I used to be an avid reader for this Manhwa, and when chapter 136 dropped I eagerly went to the novel because the story was reaching a peak! I loved the dynamics established early in the story between Penelope and her various love interests. I had fun with it, nevermind the usual elitism and whatnot common in RoFan stories. Penelope's attitude towards her brothers and her family, were good emotional moments, it was both tragic and cathartic to see her get a word in regarding how she'd been treated or at least how Penelope Eckhart before had been treated. I had hopes then, when Eckles appeared, that although he wasn't the main love interest (I mean look at the crown prince, it was over since the start), that his storyline would at the very least handled with dignity. surprise! it was not. And it just left a sour taste in my mouth with the story continuing on, and I couldn't enjoy it the same way I had previously.

Major Spoilers Ahead

Since Chapter 136 left off with Eckles bringing back Ivonne especially after what had developed in the previous chapters, I was excited to see where it would go. Albeit Ivonne showing up at the ruins previously had already tipped me off she would probably be a big baddie, I hoped not. Villains are destined to die after all, offered sympathetic narratives to the other love interests, I hoped Ivonne would be extended that. That she would be further developed, Nope. Yeah no. Alright! She's there to Goad Eckles into whatever. What's worse is the subsequent narrative regarding Eckles and Penelope. Her confrontations with Eckles, which I had always looked forward to especially with how similar their characters were, now felt deeply unsatisfying. I love hypocritical Main Characters, I love it when they're flawed. Penelope is Vicious, she's been hurt. There is no perfect victim in cases of suffering, and she stands up for herself often, I like that. But Penelope's hypocrisy would not condemned by the narrative, nor acknowledged. Rather, the focus fell onto Eckles. What I thought would lead to a nuanced dynamic between the two, boiled down to Eckles becoming the antagonist, who becomes deprived after Penelope "rightfully" disposes of him. It pisses me off so baldy, oh my god.

I would've loved it if it delved into their mutual manipulation of each other. How Eckles could never offer her that 100%, how he'd wanted her dead, his co-dependence, versus Penelope's desperation to reach that 100% leading to the fact that in spite of it all, she can't come to fully view these people outside of being capture targets as a way out. That in truth, her actions albeit kind, saught only to use Eckles, she wasn't a savior by any means, she perpetuated a very nasty practice and kept him as a means to an end. With that in mind, I dislike slavery and slave tropes in media, primarily because it's not given proper care. It's a subject with heavy context to real life, and to mishandle it is just disrespectful and a big fuck you to the history the subject brings. What gave me the reason to stay in spite of the questionable writing for Eckles initially was the potential for his storyline alongside Penelope's, both of whom are unable to do anything with their standing-- the scene of them on that bench, their backs drawn as Penelope laments how they had shitty lives was GOOD. Other than those wonderfully emotion-packed moments with her family, this scene stuck itself into my head. Eckles came from a ruined country and brought into human trafficking ending up in the hands of Penelope, who couldn't exactly offer him the best of treatments due to her position as a lady who was merely adopted, and not entirely accepted by her family due to being a "replacement" for Ivonne.

I was on my knees that he wouldn't become this two-dimensional character, so of course I was excited when we were given a chapter regarding his thoughts about Penelope, that shot of him strangling her, his perspective on his situation, and so on so forth. But fuck that, I guess! The story's framing of Eckles as a bad guy, especially considering his background, and his shared struggles with Penelope, and potential as a character was so fucking frustrating. The narrative's failure to offer him the same complexity afforded to other characters, like Emily jfc, who have also contributed to her suffering, PISSED me off. This left me disillusioned with the series. WHATEVER. Alexa, play mitski I bet on losing dogs.