Finally someone cleared this. Many thanks! Just wondering if he really did it with Leticia? With all the moaning and his movements, is there a chance that it didn’t happened? Funny that he could actually also fall running after her. But that only explain how anxious he must be. But much deserved though.
Why should Rihannan trust a guy who's always antagonistic towards her instead of the woman who actually became like her 2nd mother? Although it was revealed later on that she was wrong for trusting her, the queen was actually the only one who listened and cared for her. In her perspective, the queen was much more trusthworthy than a prick who couldn't tell her the truth and just wallowed in his own misunderstandings. I'm sure your dear Igor wanted what's good but you can't ignore the fact that he could've avoided this whole mess if he had only been honest and trusted her a little. Despite her being weak as you put it, he could've been the one to trust first if he really wanted to see if she was truly worthy or not. He was the one with more knowledge of what was actually happening. He could've at least shared a piece of that with the woman he loved. And I wasn't jumping to conclusion, as you so bravely said, I was also asking for clarification of what really happened. My opinion was based on what has been translated and this spoiler thread was the perfect place to ask for clarification about that, but alas it's just answered by people saying "Oh, it's not finished yet, let's wait and see. Don't jump to conclusions and attack the poor male lead" And now finally people actually post spoilers.
I'm not defensive of the ML because I think he is a good person. I think everyone in this book could learn to grow up, and that the drama is contrived to be dragged out. However, I'm just reasonable enough to understand that relationships are not black and white. Most normal people would actually finish any normal books before judging - it's fine to hate this book, but to act like the reasonable people who somehow want to give this book a chance are endorsing abusive behavior and/or loving the tragedies that happen to Rhia etc. People are so hostile here and swinging accusations based off 30% of this novel - It's like saying Mad Eye Moody was a good guy in HP4 because he was helping Harry for first 80% of the novel... It's just unfortunate that this book is a translation, so the progress is slow. Trust is a 2-way street in relationships. Rhia didn't trust Igor first and gave no reason for Igor to believe her to be trustworthy. Rhia was spineless and was stuck in her own head about her safety - she pigeonholed herself into the role of the victim by eliminating all avenues of support in the castle, even without Igor "plotting" against her. She just sat on the sidelines in court and watched as everyone ridiculed her. Why is it Igor or the Queen's responsibility for Rhia to learn to defend herself? If Rhia had half a brain of intuition, why would she keep crawling back to the Queen, despite the Queen doing nothing about her circumstances in court? It's not solely Igor's fault that Rhia's tragedy occurred. Yes, it's been beaten to death in this thread that he could've done more for her, but she also could've done more for Igor if she wanted his protection. I'm pretty sure by keeping silent, Igor was protecting her, given his limited power, since the Queen clearly has no qualms with eventually killing Rhia. You expect him to solve all their problems when he can't even escape his mother's thumb for literally his entire life, and whatever plots he had to overturn the Queen would end up hurting Rhia. The Queen knew Rhia was weak and exploited her. Yet, we pin the blame on Igor exclusively. Instead of the real villain who has been spoiled, multiple times early on, to be the one pulling everyone's strings. No one trusted the spoiler and just pigeonholed themselves into their own beliefs/victimhood, just like what Rhia did. This thread basically proves why misunderstandings in relationships is one of the most common tropes used in fiction and reality because it's not about the truth anymore - it's about what is true in your head until proven otherwise. Everyone believes themselves to be the victim (Rhia, Igor, the people in this thread) and are unwilling to take the first step to being open-minded. It's true that both Igor/Rhia were being immature and could have done more, but what disappoints me is not how fictional characters act based off limited information. I expected better out of the objective readers to listen to every perspective, especially since it's clear that we will be eventually be given information that neither Igor/Rhia had about the other. That's how stories work. That's also how real relationships work; it requires everyone to give a little to get a little. But yet, here we are. If people acted like this in the court of law, people would be getting sent to jail left, right, and center. Guilty until proven innocent indeed. Either way, I'm done with this thread and giving spoilers. I don't really care one way or another because clearly Igor has wronged you greatly by misleading you, when it's pretty clear that a lot of factors are out of his control. It's one of the most obvious techniques in second-chance romances.
Hahaha, I'm not even hating on this book. The reason that I'm always updated with this spoiler thread is because I actually love it and want to know what happens next. I think hating the ML and not wanting him to end up with Rihannan in the first chapters was the author's point in writing that awful one-sided POV, as you put it. If people accepted Igor right away and didn't find a reason for him being unworthy then this would not be a tittilating story of forgiveness, love and understanding. Of course people's opinions at first about Igor would be negative, and you hating people from actually expressing this is absurd. He was written to be awful but eventually things get cleared and people start to accept him. I know that too, that's super obvious. For now, people just know him as despicable so you defending your dear Igor at this moment is just a waste of your time. We're absorbed in the moment now. So until the time comes when all is revealed, you're gonna see more of this hating towards your dear Igor.
The queen is the villain, so people is not talking about her because she’s obviously, the villain, no room for argument. As you said, everyone think of themselves as the victim, but Ria as a victim didn’t go all the way out to harm someone. While Igor on the other hand treated her like shit, which, inevitably made Ria’s misunderstandings of him worsen. To be honest, realistically, I can’t blamed Ria for not having a “backbone”. She lost her mother young, and right after, his father brought in a stepsister, and these duo had continuously brainwashed her and emotionally abused her to the point it destroyed her self esteem. As such, the queen’s “care” had made her look upon the queen with admiration. And Igor knew where this “admiration” came from. So why is he so adamant on assuming that this weak timid woman is against him just like his mother? Igor might have feel neglected and used by his own mother, but he was still able to recognize it for what it is. His mental capability is not hindered. Whereas Ria was conditioned to believed what her father and stepsister made her be, because there’s no one there to point otherwise. The one person that shows care, used her instead. And the one person who should’ve been able to hold her hands to make her came out of those weaken mentality, crushed her instead. Keep in mind, when he asked her which side is she on, it was their first night where they were being watched by nobles (talk about creepy) given the circumstances, she can’t simply against the queen, after all she does indeed look up to her and had no idea of her/queen schemes.
Obviously whatever spoiler I will say is based on what I’ve read so far from an. The nobles couldn’t hear. They were far enough that they only had to view through a curtain. Rhia and Igor were basically having a private conversation. Igor wasn’t exactly willingly “raping” Rhia, because both of them were under heavy pressures to secure an heir by the Queen. Obviously still terrible timing, but like Rhia, Igor was ruled by his emotion rather than reason. All of Rhia’s decisions have reinforced her general cowardice. In both TLs, she isn’t above throwing others under the bus to protect herself, until she reunites with Igor and learns to stand up for herself. She either expects luck (the plague) or someone (Dimitri or the Queen) to bail her out all the time. In the 2nd TL about the impending plague, she tells doesn’t tell Helene (or even her own maid), both of whom may suffer the plague, because she does not want to jeopardize Dimitri’s fate and her inevitable rescue. Yes, in retrospect, it’s a good idea she doesn’t say anything about this artificial plague. However, both her maid and Helene coddled Rhia in the 2nd TL, yet neither of their safety weighed as heavily in her mind as Dimitri or her own. She didn’t even need to tell them about the plague - just to go somewhere safer than the Crichton castle, where the plague clearly struck. Even if she can’t convince Helene, her maid still remained in Crichton with her newfound family and child. Both of them are pitiful characters who are shaped by their terrible parents - Rhia’s constant need for reassurance and protection, and Igor’s paranoia. You make it sound like only Rhia is a victim of her circumstances. Yes, her dad never stood up for her, so when the Queen shows her an ounce of sympathy, she attaches onto her. But how come you can’t give the same understanding to Igor? No one ever stood up for him either - the Queen basically treated him as disposable livestock and he thinks his wife doesn’t care about him/is actively spying on him. At least, Rhia (wrongly) thinks she has an ally, whereas Igor knows that he has no one to rely on. Igor never even used Rhia; she was basically leverage/baggage that the Queen held over his head. What does Rhia ever do to dispute his mistrust in her? Just like how Igor never does anything to dispute Rhia’s preconceived notions of him. Spoiler Igor knows why Rhia chose the Queen; he knows it’s due to her lack of faith in his limited power. He tries to remediate that. He DOES try to protect Rhia, unbeknownst to her. The Queen planned to have Rhia take the fall for her family when Igor was about to implicate Count Alessin. Afterwards, the Queen realizes his intentions of undermining her. By trying to protect Rhia, Igor literally just keeps shooting himself in the foot because whenever the Queen wants to embarrass and dispute his leadership, she uses Rhia as backup (“Rhia, will you please tell the council that the Igor’s plan is foolish” etc etc.). [Ironically, those same plans is how he rose to power in the 2nd TL, so clearly not a bad idea.] Why would Igor trust someone like that? Yet, his POV initially keeps talking about how he couldn’t abandon Rhia to her fate with the Queen & how he wanted this marriage to work, so he kept trying to work around it. After she outright humiliates him and loses makes him lose whatever advantage he had gained against his mom, his bitterness and crushed pride boils over, and they both just shut down against the other. But Rhia always sticks her head in the sand and refuses to question her position in the Queen’s favor, just expecting the Queen would swoop in to save her [which clearly doesn’t happen because her life was as miserable as shown]. Even in the 2nd TL, Rhia talks about she knew the Queen was bloodthirsty, ruthless for power, and was always suspicious...but Rhia still doesn’t suspect the Queen of betrayal because she wanted the Queen’s protection. SMH. Rhia is completely oblivious - what makes you think anything Igor says will matter to her when all she knows him as is a scary guy who (quite miserably) has to force himself on her? From the sounds of things, Igor feels guilty after their nights together, but he endures it because he knows that Rhia will get punished otherwise and that Rhia is only kept around to produce an heir of mixed Crichton/Arundel blood. That’s why he was so happy and careful when she got pregnant because he thought she would be safe. The misfortunes of both of these characters are when people projects their trauma on others and recede into their own perceived helplessness/victimhood. Neither had faith in the other. Rhia was too scared of Igor and dependent on the Queen to open her eyes to the impending betrayal - when the Queen asked her to jump, she’d ask how high. Igor was paranoid and prideful because everything he has ever gotten in life was because his mother was controlling him. He wasn’t even his own independent self - his “king” title is a front, his marriage is built on force and fear, no one ever takes him seriously (his subjects, wife, and mom). He remains alone in the 1st TL, just like how Rhia is alone. When Rhia “betrays” him and crushes whatever faith of a good marriage he had, he just shuts down. By the time Rhia attempts to talk to him, it’s too late, because he doesn’t believe she is any different than his mother. Thinks she is nice to his face, but will stab him in the back. They both respond to their grief differently, which reflect the effect their traumatic childhood had on their psyche - Igor lashes out & goes on a mad rampage out of repressed bitterness and vengeance, and Rhia kills herself because she didn’t have the security she needed and could not handle it anymore. We all judge Igor more harshly because he didn’t kill himself like Rhia, but people who’ve had Tiger Moms can relate to what it’s like to be forced into things (hobbies, friends, jobs, marriages) your whole life. Those same people have nervous breakdowns and either go on vengeance killing sprees or commits suicide to put themselves out of their misery. Igor’s present POV is very tragic because he knows things were avoidable and his fault. However, present Rhia doesn’t even realize her own previous miscommunication/coldness to him because she doesn’t understand anything of what was happening behind the scenes, and Igor is too fearful of telling her the truth. So the misunderstanding just drags on and on. The Queen was willing to kill the entire Crichton family and Rhia, so what makes you think Igor wasn’t under some immense pressure to not jeopardize whatever “loving” relationship that existed between the Queen and Rhia, until he got more political power. It’s still too early for me to say anything definitive, but you guys expect Igor to work miracles against his mother, while not even expecting Rhia to do the bare minimum of attempting to dig herself out of the snake pit she dug herself into. This is such a double standard. Helpless Rhia should be coddled/protected because she is neglected and traumatized, whereas Igor has to remain strong/independent/forthcoming with information, despite having a similarly neglectful upbringing. At least Igor doesn’t have blinders on like Rhia does in the 1st TL, trusting a bunch of people she clearly should not have trusted (her dad, stepsister, and the Queen) out of her own desperation for love. Unlike Rhia, who only had to keep herself alive, Igor is expected to plan for both their safety and freedom, all whilst Rhia’s inaction/indecisiveness/weakness actively sabotaged his plans. Just because 1st TL Rhia is emotionally crippled, does not mean she has an excuse to not learn to fend for herself. While appreciated, no one in the world is entitled to receive help, especially if the person in question can’t even want to help themselves. If you think yourself the victim of circumstance/inescapable fate all your life, nothing will ever change. You can only pleed ignorance for so long. It’s one thing to read a spoiler, it’s a whole other thing once you get into the complexities of these character’s struggles and insecurities. They were both flawed and deserving of criticism for how they handled things.
Spoiler: Ch 69 Igor said to Ria that he will not be idle if she crosses a line. He then turned away from Ria without watching her expression. He thought that he might still let her go unpunished even if he caught her spying on him for his mother (despite saying otherwise). Igor and Ria continued their loveless intercourse to produce an heir. He thought of Ria's painfilled face everytime he embraces her. Igor continued lamenting on how terrible his marriage is, thinking 'is this what marriage supposed to be like?' but then remembered how happy Basil looked whenever he talked about his wife and their marriage. Then the scene where the Queen blackmailed Igor into giving up on his plans to eradicate corrupted nobles happened (someone already spoiled it so I'm not recapping this part) In the last part of this ch, Igor was was expressing his interest in building a stronger sea force. He thought that despite Arundell and Crichton being the last 2 kingdoms from the Lissa empire, Crichton appeared to be doing much better in terms of economy due to trading by sea. He planned to monopolise the sea for the sake Arundell's survival (in which he accomplished early on in the 2nd timeline) Spoiler: Ch 70 Igor tried bringing up this subject during a meeting with the nobles. The Queen of course had the majority of them on her side and they all said that this idea is too reckless and that Igor was too young and didn't know enough of the world to even come up with this Idea. The nobles also said that it isnt time to go against Crichton, and that their alliance will not be ending anytime as long as they have the Queen mother (given that she was a noble from there) The Queen then of course used Ria against Igor by saying that she had discussed this with Ria yesterday and Ria agreed with her. Igor once again felt betrayed by Ria because she was forced to agree with the Queen mother ((he got mad despite noticing Ria's face turning pale, (obvious sign of fright) when she was addressed by the Queen)). He once again realised he had no power, with no one on his side, and even his wife has turned against him. The meeting ended and Igor walked out by himself.. Very pissed off. Ria chased after him, thanked him for covering up her father's faults. She then said she also wanted to tell him something about what the Queen had said (I think she's about to clear up the misunderstanding re: what happened in the meeting). Igor, however, coldly shut her down and said that he hates cowards and those who say one thing then does another. He basically called her two-faced. Ria hung her head and didn't say anything else after. Sometime later, Igor has an inner monologue on how he would come to regret not listening to her and that she must have mustered a lot of courage to speak to the man who tormented her every night. Perhaps if he had given her a chance, he would find out there's more to what he's seeing.
I just want to add that some people had witnessed this scene and the rumour about the King's cold treatment to the Queen started to spread. This seems to be the start of Ria's disgrace.
I don’t know why people missed the fact that Ria was emotionally abused by both her father and stepsister. They didn’t just emotionally abuse her but precondition her mind that she must always under them, that she’s is nothing by herself. Ria lost her mother young, a very vulnerable emotional state, then right after the evil duo started to abuse her. She wasn’t given the chance to grow up mentally, nor given the chance to know that she can. If a naive child was told 1=2, and made him/her believe it so, he/she will always think that 1=2 for the rest of his/her life until someone point it out. Even then, it will takes time for such person to accept that the former is not true. That’s how scary mental manipulation is. The thing is, no one around her taught her otherwise. The mother figure that she looked up to is using her, the evil duo never ceased to manipulate her till the moment she died, and her husband abused her emotionally, regardless of his excuses. He expect her to react the way he wanted when she was always in the dark. You said it yourself, she’s not aware of what’s happening behind her. She wasn’t given the chance to, yet she was expected to behave like she does. So contradictory. She had to die to understand that how she was raised was an abuse. Why was it’s so easy for her to drink the poison? Because people around her made it so that what lies spouted from Leticia are the truth in her eyes. She was alone, not knowing anything, yet she’s held accountable for things she didn’t know. Even Igor knew that she didn’t know the queen’s scheme, but asked her anyway who’s side she’s on? Like what is she suppose to answer. There’s this woman who cheated her to believe that she’s treating her/Ria like a daughter and there’s this man who was supposed to be her husband but treat her like a thing to vent on. I also don’t get why her PSTD is being downplayed by some. She’s constantly having nightmares, having headache, etc, even years after. She has no support system, she can’t just asked anybody. Not even Dimitri and her uncle, plus who would’ve believe that she reincarnated? They’ll send her to an asylum instead! She’s enduring alone and people expect her to act like she’s in her best mental health. It’s surprising she haven’t killed her self yet given that heavy trauma. As much as I hate Igor for forcing her to return to his side, which he knew she doesn’t want, I personally think that it was a chance for her to heal properly on the condition that he’s ceased to be an a*shole towards her and take his “redemption” seriously and don’t expect her to read his mind, heck it’s lucky that she can’t, else she knew that it was the same person and she might just kill herself right then and there. There’s no one else who knew and understand what she has been going through and still go through, but him. You can only help to heal someone properly when you know what’s you’re dealing with. I believe, in a way, this is what’s the author is trying to do by bringing them together regardless of that horrific past.
I’ve a friend who has depression & anxiety and she lives with her boyfriend. At her worst moment, she couldn’t sleep, spent many night in tears until her eyes sunk, did nothing & felt nothing, until one night she decided to go alone. Fortunately the bf was aware and in tears, beg her to not to leave. After that night, the bf started to act more gentle towards her & then she started to get better. Her bf is a type of man that says the truth bluntly. His harsh words & acts are intentional to trigger my friend’s emotions. But she can’t, she tried but just can’t. By his gentleness then they able to face it better, to communicate it better cos my friend is no longer afraid to speak out her mind & emotions. Honestly I’m kinda taken aback when people say Rhia can & should do better. She tried her best & it wasn’t enough, even she knew that. But she just can’t. At first life, Igor knew she was in pain & he chose to act cold, both as punishment & demand for her to be better. I don’t know much about their second life but I hope it’ll better. For me, this is a journey to find herself again, maybe to forgive herself too. I don’t really care about Igor but I’m getting sick of people babysit him whenever & wherever. Without them do that, the author & many other authors already held male characters highly.
I've read this thread from page 1 to last. Thank you very much for all of you who shared the spoilers! This story is pretty good and I think we can't judge it before it's completed. Is there anyone who have patreon access and can share the spoilers for ch 71 above? I'm really appreciate your kind heart ❤
There’s something that come to mind. If I remember correctly, in Crichton, man can have multiple wives, and that’s normal. In Arundell though, it’s one to one. Did I get this correct or is it the opposite? The reason I’m bringing this up is, Ria was schemed to have difficulty to conceive by the queen right? So her as*hole father convinced her to bring her b*tch sister into the palace to conceive a child for Igor. Does that mean, that the man can only have one wife, but mistress is ok? Also on the same note, if she did indeed agree to bring Leticia into the palace for the baby purpose, why was she so shocked to see them in their ugly “interactions”? Which make me wonder, if she was the one who brought Leticia in, given how twisted and ugly Igor’s mind on his self assumption against Ria, did he have s*x with her just to spite Ria? But why was he so shocked to see her at the door then? As if he didn’t expect her to actually witness another one of his sick behavior? By the way, to finally read his POV in clarity/translated, how come I feel even more disgusted with him? What’s the author’s purpose? After reading his POV, I can conclude clearly that he’s but a spoiled brat, who can’t take it on his mother so take it on Ria. Had a clear awareness of who she is, personality wise, and how he should treat her kindly and considerately, but f*cked up because his pride won’t let him. Like, he’s jumping into conclusions on his own and having this unrealistic expectations on Ria while knowing that she’s innocent, pure and just as a tool to his mother while she herself is not aware of any of the schemes. Some readers was saying, it was not love in his part, but his lust, his lusting over her, that’s why his d*ck is more important than his sane judgment.
This ch is still in Igor's POV but back to present time.. Spoiler: Ch 71 After getting off the ship, Igor decided to change the travel plan to stop by Rihannan's estate before heading to the palace. He thought that she might have a harder time visiting after entering the Palace. Igor and Rhia travelled in a different carriage. Once they have arrived at the estate, he found out she's asleep due to being overly tired. He got into the carriage with her, sat down across from her and studied her face. He lamented that this is the first time he's got a chance to clearly see her features. In the past, he would only focus on the white of her skin while doing the intimate acts. He thought that she looks defenseless, then noticed her grimacing, appearing uncomfortable. He apologised to her internally, recalling the moment he lunged at her to knock the medicine bottle out of her hand. He said his action was disgraceful and also regretting the conversation they had afterwards. Rhia hadn't come out of her room during the entire voyage after that. Igor was thinking of a way to clear, this misunderstanding. The Igor noticed Rhia's head falling off the edge of the window, then starting sliding down. Igor ended up moving to her side and had her head rested on his lap. He thought that 'this is torture' Lol sucks to be you Igor. Before, Rhia had wanted to clear the misunderstandings with you but you didn't give her a chance d/t your pride. Now you are in the same boat, racking your brain to do the same thing she tried. Spoiler: Ch 72 Igor continues his inner monologues. He said this felt like a dream. He often dreamt of her.. her silhouette, only to wake up to an empty bed. He had lost her, someone who came to be his world without even him knowing. He though that he had an entire lifetime to fix his mistakes, but it wasn't like that. Every word and action... Losing her have become his regret. He had lost her once, he won't lose her again. He looked at her everlasting beauty and wished that this moment could last forever. When Igor reached his hand down to caress Rhia's hair, he heard Rhia mumbled 'Dimi'. Igor felt his heart aching but then thought he doesn't have the right to be.. (jealous). Rhia has always treasured Dimitri, her cousin whom she tried very hard to save. Rhia finally woke up and went to greet her servants. She looked appreciative and happy of Igor's decision. Igor was pacing in the garden alone, think about Rhia's feelings toward Dimitri again. He is a special existence to Rhia in both lifetimes. Basil joined Igor and told him to be honest with Rhia (re: his affection for her). Igor told Basil to shut up.. Basil then told Igor that the Count's tomb is here in the estate. Both him and Basil thought Rhia must have grew soft after the count passed away to let him be buried here, despite kicking him and his illigimate daughter out. Igor thought if he was her, he would never have forgiven either of them. Him and everyone else had unknowingly and knowingly caused her anguish in the past life. And here is the moment we all longed to know Igor thought back to the Demon he became after finding out Rhia's dead. His flaskback didn't paint a clear picture but Igor implied that he brutally murdered Leticia. He recalled the sensation of bone breaking, the blood on his hand, and the shrill scream. His life was filled with destruction and hatred after her death, until he too met his own. He doesn't want her ever to find out that side of him. Basil once again convinced Igor to clear up the misunderstanding with Rhia, telling him to bring flowers as an apology. Igor then asked Basil if Rhia's mother liked flowers. That's it for now ya'll. I can only read 3 chapters in advance, so gotta wait for another update in the main page for patron to unlock another ch for me Just ignore any grammar mistakes or typos. I didn't read through this after typing.
Can please someone clarify this, in Rhia's POV she saw, he inserted his thing to leticia so how come he didn't cheat on the first timeline? Is rhia hallucinating?
Igor is still doing a lot of regretting lol Spoiler: Ch 73 [ The beginning of this chapter is just Basil mocking Igor, saying things like is he's a beast for not even knowing that all women like flowers? To still appease Igor, Basil reassured that the late Countess would appreciate the flowers. Igor ended up picking flowers from the garden to make a bouquet. He intended to pay a proper respect to the Countess. He believed that she was the only one who truly care for Rhia. But the close relationship between his mother and the Countess has made him dislike her... Which he regretted. Igor joined Rhia at her mother's tomb and placed the bouquet there, hoping Rhia wouldn't kick him out. He was glad that Rhia seemed to accept this gesture. He then coldly looked toward the county's tomb. He regretted not knowing Rhia's family dynamic prior to her passing away (he probably regrets hating on her passive and cowardice attitude in 1st TL, without bothering to learn why she was like that to begin with... Emotional abuse/childhood trauma by the people around her ). Igor then said to Rhia that he has no intention of mistreating her, that he would protect her, and asked her not to be nervous. He wished that she would believe his words. He knew that forcing her to come back to him in this life was selfish.. But it would be the last selfish act from him. He lamented that Rhia tried seeking love from all the wrong people which brought her suffering and pain. She even seemed to think that it was because she was not worthy of anything good in life.. Not even love. Igor knew that she would never love him.. But he doesn't need her to. Instead, he'll be the one to be giving the love. Igor wished to the countess' grave for a chance to confess his sins to Rhia and ask for forgiveness at some point in the future. **End of act II:7 years later (this part confused me cuz it said 7 years later. Not sure if it's a typo? It shouldn't take 7 years to get to the palace from Rhia's Estate . Do they mean that it's been seven years since he has returned to the palace? That would mean Igor was living outside the Palace during the 7 years Rhia spent in Crichton. **Act III: Both Igor and Rhia arrived at the Palace. The servants did not expect the king to return on that day, but the welcoming ceremony was splendid nonetheless. The servants had called Rhia 'Queen' and 'her majesty' despite the fact that the wedding hasn't happened. Igor assigned a widowed Duchess to be her maid/matron of honour. Rhia immediately recognised her to be Duchess Cersley who used to wield great social influence. Rhia thought that she has no intention of getting close to her ladies in waiting since she'd be leaving after a year anyway. Rhia thought back to her previous maid of honour assigned to her by the Queen Mother in 1st TL. This MOH used to act superior to her and would constant point out mistakes, causing Rhja to constantly walked on thin ice and go through many hardships..especially after a year where she still hadn't conceive a child. Rhia was forced to take a medicine (to get pragnant?)
Spoiler: Ch 74 Rhia continues her flashbacks.. The medicine she was forced to take was bitter causing her to gagged and even vomited. The MOH, however, would always bring in a new set and made sure that Rhia drank all of it before reporting back to the late Queen. Rhia hated those memories. Rhia promisd herself she wouldn't let anyone make her eat/drink anything she doesn't want. Rhia turns to Igor and asks to greet the late Queen as it is a polite thing to do. Igor's face hardened and replies 'you don't have to..' Rhia thinks that it would be rude not to and asks Igor why? Igor again replies 'you don't have to say hello. You must be tired, you should get some rest' Rhia is shocked. She knew Igor didn't have a good relationship with his mom, but she didn't expect his reaction to be this extreme. Rhia argues that this is against reasons, but Igor cuts her off, saying the Queen doesn't live here anyway, she lives in Burke Castle so you don't have to worry about her. Rhia says 'but-' but gets cut off again with Igor calling her name in stern voice. Rhia sighs.. She doesn't want to quarrel in fron of so many nobles. She plans to thread carefully and doesn't want to show disobedience to the king. In addition, the Queen who used to support her (or so she believed ) is no longer here. Rhia gives Igor a nod. Duchess Cesley intevernes, noticing the tense admisphere between the king and Queen. Rhia then walks off with Duchess Cesley to her Palace. Duchess Cesley tells Rhia she'll be staying at this palce for a month until her wedding and then move to the Queen's Palace, which is now under renovation. Igor gave an order to renovate the Queen's Palace months ago. This got Rhia thinking that Igor must have planned to conquer Crichton a long time ago and planned to propose marriage to the princess as a sign of victory. She wonders what happened to him to change things so much, considering he had such a hard time accomplishing this in their last life. (it appears dude has been planning everything since you left Arundel, Rhia. He even made sure to change the scenery of the Queen's Palace to lessen the chance of your PTSD being triggered) Cesley asks whether she's been to the Queen's Palace before. Rhia lied and tells her no. Cesley tells her she'll make sure Rhia's stay is comfortable. Rhia thinks back to her past life. She has been to the Queen's Palace before many times during her bridal training, and even lived in it as Queen. The late Queen had Rhia visiting often in order to make her future stay more comfortable. But in truth, it didn't help. In fact, she suffered greatly while living there. Rhia wonders.. Had she not witnessed Igor saying he didn't want her, she may have treated him indifferently (rather than being defensive). Her life might still end by his hand but at least she didn't have to live her life knowing how much her own husband despised her. Rhis tells Cesley that she had notified the late Queen of her departure from Arundell, even leaving her a letter. Rhia says 'The late Queen was my god mother and a good friend of my mom.. I'm a little worried. How is she doing?'. So Rhia doesn't know the Queen is a manipulative, power hungry b*tch? Hmm.. So her fear of the Queen is more like fearing that the Queen might see her as useless then abandoning her if she does something' wrong' Or maybe she sorta knew but just simply wanted to be loved? Even if it's from someone she knew to be evil
I don't think we will know for sure what happened until Rhia or Igor give us more flashbacks.. Even then it might take us a few chapters to get to that specific flashback.
@Pearl1995 thank you soo much for the spoilers! I'll keep refreshing the page to know the updates. Many many thanks!
Thank you very much for the spoilers. To be honest, I still hate Igor. But seeing the flashbacks in the first timeline, I think I’m starting to hate Rhia as well. I mean, she did nothing. I’m frustrated that she just can’t a choice of her own. You were the freaking queen but even the maids don’t see you as one. I swear if she wont be critical about her relationships in the second timeline, I can only blame her in case something happens. Don’t care about anything else but yourself!