A Tender Heart: The Story of How I Became a Duke's Maid
- Thread starter MangaDex
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I quite like it, even though it has unusual romance.
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Just an attempt to clarify because some people are talking about the age gap.
At the start of the story, Ale was 13 and Ibelina 16-17. Because of the curse, his growth was stunted for 10 whole years since he was three. They're literally only 3-4 years apart so unless anyone has a problem with the visual, yes it is most definitely legal and normal. Again, they're only 3-4 years apart. I had to admit, it took me a while to get used to the romance but the whole 'curse affecting his body' thing was the whole point of the story. Plus, its not like Ibelina was gushing over Ale before the curse was lifted. Hell, she was even still running away from him after the curse was undone.
This is not a pedo romance story whatsoever. Please atleast do your homework before complaining. There are hundreds of shoujo mangas where you get to see 16 year old girl falling in love with a teacher or older guy and eventually being a couple. Please go to those forums and complain it. This story indeed started when the male mc was 13 but now he is almost or may be he is already an adult and can we please mention the female mc is just 3-4 years older than him and she never did anything to make it feel like she was a pedo in earlier chapters.
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I really cant wait to see her in a very beautiful dress
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This is the 3rd chapter update notice I have encountered today where there is no new chapter.... 😭
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whered the chap goo- Joined
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dam! so close she nearly saw his newly grown D hahaha this chapter was cute! thanks so much for the translation!!
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@cupine @Siddj her mental age is much older than him and even if we set aside her original feelings for Ale (in past life), she still took on a guardian-type role in her current life. This is probably the main point. Though some might say that whilst it's not technically pedophilia as she's also (physically) underage, it could be considered grooming.
Legalities are difficult because we're obviously in a fantasy setting, but we shouldn't forget that whilst 3-4 years is not a major difference as adults, it is a big gap in children. Imagine an 18yo going out with a 14yo now. Just because the elder in this relationship is a girl, doesn't make it any better.
Also, romantic student/teacher relationships are morally abhorrent and should never be condoned or romanticised even in manga. It's an abuse of power and is definitely illegal and predatory. Even in the context of tertiary education it's still problematic, so it's even more horrifying in middle/high schools.
Legalities are difficult because we're obviously in a fantasy setting, but we shouldn't forget that whilst 3-4 years is not a major difference as adults, it is a big gap in children. Imagine an 18yo going out with a 14yo now. Just because the elder in this relationship is a girl, doesn't make it any better.
Also, romantic student/teacher relationships are morally abhorrent and should never be condoned or romanticised even in manga. It's an abuse of power and is definitely illegal and predatory. Even in the context of tertiary education it's still problematic, so it's even more horrifying in middle/high schools.
Storywriting was shaky but going on strong until the romance came. The girl is his maid from childhood and now he’s in love with her and its hella weird because it feels like stockholm syndrome. The plot would’ve been great if they were friends. Unfortunately since this seems to be romance centered now I’ll be dropping it.
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thank you for the update!
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@yannickq
"her mental age is much older than him" in a majority( if not all) of these isekai's the main character falls for people around their reincarnated age. The majority is mentally older considering they died as adults and were reborn in the new world. Except this one! She was reincarnated as a teen. I think she was a teen in her original life. I honestly think she was reincarnated as her original age.
"She still took on a guardian-type role in her current life." She did her job the way she was supposed to. Everyone else neglected to do the job the way they were supposed to. She is a servant. He has more power than her and has used it.
Parental role/Guardian role:
Nurture(she did to an extent.)
Educate(not really he had teachers for this)
Discipline them(doesn't have the power too. However she can say something she doesn't like or express her opinion because they are friends. But that's not discipline.)
Manage home and financial support(his family does this)
Providing them with a place to live( his family provided HER a place. Not the other way around.)
Ensuring their medical needs are met (his parents sent the doctors and priests and paid for their services).
"It could be considered grooming"
Child grooming is befriending and establishing an emotional connection with a child, and sometimes the family, to lower the child's inhibitions with the OBJECTIVE of SEXUAL abuse. She never had any sexual intentions with him when he was younger. So in no way is this grooming. They are 3 years apart so no way it's pedophilia. Especially since she didn't even think of him romantically until the curse was broken and he was older.
Then she left for 3 years giving them both time to sort and think about their feelings. To make sure it wasn't a dependence thing.
Age gap in children... Highschool freshman date sophomores, juniors and seniors. It happens frequently because they are all close to age in the same school. Not that I agree, but it isn't something uncommon.
"her mental age is much older than him" in a majority( if not all) of these isekai's the main character falls for people around their reincarnated age. The majority is mentally older considering they died as adults and were reborn in the new world. Except this one! She was reincarnated as a teen. I think she was a teen in her original life. I honestly think she was reincarnated as her original age.
"She still took on a guardian-type role in her current life." She did her job the way she was supposed to. Everyone else neglected to do the job the way they were supposed to. She is a servant. He has more power than her and has used it.
Parental role/Guardian role:
Nurture(she did to an extent.)
Educate(not really he had teachers for this)
Discipline them(doesn't have the power too. However she can say something she doesn't like or express her opinion because they are friends. But that's not discipline.)
Manage home and financial support(his family does this)
Providing them with a place to live( his family provided HER a place. Not the other way around.)
Ensuring their medical needs are met (his parents sent the doctors and priests and paid for their services).
"It could be considered grooming"
Child grooming is befriending and establishing an emotional connection with a child, and sometimes the family, to lower the child's inhibitions with the OBJECTIVE of SEXUAL abuse. She never had any sexual intentions with him when he was younger. So in no way is this grooming. They are 3 years apart so no way it's pedophilia. Especially since she didn't even think of him romantically until the curse was broken and he was older.
Then she left for 3 years giving them both time to sort and think about their feelings. To make sure it wasn't a dependence thing.
Age gap in children... Highschool freshman date sophomores, juniors and seniors. It happens frequently because they are all close to age in the same school. Not that I agree, but it isn't something uncommon.
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@vampkittyvv if she was reincarnated as her previous age (teenager), then mental age is no longer an issue.
I concede that the author left her feelings intentionally vague at the beginning, iirc something like "if it were me I'd make him happy." Up to your own discretion if you feel she's self-inserting into the heroine role or not. So any romantic intentions are unclear.
Either way, she definitely took on a nurturing role that she (arguably) held on her own since no one else did this. She taught him a lot of things not strictly academic e.g. interpersonal relationships. Although he was the "master" in the relationship, she saw him as a pitiful, powerless child and often said no, reprimanded and taught him to fix his mistakes. She looked after him when he was ill and cured his curse which was his major ailment. She became the only person he could depend on when most everyone else shunned him.
As some people have stated, it would be the equivalent of a babysitter who, after an absence, came back and dated the now grown child they once reared. It's not illegal, but it's an uncomfortable topic for some and not one that has clear right/wrong rulings.
Personally, I'm not dropping the series because of an age gap issue (I'm willing to suspend disbelief as is necessary in a lot of isekai/reincarnation series) but because she's a dull character.
Just wanted to discuss the reasons why some might have issues with the pairing because as we've demonstrated, it's a quite a contentious topic with nuances that shouldn't be reduced to "she's a pedo" "she's also a minor".
As an aside, just because something isn't uncommon, doesn't make it right e.g. littering, tax evasion, taking food from the fridge that isn't yours.
Whoah! That's long, but great discussing with you
I concede that the author left her feelings intentionally vague at the beginning, iirc something like "if it were me I'd make him happy." Up to your own discretion if you feel she's self-inserting into the heroine role or not. So any romantic intentions are unclear.
Either way, she definitely took on a nurturing role that she (arguably) held on her own since no one else did this. She taught him a lot of things not strictly academic e.g. interpersonal relationships. Although he was the "master" in the relationship, she saw him as a pitiful, powerless child and often said no, reprimanded and taught him to fix his mistakes. She looked after him when he was ill and cured his curse which was his major ailment. She became the only person he could depend on when most everyone else shunned him.
As some people have stated, it would be the equivalent of a babysitter who, after an absence, came back and dated the now grown child they once reared. It's not illegal, but it's an uncomfortable topic for some and not one that has clear right/wrong rulings.
Personally, I'm not dropping the series because of an age gap issue (I'm willing to suspend disbelief as is necessary in a lot of isekai/reincarnation series) but because she's a dull character.
Just wanted to discuss the reasons why some might have issues with the pairing because as we've demonstrated, it's a quite a contentious topic with nuances that shouldn't be reduced to "she's a pedo" "she's also a minor".
As an aside, just because something isn't uncommon, doesn't make it right e.g. littering, tax evasion, taking food from the fridge that isn't yours.
Whoah! That's long, but great discussing with you
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@yannickq
"if it were me I'd make him happy." Was after she read the book and he was already grown up at the time. She could have romantic feelings for the adult him. Or feel so bad for him that she wanted him not to grow up with a shitty life. If I see a sad story of a cat that was suffering and died a horrible death. My response would be... If I was the owner I would have made that cat so happy.
It sounds like a nursing role to me like someone who's taking care of someone with a terrible illness and nursing them back to health.. Or someone's who's lover got into a car crash and had to be taken care of and learn things over again. You can care for someone and it not be a weird parenal thing. If I date someone who's anti social and make them more sociable I'm not taking on the adult role. If they had been the same exact age no one would have a problem but because she's 3 years older all of a sudden she's a mother to him. Like she adopted him from his parents.
There's plenty of love stories with people from shitty households that fall in love with their friend because that was the only person there for them when they were going through hell. Doesn't make their love any less valid.
It also isn't uncommon and punished because most people think dating someone in your highschool isn't a big deal. If you tell your teacher you're dating someone 2 years older. They aren't calling the cops. It's not illegal.
Either way. Everyone's entitled to their own opinions and not everyone is going to see eye to eye. So to each their own. But thank you for sharing your opinion and responding respectfully. I had a good conversation with you and do understand why you feel the way you do.
"if it were me I'd make him happy." Was after she read the book and he was already grown up at the time. She could have romantic feelings for the adult him. Or feel so bad for him that she wanted him not to grow up with a shitty life. If I see a sad story of a cat that was suffering and died a horrible death. My response would be... If I was the owner I would have made that cat so happy.
It sounds like a nursing role to me like someone who's taking care of someone with a terrible illness and nursing them back to health.. Or someone's who's lover got into a car crash and had to be taken care of and learn things over again. You can care for someone and it not be a weird parenal thing. If I date someone who's anti social and make them more sociable I'm not taking on the adult role. If they had been the same exact age no one would have a problem but because she's 3 years older all of a sudden she's a mother to him. Like she adopted him from his parents.
There's plenty of love stories with people from shitty households that fall in love with their friend because that was the only person there for them when they were going through hell. Doesn't make their love any less valid.
It also isn't uncommon and punished because most people think dating someone in your highschool isn't a big deal. If you tell your teacher you're dating someone 2 years older. They aren't calling the cops. It's not illegal.
Either way. Everyone's entitled to their own opinions and not everyone is going to see eye to eye. So to each their own. But thank you for sharing your opinion and responding respectfully. I had a good conversation with you and do understand why you feel the way you do.
