Duchess Astera (◡‿◡✿)'s Favorite

To be honest, I’m not even sure whose great idea it was to blank out the words. Maybe it’s the manhwa team’s way of keeping people in suspense but this story doesn’t need to create suspense because revelations occur all throughout the rest of the story until the last page of the main story.

Anyway, what Carcel said is, “Your dream is over, Inés. I am your reality.”

Ines reacted emotionally to this because:

Besides the fact that it implies her tragic past lives are over, there’s also the detachment she often felt from reality. Ever since she first regressed, her life felt like she’s dreaming. For instance, in the Bilbao arc, when she was hiding with the artist in a hideout, she told him she feels like he’s a dream…meaning, that they’re not living in reality. She felt like any day she would wake up and end up in the palace again and married to the crown prince.

In contrast, since Ines married Carcel, she’s begun to feel like she’s living for real. This issue was addressed when she admitted it in the arc Carcel fainted with the cold at work. In the chapter 59:

THE IDEA THAT I HAD TO LEAVE HIM ONE DAY... ...NOW HAD ACTUAL SUBSTANCE TO IT. IT WAS NO LONGER JUST A SIMPLE SENTENCE IN MY HEAD. IT DIDN'T FEEL LIKE I WAS STARING DOWN AT AN EMPTY SQUARE ON A CHESSBOARD EITHER.
IT USED TO BE LIKE PINNING A RANDOM POINT ON A MAP... ...AND CHOOSING MY NEXT DESTINATION FROM THERE…BUT NOT ANYMORE.

Then we see her in a field with Carcel standing with his hand extended towards her while Arondra and Alfonso stood behind him. That’s when she admits she no longer wanted to live her life without Carcel, the warm people in their home and their little house atop Logorño Hill.

Then there’s the chapter where she envisioned she and Carcel as an elderly couple, for another example. In that chapter, Ines mentioned how she feels ALIVE because of Carcel and how he had the ability to drive the shadows from her life just by his presence. That’s the chapter where she talks about all the light in the world is contained in his eyes that look at her as though she’s his Sun.

Therefore, we should be able to understand why Carcel telling her he’s her reality created such an emotional response on top of their already emotional heart-to-heart. There’s so much meaning in Ines finally feeling she’s living for the first time in an extremely long time and the bad things are behind her. Now she hopes to grow old with him and actually looking forward to their future. Moreover, added to this bright hope for the future is the fact that no matter what danger lies ahead, Carcel has always made her feel safe. That’s another important aspect that can sustain her present reality.

EDIT: It’s also important to note that Inés uses the term ‘dreams’ to refer to her past tragic lives. Note she even includes the first TRUE life when she said “Perhaps I’ve already broken you too”. So when Carcel tells her the dream is over and he’s her reality, he’s also effectively telling her the words she’s longed to hear…that is, the bad things are in the past and she can forget them and live in their present reality.

I always say this story has so many details, nuances and meanings. It’s very rich.

Hi again, it's the girl that loves analyzing this manhwa! I haven't found any details to make me rethink my theory on what is happening in this manhwa. Short(ish) synopsis time before I do a grand theory reveal when S1 is over:

Guwon is actually the mythical Sisyphus from Ancient Greek mythology. He was a king, and famed as being extremely cunning and ruthless. He pissed off many of the gods, including Zeus, Hades, Thanatos, Ares, Persephone...the list goes on, but in the end he was sent to the underworld and punished by being forced to push a giant boulder up a steep mountain for all eternity. When he reached the top the boulder would always fall back down the mountain, and he'd have to re-do it all again, for all eternity. There are many references to this in the early chapters, including Guwon taking Jinwoo on a long hike in order to stare at a large boulder resting at the top of a mountain. He tells Jinwoo, "I just like to make sure it's still there" - referencing the fact that he finally got that boulder up the hill.

Something that's come up in more recent chapters is a description of "The Hounds". This is extremely interesting to me, as Doc Lim told Jiwoo that they are like elite forces that worship Guwon *like a GOD*. I think something happened in the underworld. An uprising, if you will. It seems that Sisyphus has escaped, and brought with him some help. Earth is now Sisyphus/Guwon's paradise, and he is recreating his kingdom by creating "Stillwater Town" in its likeness. The description of Stillwater Town is almost exactly like his original kingdom. Sisyphus' castle was at the top, and the rest of the residences were built on rings going down like a step-pyramid.

In the most recent chapter, Guwon tells Jinwoo that he is his favorite PERSON in the entire world. Jinwoo is the only human that Guwon has any regard for. This reinforces my theory that Guwon is not in fact a human, but something different all together.

I can go into more about why I think Guwon's memory is a little off, but I'd like to get a bit more confirmation before I really lay that one out. I'll just say it has to do with the water of the River Styx - it can make a human immortal, but it can also rob them of their intelligence and memory. Guwon seems to be displaying a lot of those traits, but his base instincts are still there. The bloodlust, the desire to be the very best, treating humans like livestock, etc.

It's a lot to unpack, and I've already typed a lot more than I was expecting to. But keep your eyes peeled, cuz I'm gonna break this sucker down as much as I possibly can. Writing is my passion, and I absolutely love it when an author incorporates mythology into their own works. Until next time! ヾ(☆▽☆)

No matter how many times I re-read this story I can't just have enough of it.
I think who are thinking Jaekyung from Jinx also gonna change like Jiwon has already forget about this. Ahn Jiwon was bad it's true, but he is 1000x times better than Jaekyung. Just personal opinion.