Don't worry, this wasn't the actual case. Spoiler: Misunderstanding We're seeing everything from Irene's pov, and let's just say she WAS proven to be an unreliable narrator in this. Idk if you would like to be spoiled in detail, but you can read the latest mtl chapter which shows how things actually played out. Do give the novel a try tho...it's pretty good honestly. Irene is becoming one of my fav FLs pretty quick
I hope what you said is true. I rlly like the art of the manhwa, but the ml is just a big no for me. I feel bad for the second dude(Pierre???? I forgot his name.) Like I get the other misunderstandings, but what about him always rejecting fl,rejecting fl's offer to dance and him giving the OGfl the gift but was rejected and he gives it to the fl now?... Like what kind of misunderstanding is that. I hope it's a reasonable one. Though if it's not a misunderstanding(the gift part) then he's a real shitty ml. I would be disappointed if the ml is him.
Yeah....THAT I can relate with lol. From my understanding up till now, he's a socially inept guy who has to always be on guard as I guess even his own family is tryna kill him?? Not one of my favs, honestly. But for me, I stuck around because of the FL. I think she's one of the most, if not only, in-control-of-her-emotions female character that i've come across in this genre. I really admire her ability to be romantically-indifferent to the ML, even after spending nights together
so apparently: - always rejecting FL - I’m not sure which scenes you’re referring to but there’s scenes in manhwa where he would push her hand away if she tried to hold onto his arm or make physical contact - she found out at the banquet when they switched bodies that he gets a boner just from holding her hands so he’s embarrassed (pure hearted….) - rejecting FL’s offer to dance - I don’t quite remember when he did that in the MTLs but it was explained that he didn’t interact w/ girls much during his captivity in the enemy empire and found it hard to deal w/ Irene’s brazen advances b/c he’s not used to it, doesn’t know how to talk w/ women, and would get shy & nervous lol - giving ogFL gift then recycles gift to MC - the gift was never meant for ogFL in the first place, it was a misunderstanding and apparently it was custom made for Irene all along Spoiler: “ give Derek a chance ” Derek isn’t a perfect ML but from his POV he was isolated for many years from his family and friends starting at a young age. He watched the aides that accompanied him to the new empire die horrible deaths one by one while trying to save him (poisoned, assassination attempts, etc.), even his dog died at the end from tasting his poisoned soup. His childhood was him struggling to survive through numerous assassination attempts and being worried if he was going to come out alive at the end of his ordeal. After his dog died he told himself he had to be strong b/c he had no one left. I had a bad impression of him in the beginning and thought he was sh*tty but after reading through the MTLs I just feel bad for him. He’s so socially inept to the point that it makes me cringe. They had rough sex their first night b/c he was anxious about pleasing a woman and one of the older knights gave him bad advice. A sane person would not listen to the knight but Derek doesn’t have friends of his own age, just subordinates, and he was very recently released as a fugitive before meeting Irene. He hasn’t had much contact w/ people during his formative years so what would be common sense to others isn’t to him b/c he wasn’t properly socialized. He’s not the best but he tries really hard to please Irene by paying attention to her reactions and correcting his actions when he realizes he is wrong. If you look at how he behaves, he is always trying to improve himself b/c he doesn’t want to upset Irene, the problem is b/c he’s the crown prince it makes it hard for people to point out his mistakes for him to correct his actions. His rough way of speaking is b/c he doesn’t know how to communicate or fully convey his thoughts (kept telling Irene he didn’t want her to have his children but his inner monologue meant he didn’t want to pressure her to give birth b/c he prioritizes spending time w/ her and wanted to enjoy their marriage before kids). Spoiler: “Compare this to the ML from ‘What It Means to Be You’” When the mc would be upset by the things ML said and her emotions would show on her face, ML would just think “MC looks upset, what is there to be upset about, I will just buy her more stuff to make her happy” (his inner monologue from early manhwa chs, ch.6 I think?). Dude had a hard life (abandoned at orphanage, enslaved, etc.) but was a dick about it. He kept making assumptions about how perfect MC’s life was as a princess and compared his life to hers to say he had it harder lol (I don’t remember what chapter but he said this before going to work in the manhwa). They were both bad at communicating but he didn’t hesitate to take his anger out on her (screamed at her and said crazy stuff when he thought she cheated on him) when he was frustrated then thought he would just make it up w/ money. I don’t remember him asking other people for advice on how to make her happy b/c he assumed buying stuff would make up for everything, but Derek asked a dumb, old knight how to have sex w/ Irene and Lilia for advice on a gift for Irene.
I kinda feel bad for the ML. I know she did it for her family. But it irks me the way they misunderstood him without really trying to talk to him. I always make it a point not to judge anyone without hearing their side of the story. Some people act like jerks because no one told them not to. If they still don’t listen after that, then they’re really jerks and that’s when I leave them to their devices. Did Irene, at least, find out all of these misunderstandings? It’s not fair for him that only readers find out and it didn’t reach her.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS SPOILER. I'm glad the reasons aren't stupid and make total sense. Though I never expected the boner part lol