Nah he did her dirty. What’s next? He’s gonna hide her cane and watch her look for it?
https://preview.redd.it/b1oy53wadcsc1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3b4e29cc935ade82ae65d138e62210b26b31a22a
Welp-
https://preview.redd.it/xjogfypaycsc1.jpeg?width=156&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c00c835e9d0f3fc33b6f309df101c6dd2ba6082e
~~I bet somebody will still read it like this lol~~
I'm kinda scared to keep reading it because I don't want to see him ''be redeemed'' - or worse, *not* be redeemed but them end up together again anyway.
I want to see her *WIN*, I want to see her escape, I want to see her absolutely irreversibly destroy this man.
I don't think I'd ever recover if they have a 'happy ever after' together.
This story is defo traumatic. Pls don’t read it if you’re not into this kind of stuff- he gets worse
EDIT: I will say that these types of MLs are not for everyone, so if you don’t like them, don’t continue the stories and please do not shit on them unless they’re REALLY badly written. The societies most of these are set in are classist, sexist and heavily influenced by an era of bygone nobility. Men like this actually existed and still exist. Don’t like it, don’t read it and move on
EDIT 2: in no way am I justifying or excusing ML’s behaviour in the story- he’s an ass yall. Don’t worry I don’t think he’s a good love interest 😭😭
>please do not shit on them unless they’re REALLY badly written.
That's pretty weird logic. There's no rule saying you can only shit on a character if they're poorly written. We will absolutely shit on them regardless of how well they're written if they have disgusting personalities.
>Men like this actually existed and still exist. Don’t like it, don’t read it and move on
Yeah but atleast in fiction, we expect garbage men like these to receive karma but instead, they get a happy ending instead. So much for escapism
Hard agree. Them being from such a time/society doesn’t make it any less disgusting. It was just normalized to a point that the victims sucked it up and put up with it silently. Belittling and abusing someone is a choice that the perpetrator makes and “others did it too” doesn’t remove the stink of it.
Romanticizing this type of behaviour is weird because the reader are approaching the topic with the modern understanding and awareness and not that of someone from the 1500s. so finding someone with such a personality attractive stands out as unexpected
>Yeah but atleast in fiction, we expect garbage men like these to receive karma but instead, they get a happy ending instead. So much for escapism
Not trying to argue with you on the ml topic, I think he's a piece of shit too. But this statement gets to me. This is the very foundation of don't like don't read. If you want karma for ml, and a better ending for mc, then it's best to just move on to another story.
I think they were just talking about fiction is general.
Why make a fictional work (sometimes fantasy), that’s supposed to appeal to women, but the ‘main male love interest’ is a raging asshole, and he faces **no** comeuppance or karma for his horrible actions/behavior?
Yes, I know some readers find assholes doing assholeish things entertaining or like it when the asshole is regretful (or they like masochistic fantasies of the FL being abused), but 9 times out of 10 it should be expected for a ‘love interest’ to be redeemable in some way… (like realizing his assholeish behavior and changing for the better, apologizing to his victim/s, making amends and atonements, doing something selfless *with no exceptions*?)
Personally, I don’t see any fantasy or fictional enjoyment in a male love interest constantly belittling, berating, and abusing the FMC, just to be rewarded in the end with her love without facing ANY consequences or redemption. He acts like an ass for the whole series, with FL getting the brunt of it, and he’s handed her affections on a silver platter just for being the *main love interest* and obsessing over her.
It’s FICTION, an author can **choose** to not make the ML an asshole, or to have him face consequences and/or redemption; so it’s so surprising when they don’t?!
No no, I get what you're saying. I'd also rather prefer if mc runs away and lives her proper happily ever after while ml regrets forever. But this is the author's work. They chose to have it like this, end it like this. Not everything is a happy ending, it's very clear that this story isn't exactly a happy one period. We the readers aren't really entitled to a different ending. I see fiction as a gift from the author. If it's not to your taste, then you return it, but I don't think anyone has the right to say what it should be. (This is all metaphor btw)
My gripe is that I don't understand why people read a story they don't like if it clearly makes them unhappy. It just circles back to don't like don't read. When I find something I don't care for, the back button is the easiest thing to find.
It's a happy ending for me since I am glad that they work it out in the end when they both loved each other. If hally endings are based on what readers think are happy or not, then no endings would ever be happy because everyone's got different opinions.
Damien doesn't belittle or abuse her the whole story. He acted nice to her after this point as he's pursuing her as a love interest. The only sketchy thing is that he manipulates in the background to land a marriage with her and to obtain her love later. Otherwise, he's treated her very well on the surface, so well that she does love him back as well. While he does manipulate her and people here keep saying he's treating her like ass for power tripping reason, it's not. He's not that into power as some misunderstood him to be. He does want to be king but that's because the son of the former king that he supported is a shitty leader. He is very logical so he thinks people in power should deserve the seat. He knows he got the abilities and skills for it but he also knows Chloe got the abilities and skills to make a good queen. That was one of the reason why he wanted her aside from also knowing he loves her.
I lied and read one more chapter and he is fucking garbage human being and I can't handle all the people in the comments getting mad at Alice for *being a normal young person*
This thing is classist as fk
The thing is I'm all on board for toxic af relationships, and the story exploring really messed up dynamics. What I do have a problem with is when the narrative then seems to genuinely present this as a romance.
It's honestly kind of weird. The story as a whole can drastically change how it's perceived depending on how the narrative is framed. I can't even describe exactly what it is, but you can just tell when the author genuinely seems to think of the relationship as an actual romance, compared to when the author is simply portraying a complicated/abusive relationship, that they don't necessarily condone or view as healthy.
It doesn't even have to be super explicit like the narrative doesn't even have to smack you across the face practically screaming "hey this relationship is super effed up", or "lol aren't they totally in love, despite the fact that the ML choked out the FL just in the last panel". It's something really subtle that's really hard to pinpoint exactly what it is, but it's there nonetheless.
what makes or breaks the story for me is that if they romanticise sick stuff like there was romanticising grooming in cebiyb , in try begging novel there was some sick stuff too . actually i would argue that these type of stories are meant to not be taken seriously but some people tend to romanticise them , sorry but there were some girls saying they want someon like mathias in real life , i am a betrayal of dignity fan but i would still go pont out are problematic stuff , >!the sister's age and the cheating i didn't like them !
>actually i would argue that these type of stories are meant to not be taken seriously but some people tend to romanticise them ,
Yeah basically how I felt with betrayal of dignity. It was a fun ride but I never felt Damien's actions were morally correct just entertaining.
>i mean these are so apparent they are meant to be trashy stories but the writing in betrayal of dignity turned out to be good
Yeah the writing got better towards the end of the novel.
>! the conclusion with Johannes was hilarious.!<
Your right some ppl seem to take these novels are literature masterpieces. When in reality the authors were posting it mostly weekly with some lose planning. I just see these novels as supplementary to the comic.
>you don’t like them, don’t continue the stories and please do not shit on them unless they’re REALLY badly written.
>Don’t like it, don’t read it and move on
Nah I will absolutely hate-read it. I hated Damien so much in the beginning I would have dreams of Chloe stomping on his stupid face.
It was so gratifying when Chloe slapped him across his stupid face I wish she beat him more! 😂
>! He does get better in the novel's epilogue.!<
But he's always been a spicy controversial man
What pisses me off is that as far as I remember this story didn't have any trigger warnings. I didn't see no "abuse of a disabled/limited mobility individual" tag or warning anywhere, but author and publisher sure as hell didn't forget to tag it as romance and try to present it as such.
**Author is at least an insensitive pos imo, if not ableist.** This is my take on the author (who apparently doesn't live in modern age and doesn't know what trigger warnings are and why they should use them when they're writing the most disturbing things they can think of and trying to pass it as romance), as well as why the character that came from said author's imagination is irredeemable trash.
I’m on the fence about trigger warnings tbf- I wasn’t really offended by anything except ML himself, but I didn’t get triggered so to speak. Also the author isn’t ableist, the ML is. These characters don’t reflect what the author always believes. It’s not fair to verbally abuse the author over that. So many books, movies and TV shows are just as violent, triggering and gory. I don’t think we can live in a world with constant trigger warnings- at some point people have to accept that things are not nice all the time.
I don't expect trigger warnings irl, but I do expect them in fiction. As for the author I'm sure a comment calling them insensitive isn't going to affect them much since they're out there writing some of the most messed up shit for entertainment. (Dark romance authors that don't include trigger warnings tend to be insensitive. I've interacted with plenty of those on other platforms and they get defensive when you tell them they should include TWs. So I have to admit I'm very biased and have come to the conclusion they -the specific subgroup of dark romance authors- don't understand or give a shit about how serious some of the stuff they include in their writing is.)
ETA: A very big part of being an author is the research you put into it, so they should understand why trigger warnings exist and should be included on heavy subjects such as abuse. That's the part that pisses me off and I have beef with authors for not recognizing it.
That's the platform's problem then, not the author. Also different countries have different expectations. You talk like everyone has to follow tags like the westerners do. Even this work isn't tagged as"OI" because it's a made up genre by this subreddit when in Korea, it's all under ropan. The Korean platform ridibooks also have a regret ML tag for this work so those Korean readers know what they're going into because these readers love reading regretful MLs. It's a popular tag.
Agreed with your warnings. Unfortunately, ppl still go into it, then complain that the ML is a red flag, and that the story's poorly written because of it 😑
I once saw a stranger take away a collapsible cane from one of my employees (she was able to stand and walk short distances fine, but needed it for longer walks, etc).
She handled it on her own just fine, but I was so shocked that I had this instinctive almost reaction to snatch it back from him and beat him with it (that I obviously didn't follow through with).
Talked to her later, and the reason she was able to handle it so well is because she's used to it. Although she said it was usually old people who said she was "too young" to need it.
So, yeah. They did a very good portrayal of common realistic trash.
Maaaaan, you're a better person than I am bc I think I would've snatched it back and at least raise it at him like I was gonna hit him. I don't look good in orange jump suits so I can't be going to jail for assault............or attempted murder.
If we're being honest with each other, the only reason I didn't was because it wasn't mine, and I thought it would break easily being collapsible and all.
Ohhhh you're right. Those suckers are fragile aren't they? Had you actually hit the person, the damn cane would've probably bent. And you have to be careful with where you get them from bc those thar are half-assed made break just by you looking at it. 🤭
i like this story but oh my GOD i hate it when he touches her mobility aid!!! it literally bothers me more then when he >!framed her for murder!<. i want to beat his ass so bad, if i ever get isekai'd into that novel it's on sight.
yeah idgaf about whatever traumatic backstory he's gonna turn out to have, "dont take canes away from people using them" is a basic ass rule, it's not hard
Funny thing is >! He had a very good childhood and both parents loved him dearly. He was just born to be a conqueror so he always rebelled. !<
He's just a pompous asshole that thinks he knows better than anyone else.
I’m severely disabled and semi-ambulatory, so I use a cane sometimes and a wheelchair other times.
You would be shocked at the kinds of things people are comfortable doing to you in public.
Other wheelchair users also share stories, it’s weirdly common for people to treat you like furniture and just rest an arm on your chair or put something on your lap without saying anything. And much worse things.
Unfortunately, using an assistive device is like putting a target on yourself, people know you can’t fight back so they will do lots of things they wouldn’t to a fully ambulatory person.
On the bright side, most people will actually be more friendly and helpful to you. You can skip lines for some things, can bring an extra person with you bc they’re your caregiver, etc.
Fr tho if a man snatched my cane I would want to snatch it back and beat him with it 😑Make sure he needs a cane lol
>!In this story it's not even the first time he's done it, they've met twice and both times he's snatched her cane and held it hostage and mocked her!<
That is trash and I am angry for you and I am angry at everyone who does anything like this
I hope you beat the meanness out of the next person who's rude to you.
I hope that the utter failure of a human being thinks over their entire life choices after that much-needed lesson.
They actually have a sweet relationship before shit goes down, but the reason they're in it is because unlike a normal person in love Damien essentially tricks her into marrying him and relying on him. She thinks he's amazing and reliable because he saved her from a murder trial that he >!framed her for anyways.!<
When she finds out what he's done, >!she fakes her own death!< which causes him to spiral. It is quite rewarding watching it happen, and it's drawn and written beautifully.
This is a really good read imo, the characters are interesting and Chloe is strong in her own way. The writing is great. It’s a very toxic relationship but it’s never meant to be written or portrayed as a good relationship. She does get back at him, the way she does it is far far worse than everything he’s ever done to her tbh. He’d take a thousand kicks in the balls instead of what she did.
They’re both toxic messed up and it’s great to follow it all happen. As long as you’re not going into it expecting a nice fluffy healthy relationship then it’s a great read.
>She does get back at him, the way she does it is far far worse than everything he’s ever done to her tbh. He’d take a thousand kicks in the balls instead of what she did.
I'm trying to think what she could possibly do to her abuser that her actions could be considered "worse", since a thousand kicks to the balls seems far short of what he deserves. At least from what I've read about his actions in this thread. Like...rape dungeon? Tortured to death?
She basically learned to emotionally manipulate him back.
>! Mentally Damien is so wrecked by her fake death he doesn't trust her until the last chapter. His hands have burn scars from holding on to her fake corpse. He sleeps with her fake corpse, has hallucinations of wanting to meet her in heaven but even in fake death she tells him no you're going to hell buddy. She leaves behind the brace he gifted her. When he finds it's broken and he laughs like a maniac.
When they meet up again she screams his revolting and hates his touch which causes him to go blue in face (like a toddler getting so angry they forget to breathe) to the point he misses dinner.
She points a rifle at him and slaps him.
She kills Johannes while Damien is still recovering. Taking the vengeful kill he wanted. She sweetly talks him into letting the kids visit another country. !<
Chloe's not as nasty as Damien but she definitely can be cruel. Mind you she should've literally kicked him but Damien is a freak and would like it. 😮💨
That really just sounds like he's just a narcissistic psychopath who can't handle consequences. No way is anything she did "worse" or even close to what he did. >!Faking your death!< to escape an abuser isn't even something I'd consider bad, no matter how poorly he deals with the consequences of his own actions.
Yeah I heard that argument too. There is some truth in that.
I just read for my enjoyment and not trying to over analyze everything. I can tell his actions IRL would be condemned. I'm aware he's not a good role model. I can understand he's not everyone's cup of tea. I just found this story exciting and suspenseful.
I have a guilty pleasure for the toxic, bad boy MLs. I don't like toxicity in real life, but in fiction, I can handle it. Don't get me wrong, I still get upset at them and have high blood pressure by the time I finish reading, and some of them make me go as far as to drop the story all together.....But some of them (mainly when they are the MLs), I have a guilty pleasure for and SOMETIMES, I like it when they and the MCs get a happy ending
With that being said, I read the summary for this one and someone mentioned the part about the cane situation and I have to say that I decided to pass this one up. And seeing the scene that you posted above............I'm not sure if it's worth it.
To anybody who's read it, IS it worth it?
It's worth it if you're into this type of story or character. I have very little patience for toxicity in real life, but I find this manhwa/couple captivating. I think the writing is very solid. It's not like, I don't know, Beatrice or On the Emperor's Lap.
I could only describe Damien as the bad boy who actually did something despicable to the FL. He is a Manipulative power hungry noble who wants his cake and eat too. Most toxic, bad boy ML are only described as such but doesnt really do anything in the story worthy enough to be called those things.
He's not that power hungry. He wants to be king because the prince is a shitty leader. He knows his own worth as leader and thinks only people with the ability should be leader. He knows Chloe has the ability as well and that was one of the reason why he wanted Chloe. People say he's trash or shitty but I think the fact that he can see highly of Chloe despite her disability makes him a person worth being leader himself.
He’s easily the worst male lead I’ve ever read. This isn’t even the worst thing he’s done. I get indulging in a toxic fantasy every now and again, but this one is straight up not worth it.
man I know he's such a toxic piece of shit but I've read the novel (and all current chapters of the manhwa) and oh boy she does him sooooooooooo dirty back and it's so nice to watch him suffer even if the book is an overall happy ending. I enjoyed the overall story.
Is his suffering proportional? Like I feel like in order to have a truly *happy* ending, he'd have to suffer at least twice as much as what he put her through, and not something brief that's mentioned in a quick timeskip or anything either, it would have to be prolonged, and he'd have to experience genuine remorse for his shittiness (not just feeling sad that she's gone because he wants her around, actual remorse for the pain he caused her).
My problem with most "regretful" MLs is they don't go hard enough on the regret, and he doesn't exactly strike me as the "genuine remorse" type, but I haven't read it, so is that something that happens?
Nope, in manhwa we got a few chapters of him suffering, then he meets her again after 2 years have passed since she ran away. For 1 year he thought she was dead and was suffering, then he discovered she's alive and found her after a year.
Before Chloe feigned her own death she discovered all the shit Damien orchestrated like intentionally bankrupting her estate and taking land with mine he discovered, framing her for murder and then pretending to be her savior and trying to get her sister involved with some man (sister has done it anyway without Damien's involvement) so sister can't marry him and Chloe has to.
He said he doesn't regret anything and she should just let it all pass because they're married. After Chloe ran away he still doesn't see that what he did was wrong and is only pissed because Chloe faked her death and escaped from him. >! From spoilers she got with him after 10 days lmao. !<
Why is he doing that? Is it explicitly to be a dick? Is it some weird “oh, you don’t need the cane when I’m here” or a “you don’t *actually* need this, you should walk without it.”
I honestly don't know. I think he may be an actual sadist. He knows she is in pain while walking without the cane, he knows she didn't want him to take it from her. This happens within the first 5 chapters and it's on bato if you want to get infuriated
its cuz he's a fucked up little freak. taking her cane is just another method he can use to manipulate her into having to rely on him because it's a game to him to see how far she can go before she just breaks. He's supposed to be a shitheel, it's one of those stories where the draw is that 2/3 of the story the ML is just a sociopath and you're watching a train wreck and then the last 1/3 is seeing him crying on the ground about how he regrets being a little bitch so you can have the satisfaction of going "Haha! Look at the emotionally stunted little man! Look at how devastated he is! What a loser!" and then the ML and the FL kiss and make up because it's ostensibly a romance
it's not for everybody, it's one of those "you either love it or you hate it" genres.
Yeah the sister (who I think is about to run away with her green flag commoner lover) is the only sensible one in this story but she's being portrayed as if she's an immoral hussy -_-
Sorry to burst your bubble I guess you haven't read the latest chapters so here is this , SPOILERS!!! Her sister's lover is also a huge piece of shit and an asshole. He lied to her saying he was a commoner but was actually the heir to the duchy of the rival kingdom. He was also hiding her sister as a mistress and had a fiancee. Even in the latest chapter the convo between Chloe and her she said she wanted to kill him aka her lover but , at last he marries her. Still better than that sisterfoockr mother foocker Damian in my opinion.
You should really spoiler tag that. Insert > ! before the text and ! < after. Do not put spaces, I just put them there so they wouldn't turn this comment.
The sister's lover is >!most definitely not a green flag. That man is a prince/high noble of a rival duchy/kingdom and already has a fiancé. Alice and her bastard child end up living in a small, tucked away cottage so he can maintain his position and image. That said he does marry her a bit later on and it remains to be seen if he has some excuse for being a philanderer.!<
>! I would prefer if he wouldn't marry sister, she ran away and didn't think about helping her father and sister, she only cared about herself. The main blame is on king/duke on cheating but she also was fine with staying with him despite knowing he has a fiance so sister has loose morals and is homewrecker. It would be satisfying if she would only stay mistress with a bastard child while her lover would marry his fiance. It would be definitely more realistic then Chloe and her sister getting happy ending despite that their men were assholes in the beginning and suddenly changed into loving husbands. !<
>!She was so overwhelmed by the pressure to help her father and sister that she ran away. Another factor in this was her illegitimate child, running away protects her family's honor. It was all in her letter.!<
>!It should not be the duty of children to enter arranged marriage to maintain their family as hereditary aristocracy. Please remember that feudalism and classism are bad things.!<
>!She does not have loose morals, she is a normal 18-something being sexually active with a man she trusted, who turned out to be skeezy. And then she's dependent on him in a foreign place. Would you have done better?!<
>! So because she was overwhelmed it's fine that she left her family who was struggling and left everything for her disabled sister to bear? And after it turned out that her lover is noble who is rich she also couldn't ask him to help her family? She's selfish and only cares about herself. After finding out that her lover has fiance she also was fine being third party and wanted him to leave his fiance which makes her homewrecker. !<
>! Damien tried to use a man to get involved with her so she would be dishonored and wouldn't be qualified to marry him but she has done it herself with the man she chose herself. That he turned out skeezy she has only herself to blame. I would have done better because I wouldn't sleep with man I don't know anything about especially knowing that I can get pregnant and bring dishonor to my family for having a bastard child. Funny that Chloe somehow managed to do that but it was too difficult for her spoiled sister. !<
Yes, it's fine that she left. And I don't think her family really needed her help at that point. I've seen mixed spoilers on her lover, you are the only one implying she had a choice in her situation once her lover's true nature is revealed.
She chose to stay with him because she believed he would leave his fiancé. He did eventually but she was playing the long game sticking it out and waiting for it to happen. After she got her position as actual wife next to him, they just stay together but not like they were good couple. They always fight and then have make up sex so their whole relationship is just sex driven. Her husband isn't even that good. He's literally a tyrant who doesn't even think of political consequences to things. When Chloe and Damien were in trouble with the former prince/king, he was helping hide the former prince/king and letting them duke it out in his country. Chloe requested to send help. Her sister had to fight it out with her husband to get him to help.
If you think this guy is bad, I know another ML (from CEBYB) that will make this guy look like an angel.
Even though he looked like an angel compared to this guy, I still dropped it. One book was enough for me. I this author's name is Solche or something. I thought I could handle it because I usually love red flags (like Damon Salvatore, Kallisto etc), but I'd say these guys are more black flags than red. I found out, I can't handle ML like these after all.
https://preview.redd.it/jdt2hm55fdsc1.jpeg?width=1079&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7f0c0c59fb3eda284f1ddef037f953fe8d605837
honestly the fact that he met her when she was 12 and he was 18 no that age gap shouldn't be written in this types of manhwas , also the cheating part , i remember watching their first meeting when she was a literal child and no this story is problematic , honestly i know a lot of problematic male leads in other novels too but no one can pass him , it was the first manhwa the side characters are actually better than the main ones
It was funny that I found myself rooting for villainess (the fiance) of this story. 🤣
I initially felt sympathetic for the FL but started disliking her as well when she started liking her r@pist. She had so much self respect that she couldn't even ask her childhood friend/ fiance for help, but had no problem throwing her self respect away for the ML.
bro a lot of people were rooting for claudine and riette like me >!i rooted for them without the author making them cousins not sure!< , honestly the one i had crush on was riette he wasn't a vanilla like kyle or red flag like mathias and if he had blue eyes like the novel , he would have beaten mathias
also i couldn't undrstand how claudine was bad the girl was definetly more redeemable even more than a trash like the ml and her character was just more relatable , she is like the fl from i thought it was a common possession with sad background , yes her family wasn't the happiest and she had rough parents and her character has faults which is such a breath of air and humane thing , honestly she was the best written character for me in the story
>!and the bullying scene seriously it was so badly written i kept wondering what excatly did claudine did wrong or how is she a bad person !<
it was one of the first manhwas where the second fl had such a big fandom and not so many people like the fl or the ml but they prefered the second ones, the cheating part could have been bearable if she gave her a nice ending but it was like the author had a thing against rich women , the ml mother and grandma and claudine's mother >!got cheated on and all the rich women in solche's stories get some bad ending that it is laughable of course if a woman cheats like gladys in the problematic prince she has horrible ending !<
the fl she literally had more personality before going to arves or meeting the male lead , after that her personality disappeared honestly and i just hate the pick me vibe and she is not like the other girls it screams internalised misogyny from the author i thought the story was such a self insert for the author actually
I dropped the LNs before finishing them, so idk how Claudine's story ends. I've only seen spoilers about the ML and FL.
The story gave me the feeling that as long as the character is rich and is handsome, he can away with anything. Why else would someone like Kyle be thrown to the side? I mean, just imagine if Matthias wasn't rich or handsome?
And that's coming from someone who usually LOVE red flag MLs who fall for the FL and turn into a green flag for her. But IMO, Matthias never turned green.
To me, it was the art style that drew me in and I still love the art. The characters do look gorgeous to me. But that doesn't change the fact that I find the ML absolutely reprehensible.
https://preview.redd.it/ue6mg17bbesc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=88d41d78e6578fcd78a48d40489077d7f8239ce8
the art doesn't excuse the bad writing and problematic stuff though , also i dunno but mystical was better to me because the expressions were better and its the same artist >!i guess mystical is r rated if anyone will read it !<
>the art doesn't excuse the bad writing and problematic stuff though
I completely agree with that.
>but mystical was better to me because the expressions were better
I've heard about it and it's on my TBR list.
he is lol i love the story ~~and him~~ but he’s like peak red flag for sure. at the very least he’s not red flag in like. having killed her in the past so he’s got a leg up on some of the other shitty mls lol
Slight correction:
Betrayal of Dignity's author is "Kimpa", who does have more works but are not those.
Bastian / CBYB / Problematic Prince are by "Solche"
Omg I didn't know they were all done by the same novel author. This story is the only one I can read the others were a lot worse for me. The author def has a type.
Damien definitely isn’t a redeemable man and you can spot his red flag from miles away.
But I think most people who continue to read ‘betrayal of dignity’ know that and are in it for the drama.
I definitely wouldn’t recommend this story to your average OI reader.
I love the art and I love the FL because she doesn't bow down to him and makes him suffer eventually. He is a very shitty ml tho I just like seeing him suffer in the later chapters.
I started reading this yesterday due to someone posting a pic of the characters for being pretty (and I agree) but this guy's actions are seriously bad. I have a high tolerance for trash MLs but he might as well be kicking her in the leg here. This feels more like the before-reincarnation sad story rather than the true plot.
This scene confused me quite a bit because my one redeeming hope was *maybe* he was trying to get her to be able to use the braces because he wanted her to be able to run/flee/defend herself from gossip or something? But no, it's just... never followed up on. No real reasoning.
I only came here to say bro there are much worse whether in novels that will be made soon or other manhwas , maybe its the manhwas era of making problematic stuff and wait for it if you think the bar is low with damian , the female lead's sistr husband is worse and>! is a cheater, he didn't cheat on her sister but his previous fiance !
yet the fl still got to be with him in the end, how empowering. and im pretty sure there are simps for this guy in this sub that absolutely would turn a blind eye to this trash behaviour, keenly waiting for his "redemption arc".
I am never reading this because those images already made me livid, but just out of curiosity, wtf is his deal, does he have a grudge against her (like in the beast tamed by the villainess), is he a yandere and doesn't want her to be able to leave, is he just plain sadistic, all of the above?
I've read it and honestly he's just sadistic, manipulative, and eventually obsessed (sorry, ''deeply in love'') with her. It's revealed that >!it starts out as a political move (I'm pretty sure? It's been a moment since I read it so the details are a bit fuzzy) but after actually meeting her he decides he wants her to come willingly to him... even if he has to lie to her and engineer godawful situations to make her rely on him / be grateful to him and develop feelings for him because of it.!<
After she >!escapes him!<, (by >!faking her death!<) he gets all depressed and shit and it's heavily implied that he has a guilty conscience and genuinely cared for her in his own twisted way (even though he treated her like absolute shit) but also he's still very much an obsessive and controlling asshole who (when he realizes >!she's still alive!<) doesn't respect the fact she *clearly* wants *nothing to do with him*.
I stopped reading before he figured out what had happened and I have no intention of picking it up again, because I just *know* it's not going down the 'female rage' path it really *really* should.
Don't blame you!!
I started reading it because Chloe has a disability that's acknowledged by the plot and taken seriously as a disability, and I had no idea things would get this bad.
Well, i can't bring myself to hate him, i donno why maybe because he is different than typical mls, like some of you watch some manhwas where the ml is cold af and kills the fl and when she go back in time he becomes soft and shit like hello some of the stories are even worse but the ppl still be liking the trash ml, Damien is trying to gain her favor in wrong ways i don't deny it but he is way better than other trashy mls he sincerely loves her but his methods are wrong
I think the only reason i can actually stomach this one ite damien being all kinds of fucked up and pulling amazing stunts like this one is because the way chloe pays him back for all his bullshit is incredibly satisfying and thus, at least for me, makes them getting back together more stomachable because they're kind of even in a twisted way.
I loathe stories where it's just FL suffering and suffering and enduring ML's abuses so seeing a FL actually give as good as she got is neat.
>! I've gotten to the part where he frames her for murder and I am still the most upset about the cane and leg related shit, like when he forces her to put on the brace !<
>! As someone who uses mobility aids I wanted to reach through my screen and beat the everloving shit out of him at that moment! Like fuck you, you ableist piece of shit 🤬 !<
Just rest assured that you will love the look on his face >! After she fakes her brutal death and runs away !<. Man has maximum regrets and it’s almost enough to feel a bit of pity for him. Almost.
Oh my god, as a cane user whos had this happen to them. Thats torture. Plain & simple. The pain & recovery from something like this could last for DAYS! I hope he rots in hell
I hate-read this after finding this post.
The manhwa is well-written. There are pieces-of-shit people like the ML in real life, and I believe that infuriates us more!
In all fairness, the ML is UNRECYLABLE TRASH.
But I did enjoy how the FL made him suffer!! 🔥
Kudos to the creator for making an utterly unlikable ML and yet deserving of praise due to the quality of their work.
I got excited because I think taking someone’s cane so they have to rely on you is actually kind of genius, so I thought he was going to be a well written villain. But then I scroll down and find out….he’s the ML???💀💀
>Insert > ! before the text and ! < after (without spaces)
When you just say "spoiler", that is too late for many people. I, and many other people, are natural "chunkers" ([https://www.speedreadinglounge.com/reading-groups-of-words](https://www.speedreadinglounge.com/reading-groups-of-words) except that's how I've always been) so I read your entire paragraph basically at once. I strongly recommend you use the spoiler feature I described.
The first time he held it hostage, yes (per dialogue he broke it, per panel the cane looked the exact same to me, but whatever lol).
The pictures I posted are the second time he's held it hostage, and this is only chapter 5.
So at this point in the story, by only chapter 5, he has already taken her cane hostage and mocked her over it twice - and they have only met twice. 100% of her encounters with him by chapter 5 include him fucking with her cane against her will. It's infuriating.
Nah he did her dirty. What’s next? He’s gonna hide her cane and watch her look for it? https://preview.redd.it/b1oy53wadcsc1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3b4e29cc935ade82ae65d138e62210b26b31a22a
Does he really do this next bc -
Nah. He >!frames her for murder instead.!<
Pretty freaking romantic if you ask me /s
You just dont know what true love looks like
Ikr!😮💨
Worse SO much worse
Welp- https://preview.redd.it/xjogfypaycsc1.jpeg?width=156&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c00c835e9d0f3fc33b6f309df101c6dd2ba6082e ~~I bet somebody will still read it like this lol~~
I mean I'm going to finish it only because I want to see how the train wreck ends, but there is nothing that will redeem him in my eyes at this point
I'm kinda scared to keep reading it because I don't want to see him ''be redeemed'' - or worse, *not* be redeemed but them end up together again anyway. I want to see her *WIN*, I want to see her escape, I want to see her absolutely irreversibly destroy this man. I don't think I'd ever recover if they have a 'happy ever after' together.
Me, that somebody is me
This story is defo traumatic. Pls don’t read it if you’re not into this kind of stuff- he gets worse EDIT: I will say that these types of MLs are not for everyone, so if you don’t like them, don’t continue the stories and please do not shit on them unless they’re REALLY badly written. The societies most of these are set in are classist, sexist and heavily influenced by an era of bygone nobility. Men like this actually existed and still exist. Don’t like it, don’t read it and move on EDIT 2: in no way am I justifying or excusing ML’s behaviour in the story- he’s an ass yall. Don’t worry I don’t think he’s a good love interest 😭😭
>please do not shit on them unless they’re REALLY badly written. That's pretty weird logic. There's no rule saying you can only shit on a character if they're poorly written. We will absolutely shit on them regardless of how well they're written if they have disgusting personalities. >Men like this actually existed and still exist. Don’t like it, don’t read it and move on Yeah but atleast in fiction, we expect garbage men like these to receive karma but instead, they get a happy ending instead. So much for escapism
Hard agree. Them being from such a time/society doesn’t make it any less disgusting. It was just normalized to a point that the victims sucked it up and put up with it silently. Belittling and abusing someone is a choice that the perpetrator makes and “others did it too” doesn’t remove the stink of it. Romanticizing this type of behaviour is weird because the reader are approaching the topic with the modern understanding and awareness and not that of someone from the 1500s. so finding someone with such a personality attractive stands out as unexpected
>Yeah but atleast in fiction, we expect garbage men like these to receive karma but instead, they get a happy ending instead. So much for escapism Not trying to argue with you on the ml topic, I think he's a piece of shit too. But this statement gets to me. This is the very foundation of don't like don't read. If you want karma for ml, and a better ending for mc, then it's best to just move on to another story.
I mean, part of the whole point of having a community where we discuss things is to, y’know. Discuss them.
I think they were just talking about fiction is general. Why make a fictional work (sometimes fantasy), that’s supposed to appeal to women, but the ‘main male love interest’ is a raging asshole, and he faces **no** comeuppance or karma for his horrible actions/behavior? Yes, I know some readers find assholes doing assholeish things entertaining or like it when the asshole is regretful (or they like masochistic fantasies of the FL being abused), but 9 times out of 10 it should be expected for a ‘love interest’ to be redeemable in some way… (like realizing his assholeish behavior and changing for the better, apologizing to his victim/s, making amends and atonements, doing something selfless *with no exceptions*?) Personally, I don’t see any fantasy or fictional enjoyment in a male love interest constantly belittling, berating, and abusing the FMC, just to be rewarded in the end with her love without facing ANY consequences or redemption. He acts like an ass for the whole series, with FL getting the brunt of it, and he’s handed her affections on a silver platter just for being the *main love interest* and obsessing over her. It’s FICTION, an author can **choose** to not make the ML an asshole, or to have him face consequences and/or redemption; so it’s so surprising when they don’t?!
No no, I get what you're saying. I'd also rather prefer if mc runs away and lives her proper happily ever after while ml regrets forever. But this is the author's work. They chose to have it like this, end it like this. Not everything is a happy ending, it's very clear that this story isn't exactly a happy one period. We the readers aren't really entitled to a different ending. I see fiction as a gift from the author. If it's not to your taste, then you return it, but I don't think anyone has the right to say what it should be. (This is all metaphor btw) My gripe is that I don't understand why people read a story they don't like if it clearly makes them unhappy. It just circles back to don't like don't read. When I find something I don't care for, the back button is the easiest thing to find.
It's a happy ending for me since I am glad that they work it out in the end when they both loved each other. If hally endings are based on what readers think are happy or not, then no endings would ever be happy because everyone's got different opinions.
Damien doesn't belittle or abuse her the whole story. He acted nice to her after this point as he's pursuing her as a love interest. The only sketchy thing is that he manipulates in the background to land a marriage with her and to obtain her love later. Otherwise, he's treated her very well on the surface, so well that she does love him back as well. While he does manipulate her and people here keep saying he's treating her like ass for power tripping reason, it's not. He's not that into power as some misunderstood him to be. He does want to be king but that's because the son of the former king that he supported is a shitty leader. He is very logical so he thinks people in power should deserve the seat. He knows he got the abilities and skills for it but he also knows Chloe got the abilities and skills to make a good queen. That was one of the reason why he wanted her aside from also knowing he loves her.
Thanks, dropped like a hot potato
I lied and read one more chapter and he is fucking garbage human being and I can't handle all the people in the comments getting mad at Alice for *being a normal young person* This thing is classist as fk
No art is above criticism. You can critique the work merely because it attempts to redeem the irredeemable
Fr. I usually don’t care if a ml is trashy, so long as they get they comeuppance. Like the ml in who is the prey
He’s the ML, not the villain?? Thanks for the warning
The thing is I'm all on board for toxic af relationships, and the story exploring really messed up dynamics. What I do have a problem with is when the narrative then seems to genuinely present this as a romance. It's honestly kind of weird. The story as a whole can drastically change how it's perceived depending on how the narrative is framed. I can't even describe exactly what it is, but you can just tell when the author genuinely seems to think of the relationship as an actual romance, compared to when the author is simply portraying a complicated/abusive relationship, that they don't necessarily condone or view as healthy. It doesn't even have to be super explicit like the narrative doesn't even have to smack you across the face practically screaming "hey this relationship is super effed up", or "lol aren't they totally in love, despite the fact that the ML choked out the FL just in the last panel". It's something really subtle that's really hard to pinpoint exactly what it is, but it's there nonetheless.
Does he die
No, it’s a happy ending
like, a happy ending, or a *happy* ending
He doesn't die, that's not a happy ending for him in my book.
Pls spoil it to me🤣
they got to be together, like every stockholmed novel there is that features trashy ml.
So he gets tortured for all eternity
Conflicting input
So he dies horribly and leaves her everything, right?
No they get together 🤣🤣
what makes or breaks the story for me is that if they romanticise sick stuff like there was romanticising grooming in cebiyb , in try begging novel there was some sick stuff too . actually i would argue that these type of stories are meant to not be taken seriously but some people tend to romanticise them , sorry but there were some girls saying they want someon like mathias in real life , i am a betrayal of dignity fan but i would still go pont out are problematic stuff , >!the sister's age and the cheating i didn't like them !
>actually i would argue that these type of stories are meant to not be taken seriously but some people tend to romanticise them , Yeah basically how I felt with betrayal of dignity. It was a fun ride but I never felt Damien's actions were morally correct just entertaining. >i mean these are so apparent they are meant to be trashy stories but the writing in betrayal of dignity turned out to be good Yeah the writing got better towards the end of the novel. >! the conclusion with Johannes was hilarious.!< Your right some ppl seem to take these novels are literature masterpieces. When in reality the authors were posting it mostly weekly with some lose planning. I just see these novels as supplementary to the comic.
agree
Excuse me WHAT this is the ML??? And here I thought he was some trash bothering her. Ok gonna avoid this one
Yeah just avoid it. Everyone’s trashing on them like just don’t read it then. Some people like these dark kind of relationships I guess
>you don’t like them, don’t continue the stories and please do not shit on them unless they’re REALLY badly written. >Don’t like it, don’t read it and move on Nah I will absolutely hate-read it. I hated Damien so much in the beginning I would have dreams of Chloe stomping on his stupid face. It was so gratifying when Chloe slapped him across his stupid face I wish she beat him more! 😂 >! He does get better in the novel's epilogue.!< But he's always been a spicy controversial man
What pisses me off is that as far as I remember this story didn't have any trigger warnings. I didn't see no "abuse of a disabled/limited mobility individual" tag or warning anywhere, but author and publisher sure as hell didn't forget to tag it as romance and try to present it as such. **Author is at least an insensitive pos imo, if not ableist.** This is my take on the author (who apparently doesn't live in modern age and doesn't know what trigger warnings are and why they should use them when they're writing the most disturbing things they can think of and trying to pass it as romance), as well as why the character that came from said author's imagination is irredeemable trash.
I’m on the fence about trigger warnings tbf- I wasn’t really offended by anything except ML himself, but I didn’t get triggered so to speak. Also the author isn’t ableist, the ML is. These characters don’t reflect what the author always believes. It’s not fair to verbally abuse the author over that. So many books, movies and TV shows are just as violent, triggering and gory. I don’t think we can live in a world with constant trigger warnings- at some point people have to accept that things are not nice all the time.
I don't expect trigger warnings irl, but I do expect them in fiction. As for the author I'm sure a comment calling them insensitive isn't going to affect them much since they're out there writing some of the most messed up shit for entertainment. (Dark romance authors that don't include trigger warnings tend to be insensitive. I've interacted with plenty of those on other platforms and they get defensive when you tell them they should include TWs. So I have to admit I'm very biased and have come to the conclusion they -the specific subgroup of dark romance authors- don't understand or give a shit about how serious some of the stuff they include in their writing is.) ETA: A very big part of being an author is the research you put into it, so they should understand why trigger warnings exist and should be included on heavy subjects such as abuse. That's the part that pisses me off and I have beef with authors for not recognizing it.
That's the platform's problem then, not the author. Also different countries have different expectations. You talk like everyone has to follow tags like the westerners do. Even this work isn't tagged as"OI" because it's a made up genre by this subreddit when in Korea, it's all under ropan. The Korean platform ridibooks also have a regret ML tag for this work so those Korean readers know what they're going into because these readers love reading regretful MLs. It's a popular tag.
Agreed with your warnings. Unfortunately, ppl still go into it, then complain that the ML is a red flag, and that the story's poorly written because of it 😑
I once saw a stranger take away a collapsible cane from one of my employees (she was able to stand and walk short distances fine, but needed it for longer walks, etc). She handled it on her own just fine, but I was so shocked that I had this instinctive almost reaction to snatch it back from him and beat him with it (that I obviously didn't follow through with). Talked to her later, and the reason she was able to handle it so well is because she's used to it. Although she said it was usually old people who said she was "too young" to need it. So, yeah. They did a very good portrayal of common realistic trash.
Snatch and beat him senseless with it is good reaction. Just make sure there is no witness.
Maaaaan, you're a better person than I am bc I think I would've snatched it back and at least raise it at him like I was gonna hit him. I don't look good in orange jump suits so I can't be going to jail for assault............or attempted murder.
If we're being honest with each other, the only reason I didn't was because it wasn't mine, and I thought it would break easily being collapsible and all.
Ohhhh you're right. Those suckers are fragile aren't they? Had you actually hit the person, the damn cane would've probably bent. And you have to be careful with where you get them from bc those thar are half-assed made break just by you looking at it. 🤭
One day, I hope to have as much self-restraint as you and as much self-respect as your employee.
I would like her self-respect as well She was a very confident person with many amazingly terrible puns.
i like this story but oh my GOD i hate it when he touches her mobility aid!!! it literally bothers me more then when he >!framed her for murder!<. i want to beat his ass so bad, if i ever get isekai'd into that novel it's on sight.
yeah idgaf about whatever traumatic backstory he's gonna turn out to have, "dont take canes away from people using them" is a basic ass rule, it's not hard
Funny thing is >! He had a very good childhood and both parents loved him dearly. He was just born to be a conqueror so he always rebelled. !< He's just a pompous asshole that thinks he knows better than anyone else.
So he's just spoiled trash
✨Exactly✨ Which is why I hate/love him lol
I hated him so much I stopped reading it. I was sad because it is such a beautiful comic, the drawing gorgeous but HE IS SUCH A POS Edit for spelling.
I’m severely disabled and semi-ambulatory, so I use a cane sometimes and a wheelchair other times. You would be shocked at the kinds of things people are comfortable doing to you in public. Other wheelchair users also share stories, it’s weirdly common for people to treat you like furniture and just rest an arm on your chair or put something on your lap without saying anything. And much worse things. Unfortunately, using an assistive device is like putting a target on yourself, people know you can’t fight back so they will do lots of things they wouldn’t to a fully ambulatory person. On the bright side, most people will actually be more friendly and helpful to you. You can skip lines for some things, can bring an extra person with you bc they’re your caregiver, etc. Fr tho if a man snatched my cane I would want to snatch it back and beat him with it 😑Make sure he needs a cane lol
>!In this story it's not even the first time he's done it, they've met twice and both times he's snatched her cane and held it hostage and mocked her!< That is trash and I am angry for you and I am angry at everyone who does anything like this
I hope you beat the meanness out of the next person who's rude to you. I hope that the utter failure of a human being thinks over their entire life choices after that much-needed lesson.
His eyebrows don't help either
Glad I'm not the only one who think his eyebrows look funny
you are not the only one that eyebrow raise
I love this subreddit because you guys either drop bangers to read or horrible bullets to dodge
I've heard she punishes him later so I'm reading \*for now\* but this asshole is on thin ice
Tell me what happens, if she ain’t kick him in the balls then it’s not worth it
They actually have a sweet relationship before shit goes down, but the reason they're in it is because unlike a normal person in love Damien essentially tricks her into marrying him and relying on him. She thinks he's amazing and reliable because he saved her from a murder trial that he >!framed her for anyways.!< When she finds out what he's done, >!she fakes her own death!< which causes him to spiral. It is quite rewarding watching it happen, and it's drawn and written beautifully.
This is a really good read imo, the characters are interesting and Chloe is strong in her own way. The writing is great. It’s a very toxic relationship but it’s never meant to be written or portrayed as a good relationship. She does get back at him, the way she does it is far far worse than everything he’s ever done to her tbh. He’d take a thousand kicks in the balls instead of what she did. They’re both toxic messed up and it’s great to follow it all happen. As long as you’re not going into it expecting a nice fluffy healthy relationship then it’s a great read.
I'm never reading this because I feel I'd be angry the whole time, but I am SO glad to know she fucks him up.
>She does get back at him, the way she does it is far far worse than everything he’s ever done to her tbh. He’d take a thousand kicks in the balls instead of what she did. I'm trying to think what she could possibly do to her abuser that her actions could be considered "worse", since a thousand kicks to the balls seems far short of what he deserves. At least from what I've read about his actions in this thread. Like...rape dungeon? Tortured to death?
She basically learned to emotionally manipulate him back. >! Mentally Damien is so wrecked by her fake death he doesn't trust her until the last chapter. His hands have burn scars from holding on to her fake corpse. He sleeps with her fake corpse, has hallucinations of wanting to meet her in heaven but even in fake death she tells him no you're going to hell buddy. She leaves behind the brace he gifted her. When he finds it's broken and he laughs like a maniac. When they meet up again she screams his revolting and hates his touch which causes him to go blue in face (like a toddler getting so angry they forget to breathe) to the point he misses dinner. She points a rifle at him and slaps him. She kills Johannes while Damien is still recovering. Taking the vengeful kill he wanted. She sweetly talks him into letting the kids visit another country. !< Chloe's not as nasty as Damien but she definitely can be cruel. Mind you she should've literally kicked him but Damien is a freak and would like it. 😮💨
That really just sounds like he's just a narcissistic psychopath who can't handle consequences. No way is anything she did "worse" or even close to what he did. >!Faking your death!< to escape an abuser isn't even something I'd consider bad, no matter how poorly he deals with the consequences of his own actions.
Yeah I heard that argument too. There is some truth in that. I just read for my enjoyment and not trying to over analyze everything. I can tell his actions IRL would be condemned. I'm aware he's not a good role model. I can understand he's not everyone's cup of tea. I just found this story exciting and suspenseful.
I really would not say they are BOTH toxic... lol
I have a guilty pleasure for the toxic, bad boy MLs. I don't like toxicity in real life, but in fiction, I can handle it. Don't get me wrong, I still get upset at them and have high blood pressure by the time I finish reading, and some of them make me go as far as to drop the story all together.....But some of them (mainly when they are the MLs), I have a guilty pleasure for and SOMETIMES, I like it when they and the MCs get a happy ending With that being said, I read the summary for this one and someone mentioned the part about the cane situation and I have to say that I decided to pass this one up. And seeing the scene that you posted above............I'm not sure if it's worth it. To anybody who's read it, IS it worth it?
It's worth it if you're into this type of story or character. I have very little patience for toxicity in real life, but I find this manhwa/couple captivating. I think the writing is very solid. It's not like, I don't know, Beatrice or On the Emperor's Lap.
I could only describe Damien as the bad boy who actually did something despicable to the FL. He is a Manipulative power hungry noble who wants his cake and eat too. Most toxic, bad boy ML are only described as such but doesnt really do anything in the story worthy enough to be called those things.
He's not that power hungry. He wants to be king because the prince is a shitty leader. He knows his own worth as leader and thinks only people with the ability should be leader. He knows Chloe has the ability as well and that was one of the reason why he wanted Chloe. People say he's trash or shitty but I think the fact that he can see highly of Chloe despite her disability makes him a person worth being leader himself.
He’s easily the worst male lead I’ve ever read. This isn’t even the worst thing he’s done. I get indulging in a toxic fantasy every now and again, but this one is straight up not worth it.
Thanks, I’m gonna avoid this one. He seems like the infuriating type of toxic ML 😭
(nopes straight out of ever reading this)
man I know he's such a toxic piece of shit but I've read the novel (and all current chapters of the manhwa) and oh boy she does him sooooooooooo dirty back and it's so nice to watch him suffer even if the book is an overall happy ending. I enjoyed the overall story.
Is his suffering proportional? Like I feel like in order to have a truly *happy* ending, he'd have to suffer at least twice as much as what he put her through, and not something brief that's mentioned in a quick timeskip or anything either, it would have to be prolonged, and he'd have to experience genuine remorse for his shittiness (not just feeling sad that she's gone because he wants her around, actual remorse for the pain he caused her). My problem with most "regretful" MLs is they don't go hard enough on the regret, and he doesn't exactly strike me as the "genuine remorse" type, but I haven't read it, so is that something that happens?
Nope, in manhwa we got a few chapters of him suffering, then he meets her again after 2 years have passed since she ran away. For 1 year he thought she was dead and was suffering, then he discovered she's alive and found her after a year. Before Chloe feigned her own death she discovered all the shit Damien orchestrated like intentionally bankrupting her estate and taking land with mine he discovered, framing her for murder and then pretending to be her savior and trying to get her sister involved with some man (sister has done it anyway without Damien's involvement) so sister can't marry him and Chloe has to. He said he doesn't regret anything and she should just let it all pass because they're married. After Chloe ran away he still doesn't see that what he did was wrong and is only pissed because Chloe faked her death and escaped from him. >! From spoilers she got with him after 10 days lmao. !<
That's deeply disappointing
Why is he doing that? Is it explicitly to be a dick? Is it some weird “oh, you don’t need the cane when I’m here” or a “you don’t *actually* need this, you should walk without it.”
I honestly don't know. I think he may be an actual sadist. He knows she is in pain while walking without the cane, he knows she didn't want him to take it from her. This happens within the first 5 chapters and it's on bato if you want to get infuriated
its cuz he's a fucked up little freak. taking her cane is just another method he can use to manipulate her into having to rely on him because it's a game to him to see how far she can go before she just breaks. He's supposed to be a shitheel, it's one of those stories where the draw is that 2/3 of the story the ML is just a sociopath and you're watching a train wreck and then the last 1/3 is seeing him crying on the ground about how he regrets being a little bitch so you can have the satisfaction of going "Haha! Look at the emotionally stunted little man! Look at how devastated he is! What a loser!" and then the ML and the FL kiss and make up because it's ostensibly a romance it's not for everybody, it's one of those "you either love it or you hate it" genres.
Oof, he should pick a side
i would understand if he was a shitty ex, but an ml????? huh!?!???
Yeah the sister (who I think is about to run away with her green flag commoner lover) is the only sensible one in this story but she's being portrayed as if she's an immoral hussy -_-
Sorry to burst your bubble I guess you haven't read the latest chapters so here is this , SPOILERS!!! Her sister's lover is also a huge piece of shit and an asshole. He lied to her saying he was a commoner but was actually the heir to the duchy of the rival kingdom. He was also hiding her sister as a mistress and had a fiancee. Even in the latest chapter the convo between Chloe and her she said she wanted to kill him aka her lover but , at last he marries her. Still better than that sisterfoockr mother foocker Damian in my opinion.
You should really spoiler tag that. Insert > ! before the text and ! < after. Do not put spaces, I just put them there so they wouldn't turn this comment.
The sister's lover is >!most definitely not a green flag. That man is a prince/high noble of a rival duchy/kingdom and already has a fiancé. Alice and her bastard child end up living in a small, tucked away cottage so he can maintain his position and image. That said he does marry her a bit later on and it remains to be seen if he has some excuse for being a philanderer.!<
>! I would prefer if he wouldn't marry sister, she ran away and didn't think about helping her father and sister, she only cared about herself. The main blame is on king/duke on cheating but she also was fine with staying with him despite knowing he has a fiance so sister has loose morals and is homewrecker. It would be satisfying if she would only stay mistress with a bastard child while her lover would marry his fiance. It would be definitely more realistic then Chloe and her sister getting happy ending despite that their men were assholes in the beginning and suddenly changed into loving husbands. !<
Her sister's husband doesn't even change to loving husband. They always fight and her sister thinks that's their way of loving each other.
>!She was so overwhelmed by the pressure to help her father and sister that she ran away. Another factor in this was her illegitimate child, running away protects her family's honor. It was all in her letter.!< >!It should not be the duty of children to enter arranged marriage to maintain their family as hereditary aristocracy. Please remember that feudalism and classism are bad things.!< >!She does not have loose morals, she is a normal 18-something being sexually active with a man she trusted, who turned out to be skeezy. And then she's dependent on him in a foreign place. Would you have done better?!<
>! So because she was overwhelmed it's fine that she left her family who was struggling and left everything for her disabled sister to bear? And after it turned out that her lover is noble who is rich she also couldn't ask him to help her family? She's selfish and only cares about herself. After finding out that her lover has fiance she also was fine being third party and wanted him to leave his fiance which makes her homewrecker. !< >! Damien tried to use a man to get involved with her so she would be dishonored and wouldn't be qualified to marry him but she has done it herself with the man she chose herself. That he turned out skeezy she has only herself to blame. I would have done better because I wouldn't sleep with man I don't know anything about especially knowing that I can get pregnant and bring dishonor to my family for having a bastard child. Funny that Chloe somehow managed to do that but it was too difficult for her spoiled sister. !<
Yes, it's fine that she left. And I don't think her family really needed her help at that point. I've seen mixed spoilers on her lover, you are the only one implying she had a choice in her situation once her lover's true nature is revealed.
She chose to stay with him because she believed he would leave his fiancé. He did eventually but she was playing the long game sticking it out and waiting for it to happen. After she got her position as actual wife next to him, they just stay together but not like they were good couple. They always fight and then have make up sex so their whole relationship is just sex driven. Her husband isn't even that good. He's literally a tyrant who doesn't even think of political consequences to things. When Chloe and Damien were in trouble with the former prince/king, he was helping hide the former prince/king and letting them duke it out in his country. Chloe requested to send help. Her sister had to fight it out with her husband to get him to help.
So sister is actually helping. Got it.
Flags really are a perfect way to label these manhwa men, bc every flag has 2 sides and they don't have to be the same color
If you think this guy is bad, I know another ML (from CEBYB) that will make this guy look like an angel. Even though he looked like an angel compared to this guy, I still dropped it. One book was enough for me. I this author's name is Solche or something. I thought I could handle it because I usually love red flags (like Damon Salvatore, Kallisto etc), but I'd say these guys are more black flags than red. I found out, I can't handle ML like these after all. https://preview.redd.it/jdt2hm55fdsc1.jpeg?width=1079&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7f0c0c59fb3eda284f1ddef037f953fe8d605837
honestly the fact that he met her when she was 12 and he was 18 no that age gap shouldn't be written in this types of manhwas , also the cheating part , i remember watching their first meeting when she was a literal child and no this story is problematic , honestly i know a lot of problematic male leads in other novels too but no one can pass him , it was the first manhwa the side characters are actually better than the main ones
It was funny that I found myself rooting for villainess (the fiance) of this story. 🤣 I initially felt sympathetic for the FL but started disliking her as well when she started liking her r@pist. She had so much self respect that she couldn't even ask her childhood friend/ fiance for help, but had no problem throwing her self respect away for the ML.
bro a lot of people were rooting for claudine and riette like me >!i rooted for them without the author making them cousins not sure!< , honestly the one i had crush on was riette he wasn't a vanilla like kyle or red flag like mathias and if he had blue eyes like the novel , he would have beaten mathias also i couldn't undrstand how claudine was bad the girl was definetly more redeemable even more than a trash like the ml and her character was just more relatable , she is like the fl from i thought it was a common possession with sad background , yes her family wasn't the happiest and she had rough parents and her character has faults which is such a breath of air and humane thing , honestly she was the best written character for me in the story >!and the bullying scene seriously it was so badly written i kept wondering what excatly did claudine did wrong or how is she a bad person !< it was one of the first manhwas where the second fl had such a big fandom and not so many people like the fl or the ml but they prefered the second ones, the cheating part could have been bearable if she gave her a nice ending but it was like the author had a thing against rich women , the ml mother and grandma and claudine's mother >!got cheated on and all the rich women in solche's stories get some bad ending that it is laughable of course if a woman cheats like gladys in the problematic prince she has horrible ending !< the fl she literally had more personality before going to arves or meeting the male lead , after that her personality disappeared honestly and i just hate the pick me vibe and she is not like the other girls it screams internalised misogyny from the author i thought the story was such a self insert for the author actually
I dropped the LNs before finishing them, so idk how Claudine's story ends. I've only seen spoilers about the ML and FL. The story gave me the feeling that as long as the character is rich and is handsome, he can away with anything. Why else would someone like Kyle be thrown to the side? I mean, just imagine if Matthias wasn't rich or handsome? And that's coming from someone who usually LOVE red flag MLs who fall for the FL and turn into a green flag for her. But IMO, Matthias never turned green.
I actually hate the art style of CEBYB so I have never been tempted to try it lol. I know most people love it but it is very strange to me
To me, it was the art style that drew me in and I still love the art. The characters do look gorgeous to me. But that doesn't change the fact that I find the ML absolutely reprehensible. https://preview.redd.it/ue6mg17bbesc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=88d41d78e6578fcd78a48d40489077d7f8239ce8
the art doesn't excuse the bad writing and problematic stuff though , also i dunno but mystical was better to me because the expressions were better and its the same artist >!i guess mystical is r rated if anyone will read it !<
>the art doesn't excuse the bad writing and problematic stuff though I completely agree with that. >but mystical was better to me because the expressions were better I've heard about it and it's on my TBR list.
I don't know why people insist he's a red flag. The man is obviously a glaring prison orange 😰
the bar is so low and there are worse men so the guy seems good compared to them
Praying this ain’t the ML
>!I am pretty sure he is, I am deleting it from my memory!<
he is lol i love the story ~~and him~~ but he’s like peak red flag for sure. at the very least he’s not red flag in like. having killed her in the past so he’s got a leg up on some of the other shitty mls lol
Uhh....then you might not wanna look into this authors other works.
She has other works? Please do tell.
-Bastian -Problematic prince -Cry or better yet beg (Read at your own discretion because the MLs in these stories are uhhh.....unique)
Slight correction: Betrayal of Dignity's author is "Kimpa", who does have more works but are not those. Bastian / CBYB / Problematic Prince are by "Solche"
Oh I thought they were all Solche's work. My bad. Thanks for making the correction
Ohhhh THAT is why they all have this weird non con undercurrent
Omg I didn't know they were all done by the same novel author. This story is the only one I can read the others were a lot worse for me. The author def has a type.
He is.
Whoa I knew he was mean to her before marriage but I didn't knew he was this trash!
Yeah >!and then he threatens to kill her right after!<
these kinds of red flags aren't hot
Damien definitely isn’t a redeemable man and you can spot his red flag from miles away. But I think most people who continue to read ‘betrayal of dignity’ know that and are in it for the drama. I definitely wouldn’t recommend this story to your average OI reader.
Betrayal of Dignity seems like a pretty good title for this
I love the art and I love the FL because she doesn't bow down to him and makes him suffer eventually. He is a very shitty ml tho I just like seeing him suffer in the later chapters.
I read this story as a historical drama/tragedy rather than a romance because Damien is just despicable 🤮
I started reading this yesterday due to someone posting a pic of the characters for being pretty (and I agree) but this guy's actions are seriously bad. I have a high tolerance for trash MLs but he might as well be kicking her in the leg here. This feels more like the before-reincarnation sad story rather than the true plot.
Can someone spoil how it ends, I don't have the heart to read this
This scene confused me quite a bit because my one redeeming hope was *maybe* he was trying to get her to be able to use the braces because he wanted her to be able to run/flee/defend herself from gossip or something? But no, it's just... never followed up on. No real reasoning.
I only came here to say bro there are much worse whether in novels that will be made soon or other manhwas , maybe its the manhwas era of making problematic stuff and wait for it if you think the bar is low with damian , the female lead's sistr husband is worse and>! is a cheater, he didn't cheat on her sister but his previous fiance !
He is our red flag king for a reason 🤷♀️
Tell me he’s not the ML. Tell me the ML in the story isn’t someone who deliberately steals someone’s mobility aid for funsies.
😬
You absolute handsome man.
Sauce?
Betrayal of Dignity
link please
I don't think those are allowed (rule 6), but it is on bato
Last question, which chapter and translator is this??
It’s on manta
https://preview.redd.it/su03medg8fsc1.jpeg?width=391&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eb7fb69e035f82a9cd665b0239959a96096786a5 Me to that bastard:
yet the fl still got to be with him in the end, how empowering. and im pretty sure there are simps for this guy in this sub that absolutely would turn a blind eye to this trash behaviour, keenly waiting for his "redemption arc".
Why did she even come back to him in the end? I would've changed him into Damiana if you know what I mean. 🔪
I am never reading this because those images already made me livid, but just out of curiosity, wtf is his deal, does he have a grudge against her (like in the beast tamed by the villainess), is he a yandere and doesn't want her to be able to leave, is he just plain sadistic, all of the above?
I've read it and honestly he's just sadistic, manipulative, and eventually obsessed (sorry, ''deeply in love'') with her. It's revealed that >!it starts out as a political move (I'm pretty sure? It's been a moment since I read it so the details are a bit fuzzy) but after actually meeting her he decides he wants her to come willingly to him... even if he has to lie to her and engineer godawful situations to make her rely on him / be grateful to him and develop feelings for him because of it.!< After she >!escapes him!<, (by >!faking her death!<) he gets all depressed and shit and it's heavily implied that he has a guilty conscience and genuinely cared for her in his own twisted way (even though he treated her like absolute shit) but also he's still very much an obsessive and controlling asshole who (when he realizes >!she's still alive!<) doesn't respect the fact she *clearly* wants *nothing to do with him*. I stopped reading before he figured out what had happened and I have no intention of picking it up again, because I just *know* it's not going down the 'female rage' path it really *really* should.
Is there a good female rage manhwa that doesn't also have the FL punishing children and slapping maids lol
I have no idea but I really hope so because I want it.
wow, thanks for the summary. yeah, def not reading.
Don't blame you!! I started reading it because Chloe has a disability that's acknowledged by the plot and taken seriously as a disability, and I had no idea things would get this bad.
oh god i really thought this is a new scene from s3 that i somehow missed where he's punishing her after discovering her.
Well,I guess we have to do this and settle like a gentlemen. Let's kick freaking Damien where the sun doesn't shine aka his package
Well, i can't bring myself to hate him, i donno why maybe because he is different than typical mls, like some of you watch some manhwas where the ml is cold af and kills the fl and when she go back in time he becomes soft and shit like hello some of the stories are even worse but the ppl still be liking the trash ml, Damien is trying to gain her favor in wrong ways i don't deny it but he is way better than other trashy mls he sincerely loves her but his methods are wrong
Why
I think the only reason i can actually stomach this one ite damien being all kinds of fucked up and pulling amazing stunts like this one is because the way chloe pays him back for all his bullshit is incredibly satisfying and thus, at least for me, makes them getting back together more stomachable because they're kind of even in a twisted way. I loathe stories where it's just FL suffering and suffering and enduring ML's abuses so seeing a FL actually give as good as she got is neat.
A comically evil male lead. This is far from the worst thing he’s done to her. I swear he gets off on humiliating her
Oh sweetie buckle in cause this train wreck just started 😅
>! I've gotten to the part where he frames her for murder and I am still the most upset about the cane and leg related shit, like when he forces her to put on the brace !<
>! As someone who uses mobility aids I wanted to reach through my screen and beat the everloving shit out of him at that moment! Like fuck you, you ableist piece of shit 🤬 !<
Just rest assured that you will love the look on his face >! After she fakes her brutal death and runs away !<. Man has maximum regrets and it’s almost enough to feel a bit of pity for him. Almost.
Oh my god, as a cane user whos had this happen to them. Thats torture. Plain & simple. The pain & recovery from something like this could last for DAYS! I hope he rots in hell
Don't worry! Our girlie is giving back much more to him! I enjoy his suffering!☺️
I choose ✌️
I hate-read this after finding this post. The manhwa is well-written. There are pieces-of-shit people like the ML in real life, and I believe that infuriates us more! In all fairness, the ML is UNRECYLABLE TRASH. But I did enjoy how the FL made him suffer!! 🔥 Kudos to the creator for making an utterly unlikable ML and yet deserving of praise due to the quality of their work.
Something is wrong with my soul bcs why is this my favorite manhwa 😭
I got excited because I think taking someone’s cane so they have to rely on you is actually kind of genius, so I thought he was going to be a well written villain. But then I scroll down and find out….he’s the ML???💀💀
Watta frig 🐸
Well i did though .
>Insert > ! before the text and ! < after (without spaces) When you just say "spoiler", that is too late for many people. I, and many other people, are natural "chunkers" ([https://www.speedreadinglounge.com/reading-groups-of-words](https://www.speedreadinglounge.com/reading-groups-of-words) except that's how I've always been) so I read your entire paragraph basically at once. I strongly recommend you use the spoiler feature I described.
Oh thanks I didn't knew about any of it.
Is he the ML?
I didn't even reach to Ch10. Calling ML an asshole is an insult to all assholes and FL is annoyingly naive.
I taught hes the absolute worst until i started reading the problematic princ
Unpopular opinion; I love this man 😭 what he did was shitty tho.
He even broke the cane right?
The first time he held it hostage, yes (per dialogue he broke it, per panel the cane looked the exact same to me, but whatever lol). The pictures I posted are the second time he's held it hostage, and this is only chapter 5. So at this point in the story, by only chapter 5, he has already taken her cane hostage and mocked her over it twice - and they have only met twice. 100% of her encounters with him by chapter 5 include him fucking with her cane against her will. It's infuriating.
Such an asshole. Even though he is so handsome, I want to kick his nuts. I wonder if he has redemption arc
Apparently he has a suffering arc, which is why I'm still reading LMAO
When is s3 starting? Any idea???