The FL in this story is very much a character that gets pulled into the plot but has little agency to change much. She constantly struggles with letting go of her past life and feels detached from this new world. Perhaps that’s why her emotional responses always feel so…shallow despite how many chapters into the story we are. Can get frustrating to see the FL do very little as new threats emerge or in the face of egregious behaviour (abusive, messed up relationships, etc).
If you like a main character to who takes control of the story and brings justice to those that did them wrong, this story may not be for you.
The ending does feel a little anticlimactic. At some point, it feels like the plot can go on forever, teasing new clues out but putting none of it together. The it all suddenly comes to a head, with the antagonist finally revealing their true identity and motivations. Yet quite a few of Yurigel’s actions can’t be fully explained.
The reveal of his true identity also conflicted with information given previously. (Scroll down for more on that. Will contain spoilers)
🗝️ Ash Tolkayn (FL)
- detatched, flat affect, thoughtful, distrustful
- ordinary human transported to another world
- a maid in the neglected Queen’s palace
- Mysterious past and motivations of character revealed later
- never really settles in to this new world. Displaced.
- becomes nanny to the crown prince
- always looking for that pure, knight in shining armour kind of love that never came
🍂⚔️ Sir Mio Zodiac
- stoic, occasionally bickering with Ash, steadfast
- a constant supporting presence to Ash (not romantic)
- in the novel, loved Yurigel and whispered false tales to the young baby prince to turn him against his own mother
- a count by birth
- part of the royal guard
- assigned to protect the baby prince
- bound by a strong sense of duty
🌼✨🗡️ Yurigel (villain)
- eerily sweet, cutting, knows more than he lets on, two-faced, calm
- beloved by the people
- has many admirers. Instantly loved
- open lover of the King
- has a plan and unknown motivations
🛡️ Count Klein Capella
- honourable, flirty only with Ash, loyal, steadfast
- part of Ash’s past
- well-renowned knight in battle
- commander to Duke
- introduced later.
- mixed up feelings of love for Ash
🔮 Ceil Copperfield
- secretly wide eyed, experiencing new emotions
- sheltered birth controlled by the Magic tower
- thought to be the only Great Magican of the generation
- suffered from PTSD after being thrust into battle
[ ASPECTS / TROPES ]
- beautiful, atmospheric art
- a very ordinary FL
- a neglected, uncaring Queen, resigned to watching from the sidelines
- Interesting friendships: Ash and Mio based on mutual reliance, Ash and the Queen from a sense of understanding even as it started from tentative pity
- interesting characters and dynamics
- cliffhanger chapters
- mysterious birth of the prince. Why does he look nothing like his parents?
- messy, imperfect love stories
- fascinating representation of maternal love, duty, and love (both platonic and romantic)
- a castle and forest built over a huge magic circle
- a spell modified and changed with each generation. What is it truly for?
- romance is a side plot. Very slow burn
- dark magicians, their powers fuelled by desires
[ CONTENT WARNINGS ]
PTSD, war (frequent mention), death, blood, grief, depression, postpartum depression, confinement, war prizes, public executions, suicide, drugging, insomnia, blackmail
[ WHAT DIDN’t MAKE SENSE ]
There are magicians with innate powers and dark magicians whose powers stem from their desires and dreams.
(Major Spoilers ahead)
Ash had suspected Yurigel was a magican. She asked Ceil (another Great Magician) and he claimed that sensing another magician, particularly a Great Magician was like breathing to him yet he could not sense any innate magic in Yurigel. It was possible Yurigel was a dark magician, since it was hard to tell unless Yurigel actually used his magic. Yet I was under the impression Great Magicians had to be innate magicians since their heart (an inherited feature) was the source of their magic (I.e they had ‘innate’ magic). But Yurigel was apparently a Dark magican and a Great Magician.
Yurigel’s motivations make little sense too. His true self was heartbroken and had little will to live. In his final battle he mentioned that ‘unfortunately’ he was still alive. If he doesn’t want to live, why go through this whole plan to gain another body and live on. You could argue it was to stay with Evan’s, his current lover but…Did he ever truly love Evans (the current king)? What happened to his feelings for the previous king who committed
They also never explain The Winged Royal and his motivations. He was taken as a prisoner of war yet chose to stay and pledge his loyalty to Yurigel. He’s portrayed as a quiet, all-knowing being from another world. So, why help Yurigel? How did that benefit him? He didn’t seem to hold any hate towards the FL. In fact, he frequently watched and gave the FL (mildly annoying and vague) clues about her true name and the future. Then it seems to be implied that he was killed by Ceil. If he was so all-powerful, how was he killed so quickly?
I also feel like Ceil is kind of an OP character tossed around for kicks and to quickly resolve threats. He can heal every injury, he can turn back time on objects to restore them, he can make shields, he can turn day to night, he can teleport, create objects, etc. It’s honestly kind of funny how they delay his entrance into a conflict seemly just to give the other characters a chance to actually DO something. But inevitably, Ceil, the Great Magician will swoop in when it seems all hope is lost and fix enough (but not too much that he seems too OP). There are occasions where his powers seem almost limitless but then others where the author seem to intentionally weaken his abilities just so that we can get some conflict. In fact, it seems the one thing he can’t do is bring the FL back to her old world, which is oddly convenient to stretch out the story.
(-10)
(+14)
