
for me why I dont like them as reincarnated is because their motivations doesnt make sense. A child getting abused and a teen or young adult getting abused will give different reactions. If they are just children, it alligns with their motivations of being unloved and seeking love and also alligns with their impulsive emotions. But the same thing does make sense if they actually are 25 year old inside. Yes they will helpless as abused 5 year olds, but with the knowledge of their past, the families they had, them knowing that they have at least the maturity and skills to survive on their own when they grow up... it doesnt make sense for them to care enough to cry about being illegitimate or when kids call them illegitimate. It also doesnt make sense that they want a caretaker figure like 2 little kids with no self identity... Their first priority would have been to grow up and just leave. Even Sanghee got that part right. Thats the appeal of isekai, which is our MCs dealing with the situation in an adult way that no one expects. Realistically speaking, the twins would not give a single shit that the king is their father or that they are illegitimate since they already knew what loving family was like and already have built up their own self esteem and identity. I think author tried to juggle two things at once. Make it trendy by making it isekai, but also make it sad and angsty by making them helpless emotional babies wanting to feel loved

they really should have just left out that pesky reincarnation premise. it holds no relevance to the plot, it could just as easily NOT be there and the story would be the exact same.
I dont wanna read a story about two kids who are mentally 25 behaving like clingy needy children. it defeats the point

I would say you are comparing this to isekais where the reincarnation was already an adult and was independent. They died as children without any life experience and even in their past life they relied on each other for emotional stability. Like I said before, anyone would cry or close themselves off after not only dying, but being put through physical and verbal abuse since they were reincarnated as babies. If they weren't reincarnated and had hopes of the future, do you really think they would have survived to the age of five?

Do you honestly think a toddler, who doesn't have any shown magical powers and doesn't manifest like the other princes, would survive being physically and verbally abused and tortured by their own mother? Not to mention neglected and malnourished? You need a reality check if you can say without a doubt in your mind that reincarnating didn't secure their survival.

that defeats the point of isekai doesnt it. You basically explained why having isekai in here is already unnecessary. They had life experiences till 18 where they at least had memories of family, being loved and you know, any skills that 18 year olds had.
If they weren't reincarnated and had hopes of the future, do you really think they would have survived to the age of five?
Uhhh yes??? Thats why the story works better if they are actually 5. And I just pretend they actually are 5 (well, alot of us do if you see other comments. If they were actually 18 years old, they wouldnt exactly want anything to do with the royal family, not enough to give a shit about being illegitimate and waterworks everywhere about how unloved they were. Just look at Sanghee or Athy as a template. Even tho I hate Sanghee in the later series, her isekai childhood was still memorable and makes sense to read.
Here, author tried to make it hip and trendy by adding in isekai, but also wants to up the drama about them being helpless children yearning for love... and forgetting that they are already mentally 25 that already have had parents, friends, loved ones before.

"Do you honestly think a toddler, who doesn't have any shown magical powers and doesn't manifest like the other princes, would survive being physically and verbally abused and tortured by their own mother?" kids who have grown up in such environments like that already exist in our world today (happens all the time) naturally without any special powers (lol) they grow up with a lot of issues of course, but they DO survive.
Rather to start off if we are getting all technical about it, It's unrealistic they would act any differently from a toddler just because they were reincarnated. Their brains still have to physically develop and grow, dont they? that means they would be forced to re-learn how to walk, read, and speak and not shit their pants all over again. even their emotions wouldn't be very balanced because of all the psychological changes children's bodies are constantly going through while still in the growing phase. reincarnation isekei's often brush over all of this explanation with "it's magic, who cares?" its no different then if they had not been reincarnated at all.
the tag is pointless outside of just appealing to certain demographic of consumers, to make money. Listen, you can make excuses for the inconsistencies in the writing all you want for yourself, but dont go getting passive aggressive and attacking others over fiction ╮( ̄▽ ̄)╭ geez.

What would having mental issues and trauma contribute to the story then? They would live their lives in constant fear of everything and everyone, especially the emperor and the princes. Not to mention the sicknesses that would come with the lack of mental stability. There would be no progress, they would not accept help, they wouldn't trust others, and they would be far behind everyone else of their age in culture and intelligence. They would even be suicidal, believing in everything they were told for five years since they were born. The extensive therapy they would need isn't even present in the story, which helps children in real life cope but not get over their trauma.
And they did act like their age, but mentally they are older than they seem. Just because the physical aspect of them is different doesn't mean it's changed their psychological base in the story. You act like giving them a boost in mental fortitude and knowledge is a flaw in the story. It's not. And if you hate the aspect so much, just don't bother to read it.

They literally died. They don't have those friends and family anymore. And now they're brought into a world as helpless babies being abused in a situation where there isn't any more love. Do you not realize humans spend their entire lives seeking comfort and love from others?
Comparing the twins to Sanghee is unreasonable. She died as an adult, and wasn't even closed to being as abused as they were. And neither was Athy, who was neglected but still knew the storyline and what was happening. The twins were physically abused. Physically. Abused. They couldn't leave yet because where would they go as toddlers? There's no reasoning with their mother because she's literally crazy, and they couldn't see their father because they had no access and he didn't want to see them. Their only options were to either wait until they were old enough to make it out and actually survive, which they could do since they actually knew about the outside world, or they would have to wait until their mother died and be killed or taken in by the emperor.

"You act like giving them a boost in mental fortitude and knowledge is a flaw in the story"
it's the lazy execution of how this was handled that I consider a "flaw" it seems like the author just wanted to slap a isekai/reincarnation tag on their work but didn't really care about how it would fit into the story, and this is a common trend I see in a lot of other isekai's not just this one. for instance past lives being brought up once in the promo and then never being talked about it again? I rarely see an mc struggling (being in denial) with having to accept living in some foreign world or feeling homesick. they all just quickly accept the nature of their circumstances (their own death, having to live with a different identity ect ect ) and are content living out the rest of their livelihoods in that world. they never seek a way of returning and they also never tell anyone their real identity. the story tells us to care about this information that they are basically interlopers from another world.. but it all feels shallow when there are no consequences and it doesnt effect how the MC's act or how people of that world SEE them.
if you introduce a plot point, it should always matter and play an important role; and thats the thing, I just don't get the impression them being adults is very important aspect at all. it doesnt add anything to the story.
criticism doesnt mean you automatically dislike something. rather it's how poorly the reincarnation tag is so often applied that bothers me, not even the webtoon itself. I hope expressed myself a bit better..
"What would having mental issues and trauma contribute to the story then?'
I'm not expecting them to be impervious to everything, I'm just expecting them to have better judgment in certain situations to reflect that supposed 'maturity'
the narrative can't TELL us they are more mature because they are older in their past lives while simultaneously having them act like they are mentally the age of 6. it shows a dissonance between narrative and character portrayal. I think the Author should have just left out the whole [reincarnation] tag as it's not important to the plot. if people need to make up excuses to explain away these inconsistencies or contradictions, the author isn't doing their job very well lol.