Akuyaku Reijou no Oyome-sama - Vol. 3 Ch. 16

[Jackal-Lantern]

With what authority? Everybody talking about Aurora’s actions and Karina’s feelings: Karina would have been fucked with or without Aurora’s intervention. Orlando’s actions have shown that regardless of what anyone wants he will ultimately do what HE wants. Aurora tried protecting Karina by removing her from the court and sending her into exile and stopping Orlando from sending assassins. He sent them anyway meaning that if Aurora had literally just stood by and did nothing he would still have orchestrated something to remove Karina and install Aurora. The rumours and narrative of Karina’s behaviour at court completely back this up.

See that's the thing. We don't know if Aurora knew about the first batch of assassins or not. We only saw her stopping Orlando from mobilizing the army. Whether she did know about the assassins or not, illustrates a significant portion of her character.

If Aurora didn't know, then it would show that she was both naive and had severely underestimated Orlando's insanity. This is admittedly the better of the two, because it can at least be blamed on ignorance on her part. However, as someone had already said, Aurora should've already had an idea of how bad the royal family, and by extension, Orlando could be. Even if you chalk it up to rumors, the fact remained that Aurora believed those rumors enough to actually get Orlando to exile Karina in an attempt to save her.

On the other hand:

If Aurora did know, then it would show that she was aware of Orlando's insanity, yet she lacked some foresight or proper planning. I mean, she removed Karina from a boiling pot just to put her in the fire. You could say that she made an effort, but the fact remains that her effort simply sealed her sister's fate regardless of her intent. In fact, if you look at it simply from the lens of intent, then even Karina's parents become blameless in how they raised their daughters.

Again, this all depends on whether Aurora knew or not about the assassins prior to the beginning of the story. I'm personally expecting it to be the first one.

Lastly, Aurora does have authority and influence. We've seen it time and time again. While there may be limits to it, it's still enough to get Orlando to back down. We even have a bit of a timeline thanks to Eve.

Karina was banished 2 years ago, and not long after we had the avalanche that supposedly "killed" her. As a result of this; it's safe to say that Karina was living in that mansion for some months. This means that Aurora had been the new fiancé for months at the time, and in that time she easily got Orlando to back off when his first assassination failed.

 

[shemper]

Thank you for your work!

 

[BrotherCoa]

From this, I take it that Aurora played an active role, so it wasn't just a one-sided effort by the prince against Karina, huh? Even though, in her own mind, Aurora had good intentions, as the saying goes, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

Since we know her true feelings and intentions I will say that this is more of a "better to have her far away from the prince so that he does not kill her eventually" than "I will send her far away not to be a nuisance anymore".

What this chapter, and the previous ones, told us is that Karina was not alone, she had allies and people who loved her. Only that it is too damn hard when you are going agaisnt the royalty. Hell, even her own maid Ciel of whom she thought has betrayed her is loyal as all hell. I mean, she stayed out there in the north hoping for Karina to return so that she can serve her again.

Hopefully this will all be resolved after the two sisters sit down and have a nice, long talk.

 

[BrotherCoa]

While we can assume that she didn't, it doesn't change the fact that she had essentially sentenced her sister to her death by having the Prince null his engagement to her and exile her. After all, it was only thanks to Reshtoku that Karina had survived, and it's not as if Aurora could've naturally accounted for Reshtoku.

I mean, what was she suppose to do? She is a sickly little noble girl who in the end must do what her noble parents and the king said. Giving all what we have seen so far I doubt that sending Karina to that desolate wasteland is what she wanted but giving the situation and how noble world works I would not be surprised if that was the only good option left. Usually in these kind of stories, unless you are good standing noble like Scarlet was (from one last thing) then your choices are either exile to another country or execution.

 

[Sunzo]

Yeah kill her

 

[Kitsune_115]

Ain't looking very bright based on that last panel... right?

Could go two or three different ways curious to see the approach to it and so far suprised her sister thoughts are pure and sincere. That was another thing that I thought could have gone one way or another.

 

[Iratana]

I mean, what was she suppose to do? She is a sickly little noble girl who in the end must do what her noble parents and the king said.

It may be early to say, but with the bit that we saw. It was pretty much the Prince who announced the punishment of banishment to the north. Their parents and the King had seemingly little to nothing to do with it. The King for his part simply ordered the omitting of any recording pertaining to information about Karina. As such, it seems like the Prince had free reign over things. A simple example of this is:

• The Prince seemingly capable of ordering the Kingdom's army to march towards Karina's palace to kill her.
• The Prince being the one to decide what would be done with Karina after the wedding was crashed.

Both times these were stopped by none other than Aurora. The proof of this can be seen in the aftermath of each occassion. When Aurora convinced the Prince to allow her to handle it; Aurora's method was bringing new furnishings and servants to Karina to help her live more comfortably. And when the Prince was considering having Karina killed or leaving her to her fate of possibly being eaten, Aurora stepped in. If the King really had a lot to say on the matter, then I doubt Aurora could've prevented the army from being mobilized.

So it simply looks like the Prince is given the authority to call the shots, and he is heavily influenced by Aurora. We even got this part now where it's revealed that Aurora played a part in convincing the prince to annul the engagement with Karina and possibly banishing her.

All in all, I think some of you are underestimating the kind of power and influence that Aurora has.

 

[BrotherCoa]

All in all, I think some of you are underestimating the kind of power and influence that Aurora has.

I am not.

She may have asked the prince to do things differently, and he did. But he also planned to do things his own way without telling her (like sending the assassins). That only shows to me that officially he must look like they are having good relations and that he listens to her but unofficially he likes to do things his own way - no matter if Aurora likes that or not.

It may be just that their families are way too powerful and that this marriage between Karina/Aurora's family and royal family must work and it must look like they are getting along well to others. We do not know the consequences of it failing but giving how everyone acts in the story they are probably dire.

So my point still stands. Aurora is a sickly little noble girl but her family holds so much power that even prince has to listen to what she has to say, at least officially. Unofficially he will do whatever he wants regardless, and by the time Aurora learns about it she will not be in a position to do anything. So honestly she holds no real power at all, it is all in the hands of the prince, King and her parents.

 

[Iratana]

I am not.

I honestly think you are.

She had him stopped sending assassins when he wanted to kill Karina. Aurora even brought new servants and items to the mansion, all for the purpose of making Karina's life better, a fact that certainly couldn't have gone unnoticed by the Prince.

Aurora even silenced him and went about working on her own method of 'dealing' with Karina, which was simply saving her, a fact likely known to the Prince since he had said that Aurora was being too kind.

Even if the Prince later tries to act around Aurora's wishes, the fact remains that we have yet to see him actively go against Aurora desires. He make sure to honor her wishes. Even if it's surface level, it's still a literal and tangible power and influence that she has and uses to her advantage.

It may be just that their families are way too powerful and that this marriage between Karina/Aurora's family and royal family must work and it must look like they are getting along well to others.

Aurora and Karina's family isn't powerful. This was established earlier in the series. By Noble standards, their family is rather poor; with the biggest boon being that they're not entangled in any political strife and scandal. That is the only reason given for the royal family wanting to either Karina or Aurora to wed the prince.

 

[Trevoga]

ah, of course, the good old "I had GOOD REASONS for betraying you"
fuck off

I don't think it's possible to salvage this shit
might be the biggest case of wasted potential and utter self-destruction in manga

 

[MathMols]

Just kill her.

 

[Rafalga]

I don't expect anything deep or nuanced from manga writing but i at least hope it's not "see, she had good intentions so she will be forgiven" degrees of shallow considering Karina is only alive right now by sheer luck and Aurora still just watched as her sister's reputation dragged through the mud from front row. And she apparently STILL can't understand how that would make someone feel and still needs Karina to tell her in person. If that's how she acts towards someone she supposedly loves, i dread to see how she acts towards someone she hates. What a nutcase.

Regardless, Karina will probably arrive before wolf can kill Aurora.

 

[InstaWill]

Idc, if wolf waifu kills the spoiled princess, so be it.-_-

 

[JustReadingShit]

It wouldn't surprise me if when Aurora and her party run into Karina that the prince would suddenly show up with a group of soldiers and surround them causing Karina to further think of her sister as an enemy

 

[Prismatic-chan]

-lady wakes up

after treating her future wife with absolute disdain and hate, wonders why she's gone
thinks it's because she's not like the princess in the books
absolute horseraddish
goes into the forest because why not, let's pour more gallons of gasoline into the fire, ayo

-lady's sister comes to the land with her trusty bodyguard

leaves bodyguard behind and goes into the forest alone
at night
with her killer laying in wait

excellent writing, 10/10.

 

[llde]

Ultimately we still don't know what Aurora actually did. it could be something like suggesting to an Orlando that was constantly pursuing her to break his current engagement with Karina. Or could be something way more malicious like framing Karina.
Until we know this, I suspend judgement.

However for what we know I think it would be a shame for Aurora to be killed. Or at the same time be completely forgiven just becouse. It would be way more rewarding for her to understand HOW her action hurt Karina and living with this realization.

 

[Zhangar]

I think at this point I'm just here for the cute wolf girls.

Karina and Aurora both seem hell-bent on self-destructing. Maybe it runs in the family.

I'll be amazed if Resktoka is allowed to kill Aurora here.

My own guess is for Eve to intervene in time but get kind of wrecked, since she's just some nerd trying to take on the best fighter of her entire race.

 

[llde]

I think at this point I'm just here for the cute wolf girls.

Karina and Aurora both seem hell-bent on self-destructing. Maybe it runs in the family.

I'll be amazed if Resktoka is allowed to kill Aurora here.

My own guess is for Eve to intervene in time but get kind of wrecked, since she's just some nerd trying to take on the best fighter of her entire race.

being toxic to other relatives certainly run in the family.

 

[Reina4444]

Yes, from Karina's perspective; not from Aurora's, because up until the wedding ceremony that took place years after the "castle incident", Aurora had no idea as to how Karina felt. I'd argue she still doesn't, but that's because Karina has never been one to talk about her problems and struggles with others, and Aurora had very little chance of significant contact with Karina from the time she was taken away to be Queen Consort, up to Orlando annulling their engagement and exiling her.

Aurora's actions have all been in the context of what she thought would help Karina and/or make her happy. Karina spent their childhood doing just that for Aurora, and she sought to reciprocate in the manner she assumed would be equivalent. She just didn't know that Karina's perception of all of it, and a whole bunch more, over the span of their adolescence.

The way you're choosing to phrase everything is entirely taking Karina's side and how she perceives things. She's the protagonist, so that's understandable, but we do have a lot more context for the other characters now than we did at the point of chapters 3-5, and continuing to only parse Aurora's actions through the lens of another character--particularly one we know has a warped view of things--starts to seem unfairly judgmental.

Aurora's made a right mess of things, but not with the aim or intent that Karina believes she had. That's a key point, and is what I'd argue one of the central themes of the series: that perspectives and prejudices are clouding the truth of what's actually transpired, and that the truth needs to be sought out and uncovered, or else tragedy will befall them all.

And I'm not even sure if that's a "realistic" option, though I'm not going to guess at where the author's headed from here. But as of now, there's no reason for Aurora to renounce being Queen Consort, especially if the Crown really is corrupt or otherwise doing something nefarious; her removing herself from Orlando's side means she'd lose her existing leverage with him, and we've seen her stave off his desire to send an actual army after Karina twice now (chapter 3, and again in chapter 12)--and the second time, Aurora actively stood up to him in front of assembled nobility, in a much more aggressive manner than she did in chapter 3. Aurora's own temperament and demeanor has changed over the course of the series, and so giving up the power she's gained would arguably make her aim of protecting Karina all the harder.
As for making a public declaration of absolving Karina--that also wouldn't fly at present, given she still has to contend with Orlando, and with the King himself. Until the Crown's power can be somehow diminished--in whatever way that plays out, which I assume is also part of Eve's own arc within the story, being a scribe/sleuth/etc--Aurora still has her hands tied, and she would have to figure out how to rehabilitate Karina's image among the nobility and reverse the years-long rumor mill against her sister.
But before that, she needs to find Karina, and start the process of addressing the tensions and problems between them. Nothing can happen before that, as Aurora could move heaven and earth to change Karina's fate in the eyes of their kingdom, and it wouldn't matter while this severe "misunderstanding" between them persists.

not taking karina's side, presenting her perspective.
the story so far presented the power and influence being in aurora's hands, as well as the dictation what "the truth" is.

 

[Reina4444]

With what authority? Everybody talking about Aurora’s actions and Karina’s feelings: Karina would have been fucked with or without Aurora’s intervention. Orlando’s actions have shown that regardless of what anyone wants he will ultimately do what HE wants. Aurora tried protecting Karina by removing her from the court and sending her into exile and stopping Orlando from sending assassins. He sent them anyway meaning that if Aurora had literally just stood by and did nothing he would still have orchestrated something to remove Karina and install Aurora. The rumours and narrative of Karina’s behaviour at court completely back this up.

So which would have been worse: Aurora watching everything, doing nothing, and Karina being murdered before Aurora was installed as Queen? Or Aurora trying to intervene not knowing that her actions were futile and could exacerbate Karina’s feelings of betrayal? Orlando is gonna Orlando and a lot of people seem to be blaming a girl who has almost as little agency as Karina does.

aurora was doing nothing.
the assassins still reached karina.
karina has been condemned for being a witch by royalty.
aurora's only contribution to that is gaining a reputation for being merciful against an evil villain, which benefits only her as the future queen consort.
so far, she has only been doing things that benefit her.
for saving her sister, you have to look at reshutoka instead.