The Flower That Was Bloomed by a Cloud

[cyphergodtae]

this is the only story we cant predict who will be the main lead for the heroine. or not really only but one of a handful story who isn’t predictable. The art never failed to surprise me building up the tension and heavy feeling of this story.

 

[mangoruffy]

My goodness, @Lufia is so correct! Oh my stars, Dowun clearly forgot to account for the fact that Honglyon's womb is wont to wander, as it does for all womankind! Men, of course, are cold and calculated creatures (the stronger sex, clearly) and cannot be bothered by such pesky emotions. Have you ever seen a man act based on how he feels? My, what a scandal that would be!

 

[100thlurker]

Today on AGDQ, we have Douwon playing an any%, Tool-assisted speedrun of "Making Hong Lyon my enemy".

 

[Minxxerias]

I’m really enjoying this. It’s a serious tone that really had me absorbed in the intense reality of trying to win the throne, but the bits of romantic potential have me really rooting for certain developments, in the midst of this atmosphere.

Reminds me a bit of Yona and Magi (maybe bc of the red hair and royalty goryeo-semblance)

 

[ngarimupakiara]

FEELINGS? what type of feelings😚

 

[pointlessparty]

i wonder who’s the cloud actually

 

[uriekuki]

this webtoon has me so stressed out i reread every weekend and just die on the inside asdfghjkl

please please please

Spoiler

don't kill hongryon and/or baekhan 😭😭😭

 

[Pink95]

@pointlessparty the obvious choice is doyuck, but i think it's really baekhan. at least that's what i hope.

 

[Anono]

Guys, I might be looking into this too much but a nice detail they added in the covers is the with Hong Lyon and Baek Han she is facing up looking at him with a slight look of innocence on her face and the scenery has an iridescent bright look to it with cherry blossoms falling and a gentle breeze carrying it. However, with the cover with her and Dowun, she is facing down looking in the opposite direction to him who is facing up as he is always looking ahead and blinded by his ambition however never satisfied and continues to long for a goal that is obscure with even the readers, not knowing. Hong Lyon's face is tinged with sadness, regret and indifference it looks inanimate, cookiecutter, the scenery dark as the sun has set behind them. I feel Baek Han is her hope. The rock that makes her remember happiness and a period in her life when she was innocent and not tormented by Dowun's greed. In the cover, Baek Han is also facing her to add to the fact that he is the only person who can see the true person behind the puppet that Dowun is controlling. The title The flower that was bloomed by a cloud could also be seen with two meanings. A cloud could be something uplifting (like Baek Han) it's fluffy and peaceful but a cloud could also be a rain cloud. UGHHHH I HAVE SUCH MIXED FEELINGS ABOUT THIS NOVEL WHENEVER A CHAPTER COMES OUT I DON'T WANNA READ IT BECAUSE IT FEELS LIKE ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN

 

[dorkery]

Okay, first up, Dowun is NOT an abusive manipulator. A manipulator, yes. Abusive, no. He has been scheming from the very beginning and he made sure HongLyon knew that from the start. What he's done is to make her get down to his level, which he is starting to regret. He knows he can develop feelings for her from the start (Sword Dance) and has been trying to prevent that from happening. He also knew that Baek Han has a high probability of winning her favour the moment he set his eyes on the man, and this is meant both politically and emotionally (emphasis on the emotionally).

Not once has Dowun behaved in a way that has endangered HongLyon or done something that would be BAD for her. Is he power hungry? Yes. Has he been behaving arrogantly? Also yes. But is that fundamentally wrong? Not so - they mentioned before, power is everything in the palace, and he is betrothed to the Queen.

He knows that an emotional appeal would work with HongLyon. Yet, he doesn't even bother. Why lie? But he's starting to see that his is not a character others should easily emulate. He knows he has emotionally betrayed both HongLyon and his brother.

So this is what is refreshing about this story - Dowun is NOT the antagonist. He is not a bad guy. He is dirtying his hands to improve the standing of his clan. In this particular literary form, it seems like the Yang are staging a palace takeover, and it seems to be that that is truly the only way to make a comeback. For better or for worse, Dowun has also directly improved not just HongLyon's standing, but also her fate. Without him, she would not be queen. And until they get married, we won't see whether he has nefarious purposes (like getting the queen pregnant and then killing her off and becoming regent to their child).

However, I don't think this will happen. Most likely Baek Han and HongLyon fall in love, which Dowun realises and tries to adjust for (which comes off as cold - like ordering Baek Han to leave the Palace, and pushed HongLyon even further away). Or Baek Han becomes concerned by some of the more Machiavellian decisions HongLyon makes. Either way, HongLyon will probably face a crisis and probably will be made to realise that she still implicitly trusts and/or loves Dowun and they come together (or the story gets even more complicated and they still pass each other by, like ships in the night).

Just a theory.

Anyway it's actually a very complex and compelling story. HongLyon has a great character of an ingenue turned into a ambitious schemer, but who still cannot shake off her desire for an emotional connection with the one man she wants to be validated by. And she realises that she's been hoping in vain, because when he finally gets around to offering it, she doesn't want to accept. And when he convinces her to accept, her walls crumble a little. But then he realises what he's done and becomes defensive again. And so it goes on and on.

Basically Dowun needs to just be less of a coward and accept he's in love with her. Literally that's all.

Baek Han is a sweetheart and it's obvious he's starting to love the queen but I do hope it doesn't progress because...........that way tragedy lies.

 

[dorkery]

Anyway I freaking love the art and the colour coding of the character. Bionhu is a masterful artist and storyteller (though her ascent to power is a bit too abridged)

 

[Yeonwoo]

@dorkery
God, thank you. Finally someone is analyzing Dowun's character as a whole instead of automatically jumping aboard the hate train. I love the way the author has created a morally grey character, instead of creating flat, boring characters who can very clearly be classified as the typical protagonist and antagonist. Dowun is by no means the model husband, and it's true he's a cold, manipulative asshole, but he did set out the terms of the contract from the beginning - to which Hong Lyon agreed with. While I don't necessarily agree with the way he deals with things, especially with how he tries to overextend his power beyond that of Hong Lyon, he doesn't seem to deliberately hurt Hong Lyon, and even goes out of his way to make sure she's doing okay - after all, she's his business partner. It makes you feel conflicted about whether to support him or not - and the author did a brilliant job with this. Again, I'm not trying to justify his actions, but I do want to say he's not the evil villain everyone is making him out to be.

The beauty of this webtoon lies within it's complicated characters and tense plot, not necessarily within the romance itself. I hope more people can acknowledge that instead of focusing entirely on ships.

 

[LegoBaka]

Dowun is hard to accept, because it is very clear that he is not only using her position, but doing so in a very stand-offish way. It is important to remember that he actually

Spoiler

had the king poisoned

, and also chose to keep this from her, as he did not trust her reaction. He also does not wear their engagement ring, because he does not value the engagement emotionally; he doesn't let himself. It is very possible that Dowun feels some attachment, but his loyalty is to his clan first and foremost, and Hong Lyon is his tool to ascend the clan into power.

And this is where the contrast lies; it is in loyalty. Baek Han was loyal to the king and country first and foremost, so much so that he chose to criticize the prince consort whom he directly served, leading to his dismissal, and still risk his life to protect him despite it. He is dedicated to the royal family and those he is to serve. Dowun on the other hand is loyal to his family and clan, and puts their need above all else. Just as Baek Han chooses to prioritize Hong Lyon's orders over those of her future consort, Dowun prioritizes the desires of the Yang clan over the wishes of Hong Lyon herself. He in fact pays them only a cursory mind, because more than anything he needs her to play her role in a controlled way, and therein lies the problem.

 

[desiriemaeo]

I really love everyone's review here. It's great to know that there still many people who love literary pieces and appreciates them fully well instead of just looking for romance all the time.

Thank you so much translators!

DON'T FORGET TO CLICK RAWS and OPEN the CHAPTERS to support the author

 

[Michellewaters16]

Everyone who keeps wondering why we hate Dowun let me explain:

No, we (or at least, I) don’t hate him entirely. As a politician, Dowun is a damn master. I’d have him on my council any day. He'd be the Watson to my Sherlock.

As endgame for best boy, like if we are including romance, HELL TF NO. You would be a damn lie and half if you say you would be cool with your significant other treating you the way Dowun treats her.

Hell, even as a partner of convenience he has shortcomings. If I am emperor, I would have already snatched Dowun tf up. He questions her authority too damn much for me to even consider him as a King Consort. Elizabeth II never stood for that crap with Phillip. Dowun craves power so much that he constantly undermines her authority like she’s beneath him—she’s the ruler. I’ve read enough Greek and Roman history to know that you off those types first—legit I would have been Periandros of Korinth and just offed all those I considered threats to secure a 40 year rule.


Sure, he helped her to that position, but at the end of the day, he needed the blood and connections which she had. He NEEDED her. Let’s not pretend like Dowun chose her because he liked her. Nah. He’s calculating enough that the only reason he chose her was because she was his best, if not only, chance to get the throne (because I can only see him choosing the person who would be work out for his goal endgame). Sorry Dowun supporters, I don’t hate you...just him.

Edit: Yeah, I said what I said.

 

[rabbitsamurai]

people only support dowun because he's the badboy/ slightly abusive/ standoff ish kinda guy, people find hot tempered men a sign of alpha male. Yes he is abusive, because he keeps trying to control every aspect of honglyon's life. She could perfectly marry him for his scheming tactics and contacts AND marry Baekhan as her real lover, making sure to birth dowun's children first, but Dowun doesn't want any pieces he can't control.
Also, it's not like she loves Baekhan at this point, in fact no one likes no one, Baek is becoming her good friend, but dowun DOESN'T want any piece he cant control close to her.
Remember that Dowun have a bunch of people he kinda trust, his father for example, his brother is stupid but at this point hes not a threat, Honglyon has no one, she never had, she was never loved, Dowun knows that and makes use of her need for love to manipulate her, abuse is not only physical my guys!

 

[LegoBaka]

@Michellewaters16: Unfortunately your idea of dealing with Dowun is impossible, because Hong Lyon herself has little influence and power among the ministers. It is the Yang clan who have built up their power-base that supports her position, and should she turn on them then the other ministers and members of the court, who have long looked down on her as the lowest of ranks, would quickly make their own plays to subvert or remove her. Until she is in a position where she can command enough loyalty that does not rely on the backing of the Yang clan, she has no choice but to accept them, but even that in itself is a difficult prospect. The Yang control the court, and even make up her personal bodyguard unit, because who else would support her? The common people themselves care not, so long as their life is good, as they showed when the prince consort's head was paraded through the streets.

Dowun isn't just her greatest political ally, he's likely her only one, and she knows this. The only problem is it's also difficult to trust him long term. No matter how well they may work together, is there not that nagging suspicion that maybe one day even she, too, might be discarded for political expedience? He has yet to give any indication that such is the case, but he is the type to callously cast his own brother away if it was in service of his political goal, and it's no doubt all a tad unsettling. As long as she has diminished independent power she must serve as the Yang clan's figurehead, and that's largely her only option as long as she wishes to maintain power.

 

[AllTheFeels]

@LegoBaka no. Her plan would work. Literally all great tyrants have secured rule by eliminating those from higher classes who opposed them early on in their rule. @michellewaters16 didn’t say she would just eliminate Dowun, she said ALL opposers—which would include the Yang clan and strong supporters.

Hong Lyon would not have been able to rule with absolutely no support. That’s unrealistic considering there were so many prince/princesses who were contenders for the crown. She likely had to have a lot of important people killed to get there. She also was gone for year building her image so she probably procured support then. Likely she has support in royal loyalists and simply those who would want to curry favor to achieve positions in court.

I also just happen to have learned about her reference in college—Periandros of Corinth was one of the first recorded ancient Greek tyrants in history and this method worked splendidly not only for him, but also his father and many others. It’s also a good way to show that you won’t be a soft ruler who will tolerate oppositions to your authority.

 

[MerriLee3s]

Please Web comic- Lord let her not get with Dowun. Please. Please. Please 🙇🏿‍♀️

Even if it ends with them (Hong Lyon & Baek Han) in a little cottage living simply and anonymously 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

 

[abstracat]

This is so depressing :< I know BaekHan is somehow the best love interest right now, but in the same time I felt like DoWun like hiding his love for something (?). It is like the calm before storm tho, I bet something bad will happened. I truly wish they will not through a painful process till the climax is subsided. Can you pls just wait HongLyon ( DoWun is doing he's best rn ( huwaaaa so anxious and depressingggg