It started, apparently, as a South Koren web novel by Milcha. Then it was serialised on Kakao, then a webtoon adaptation illustrated by Whale (?). And now it has become an anime produced in Japan. This may be why the heroine's name seems to change -- in some things it says Eunha Park...though, properly, that'd be Park Eunha, which would be Korean...and in others she's referred to as Rinko Hanasaki (which sounds Japanese to me). Though, in the anime, I honestly don't know that they use her "original" name because, like so many anime these days, this is also an isekai.
In this one, a girl is mysteriously pushed off a building right after finding out she finally got accepted to university. She can't recall why or who or what the conversation just preceding the event was. But, she wakes up in a novel that she had read as a sort of "inciting event" side character called Raeliana McMillan. She knows she's destined to die at the hands of her skeevy fiance, which then drives the rest of the romance novel -- a friend, Beatrice, returns to investigate and falls in love with the Duke.
So she starts off by trying to get out of the engagement, but nothing she says or does work. In a last ditch Hail Mary, she's at a ball and she approaches the "cold, calculating Duke" with the unlikely name Noah Volstaire Wynknight (actually, all the names are equally unlikely, to be fair). She wants to make a deal with him because she knows political secrets from her reading of the novel that she thinks she can bargain with. He takes the bait (it's hard to say why; it might just be that he was intrigued) and they enter into a fake engagement so she can call off hers.
So. Okay. There are easily some comparisons to be made here with Bakarina (i.e. My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom) which is arguably one of my favs in recent years. Same foreknowledge of events but where Bakarina is really quite clueless and simply survives because she's so lovable that EVERYONE in the WORLD probably would be in her harem if they could, Raeliana is more proactive, practical, and sometimes ruthless. That said, there's still some humour in this one, but it's definitely nowhere near as goofy as Bakarina.
So, of course, there are hijinks and the two (the Duke and Raeliana) grow closer, though the Duke's right hand guard also definitely feels very protective of her and even an ancient priest (who starts off in the body of a child, weirdly, because reasons) invites her to call him grandpa because he wants her to be his disciple when he figures out how clever she is (she also came into the world understanding every language, written and spoken). And I get the feeling there will be more.
It's easy to see that the Duke has duly moved from being intrigued and annoyed to fascinated and, by the end of the season one, pretty much enthralled, though he's also trying not to admit it. With the fiance finally gone and no real reason to continue the fake engagement, he's holding onto it awfully tight. There were also hints that Beatrice (the blonde) is more than likely behind all of the current plots to kill her off and, who knows, maybe was the original shove off the building.
While there's a lot that's predictable about this one and there's certainly nothing groundbreaking, it's enjoyable. I like it. I quite like, in particular, that she's very spunky and feisty and she isn't at all stupid. I mean, I love Bakarina. But she is NOT the sharpest tool in the shed. Heck, she's barely in the shed.
So, I hope there is a season two. There are books out now too, which I might order, though I think only 4 volumes are in English right now (Yen Press, who generally do a good job and produce a nice product). The whole thing is on Tappytoon translated, but I'm not really a fan or reading online so...eh, we'll see. To unlock the whole thing would be maybe $50 and I'd kinda rather have the physical books, even though it'll mean waiting (a lot) longer as they just started publishing them in English in 2022 (in comparison, the original Korean novel came out in 2016).
I do gather from posts that she does wind up with the Duke, though I honestly wouldn't mind at all if it were the bodyguard. He barely speaks, but he's sweet and, even though he's very deadly, you want to protect him. The Duke is more formidable, but it will be interesting if/when it gets to the point where he melts. He's a bit in the "he doth protest too much" stage though there are definite cracks in the facade.
So, yes, glad I watched it. I'll even likely watch it again (how many times have I seen Bakarina now? Little dude and I both love her). And, if they do another season, I'll definitely watch it.
Edit: I've bought the first two books now, which are in a slightly different style than the anime. Looking forward to seeing if there are any other differences too.
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