This is the manhwa that keeps disappointing. Go read the novel instead.
As a novel reader, I can't help but notice that they've left out the best parts in order to turn this into something else.
It's not that the manhwa is inherently awful as a standalone, but the novel is immeasurably better. Comparing it to what it easily could have been makes one realize that they've utterly ruined something good.
The two versions have a very different feel. A lot of things got cut from the novel to fit the manhwa. They've generally done an okay job at trimming it down without completely losing the overall plot, but it is significantly better with the full context of all events in the novel. The dialogue is also heavily summarized: you can't fully appreciate the Duchess putting a scumbag in their place within the limited text of the manhwa.
My biggest gripe it that despite cutting half the content, they're wasting some of the precious panels on the least significant details as more important ones are left out. They have selectively edited it to cut away the significance of Duchess and childeren and give more to the Duke.
For example:
The romance between husband and wife takes a long time to build up. They essentially started from nothing and slowly get closer. The Duchess primarily cares about the children, and the Duke is a bit of an afterthought for quite a while.
But you wouldn't know that from the manhwa which is heavily loaded with fan service for romance junkies early on.
The Duchess is very competent in dealing with troublesome people, but the Duke often shows up as reinforcement. The manhwa erases her competence and turns her into a helpless woman, with the Duke showing up as rescue.
You didn't get to see the bit about Eliot being a bit bitter about his mother 'seducing his fiancee' in front of him. Eliot is rather fond of Liliana and his mother often uses that to tease him, but you wont see much of that here either.
Little details like this that add depth to the characters and make the story more complete are left out in order to give the Duke more screen time to pander to an audience that they hope will care more about artwork of men than actual substantive plot.
This is primarily a story about childcare. Second is taking out the trash (getting rid if shitty people that get in the way of proper childcare). Romance is somewhere in the distance.
But if you read the manhwa, the balance is different, and you might mistakenly believe that romance is the most important part right from the start.
Just look at the cover: The children are EVERYTHING in this story, but here they are just a side to the Duke and Duchess.
Edit: I find that I have to keep coming back to lower the rating as the manhwa keeps getting worse with every passing chapter.
Edit: It has reached the point where I can no longer stand to continue. I'm a completionist - I don't normally drop manhwa, but I had to create "Dropped" list just for this.
(-6)
(+32)
