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If the Queen meant Leon harm, what he does in defending her and getting her attention may have saved his life. That is the positive possibility.
If You Can't Beat 'em, Date Their Mom! | DUB | Trapped in a Dating Sim
In Volume 2 Chapter 2 part 1,
“Since I came from a different country, I’ve never attended the academy. So, I want to have some memories about this academy~. You can help with that, right Leon? The academy greatly interests me. All of my female acquaintances have been talking about it in delight, and that makes me envious.”
A woman in her thirties wanted memories of the academy while making a mischievous smile towards me?
Perhaps in my previous life, I would have showed respect to my elders with a smile.
However──that wasn’t the case anymore.
I got up and grabbed Milaine’s hand.
What beautiful hands she had.
“Huh?”
Milaine voiced out as such in surprise.
“Sure thing. Let’s make some memories at the academy. Milaine──please marry me!”
Milaine was flustered and had a red face.
Livia and Anjie got up from their chairs.
“Leon! What are you saying?!”
“Y, y──you! You’re talking to the queen!”
As expected, my mentor was also surprised. Wasn’t I amazing for making my mentor, a perfect gentleman, shocked?
“Mister Leon, I cannot laugh at such absurd jest!”
I knew this would happen. I was aware of what I was doing, but I wanted them to think carefully here.
What was the goal of going to the academy? Pursuit of knowledge? Wrong answer!
This is the academy from that otome game. There was only one goal! It was marriage! In other words, she must have wanted such memories. In that case, what I had to do was make a marriage proposal!
I wasn’t being serious, but what could I do when she said that she wanted to make memories?
In other words, the queen wanted a confession of love! What a glorious deduction of mine. I’m amazing!
In addition, Milaine was very excellent when one saw her as a marriage partner. So she has given birth before? That’s just proof that she could make children! Nobles wanted heirs anyways, so they would warmly welcome it! So she wasn’t a virgin? Almost all of the girls in the academy weren’t virgins anyways!
Other than in fantasies, there was no such thing as a virgin!
What about age? It’s all good. Rather than teenage brutes who hadn’t learned manners, a graceful cute woman in her thirties was better! I wanted to marry an actual human being!
This is what I came to understand through my academy life. I should stop having fantasies about girls already.
If I had to choose between the girls at the academy or Milaine, I would choose Milaine without hesitation!
Oh, wait. I intended this to be a joke, but was there really anyone as perfect as her?
“I like you! I love you!”
The words came out of my mouth before my mind could even process what I was saying.
“T, that’s troubling. I, I’m already a older woman with a husband and kids.”
“That doesn’t matter. You’re beautiful. Even if you have a family, I still like──gah!”
When I saw Milaine’s cute blushed face and her eyes getting moist, I quickly felt something hit me in the back of the head.
There is also a negative possibility. He may have just destroyed any hope of ever getting together with Angie or Livia in the future. Take a guess on what potentially jealous, extremely powerful woman would have to approve these "out of striking zone" marriages.
Here's the "Jeopardy!" music while you consider it. I picked the music and the name of the gameshow with purpose.
Leon just played with the heart of the most powerful lady in the kingdom and she responded. In this story, a older Guinevere, just took notice of her younger Lancelot. Like Lancelot, a beaten and bloodied Leon had just defended her life and her honor right in front of her.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinevere
Guinevere (/ˈɡwɪnɪvɪər/ (
listen) GWIN-iv-eer; Welsh: Gwenhwyfar
The earliest datable appearance of Guinevere is in Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudo-historical British chronicle Historia Regum Britanniae, in which she is seduced by Mordred during his ill-fated rebellion against Arthur. In a later medieval Arthurian romance tradition from France, a prominent story arc is the queen's tragic love affair with her husband's chief knight and trusted friend, Lancelot, indirectly causing the death of Arthur and the downfall of the kingdom.
Also keep in mind that the Queen signs and approves nobles moving up in rank. This lowers the dating pool as a person moves up in rank.
Do you remember Olivia's tens of thousands of potential husbands within the kingdom? Do remember Angie only having about ten?
Rising in rank can even be adjusted to lower the dating pool while maintaining the Queens approval control over any potential marriage that she is aware of. Leon's ranking is far too high to marry Livia. Leon's ranking is far too low to marry Angie.
Leon's time limit of being married by age 20 is still a factor. If he doesn't marry by then, his only options will either be a lady's second husband or the lady's male mistress. That lady in either case could be the Queen, quietly and secretly.
Maybe I'm wrong, it is not like Leon from this point forward is approved for every promotion request by any noble. Oh right, that's exactly what happens, even to the point of getting two in one day in Episode 9...
Also, before we move on, this is a world of magic. Age limitations and appearance are not necessarily as they appear.
Keep in mind the Queen came from another kingdom and she has had the full resources of nations at her disposal, at all times of her known life. Those resources could be magic items or spells not yet seen.
If the background we know of the Queen is unreliable, the queen could literally be hundreds or even thousands of years old. If magic can stop or reverse aging, there would be no way to tell. There may be more than the obvious behind her saying she was an old woman to Leon upon being asked to marry him.
We think we know what she means, but there may be more too it. Angie herself commented on her ability to hide things and put on appearances, believing she could never be the Queen's equal.
Leon states that she doesn't look a day over 25. That literally may be true if she has stopped her natural aging magically.
There is also the possibility that there is some kind of spell version of plastic surgery. If there is, I'd assume it is expensive as the upper nobility often have more striking appearances than those of the lowest nobles. Angie herself both implies and directly says that she did everything she could to be the ideal woman for her Prince.
It is a world of the supernatural. We should be open to the possibility there is more going on than we have figured out.
As for the King, it would not have surprised me, if the King could not even read, except he ends up drafting obnoxious letters to Leon later than prove otherwise. He sits upon the throne and acts dramatic; however, she who signs everything and does the actual work has all the real power.
The whole things reminds me of something from the Disney Aladdin animated movie:
Though this scene is early in episodes, I think it is worth showing that the King's intelligence and grasp of things seems to be the same as his son Julius. Both are valued for their handsome beauty, not their brains. This is his son demonstrating what I suspect goes on secretly in the castle:
Last note, in the later story, without any real spoilers, the King hates when Leon hides behind the Queen:
Volume 5 Chapter 2,
In the first place Roland didn’t have any kind of expectation toward me.
Because I worked hard was also to see Roland’s frustrated face, this development was just like what I expected.
「I want to send you to the gallows right this instant.」
「My queen! His majesty is saying something like that!」
When I asked for help from Mylene-san, Roland said 「You little shit, that’s cowardly!」 in panic.
Episode 7 - The Knight and the Countess
Episode 7 has one of the most important moments in the anime, the manga, or the books. Some might think its a filler episode, but it is one is worth a deeper look. It actually answers a lot of the questions that many might have about how much Noble Rank can completely screw up your chances of being with the one that either you really love, or the one who truly loves you.
This episode introduces someone who in this timeline was wronged by Marie. She is the other great exception to the way women normally treat the men in their lives. The ex-fiancée of Jilk, Clarice Fia Atlee, who was another great traditionalist romantic just like Angelica.
She is about to show in a story the damage that Marie has done in this timeline. As this is a living breathing world rather than just an Otome game, this is damage that Olivia did as well, especially in her own "Good Ending" harem timeline.
It is easy to blindly assume that the other women took everything with the strength and sense of duty that Angelica did. You would be wrong. Some weren't able to hide that they had felt like their soul had been crushed.
Clarice was blindsided by Jilk leaving her. She had truly loved her mistaken image of him. She had mistakenly thought that he truly loved her as well.
Her Knight, Dan, is the one that saves Leon's life by the end of the episode. As the anime has been heavily scrubbed of mature content for the sake of broadcasting in Japan, there are points worth noting.
It is also worth noting that Leon at this stage still sees everything as just a video game. The people are not people yet. He is completely blind in the beginning for a character he refers to as, "crazy old Clarice".
He is also getting to know the man who will soon save his life. There are reasons why they both hate hot guys.
For Dan, Clarice was a miracle that came into his life and made everything better. It is the same way that Olivia will soon describe what Leon did for her.
He hints at other feelings that lead to frustration in Volume 2 Chapter 4 part 1,
“She’s a kind person. We admire her. The other girls are cruel, and I’ve heard complaints coming from the followers of other ladies, making us glad that we’re with her.”
I remained silent, and the upperclassman spoke about his past.
“My lady’s household has an airbike race location. I could use it freely, so I didn’t have any problems with practicing. That Jilk guy also used that spot before their engagement was even decided. The lady prepared a coach for him, and even gifted him an airbike. She supported him with a smile. It was pleasant, but frustrating at the same time. And yet, that Jilk brat swiftly told her one day that he would break up their engagement. Even when my lady tried to see him in order to persuade him otherwise, he absolutely would not meet her.”
Dan is actively watching her spiral out of control. Her entire belief system and her entire manner has been crushed. In the real world, people under this kind of stress are people we pay special attention to as they may be at risk for suicide.
By the near end of the episode, Leon gets Jilk to apologize. Clarice is finally able to see that her impression of Jilk was just an illusion.
It breaks her heart again, but opens the door for her to move on. She is finally in a place where she can put this behind her. This is something her followers do not fail to notice and they react after Jilk leaves.
Even the manga sanitizes what is to come. In volume 2, chapter 4 part 2 (Chapter 51 - v2 for the web), Dan actually offers his life in thanks.
In the novel, he actually says below is,
"If that won't do, then I'll take responsibility. I'll offer my life."
As a Knight, so far below the object of his affection, it is the only thing he can give. He does so without hesitation, as he recognizes Leon may have just saved Clarice's life by giving her a chance at closure.
Again, since the manga is not as PG rated as the anime, please also take a moment to watch the Catmen. Beneath the façade of control that women have over them, many are actually sadistic opportunists. They will betray or defile their Masters at any point if only given the chance.
Clarice moves on in the story and becomes one of Leon's best friends. She is the first to warn him to grow out of his Japanese dislike of killing.
Like Luxion, she is militaristic enough to know it is unwise to fight with one arm and one leg tied behind you back. She further recognizes that some enemies can only be stopped by ending them.
Clarice's father will begin trying in earnest to arrange a political marriage between his daughter and Leon. After Jilk nearly destroyed his daughter, Earl Atlee, who is also currently serving as a Lower Rank 3 minister, wishes to protect her by securing an appropriate arrangement with a good friend that his beloved daughter trusts and respects.
As this would be a union between a Viscount and a Countess, no higher approval would be necessary. Leon at this point is the same rank as Jilk.
There are three possible complications. The first is that both Clarice and Leon actually love other people. The second is that marrying Clarice would potentially betray the very man that saved Leon's life. The third is that this may blindside the very careful manipulations of the Queen, which could possibly be fatal.
On last note before moving on to Chapter 8, Stephanie begins to learn that Angie is no victim, but can't seem to stop provoking her families rival even after this:
OLIVIA BREAKS DOWN? Trapped in a Dating Sim Episode 8
Domosenpai's review:
A important part of the Olivia's isolation and break down that was ignored in the anime is that even the faculty did not come to her aid at the academy. The bullying is far more severe than what was shown on Tokyo TV.
It is worth restating this below. Olivia as a character did not have the support system in the Princes that she was designed to have.
She also did not have the chances to grow emotionally stronger. She should have been through this two and a half years into the story. It should not be a test she goes through in her first year.
