Gradual romance done well.

The novel is fairly slow and very long, but is paced well enough that it kept me interested pretty much throughout. FL is pretty adorable, and although the romance is slow, they spend a huge amount of the story together and are never apart for more than a few chapters.

Translation and speech demarcation is pretty sucky though, so you do have to bear with that.

... more>>

Spoiler

Bonus once you get to the end of the main story (around c170/180), you get a very cute entire 50/60 chapters of pure slice of life/romance, including their family and life after the main plot is over - loved this section and their cuteness with each other in particular.

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Villainess novel from the male perspective done right. I love the pacing of the story, and the character development. There is injustice, justice, fluff and various other landscapes.

I think the cover can be misleading, since it makes it look like a shoujo type novel, but it's more like [The Villainous Daughter's Butler].

"Richard smoothly changed the subject.

Laughter erupted.

I changed into familiar clothes and went out to the training ground.

... more>> A field of sand."

I am a sucker for villainess yandere stories and I really want to get into this story, but the writing style is just almost unreadable. I really don't ask for much out of Korean novels. I actually love most of them and I think that the writer problems are translation errors, but this just takes the cake in what is probably the worst descriptive narrative I have ever read.

That short excerpt from above is from c15, and I think it sums up the writing pretty well.

Entire transitions described in a single sentence, "I changed into familiar clothes and went out to the training ground.".

Backgrounds given a single bare sentence for description, if you can even call it that, "a field of sand".

Human interactions written out like a script. Seriously? "Laughter erupted" after a joke? Is this a sitecom??

It almost feels like you're reading a manuscript or storyboard half the time instead of an actual novel. The fact I have to point this out feels absurd.

On top of this is the classic no dialogue tags and repeated sentences from characters so you have no clue who's saying what half the time. It forces you to reread it to make any sense out of it, breaking any immersion you'll have.

Not to mention the fact that the story is just plain boring. When you're writing a romance story that depends solely on relationships, I expect to be reading about the relationships. Usually villainess novels begin late into the 'story' where the characters' relationships are already developed, whether between the leads or the side characters. This is where you as the reader explore the characters' pasts in flashbacks or dialogue to learn more about them instead of having to watch it all the way through from the beginning, so it's interesting from the very start. This is so that you don't end up with a novel like this that starts at the very beginning of their relationship to see things develop. The problem with this approach is that the pacing is so horrible. It can work, but this one doesn't.

Quite literally half of the translated chapters are about the MC's development as an escort knight and it plays out like a cliched transmigration story, but a particularly poorly written one. Why? Why do this in a romance story? To add plot? You're already depending on a cliche for people to read, so just give them what they want. Why tack this extra crap on that I don't care about, especially when there's not a single unique thing about it? Are you that confident in your writing or are you just copying others? I simply don't understand. It just makes things boring.

The other characters are so poorly written that I can't even find it in myself to dislike them even when they're made to be disliked. I just don't care about them, and indifference is the worst possible thing you can make a reader feel as an author. They're predictable which makes them boring, they don't talk or interact in any believable way, and this is on top of the bad narrative already. "Laughter erupted"... Wtf...

I've tried to continue reading this novel from it's translated chapters four times, and I just can't. I think the only thing I like about the novel is the FL. Her calculating and cold personality makes her dark traits feel pretty real, and I can feel real future yandere from her which is kinda rare.

The novel just isn't very good. If you're starved out of villainess yandere novels then you might like it, maybe I'll come back to it for that reason. Otherwise, it's just a lump of baffling creative choices that make no sense to me. Not worth it. <<less

(I wanted to put two stars)

• • Story.

About the system:

About the MC's past:

• • Pacing:

There are moments when, as omniscient readers, we learn important information, but the protagonist doesn't. So, we watch as the MC doubts and struggles with something we've known for 1, 5, or even 10 chapters already. Then, even other characters deny it and rediscover it, and we have to see the MC either ignore the fact once again or learn "new" information that we've already known for a long time. This wouldn't be a problem if it didn't happen repeatedly; reading and re-reading the exact same thing for multiple chapters doesn't make it more interesting.

• • Protagonists.

The MC wakes up as a child around 10 years old, but he is fully aware that he is actually a 28- or 30-year-old adult. Naturally, he doesn't take childish teasing seriously, and he thinks and understands things that a normal child wouldn't. Quite logically, several adults notice this.

On the other hand, FL, a 12-year-old girl, doesn't act or think like a child at all. It's not even because her situation forced her to mature-- she simply isn't a child. There are limits. This isn't a smart girl who had to become independent; she is straight-up a mini adult.

• • About their relationship...

FL sees him as a fun and therapeutic pet, while MC sees her as the devil himself, someone he must keep happy at all costs-- to the point where he doesn't even see her as a little girl but as a dangerous enemy. (The fact that she already acts like an adult doesn't help.) However...

• • Character Development.

Up to the point I read, MC and FL are practically the same as when they started.

I started this novel because it's rare to see a rofan with a male MC, and the master-knight relationship seemed really interesting. However, the writing is weak (as others have mentioned), and whenever it seems like the plot is going to move forward, it backtracks or goes in a different direction. (MC starts remembering things or finds something important, but then he gets interrupted, ignores it, forgets about it, and moves on to something else -- like standing guard at a door.) FL is a Mary Sue (she can do everything and excels at everything), and I find it especially annoying how children are always written as if they were mini adults.

If there's nothing else to read, it can kill some time, but there are definitely better options out there.

the thing with fate happening when you avoid it sounds terribly much like what Judas is going through muehehe. especially with how hard he tried to escape in the earlier chapters but it just brings him closer to Eliza -> feelings are brewing now, and its mutual!!! and slowburn too with both sides not realizing wjahkjfaf -> judas's mysterious past is catching up...!!! its so interesting too how his choices in rewards 1) coincidentally convenient for the next event, and 2) seems to match up way too well with his... more>> mysterious past??

the pacing is really good, with just-right levels of escalation for the pace!! I love how the characters and the different relationships develop!! it feels very natural and well-paced, and the budding feelings between Judas and Eliza make me wanna scream and claw at the wallpaper like AGH<3 PLUS how the characters start to mimic each other the closer they become, like HELLO????? Judas thinking "what would Eliza do" and picking up her mannerisms, Judas and Richard being reckless blockheads enabling each other, the friendship and brotherhood in Room 13 LIKE HELLO?!?!??!? I wanna bite my fingers off its so sweet and wholesome between all the scheming and plotting going on in the background like *screams incoherently*

ALSO GOD ALL THE MOON AND SUN IMAGERY OH MY GOD HELLO????? AND RED ANEMONE FLOWERS AND HIM BEING THE ONLY COLOR IN HER WORLD??? SOULMATES!!!!! <<less

Not bad. The translation quality could be confusing but it is one of the rare story where the characters are genuinely intelligent. There are some that could be better written and be less convenient but the author skills seems to improve the further I read.

Good so far; there’s convenient power ups for MC but nothing too OP. I’m also a sucker for villainess FL and no harem, so 5 stars for me!

So Far it is really fun. ^_^ I want to see more.

I am interested in how the romance will progress. I hope he madly falls in love later, but based on his personality not sure hahaha.

The lady truly is a villainous, and he insane yet is striving towards his owns goals. It is so fun.

This novel is very well done so far. The novel uses different perspectives to flesh out characters and hasn't made the main protagonist OP (at least yet). It's so far a decent mono relationship fantasy novel and I would highly recommend to give it a try.

Exactly as anyaforgers comment said, this is a very slow slow burn with boring predictable fighting action content thats used to drag this out. Also their relationship is so slow and takes forever. To boring and slow for me. 2/5

Influencing the villainess to change done decently.

I was looking for one of these novels where MC changes the villainess and this one scratched the itch. It's not the best story though. I do like the MC and FL relationship, but it's a very very slow burn. Almost 100 chapters in and the MC still hasn't acknowledge his feelings for her.

Beside the slow pacing on romance department, the story likes to throw MC into knight training or competitions. It takes like 50% of the novel and I don't enjoy it. Its... more>> predictable with unnecessary minor antagonists.

The good parts are MC and FL relationship, their backstories, and main plot. Sadly, it's a slow burner with unwanted content. <<less