Spoiler: Chapters 15-20 of the Manga Cool Noblewoman says that she needs to renegotiate her contract with the grand duke (apparently she's not his wife yet but they're supposed to get married from what I understood). MC gets super scared of living a life where she has a nasty step mother and step brother and tearfully begs her father to let her stay and says she will be as hidden as possible, the duke is appalled and declares that no one can even attempt to kick her out. MC asks her father why he didn't come before and he apologizes, she realizes that she's finally safe and she passes out in relief. The grand duke talks with the priest and we find out that his brother has been sending him brief letters with MC's mom's(Leah's) name that told him that she was just fine and that he had no idea that he even had a daughter. The priest tells him that Leah never received his replies and also reveals that MC had bruises etc. on her body when she came to him for help. The priest apologizes for agreeing to hand her over to uncle Ben as everyone thought that he was her original guardian (there were rumors in the village that he was MC's father) and the duke is rightfully furious. The priest asks for punishment from The duke but the duke says that the biggest sinner of all is himself. The duke reveals that he loved Leah very much, but the succession battle is usually very bloody. so he sent her away until he can solidify his position and send back for her when he can make sure that no one would look down on her regardless of her origin. (Guess he forgot the memo because What the frick dude?) MC wakes up and the maids come in, they all knew her mother and loved her. They bake her the same pie her mother used to bake and MC finally starts to cry in grief. The maids all hug her and tell her that Leah was a sister to them so she will be like their niece (it's such an emotional part I can't). While she sleeps, a pair of twins (boy and girl) sneak up on her to check her out, apparently they're apprenticing for the duke who kicks them out of her room and stands sentry outside all night. From here on out we got the standard stuff of MC sharing a meal with the duke, getting closer to him and putting on a pretty dress etc. the boy twin comments that she's beautiful and the duke sends them for extra laps. Chapter 20 ends with MC and the Duke holding hands and him showing her Leah's favorite garden. Spoiler: Personal thoughts The Duke is shown to be remorseful and wanting to make up for MCs suffering, but personally I don't know if that's enough to redeem him. I have a feeling that the story will act as if he's the best person in the world and nothing was ever his fault because he was tricked. But this whole thing leaves a very foul taste in my mouth. On a lighter note, it seems like the duchess' son isn't her biological brother but may be her step brother instead. if that's the case, considering that this is a manga, then there would be a 90% chance that he's the ML with the boy twin being the SML. We shall see I guess. That's it for the korean raws guys, I hope that my summary was clear and not too illegible as english isn't my my first language
I feel like the biggest thing being glossed over here in regards to the dad is the fact that he was lied to the entire time. He was apparently exchanging letters, intercepted by creepy groomer, with the mother so he probably thought they had an agreement that he would come get her when his Duchy was stable. But I also think the groomer sent letters to break off the relationship between the mother and father. Since the Duchy was apparently so far away from the mother's village there was no real way he could see her in person especially when things where supposedly unstable where he was. Not to mention groomer uncle was in control of the MC's village and could make moves without checking with his brother. Groomer made the villagers love/respect him like he did with all his mansion servant so no one could question his motives. He set everything up so he would have all this undisturbed power in the first timeline and tried to do the same in the second timeline. The father never knew because he was far enough and preoccupied enough to not have been able to check on his groomer brother
OwshiT here we go again... I'm sensing a stepsiblinglovetruope, bruh i kinda hate that types of manhwa
Spoiler: About dad Her father is married. It was an arranged (political) marriage. And the twins are his child with stepmom. And heir to archeduke. But he said that he only loved FL's mom.
Hi, the twins not his children, they are students their father is a count or something and the father are only a mentor for them. That's what I read in the Manhaw. Also, the stepmother was not his wife yet, they were having an agreement or something and the father should have give her something in returning I think for not continuing the agreement, but then he knows the mother died and it seems the agreement between them back again, and the stepmother have a child but not from MC father as far as I know. That's what I have read in the Manhaw up till chapter 20.
Author-nim why like this. MC should resent her father even just a little bit!!!!! Her mother died and died again. In the first timeline in 16years her father never visited her or her mother even if her a-hole uncle is forging or giving whatever reasons just not to meet them he should be suspicious But he never visited not even once. Hmph I regret reading spoilers!!
how would he know to visit a daughter he didn't have? if you think about it in the first timeline, it's more fucked up because not only did her uncle groom her to be his own niece to be a child bride, he kept her hidden away and wouldn't let her even leave his house for 8 years... so people in the village probably even forgot about her as they grew up, or they only knew her as the child he took in. all Benjamin had to do was send the FL's father a letter that Leah sadly passed away - her father has no reason to doubt that his brother would hide the existence of his own child from him, and she was basically kept from interacting with anyone. even if her father visited his brother, he's crazy enough to lock her up and make sure they never meet. it is also a bit extreme to complain that he never visited because he was under the assumption that Leah was safe with his brother all this time, and was not aware that his brother was trying to steal her away from him, along with lying and manipulating her to her own death. the reason he sent her away to his brother's fief was because he felt that her brother would be able to protect and hide her from his enemies, and that the distance would make it harder for them to use her as a target against him. visiting her could also blow the cover and put her in danger lol. how many people complaining about how he never visited would be complaining about the selfish father who couldn't wait if that happened? and lastly, if this story was about proper communication, there wouldn't even be one. it's obviously over the top and dramatic, in a vaguely european setting. i'm just here to see what happens next, with no expectations.
So this is another drop. Completely disappointed. It's so frustrating ugh, I just can't. So the father still cheated, idgf if it's just a "contract marriage". I could read all through all of this since this pains me. If he truly love her, he could've tried to find their bodies or sum shit, it would be funny if someone just sent him a letter or told him they died, and no investigation hold no nothing. So basically, he doesn't love her mother nor does he even care for their CHILD. And off he goes marry another woman for status. Sigh. And the fact that the fl forgave him?? Like wtf, hello?? Done
The black haired lady (The stepmother) told MC to called her MOM when they meet again so I think they are not married yet, so yes he will marry again, but still not enough details unfortunately .
I can agree with you about the first part, it’s quite obvious that if MC was locked up and father didn’t know about her existence he wouldn’t be looking for her. But to not come see the so called love of your life for 8 years? Come on! He’s the Grand Duke, he has a lot of options on how to secretly sneak out of his territory for a week at least to meet his lover. I don’t believe it’s reasonable to think that a woman will be waiting for you somewhere in a small village for 8 years while you’re living your best life being a young Grand Duke with money and power. If it’s true that the author is the same person who wrote the Villainess reverses hourglass as mentioned in some earlier comments then I’m very confused, because with more experience it’s supposed to get better, but father’s previous actions and attitude is such a huge plot hole that all of the further fluff seems forced. I would have understood if he had gotten more cynical and had lost much of affection towards his lover because he’s experienced too much sh*t during his power struggle for the title and now doesn’t have energy to think about a fling from 8 years ago and only wants to take responsibility for making her wait for too long. But no, apparently she’s the love of his life and he’s never though of talking to her in person in the past 8 years. Did he want to wait until retirement to get back with her? And what was she supposed to do during that time?
So this story is a "forced tragedy/drama with giant plot holes"huh? this is suck i liked the priest dude.
There hasn't been any plot holes so far. We haven't even gotten translations about the reason behind why he wasn't able to meet up with the mother for so long
The only reasons would have been him being in coma, jail or on the battlefield. Everything else is forced. If he could send her letters that are easily intercepted and equally put her in danger while she’s so far away living without any bodyguards then he could have visited her personally.
No excuses for the father. I mean what stopped him in the 1st life from preventing his BROTHER from trying to marry his daughter??? The only excuse I think of is that he was dead. That's wasn't really the MC's fault more her mother's naivety and overly-trusting passive nature. The MC tried to warn her mother what kind of man the uncle was - yes her dream seemed far-fetched. But the mother should have gotten the hint by how Benjamin kept pursuing her despite her constant refusal. Even using her circumstances and his status as leverage against her. Still she insisted to Louise he was a "good" person. It's not Louise's fault that she had a gullible fool for a mother who was a VERY poor judge of character. The moment the villagers turned on Leah she should have left with her daughter to somewhere else. It wasn't like she wasn't an intelligent or skilled person to find means of work elsewhere. In fact she was so skilled that some of the villagers thought she was a "witch" at first. Still, she chose to waste her abilities on helping those low-lives when she settled in the village. Instead of leaving after they harassed them, masochistically Leah chose to stay and endure the abuse the villagers inflicted upon her and Louise, even apologizing to the mother of a bully that hurt Louise when the mother shamelessly came to their house demanding an apology after the boy (barely had a scratch) lied about what happened, Leah could see it was Louise the one who was more hurt. Instead despite their dire poverty, she offers to "pay" for the boy's treatment. The mother was such a passive idiot it was always going to be a hopeless cause to "save" her. Louise stood no chance of changing things the 2nd time round because that would mean she would have to give her mother some sense and a new personality for it to be effective.
From the spoilers I read in this threads, here's my observations and questions: Everyone's IQ level in this story is apparently low for nobles and very low for the villagers. MC's father was in a succession battle and he believed his brother's lies? Isn't Benjamin his competitor? Common sense in that kind of era/period should dictate not to believe other people easily especially male siblings who are your rivals in the competition of being an heir. Why was Leah even sent to some place where his brother who should be a competitor in the succession? The MC's mother the kind maid that she was was so weak mentally and physically. I have read the first 15 chapters and I do not even understand the cause of death plot-wise. I know it was a cold and it was the first time she caught it but she died from it? It was not even Covid-19 let alone the delta variant. Did she not get a cold when she was young? She seems to have come from a poor family (based on that she was a maid) so she should have experienced being sick and if not why suddenly out of nowhere she contracted a cold and died from it? She HAD medical knowledge so she could just try to treat herself. Even her child fell sick but got through it. And if she did not come from a poor family she did come from a family of pushovers. BTW, the way her mother and some of the villagers faced the wolves was stupid. Using just some very short sticks and some sort of sickle/axe is just plainly suicidal. Just because they thought Benjamin would send soldiers they did not prepare anything even mentally. They know that it was already schedule so they could have just prepared beforehand and used fire or improvised long range weapons like a crossbow or a bow and arrow. I assume that the villagers are illiterate but some should know how to hunt so. Also, since Leah has some medical knowledge she should have just concocted something to inflict damage to the wolves like using poisonous plants. I thought she was a maid and seems to come from a very low social standing but MC's father was deeply in love with her? Was it secretly? I mean he is a noble so his education and views should be different. I'm not saying it's impossible to fall in love with Leah who is a maid but what is her redeeming quality even? Based on the translated chapters she's just a pretty vase, no substance. She just kept apologizing to people and be the sort of weak-willed person. She could not even go to the capital to find MC's father and I'm pretty sure she knows how to get there. She knows some knowledge like medicine so she probably could read but she did not teach Louise anything? Since MC was born her parents had obviously did some tussling of bedsheets but MC's father did not know Leah was pregnant nor had the possibility to get pregnant? As what others have commented he should have looked for Leah and not just communicate with letters for 8 years. Every main character in the story seems to be forgiving, only the villagers stuck to their hatred which apparently is based on their ignorance and stupidity. The nobles in this story seem to lack the craftiness and other traits of being persons of power. Anyways, if MC did improve her relationship with her dad I guess she will be interested to educate herself else she's just like her mother an empty vase.
Man, I wish I could report comments on this web. Did we read the same thing ? She was brainwashed to behave like her dead mom by the man who has been in her life since she's 8, right after her mom died. She was locked up inside the mansion and if she even showed interest in going outside, Benjamin would hit her. It got worst that he groomed her to be her mother and forced her to marry him, knowing that she's his niece and that's incest (But MC didn't know). A someone conditioned in that confinement wouldn't develop maturity, It was indirectly mentioned that she wasn't given education as well because Benjamin wanted Louis to be Leah. As soon as she got back she tried telling her mother, it was the first thing she did after seeing her mother again after 8 years, a mom whom she had already forgotten the face and voice of. She tried and went to study at the library all the time so she could convince her mom but in the end, her mother was indirectly killed because of Benjamin and the villagers treating them like outcasts and destroying their home, they were constaintly harrassed all because Benjamin couldn't have Leah She even fell when she was escaping, it wasn't clear how high was the fall but it was enough to make her bled from her forehead, scrapped her and torn a part of her shoe which made walking difficult but she ran to the father after that fall. She's a very strong fighter
Sometimes, i didnt agree about people ranting on some novels. However that thing became understandable when i read this novel's forum. I would say i drop it bc the development of the story and characters seem kinda raw and forced. It could be my assumption, but maybe the author tried to think like people lived that period and that's why it won't fit the way im thinking me. It might be the writer's purpose too to make us feel this way. Idk lol
That person misunderstood, they mentioned when the priest first made the mistake which caused you to misunderstood. The father kept repenting on himself and he even assured Louis that a wrong is a wrong, there's no need for her to justify his mistake in agreeing to let Benjamin took her ine Finally, a comment that doesn't just lash out with the little information we have. I had the same thought that Ben might have manipulated the letters and could even send letters to end Leah and the duke's relationship. Since the duchy is far up north with harsh winter all year round and it takes about 2 trains from the village to the duchy, and the fact that stablizing your position in such a grand duchy that serves directly for the royal family and acts as the guardian of a big region, he can't possibly be free enough to spare at least about 2 weeks to come back and forth just to check on his lover whom he sent to his own younger brother's territory. Even if he sent someone, Ben could easily fooled that someone as he has the entire territory under his control, even the priests except the father turned their backs to Louis and Leah after the wolf incident