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Recently, historical romantasy manhwas have been getting worse and worse. I'm desperate, so my expectations are practically underground at this point—I don’t care if it’s full of clichés or lacks originality, but damn at least execute it well. Spoilers ahead!
This one is such a disappointment that I can’t even make it past chapter 17.
Strike 1: The story teases us with an interesting dynamic—the FL seems like a true villain, bloodthirsty and unhinged… for about five seconds. Then, like magic, she transforms into the ML’s obedient, blindly loyal puppy.
Strike 2: There’s a scene where he chokes her in her sleep under the guise of "training," straight out of a bad Western romantasy novel (I can’t remember the name, but the MC was the whitest special snowflake to ever white). Worse, he finds it arousing, and she has zero issues with it.
Strike 3: She’s been mostly useless, dull, and uninteresting—except when she thinks about revenge. But those moments never last long enough to be satisfying and the rest of the time she is just his lapdog.
Strike 4: Everyone acts like a five-year-old with no common sense. Even the supposed scheming villains are too dumb to be a real threat. If the enemies are so incompetent that defeating them is child’s play, then what’s the point? It just isn’t engaging. Dumb emperor is one thing but the family of both leads sharing 1 brain cell is just too much.
Example: The empress hates the emperor because he killed her family—a valid reason. However, this also means she has no political backing, making her essentially useless as an ally. Yet, for some unexplained reason, both the MC and ML are desperate for her support. (They want her to crown him after he usurps the throne but is she has no political standing it's the same as some random person doing it.)
Now, back to the point—she has a cat she brought from home and absolutely adores. During a ball, she overhears the main characters casually mentioning it, and instead of handling it with even a shred of composure, she impulsively causes a scene. Then, she drags the MC outside, yells at her, and collapses into sobs three seconds later. Her reaction is understandable, but it reinforces her weak character, complete lack of political acumen, and emotional instability.
If she were the protagonist, with room to grow and develop, this could be an interesting arc. But as a side character who will probably get zero meaningful screen time? She’ll just miraculously transform into the smartest, most cunning woman in three chapters—out of nowhere if the creators could even write a cunning character.
Don't waste your time with that.