Of Course, I'll Claim Palimony! - Vol. 3 Ch. 15

[SupremeCommander]

I'm surprised by the amount of thought some of the readers have put into this one
I'm just living for the day when there's no sweat drop of awkwardness on the prince's face

 

[reedercat]

@Firemorfox @SGR @llde

Hello! sorry for popping into your discussion uninvited, but I just think it's a really interesting one and wanted to throw my own two cents in

So! In terms of the more serious reality of monarchy and aristocracy, I don't think it was a bad move on the king's part to do this kinda thing. It's a multi-purpose spectacle: get rid of this stagnant and neglectful marquis whose fief could gear itself up for rioting because of the dissatisfaction of the commoners, remind the nobles that he has power over them, and get this extremely wealthy and well-connected family into his metaphorical debt. Sure he's giving the Nogah's more power, but it's only power against the other nobles. It's a formality, really, the Nogah's already had all that power. They have the wealth, the connections, the control over the fief, the king is just letting them do it openly now. He basically gets a nice extra cudgel to smash down rebellious nobles for doing basically nothing. He reminds the other nobles that yes, he's the king and can do what he wants (esp with his new allies the Nogahs representing the more tangible power of economic dominance), while also saying "stay in your lane and take care of your fief and we won't have problems". It's a bit of a risky move, sure, but I don't think it was stupid

And in terms of the more light-hearted role-reversal wish fulfillment (because let's be real, villainess condemnation scenes are definitely wish fulfillment in otome games and the like), of course the king was gonna side with the MC and her family. That's what we came here to see, wasn't it? The dumb jerk and his arrogant dad get absolutely dunked on? As well as the king and queen being all "you should definitely marry our son, you'd make a great queen and we can tell he likes you and you like him". I don't think it'll literally be "marry my son as payment for the solid I just did for you", but certainly there'll be some comedic ribbing about the idea. Especially since Yulia has said in no uncertain terms that she thinks being queen would be a massive pain

As with most light-hearted, fluffy, comedic romance stories, the plot and settings can break down if you think too deeply on them or tie them too closely to reality. I do really enjoy having these kinds of discussions about the preposterousness of stories, but also I'm definitely willing to suspend my disbelief for a fun diversion

 

[Firemorfox]

@reedercat
TL;DR: Who do you think Yulia will be with, if not the crown prince?

I'm glad to listen to interpretations from more people! I agree with you that the Nogahs already had this power and the king is essentially just legalizing it, but the typical move is to restrict people from gaining power essentially when you're on top (as the king, in this case). I also agree the Nogahs are clearly being set up to be allies to the king, and it perfectly fits with the tone of this story. However, I still think it's way too likely Yulia will end up as the next queen (probably unwillingly, resulting in some comedic value) simply because it's always the logical next step in wish fulfillment stories like these (gaining more, whether it's wealth, romance, political power, or physical power). I just don't really see Yulia ending up with anyone that's not the crown prince so far, and it seems rather late to introduce new male leads. Probably the next ten chapters are comedy on how Yulia doesn't want to be with the crown prince, while everybody else thinks she should be, sprinkling in her siscon brother occasionally. If not the crown prince, who do you think Yulia is going to be with? I just see too much foreshadowing for this pairing.

 

[reedercat]

@Firemorfox

Oh! No, I think she'll end up with the prince too, there's too much foreshadowing and general, like, narrative pattern for her to not be. I was just saying that there'd be some comedy with her being like "but being queen suuuuuuuuuucks" before inevitably going "but I guess I love him so fiiiiiiiiiiiine". I'd be very entertained if, for example, she tries to "solve" the problem by volunteering to be his mistress and letting someone else be the actual queen. Honestly I'd be happier with them not ending up together, or with Yulia not ending up with anyone because clearly her one true love is cold hard cash. But I'm very used to ignoring the Not Great Implications of some romance stories (the implication in this case being, "it's worth resigning yourself to a restrictive role for the rest of your life if it means you can marry the man you love". I don't remember her exact complaints about the role of queen, but I thought part of it was the pressure to have heirs, which has its own Unfortunate Implications. But those implications are in just about every one of these vaguely European medieval settings)

I have no problem with the prince character on his own, or even as Yulia's romantic partner. I just.........have issues with her inevitably going along with being queen even though she doesn't really want to. If there was a twist at the end where the prince is like "hey how about I abdicate instead?" then I wouldn't have any issues with him being the ML

 

[llde]

@reedercat
While I agree that stories shouldn't be analyzed in great detail, it's also true that that they should be self-consistent to allow the suspention of disbelief to work.
In this case our fear is that in the future the king will be downplayed in way that doesn't respect the premises of the character shown in this chapters.

The need for a strong self-consistency, is way more stronger in this kind of stories that constitute a violation of the proper narrative structure.
In fact you can see that most of this kind of stories (Villainess stories in particular, but also Isekais in generals) don't have a proper transformation arc and a properly defined fatal flaw.
The trick is that the rely a lot on the empaty construction, often repeating a lot on what are the stakes.
However a series that only rely on empaty (instead of a proper arc of transformation) it way more easy to break, when character start acting illogically.
For references: Dara Marks Inside Story: The Power of the Transformational Arc and "Story" by Robert Mckee

"hey how about I abdicate instead?"

Reforming the state to an elective monarchy system (the estates elect the ruler until death) or a state general system (the regions partecipate in a parliament that enact decision, while the ruler can be monastic or elective decided) is the way to go. (EU4 intensifies)

@firemorfox

I'm just scared the ending is going to be resolved in a similar way to Ramon being an idiot and all the interesting schemes thrown out the window. In that kind of situation, it's going to be "oh, the King is actually completely on Yulia's side and ships them as much as the queen does for no reason at all, so let's just throw out the ENTIRE conflict out the window"

I'm afraid of the same.

 

[reedercat]

@llde

Ahhh, that's fair, that's fair. Character consistency (or a proper, narratively-supported character change) is definitely important for a story's quality. I guess I'm just coming at this with the low expectations of someone who a) has read a lot of really nonsensical and inconsistent stories in this genre and b) sometimes just likes to read garbage that doesn't quite make sense, for funsies

So if the king's character is inconsistent, I'll just shrug my shoulders and be like "okay, I guess we're doing this now". But also that's not really, uh, conducive to literary criticism? I hope that the characters will stay consistent in this story, but if they don't it'll still fall within my expectations because they were so low to begin with. It wouldn't be the first story I've read, or the first villainess story, that took a nosedive in quality after a while.....

But even if I'm ultimately willing to consume trash like some sorta of media raccoon, doesn't mean that stories shouldn't be subject to analysis and criticism, and it doesn't mean I think your standards are too high or anything

And also!!! I really like your point about how these kinds of stories

don't have a proper transformation arc and a properly defined fatal flaw

. I think that's one of the major weak points of stories like this, where the villainess is automatically in the right, both from our POV and also in the narrative itself. I wish more villainess stories would delve deeper into the actual reasons why a noblewoman might harass and bully someone for getting too close to her fiance. (Reasons such as: the fiance can't really be targeted because he holds the power in the relationship, or that noblewomen of that time kinda Had To Get Married To Someone, and so the breaking of an engagement would be kinda like losing your job and your home at the same time). Something that, to the audience, isn't quite enough to justify hurting someone else, but something that makes it a more compelling and understandable reason than "I'm jealous". And then it'd open character arc possibilities, like learning to accept that which we cannot change, or realizing that a life of opulent wealth isn't worth it if you're unhappy, or that governments that rely on hereditary positions are inherently restrictive to women, and so should be torn down in favor of systems that allow more choice for everyone involved

(..............actually that last part reminds me of this one manga I was reading, Kingdom of the Queen. I should pick that back up)

 

[Scy96]

I C O N I C

 

[hina_sw]

Hahahaha

 

[HoozukiOni]

Both Julie and Ramor needs a new and functional brain 🙃

It's already showing on the King and Queen's face that they like Yulia hahahaha

 

[Rolyat_101]

I kind of really don't want Yulia to end up with the prince 😕-- it's too cliche. But gotta say: love, love, lovveee this scene of sweet justice

Thanks for another chapter!! I missed this series <3

 

[Sknite]

The Nogah family is dangerous. If the king is smart he'll do whatever he can to hook his son up with Yulia. lmao

 

[pydwatc]

Thank you so much for your hard work.

 

[mammaria]

JUSTICE!!! lmfaoooo is she really speaking up, this dumb b--- IS SHE GOING TO BE LIKE "I WANT TO BE WITH THE PRINCE" BC LIKE... 1) HE DOESN'T LIKE YOU, AT ALL & 2) YOU'RE LIKE, A LOWER NOBLE LOL WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE???? i can't wait for both these morons to BEGONE

thank you for the update!!!

 

[dawn1500]

thank youuu!!! 💗💗

 

[meijune]

MAN THAT WAS SO SATISFYING

 

[cee766]

Thanks for the update! : )

 

[Fari]

He deserves it but damn pour one out for Ramor, man's getting his shit kicked in from every angle.

 

[Eclairia]

Can we talk about the King tho like bruh he just straight up said the Marquis is USELESS and I LOVE it

 

[Kharaa]

This bish hskahdiwhsjw you ruining my mood everytimeeee 😡😡😡

 

[LordoftheKeep]

I don't blame Julie trying to acquire fame and power through marriage...it's basically Crusader Kings...