But! This is not a fainting violet kind of girl. The story opens at the end of her 6th life, which she spent disguised as a male soldier and she gets killed by who we soon learn is Emperor/Prince Arnold. All of those previous lives were spent doing something worthwhile; the best thing that ever happened to her was when the idiot prince dumps her. She became a merchant the first time, a herbalist another, an accomplished maid in yet another one, etc. In each one she has learned and perfected her skills.
So. It's her 7th time around now. The only thing all her lives had in common is that she dies after 5 years, caught up in a war caused by Arnold. Which is, probably, why she spent the 6th one learning swordsmanship as a soldier. This time, she decides to exit out of the castle a different way to see if she can make up some time and runs right into the soon-to-be-homicidal emperor. Then she leaps off a 2nd story balcony, determined to get back to her family home in enough time to pack up some essentials and run into the merchant company that she knows will be nearby (they gave her her first start back in life 1). But colour Arnold intrigued by this graceful woman who leaps off a balcony and knows who he is. He follows after.
But when she gets to her house, the idiot prince is there, demanding some satisfaction since she didn't give it to him. Then Arnold arrives and...proposes? And the King, who takes his son to task and encourages Rishe to entertain Arnold.
She agrees, on some conditions -- she wants to live a carefree life and he's not to touch her.
I know the title says it, but this girl doesn't actually know how to relax or be carefree. As soon as she gets there, she's shaking things up and constantly surprising Arnold with her skills. Now, as to why he immediately proposed to her...I'm not sure. Is he stuck in the loop too? Because it doesn't totally (at all) make sense that he'd propose to her based purely on her unexpected leap off a balcony.
Anyway, the biggest Pro for this one is that Rishe is a great character. She's clever, resourceful, insightful, dedicated, and loyal (immediately pulling in again the merchant boss). She's true to herself and isn't, really, afraid of anything. Arnold would be an idiot to not fall in love.
The jury is still out on him for me. Unlike Raeliana's beau, even after 6ish episodes, there's no clear reason why Arnold did/does the things that he does. He's supposed to kill his father and then embroil the lands in war at some point...but...he seems a guy who actually cares about his people in his actual present-day actions (though a bit bitter and potentially cruel, as he pushes people away like his brother for...reasons). So how was he supposed to end up that way? If the father (current Emperor) is as horrible as I suspect he might be, why does killing him and taking over lead to Arnold being just as bad, if not worse?
I mean, it's obvious that this is *the* life because Rishe is there, but it is a confusing set up. I look forward to them making it make sense. Oh, and so far there's no randomly evil rival for our MC, which is refreshing.
Edit: Ok, I finished it. It lagged a bit for me at the end but was overall good. I think it's because the anime only covered one book/or one light novel (not entirely sure, but that's what it sounded like from the comments). So they were doing this whole subplot with another country and a sort-of but not exactly evil alchemist and Arnold needed to be kinda like a bad guy...and so it actually felt, in some ways, that he was MORE romantic in the beginning than the end? I guess I just wanted to see more of their romance rather than the political intrigue. Okay, yes, of course you want Rishe to SAVE THE WORLD AND LIVE.
Anyway. If there's another season of it, I'd likely watch it. I don't think I'm going to go out and buy the books though. I was thinking I might in the beginning but my interest definitely flagged a bit in the last few episodes. You still have no idea WHY Arnold would do/will do the things he's supposed to do and even though she stopped him from invading Coyolles, it's also because he could see the value in the alliance. Or, if he couldn't, he should. If you invade a country in order to take over their skilled workers, a lotta those workers are going to die in the process and you might lose out on what you were trying to take. So his self interest seems intact...though, since he said somethings about how he essentially hates his country and life/father...I don't totally get why he does what he does anyway. Why bother?
So, yeah. I guess I'll leave it at that. I did like that she was a smart heroine.
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