Initially I had decided not to read this story because I kept reading that it exemplifies the protagonist pairing with a trash male lead. Upon reading the story for the Hell of it, I found out just how wrong that is. (I'll try to explain this without giving any actual spoilers. FYI, Castalia_'s comment "Spoilers on Why It's Worth a Shot" and prinzpudding's "Read the spoiler please" give good explanations with spoilers, and information from the novel, which seems to be clearer on some very important things.)
    In this story, part of the entire point is that the characters of two timelines are different people (except for the two who remember it and came from it). The protagonist, Aristia's different actions result in those around her developing differently: her father, Allendis, and Ruveliss (especially him). These changes begin very early, the first two being very blatant. As for Ruveliss, he had yet to become the horrible person that is his first timeline self, and his character development takes him in a completely different direction. Also, first timeline Ruveliss is never forgiven by anyone: all the characters who know about him, despise the man, without exception. It's important to remember that second timeline Ruveliss never became him and should not be blamed for the actions of his alternate self: just because he had the potential to become first timeline Ruveliss again, doesn't make him be first timeline Ruveliss in the second or at all culpable for the actions of the first timeline. That would be like saying that if an alternate version of yourself is a serial killer, you are also a serial killer — absurd, right? There were many comments saying that Ruveliss needs to somehow redeem himself… for actions of his alternate self. Yet again, they're not the same people, so that's a very strange conclusion to make.
    I've also read some interpretations where Ruveliss only began to pay attention to Aristia because she suddenly wasn't necessarily his, or something along those lines, when in fact it is made explicit that he is simply puzzled by her terrified behaviour, even though she shouldn't have any reason to (as far as he knows) — so Ruveliss begins to pay more attention to her to figure this out and that is what begins his character development. He has already begun to change significantly before the major turning point in his character development.
    As Aristia finds out more about both Ruveliss and the situation around her, she realizes that there was a lot that the two didn't know (this is directly noted). Her character development is honestly just as significant as his; if you look at her in the first timeline and compare that with her by the end of the second. Heck, she points it out herself! Another point, chapter 117 explains a significant part of the toxic relationship of Ruveliss and Aristia in the first time line (and pulls attention to the sorts of things that Aristia never noticed in that timeline). It is also significant to note that deliberate manipulation on the part of one character and the use of a poison that makes its victims mentally unhinged are also part of the first timeline and were attempted less successfully in the second (which is how its use in the first was discovered to begin with).
    With regard to Aristia's PTSD, Ruveliss eventually becomes so completely and utterly different from the first timeline, that she gradually ceases to consider them to be potentially the same person (she does struggle with it for a while, though). Not only that, some aspects of the PTSD continue to effect her, but instead of people, they are more rooted in actions (seeing a woman nearly miscarry due to the actions of another person, for one). Interestingly enough, this is also part of what determines the male lead: due to her trauma, she completely avoids and distrusts romantic affections where she's concerned and it is only by overcoming it that she is able to no longer think of herself as the "abandoned empress." There are also time skips that are easy to miss if you're not paying much attention, without which, the entire development of the story seems very, very sudden (which really doesn't help).
    Another major theme of this work is love, specifically forms of love. It's important to look at how the various characters express their affection of any kind: supportive love, passionate love, gentle love, tough love, obsessive love, love turned to hate, open affection, and so on. All sorts of different forms are shown and their various aspects are weighed, with different forms often being used as foils against each other (e.g. Ruveliss' father versus Aristia's father; Allendis' affection for Aristia versus Carsein's and Ruveliss' for her, etc.).
    As for fate, it's brought up, but rather than their ultimate circumstances, are the characters destined to become the people they do or not? Aristia, Ruveliss, and Jieun's very different behaviour, actions, and personalities between the two timelines really beg the question. Aristia, for example, only cared about herself, Ruveliss, and being empress for the majority of first timeline; in the second, she genuinely cares about others and has actual goals of her own. Ruveliss becomes practically unrecognizable by the end, overcoming his complexes and developing genuine emotional bonds with others. (Jieun's changes are way too spoiler-heavy, but anyone who gets to that point should recognize them.) It's the whole nature versus nurture question, and this story is definitely more on the side of nurture. But, gratifyingly, nature is not ignored, just less determinative; nurture determines the direction nature ultimately goes in. So what fate actually determines, let alone whether it sets anything in stone, is never made entirely clear… which I think is supposed to be the point. I'm less certain of this one, although I think that question is intended to be open-ended.
    The only other thing I have to mention is that, due to the manhwaga receiving death threats, they were forced to rush the ending and leave out the side stories, which honestly would have improved it and lessened the number of complaints and weird interpretations.
    The art is quite good, as is the plot and character development. I feel a little sad for the second male leads, especially one of them, but I still think the story ended as it should have, considering what the author was trying to do and such. In the end, I have a hard time understanding where all the bizarre interpretations come from, considering how direct the author is about basically all of this. Either she needed to be even more direct about the themes and relationship of the two timelines, or humans just tend to be bad with this stuff.

... Last updated on September 15th, 2021, 2:12am

This one doesn't deserve to be anything other than a "What to read when you want simple, mindless, entertainment". Author basically hooks you in with a good premise, and the proceeds to destroy it. This is one of your extremely typical shoujo harem. Don't expect anything different.

... Last updated on February 6th, 2021, 11:35am

I've already posted my detailed reviews of this story here, here, and here. Thought I'd share these here, as well.

As someone who was physically and mentally abused by the person who I thought I "loved", and has read a shit ton of literary works about victims of PTSD, I must say I have never been this angry at a webtoon before.

I'll be focusing on chapters 7-68, where the FL unrealistically goes from "I'm fucking terrified of the ML" to "Yeah I guess we're cool now. Let's talk about flowers, hm?" My focus is Tia and Tia only. Beware this will be detailed and long af. Bear with me.

Stop reading if you don't wanna see spoilers.

The first two times she meets the ML, she's scared shitless. She freezes, is unable to talk, etc. Understandable reaction. Moving on.

The third time, she bumps into him and goes, "He must be mad at me. Why isnt he mad at me?" "Why do you always look at me with resentment and hatred?" All she thinks about is him, him, him, him. Girl why don't you ask yourself if you're okay with meeting your killer?! Why do you have to keep wondering about him? Aren't you the victim here?

In ch. 25 during a play, ML agrees that Tia looked cute the other day, and she blushes. Yep, if my torturer said I looked cute I'd definitely blush too, instead of puking my guts out. Then, after the falling chandelier accident, she thinks, "Are we not meant to be together after all?" Is she... is she mentally retarded? Or is she really just that dumb? God himself told her that she's the wrong choice so why is she still-

Anyway, moving on. In ch. 34, he escorts her home and she thinks, "Why? I thought he hated me?" When he leaves, she wonders, "Why do I feel so empty? Perhaps he escorted me because he was worried about me." I shit you not. I'm this 🤏 close to throwing my phone against the wall.

Ma'am did you perhaps lose your brain cells after getting sent back in time? I wonder how such a thought even CROSSES her mind. She should be fantasizing about shooting arrows into his body, not that bullshit. Keep in mind this is only their fifth meeting.

In ch. 43 at the ML's coming of age party, she stands right next to him and links arms with him. She doesn't even think twice about it. Wow. One would think that being in such close proximity with one's torturer will make one feel nauseous at the very least. But nuh-uh. Not our MC. She looks just fine, nothing to worry about. She's already at that stage of healing where she doesn't mind being near him and touching him. We love fast development, don't we?

Later, she goes outside and says, "It's suffocating." Oh FINALLY!! Does this mean she doesn't actually like being near him, after all? I thought she'd already overcome her trauma. I guess I was wrong, phew. But then she follows up with, "I feel nauseous....... from the crowd."

Pardon?🙂 So being in close proximity with her torturer/killer doesn't suffocate her but the room does? Has she lost her damn mind?🙂

In ch. 52 when he visits her castle, she serves him his favorite food and drinks. Why? Why is she like this? Who the FUCK- Who in their right mind would VOLUNTARILY serve their torturer, killer of their child, with their favorite food (unless it's laced with poison)? Honestly, I'm starting to think Tia is the crazy one, not the ML.

Then, ML triggers her PTSD. She's unresponsive for some time, has a dream about her past and present, wakes up, reads a letter from Allen that says, "Please don't trap yourself in the past only to neglect the present. I know how wise you are, so I know you can overcome this." Nice words, really.

Tia is like, "Oh wow true!!! I guess I'm different now?? I'm okay😎" I truly envy how easy it is for her to be okay again after she's just had an "episode". Look, I'm not saying that she should dwell in her depression and all. I'm just saying: I wish it was that easy in real life.

And now we finally get to chapter 68, where she meets the ML again after some time. This is their eighth encounter (she's 14/15 now). Last time they met, he triggered her PTSD. Now? She has no such concerns like, What if the same thing happens again? What if after all this time, I still can't stand him? What if the progress I've made this far means nothing? None of that happens. She only feels a bit awkward and agrees to go on a walk with him. Instead of being wary and on guard around him, she just casually chats with him like old friends, talking about flowers. Yes, flowers. No shit.

I remember I was so confused reading this. I checked to see if maybe I had missed a few chapters? Did I unknowingly skip her character growth? Why is she acting normal around him now? How-

All right. Try to calm down, brain.

If you say, "Yea but the ML is different tho? He's not the same person. It's like two different people entirely. Plus, he's still a child." My God, IT DOESN'T MATTER! What matters most is how the author tried to potray how PTSD works but failed miserably because she probably did the bare minimum of research and cared more about plot and fucking romance than character development. Let's put ourselves in Tia's shoes:
1. She doesn't know that past ML had constantly been poisoned with psychotic drugs.
2. She doesn't know that present ML is starting to slowly "change for the better". Only us readers know that, because we've seen his pov.

Repeat: SHE DOESN'T KNOW SHIT. All she knows is: this dude, no matter how young he is presently, was the one who killed her unborn baby, her father, and her. His face alone is a constant reminder that he was the one who raped, psychologically tortured, and thought she was worse than dirt for years with no regret whatsoever. Period. So it drives me absolutely insane why she would treat him so kindly.

You may argue that "it took years for her to get to that point." Okay then. We're talking four, five years at most?
1. During that time, did she ever consult with an expert or an adult on how to properly deal with her horrible past? No. She could've easily used "I keep having this horrible nightmare, could you please help me?" as an excuse to get someone to help her one way or another, but she didn't.

2. Next, "she can overcome it because she has a strong support system." Tell me, how many people know about Tia's past life? Allen, her Dad, and the ML. Allen (a psycho teen) straight up didn't trust her at first, her Dad basically only says, "You're strong for overcoming that," then there is no more conversation about it. Case closed. As for the ML, he knows not because Tia trusts him enough to tell him everything, but because the little shit read a personal letter from Tia's close friend. Did he perhaps skip all his etiquette lessons growing up? He may be the future Emperor, but he has no fucking right to do that. He and Tia are basically strangers. He does not deserve to know about her trauma without her fucking consent, just because he's cUriOuS why she doesn't seem to like him.

Also, guess what? His advisor also knows the contents of that VERY PRIVATE LETTER. Marvelous🙂 How nice of him🙂 I'm amazed🙂 It took her years to gather the courage to tell the truth to her two loved ones, yet now he knows everything too. I am so pissed off. No wonder the Emperor always compares him to Tia, he's an idiot.

While it is true that having a support system helps a whole lot in overcoming one's trauma, in Tia's case, who exactly has helped her deal with her past trauma? Every time someone asks if she's okay, she lies and says that she is. Is that what you call healing? Being helped by the people around you? I agree with this person's statement:

Original comment here.

3. And how about exposure treatment? How many times has she interacted with the ML up to ch. 68? Eight, ladies and gentlemen.
• First three times, she's scared.
• Fourth time, she turns into a blushing maiden because he calls her cute (Uh, what?).
• Fifth time, she feels empty when he leaves her and wonders if he's worried about her (Again, wha-?).
• Sixth time, she's okay with being near him. 10/10. No problemo.
• Seventh time, she has an "episode", triggered by the one and only ML.
• Eighth time, they're okay. A bit awkward, but they talk about flowers which is nice, isn't it?🙂

Phew. So, she received no counseling/help from any adult (except her Dad), only spoke about her past twice, always said "I'm fine" when asked, yet somehow, suddenly, she's now okay with chatting casually with the ML? Great. Fantastic character development. Superb writing.

The author didn't see fit to include small yet important developments like:
"I can now look him in the eye without feeling terrified."
"I can be in the same room as him without wanting to pull my hair out."
"I can stand close to him without feeling repulsed."
"I can look at his face without being reminded of how badly he mistreated me in the past."

We don't see that kind of development, do we?

1st ML was literally Tia's entire world, her one and only, yet she was constantly dragged through the dirt by him, psychologically tortured, raped, told her baby wasn't worth shit (despite not having been born yet), and had a miscarriage because of him. He then manipulated her into thinking that he'd killed her dad and forced her to surrender the ONE THING left she held high at that time, her pride. He mentally crucified her, again and again.

All that, and she was only 17 years old.

Please, please tell me how you expect me to believe that this teenage girl dealt with this kind of trauma and abuse and hatred in just a few years, with barely any help? The story would've been far better if the author had elaborated more on Tia dealing with her trauma instead of bombarding us with THREE potential love interests right from the beginning.

Again I say: IT👏DOESN'T👏FUCKING👏MATTER👏 IF THE ML IN 1ST AND 2ND LIVES ARE DIFFERENT. It's utterly ridiculous how the author wrote the worst fate that a woman (in this case, a GIRL) could possibly endure, yet somehow in ch. 68 she's already all cool and talking about flowers with her abuser. Did the author really expect me to buy that?


Original comment here.

True. Let's talk a bit about Allen. Do you know that scene in ch. 22 where he towers and leans over her? You see, the ML had done the exact same thing to her right before raping her. I'm just really curious why she doesn't push him away or get flashbacks of her traumatic past or something. Instead she just stands there, completely unbothered. Author, please explain? Did you write this scene because you thought it'd look hot and chicks dig it? Did you forget your main character has PTSD? Bish I am done😔✋

Like I said before: The author tried to potray how PTSD works but failed miserably because she probably did the bare minimum of research and cared more about plot and fucking romance than character development.

I wouldn't recommend reading this. Better skip it. Save your time and brain.

... Last updated on April 12th, 2021, 11:54pm

I like the manhwa, but as the story progressed, they fall out in many ways. Season 1 to early season 3 is good, even tho they omitted a lot of things but it's okay. but the flaws getting more clearer as the more Tia had aged. You see, Tia finally reached the age of coming and she involved more in the empire's political warfare... but instead, they cut out the political matters a lot and it made everything rushed out here and there. When you read the novel, it's clearly a political-romance novel, with politics plays a really big role in the story's direction. To be honest, the novel really lacks romantic scenes that I doubt really the main point of the story. But, the story narrated through Tia's POV so it's a mix of them.

About the whole controversy of the spoiler, it depends on how readers' perception of Tia's character. It's complicated to pinpoint since every reader has a different perception of Tia's character from the start of the story. But, I think the closest description of Tia's character is: She is a hopeless romantic girl, always wishing for a fairy-tale love (the true love, eternal one partner) but she was traumatized to love someone romantically but at the same time she wants to be loved like how she wished. That's her character-driven through the whole story. She has an unquenchable thirst for love, everything she does has something to do with not wanting to be abandoned. That's why she always avoids the path where she might get feeling hurt for being abandoned by someone she loved. She was traumatized for being abandoned by someone she devoted her heart to.

So, with that characterization of her, that got mixed up with the reader's perception of her, it's understandable why a lot of people got mad on this story. And the prologue doesn't give you a great impression of the ML. My suggestion is to separate him from his title as "emperor and ML" to understand his core character and development through the story. It's not meant to make you sympathize with him, but to understand fully his nature. I think his nature is very similar to Tia: he's hopeless romantic, he has an unquenchable thirst for love.

Back to why the manhwa went downhill, they crop important events but at the same time adding more typical shoujo's troupe that makes the romance that readers supposed to like looks toxic, even for me who like the story.


I like the manhwa, but I might hold back a little cos since I've read the novel my expectation bar kinda too high and got crushed so bad with more new rushed chapters.

It's been a while since I first read 'The Abandoned Empress'. Instantly I was attracted to its potential. But that was then. Now, thinking of it makes me sigh on the best of days, and wish it were a piñata I could beat to breaking point on worse ones.

My brain can hardly function well enough on a regular day to properly word what reading this was like; I instead use that time to consume more fulfilling media that doesn't make me feel ill will towards their irresponsible creators. Because this truly is a narrative that came about as the result of derelict creation. Since today is a day I feel reasonably present and focused, allow me to explain what I mean by that statement. Spoiler warnings hereon.

Before we begin, let me clarify that I had no horse in this race. The moment Allen was revealed to be an obsessive maniac, I could see where the narrative would lead, and to whom exactly. Once you've read enough, tropes, even the ones that bear red flags, become increasingly apparent. It's a shame I could never come to truly care for Carsein, he would've been a healthier fit, but I knew that his affections were doomed already. Perhaps that colored my affection for him.

We're all familiar with the general complaints most people have with this manhwa (bad pacing, poorly written cookie-cutter side characters, unresolved plotlines, etc) so I will skip over them. My review is centered around the three 'primary' characters of this story, Aristia (tia), Ruvellis (Ruve), and Jieun. This is because although it initially sets itself up to be a coming of age/into oneself story, TAE eventually plays into its wish to be a character-driven romance.

A creator is as a creator does. Four years after Ruve's birth Vita first created Jieun, her blessed child, and through an Oracle made her out to be Ruve's perfect partner. The prophecy was the accepted truth, for everything divine is correct, and the will of the creator is above all. And Then. Vita let their blessed child fall through the dimensions into another world. Humans, unknowing of their God's folly, thus sought for a girl of suitable position and age and decided that she was the prophecized child, and so began the miserable tale of Tia's first life.

What happened next can be relearned through the first six chapters of this manhwa, and is painful to read and garners the utmost sympathy for Tia. We learn she's been brought up with a strict education to become an empress, been married to and hated by the person she loved, relegated to a secondary position after the child foretold by the oracle fell into their world, neglected, abused, assaulted (more on this later), become pregnant, lost her child, heard of the demise of her father and then executed. We learn of all her grief and wish better for her.

My favorite moment from this manhwa comes soon after when Tia visits the temple in chapter 9 and confront Vita. Tia learns that the only reason she loved Ruve despite all his neglect and cruelty was because of her string of fate, and the way it accidentally got entangled with his (more on this later). In both despair and righteous anger, Tia calls their God cruel and professes to renounce her faith, promises to reject and discard Vita the same way she was discarded by them. Vita accepts it all, because it's one of two times they've acted responsibly towards the lives of our three primary characters, and declares Tia to be a child who forges their path, bequeaths the name 'pioneer'. It is an emotional and creative high point, one that the rest of the story completely goes on to shit upon.

Since the manhwa centers itself around Tia, we concentrate on her circumstances and her experiences. We understand her trauma, willingness to move on and grow as a person, and wanting to inherit her family title. We root for her. But we're not nearly done with the first timeline.

Jieun is a 16 y/o girl thrown into an unknown world, burdened with the destiny of a 'chosen one'. Duke Jenna, the primary antagonist of the series, manipulates her into believing that having Ruve love her is the only way she can survive. She expects monogamy (as most people in modern times do) and does not get it. She is thrust into a position of power and saddled with responsibilities she has no experience handling (let's be real, a 16 y/o with mere 4 years of education added thereafter cannot handle statecraft the way a girl who has been brought up her whole life learning how to can). With the death of Tia, her husband grows increasingly angry and neglectful and she is constantly compared to and found lacking against the erstwhile queen and reprimanded for her incompetence. Everybody speaks of the special girl with the happy ending, but no one thinks of what comes thereafter. In the end, she dies with her newborn daughter, and carries the pain of a world that believes her to be God's chosen child, but fails to give her any support system to live by.

Ruve grows up in the shadow of a Palace where no one pays attention to him. One of the two people he feels paternal affection for dies in front of him protecting her daughter in her arms, and he comes to hate the girl for it. Being the child of a lowborn, he develops an inferiority complex to that girl (who, as most would've guessed, is Tia) who is of pureblood, extremely competent, And loved by the emperor (unlike him). He is further manipulated by Duke Jenna, who tells of how Tia only views him as a way to gain greater power and rule the nation. He is fed both psychotropic drugs (which induces anger, bipolar conduct, and schizophrenia (inducing schizophrenia by drugs is impossible but it's fantasy so alright I guess?)... wonder if it's the fantasy world equivalent of datura?) and lies by everyone around him and finds his confirmation in Tia's icy conduct. This is Before he marries Tia. There's a ton of things that happen thereafter which will be talked about below.

You can see the creator, i.e. the author took a lot of time to create an absolute tragedy of errors. All of this could be better if any of the characters could communicate, but their personalities and positions prevent that from happening. Tia cannot bear Jieun's casual behavior and believes Ruve hates her. Jieun cannot approach Tia without being rebuffed and believes clinging to Ruve is her only way of survival and doesn't allow herself to be vulnerable in front of him. Ruve thinks Tia only wants him for his power and finds Jieun's affection to be far too shallow. As I said, it's a character drama, and its 1st timeline pulls that off well.

Issues arise with how the story goes about executing its plot thereafter. Initially, it gives the impression of being a narrative about a person coming into themselves, assuming power, becoming self-assured, and overcoming their trauma. Instead, it turns into a shoddy 'love overcomes all' romance with cheap villains who can hardly hold together their schemes.

The concept of love in this manhwa is shot to shit, swear to god. Love is built upon multiple things. It can be built upon admiration, yes, but unless one makes an effort to know someone love, in its truer (real, if you will) form, cannot exist. Love is built upon the small things, interactions, personal banter, shared memories, etc. In the first timeline Tia 'loves' Ruve because of fatum (fate) alone. Her 'love' persists in the face of cruelty, neglect, anger, abuse, and assault. After returning, she swears to Vita she will not follow fate again and not fall in love with Ruve again. Let's reiterate. She has No Reason to love him apart from her twisted fate.

In the first timeline, Ruve outright hates, despises, and has an inferiority complex towards Tia, and all of that is exacerbated by the weird plot convenient drug. They Never have an honest to god conversation, but even in all of their toxic situation he recognizes tia to be more competent than him and feels attracted to her. This becomes a constant source of self-hatred and disgust. His hate/love towards her dictates his actions towards Tia (whom he believes to be a powermonger), and he only gains instances of sobriety (from the drug) around Tia during really intense moments (when she says she's pregnant, when she loses her child, when she is executed, etc). (On that note, the licking of boot thing is non-canon acc the novel, and honestly... WHAT THE FUCK was the manhwa artist thinking when they added that if they already knew Ruve was ML).

I once read someone here say 'Imagine having to send off the person you love most to their death' re: tia being executed while ruve and jieun watched and honestly... that's fvcking laughable. What the author in the novel in those moments calls love can be at best called guilt, regret, and self-loathing on Ruve's part. His emotions for her thereon are marked with his shortcomings alongside regret and guilt. In thinking back to her grace and competence he almost deifies her erstwhile life. You can delude yourself into thinking you love what you've built someone up in your mind to be, but that isn't love either. Ruve sanctifies Tia's existence in his mind, falls in love with that, and that is what we are to believe his love comprises. (Also I was promised that novel!Ruve wasn't as bad as manhwa!Ruve and I had to wade through a fvckton of abuse apologies and 'Tia wasn't assaulted she stripped herself when Ruve told her to' (when she was in clear mental distress over it thinking it was the only way he could ever feel affection for her and coerced into consent) so fvck you to every single person who made me go through that muck, your ML is deplorable.)

My problem with how the author goes about developing romance between Ruve and Tia is how it completely disrespects the experiences of traumatized people and the intelligence of the readers. Even If someone wanted to go about writing something which redeems a past abuser (eg. 2ha, which sufficiently redeems the MC but I still dislike for entirely different reasons do not ask me) the only way a sensible person (be it a character or reader) would be able to accept it would be if the abuser addressed their past actions, made reparations for them, and then made an effort to build something positive with the person they hurt. The writer does that here with Jieun.

Jieun also hurts Tia, but through her POV she is the one worst-hit here. Remember when I said accepting Tia's scorn was one of two times Vita acted responsibly towards the lives of these characters? The only other time is when they offer to either send Jieun back to her world or go back in time. I honestly understood her choice. The memory of her life before is long faded, perhaps reeking of comfort she cannot see herself have in again now that she's experienced so much hurt.

Called God's child, yet isolated, neglected, constantly looked down upon, and scolded by her husband who only ever compares her to his other dead wife (who may have tried to kill her) and then even losing her child. She too burned with a desire for vengeance. But on seeing how Tia and Ruve have changed in this timeline, she makes belated attempts to aid them. She retains memories of her life and nearly kills Tia only to save her and then helps her uncover Jenna's actions. Her presence alone in the last life caused Tia a world of hurt, but in this life, she trades her abilities to save Tia. She redeems herself because she makes reparations for her past actions.

But Ruve? He's an entirely different person with the only knowledge of his actions from the first timeline coming from a letter that he wasn't even supposed to read. I completely understand that he's not the person who abused Tia in the first timeline, but as a reader, it's difficult to accept that the girl who was rendered catatonic for 2 days straight because he merely raised his voice went on to marry him. The writer seems to think that writing misery porn about ML's backstory in the first timeline will give him character depth and serve both as an excuse for his actions in the past and as a good foil against the 2nd timeline's new and improved version of himself.

Maybe these cheap tricks work on others, but it doesn't change the fact that whether under the duress of drugs and mental illness or not, his actions are veritably registered as abuse in Tia's mind. This begets the question 'is a mentally unsound person liable for the hurt they cause others?' and the answer to that is yes, yes they are. Tia has PTSD from her last life, and all of that is brushed under the rug in the face of affection from Ruve in this life. This is such a slap in the face of what overcoming PTSD is like.. here in Tia's mind it's 'just get over it lol' that's not how shit works dearest author. Giving reasons for committing abuse does not negate its existence, nor its consequence.

It feels even worse that Tia had to change to be a more socially engaging person for Ruve to fall for her in this life. She has to change to become palatable and understandable to Ruve in this life so he can stop hating her and then love her. Tia's feelings for him in this life also seem to build upon a shoddy foundation. Theirs is one of the flimsiest loves I've read (even if you were to take away the 'abused in former life' angle) and I say that as someone that used to read Mills and Boons novels to waste time.

I'll finally answer what I meant about irresponsible creators. Of course, in mishandling the lives of the aforementioned characters, Vita is one of the creators I speak of. The other is the author. In writing their 'love overcomes all' and 'deep down he was a good guy, actually' and 'forgiveness is so romantic even if the person you love is the one who traumatized you thoroughly before' romance novel, they fail to properly recognize and portray with consideration the many heavy issues that come up with executing such a plot. They were so focused on making excuses for their ML and making the romance work that they failed to recognize just what they were romanticizing and what they have failed to write well, and I pray that neither they nor anyone who likes these sorts of novels has to suffer half of what they glorify.

There's also a ton of things to say about plot holes everywhere, about how no time frame was given as to the administration of the convenient fantasy drug so it can become a consistent (with 1st timeline) plot point in the 2nd timeline, my thoughts on Allen, Carsein, and Jieun's fates at the novel's end, etc, but at this point I'm tired and I'm sure you, the reader of this review, is too. Thank you for making it this far. My contempt for this novel has been building for quite some time, I know I'm insane for making such a long comment but ya know? to purge something vicious from your mind you've just got to give it the shape it desires, and for me, that shape was this comment.

... Last updated on May 18th, 2021, 12:22am

This is my opinion but....

1. We have to accept that our FL and ML have their own faults. We have too look deeper as to why they acted that way. Both of them were puppets and a doll used masterfully by their factions. Our female lead is only focused on her and the prince and forgot to look at her surroundings.

2. As his second wife and for being in a political marriage, our FL has a duty to give birth to the next Emperor.

3. I think our ML despite being poisoned and being controlled as a puppet is still rational. He never slept with his Empress ( Jeiun ) and his Queen ( Aristia ) despite everyone pishing him to sleep with them so that they can have a baby. Of course this is politics people, the nobles wants to control the baby for their own political gain. But yes, he never did... not until the said 'rape' happened.

4. When our ML ( Ruveliss ) told our FL ( Aristia ) to strip and forced her, he was just fed up with her faction, the imperialist always bugging him to sleep with her already so that her baby can represent the Imperialist faction. Our ML thought that our FL is asking them for her ... or so he thought.

5. Actually if you ask me she can really push him away but she didn't ... instead of thinking such thing, she though that maybe if she make love to him, if she give her whole self to him then maybe she can gain his attention and love. She also gave him her wholeself because she is after all his queen, his concubine. [ As such our ML even thought that she might be aiming to be his favourite concubine by doing so ]

6. The killed her child part ... in this, she was already slowly poisoned. Hence for her weak body. The ML did push her but it was but an accident but of course we won't look in that right? Our FL was standing so close to our ML, if you remember Aristia almost fell due to dizziness but Ruveliss caught her, then Jeiun barged in the room without even knocking and went mad at them so Ruveliss tried to stop Jeiun to explain and forgot the Aristia was standing so close to him.

7. In the POV of our ML ... he hated her because of the report that was given to him. When Aristia went to work the next day as if nothing happened to her. She just had a miscarriage! Yet she worked the next day?! Amazing right? She didn't even mourn for tge lost child and it made Ruveliss hate her more ... she thought of her as a cruel woman who won't even mourn for the death of their child.

8. So Aristia worked the next day as if nothing happened. I do think she was stupid and cruel... this FL... the reason she didn't mourn for the child is because she was more hurt for the fact that since she can never have a child anymore, she can never have his attention anymore. She was just planning on using the child as a way to gain his attention and live and now that the child is gone, he'll never look at her anymore.

9. With this both of them felt like they are no longer needed. Ruveliss felt that Aristia was happy because she doesn't have to carry his child. Aristia thought that Ruveliss will now leave her for good and she can no longer win his heart because of this indcident. Again, they think too political here... because that's their environment they grew up with.


All in all, their first timeline is too political and their minds got distorted. But we have to remember that this is set during medival times and political marriage is common and accepted, especially for nobles like them... also they are no ordinary nobles... they are raised as the future Emperor and Empress.

This story is an emotional roller coaster and our author made it so. But we have to be honest that what happened to them in their first life is the fault of their own upbringing, they weren't ordinary people nor nobles. But because they were all starving for love becuase they do not know it, they became twisted and lonely.

Their second timeline is a good what if they were like this in the first then the first timeline didn't have to happen.

You also have to remember the madness of politics and nobles and human's greed for power can cause one to be twisted. They were playing a game of tactics and people treated them as chess pieces. This isn't a story that only focused on love but also politics and freedom from past trauma.

Its just ironic that the one who freed Aristia from her trauma is none other than the person who gave it to her... although its the second timeline him. None of them changed, what changed is that they realized what could have happened if they continued to go on that path and that triggered the changes.

No matter how much the FMC tries to escape her fate she still loves her abuser from her past life, the rapist prince. The prince is a despicable character and still gets to be the main lead love interest. Even though she's reincarnated to a new life, the prince ia not justified. Then, there's the return of a dumbass whiny "child of prophecy", Jieun, she's evil, lazy, and manipulative yet still get to be "the child of God." What kind of God ia that?!? Sounds more like Lucifer.

Art: 7/10 The fashion design and general panel layout are really well done. The characters are aesthetically pleasing, although Ji-eun's eyes look kinda wack in the first 10 chapters. Overall, love the aesthetics.

Characters: 7/10 Everyone (aside from crown prince) has an interesting backstory. I especially enjoy the female MC's progression from a doormat to a girl with sense and ambition. The one sad part is... though the characters are interesting, the author kind of forgets about some of them halfway through the series. They end up just making cameos every now and then... What a pity for the characters I love....... ngl, i'm mainly reading this still for the precious redhead knight .

Plot: 6/10 It's interesting how the story antagonizes Ji-eun, the typical exotic-heroine-from-modern-Asia with magical powers. I enjoy the twists and turns this author sets up, even if some of them are not well-executed. Unfortunately, this story gets dinged for pairing a rape/miscarriage/cheating victim suffering from chronic PTSD with her former abuser... This abuser also broke the MC's heart countless times...The author gratuitously bombarded MC with abuse only to gloss over it when convenient. Ew.



Overall I would recommend new readers to read this despite the ultimate pairing of abuser x victim... The story has really good pacing and keeps you on your toes. Just remember to be critical of the elements mentioned in the spoiler above.

In the early chapters, I really hate the male lead, the prince, for the cruelty he did to the female lead, Aristia. In my perspective, it's not merely neglectment. It's abuse! He raped her, made her pregnant and lose her baby, and killed her father without any signs of regret. As a woman, I felt anger and sadness when I read that. I was not surprised when she closed herself when the prince tried to touch him in her second life. Traumatic events such as abuse is not that easy to be forgotten, and household abuse should not be forgiven easily.

This reminds me to the plot on "Iris, the Lady with the Smartphone". In that plot, Iris made grand plan to take revenge on those who abused her, and those who abused her are trash from the beginning.

For me, the prince should not be forgiven for his sins. The plot turned out to make the prince as a misunderstood character, a cruel but turns out good character, and made us symphatize with him. I disagree with this. There should be justice for the main character, and punishment for what the prince had done. I honestly hoped in the beginning that Tia would end up with Allen or Sein so that she will be safe, but it seems it would not be so.

But well, the story turned out to still made the prince as the main partner for Tia. I strongly disagree, but the plot is getting quite heated, now that on the recent chapters Jieun came back. She's the main reason on how Monique House first got their downfall. I really wish all the best for Aristia. I bet this one would be different from previously, since Aristia has made a lot of changes and connections since her comeback in the second life.

... Last updated on July 17th, 2020, 7:37pm