they decided not to have any children was a new breath in this genre.

royal knights stab FL while the royal family wasn't even a threat throughout the whole novel... OGML heals her and puts a dagger on his own neck... and dies??? What??? Why??

as Rose, she initially sought out Belial bc she wanted him to kill her, then later prayed to a god to grant her death. much of the novel's beginning shows her half-heartedly going through the motions of living on autopilot, like a zombie (or "doll" as some characters described her). as a reader, you can tell that she sometimes deliberately chooses to ignore things or feignsl ignorance bc it's not worth spending the effort to react to.

as Ji-Hye (MC's original name), her low sense of self-worth developed from her original life after years of neglect, emotional manipulation & gaslighting, and verbal abuse from her family. she really struggled to balance her aspirations for her own future while also catering to her family bc she felt obligated to them, but she also couldn't help comparing herself to her peers. while both are normal issues that everyone deals with, she ultimately held herself to an unhealthy & unrealistic extreme bc her parents demanded that of her: they actively demeaned her skills & interests, refused to support her goals, expected her to sacrifice everything for her family or brother, convinced her that their social exclusion of her was bc of her own personal failing, talked shⅰt about her looks & personality, and then expected her to be #1 despite ALL of that.

when Rose felt uncomfortable that a few ladies normalized different standards for their sons vs. their daughters, Rose's mom called them out on having double standards & made it clear that she wouldn't force her kids to do things they didn't want to do. Rose's dad doesn't get much screentime but he generally supports Rose too bc he's a simp for her mom, lol. complete opposite of Ji-Hye's parents.

Beryl (Rose's brother) acts super tsundere, but you can tell he has genuine affection & concern for Rose no matter what he says, unlike Ji-Hye's brother, who took her sacrifices for granted & verbally abused her just bc he could. for example, Beryl calls Rose "Pumpkin Flower" (slang for "ugly") all the time bc he didn't want the family elders to see her as a pretty face they could marry off ASAP for profit. he thought he could help Rose stay unmarried if she was perceived to be uglier (LOL) so that they could spend more time together, and later the nickname stuck.

Ji-Hye's friend & teachers encouraged her to pursue her dreams with a naïve "work hard & never give up, your dreams will eventually come true" attitude, which really failed her when she needed the most help. on the other hand, Rose's family & friends tell her, "it's ok to not be the best", "you're not a worse person for hating something/someone, " and "you don't believe you've helped people bc you don't believe in yourself, but just know that you are loved." it's like... encouraging, but in a way that's realistic and empowering.

It was amazing how this cold-blooded maniac would change 180 degrees in front of me and only me. As I remembered this, I started to mumble.

“If I look closely, I think he’s kind of cute.”

My brother’s face brightened immediately. He pushed our father away and got up.

“See? You like him for no reason!”

“·······”

On the other hand, mother and father didn’t say anything after that. They just looked at me with a serious face. Somehow, the atmosphere became worse than before. But my foolish brother who knew nothing immediately picked up his bow.

“Now I will turn that child into a hedgehog... !”

‘Damn.’ A fan hit my older brother’s head again. A black aura suddenly flowed out of my mother.

“Son, what do you mean?”

The mother’s expression was as serious as when she was working. Then my older brother looked up at our mother foolishly.

“Yes... ?”

“You’re still young, so I guess you’re still naive about these things. The reason that Rose just gave us is the most valid reason in the world.”

Our mother then pointed a finger at our father.

“Our marriage partner has to be cute to suit our taste. That’s the truth of life.”

Father immediately turned his head in shame.

“No, I mean the truth is... ”

“It’s not the time to be ashamed!”

My brother looked nervous, and my mother cl**ked her tongue.

“If you don’t receive love from your wife later, it’s because you’re not cute. Why don’t you learn from your father?”

“Are you serious?!”

I also agreed.

“That’s right. You need to be cute.”

“Are you both being serious?!”

I’ve always been serious about everything I do. At the same time, my mother approached me after confirming that I agreed with what she said. My mother reverently wrapped her hands around my shoulder as if she was greeting a comrade.

“After all, you look just like me. I’m so proud of you. You’ve already realized what I realized only after meeting your father.”

My father clasped his cheek and smirked again.

“You too.”

“When will the engagement party be held? Invite your sweet boy to the mansion in the near future. Okay?”

My brother looked scared..!

How long did the silence last? Belial then patted my shoulder.

“Rose.”

“Yes, my baby wolf.”

Pfft... The maids quickly covered their mouths. At least those maids whose hands are free managed to survive, but not the servants that Belial brought. They couldn’t cover their mouth as they were holding a lot of presents in both their hands. The servants tried to cover their faces with the gifts, as if to avoid being killed, with a reddened face.

If they want to laugh, they are free to do so. There are times in life when you want to laugh in front of your boss. I decided to leave my seat so that the servants could laugh comfortably. As I pulled the hem of Belial’s robe.

“Let’s go inside, my baby wolf.”

I heard another reaction from the servants again. The servants were now in tears because they could no longer hold back their laughter. As soon as Belial turned around, all the servants collapsed onto the floor. In particular, Mira was hitting the ground with her fists alongside Becky.

Did it hurt that much?

“Oh, Lady Rose. Please stop... ”

“This is not what we wanted... ! But of course, this is good in its own way... !”

It was me who spoke, but the shame was on the onlookers. These people seem to have a high level of empathy. I immediately glanced at Belial. Belial’s face was whiter than ever. I really don’t think I should be here anymore.

They are worried, but Belial is equally worried as them. It would be beneficial to quickly get out of the situation. With that in mind, we entered the mansion. As soon as the doors closed behind us, we heard a roar of laughter from outside. They laughed so loud that we could clearly hear it from inside.

I listened to their laughter and opened my mouth.

“Laughing is good for their health.”

“..... ”

“We are protecting the health of those people. Baby wolf....”