[MANHWA RECAP / REVIEW] A Villainess is a Good Match for the Tyrant

So.. I just read the first 43 chapters in one sitting.

If you’re looking for a manhwa in fantasy, comedy, romance genre. This is a good one.

This is about an illegitimate princess, Cecile, who was married off to Emperor Estian. Word on the street, this dude was sketchy on so many levels. He was known for his temper and his murderous tendencies. Cecile was so sure Estian would be her death… on her wedding day. Everyone was — her family who sent her off, the servants, guards and knights from both sides. If she would die on the emperor’s hands, she was determined to drag her family down with her. She boldly ask ridiculous demands from the emperor. Surprisingly, this worked on her favor. Estian obliged. He liked audacity of his new empress. His past empress won’t even look him in the eye.

I didn’t like the semi-instant love between them but I can look past it. They conspired in being the weird-ass tyrannical partners-in-crime in public. They were not exactly people’s favorite. On their wedding day, for example, they had 4 different assassins attacking them. On one of the functions, they let some weird dude with a box of weird-shaped egg which spouted a damn dragon who almost fried the damn empire.

In my opinion, they need to hire a better security team. I mean, 4 assassins from different kingdoms? On their wedding day?

There are are a few layers of story that has the potential of being a great story:

1. Eugendiph blood – This encourages Estian’s murderous intent. Can this be undone? How come he doesn’t hear it when he spends more time with Cecile?
2. Cecile – Who raised her? Like for real, how come her palace with supposedly 3 maids was an abandoned palace? Was she the grand sorceress or was it her mom? Cecile is obviously powerful. It’s dormant now but if the egg went to her, it meant she held greater power than Estian. Who sealed her power? Why? What are the repercussions of power if unsealed?
3. Gargantia the Dragon – This fried chicken loving MF, what’s the deal? How is it so tame beside Cecile? Which bitches we frying?
4. Elves – So far, Aled is just the magic “Wikipedia” of the story. Are the elves gonna play an active huge role in the show? I wished the back story came in a form of a “tale” or at least there were more image to display that.

Criteria:

• Art – My eyes like what they see.
• Plot – There are several layers to the story. There is magic, magical creatures, curse, human experiment. There’s too much romance but it’s tolerable. The story is complex enough to be interesting. The pacing is just right and didn’t cause any confusion.
• Protagonists are likeable. They’re both bold and powerful. There’s definitely room for growth.
• Challenge – There are no main villains. Sure the assassins and the dragon imposed a threat. The main challenge is the Eugendiph blood. This part is still underdeveloped. The background story was spread throughout different chapters. It was probably to prevent readers from getting bored. IDK.
• Women Empowerment – Although it only covers 3 out of 5 in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, I like how there are various motivation for women here. I wish for Cecile to get motivated by reaching her full potential. It’s too early to expect a character arc but I like where this is going so far.