so much time has passed? It doesn't make sense to get mad at someone for something they already admitted they shouldn't have done, after you yourself accepted their sincerity, just cause a minor detail was added to it. I do have my personal preferences and I certainly do not like how she acts in the novel, but this one thing got on my nerves like no other.
Secondly, if she was oh so seriously hurt by what the emperor did, then she had no right staying in His palace, using His secret library and reading the one book he told her not to, throwing a late birthday party for herself even though she was considered nothing more than a guest, and so many other things she did which is just... her being greedy? She keeps saying "I hid behind the princess mask for so long I don't know myself anymore I just wanna leave" then proceeds to use Elencia as an excuse to continue living like a princess, just without the responsibilities. She's literally so unlikable it killed me to finish the novel. (and she had absolutely no chemistry at all with the male lead)
Third and Lastly, I wish people would reply to Myself so I could get back at them, but since they chose not to I'm replying like this as well. Exactly what loving family are yall pointing at? Because I can only see 4 obsessed out-of-touch dudes who found a new toy. They did get better as the story went on but in my honest opinion the emperor did a Lot more for her than her biological father. And please do not let me see you saying bs like "Penelope doesn't know what real love is blah blah blah"
Penny had one thing in mind and that was leaving the duke's state, which she did. Even though Yvonne was there at the time and the duke was in danger, she still left. She didn't use their resources under the pretense of "finding the truth" just to leave them at their lowest. (though they would have deserved that honestly) Something Phill could never do because of her greedy self. The girl herself admitted she's a villainess I don't know why yall are set on denying it. I don't dislike villainess characters but I do detest those who try to hide the fact that they're villains. If this was a novel from Elencia's point of view, she'd become the badass queen and yall would be hating on Phill the white lotus. It's almost as if you're only accepting everything at face value and never even try to read deeper into it.
I'll be a Phill hater till the day I die, but yall can't put words into my mouth. Read properly before saying anything if you want to at least pretend you're not dumb.