The Duke’s Obsession with His Wife

much to think about. the beginning is particularly remarkable because it’s so funny and out of the norm, but it does progress as the cliche arranged marriage, except it is particularly romantic the way it developed. I thought it was quite brilliant up until ML started to constantly fuck up. after they get married, he orders FL to be locked up in her room just because she’s unwell, and then later on he literally have the servants steal her letters and go through them first allegedly for her safetfy… granted the story makes clear that that’s not right (he did end up apologizing for being overzealous and ordering her to stay cooped up, and currently [chapter 50] FL hasn’t found out he’s been meddling with her mail, but all servants involved in that are uncomfortable, and they know FL will be rightfully pissed at him) I wonder if that’s enough to absolve ML, though. He doesn’t seem to reflect on himself or his actions despite knowing they are wrong, he’s so self righteous that he thinks it’s justifiable. But it isn’t. And it actually makes him a shit husband, which is paradoxical considering he’s the one hoping she’ll stay instead of divorcing and moving away like they agreed on doing. And what’s worse is that he’s been planning to get her to stay from the beginning, but he was never been honest about that, going as far as writing up a full on contract knowing he’d stop her leaving anyway. though it is not presented that way, it could easily be read as an entrapment instead. in other words, it’s hard to like ML. not only are his actions shitty towards FL, but his behavior towards her from literally the first encounter are quite rude and cold. obviously, after he falls for her, his rudeness subsides somewhat, but he’s still cold and unnecessarily overbearing. meanwhile FL is fun, bright and smart, and idk, you just can’t help thinking she could do better. it’s complicated, because in a way the romantic undetones are done right, and there’s enough context and nuance to understand him and his actions, so it’s hard to completely dislike him or dismiss the slow burn between FL and ML. but it’s also hard to completely cheer for them. I often think she might be genuinely happier leaving that life and living as a man after the divorce, like she planned, but it’s also kinda obvious she’d be lonely…
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the art is really really pretty though, and the translation is good. the story itself is full of tropes and it’s also a cliche fake marriage thing, but it does have a few twists that are interesting. the humor in it is also genuinely amusing, rather than just silly. I’m unsure if I’d recommend given the issues with ML, but it’s surely entertaining.