Akuyaku Reijou no Oyome-sama - Vol. 3 Ch. 13

[deathpigeon]

Because through out the story, people are being too quick in accepting that Karina is a bad guy and Aurora is a good guy.

Like, this is just kinda how propaganda works. If you craft the right narrative and shut down any attempt to create a different narrative, it becomes really difficult to question the narrative you created and it can be taken as fact shockingly quickly. If you lose control and other narratives break through, it can fall apart quickly, but as long as you have a handle on things, you can make the widespread opinion fall in line with whatever you want it to.

 

[UdenEmpati]

They're the only ones worth rooting for right now.


No one cares about the plot moving in a predictable direction (if you want to even call it that), and I say this as someone who literally predicted most that would've happened after the pathetic wedding crash.

My issue is that both the protagonist and the story doesn't even know what direction it wants to go.

Karina goes on about having revenge and we saw what that amounted to. Then we go a bit into her past, just to once again elaborate how she was forced into the role only to be thrown away, which we already knew... The only difference is that we get to see how the crown prince mistreated her... which honestly made the fact that she didn't even hurt him during the wedding crash even more ridiculous.

And now she's pretty much just wallowing in pity that the readers are supposed to also feel for her since either she's loved and/or hated for the role that she's in. And this will probably last until either Reshtoku gets tired of it and/or Aurora comes to 'rescue' her from her pain.

So in short, it's predictable, but it's certainly not coherent.

Karina not knowing where she wants to go with this is part of the point of her character.

You call it a "pathetic wedding crash", but that's part and parcel with the intent of the story. Karina's having a crash out, but it's impotent, because her rage isn't born of hatred or anger like she thinks, but emotional pain and sorrow.
She, as a character, is lost and adrift with her only known purpose pulled out from under her--despite all her efforts to the contrary. She was considered "the Spare" as a child and was always put second to her younger sister; she was abused by the Prince; she had rumors turned into propaganda to smear her name and reputation; and the moment the Prince could get the sister he actually wanted, Karina was cast aside without ceremony, exiled, and then treated as dead without even a funeral service from her family, with her very name scrubbed from official records.
All her life, she tried to please others and rise to the occasion expected of her, and at every turn her efforts were for naught. She thought she was doing what was asked, and she was chased off and reviled for her troubles.

She's suffering, and she's more lost and injured and confused than she is wrathful. She boasted, talked a big game about extravagant revenge when recruiting Reshtoka, but that was never going to happen--because her heart isn't in it for revenge, but for approval and affirmation that all her suffering wasn't in vain.
She seeks it from her parents, from Orlando, from Aurora. She could be getting it from Reshtoka, but Karina is blinded by her past, and can't see the wolfkin wife in front of her--which, is why they've had little development of their relationship up to this point.

I think part of the problem is people want this to be a story about a Villainess' revenge against those who wronged her, and that everyone other than her and Reshtoka are objectively bad guys with naught by nefarious and malicious intentions.

And that's not what's being portrayed.

I'd argue that this is a story about a young woman who strove to find purpose in her actions for others, was rejected, hated, and cast out instead, and is lost and adrift. She is found by a Monster, who wishes only to make her happy--but she is misguided in what truly has wounded her heart, and so no solace can be found no matter what is done for her.
From there, it's a question of whether understanding can be attained between them, or if it will twist and putrefy until the Monster decides 'enough is enough' and ends her suffering, permanently.

Interestingly--that's the plot that we know of, of "The Monster Princess". We've yet to see the characters locate Volume II, and so we don't currently know the fate of the story. But even as Eve is incorrect in whether Karina & Reshtoka are willfully reenacting the story, it is mirroring the true events.
Karina, the Princess, is deeply emotionally wounded after being cast out into the wilderness by her family and loved ones. She is found by her Monster, Reshtoka, who seeks to make her happy, bringing her everything she asks for in the attempt.
But like the Princess, Karina's hurts can't be sated, because what Karina hasn't yet identified the true root of the problems that have culminated in how her life has played out. We don't know how things will go, and neither do we know how the "The Monster Princess" will conclude, because like Eve, we don't have the rest of the story in-hand.

I'd argue it is very coherent, but that it's being given to readers piecemeal, as the stage is being set and the characters arrayed.

We're only getting the biased and limited perspectives of each, and it'll be up to we the readers to determine who is correct, and/or by how much, just as Eve has to parse the reports and the testimonials about the truth of Karina in an effort to get to the bottom of what has been happening.

And she's in a race against time, because Karina is unraveling, Reshtoka will becoming increasingly stressed in her helplessness to aid her, Aurora is seeking her sister to currently-unknown ends that are being intentionally left vague or unspoken, and the Prince & Crown seek to silence Karina permanently.

 

[GLFanatic]

Man... What happened to this series? It went from interesting to anticlimatic to boring. At this point I just want to see the prince die. To have this Little bit of satisfaction.

 

[Jackal-Lantern]

Karina not knowing where she wants to go with this is part of the point of her character.

You can't call this part of her character if she hadn't displayed this part in all this time. From when we first saw her, she already had the idea of eventually getting revenge. She simply didn't know the way of doing it at the time, until she met Reshtoku. Then her revenge revolved around using Reshtoku and the beastkin when she saw their power.

It's literally not until just before she crashes the wedding that Karina even began to contemplate on what she wanted. So no, her being directionless was never a part of her character. It's one thing if she actually did achieve her revenge (and before anyone says it, no crashing the wedding was definitely not it; we even saw the royal family laugh it off), and became directionless. But no, she didn't achieve anything besides take a ring that she never cared enough about before to even mention. If that was all it took for her to become truly directionless then there's no saving her.

I think part of the problem is people want this to be a story about a Villainess' revenge against those who wronged her, and that everyone other than her and Reshtoka are objectively bad guys with naught by nefarious and malicious intentions.

I mean if you have a protagonist talks about getting revenge after being wronged for chapters, then they just don't do it. Then yeah... that's both a problem with the narrative and the characters portrayal rather than the audience having some misplaced expectations. It's not even as if Karina had some life changing experience to make her drop her desire for revenge and/or gain some enlightenment that caused her to drop it. If she did, it would've happened during that time skip, but it wasn't hinted at, which again is an issue with the narrative because rather than giving the implication or hints that something occurred to have Karina change her mind, we're just left with her having Reshtoku manhandle soldiers for information.

Now we're stuck with the story trying to rewrite things as an attempt to garner sympathy. Just an example was Karina's abuse that she suffered at the Prince's hands. This chapter implied that not only did Karina suffer but she was constantly criticized by the other nobles.

However before this chapter, Karina had actually stated that not only did she live a life of luxury, but she had the attention and respect of everyone. It wasn't until she was actually banished that she realized that it was superficial, since no one ever saw her off.

So no, that's not coherent. That's messy. It's simply also predictable.

 

[NinjaGoemon]

Karina not knowing where she wants to go with this is part of the point of her character.

You call it a "pathetic wedding crash", but that's part and parcel with the intent of the story. Karina's having a crash out, but it's impotent, because her rage isn't born of hatred or anger like she thinks, but emotional pain and sorrow.
She, as a character, is lost and adrift with her only known purpose pulled out from under her--despite all her efforts to the contrary. She was considered "the Spare" as a child and was always put second to her younger sister; she was abused by the Prince; she had rumors turned into propaganda to smear her name and reputation; and the moment the Prince could get the sister he actually wanted, Karina was cast aside without ceremony, exiled, and then treated as dead without even a funeral service from her family, with her very name scrubbed from official records.
All her life, she tried to please others and rise to the occasion expected of her, and at every turn her efforts were for naught. She thought she was doing what was asked, and she was chased off and reviled for her troubles.

She's suffering, and she's more lost and injured and confused than she is wrathful. She boasted, talked a big game about extravagant revenge when recruiting Reshtoka, but that was never going to happen--because her heart isn't in it for revenge, but for approval and affirmation that all her suffering wasn't in vain.
She seeks it from her parents, from Orlando, from Aurora. She could be getting it from Reshtoka, but Karina is blinded by her past, and can't see the wolfkin wife in front of her--which, is why they've had little development of their relationship up to this point.

I think part of the problem is people want this to be a story about a Villainess' revenge against those who wronged her, and that everyone other than her and Reshtoka are objectively bad guys with naught by nefarious and malicious intentions.

And that's not what's being portrayed.

I'd argue that this is a story about a young woman who strove to find purpose in her actions for others, was rejected, hated, and cast out instead, and is lost and adrift. She is found by a Monster, who wishes only to make her happy--but she is misguided in what truly has wounded her heart, and so no solace can be found no matter what is done for her.
From there, it's a question of whether understanding can be attained between them, or if it will twist and putrefy until the Monster decides 'enough is enough' and ends her suffering, permanently.

Interestingly--that's the plot that we know of, of "The Monster Princess". We've yet to see the characters locate Volume II, and so we don't currently know the fate of the story. But even as Eve is incorrect in whether Karina & Reshtoka are willfully reenacting the story, it is mirroring the true events.
Karina, the Princess, is deeply emotionally wounded after being cast out into the wilderness by her family and loved ones. She is found by her Monster, Reshtoka, who seeks to make her happy, bringing her everything she asks for in the attempt.
But like the Princess, Karina's hurts can't be sated, because what Karina hasn't yet identified the true root of the problems that have culminated in how her life has played out. We don't know how things will go, and neither do we know how the "The Monster Princess" will conclude, because like Eve, we don't have the rest of the story in-hand.

I'd argue it is very coherent, but that it's being given to readers piecemeal, as the stage is being set and the characters arrayed.

We're only getting the biased and limited perspectives of each, and it'll be up to we the readers to determine who is correct, and/or by how much, just as Eve has to parse the reports and the testimonials about the truth of Karina in an effort to get to the bottom of what has been happening.

And she's in a race against time, because Karina is unraveling, Reshtoka will becoming increasingly stressed in her helplessness to aid her, Aurora is seeking her sister to currently-unknown ends that are being intentionally left vague or unspoken, and the Prince & Crown seek to silence Karina permanently.

I feel like a lot of readers are also missing that like, Karina wants to be better. She wants to fall in love with Reshutoka. And she just physically can't at the moment. She can't without it being disingenuous because her hierarchy of needs is bottomed out at "needs therapy".

And after this chapter we know that Reshutoka knows as well. But considering she didn't just rush to her side she possibly doesn't even know what to do to help.

 

[UdenEmpati]

You can't call this part of her character if she hadn't displayed this part in all this time. From when we first saw her, she already had the idea of eventually getting revenge. She simply didn't know the way of doing it at the time, until she met Reshtoku. Then her revenge revolved around using Reshtoku and the beastkin when she saw their power.

It's literally not until just before she crashes the wedding that Karina even began to contemplate on what she wanted. So no, her being directionless was never a part of her character. It's one thing if she actually did achieve her revenge (and before anyone says it, no crashing the wedding was definitely not it; we even saw the royal family laugh it off), and became directionless. But no, she didn't achieve anything besides take a ring that she never cared enough about before to even mention. If that was all it took for her to become truly directionless then there's no saving her.



I mean if you have a protagonist talks about getting revenge after being wronged for chapters, then they just don't do it. Then yeah... that's both a problem with the narrative and the characters portrayal rather than the audience having some misplaced expectations. It's not even as if Karina had some life changing experience to make her drop her desire for revenge and/or gain some enlightenment that caused her to drop it. If she did, it would've happened during that time skip, but it wasn't hinted at, which again is an issue with the narrative because rather than giving the implication or hints that something occurred to have Karina change her mind, we're just left with her having Reshtoku manhandle soldiers for information.

Now we're stuck with the story trying to rewrite things as an attempt to garner sympathy. Just an example was Karina's abuse that she suffered at the Prince's hands. This chapter implied that not only did Karina suffer but she was constantly criticized by the other nobles.

However before this chapter, Karina had actually stated that not only did she live a life of luxury, but she had the attention and respect of everyone. It wasn't until she was actually banished that she realized that it was superficial, since no one ever saw her off.

So no, that's not coherent. That's messy. It's simply also predictable.

All of that is because Karina is an unreliable narrator.

Her perception of the life she lived whilst engaged to Orlando was one way, but then she found herself with a broken engagement and then promptly exiled to the frigid wastes. Those two things don't align, if she also believes she was acting as she was supposed to.
We're told that from childhood, Karina has always sought to do what she thought others wanted of her. She agreed to be Aurora's replacement as Princess Consort because she believed it was what her parents wanted, she tried to win favor with Orlando and the nobles because she wanted harmony and to not make waves.
At every turn, Karina believed she was acting accordingly, and we learn that this wasn't the case. Orlando never warmed to her & cast her aside the moment he could; the nobility she thought she was gaining favor with were gossiping and rumormongering behind her back. She believed she was acting as a future queen should, and she was denounced and exiled for it. All of that indicates that what she perceived, and the actual reality of her situation, are incongruent, and she hasn't made sense of that yet which dovetails into her being aimless and uncertain.

You said yourself that post-timeskip, Karina starts to question if this is what she wanted. That there is the indication that, however driven she was to achieve the revenge she believed she sought to assuage her, there was a part of her that was unconvinced. And then we see her revenge, we see the perspectives of those left in her wake, and that further cements the disparity between her aims, her beliefs, and her misconceptions. And now she's distraught because the thing she thought she wanted hasn't solved her pain, and she's starting to spiral.



To reiterate what I've said more than once elsewhere--part of the point of this entire title is that we're being given conflicting views and reports of events from characters with their intents and motives hidden from view.
That creates a sense of incongruity within the narrative, but we are given hints that what we're being told, isn't what's actually true.

The objective reality of everything has yet to be revealed, because it lays at the heart of the ongoing conflict for Karina--she believes one truth, and all we know is that her truth isn't the truth. And no other character has the truth either, and are all at odds with one another because of the events and relationships that bind them all together.

 

[demon_slayer69420]

I don’t think writing is bad. The last couple of chapters have been frustrating. I’d like to see more of wolfkin than the royals.

 

[DarkInfluence]

This story is getting so stupid

 

[MsW0lf]

Wow. The way everyone is hating on Aurora is WILD.

First: none of her own actions or desires influenced her family and the Prince’s preference for her. She was a child when her parents started favouring her over Karina, and it was the parents of both her and Orlando who substituted Karina in when she was sick despite Orlando’s clear desires.

Second: Karina resents her sister because of this favour, NOT because of any of her actions. Even in her own flashbacks the reasons she resents Aurora so much is because everyone preferred her, not because of anything specific she did.

Third: How and why did Aurora become the consort? Karina was obviously unhappy and completely mistreated in her relationship with the Prince. He obviously was the one who started the rumours of her behaviour in order to discredit her and let him marry Aurora. Is she still sick? Is that the reason that the Prince allows her so much leeway in their relationship, because now that he has who he wants he wants to keep it that way?

Fourth: Everyone talks about how Aurora is “finally” doing something, like she hasn’t lifted a finger until now. If Aurora truly loves her sister as much as she says she does, doesn’t agreeing to marry the Prince who completely abuses her and maligns her sound like something she would do? And then as soon as she’s exiled, despite the Prince’s obvious wish that she was killed, she sends servants and luxuries instead of assassins. Aurora HAS been trying to help Karina from the very beginning! Karina just doesn’t see it that way because she has a martyr complex and everyone prefers Aurora over her. Even the people who hate Aurora say she’s better off not staying in the court: that’s what Aurora thought too!

If we discount what everyone says about each other, and only take what we’ve been shown to be the literal truth Aurora has so far only worked in Karina’s interests under less than ideal circumstances.

But I do agree that we are in dire need of some development in the relationship between Karina and Reshtoka.

 

[jmgaling0924]

I think it would be better if the sister's goal is to kill the prince because this "I banished m big sis because I Wana save her"plot is too redundant

 

[UdenEmpati]

Wow. The way everyone is hating on Aurora is WILD.

First: none of her own actions or desires influenced her family and the Prince’s preference for her. She was a child when her parents started favouring her over Karina, and it was the parents of both her and Orlando who substituted Karina in when she was sick despite Orlando’s clear desires.

Second: Karina resents her sister because of this favour, NOT because of any of her actions. Even in her own flashbacks the reasons she resents Aurora so much is because everyone preferred her, not because of anything specific she did.

Third: How and why did Aurora become the consort? Karina was obviously unhappy and completely mistreated in her relationship with the Prince. He obviously was the one who started the rumours of her behaviour in order to discredit her and let him marry Aurora. Is she still sick? Is that the reason that the Prince allows her so much leeway in their relationship, because now that he has who he wants he wants to keep it that way?

Fourth: Everyone talks about how Aurora is “finally” doing something, like she hasn’t lifted a finger until now. If Aurora truly loves her sister as much as she says she does, doesn’t agreeing to marry the Prince who completely abuses her and maligns her sound like something she would do? And then as soon as she’s exiled, despite the Prince’s obvious wish that she was killed, she sends servants and luxuries instead of assassins. Aurora HAS been trying to help Karina from the very beginning! Karina just doesn’t see it that way because she has a martyr complex and everyone prefers Aurora over her. Even the people who hate Aurora say she’s better off not staying in the court: that’s what Aurora thought too!

If we discount what everyone says about each other, and only take what we’ve been shown to be the literal truth Aurora has so far only worked in Karina’s interests under less than ideal circumstances.

Funnily enough, the manga itself seems to be playing the "what is everyone saying v. what is everyone doing" game, as well.

We get all these described memories and accounts and testimonials, almost all of them conflicting, and yet looking at solely the actions, a very different narrative takes shape--one where I'd argue Karina is more a victim of her desire to please everyone around her and gain approval, where Aurora is a reserved child treated as a political piece now attempting to help the Much Maligned Karina, Eve is the scholar seeking the truth of a web of lies and conspiracies whilst simultaneously hiding her identity from her cohorts, and Reshtoka is the earnest wolfkin bride who simply wants a quiet happy life with Karina, unaware of the bigger conflict she's being dragged into and the deeper implications of attaching herself to someone so currently broken.
And all of that is being doled out bit by bit like disparate puzzle pieces to build a picture that may or may not resemble a storybook, and that sees sisters coming into a confrontation built upon misunderstandings and long-endured hurts and misconstrued intentions with a nation and a wolfkin people and multiple loves and bonds at stake.

But I do agree that we are in dire need of some development in the relationship between Karina and Reshtoka.

Assuming next chapter is Aurora's recounting to Eve of her version of everything we've heard from others up to now, I suspect the end of the chapter will be like this one, starting the shift back toward focusing on Karina & Reshtoka and the strain on their relationship in the wake of Karina's crashout and building emotional turmoil, *and that will lead into their focus proper with the chapter after.

 

[Jackal-Lantern]

All of that is because Karina is an unreliable narrator.

And? Her being an unreliable narrator explains her inability to understand certain factors (such as apparently her parents and Aurora's 'love' for her). It doesn't explain the story's poor narration, especially since it's not told solely from her perspective.

Her perception of the life she lived whilst engaged to Orlando was one way, but then she found herself with a broken engagement and then promptly exiled to the frigid wastes.

That's the point that you're failing to understand. You can't have her suddenly remembering how people used to gossip about her, when it was never shown nor that she even knew it was going on since as far as she had known everyone (beside the Prince) had loved her. Remember, it's not until she was actually banished that she realized that no one was on her side. Beforehand, she believed that she had allies everywhere. If we now just learned that she had regularly experienced people gossiping about her and/or looking down on her, then it makes her situation look even more dumb since it implies that Karina knew from the start that no one was truly her ally and she did nothing to try and better her situation.

You said yourself that post-timeskip, Karina starts to question if this is what she wanted.

Questioning what you want doesn't make you directionless; in fact she already had an objective which was possibly loving Reshtoku. She's now directionless because she's unable to love Reshtoku despite having her revenge (lol), and she doesn't have anything worth looking forward to.

To reiterate what I've said more than once elsewhere--part of the point of this entire title is that we're being given conflicting views and reports of events from characters with their intents and motives hidden from view.
That creates a sense of incongruity within the narrative, but we are given hints that what we're being told, isn't what's actually true.

Honestly I haven't really seen anyone complain about the conflicting views. That in itself isn't even an issue; hell in stories like these that's a dime in a dozen. It's more about how it's handled in general, cause there's certainly better ways to do so, as well as how the story itself tries to sell a protagonist who you're supposed to pity and feel sorry for, but with each chapter, it simply does the opposite.

 

[UdenEmpati]

That's the point that you're failing to understand. You can't have her suddenly remembering how people used to gossip about her, when it was never shown nor that she even knew it was going on since as far as she had known everyone (beside the Prince) had loved her. Remember, it's not until she was actually banished that she realized that no one was on her side. Beforehand, she believed that she had allies everywhere. If we now just learned that she had regularly experienced people gossiping about her and/or looking down on her, then it makes her situation look even more dumb since it implies that Karina knew from the start that no one was truly her ally and she did nothing to try and better her situation.

You realize that portion of the chapter was her having a nightmare?

As in, not a direct flashback of objective past events and her thoughts whilst experiencing them, but a narration of her present knowledge and circumstances overlaid upon her prior perceptions with the added context of what was actually occurring?
It's a synthesizing of what she thought to be true with what she's now learned, interpreted through her subconscious as she's fitfully asleep to portray how she's starting to realize the lie she'd been experiencing in the aftermath of her failed revenge, and the resulting anguish she's now undergoing.

It's not her actually having been aware of what was really going on all along.

Questioning what you want doesn't make you directionless; in fact she already had an objective which was possibly loving Reshtoku. She's now directionless because she's unable to love Reshtoku despite having her revenge (lol), and she doesn't have anything worth looking forward to.

Maybe I'm not being clear enough.

Karina thinks she had direction, when in actuality the basis she'd built her revenge and her objectives upon is flawed. Again, because she's held one set of beliefs and perspectives that ran counter to the actual reality of her situation, and because of the skewed perception she had of those around her and what they truly wanted of her.
That is why I say she's directionless, and why her "failed revenge" actually makes sense for her character as does her present turmoil.
She thinks that Aurora has always had it out for her, that her parents only ever cared about Aurora, that she was nothing but a pawn and a consolation prize who was, despite her best efforts, discarded at the first opportunity.
She thought she was doing everything correctly as was expected of her, that she could win Orlando's favor and her parent's love if she just did as she was told and didn't raise her voice or talk back or object.
We know that everything Karina perceives isn't actually the case. But Karina doesn't know that, but is still feeling the ramifications of the reality she's not aware of, and it means that all her plans and goals and aspirations to come back as some villainous avenger to wreak havoc on those who wronged her were a castle built on sand: she wants to be wrathful, but she can't be, because she thinks she's some mighty villain when the reality is she's a fragile, hurt child seeking approval.

And no, I don't think Karina thought she could love Reshtoka. Back in chapter 4, Karina has the sudden revelation (again, from her biased and unreliable perspective) that Reshtoka is doing the same thing all those others did to her back when she was still consort--that Reshtoka simply wishes to use Karina, this time to play out the fantasy of the storybook that Reshtoka had first found.
We the readers can reasonably assume that, because of how much else Karina has gotten wrong and how much her perceptions differ from reality, that this also isn't the case. But from that point, she decides she'll use Reshtoka toward the revenge she thinks she seeks, but she doesn't. From ch4. pg. 27 onward, Karina is putting on a show of being Reshtoka's wife, with no love behind her words and actions.
Because everything in Karina's life has been a lie or otherwise not what she has always believed to be the case, even her decision making has been affected and found faulty. That includes her decision at revenge, at her desire to use Reshtoka instead of simply putting her past behind her and living quietly in the moment, her lingering hatred of her sister. She's not cognizant of the truth of everything at this time, but enough threads are unraveling that it's overwhelming her, because she's not some willful villainess--she's a suffering, hurting soul who's never felt she had a true ally and doesn't know how to trust the one currently at her side.

Honestly I haven't really seen anyone complain about the conflicting views. That in itself isn't even an issue; hell in stories like these that's a dime in a dozen. It's more about how it's handled in general, cause there's certainly better ways to do so, as well as how the story itself tries to sell a protagonist who you're supposed to pity and feel sorry for, but with each chapter, it simply does the opposite.

I will simply subjectively disagree with you here, because I both find the narrative coherent and I find it enjoyable as far as we've seen. I like Karina as a protagonist, and I find the themes of conflicting truths and skewed perspectives interesting. I also realize that we've not gotten to the point where a complete picture can be seen by the reader, much less any of the characters, and so I'm more than happy to withold final judgment until we at least get Aurora's side of the story in the next chapter or two.
I also think that comes down to a matter of opinion more than anything, because the criticisms you state read more like personal taste-derived judgments on how the author has chosen to go about presenting the narrative. So I'm not going to speak on that further or try to persuade you away from your position.

 

[Jackal-Lantern]

You realize that portion of the chapter was her having a nightmare?

Yeah... A nightmare based on her memories and experience. You know... like her being a little girl again... and seeing the crown prince... You know...

As in, not a direct flashback of objective past events and her thoughts whilst experiencing them, but a narration of her present knowledge and circumstances overlaid upon her prior perceptions with the added context of what was actually occurring?

You can't claim that it was based on her skewed perspective when it literally showed her childhood and how the Prince mistreated her, unless you're going to say those didn't happen like that either. At which point, you may as well say that nothing she experiences is really happening... That's how silly that sounds.

Maybe I'm not being clear enough.

Karina thinks she had direction, when in actuality the basis she'd built her revenge and her objectives upon is flawed. Again, because she's held one set of beliefs and perspectives that ran counter to the actual reality of her situation, and because of the skewed perception she had of those around her and what they truly wanted of her.

Karina thinks she had direction? Doesn't that apply to everyone then? Everyone thinks they have some direction in life. Heck using Reshtoku as an example, she's so mind numbingly in love with Karina and the role that she expects her to fill that she'd try to cater to all of Karina's whims and desires.

Karina's failed revenge doesn't make sense because it's means that it wasn't built on the determination to survive and get back at the kingdom as initially portrayed. Her desire for revenge was shallow, no different from the kingdom that forsakened her as well as her relationship with Reshtoku. It doesn't make for a compelling character, it just makes her appear shallow and superficial, just as those others who she apparently disliked just for seeing the surface.

Now if that was the author's intent, then well job in that regard.

And no, I don't think Karina thought she could love Reshtoka.

Then you haven't been paying attention.

Chapter 10 actually had Karina literally considered learning to love Reshtoku after completing her objective of revenge. So in other words, she wasn't exactly directionless. She had a direction after her revenge, which was seeing if she could love Reshtoku, but it obviously isn't working.

I will simply subjectively disagree with you here, because I both find the narrative coherent and I find it enjoyable as far as we've seen.

By all means, that's simply how opinions work. I can't say that I find Karina a very good protagonist nor one worth sympathizing with, especially with all these 'revelations' being shown and now we're made to believe that she was aware of not only the Prince's disdain for her, but also how she had no one on her side, yet she didn't make any effort to improve or situation or prepare for the worst.

In fact, thinking about it now, almost any time Karina does something, she just makes her situation worse... and then she just doubles down further... So yeah... could never care for those types of characters.

 

[hondashiori]

Aurora didn't care enough to dig deep through the rumors and defend her, but cares enough to save her from death? They were apparently also not close enough. This frames Aurora's rescue more as reverence and (+NEW) curiosity towards her sister than sisterly love, making the entire thing superficial. Like a godly figure's charity case for funsies. It just feels annoying--no one would root for a rescuer like that.

If the realization that the cruelty wasn't directed at her changed her mind then it just makes her seem immature and dumb, because she was apparently out there thinking her sister was evil and hates everyone, and that one scene turned it all around--NOT when she discovered how evil that prince is and NOT when the rumors r juxtaposed with the generosity her sister has shown her in the past (where her respect came from I'm assuming). What is this character!!

 

[Imryse]

what a manipulator, I wonder why she hates her sister so, I bet it's something stupid like jealousy.

 

[deathpigeon]

Aurora didn't care enough to dig deep through the rumors and defend her, but cares enough to save her from death?

This doesn't seem like a true accounting of events, but, like, if this was what was happening, then that seems fairly reasonable? Like, yeah, most people are willing to put in more effort to save their sister's life than to save their sister's reputation.

 

[Imryse]

This doesn't seem like a true accounting of events, but, like, if this was what was happening, then that seems fairly reasonable? Like, yeah, most people are willing to put in more effort to save their sister's life than to save their sister's reputation.

her reputation IS her life.

 

[UdenEmpati]

You can't claim that it was based on her skewed perspective when it literally showed her childhood and how the Prince mistreated her, unless you're going to say those didn't happen like that either. At which point, you may as well say that nothing she experiences is really happening... That's how silly that sounds.

She says herself that Orlando "never cared for her". That wasn't a mystery to her, or something she wasn't aware of. It was certainly downplayed initially in the narration from her perspective back in chapter 5, but she never once said that Orlando was anything approaching kind or fair to her. So no, that portion of her dream isn't at odds with what's been established before now.

Karina thinks she had direction? Doesn't that apply to everyone then? Everyone thinks they have some direction in life. Heck using Reshtoku as an example, she's so mind numbingly in love with Karina and the role that she expects her to fill that she'd try to cater to all of Karina's whims and desires.

Karina's failed revenge doesn't make sense because it's means that it wasn't built on the determination to survive and get back at the kingdom as initially portrayed. Her desire for revenge was shallow, no different from the kingdom that forsakened her as well as her relationship with Reshtoku. It doesn't make for a compelling character, it just makes her appear shallow and superficial, just as those others who she apparently disliked just for seeing the surface.

Now if that was the author's intent, then well job in that regard.

Yes, Karina thinks she had direction, and saying "doesn't everyone?" doesn't refute my point. Unless I misinterpreted, you initially claimed that Karina was first shown to have a plan of revenge, and then said revenge fell flat.
I'm saying she had a general desire for revenge upon her sister. That was the whole of it. She thought about the strength of the wolfkin, but then she finds out they have no written language, no real oral history beyond passing down what's necessary for survival, and that she would be unable to glean anything that would give her any advantage in manipulating or otherwise persuading them to assist her--beyond Reshtoka, who is in love with her.
From that point forward, she thinks in nebulous terms, about making her sister pay. But there's never an actual stated plan, only that persistent desire to get back at the one who hurt her. She didn't wish death, she didn't wish harm or destruction. Just "revenge". And because it was never iterated upon, it had no substance, because it was born of a feeling of impotent rage but with no focus beyond the identities of the people who slighted her.
In that moment in the church, she stood pontificating because she was the center of attention, all eyes on her, finally on Karina instead of Aurora. She took the ring, that was a symbol of what she should have had in the first place, and like the stuffed animal in reverse, took it from Aurora, mirroring that first-depicted slight.

On top of that -- with the introduction of Eve, we have her recounting the story that serves as mirror to the events of the characters. And in chapter 10, Eve's retelling of Part I of "The Monster Princess" involves the princess despairing in how she remains unhappy, no matter what gifts the Wolf brings her, because of how much she pines for her home, the kingdom, and how lonely she is away from everyone that had been important to her before.
And that's being reiterated by Karina when she crashes Aurora's wedding. She didn't bring the building down, she didn't murder anyone, and that's because it wasn't part of her plan--because there was no plan beyond showing up and effectively venting her frustrations. She wasn't wrathful; she was hurting and lonely, focused entirely on what she'd had and what she'd thought she'd had.

Then you haven't been paying attention.

Chapter 10 actually had Karina literally considered learning to love Reshtoku after completing her objective of revenge. So in other words, she wasn't exactly directionless. She had a direction after her revenge, which was seeing if she could love Reshtoku, but it obviously isn't working.

Then I misinterpreted what you were initially saying. My intent in saying that I don't think she could learn to love Reshtoka was because it was "a possibility" upon her enacting her revenge, but as I've maintained, her revenge was flawed at its premise because it was born of feelings that are skewed due to a mismatch between the slights she perceives, and the truth of who has done what to her. And as you yourself said, it's obviously not working, because her reasoning for being with Reshtoka to begin with is a part of the compounding falsities in Karina's life and her character's narrative trajectory.

But I also have been saying that she thinks she has direction in her life, but again said perceptions of such are built on faulty premises, and so everything she's been doing has been destined to fail because she's not gotten to the heart of what's truly wrong and who's actually to blame.

 

[Valkiryademon]

All I can say for now is, damn author, are you seriously going to try to whitewash the sister? Now it turns out she didn't know anything and just happened to always love Karina? I'm pretty sure she knew perfectly well what was going on, and the story itself was hinting that it was all planned by the sister. And yet you're showing us the sister acting like the innocent child, like she was just trying to "protect" Karina? Come on, man, if you had written the story differently it would have been fine, but the way you've been doing it, I can only think of how many novice manhwa authors with female protagonists tend to write their villain stories. They don't know how to develop their characters and the whole plot is just forcing things to happen.