Under the Oak Tree

Description

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The daughter of a duke, the stuttering Maximilian, married a knight of lowly status at her father’s coercion.

After their first night, her husband departed for an expedition without another word.

He comes back three years later, this time as a famous knight in the whole continent.

How would Maximilian face him on his return?

Associated Names
One entry per line
Utot
상수리나무 아래
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Living As the Villainess Queen (10)
Predatory Marriage (9)
The Duke’s Imposter Sister (9)
I Don’t Want to Be Loved (8)
I Should Have Read The Ending (8)
I Raised A Black Dragon (6)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Read!!!!
  2. Reading
  3. Josei KR Romance favourites
  4. BEAUTIFUL COVERS
  5. Smutt~~

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Write a Review
169 Reviews sorted by


hyunho
hyunho rated it
March 29, 2020
Status: c14
I love it for now! From what I know, this is one of the most popular novels in South Korea. I'm really excited to see where it'll go.

Also, I suggest that everyone read the wordexcerpt translation only. The other one has a lot of mistranslations and confuses the characters.
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SamSam
SamSam rated it
March 1, 2020
Status: c16
As far as we are, the story becomes better ! I was trying this novel just because of the translator and at first, I tought it was another bullsh*t (which I can't stand anymore !! in need of mature fluffy stories) with a Marie Sue and numerous great bastards all around her... BUT after few chapters, it's getting interesting with some Lucia vibes. I can't wait to read more and to see our FL growing stronger and the romance between our leads !!!

p.s about reposting the begining corrected : Well... more>> done dear translator - tks <3<3<3 <<less
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haru_springday
haru_springday rated it
January 5, 2022
Status: c271
Plot wise - Typical romance story. Weak girl strong guy. Tragic backstory yada YADA. They met as kids (Korean drama trope I'm so done with). It's just set in medieval magical fantasy period. FL is just stutterer for 'uniqueness' purposes.

Writing - the author is good at storytelling and fleshing out the characters so despite the normal plot, you still want to read on. And there's smut to cater for readers' fetishes. 🙄 (So glad LNH got taken down. That website has stolen translations for novels from a lot of other translation groups without crediting them. They profit with ads too. Tsk.)
6 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
silhouettica
silhouettica rated it
October 19, 2021
Status: c236
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Claude senpai
Claude senpai rated it
May 14, 2020
Status: c41
I have really come to like this novel and cannot wait for the chapters that will follow.

The characters seem very real their responses to the situations are true though some say that the female lead is weak and annoying I beg to differ. She was abused as a child and was constantly told from te day of her birth that she was useless. Her mother dies giving birth to her and the father never loved neither did he allow her to ever leave their mansion so she never recieved any... more>> love from LITERALLY anyone. Any one who expects her to be strong is being irrational you cannot compare this to stories where the female lead had died and went back in time stronger to stand up for herself our MC here doesn't know what happened in the future nor the kind of man her husband was, she has no one to financially support her except her father and has never seen the outside world.

The Romance is sooo sweet☺️. <<less
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Kalliope
Kalliope rated it
February 21, 2020
Status: c17
The plot seems good so far. The unwanted duke's daughter (Max) and a lowly knight (Riftan) is forced into a marriage. A few years later, the knight returns as a hero and suddenly everyone wants him and Max's father wants to secure his family's prestige by making sure Riftan doesn't divorce Max.

Lots of misunderstandings are also present since Riftan and Max never really had a proper conversation before and after they got married so Riftan thinks Max is afraid of him while Max thinks Riftan hates her. Fun.

Anyway, there are... more>> a lot of things to unload here and it seems promising so far. This is definitely worth a read.

Edit: wordexcerpt did really well in correcting previous grammatical errors. I suggest you go read their translations for chapters 1-6! <<less
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Goldangel07
Goldangel07 rated it
September 13, 2023
Status: Completed
I felt kinda disappointed.

When I read utot in webnovel, I was excited with the first book. The final chapter with that cliffhanger left me crying.

Riftan’s book is good and explain several situations that didn’t make sense or felt like plot armor in the first book.

Still, it left me with the feeling that anything about the "romance" between the main characters wasn’t real love. Just codependency and an unhealthy obsession.

... more>>
Spoiler

All those chapters addressing how Riftan damaged his own brain with magic (creating and unhelthy obsession about Maxi) doesn't really help.

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Although we have decent ending with the final book, it feels lacking. How the author managed times, distances, stakes felt "meh".

We have the introduction of several characters that don't add to the story. I mean, some characters are described with such detail just to appear once or twice and mostly saying something so inconsequential that doesn't impacts the story in any sense and you quickly forget about them.

Also, the last book have a strong inclination to action, but it felt meh. Nothing epic, pretty much just telling. Like just addressing that something terrible was happening and then the author moved on.

The whole "push and pull" in the last book felt exaggerated. Too much about "I don't want to be with you", then "desperate s*x", followed by "cold shoulder" or "silent treatment". This is dragged for way too long, just to avoid real communication. However, I have to say, there are some good scenes with something quite close to that (in the final arch). Still not enough to say they are in a better place at the end of the story.

I have to say that after all the sh*t happening wanted to see some redemption on Riftan. But didn't get that. Actually, at some point in the last book several people in webnovel were rooting for the second ML, and I don't blame them. Riftan became a sexy red flag.

Overall just felt disappointed. <<less
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Kimari07
Kimari07 rated it
September 1, 2022
Status: c260
We have a stuttering, distrustful, insecure, pathetic MC as opposed to the usual protagonist brimming with confidence and arrogance. We also have a miserable ML incapable of breaking through MC's defenses with his declations of love, who wants to really pamper MC and put her in a safe place but don't understand how to make MC happy.

I have been put off by the reviews that I refused to read this til now. It turned out as a page turner for me as I liked the mental and emotional anguish the... more>> MC and ML are going through. I like reading stories where protagonist don't have it easy and I can see them really suffering mentally and emotionally unlike in other stories where the suffering is written in summary and the rest of the story is their easy pansy journey to the top of the world.

  1. It can be annoying how pathetic MC sometimes but I still adore her and hope that she will heal, gain confidence and be happy for the rest of her life. Also hoping that ML remain faithful, learn to go of his paranoia and be happy with MC.
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maven.kyland
maven.kyland
August 12, 2022
Status: c254
To whoever is planning on read this but is put-off by the low ratings, I suggest you pay those low ratings no mind. They've barely managed to get past the first 50 chapters and they think they've got the whole story figured out.

And for those people calling Maxi spineless.......... M*therf*cker!!!!!!

... more>>
Spoiler

She was abused from a young age. She was f*cking abused. Brutally and violently abused. The trauma caused by the abuse she suffered since she was a child won't miraculously heal like magic just because she finally managed to leave from the hellhole she used to call home. And just because Riftan treats her nice doesn't mean she can open up to him easily. There's a chapter here that perfectly explains why Maxi doesn't trust Riftan outrightly. The chapter was around 230+, so those people who never managed to reach this chapter gave a low rating to the story.

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This story is about character development and healing. It's not entirely centered on smut, however, it is entirely dependent on how you digest the story. But please, PLEASE, give this story a chance. This story has a majority of high ratings for a good reason. The story as well as the translation is excellent.

One drawback I've encountered was that there was no next chapter button on the website so I have to manually open each chapter directly from the novelupdates page.

All in all, I suggest you try reading this story. You won't regret it. <<less
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bluce_cluce
bluce_cluce rated it
August 21, 2020
Status: c90
If you’re the type to easily lose patience with slow FLs, this isn’t for you ? Otherwise, honestly it’s been a really pleasant read. It’s a heartwarming to see how the relationship progresses and how the FL slowly matures and gains confidence in herself. The pacing is kind of perfect for me since there’s enough room to breathe for both the reader and the characters. The translation is also really really good ✌️

... more>>
Spoiler

honestly at first I was just itching for the misunderstandings to clear up already cause seriously all she has to do it talk about it???? But it would’ve been so out of character for her to speak up/complain about her situation cause of her confidence levels.. She also doesn’t know sh*t about anything which was super frustrating to read cause omg author pls give her S O M E T H I N G : ( (same for Riftan who f*cken expresses all his emotions through s*x which Max wouldn’t rly realize cause she was physically abused by her father. Further on though it’s nice to see them slowly learn how to express themselves and slowly learn how to understand what the other is thinking ? And at this point I don’t really mind if Riftan never finds out about how she was treated in her old home cause it doesn’t define her and she’s healing ? Plus it’s kind of the only thing keeping her pride afloat

[collapse]
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EVELYNPEAR
EVELYNPEAR rated it
June 14, 2020
Status: c29
The MC has this stuttering illness? Im not too sure what are the specific details. Not hating or anything. But I dont think this character is suited as the MC. For starters it makes the story really frustrating to read and secondly I think its just to arouse the sympathy of the readers. Which I understand is necessary in most novels but the author is very inadequate in the writing that it annoy the readers instead. Not sure how to explain this but u know the story is suppose to... more>> work around the MC, and obviously depending on her personality she makes certain choices and hence this moves the plot. But in this story her character is first and most priority. Shes so pitiful the plot is slow and boring. At this point I think author is mistaking sympathy for interesting plot line. Idk how and why this kind of MC was created. And why they think this was a good idea. Ive read some reviews that said this is good because MC was realistic. Yes job well done for making it realistic but whats the point of a realistic story thats boring? <<less
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shelwyn
shelwyn rated it
May 15, 2020
Status: c43
This is just a smut story, the reviews don't make it clear so if you expect to come in reading a mildly serious story don't. This is just smut with the occasional normal chapters. Seriously you can go through an entire week of chapter releases and they'll all be smut.

Have you heard the term p*rnhwa? A Korean comic that's basically smut/p*rn? This is the text equivalent of that. If it was clear this was straight smut I would give a better review. For the quality it's 4 stars at the... more>> start. The first few s*x scenes seriously get you ? But the it just gets boring. So much smut no plot progression just overall exhausting to read. <<less
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KdkaRay
KdkaRay
June 29, 2022
Status: c271
I am awaiting more reading. Although it created a lot of fantasies, I am really admired with the behaviour of Riftan toward Maxi, he is a gentleman, his love and passion is beyond imagination and respectful. I really appreciate Maxi’s devotion and empowerment for her future rather then hidding behibd her husband name and love.

:) looking forward for more translated reading.
4 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
imeesyou
imeesyou rated it
January 25, 2022
Status: c271
I've seen the manhwa first and immediately fell in love with the story. The manhwa has only few chapters so I wanted to know more. When I've found out about this site, I binge-read the whole story until the latest chapter (271), for only few days lol. The character development of the characters is phenomenal. I'm reallyyyy waiting patiently for the updates! I sincerely appreciate the translations! Keep up the good work ❤️
4 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Maxi_riftan
Maxi_riftan
December 1, 2021
Status: c250
Under the oak tree is one of the best webnovel I have read. seriously the characters are really from reality the way it was written you can actually relate to it. And I really don't understand some are hating to this book just because the FL are so timid she's not strong enough etc... the progress of the book and characters is so slow blah blah well news flash it is not your typical cliche love story. This is about experiencing pain and healing and the way it was driven... more>> to reality is so beautiful and you can relate to. <<less
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Vickywinter
Vickywinter rated it
November 23, 2021
Status: c241
Truthfully I understand why some people wouldn’t like this story, it has a pretty slow start and even now in the later chapters it also feels slow paced. But the characters are amazing. The MC is timid and was abused all her childhood, she made to think she is worthless and unnecessary. The ML misunderstands her situation completely, he thinks she is the precious and pampered daughter of a duke. This leads to a whole lot of misunderstanding, especially since he is a ruff and emotional knight.

The biggest problem, I... more>> think, why people don’t like the ML is because they don’t understand him, since the story is told from her perspective. But the clues are there from the beginning.

Spoiler

The ML doesn’t see himself as worthy to marry her, he thinks he doesn’t deserve her because he is just a knight and she is the glorious daughter of the duke. He also is greatly upset that she seems to fear him and doesn’t really open up to him at all. But he truly tries to shower her in love, by giving her grand gifts and letting her redecorate the castle. Which kinda backfires because she doesn’t feel worthy to get those gifts and doesn’t even know how to count money, let alone decide what is best for the castle.

Yet the ML over comes all of this by getting help from others. She manages to even convince him to take her with him as they go to another country for war.

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Over all I think if people really think about how different and complicated these characters are, they will begin to understand why it is realistic that the mess of misunderstandings occur. But, yes, I have found myself yelling at my screen on multiple occasions that they need to talk! Instead of having s*x. But in the ML character I think it’s pretty obvious that he doesn’t really think they need to do that because he already thinks he knows her.

for people considering this book, it’s really great, and if you hold out thill the end, trust me, the character will talk and all the misunderstandings will at least be somewhat addressed. Also it’s not really a happy story so expect to cry a few times, and probably get angry at the main characters a bunch too. This is truly one of my all time favorite novels. <<less
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Ivy Lovar
Ivy Lovar
November 9, 2021
Status: --
I dont understand why people hate MC so much, , for me the MC is trying her best to be useful for her husband and for herself. Yes, at first she do it because she dont want ML divorce her, but as time goes on, she started to do it for her people, for herself and for her husband, , thats for me is character development. ML also at first didnt like it when MC do anything, but as time goes on, he knows that he cant do anything but... more>> to agreed, and he know that MC trying her best to help him and she is HELPING HIM AND CONTRIBUTE AT WAR. For me, maybe ML have some trauma regarding why he dont want MC to be at the war (maybe ML family member died at war or something). <<less
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Pabsss
Pabsss rated it
October 6, 2021
Status: --
I wonder why people rating this 5 star when in fact this novel is too mediocre. They loving it coz of what? Smut? If you remove the smut for sure they will hate it. Hypocrites. This is the tr*shiest novel I've ever read. The FL is too weak. Yeah, I understand her trauma because she's abused. But it doesn't mean she don't need to stan up for herself sometimes. She's really a pushover and acting like a damsel in distress. I can't stand her.
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minibeth
minibeth rated it
February 6, 2021
Status: --
I tried to read Korean Novels this past few days. And I love to read smuts so I will try to give justice to my ratings here.

I rate this 4 stars because it's really a worth shot to read. Not the greatest but still good compare to other mature and smuts novels.

Let's go with the FL she is the person who has a lot of trauma most people call her a damsel in distress, if you hate this kind of char. But please understand she was abused that's why she... more>> have terminal case of speaking in stutter manners. Imagine if you went in the historical ages this kind of personality will be normal especially as I stated above she was ABUSED by his father. But afterwards with the story she steps forward and find a light in her dark world. And she is not that weak, she is just scared so I like Max for personality.

For Riftan, okay he is seriously hot. That's what I can say (giggles). Rest my inner fangirling aside. Riftan is strong and he is not of a high standard or mannered man. Not even a noble one so the impretation of him is quite bad. Please excuse his cursing because that's how he live his life as a leader of knights. Do you know how stressful is that? Anyway his character is good because he makes the FL shines the best and makes her stronger as the story continues onward.

There's a lot of hot scenes here but at least its not bad that affects the whole story phase. It's still a good mix of romance and adventure of our little max. (Cheers for lady max, you can do it!)

So excuse the the bad comments maybe this story is not in their types. But I recommend this if you like a relaxing phase of story. This one is for you. (Winks)

P.S I recommend if you read the manhwa first rather than novel so you can imagine how hot our ML is. 😘 <<less
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minar
minar rated it
August 31, 2020
Status: c97
the chapters are half of the original, so chapter 97 is actually chapter 40ish in the raws. Thus, you can tell it's going to be a slow, angsty burn. Nevertheless, this is a beautifully written and translated novel (many kudos to the translator).

Maxi is a refreshing take on a female lead who isn't your typical sword-wielding female full of badassery. She's soft-spoken, timid and meek but this is a healing story on how she overcomes the trauma and extreme abuse from her difficult past. You gradually see her grow into... more>> a beautiful, more confident and assertive person. Flowers don't grow overnight, so this is a real slow burn and sometimes you see her take two steps forward and one step back, but that's what makes her growth and journey realistic.

I really love Riftan as a male lead. He's rough around the edges and at first glance, is quite vulgar but it's plain as day how much he loves, cherishes and cares for Maxi. He lives and breathes for Maxi. We stan a male lead who doesn't beat around the bush and is upfront with his feelings because that's what Maxi needs the most.

if you love angst, romance and healing stories, this is the novel for you. <<less
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