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Lari's views on marriage throughout the series

While re-reading the Tapas version, I'm reminded of all the small mentions of Lari regarding marriage.

Even with the topic of "marriage", Lari's views go a drastic change throughout the series.

In the YM world, it's a very traditional, patriarchal, misogynist world. Women have no rights and are treated as property of either the father, brother (if she is unmarried) or the husband. They are not allowed higher education, and their only use is to look pretty as the lady of the home. All the decision making goes to the men. ALL the women in the series suffer some sort of sexist discrimination.

Amanda Belois - Has no say in House Belois decisions (eventually leaves the Count) Riche/Tris Gorten - married off to unhappy marriage Amelia Belois - tried to marry into power, died for her ambitions Eva - became a slave to the Emperor In TL1, Lari was any normal noble girl. She loved reading poetry and romantic stories, and dreamed of a marriage of happiness and love. However, she knew that such stories were unrealistic; as a noble she would have to marry for the prestige and prosperity of the House. However, even that bare minimum wasn't fulfilled: unbeknownst to her, she was the hidden Princess of the former Emperor, and was intentionally hidden away in the Southern Territory of the Belois manor. Count Belois intentionally blocked ANY suitors from approaching her. After she turned 15, she awaited letters from suitors but they never came. She was upset that Lehan was getting PLENTY of letters when he turned 15, and at age 18, she all had lost hope. At age 16/17, House Belois intentionally sabotaged her with a pathetic debutante to ensure no one would be interested in her. no one in the Belois manor wanted to help her with it, so she sought the help of Amelia Belois who also gave the bare minimum - as a result, Lari was shunned, mocked, ridiculed for being so plain at the most important event of her life thus far. Recall, the debunte ball is the event to introduce a young lady into society as a new young adult - but she received no attention at all. She only got the courtesy greeting from Rupert, who only cared about her as a "Belois" and not as "Lari". By the time she was 18, she lost all hope of ANY romance. After YEARS of mulling it over, she concluded she had a terrible personality, she was plain and unremarkable, and no one would ever want her. She had held hoped at age 16 that even if she was deficient, then some other noble would want her - but guess not.

Lari NEVER imagined that her own family was sabotaging her self esteem, because they had planned for her to marry her own BROTHER of all people. They never considered her their own daughter, just "someone who would become their daughter in law in the future." She may have learned perfect etiquette and all the skills required for a noble lady, but what was the point if she never married?

In the beginning, Lari pretends to not be bothered by the prospects of marriage - as she gave up already a long time ago - but she is still very much bothered by the concept. She often reminds herself she doesn't want it, doesn't need it, and unfortunately for Rupert, Lari is coping HARD regarding marriage.

At the end of the Belois vacation arc, she mentions again that she hopes for a marriage of love; but he reminds her how unrealistic it is, and she agrees. It's a nice thought, but utterly unrealistic and she knows that very well.

Years later, Lari's view on love literally breaks her: the 17yo Lari of TL2 is utterly uncapable of accepting Rupert's feelings. She spent almost 8 total years convincing herself no one will ever love her, no one wants her, no one wants her in their future, Rupert, the cold-hearted murderer would NEVER consider her a partner... yet here he is telling her point blank he loves her.

Throughout the series, Lari isn't an idiot, she notices his feelings, but she is in HARDCORE DENIAL about it. She makes every excuse under the sun to convince herself he doesn't like her in that way, that it's just because he's a nice, considerate guy.

Some readers may say it's because Lari's a cruel person, but I see it differently: Lari is so utterly broken and traumatized from the past, to her, the idea that "no one will love her" is her [truth].

To protect herself and her [truth], she pretended not to know, because she couldn't accept Rupert's feelings. She can't cope with it. For someone to be alone this whole time, to suddenly have someone tell her they loved her so much? it's too much for her. She can't suddenly undo 8 years of a belief just like that. It takes her over a year during the separation, and a few months after they reunite, but eventually through patience and positive encouragement, Rupert does manage to change her thinking, and Lari does understand she's a person who is worthy of someone's love, someone does want to marry her and be with her forever, someone wants to protect and care for her.. :)

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Lari's character development (spoilers throughout the series)

Lari is one of my favorite FL in any media. She's just so well characterized, where her character development occurs so organically and reasonably. Overall, through the story and Rupert's POV, we have a good idea of Lari's strengths that is briefly mentioned, but accumulate over time:

works hard, is diligent

tries her best

is a nice and warm, overall a good person

studious and able to problem solve

mastered etiquette (the only skill she had from TL1)

able to learn politics overtime, and has a good idea of leadership

knows how to influence high/society with nobles (in combination with Rupert's authority and support) Lari is one of those characters who is NOT a badass OP FL lead. What has instead, is a quiet type of feminine strength. She doesn't have to be the smartest, or strongest, but she can still be a gentle person to acheive her goals. She may not be physically strong or intimidating, but she does have the support of Rupert; and he is more than happy to help support her in whatever she needs/wants. That's his role: to support her so she can be comfy and relax. Isn't that a nice idea on it's own? :) On the other hand, Lari IS a flawed character, with her own weaknesses:

extremely reckless

distrustful

due to being betrayed and gaslighted in TL1 and the first part of the story, she becomes hypervigilant to the point where she stops relying on ANYONE for help, becomes hyperindependent to the point of self-sabotage.

As Rupert says a few times throughout the series, Lari makes A LOT of stupid mistakes and bad decisions throughout the series, decisions any normal, rational person wouldn't do. That's the point. Unlike Rupert, who has Tori and Louis to discuss things with, Lari has no one. She's utterly alone. So if she DID have someone to rely on, that someone would tell her how stupid she was being, and she wouldn't have done the stupid thing. Her poor decisions is the result of being utterly alone, with no one to turn to.

Lari knows how bad her decisions were and agonizes over it afterwards, but Louis is the one who reassures her that in her situation, even if it wasn't the right call, to her, at that moment, it was the correct choice.

Rupert is the one who eventually realizes despite how she appeared, Lari is actually more lonely than anyone else. She had all these secrets about TL1 hidden inside, he was unable to ever fully earn her trust, and even if he wanted her to rely on him, the current [him] failed to do that. Before the separation, he was wishy washy - did he want to get closer to her? did he want to keep his distance? Eventually he realized that HE needed to change the way he treated her to earn her trust

It was nice that Lari already cared deeply for him; he didn't have to work TOO hard to earn her trust and have her rely on him when they reunited, but true to his word, he will always be there to support her, and if she allows it, he will be the one to protect and she can always rely on him. :)

After becoming a couple, RupeLali are hanging out often anyways, and they always have open communication. No judgement, and Rupert encourages Lari to speak her mind and any worries, and that is a tremendous relief for her, and their bond gets stronger from that :D

This is basically a story of Lari growing up and learning to trust and rely on others, and to let go of the toxic people who held her back from her own personal greatness!

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Translation Details: "caring vs precious" Tapas Ch 25

As someone who translated/edited the YM novel and S3 of the manhwa with native KR translators and had a team to discuss things with, I felt it would be fun to offer some "behind the scenes" details of why there are certain translation liberties between the tappy/tapas/and fan versions. I do take pride in my work, but obviously I can't compare to the official versions (as much as I complain about the tappy version) In general, it is impossible for ANY translation to be more than 90% the same. A translation depends heavily on the translator's skill, the editor's vocabulary/knowledge of both language, the extent of localization and how much of the original script is maintained. I'm flexible, so as long as the translation is reasonable and gets the original intent across, I'm happy. So the point of these "Translation Details" post is more informational and not any criticism. With that said:

Around Ch 24ish of the manhwa, we get the philosophical conversation between Lari and Rupert - on how much he treasures/likes and cares for / considers Tori precious.

Tapas Ver:

Fan version:

Tappy: "treasures" Tapas: "likes" and "cares" Fan: "treasures" and "cherishes" Ultimately, all are pretty similar choices.

I remember having a long conversation with TL-san about which word to choose. Technically, the straight forward translation IS "likes/caring", HOWEVER, in KR context/conversation, it's a very "loaded likes/caring". It's not a simple, 'likes/caring' - it's something more. Tappy chose "treasure", which we agreed with. However there was also another word that could apply - which we chose "cherish", and Tapas chose "caring". If I recall, it's a similar word used later on in the series, so the fan version agreed with Tappy's choice of word. Because this is a fundamental scene that establishes Lari's understanding of Rupert's thought process, that would unfortunately be difficult for her to change in the future: How Rupert is a broken, lonely kid who doesn't - can't - even understand the concept of holding someone else dear. While most other ppl treasure their loved ones, Rupert is the opposite: he only cares about those in his circle, those loyal to him, and those he deems worthy. However, that is Lari's mistake: Rupert is person who is capable of tremendous devotion and love to those he cares about. When he eventually falls in love with her, it's pretty clear to everyone around home of how much he treasures her, cherishes her, and considers her precious. A simple "likes" and "cares for" does not do those feelings justice.

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Lari's 12 birthday party

Includes spoilers from future events

In combination of all the pieces given through out the entire series, the true backstory of Lari's 12th birthday party:

Rupert was always aware of the conflict between House Belois and the Imperial Family, including how Eva's one chance of freedom was thwarted by the Count. Because of the Count's betrayal - by using Eva's knowledge of the Crazy Emperor being infertile as his own bargaining chip - he secured the benefits of 1) to be part of the Imperialist Faction and support the Crazy Emperor, despite being a close advisor to the previous Emperor who was overthrown 2) Steal Lari away, under the guise she had died during the rebellion; to where the Crazy Emperor would turn a blind eye to her existance. All this was deemed a fair trade in order for the Crazy Emperor to keep control of Eva.

As such, Rupert learned very early on of Lari's hidden existence as well as how the Count had sold Eva - and him - to this wretched fate that was worse than slavery. Ever since Eva's death when he was around 10 years old, he worked hard to lay the groundwork for his own rise in power to become Emperor. That included compiling a list of those who were a thorn in his side that he needed to get rid of - including Lari, Lehan, House Belois, House Gorten, Riche etc.

Through his information network, he knew Lari's 12th birthday was coming up. He had Tori steal Nigelle's invitaiton (the Queen Consort and Nigelle were close to House Belois, and would have received one). He also sent Louis there as one of the Imperial Knights to celebrate her birthday.

In Ch 18 (Tapas), Tori let it slip that Rupert actually sent her there as "he wanted to know what a particular someone looked like." Based on the context, Rupert had already seen the Count from afar several times during Noble meetings… so he wouldn't need to see /him/. However, it's about time that he investigate /Lari/, the hidden Princess of Akan I. The Count did a good job of hiding her away from society and the Capitol, and what better way to infiltrate House Belois than with a two pronged attack - Tori will hide amongst the little girls and have a higher chance of meeting Lari, while Louis would mingle among the adults to find more information about the birthday girl - and make direct contact with the Count in the meantime.

From Louis' first encounter with Lari, he already suspected something was off. They never met, but she knew he was a knight. Did the Count train her to recognize him? how much does the Count know about Rupert?

As shown in the series, Tori and Louis are Rupert's closet retainers. They do not act unless he orders them to.If Rupert didn't order them to go to the party, they wouldn't. So he was there to find information on /lari/. What kind of noble was she? what did she look like? Also, she acted oddly - she was surprisingly wary and didn't let the Count talk to him anymore - as if trying to distance them. When he went back to Rupert, of course he reported that she was strangely on guard against him.

Of course, when Tori came back, she /gushed/ at how cute and friendly Lari was, and Rupert was incredulous. Of course he thought that there was no way, a pampered Noble girl like Lari, especially one who was raised under the strict gaze of one of the most traditional, xenophobic, racist families would ever be nice to commoners. He didn't imagine that just a few days later, he would meet a girl who matched Tori's description exactly at the 5th Ave marketplace, and they would be arguing over /dumplings/ of all things.

From the start, Lari was always /uncanny/. She would sometimes act like a normal naive girl, but sometimes she would say something profound beyond her years, she had her own secrets she held from her family, and she had her own objectives no one knew about. As annoying as she was at the start, he grew used o her presence and allowed her to stay because as she was, she posed no real threat to him.

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Lari's confession

*melts into a puddle in Ch 134*

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Reminder! Deadline is July 31st! The end of the month!

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Reminder! Deadline is July 31st! The end of the month!

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[Thoughts] Why Lari regressed

I strongly believe that Lari regressed to save Rupert's fate from becoming a tyrant. It was never stated explicitly in the novel, but there's quite a few hints to suggest it. For starters, the author, Eclair-nim posted in an afterward in Vol 6: "[...] Even if people put their minds to it, "change" is not something that is easily accomplished. So even if I could turn back time, it would be difficult for me to reverse a decision I've already made. Despite this, I hope that Lariette and Rupert, who have not given up on growing and moving towards the future with each other, will be happy for a long, long time."

Both Elclair-nim and Hayeon-nim, on social media say that they wish for Rupe/Lali to be happy (yes, most authors say that but I feel they wish happiness for these charas a bit more than usual). Throughout the story, one of the biggest themes is [change], and it's established that Lari wanted to change from her previous impassive, ignorant self to someone who can think for herself and choose how to live her own life... but she also suffers from a fear of change, which is why she continues to cling to House Belois despite knowing they lie to her and continue to keep secrets. As a person who is naturally trusting of others, it's hard for her to be wary of others unless they betray her first. TECHNICALLY, House Belois hasn't harmed her/betrayed her yet, so all seemed good... Lari knows that everyone has a secret or two they wish to hide, like her own secret of regression Another thing that gets a lot of focus, is that Lari's personal wish of "saving House Belois from death" is not her true wish; over time, it changes to "save Rupert becoming a tyrant/ensure Rupert is happy". Over and over, especially after non-productive conversations with Lehan/the Count, Lari wonders why the heck she regressed. No matter how much she tried to convince them, House Belois refused to change. But that's the point - the reason why she regressed, and the reason why she thought she regressed were different. She didn't regress to save House Belois. That's why they were an insurmountable obstacle, where she could never get to them. Because they were not the ones in need of help from her regression. It's been described over and over, from multiple characters, that House Belois is extremely old fashioned, and it's true of trash dad, and by extension, Lehan. They are unyielding to their core beliefs, and they will die for their beliefs. Of course, Lari knew this about her own family, but she felt that maybe, because it's her, she can change something ---- nope, not at all. She witnessed them dying because of that stubbornness in TL1, and at this rate, if she does nothing, they'll suffer the same fate in TL2.

So despite her telling them about her regression, and was very hurt when they didn't believe her and ignored her warnings, she gave up on trying to change them by chapter 68. She will do her own thing to save them, because that was her only wish when she regresed. It became a duty for her she had to fulfill. She remembered happy memories of TL1, and she wanted to repay it back to them, even if that's not the case in TL2. But as Elcair-nim says, change is hard. Even if a person wants to change a decision they've made, it's really really difficult. For Lari, who believed wholeheartedly that her regression was to save her family, it's a pathetic, cruel joke to realize when in fact, she made the wrong decision/wish. Because in the story, besides Lari, there's one other person who changed so much - Rupert. Lari didn't realize it, but her existence saved Rupert from the moment they met. Without her, he would have continued to be controlled by Eva/Tory, and was on the fast track to being a hated, lonely tyrant. But with Lari around being a positive influence, he remained a relatively nice, reasonable guy. Still cranky and hot-headed, but reasonable. The irony is that Lari didn't realize that Rupert had already changed, while she was off to the side worrying when he'll change and flip that switch. But he had already changed long ago.

Rupert is the one who needed Lari's existence the most in the series. It's very likely that in TL1 he lived his entire life lonely, hated, alone, murdering all his enemies but also earning the public's hatred. After his closest person, Tory died, he had literally no one else beside him. It was a very pathetic and lonely way to live, to not ever feel happiness or warmth. If anything, Rupert never tasted basic human warmth or happiness until chapter 59, when he was 15. He was already starting to find life a bit fun when she came to the palace, but his happiness really started after Lari proved to him she wanted to stay out of her own accord, wanted to be his ally, and wanted to stay beside him. When they separated, he realized how much he depended on her. His source of happiness was gone, and he had issues coping for a while without her. Because he cherished Lari so much, and wished for HER happiness, he offered everything he had: his rich/power, but the thing that Lari appreciated the most: was her freedom. As a lady in waiting, she was allowed to come and go whenever she pleased, and when they got along better, she was able to speak her mind and bicker with him more. The more comfortable they became with each other, the more she voiced her thoughts and opinions, and Rupert really valued her thoughts. He hated when others, including Trash dad looked down on her and didn't listen to her, so he made sure to let her voice be heard everytime.

So by regressing and ensuring Rupert's happiness, that in turn, is the ONLY way for Lari to achieve HER happiness as well.

Because for the first time in both lives, Lari is finally happy, and that's by being around Rupert. The times they laughed and ran around in the forest of the detached palace, The times they bickered and argued about little things. When she would share nice things with him and he looked at her, not quite understanding but nodding, When they go shopping together, when they have conversations about anything because they spent so much time together. So during the climatic event, after House Belois' betrayal smacks her in the face, she fulfills her "duty" as a daughter to protect them by getting rid of the variable that would instigate any war - herself. When she recovers from her injuries, she had already decided to cut off House Belois, especially trash dad. He will never change. He's a lost cause. She burns the fir-tree family crest she has. She denounced her noble title of being part of a Count's family, and is now just an aristocrat without a title (Sort of like Amelia Belois). She was fed up by them, and fed up with their treatment of her. It's over. But Rupert was different. She couldn't ever forget him.... and she just hoped he would find his own happiness soon, because he deserves to be happy :(

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Rupelali's budding romance (Lari version)

What I always find endearing (?), is how Rupelali are just so ignorant of their own feelings for each other. It's not a simple misunderstanding type of situation, but rather "two people who have never experienced romantic love can't tell they love each other". Love, after all, is an abstract concept, especially for the both of them. Lari, as fond as she is of romantic novels, has never felt romantic love of her own, and fails to recognize the "heartaches" she feels when she looks at Rupert is romance (heavily hinted), and instead mistakes it as anxiety/nervousness/guilt, which is an emotion she's very much used to from her trauma of TL1.

What amuses me, is that SO MANY people knew Rupert and Lari had a thing for each other, YEARS before the two actually realized it themselves. In manhwa chapter 60, Tori first hinted at Rupert's feelings for her. Around that time, Louis had complained that he was already giving special treatment towards Lari. As crown prince, the maids and servants noticed when Rupert protected Lari from the arrogant knight, and how he defended her when she was framed. This gossip spread to the south, where Nelly and the Nanny had asked her about that palace romance - which of course Lari denied. Because, as far as she was aware, she was bound to Rupert though that promise in Chapter 32 - She was his maid, she belonged to him, and that's it. She earned enough of his trust so he'd protect her, and that's it. He may own her, but her feelings are her own

Besides, It's not like Rupert ever showed any romantic feelings for her. He's the usual Rupert - minds his own business, is rude, and condescending to her. He still insults her sometimes... where is the romance in that? Again, she's just his trusted attendant. Of course, others will see "romance" between them, but they don't know of their promise. But Lari's not dumb, when she realized Rupert yeeted to the South, even harming himself with Alchemy when he heard she was injured.... she admits, yes, she's become someone so important to him... those feelings *could* be of love... but... So she chooses to IGNORE her suspicion that he loves her. That's not something she wants to find out the answer to. After all, "he" killed her in TL1. He's treated her the same as always. She doesn't want to get ahead of herself and embarrass herself by jumping to conclusions either. So she chooses to run away, and not talk to him about it. Even when he proposes marriage - even though he was serious - the fact he was so nonchalant about it made Lari think he wasn't serious at all, and decline it.

Lari's characterization is consistent: She's been alone this whole time, she doesn't have anyone she can trust and talk to about things like this. She bottles up her emotions, trying to deal with everything herself. She convinces herself that Rupert doesn't like her, doesn't feel anything special for her, because he has Tori. She shouldn't get in their way, because she's an outsider. She doesn't want to talk to Rupert about it, because it's none of her business. Lari keeps on running away from her own feelings, and from Rupert as well.

After Rupert acknowledges that he really, really cares about Lari, really treasures and cherishes her, and vows to give her anything she wants in Ch 98 (but doesn't quite understand he loves her yet), Lari feels burdened by his feelings. It's getting harder for her to deny his feelings, and she feels so guilty and awkward, she starts hiding from him, but of course as tenacious as he is, Rupert always goes to look for her. He actually finds it a bit fun to find her during this game of "hide and seek" (he also gets Elaine and Louis to help lol). It gets to the point that Lari is aware, but full on denial of his feelings by the night of his coronation to Emperor. As much as she trusts him, her self-doubt blinds her:

Through Lehan's gaslighting, Lari was convinced: As much as Rupert loves and cherishes her, it won't be enough. He will choose the throne over her.

That is literally Lari's fatal mistake: she's so caught up in her despair, she makes assumptions out of fear. She's completely blindsighted to even the idea that Rupert truly loves her, and will choose HER over the throne. She understands how much she hurt Rupert, poor Rupert who was happy at how well they were getting along, living a comfortable live at the palace... all he wanted was the be coronated Emperor and have Lari be happy and congratulate him... but all he got was Lari, who had disappeared, and he found her unconscious in a sea of flames.

When she woke up, Lari finally apprehended him: He loves her, doesn't he? Although Rupert couldn't clearly articulate "yes", Lari knew it all along: he did. He does. But in her condition, she was unable to accept. So she chooses to break everything off. Otherwise she'd feel overwhelmed by the burden of everything in both timelines, and want to die. So Rupert allowed her to leave, because by being free, she would be "alive". While in the village, Lari again, knows full well how much Rupert love her, and how much she hurt him by feigning ignorance to his feelings. She just hoped he would have moved on by now... but she can't help but miss him, and all the time they spent together. While she hated House Belois, especially Lehan and Trash dad, she could never hate Rupert. She kept Lehan around to get updates on how Rupert was doing, after all. She really misses him, and the time they spent together at the palace. And when they reunited - she felt so relieved and excited to see him again, a feeling that she had almost forgotten after a year ... So by the time chapter 124ish comes around, that time apart had strengthened Lari's resolve: She has finally healed enough to accept Rupert's feelings, as well as her own. Her choice was clear: She will stay beside Rupert, and ensure he's happy and will protect him, because if not her, who else? She will protect him, herself. If he still loves her this much, then why should she continue to deny bother her feelings, and his? There's no point in her pointless shame and apologies, if he's really accepted them both as well. So the answer is clear: she chooses to, and will stay beside him from now on as "Lariette". :)

and I think all this is beautiful ;__;

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Men in YM

The Manhwa version of YM has a unique plot point I don’t see in other romantic fantasy stories of it’s genre: the fact that undesirable men keep on chasing after our female lead.

To recall, YM’s worldbuilding revolves around a corrupt society that is very misogynist and patriarchal, where women are treated as objects to be possessed and have no rights of their own.

Despite being the female lead, Lari is not immune to that plot point, where being a single, unmarried woman is seen as dangerous for her. In season 3 and 4, there are 3 men who are vying for her attention: Rupert, Lehan, and Fernando. Lari, being a very nice and pretty person, gets a lot of unwanted attention from men. The thing is, Lari had grown up sheltered in TL1 and had been mostly around Rupert in TL2 (who didn’t compliment her at all while they were together), so she had no idea how pretty she really was. She truly thought she was average looking. Our first real hint at how attractive Lari was was during the debutante arc, where Rupert’s POV showed us how he actually thought she was super pretty, the prettiest girl around, and that he was feeling jealous and threatened by all the other handsome young men there because of course they would fall in love with her, and she might fall in love in return with one of them and want to leave the palace.

FERNANDO:

Fernando is such a man: he fell in love because he was convinced Lari liked him because she was nice to him, without him realizing that Lari is a friendly person who is nice to everyone.

He’s so convinced that she liked him back, that he spread rumors in the village that he and Lari will marry soon, and he was so excited to think about their future kids, and how great of a mother she’ll be. He’s not rich, but they’ll manage a family somehow. He’s so delusional, that he never considered the possibility that Lari didn’t like him back, and felt threatened when he saw Lehan and Rupert around. That was enough for him to stalk her, and kidnap her one early morning when no one was around. In the basement, he planned to beat her into submission until she agreed to marry him, heavily implied in the manhwa that he was about to assault her too.

Despite Lari clearly rejecting all his advances both verbally and by running away, he even told her to stop playing hard to get, and to accept him. To him, Lari’s consent means nothing. He wants her, and he will stoop low to poisoning and kidnapping in order to possess her.

LEHAN:

Lehan as well, fell in love with Lari at an early age because she’s nice and pretty. He was upset that she only thought of him as a younger brother, but pretended to act like one (even though he liked her as a woman), because he enjoyed how she worried and cared for him as her brother. He wanted her to see him as a man, but never had the balls to speak up because if he did, he knew she wouldn’t treat him the same as before. So he kept up the lie for years, even though he really wanted her to see him as a man.

He found his opportunity after her suicide attempt, she said she no longer thought of him as her brother, he was now a stranger to her, and she wanted nothing more from him. IF anything, after some thought, he was actually happy that she didn’t see him anymore. If they had no more brother-sister bond, and he’s a stranger to him, this was his chance to start anew and gain her affection. He’s actually convinced and excited that he’ll succeed in her loving him back. After all, he dedicated his whole life to become a knight to protect her, so she’ll appreciate him right?

Actually, not at all. Lari clearly told him that she never wanted his protection, she never even asked for it. She’s not some princess that he has a duty to protect, and when she broke off that brother-sister bond, that also included his desire to protect her. He can continue if he wants since he said that protecting her was his reason for living, but she won’t accept it. She doesn’t want or need it.

Her wishes fall on deaf ears. No matter how many times she tells him she doesn’t want him to write letters to her, or visit her, or give her gifts, he thinks she’s playing hard to get and he ignores her wishes, and continues to write letters/visit/give even more fancy gifts. He’s utterly convinced that soon, she’ll see his sincerity and feelings, lower her guard against him, accept him as a man who loves her, and returns his feelings. He may be on a mission to Willetan right now, but he’s looking forward to returning and seeing Lari again and wooing her with more gifts…the gifts that Lari clearly said she didn’t want or need.

Just like Fernando, Lehan doesn’t respect Lari’s wishes. He doesn’t care that Lari doesn’t like him that way, and just continues to barge in her life despite her saying no every time. He actually think it’s cute when she gets agitated, because that tells him he’s able to get some sort of response from her. He is convinced that with enough time and effort, she’ll love him back. He doesn’t think of the possibility she’ll never like him back, and will only think of him as a “former brother who lied to her her entire life”. Lari’s rejection is not even a possibility.

Lehan and Fernando act like the typical Vellnelnian man: Who don’t care about the feelings or wants of the woman they like, and obsessively pursue her despite the clearly unreciprocated love. They are CONVINCED they will obtain Lari at some point, as if she’s some trophy.

RUPERT, on the other hand, is completely different.

Because of his past, where he saw what obsession and possessiveness can do to a person, he knows that he can’t do that to Lari. He’s happiest seeing Lari smile and laugh, and he knows very well that if he were to force her to do something against her will, she’ll be sad, upset, unable to smile, and slowly die inside. He loves Lari too much to do that to her.

When Lari told him that she never wanted to see him again, he found a loophole: she had said SHE didn’t want to see him again, not that HE couldn’t see him again. When he revealed himself to her, he apologized immediately and said it wouldn’t happen again. At that time, Lari had thought that yes, she should be upset at him and tell him not to seek her again - but he apologized first and said he would stop first - so she couldn’t be upset. He also knew she didn’t want anything from him, so he resisted the urge to give her gifts as well. He knew the things that she hated, so he avoided all of them.

Even when she was back at the palace, he said he wouldn’t ever do anything she hated, and he would never force her to do anything. The only thing he wanted, for her to stay beside him. She will be the one to define their relationship, she can be anyone she wanted to be - he will support her no matter what. Because he’s just grateful for her for choosing him, out of everyone in the world.

As he said, he wants nothing from her. He has no expectations. He's simply grateful for her choosing to remain by his side. Never for a moment, did he feel entitled to her feelings or emotions. He was actually convinced that she would never love him in return, she would continue to hate and fear him. He only dared to have the slightest hope that she *might* start to like him back if he was sincere with his feelings + tried to seduce her, but with his seduction seemingly upsetting her more than enrapturing her, he wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do either ^^;

Among the many reasons why Lari chose Rupert, the simple fact is that he allowed her to keep her bodily autonomy and her freedom, even as the Emperor - the man who can force anyone to do anything - is astronomical. Rupert will never force Lari to do anything, and will not limit her actions. That is the most generous gift possible for Lari: a guarantee of her happiness and freedom of her future.

Rupert is the only one who can offer that to her, as well as support her in whatever she wanted to do. He’s also the only one who cherishes her so much…. Lari knows fully well how much she means to him and how important she is to him - and how important his happiness is to her as well - so it just makes sense for her to choose him in the end.

[scalamore]

Rupelali's promise in Ch 33

Some clarification on this part of the debutante arc:

Some readers think it's a plot hole/contradiction that Lari has thoughts of leaving the palace (debutante arc), and how she so easily left Rupe (Secrets arc), even though in Ch 32-33, she begged him so much to allow her to stay by his side, she'll give up herself/her freedom to him/he owns her, and how in Ch 60-78, well into S3, she worked hard to show him her loyalty and wanting to gain his trust and truly be "his person" to earn his favor and protection for her and her family. The thing is, is that the promise the two made, for her to become wholly his in Ch 32ish, when they were 12-13 had changed over time.

The thing is, back when Rupert was 13. He had NOTHING for himself. He was an incredibly lonely person, who had no friends or family, and had no one he could trust. Lari knew that all he had was Louis - a military dog - and Tori, his close confidante. She quickly realized that he wanted someone to talk to - a companion. She was also desperate - she had nothing to offer besides herself. She's not strong, rich, has no political power, no knowledge. Typical of this society, for someone who had nothing - especially a female - she offered herself to him: Her body and soul, her existence to him. She will BELONG to him, one of his possessions. In exchange, he will protect her and her family from harm if they were to be accused of treason again. She gambles that the future Rupert will be reasonable, that he'll take their long friendship in consideration and not swiftly execute.

Despite knowing how suspicious she was, Rupert still accepted the offer because he craved companionship and a sense of normalcy. It's not like the weak Lari could ever harm him anyway. He just wanted someone not given/handed down to him by Eva to belong to HIM. He desperately wanted someone who was loyal to him, who wouldn't betray him - and the best way to ensure that, is for him to possess them so they won't betray him first. That's the twisted relationship the two shared. That's how their relationship started. Neither would have ever dreamed or expected how much the situation would change in just 5 years.

Rupert never expected that he would start to develop special feelings for Lari. Those feelings confused him so much: his rapidly developing feelings were so new to him, that he mistook "love" for "obsession". The stronger his feelings, the more jealous he felt when she didn't give him as much attention as she could've, he wanted her to confide in him, rely on him, talk to him as much as he wanted to towards her. He didn't know how to deal with this feelings: All he could understand was he "wanted her". he wanted to be with her all the time, he wanted her to stay beside him forever... Then there's the dilemma. All he knew of was the twisted "love" between the Emperor and Eva. He witnessed how Eva was broken down by that possessive, obsessed "love". The feelings he had for lari at age 15: he felt "similar" raw feelings like the desire to have her close and being intimate with her. But despite these feelings, Rupert was held back by the fact that he always knew Lari was scared of him, hated him even.

Knowing this, Rupe was stuck from the very start. He couldn't dare touch Lari because he was convinced the moment he inappropriately touched her, she would hate him more and run away secretly from him. He absolutely could not bear the thought of that. So he did what he thought was best - deny his feelings for her, act as if nothing had changed, and remind her that she belonged to him, to not run away.

But in doing so, those reminders caused Lari to worry, because she interpreted his fear as distrust, rather than him trying to plead with her to please stay with hm in the future too. During the debutante, Rupert finally admitted to her, that he was afraid she'd run away because she has no reason to stay. He wanted to reassure her that he'll protect her and her family as the soon-to-be Emperor to gain more of her trust, but he also had to tell her directly of his fears of her leaving. By that point, both Rupert and Lari knew that if she really wanted to, he wouldn't stop her from leaving. He couldn't. The moment he forces her to stay beside him, is the moment he will earn her resentment, fear, and hatred, the same things he's been trying to avoid since becoming crown prince.

Lari as well, thinks the situation will change. As a crown prince he doesn't have many allies yet, but soon, when he becomes Emperor, he'll be surrounded by lots of people and will form new bonds with them. Right now, he only has her, Tori, and Louis. As she's said for years, she won't leave him just yet, until he's happy. Otherwise he'll still be a lonely, sad Emperor like TL1. She at least, wants to stay beside him until he has more friends/companions to not need her anymore, and then she can leave and live her own life. She wouldn't leave before that though - she'd be too worried how he's doing. She still only thinks she's nothing special, and is just a person he trusts because of all the time they spent together. He may care for her a lot, but again, that's because of all their years together. After all, again, one he becomes Emperor he'll meet lots of new people, he'll be surrounded by those who want his companionship, the people will love him, and he'll be fulfilled that way.

During the separation arc, his decision to let her go so easily was already foreshadowed: he would never be able to chain Lari to the palace, to him. As much as he wants to selfishly keep her beside him, he can't because he loves her too much, and he cares more about her heart and happiness above all else.

It took him almost a whole year after the separation, but he realizes that as Lari doesn't hate him - or fear him- there's a spark of hope that maybe she'll learn to fall in love with him? that way, she can CHOOSE to stay beside him? He will no longer force or possess because if she returns his feelings, then she'll stay beside him and not want to leave either. Thus, by the time she returns to the palace, Rupert has already sorted out his feelings: he acknowledges them, his feelings for Lari, and instead of hiding away, he will seduce her with all his might and leave absolutely no doubt of his feelings for her. Maybe then, she will choose to stay beside him, but also keep her radiant smile as always :) So while their relation started off on the very twisted dynamic of Rupert "owning" Lari, in the end their relationship had reset during the separation. They were no longer master/maid. No longer fake Emperor/ fake Belois. They were simply Rupert and Lariette, and they redefined their relationship now as lovers. He no longer owns her - because he will NEVER cage her or limit her actions. She's simply Lariette. How dare he ever try to limit her actions.

[scalamore]

Rupert’s Numbness

Early on in the series, it was mentioned that Rupert can’t feel pain.

More accurately, he’s so traumatized and abused that not only he’s numb to physical pain, he’s also emotionally numb.

It doesn’t take Lari to realize he lacks proper emotions - he only knows negative ones like anger and fear - but Rupert himself is very self-conscious at how abnormal he is because of it. He WANTs to be normal, and that’s one of the reasons why he kept Lari around - because she’s so normal and he wanted a sense of normalcy through her.

It’s mostly off screen, but after Eva died, the Crazy Emperor beat him regularly, so did Arnulf, and this went on for YEARS, probably from the ages of 10-15. Rupert had learned to keep his head down, grovel, until the Emperor or Arnulf got bored finished and left, leaving him battered and bruised.

The story hints that Arnulf stopped harassing him when he’s around 15, the year he becomes crown prince, and instead sends his maids to hassle Lari instead. Similarly, the Crazy Emperor also slows down summoning Rupe after Ch 60. It's also hinted that the abuse continues after Lari witnesses it, but even if Lari can't do anything as a maid to help him, Rupert still appreciates her checking up on him and asking if he's ok. He knows very well their positions in the hierarchy, and he doesn't ask anything more from her.

What I felt was interesting, was that despite the early part of the story (Chapter 1-55) establishing Rupert can’t really feel pain (he can still feel fatigue and exhaustion though, like the Ventibolt arc), the recent arcs clearly show that Rupert feels pain now. Despite him still having a high tolerance for pain, he mentions more often of how much it hurts.

It seems that the trigger for this change was from the burst emotions he had at seeing Lari’s “death” in T2.

The mention of “pain” is brought up much more after Lari’s death attempt. For the first time, as he stared at her sleeping figure, he mentions how he broke his shoulder from shielding her from a falling pillar, and how his eye hurt because ash fell into it when he tried to carry her out. He felt suffocated, his chest was tight, and he couldn’t breathe. He felt especially miserable. After she left, he felt sore all over, as if someone trampled all over him. When he teleported to the seaside village urgently to look for her, he used a technique that caused massive headaches/pain, enough to make a normal person faint.

Much later, Rupert would complain that it hurts if Lari playfully hits him. All in all, I think it’s just a neat small detail that shows how much Rupe has changed over the story: Through living life with Lari, he’s obtained his earliest wish, to become more normal, to have normal emotions, and move on from the past trauma and not be so numb anymore. :)

[scalamore]

Refresher on how Lari feels about House Belois

For some reason, some readers think that Lari still cares and loves House Belois.... (eh?)

Recall manhwa Ch 112/113. Lari wanted to just move on from the whole thing with Rupert and House Belois. The look of horror on her face when she saw Lehan, a member of House Belois again: that's not a look of love/concern for her family. It's the look of utter despair.

She ABSOLUTELY doesn't want to see him again, or get close to him. IN the Novel, she actually used lightning alchemy to get him to stay a distance away, because the mule kept on trying to get closer.

As Lari clearly says, she knows Lehan and Trash dad only care about her bloodline, and not her... unlike Rupert. She was mistaken and trusted the wrong people. She SHOULD have trusted in Rupert, and that's her fault. She admits it. She clearly tells Lehan, she wants them to treat her as if she were dead. She wants no more involvement with House Belois anymore. SHE's DONE. Lehan tries to grab her, and says that he won't tell anyone, he'll willingly betray the Count... but Lari doesn't respond and just says goodbye, with the intention of a forever goodbye. The next chapter, Lari's not surprised that Lehan followed and tracked her down. (he didn't listen #1). She's also not surprised that he failed to tell the Count she was dead (he didn't listen #2), and not pleased that he tried to guilt her by telling her Amanda was sad and distraught. Again, he insists that his life's goal is to protect her - and Lari again, tells him she doesn't want his protection. She never asked for any of this. But because he's a stubborn mule, she allows him to continue to visit her... because she wants the occasional update on how Rupert is doing. She forgave Lehan somewhat slightly, because at least now Rupert has Lehan as an ally. She doesn't like Lehan's visits, and kicks him out all the time, but she's not the one who throws a tantrum - she politely hangs out with him, but she doesn't treat him the same anymore. In summary: - She tolerates Lehan, because he gives her updates about Rupert, the one she actually misses. Lehan also gives her updates about Trash dad and the political situation. She doesn't like any of his flirting or gifts.

- She doesn't want anything to do with the Count anymore. As a nice person, she doesn't want him hurt, and she does appreciate how he acted like a good father in the past, but she's moved on and isn't looking back. She's more than willing to harm him to protect Rupert (future novel event), doesn't care about his opinion/blessing when she wants to marry Rupert, and while Rupert wants to release him from confinement so she doesn't worry, Lari flat out says she doesn't care about him and Rupert can do whatever he wants to him LOL. (Eventually he's released from confinement from the Capital mansion and is allowed to go back to Belois)

- Lari is still close to Amanda.

- Lari invited Lehan, Amanda, the Nanny, and the butler to her wedding. She ignored the Count.

- Lari can't ever forgive the Count for using her her whole life, but she will NEVER forgive him for the way he treated Rupert in both timelines. She's fiercely protective of her hubby and will choose Rupe's happiness every time over the trash. <3

[scalamore]

Novel Excerpt, Ch 124

[scalamore]

When they will put the123 chpter

Raws will be out this Friday.

Last week was a scheduled break.

[scalamore]

Novel Details - Rupe’s seduction

While I see a lot of fans celebrating how fanservicey Ch 121 is, I wanted to point out that it’s actually a well-written plot point imo. To review, Lari chose to leave Rupe and her home, the palace, because after being traumatized by the endless regressions in her dreams, she’s convinced that there is no way on earth she can be with Rupert, there’s no way she can be with him even though he’s different, because she will always have that mental block that “he” killed her - and even if he didnt, she didn’t accept his feelings for her because she felt incredibly guilty for “tricking him and pretending to like him” all these years. So she cruelly and coldly rejected him, and ran away, hoping that he would hate and forget her and move on. She didn’t feel she deserved to be anywhere near him, and it would be better for the both of them to just move on and forget this whole thing. During the separation, she felt guilty for remembering and thinking of him often, but hoped he moved on already on to bigger and better things. of course, she didn’t know he still loved her deeply and was watching her from afar… she was under the impression that he probably forgot her already, because who would want to be with her, the person who so cruelly broke his heart and ruined his world? As we know, Rupert never stopped loving her at all. While he was overcome with hatred and anger, and wanted to kill her for a bit for hurting him so much, that feeling disappeared quickly and he wears left with yearning for her. He tried to forget about her, but it was futile - it was impossible to forget and move on. So he coped with just watching from afar, for at least a good half year. From his POV, with the limited information he had, he didn’t know that she left was to protect him, because she thought she was toxic and harmful to HIM. Nope, after he read her diary, he was convinced that she still hated and feared him, and would faint on the spot if he revealed his identity to her. After all - as a kid she oozed so much hatred and fear - she probably got better at hiding it. Even a few weeks before his coronation to Emperor, she admitted she was scared of him, of who he would become one he he became Emperor. But the key is that in Ch 119 and Ch 120, when he revealed himself to her, and he saw her expression - she gave him a look of relief, and even asked if he was doing well. That was the first spark of hope for him — Lari didnt hate him. She actually chased after him to confirm it was him too! The next time they met again she easily uncovered his disguised, and he had a chance to tell her that he liked her (in past tense!) because he still remembered her words in 111 that she didn’t want him to like/love her anymore. But after he gave her that unprompted confession, again he noted her intense blushing - Lari doesnt hate him!! She had been looking, waiting for him!

That’s when Rupe realized that he had been so stupid and arrogant this whole separation. He tried over and over to forget her, but he knows now it’s impossible. He tried to deny his feelings for her, but again, it’s impossible. Meeting her again like this as himself, he realized - and confirmed - that Lari did not hate him, she didn’t fear him, she was actually the same kind Lari as before, and he CRAVED her warmth and kindness again. His desire for her grew and bubbled: now, he admits he likes her ardently, and instead of hiding it like before, he accepts his feelings. Now that he know Lari doesn’t hate him - nothing is stopping him from trying to EARN her favor and her love either. This whole time he was preoccupied and worried that he’ll end up like the Crazy Emperor who didn’t accept that Eva hated him, and only possessed her, hatred and all. Instead, Rupert decided to earn Lari’s love, and will do anything, and wait as long as necessary until she starts liking him back. The only issue is.. Rupert has no idea how to make others like him. Eva had only taught him how to charm and seduce women to manipulate them, and he didn’t want to manipulate Lari. He wanted her to fall in love with him on her own, and CHOOSE to be with him. So he’s stuck. He thinks long and hard, and even consults Louis, who tells him to just use his good looks to win her over… which isn’t helpful because Lari already knows how good looking he is LOL. So the idiot Rupe, because he doesn’t know what else to do, opts to try a full-frontal seductive attack on Lari LOL. Unfortunately for him, Lari still doesn’t have the “appropriate” response. She’s still shy, she still blushes like mad when he’s shirtless, and even tells him to put his clothes back on hahaha. He reminds her that he’s handsome (while she mentally screams yes, he’s handsome), but when his ‘seduction’ fails and is seemingly ineffective, he stops it and just leaves after Lari seemed to worry more about Belois… :(

[scalamore]

Details - Ch 121

To again give a reminder to readers, Rupe thought Lari hated/feared him this whole time, wanted nothing to do with him - but still, HE wants to be with her. So in Ch 120, he decides that given Lari's blushing and kindness towards him when he revealed his identity to her, he wants to be proactive and earn her love/trust. He won't force her affection, but he will EARN it. Rupert has been very careful with Lari's parting words in Ch 111: She doesn't want to see him ever again, she doesn't want him to love/like her, and she wants to leave the palace. He's already broken her request to never see her again, he recently chose to stop pretending to like her, and after witnessing her getting hurt by Fernando, forced her to come back to the palace.

He was so angry that she experienced getting hurt again, but he kept those fuming feelings in check when she woke up in the palace again, as consideration for her.

So while it WAS a little embarrassing for him to get up and close to her shortness and flaunting his attractiveness to her (manhwa original), he was upset that as usual, all he gets is a blushing Lari that didn't think positively of his good looks, and even telling him to go away and wear something. It doesn't help that she brings up her faither/family, and he's super annoyed because he thinks that Belois is still very precious to Lari (He doesn't know that Lari abandoned Belois as well, and only brought them up because she's afraid they'll attack Rupe, who's actually the precious one to her). So he leaves in a huff and doesn't see her for a few days.

A little detail, is that while he left in anger this time, he wasn't ignoring her for a few days because he hated her: he was afraid of her response.

As I mentioned above, he had forcefully brought her back to the palace while she was unconscious, without her consent, and our poor Rupe doesn't have the internal strength to face a Lari that hates him. So he intentionally avoids her during waking hours, and visits every day during the time she's asleep (Lari: whats the point of vising an unconscious person??). So Lari may think he's avoiding her because he's angry (and she's upset because she doesn't want him to be angry towards her and avoid her lol), but it's actually a combination of Rupert being angry + scared of talking to her and hearing her reject him again :(

This messiness should clear up in about 2 chapters, so the happiness will happen soon ~~~!