#Layla Llewellyn

[pruneunfair]

"Maybe in another universe, I wouldn't be abandoned and abused by almost everyone in my life and suffering at the hands of wealthy men."

The other universe:

[paleghostinthecorner02]

Why make me choose? I want to protect both of them

[nymphea0]

The Duke And His secret

Yan! Matthias x Reader

Oneshot Story.

Warnings : mentions of nudity, use of power, mention of sleeping pills, Bird corpse, some light mature content.

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Manhwa : ���어 봐, 빌어도 좋고.Cry, Even Better if You Beg. Cry, Even if You Pray.

Author & Ilustration : Solche & Van J.

Word Count : 3.25K word.

Hi Neva again... i didn't post any story a few days ago, mybe? i always forget that i have a tumblr TvT... hope you all are doing well and having a nice day, i never expected my last story character manhwa Ishakan will be liked so much, i'm glad you all like my story, mybe after this story i will update Ishakan's story soon.

Well, for your information. Solche, the author who made Cry, Even Better if You Beg. Has 3 other stories too!, Solche has a style of writing stories in dark romance but realistic version? I'm not so sure. And all the stories, every ML character is a complex character in each of the 3 stories, Matthias is the darkest black character among them all, He is the definition of Black Fleg, not a red flag, but black!, I wonder if you all like it if I write this character again? Like Bastian and Bjorn?.

might have some bad grammars, correct me if there are any mistakes in the words in the story I wrote. Anyways i hope you all enjoys my first oneshot story,love.- Neva🦋🦋

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12-xx-01xx

Birds chirp throughout the Arvis paradise forest, so green and beautiful, so fertile and very pleasing to the eye to see every corner.

But the beauty must be broken by the loud sound of the nobles' annual hunting rifles in the Arvis region.

The sound of horse hooves and the barking of hunting dogs accompany every corner of the Arvis paradise forest.

Three pairs of teenagers are running along the outskirts of the road that is indeed not passed by the nobles.

Layla Llewellyn, Kyle Etman, and you.

Each of you holds a small shovel to bury every bird carcass from the nobles' hunt that lies pitifully along the hunting path.

"They're crazy! How could they be so relaxed hunting such beautiful animals!" Again, it will always be like this, where Layla will complain and cry, and Kyle will calm her down, while you, well you just sigh and dirty your dress.

Lyla is the niece of the gardener of the Arvis residence, Kyle is the son of a doctor, while you, you are just the daughter of an Earl from an empire quite far from the Berg empire.

Your soft and smooth white dress is now dirty from the dirt from the action of burying the bird's corpse, while Kyle is busy calming the crying Lyla.

While you are busy digging the ground you feel someone watching you, slowly raising your head, looking straight there your Amethyst eyes collide with sky-blue eyes, the eyes of the young duke of Arvis, Matthias Von Herhardt, Arvis's perfect work from the Berg empire, a skilled hunter, the , Lyla's natural enemy who loves birds.

There he is, on his horse, still fully dressed for hunting, tall, handsome and masculine, no wonder all the women in Berg want to marry him.

That's what's in your mind, you just stare at him for a moment then go back to burying the bodies of these poor birds.

"Come on Lyla, there's no point in crying, let's bury them properly"

Kyle's voice was very loud but gentle when calming Lyla who was busy crying

In the end you spent the afternoon together burying the carcasses of birds from the nobles' annual hunt.

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Walking in your now dirty white dress, it was certain that the maids and especially your mother would scold you.

Lyla she just looked at you and smiled guiltily with Kyle beside her who also looked at you guiltily.

"Well, you guys should take me to hidden places in this Arvis forest, as payment for me burying all the bird corpses" Kyle and Lyla spoke softly excitedly, especially Lyla who hugged you tightly.

"Of course!! We will definitely take you to a place you've never seen!"

Look at these two cinnamon rolls, they are so cute!.

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You still remember when you first arrived in the Berg Empire, the Arvis region, your mother's hometown. Your father is an Earl who fell in love with your mother, the daughter of a Baron from Arvis, they met at the annual event of nobles from all over the world held in the Berg Empire.

From their love you came, your father loves and cares for you very much, you inherited your mother's soft and beautiful face, while the rest, like snow-white hair, and your Amethyst Eyes you got from your father.

The combination of your father and mother, this is also what makes your grandmother and grandfather spoil and love you very much, they are like seeing your father but the female version.

In addition to the fact that your father loves your mother and you very much, your father made a small agenda that every 2 years you, your mother, and your father, will visit the Berg Empire, your mother's hometown Arvis.

The baron's residence is very different from the earl's residence where you live, if the Earl's residence is full of white buildings that have intricate carvings and statues that you will wonder which is the main residence, then the Baron's residence is only a 2-story building that is not so big with a fairly large yard.

Well, whatever it is, home is home.

That was when you first met Lyla and Kayle, at that time you were still 11 years old, and now you are 14 years old.

This is the second time you have visited your mother's hometown. For you, Arvis is beautiful, especially the forest, but your instincts say that behind the beauty there must always be ugliness that is hidden tightly, but you don't know what the ugliness is.

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After separating from Lyla and Kyle, you were scolded by your mother to the fullest. That is a sign that your mother loves you very much.

While your father just laughed out loud seeing your condition.

"Well, I thought our stray kitten likes to explore Tera, look at her hair, Hahaha" laughing out loud until he almost spilled the coffee in his hand.

"Don't defend her Vincent! This could become a habit!"

Finally you and your father knelt down with your mother holding a broom standing upright scolding the two of you who were behaving immaturely and childishly. The baron's residence is as comfortable as Arvis' heaven and the servants greatly adore your harmonious family atmosphere which is very different from other nobles.

Your father's name is Vincent Zeredith Von Alvern. A noble from an empire quite far from the Berg Empire.

Your mother's name is Teresa Von Adelaide.

Your father is a noble with the title of earl of the Alvern Territory.

And your mother is the daughter of a baron from the Berg Empire, the Arvis Territory, the Adelaide Baron family.

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The afternoon where this is your second day in Arvis, you visit the Berg Empire, Meet the emperor and empress.

After visiting your father and mother let you go exploring within a period of only the Arvis forest and nothing more.

Running excitedly, the lilac dress that fits your body moves gently in the wind, Your snow-white hair moves gently as you run, you wait at the usual place where Lyla and Kyle and you chatted 2 years ago, at a large tree, a willow tree.

You stood under a willow tree looking around the beautiful Arvis Lake, butterflies flying around you, various colors.

You sat looking at Arvis Lake while waiting for Lyla and Kyle to come.

Unfortunately you did not know and did not realize that, at Arvis Lake, someone had been watching you closely.

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Matthias as usual at the age of 17, did his noble routine as a duke of Arvis and.

That afternoon was very hot, naked, Matthias swam around Arvis Lake in the Annex, a private place that not many people visited, while swimming, Matthias saw the willow tree that Layla usually sat on, the same tree where he caught Layla accidentally seeing him swimming naked.

For Matthias Layla was just an ordinary girl, a girl who went through a normal life path in Arvis.

expert layla what matthias saw was you, busy laughing softly playing with the butterflies around you, your long and soft white hair for matthias was like snow in spring.

If lyla is the sun and a little bird, then you are snow and a kitten.

Matthias already knows you even if you don't know him.

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Imperial palace berg

Matthias, 11 years old.

With his mother Elysee von herhardt, and his grandmother Norma Catharina Von herhardt, chatting with various nobles from all over the empire.

Looking around matthias' eyes accidentally saw the other side of the room where he saw a girl who he thought was 8 years old.

A petite body, a soft and smooth blue dress, the type of noble child in general, but that white hair, for matthias it was like the white color of snow.

Time passed quite a long time, but the main event was not over yet, bored looking around and only chatting with the old noble. Matthias excused himself to go to the imperial garden.

Tak

Tak

Tak

The sound of his leather shoes with quite sharp heels made quite a loud noise in the middle of his journey to the garden.

Upon arriving at the garden, Matthias saw the girl again, the same girl he saw at the imperial party.

There the girl stood in the middle of the rose garden, busy looking at the roses that were as red as blood, a stark contrast to her snow-white hair.

Whether he realized it or not, little Matthias was already by the side of the girl who stole his attention.

"Do you like roses?"

In Matthias' entire life, it had never occurred to him to start a conversation first, but here he was, talking to a girl who he estimated was not that far from him.

The white-haired girl turned around and looked at Matthias in confusion.

Bright amethyst eyes met sky-blue eyes. Purple and blue.

Matthias in his life he had never seen someone with amethyst eyes like the girl in front of him.

Usually the colors he saw were hazel, gray, yellow, blue, dark blue, and green, but purple... that was something new.

The snow-haired girl answered.

"I like it, why ask?"

Matthias was not sure but as if his mouth moved on its own and answered.

"I also like roses just like you"

That night. Matthias never asked the name of the snow-haired girl with purple Amethyst eyes.

Neither his mother nor grandmother knew that he met a girl who was not much different from him, at the annual noble event in the corner of the world.

For Matthias the snow-white-haired girl with purple amethyst eyes was his secret, his little secret that he didn't want people to know.

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Matthias swam in the Arvis lake, annex, staring at you who was busy looking at butterflies, not realizing that someone was staring at you.

He saw you 2 days ago, with the doctor's son and the gardener's nephew, for Matthias Kyle is a volatile teenager, Layla is an ordinary girl and you, for Matthias you are noble lady who befriends a commoner? Clearly that is a deviation from social life of aristocrat.

A deviant noblewoman who hangs out with commoners.

Busy burying the carcasses of birds hunted by nobles and himself.

For Matthias, Layla is a girl who likes to cry, is troublesome and goes the wrong way.

And you for Matthias are a deviant noble lady, who really likes to dirty your dress, you look like a cat who is not aware of being covered in mud all over her body.

Chuckling softly, how could he forget you. you, the same girl he met 6 years ago, his little secret.

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That afternoon you were busy playing with Lyla and Kayle, walking slowly along the Arvis forest path or people call it Arvis heaven.

Busy staring at the wild flowers and you saw a wild rose bush, with white and pink colors that clashed. Once again you ruined your dress, well anyway the roses were beautiful and you didn't expect a white stray kitten to be caught there.

Feeling pity and sympathy you knelt down which made your dress that was already torn by the thorns of the wild bushes become even more damaged by the dirt of the ground, slowly releasing the white kitten. which was caught between the tendrils of wild grass you didn't even realize that your chain bracelet with amethyst diamonds was caught there, fortunately there were no wounds on the cute cat, you put the kitten gently on the ground.

The white kitten was busy licking its tiny feet, you had to restrain yourself from squeezing and kissing the kitten affectionately.

You were busy admiring the white kitten until you didn't realize a horse neighing sound was right not far behind you, you turned around slowly, there you saw, the young duke Arvis in his hunting suit, you saw him holding his rifle, the rifle was pointing right in the middle of the position, between you and the white kitten.

You felt that this young duke wanted to hunt the kitten, quickly you stood up and in a position to block the duke's rifle

"Don't! Duke do you also hunt a cats?! Aren't birds enough for you?"

Looking annoyed at the duke arvis who had now gotten off his horse.

Walking slowly the young duke arvis stopped in front of you, he was tall, sturdy and fit, the body type of a trained soldier.

You were only as tall as his chest, amethyst and blue eyes collided with each other.

"Duke? Do you know who I am?" A soft and deep voice came from the duke in front of you.

"Who doesn't know the duke, the perfect work of god from the arvis region, the young duke herhardt, Matthias Von Herhardt"

You answered casually which was answered by a chuckle from him.

You almost wanted to slap his face, you didn't know why but you didn't like the way he chuckled! Just almost.

"You know me, but I don't know you, why don't you introduce yourself to me?" Matthias' soft but deep baritone voice spoke to you.

You introduced yourself to him.

"Which family are you from?" Matthias asked you again.

"Alvern, Roshanette Empire, Alvern Territory"

Answering casually because you don't want to be familiar with this man!.

Silence fell on the two people, the man was busy staring at the woman, while the woman was busy staring at the kitten that was right under his left foot.

Because you didn't want to linger there with the young duke Arvis, you gently picked up the kitten.

"Nice to meet you, Duke, have a nice day"

Then you went to take the kitten away from him.

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Matthias he was still standing there staring at the place where you were standing in front of him.

You were so small, so fragile, Matthias was sure that if he touched an inch of your hand, maybe you would be crushed in his grip.

When he was about to return to his horse, Matthias' eyes accidentally caught the soft gleam of the wild grass tendrils.

Walking slowly towards the weeds, crouching down and there Matthias saw, the diamond chain bracelet that had an amethyst color was caught around the weeds.

Grinning slowly, Matthias took the bracelet, even when the bracelet was in his hand, it was very small, Matthias measured the hole of the bracelet on his finger, and it only fit 3 fingers.

Chuckling softly Matthias returned to his horse while carrying the item he took happily and he was not sure whether to return it or not.

Unfortunately for Matthias that was the last time you and him met.

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7 years, 7 years Matthias has not seen you, he still keeps your bracelet that he stole secretly take and never returned to you.

For 7 long years, he had to go through 2 years of war, a time when he pretended to be engaged to his distant cousin, Claudine, many rumors fell on him saying that he was playing behind his back with Lyla, the gardener's niece just because Matthias liked to make her cry like accidentally throwing her hat to the lake and almost drowned.

Or hunted migratory animals just to say the sentence that Layla was just an ordinary girl and to make layla know her place .

His engagement with Claudine ended in failure because Claudine loved Rittie, her other distant cousin.

And the engagement between Layla and Kyle, 2 unstable teenagers who were strange in Matthias' eyes.

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That night Matthias, his grandmother and his mother ate quietly, only the sound of spoons and forks could be heard

"Matthias, how long will you continue to reject proposals from several noble families?"

Elysee his mother looked at Matthias with tired eyes.

While his grandmother just chuckled softly.

"Are you really with that garden girl ?!"

Elysee stared at Matthias' eyes uneasy.

Matthias he just ate and drank quietly he didn't even answer his mother's question.

"Matthias Von Herhardt! Answer your mother!." Staring fiercely at Matthias, her only child, Elysee, gripped the fork and knife tightly in her hands.

"Mother, even flies will be attracted to dirt rather than rumors of nobles"

Matthias spoke with an authoritative language, if traced, Matthias said that did his mother prefer to hear rumors of nobles that were not true?

Before Elysee had time to speak, Matthias said again.

"1 month, give me 1 month, and I will bring a wife, mother"

After saying that, Matthias left the dining room.

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You, 21 years old, very young and beautiful, you are currently at the age where noble ladies get married.

But instead of getting married, your parents asked you to focus on studying and pursuing your dreams, make yourself happy and have fun.

You are studying medicine, mental health and psychology.

You are currently in the Berg Empire, after 7 years of never returning.

Unlike 7 years ago where you were with your parents, this time you were alone, considering you were old enough.

You visited only for a moment, to see Kyle and Lyla who were getting married.

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Currently you were at the baron's residence of your mother's family, even though your grandparents had passed away, the baron's residence was still well maintained.

You spent the remaining 2 days shopping and helping Layla.

The 3rd day, you spent your time in the Arvis forest alone.

Staring around the forest that you passed through 7 years ago with Kyle and Layla, you didn't expect that now they would be getting married.

You stared at a flock of birds flying, until you felt a cold metal object pressing against the back of your head.

Turning slowly, exactly about 3 feet away, stood the duke of Arvis, Matthias von Herhardt! The man you least wanted to meet!

Matthias stood in all his glory pointing his hunting rifle at you.

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Matthias thinks you are too much, leaving without saying goodbye and then coming so suddenly, how can he be calm when his heart beats so fast just by muttering your name, just by seeing you breathe.

You haven't changed at all, for Matthias you are still the white-haired girl, the noble lady who got into the hang out with commoners, and the noble lady who is like a stray cat who likes to dirty her dress with dirt and mud.

"Duke, do you intend to kill me?"

Asking Matthias carefully.

Instead of lowering his muzzle, Matthias chuckled and said

"Why is that? Are you afraid of me?"

You looked at Matthias in disgust.

"Everyone would be afraid if a stranger suddenly pointed a gun at their head"

Again, Matthias only answered with a laugh that seemed to be mocking you.

"Well, it's not wrong"

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Unfortunately, that afternoon you spent being forced to accompany Matthias hunting! He used his authority, saying that you were in his territory, and someone who was not from this territory had to obey the orders of the one who held the highest position.

You felt like slapping, hitting, and swearing at the man sitting on his horse! As for you?! You were walking holding his rifle that you were sure weighed almost 4 kg!

This duke is crazy! He must be the incarnation of the devil!

"Lady, are you cursing me?" Matthias grinned slightly, looking down at where you were walking while holding his rifle.

"I'm not the duke, why should I even do that?"

Answering half-truthfully. You almost rolled your eyes in annoyance!

Matthias he just grinned slightly looking at you, it was very clear to him that you were cursing him, it was very entertaining for him, your expression really wanted to make him bite your cheek in annoyance. He had to be patient, just a little longer, and you would be his.

That afternoon you spent your time reluctantly becoming Matthias' assistant.

You are only 5 days in the Berg Empire after that you will return to the Roshanette Empire, Alvern region.

Unfortunately for you it seems like it was just a dream for you.

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You don't know what what happened to you, after becoming Matthias's hunting rifle assistant that afternoon, right when Matthias was taking you back to Baron Adelaide's residence.

You felt like your head was hit by a very hard object, before you even had time to be inside the residence, you only saw darkness and a warm arm hugging you.

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The Annex, another residence in the main area of ​​the Herhardt residence, was Matthias's main house, Matthias's main residence as a duke and where he relaxed and was himself. Surrounded by the clear Arvis lake which was connected by a pier that was integrated with his residence in the Annex.

Slowly smoking a tobacco cigarette, Matthias stared at you there, his little secret, sleeping soundly in his bed.

Matthias knew this was wrong, but he couldn't help himself, he had held himself back enough, looking around the room, which was currently very messy, furniture was destroyed, clothes were scattered, and the bed was very messy.

Matthias has claimed you as his, maybe you will hate him, but Matthias doesn't care, it took him 7 years to realize that he loves you, love? Matthias wanted to laugh so much, in his entire life, he never thought he could fall in love and feel love.

Slowly extinguishing his cigarette, Matthias walked towards the bed, opening your legs a little, that's where Matthias saw the remaining traces of your love activities left behind.

Chuckling softly, Matthias looked at you, your eyes were swollen from crying, even though you were on sleeping pills, you were still able to refuse him.

Looking at your ring finger which now has a diamond ring embedded in it.

Tomorrow Matthias will marry you, make you Duchess Herhardt and tell your parents in the Roshanette Empire, that their child is married.

Matthias only needs 1 week to find a wife, which is you, and 1 month is a phrase that Matthias plays with and gives to his mother as another form of sentence, namely

"In 1 month I will give you a grandson and bring a wife , so be patient mother, soon you will have daughter in law and became a grandma".

Matthias has got you, his, his life, his woman, his wife, the mother of his children, his little secret.

Even if you try to run away from him, Matthias will lock you away from the outside world, whatever it is you are his.

Kissing your forehead softly, Matthias looks at you with love, passion and a deep sense of possessiveness and obsession.

You are his little secret, his secret that he really doesn't want anyone else to see, hear or interact with. Because you are his.

His secret, his little secret.

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*Source Image : pinterest

*Source Image : pinterest

*Source Image : pinterest

©️Nymphea0 2024 ,OG story, Project Dark Manhwa Character Oneshot.

Special Story for my Love; @snowflakes666 @nerdygoateepeanut

Tag list; @blurryperrtymoonlight @luminethebest @scenicelixir @n4muqr @cannyyyyy @athena-roy @sirenetheblogger

Please dont steal my work, or use without my permissions , Always be good people Dear. Much love , Neva🦋🦋.

[layla-llewellyn]

— 106

"you're pretty"

"you're so pretty, it's driving me wild"

"you're pretty… you're so pretty…"

"layla…"

"layla… layla llewellyn… my layla…"

—Matthias Von Herhardt—

[hallowgracie]

Excerpt: Layla and Ammon in the Rain

This scene contains late-game spoilers for the rewrite of the Daughters of Fire and Rain and outpaces material in the original. I'm posting it though as a chemistry test between two of the new characters, Layla and Ammon.

I'm still in the plotting phase of the rewrite, so this scene may be removed from the final product. But if you want to see some enemies-to-lovers interactions, you can read to get a sneak peak at the characters of Ammon Long and Layla Emery-Park.

Layla wasn’t sure how long she’d been walking in the rain—or how far. All she did know was that it was dark, and the rain had only increased since she’d begun her walk. It pelted at her from above and sideways, and blurred the streetlights. She didn’t recognize what neighborhood she was in, or what part of Goldwater Harbor. 

Just that she was in some part of the endless labyrinth of suburbia, all alone. Her clothes were entirely soaked through, and she hated to think what shape her phone was in. 

But she couldn’t go home, even if she knew how to go back. Her mom. . . her mom would want nothing to do with her, with everything she’d confessed. Layla shut her eyes, even though it didn’t block out the memory of her mother yelling. 

“Everything I sacrificed and —just how stupid are you, Layla?��

Layla tried to swallow, but couldn’t. There was something lodged in her throat, but it wasn’t tangible. It was the grief, the disappointment—and the increasing suspicion that her mother had always been right. 

Layla had just gotten swept up in the story of becoming a dragon princess that she didn’t ask the right questions, that she’d ignored all of the red flags. 

Just how stupid are you, Layla?

Who could she even go to? Kira wanted nothing to do with her, and neither did Galileo. Agartha wasn’t safe anymore, not after the Executors had made themselves known. There was always Aideen. . . but Aideen had been Galileo’s friend long before Layla had ever entered the picture. 

And to set foot at Ansel’s house—that would be suicide now. 

That left Sabrina. But it would also put Sabrina in danger, to house Layla. She couldn’t defend herself against Paladins and Executors and all of the factions that had decided Layla was their enemy or prize. 

No, she didn’t want to bring that on her oldest friend. Or even ask for something like that, given she hadn’t been much of a friend lately. 

Before she could further contemplate where she even could go, however, she heard a car behind her. 

She turned to see the blinding headlights and darted just out of the road as the car slammed on the brakes. 

“Sorry!” She shouted at the driver, who was pretty much invisible in the darkness. 

But the car did not start up again like she’d expected. Instead, the driver’s door opened and a figure stepped out. 

Layla stepped back further and inhaled sharply. 

In a world of magic and political intrigue and supernatural dangers, she’d forgotten all about the all-too-mundane ones. 

She was a petite teenage girl, all alone in the middle of a rainy night in a neighborhood she didn’t know. Just after she’d pissed off nearly everyone she’d ever known or who’d ever loved her. 

This wasn’t good.

She raised her hands, remembering the spells that Magnus had taught her. The Paladins wouldn’t like her using her magic—but it wasn’t worth it to play by the Paladins’ rules anymore anyway. Playing by the rules had only gotten Llewellyn killed. 

The driver stepped into the light—and Layla recognized his face immediately. 

“Ammon.” There was some relief there—better the devil you know—but the same element of danger remained, and hung in the air. 

“Jesus Christ, Layla, do you have any idea who’s out here looking for you?” His voice was rough and low as he continued forward, to close the gap between them. 

Layla wasn’t sure whether to move back, to keep a distance between them, or to stand her ground. She was even less sure about what to say. So she said nothing, instead, locking her eyes into his. 

There had been a time when she might have even had a crush on him. Around the same time she’d liked Galileo. There definitely had been a time when she’d called him a friend. 

Just how stupid are you, Layla? Her cheeks and eyes burned, and it took a moment for her to realize that she was crying. The water was everywhere. 

Ammon frowned and he closed the gap between them. 

“What’s wrong, Layla?”

She shook her head and finally managed to step back. “No, no, you don’t get to pretend to be my friend anymore. I know what you really are.”

“And what am I?” 

“You’re part of the Executors.” She swiped at her tears, even though her face had been wet long before those had started. “You stole the relics, you pretended to be my friend to try to recruit me to your whole take-over-the-world cause, and you got my friend killed. And you’ve got my other friend working for you.”

Uncertainty flickered over his features. “It wasn’t my idea to let Llewellyn die, for what it’s worth.”

Layla bit her lip. She didn’t want it to be—but it was worth something. More than she wanted it to be, coming from him. “It does. Surprisingly. Thanks for that, I guess.”

An awkward silence filled the air between them, with only the wind and the rain and the faint tinny sound of the radio in Ammon’s car, the open door forgotten. 

He glanced over his shoulder as another car passed by, paying no mind to whatever was happening on the sidewalk. As Layla’s eyes returned to him, he grabbed her upper arms, pulling her close. 

“Let go of me, I’m not going to be a part of whatever Executor scheme you’ve been put up to—“

“Stop squirming, and listen,” he hissed, his voice going low again. He leaned forward, his ruby-tinted brown eyes almost hypnotizing in how large and intense they were. “I’m not the only Executor on the streets who’s looking for you—“

Layla froze. “How did they know?”

“Know what?”

“That I’d be out here.”

“Who do you think sent that letter to your mom?”

“Oh.” 

As if satisfied by how still she had gotten, he let go of her. “Look, I know you have no reason to trust me, Layla, but I’m not the bad guy here. Or at least, not right now. I don’t have much time to explain, but I promise you are safer coming with me than staying out here.”

  Layla looked around her—no other options were presenting themselves. She could turn and run. But what Ammon had said gave her pause. 

What else was out there, looking for her?

“Okay,” she finally said, looking back to him. “I really hope this isn’t a trap.”

“It isn’t a trap.” The corners of his mouth twitched with sarcastic sort of humor. 

“That’s exactly what you would say if this was a trap.” 

He snorted. “Just get in the car.” 

[paleghostinthecorner02]

Either the Yellowjackets pairing is an ungodly amount of toxic or most people who saw this aren't familiar with COBYB. Matthias is... oh God, he's awful that's all I can say without launching into a whole essay about how deranged he actually is

[ao3feed-whitechapel]

TDI Layla Jones

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2ueKu7F

by SJ_Sixx

"The past is never where you think you left it.” ― Katherine Anne Porter

Layla Jones (AKA Jenny Kray) thought she could escape the past, escape the shadow cast by her brothers. However, she's about to find that is can catch up in unexpected ways.

Words: 1661, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Whitechapel (TV)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: Multi

Characters: Emerson Kent, Joseph Chandler, Anderson (Whitechapel), Ray Miles, Jimmy Kray, Johnny Kray, Finley Mansell, John McCormack, Leo Fitzgerald, Megan Riley, Sanders (Whitechapel), Caroline Llewellyn, Edward Buchan, Angie Brook, Original Character

Relationships: Emerson Kent/Original Female Character(s), Brothers!Jimmy and Johnny Kray/Sister!Original Female Character

Additional Tags: Little Sisters, Brother-Sister Relationships, Big Brother Jimmy and Johnny, Emmett is a sweetheart, Emmett likes comic book films, Layla/Jenny is a walking quantity of sass, Fake Names, More tags to come as I write more, Protective brothers

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2ueKu7F

[pruneunfair]

My feelings on cry or better yet beg and the utter wasted potential for a psychological tragedy of the imbalance of relationships between noblemen and their mistresses

First off, if I was told I could only kill off one male lead, it'd be him

Lot of people rn especially on tik-tok probably would flame me for this with the "at least he loves Layla! He's so protective of her!"

"it's a dark romance! It won't be sunshine and rainbows you snowflake!"

"He just doesnt know how to express his emotions because he's so sheltered!"

No, just no, I don't care how "hot" he is, I don't care if he's your protective little bad boy. I don't care about his supposed character development, That's a straight up abuser who started off killing birds knowing it would damage to Layla to straight up assaulting her. (I don't know if that will stay in the webtoon, but it was in the novel) no character development can make me like a fucking rapist

Like how in the hell is Claudine considered worse than Mathhias, sure she isn't so peachy herself but goddammit to think of the fiance who if anything would be supported had she been the main protagonist, yes she's pretty demeaning, a bit shallow, and only views Matthias as the perfect Duke, but at least she's not going around mentally torturing a boy who can't do anything against her. I haven't gotten to her ending yet but from what I hear, it isn't a good one. She such a wasted opportunity since she is such a perfect example of a woman prepped and groomed to just be a Dukes wife would come out feeling that her worth only comes her husband.

Justice for Claudine, I just know there's a fanfic out there where you get with Riette, grow as your own person, and live a pleasant life.

You wanna know what really hurts me about this manhwa though? The fact that's it's so unintentionally accurate to how horrible it truly is to be a mistress in an era where women, especially women with no royal titles or status, were often treated by rich and powerful men. They would mostly have no right to say no to a man who decides he wants her, Layla romanticizing her abuse is not just heartbreaking but also unfortunately realistic as it's a coping mechanism for those who had endured nothing but abuse their whole life so they tend to shove their feelings in a box and pretend everything is okay (obviously this isn't the same for all victims of abuse, it's one of the many coping mechanisms people could develop)

In a lot of historical manhwa, there's usually the obligatory mistress character designed to be a dumb trashy bimbo to uplift the lead. Most of the time, the mistress in question is either a daughter of minor nobility that was chosen by a Emperor, crown prince, or Duke, or the mistress lived her life as a poor farm girl and in some situations lived a life where no one cared about her and was likely abused, the latter is often rare for these mistress characters since authors of those stories only want you sympathizing with the leads but in rare cases, the mistress did have a hard life but it ends up being undermined to further damage the mistress as torture/revenge porn or in Laylas case: used as an explanation to give a disturbing reason to why she ends up falling in love with Matthias which wouldn't be wrong if the story was written in a way that was a tragic one, not a romantic one.

you would think this kind of glamorouzation of abuse would only exist in the authors mindset and the degeneracy that is a junior high girls mind, but no, the ides that Layla is somehow the one in the wrong for her own abuse and reluctance of Matthias and there is even an Instagram post claiming she has BPD for being too "difficult" they sound like those 1950s doctors that find any reason to lobotomize a patient.

Laylas character does open the truths of what it's truly like to be practically owned by a nobleman, she's not like Rashta or Aisha from divorcing my tyrant husband where she's portrayed as a silly and cute strumpet with ulterior motives, she is genuinely upset but she can't do anything about it so all she can do is convince herself that Matthias loves her so she can keep her sanity, but where it goes wrong is that instead of portraying this as an unhealthy yet sole coping mechanism for an abusive relationship, the story just chalks it down to "silly Layla! You'll see that he's just misunderstood and you really do love him deep down!" Its frankly atrocious that the one time a story has a realistic pair of the typical women in this trope, the first wife who is classy and refined and the mistress who is young and free spirited ends ultimately destroyed yet again with a case black and white writting. One woman must be good and the other woman must be bad.

Frankly these characters are well written for the most part and until I realized I supposed to see Matthias as the love interest and not Kyle, I was fine with who Matthias was since he was presented more so as a villain, the art is also one of the prettiest cottagecore artstyles I've ever seen to the point where the 3D models look really good since it blends in perfectly, it's just sad that cry or better yet beg is a sick twisted tale equivalent to the average Colleen Hoover book.

[paleghostinthecorner02]

Oh God, please give me strength

Kyle was the one who kept insisting on marrying Layla. He continually pestered her with marriage proposals, daily, for weeks. Layla was hesitant to marry him because she already had a plan for her life and figured she might marry later when she was already established, but she decided toarry him because he is literally the second most important person in the world to her. The only person she loves more than she loves Kyle is Bill, she's just not in romantic love with him. For a woman of her status in the time period, marrying someone you care about that deeply was a luxury.

And you're really going to shame her, who was abandoned by almost everyone in her family before she was 12 for beinf afraid of being alone? You're going to say that a deeply traumatized girl is evil for having a completely understandable response to her trauma? You're really going to side with the classist, controlling shit bag who would rather rot in jail and have her son hate her guts than see him happily married to the woman he loves because she's poor?

Also, the fact that Layla decided to break off her engagement despite Kyle's insistence and refused to say anything bad about his mother is the exact opposite of being an evil, greedy bitch that cares more about not feeling lonely than Kyle's happiness. It doesn't make any sense, unless you're actively trying to find fault with her because her actual faults are understandable given her past.

And oh God, oh God OH GOD you cannot be serious about MATTHIAS being the wronged party. You cannot see the heaps of physical, emotional and sexual abuse he heaped on her, all the cruel, petty bullying he did just to see her cry, and actually think that Layla "gaslighting" him (which she didn't do, LEARN THE DEFINITION OF THE WORD) makes her the villain. Layla spent the entire book wanting him to leave her the fuck alone and live her life and he spent the entire book manipulating her and the world around her so she couldn't do anything he didn't approve of. He's the poster boy for rich, entitled scumbags thinking they can do anything they want to a woman because she makes his pp hard. He ruins her plans for her life because he decides his desire for her takes precedence oved her wants. He gets her to the point where she is so mentally broken she's trauma bonded to him. She constantly fears her blissful married life with him is a dream because she is so used to being abused and abandoned that she expects abuse and abandonment OH MY GOD DID YOU READ THIS BOOK?

"B-but she hurt him too! She made him think she wanted him and then left to hurt him!" So what. After all the hell he put her through he deserved those months of wallowing in his misery without his whipping girl/sex toy. I have no sympathy for people who kick dogs and then cry when the dog decides to bite them, and his treatment of her when he found her afterwards justifies her wanting to leave him in the first place. He was VILE.

Layla defense squad OUT.

Layla's true nature

And COBYB's real ending

[pruneunfair]

I feel so bad for Layla.

Im not just talking about the fact that the entire story revolves around her being abused and getting Stockholm syndrome. It's a case of the fandom

Shes the FL, everyone almost always gets on their knees for the FL but then they go and romanticize her abuse, they act like her getting assaulted by Matthias was hot, there is multiple tiktok and Instagram edits thay portray the relationship as "cute" and "protective" and "Layla just doesn't know how much she loves him." A 18 year old girl being coerced into doing what a nobleman wants isn't cute and it sure as hell isn't justified because they misuse the dark romance term A LOT.

And if she wasn't the main character and Claudine was? The amount of people that would rope her in with the typical white lotus mistress type would be insane. She'd be called a slut for getting in the way between Matthias and Claudine, she'd be made fun of for being a commoner who dared to even look at the Duke and they'd belittle her trauma and call her "another trashta"

Theres no winning for Layla when it comes to the Cry or better yet beg stans, if she's the lead then her abuse is romanticized and on occasion people will claim it was Layla gaslighting the readers, if she isn't the lead then she'd likely be demonized as a slutty mistress thinking she can sleep her way to the top.

[pruneunfair]

Manhwas except the villainess is the protagonist.

Groundhog Duchess, FL: Rhyse Sinclair. Tone: psychological horror (Not your typical reincarnation story)

Rhyse has achieved everything she could've ever wanted, she found a loving family, she has supporting friends, the woman who schemed for her downfall is dead, and now she's married to her husband Cliff as the new Duchess Rudwick! Until she woke up in her bed, the dates set back to where she started, living in her abusive family home where she laments that it was just a dream.. and then her dream comes true! Finally, she's achieved the happiness her dream foretold. Right after her wedding night she wakes back up, in her childhood home with her abusive family. It keeps happening over and over, no one believes Rhyse when she tries to speak out. There's something pulling the strings, something keeping her from speaking on her accord. She begins to avoid the Rudwicks, hoping that it would end this teasing nightmare but no matter where she goes, she always ends right back into Cliff and Killians arms, back to being tormented by Edith, back to a life that will always be taken away from her right when she's at her highest and with each passing time, she starts to lose more of herself and becoming more and more spiteful and bitter. Will Rhyse finally be able to put an end to this cycle and achieve a happy ending that lasts forever with her unexpected ally?

the flowers from another world, protagonists: Robelia and Aisha Tone: Comedy (Divorcing my tyrant husband)

Aisha had it all. She was the pampered consort of the tyrannical Alexandros and on her way to becoming the next empress, a major improvement from her boring life in Korea. She never wanted to leave, that is until mysteriously all the love and attention she would bask in has disappeared.

The once quiet and obedient empress Robelia was all of a sudden Alexandros love again! One by one Aisha starts to lose everything, all her allies turned on her and none of her endeavors had a chance to succeed not to mention Robelia has been nothing but insufferable the entire time. When Aisha finally confronts Robelia on her sudden change in behavior the two argue further until Alexandros shows up. Much to Aishas dismay, he only assists Robelia but somethings odd.. Robelia doesn't seem to be enjoying ANY of the attention..? Huh, odd. Who wouldn't want to be adored by a man who would do ANYTHING for you? Well it turns out Robelia is also from the same world as Aisha and she's been acting the way she has so she can divorced and live away from the nobles. The women come to an understanding in their commin goal and as frenimies they go on misadventure after misadventure to restore Aishas plot powers so Robelia can easily get divorced and leave. But the more time Aisha spends with Robelia, the more she sees from her point or view and she starts to wonder if Alexandros is even worth it?.

Two birds on a wire, FL: Claudine Van Brandt, tone: drama+tragedy (cry or better yet beg)

As far as Claudine could remember she was reminded that everyone has a destiny to fulfill in the aristocracy and hers was to marry and bear heirs. All Claudine really wanted in life was a carefree one where she got to live in luxury and enjoy the finest of all so to please her family and live her ideal life at the same time, she chooses a long time acquaintance, the Duke of Berg, Matthias Herhardt. Despite her fiancé's strange behavior Claudine was fine with how things were until she starts to notice Matthias take an interest in someone else.. the niece of one his employees and a girl she knew back then: Layla Llewellyn. Suddenly everything begins to feel as if it's falling apart. Claudine guaranteed luxurious life is now at stake and she's willing to do what it takes to achieve it! But what about Layla? No, why should she care? She's the one who's wreaking Claudines home, if she'll become collateral damage then she deserves it for flirting with someone else's man.. until she learns of what kind of psychological damage Matthias is inflicting on Layla, Claudine terrified now: if she marries that man then who knows what he'll put her through, screw her luxurious life and her families desires she needs to escape now!.. but not before she breaks Matthias and Layla up and free the poor girl she wrongfully accused, that is if Claudine isn't already too late.

the human saintess, FL: Diana tone: romance+ self growth (For my derelict favorite)

Diana is a saintess of common origins, with no one reconginizing her due to her lack of status a miracle in the form of two handsome men grant her the chance to finally use her healing powers for the good of the common folk, all seems well until one of her friends Cael reveals that he killed their enemies for her in the name of love. It seemed sensible at the time that she rejected him harshly and told him to leave. With only one man left she chooses Helios as her husband and becomes the crown princess. Now that she's a noble, Diana must learn how to act as one even if it means restricting some of her power to the poor. All Diana wants is to be accepted, to finally receive some payment after all that hardwork she'll even ignore news on Cael if she has to, he must be doing better anyway now right?. Well, not exactly. By ignoring any news about him Diana never realized that Cael had attempted suicide more than once, but what could she do? By the time she finds out she also learns that Caelus is married so it should all be fine.. until Caelus's new wife Hestia keeps harassing her for her faults, she just won't leave! But Diana can't say anything, she's the saintess! She HAS to be good.. but to who? The nobles or the commoners? Why can't it just easy for once!?

Slowly but surely, Diana will learn that even if she's a saintess, she's still a person and as a person, she makes mistakes, some big and some small. If she wants to get any better she has to make things right. Starting with the people she neglected below.

into the dark forever, FL: Marianne Edenverre, tone: self destruction.

All her childhood Marianne had been nothing but bad fortune. Her mother treated her terribly and even living as the 5th princess did little to differentiate from her previous homelife. All her new half siblings refuse to treat her as human for her status as an illegitimate child except for the 4th princess Alisa, the bright bundle of joy that made her feel welcome.However, a single person cannot make up for the mistreatment, especially if that person is the star of the family. Why can't Marianne have that? Who does Alisa even think she is!? Is she taunting her? Marianne won't stand for that disrespect, she suffered enough hasn't she? When is she gonna get her paid her dues? If God won't pay her then she'll just have to steal it herself so Marianne summons a demon to give her the help she needs. All of a sudden, everyone loves her! She's the star of the show and now Alisa is the scapegoat, finally, now the 4th princess will know what it feels like to be ostracized but when that doesn't work, Marianne decides to just arrange her death instead. There, no more Alisa, she's finally the most adored girl in Edenverre... wait, Alisa has been reincarnated into the princess of a enemy empire? Well Marianne can't let that stand idly by, she needs to get rid of Aisha de Elmire now, no matter what it may cost.

Project Leila, FL: Yvonne Eckart, tone: coming of age tragedy.

After getting lost during a festival, Yvonne loses her not just her brothers and father but her sense of self, she had been possessed by the goddess Leila and its been relentless in its pursuit to possess her. Yvonne waited and waited for her father to come and find her, she wouldn't let Leila break her spirit but when she finds her father taking another girl in as her replacement, Yvonnes heart drops and she almost loses all hope and Leila almost succeeds.. but Yvonne is able to snap out of it at the nick of time, it was a close call but the pain of abandonment never did go away. During the remaining years, Yvonne never bothered to go back home anymore, they seemed to like that purple haired girl anyway and surprisingly Leila wasn't so bad to talk to as it was the perfect being to vent to. Day by day Leila keeps trying to trick Yvonne into letting it possess her but she always stands her ground and declares that she'll never affiliate herself with the likes of the goddess. But when Yvonne is found and arrives on Penelopes coming of age ceremony, it becomes tempting. All Yvonne saw was the girl who stole her life but the real monsters may have been more close to home then she thought. Just how toxic did her family become and will she be able to resist Leilas temptation?

The concubines woes, FL: Diane Poitier, tone: female rage+self reflection (I will abdicate my title as empress)

Diane Poitier had been a patient girl. After losing everything at a young age she had been determined to never let that happen again when she becomes the Emperors concubine. He has no wife, she's is the owner of the Ivory palace, and she resembles his deceased mother, the cards should have all fell in place, but they never do. The Emperor instead marries the crown princess Adelaide of Kotrov. Just like that Diane feels everything crashing down around her so she makes an enemy out of Adelaide, belittling her and trying to drive a wedge between the new married couple so she can return to the escapism of knowing she's the Emperors one and only. Yet with all the grievances she causes, Adelaide never sees Diane as an enemy, if anything the empress is the kindest to her then anyone else has ever been, one side of Diane wants to keep pushing until Adelaide snaps but the other is weeping so much it can't come up with the words. Why is she even doing this? What will this get her? Will the Emperor even marry her at all when he gets divorced? Why is she being this way to the one woman who has shown her kindess?These are the nagging questions the keep Diane up at night.

Divorcing your husband, FL: Sumin Jeong, tone: comedy (Marry my husband)

Sumin will never admit it but she's been a snake in the grass for most of her life, she can't stand seeing her friend Jiwon happier than her so what better way to ruin her life then to sleep with her husband while Jiwon is terminally ill? Well.. Karma inevitably catches up to Sumin and she is killed by the very same man she slept with after he accidently murdered Jiwon to eliminate any witnesses. Instead of waking up in heaven or hell, Sumin is back 10 years ago! Does she even deserve this? Of course she does! How could someone so deserving like her not? It turns out though that she lost a little something along the way.. her charisma! It's been stolen the moment Jiwon died and when Minhwan killed her. Without her cutesy baby act no man will just crumble when she says "Oppa!" Sumin actually has to work for what she wants now, and the only 2 men who are still willing to adore her are her killer and older co worker who has a thing for her childish talk, jeez were her co workers always this terrible? Whatever, she'll play into Minhwans hand for the time being.. after all, she could use a little life insurance from him.

Golden cage, FL: Rashta Ishka, tone:tragedy+female rage (remarried empress)

The tragic tales of a girl sold into slavery and the men who take advantage of her. Most strived for beauty but Rashta hated it, her beauty was a curse and it drew in all predators who wanted to take a bite out of her. The first man who fell for her was one of her masters who currently raises their child, the second is the Emperor of the empire who loves her like a hunter loves their trophies they caught and the third is the most charming yet manipulative of them all. During the duration of one year, Rashta navigates the life of a concubine and later empress. The ladies in waiting hate her for displacing their empress, the men desire her for her innocent beauty, her former master blackmails her, and her idol: the empress won't even turn an eye to her direction, her only hope is to keep going with her role of the prey Sovieshu caught. Keep acting cute, keep speaking in 3rd person, she doesn't even have to learn much etiquette if it means Sovieshu will find it charming. Slowly, she is picked apart by everyone in her life and the only people who could've helped her have been pushed away. There's no saving Rashta, she's already trusted too many of the wrong people and made too many mistakes but maybe when her children grow up and learn their mothers story they'll be the voice to put an end to slavery and grant the next generation the future she always wanted.

Aim for the throne, FL: Isabella de Mare, tone: suspenseful drama (Sister I am the queen in this life)

Isabella may be her families favorite but that alone isn't enough. She knows her worth as a woman only means so much and as much as she loved her mother, she refused to end up like her as a de-facto wife of a mere cardinal. No, if she only mattered for her beauty than Isabella was going to use it to it's fullest: she wants to become queen of San Carlo, but when her half sister Ariande comes to live with the family, the new competitor meant buisness and had already earned their fathers favor much to Isabellas annoyance. What was supposed to be a subtle warning is quickly figured out and it turns out Ariande isn't as dumb as Isabella thought. Throughout the years that follow, both sisters clash and plot to rise up the ranks. Isabella becomes a renowned beauty engaged to prince Alfonso and Ariande becomes reserved but most devoted to her religious studies, earning her privileges with the clergy. This has been Isabellas most formidable foe yet and she's willing to go to lengths of murder to secure her destiny as queen of San Carlo. Little does she know.. the golden rule cares little about beauty.

Black widow, FL: Krista, tone: thriller drama (remarried empress)

Out of all the ways it could have happened why this?, Krista was already deposed of her position of queen as expected when her husband died but with her positive reputation with the people and her brother in law remaining single, Krista was confident she'd stay as the beloved queen of the west. Oh, Heinrey brought in the former empress of the east to be his wife? Well she can't be shocked, the kingdom does need heirs after all, Heinreys starting to establish his fiancé as queen already? It's fine.. maybe he'll let her stay with them instead of sending to her to compshire to mourn for the rest of her life besides, she'll always have her loyal ladies in waiting. Wait no.. most of them are already defecting from Krista to the new queen.

Krista is losing everything and her foolish family isn't helping her case, all she has left is the peoples support for her but even that is fleeting!? What? Of course.. his majesty has stated he'd fill the mouths of those disrespectful to the new queen with rocks and sew it shut, it must've scared everyone into submission. Everything is on line now, Krista's father is continuously pushing buttons he shouldn't be pushing and when Krista's brother attempts to kill Navier, all fingers point to her as his accomplice. If Krista wants to clear her name she's gonna have to play the hard way and put on an act like she's loyal to Heinreys new wife and hope that the Heinrey doesn't execute her to protect Navier.

[pruneunfair]

the prettiest women in manhwa ive read (my opinion)

villains are destined to die: Penelope Eckart (specifically this novel cover of her)

Cry or better yet beg: Layla Llewellyn

Not your typical reincarnation story: Edith Rigelhof/Ludwig

Sister I am the queen in this life: Ariande de Mare and Malleta

I will abdicate my title as empress: Adelaide Kotrov

Seducing the villains father: Yerenica Lebovny and Soleia Elard

My in laws are obsessed with me: Pereshati Lapileon

Remarried empress: Rashta Isqua and Lari Lazlo

I thought my time was up: Lariette Blanche (unfortunately)

The tyrants only perfumer: Princess Deleina

I didn't mean to seduce the male lead: Irene/Aileen Hascator

Serena: Iansa Serenity (both young and old)

foam of the sea: Mag

honorable mentions: Annette Anders, Saoirse Caravaggio and Marina from this isekai maid is forming a union, they're only honorable mentions since the story they're from is not a manhwa. (I couldn't find any pictures on Pinterest and I wanted to respect the author by not taking screenshots of their work since it's a canvas webtoon)

[pruneunfair]

Manhwas except the villainess is the protagonist part 2: The former FL

Groundhog Duchess. Edith

By the time the Edith we know and love shows up, Rhyse has already been suffering from the groundhog effect 12 times now. She's already on guard about Edith and refuses to trust her thinking that she'll just be the same cruel woman out to get her. Meanwhile Edith is confused on why the FL of the novel is acting so distant when she's described as being approachable. When they finally have to meet face-to-face, Edith starts acting unusually nice and though her guard is still up, Rhyse slowly starts to trust her again until the author starts twisting the narrative forcing Edith and Rhyse in dangerous situations with the intention of getting rid of Edith. Protecting her new friend from this invisible force becomes another motivation for Rhyse to escape the authors clutches.

The flowers from another world: Robelia

At first Robelia will be presumed as the antagonist. She humiliates Aisha as revenge for the OG empress and at first glance, you'll think that she must be using some sort of magic to force everyone to bend to her will but it's quickly acknowledged that she also doesn't know why everyone loves her all of a sudden but wants out of it because she finds it a hinderance to her goal of getting Alexandros to divorce her. Humiliating Aisha any further would be kind of stupid since she's the only one willing to help Robelia get divorced and live a comfortable life so despite their reluctance, the two agree to work together.

two birds on a wire: Layla Llewellyn

Similarly to Robelia, it will be assumed that Layla is another typical white lotus who just wants power through being Matthiases lover. During the first act Layla won't actually do or say anything too bad but the other characters will jump the gun that she's suspicious and that Claudine should watch out for her, thereby testing the critical thinking skills of the reader. Layla's situation is similar to the og cry or better yet beg. She is trapped in a abusive relationship with Matthias for her uncles sake but is so used to being hurt in the past that Layla twists her own reality into believing that Matthias does love her since even after the way he treats her, he still makes her feel good by giving her special privileges or even just by complimenting her. Claudine will learn that Layla is not a two faced femme fatale looking to steal her man but a poor girl trapped in an abusive relationship that requires her to gaslight herself just so she doesn't go insane and her new goal will be to not only escape Matthias herself and learn her own worth but also to get Layla out of there before anything worse can happen to her.

The human saintess: Hestia

Hestia is a minor antagonist in this version. She relentlessly mocks Diana for her bad decisions and mistakes. She's constantly looking to get a rise out of Diana even through childish means and proceeds to act like she did nothing wrong when Diana eventually loses it, ironically making her a traditional white lotus woman. Hestia first believes she can do no wrong since she has a morality that's based on Cael's happiness and sees Diana neglecting him and his suicide as actions that are worthy of her being taken down a peg. This doesn't mean Hestia stays like this forever, Cael tells her to knock it off and that harassing his ex over and over is only gonna make it worse and Diana admits to Hestia that she's not wrong, she did make really bad decisions that affected the lives around her but that instead of actually helping said people herself, Hestia would rather continously blame everything on one woman. Essentially this gives Hestia a wakeup call and she starts to focus more on herself and Cael rather then Diana and becomes more mature then she was yesterday.

into the dark forever: Aisha de Elmire

Its mostly the same as the original ITLOA but since this version takes place from Mariannes perspective there will be moments in flashbacks when Aisha/Alisa seems out of character because Marianne is so used to being treated horribly that the one time someone treats her with respect she sees it as a cruel form of teasing on their part. Even though Aisha hates Marianne she still pitties her and offers Marianne one last chance to be better even if it's somewhere like a monastery. Unfortunately Aisha can't get through to Marianne thus the title "into the dark forever."

project Leila: Penelope Eckart

Unlike the original story this Penelope is the OG villainess who initially was very cruel to Yvonne. They both hated eachother at first, in Yvonnes eyes Penelope was just the random girl that took her place after her family gave up on her and Penelope viewed Yvonne as the potential calamity that would have her sent back to poverty or even killed. Leila will use Yvonne's negative feelings of Penelope as another reason to let her fully take control of the body but despite all her negative views on the "fake" daughter, Yvonne never has the heart or bravery to allow that. The true antagonists of this version are the rest of the Eckart family and seeing how poorly they treat Penelope gets Yvonne to realize that her sister is far from the worst person in the manor. The two slowly start to get along and their main goal is to dismantle the cult of Leila once and for all and get rid of the evil spirit residing in Yvonne's body.

the concubines woes: Adelaide Kotrov

Basically the same as the OG story. Adelaide isn't a villian and despite how Diane treats her, she won't view her as a full blown enemy, she'll make it clear that doesn't mean she's going to let Diane do whatever she wants to her but regardless she won't make enemies with a fellow woman hurting because of the same man.

divorcing your husband: Jiwon Kang

Since this is a timeline where Sumin regressed instead of Jiwon, she was still unaware of her best friends true nature and intentions to get with her boyfriend. However Sumin hates Minhwan even more then Jiwon now and instead of actively looking to ruin Jiwons life, Sumin now only sees her as a simple sacrifice to get her revenge on Minhwan. She's still a bit of a pushover and tends to stay out of conflict when she can but when things do go sideways in Sumins plan, she discovers her boyfriend and best friend making out in the car and officially calls it off with both of them. Sumin did try to tell her that she should be grateful that she's willing to save Jiwon from her future murderer but all she gets in response is a disturbed and confused stare. The two stay enemies for the rest of the story but since Sumin is smarter now, she knows better then to harass the same girl who's getting clear attention from their boss so it doesn't esculate like it did in Marry my husband.

Golden cage: Navier Trovi

While Navier can be looked at as heartless for not caring about the slaves and not caring about Rashtas situation, they are all based on her childhoods values and she isn't actively malicious against Rashta, she just can't understand why Rashta is so desperate to never go back to slavery. This doesn't make her oblivious to slavery as a whole, but in Naviers perspective all slaves are criminals so Rashta probably did something that warranted it and her escaping was just gonna damn her further so Rashta should just to back to avoid further punishment for ever day she is illegally free. In general Navier is designed to be a tragic case of women not supporting women and being a bystander. She was encouraged to only have her and the nobles best interests in mind and it doesnt occur to her that maybe this one time, her ladies in waiting are wrong. When she grows older as a mom, she described ignoring what happened as one of her greatest regrets to Lari and encourages her to not ignore another woman suffering.

In black widow, Navier still isn't an antagonist actively out to destroy Krista but she is wary of her since the rest of the Zemensias have been out to kill her.

aim for the throne: Ariande de Mare

The reason Ariande is still enemies with Isabella in the first place in this version is that she still regressed. However Isabella isn't dumbed down in Aim for the throne and actually gives Ariande a hard time by rethinking her strategies and coming up with new schemes to tear her down, schemes that Ariande can't always predict since she only has her past life to help her out. At first Ariande will appear as a weak antagonist who struggles to combat Isabella but with every new scheme Ariande gets the hang of her adversary and progressively becomes more and more of a threat.

[paleghostinthecorner02]

Ugh YES. This book is like 80% terrifyingly realistic and complex character writing, 10% wasted potential and 10% "What the fuck is this?"

As a character Claudine is the biggest disappointment in the entire book and one of the biggest in the entire genre. She was SO CLOSE to being an excellent deconstruction of the jealous bitch character who makes life worse for the FL. She had a jaded view of love and marriage, accepting that Matthias didn't love her and she didn't love him and he'd probably have a mistress like every other nobleman in Berg. The only thing she wants is the glamorous life of weath and status being his wife affords. She can tell Matthias has a thing for Layla before even he realizes it and she accepts it since she thinks he's the kind of person who can keep the focus on his wife and treat his mistress as just a mistress. She even thinks at one time that Layla would be a good mistress since she's just a lowly peasant girl who couldn't steal her spotlight, and her ruminations on Layla's beauty are borderline Sapphic. Even after Matthias has manipulated Layla into a sexual relationship Claudine realizes that Layla isn't in it of her own voliton, but because she's trying to protect her beloved Uncle, and she supposedly feels sorry for her.

All this set up had the makings of a complex, sympathetic character who feels torn between letting the status quo she has accepted continue on for the sake of her perfect life, or taking actions to get Layla away from Matthias despite how angry he would become without his Mistress because Layla's pain is not worth it. The major actions she takes to get Layla out of the picture (telling Kyle and Bill about the affair) could easily have been played off as a desperate attempt to goad Layla into running away from her abuse out of concern for her. She could have found out about Matthias planning to have Bill and Layla moved to his mansion in Ratz and feel that the only way Layla would leave is by letting Bill know that his worst fear (Layla being exploited by rich, powerful men) had been happening right under his nose. During Matthias's mental breakdown she could come to realize that he's way more unhinged than she initially believed and decided to leave herself, giving into her love for Riette and thus fulfilling a satisfying character arc from jaded and materialistic to finding the value of love above money and status.

INSTEAD, she suddenly decides that nevermind, she doesn't want Layla around Matthias and becomes a spiteful shitbag who herself victimizes Layla because she DARED to steal her man! What? Bitch, you already know SHE DOESN'T WANT YOUR MAN. SHE WOULD GLADLY LET YOU HAVE HIM ALL TO YOURSELF. HER GOAL IN LIFE EVENTUALLY BECOMES TO MAKE MATTHIAS NO LONGER WANT HER AND GET ON WITH HER LIFE. You dense motherfucker, you became the exact type of noblewomen you thought you were so much better than because your ass got chapped that a dude you don't even like was paying more attention to another woman over you. Attention that as I said, was completely unwanted and the kind you should be glad you aren't receiving. Layla literally has the same goal as you WHY ARE YOU ASSAULTING HER WHILE CRYING ABOUT HER WANTING WHAT'S YOURS WHEN YOU KNOW SHE DOESN'T WANT WHAT'S YOURS?

Her motivation after that becomes to hurt both Layla and Matthias by telling Layla Matthias helped ruin her plans to marry Kyle and Kyle and Bill about the affair (which she knows will cause them pain and thus cause Layla pain), and those actions motivating Layla to run away. And when she does (after ensuring that she emotionally crushes him YES GIRL), Claudine's attitude is "Wow, you did a great job destroying his mental state, I hope you fucking die now." And she's still such a monumental gold digger that when Matthias is so checked out of reality he's laughing at inappropriate times for no reason, has an eating disorder, drugging himself with sleeping pills to the point he sleeps in until after noon, literally wanders aimlessly around his estate and experinces missing time to the point he doesn't remember almost drowning himself in a fugue state, she STILL wants to marry him and is willing to drag his empty shell down the aisle if she has to. Claudine, Riette loves you and is only one peerage rank below Matthias, is the slight bump in status and wealth really worth marrying someone you despise? *rips hair out of scalp in frustration.*

As for Layla, she gets so much unwarrented shit from so many people. There's the Matthias Stans who actually believe he's the one in the right and Layla is an evil bitch because she hurt his poor feelings when she left (DESERVED!) There's the Kyle Stans who think Layla was a callous golddigger who never cared about him and only wanted to marry him for his money (which is why she decides... Not to marry him and then refuses the expensive things Matthias keeps buying for her???) And then there's the shallow fandom feminists who think the only acceptable FLs are the Bad bitch, girl boss, YASS QUEEN, Strong Female Character™ that crushes everyone who dares cross her and has no meaningful flaws or weaknesses and a woman who has years of unaddressed trauma making bad yet understandable choices due to said trauma and the ensuing mental disorders resulting from it are weak, snivelling morons who should be demonized for their failings.

The tragedy of Layla is that she went through being orphaned, abused, bullied and abandoned by almost everyone in her entire family before she was 12, and it took her literally going to another country by herself to her last hope to finally get with someone willing to take care of her. Even then (and I don't think this is ever addressed by the fandom because of how well loved Bill Remmer is) she's with someone who's constantly talking about how it isn't feasible to keep her permanently and trying to decide when to take her to the orphanage. Yeah, he never does, but imagine being a child constantly abandoned by family living with the constant fear that your one last hope for real family might one day abandon you too. I think if it weren't for the other servants who all banded together to help raise Layla and Bill's societal knowledge of what tends to happen to beautiful women in poverty, he would have done so. She then has to experience what the aristocracy is actually like when Claudine dehumanizes her and Matthias starts bullying her (because God forbid that this prepubescent peasant girl who has no reason to like you avoids being around your college age ass YOU ABSOLUTE FUCKING WEIRDO.) Despite all this she still manages to excel in school and have a fairly well adjusted life with her Uncle and best friend, and her goals are just to be a school teacher and continue living a fulfilled life around people she loves. Then Matthias drags her out of her sunny summer world into an abusive hell because something in his brain chemistry finally decided it would let him be aroused by this one person, and the dam that held in a lifetime of emotional suppression and borderline sociopathy decided to burst and bathe Layla and Layla alone in it's toxic, sludgy water. This poor girl had her life ruined by a rich, entitled monster just because his damaged brain said "HER," and it ends up causing her to become so emotionally destroyed her brain decides to protect itself by making her think being with him is her best option.

And after she makes this decision, the book destroys it's biggest bit of potential: It decides that instead of acknowledging that this is a tragic yet realistic outcome that could be expected for a peasant girl who becomes the sole obsession of one of the most powerful men in the country, it'a treated like it's a good thing for her. And it justifies this conclusion by having this actually deranged, abusive shit puddle pull one of the most jarring Heel-Face Turns thay has ever been written in fiction. Suddenly, Matthias is this great guy who should be praised for protecting Layla during a bombing raid, smuggling her back to Berg and setting her and their future child up for life in case he's KiA. And then we're supposed to be sad when he's supposedly KiA (YES!) and we're supposed to be happy when he finally finds her after the war (NO!) And then it's off to the epilogues and side stories where Layla gets married to this thing that we're supposed to think is Matthias, but is so unlike the guy we've spent over 140 chapters reading about that thinking something bizarre like him getting the toxicity blown out of him in the bombing that almost killed him or some benevolent ghost took over his corpse and kept his knowledge and feelings for Layla but not his Matthiassholery is more believable than "He decided to change, and so he did." I dunno, his brain doesn't function properly so maybe it actually was that easy for him? Who the hell knows. I don't, and I don't even think Solche does.

My feelings on cry or better yet beg and the utter wasted potential for a psychological tragedy of the imbalance of relationships between noblemen and their mistresses

First off, if I was told I could only kill off one male lead, it'd be him

Lot of people rn especially on tik-tok probably would flame me for this with the "at least he loves Layla! He's so protective of her!"

"it's a dark romance! It won't be sunshine and rainbows you snowflake!"

"He just doesnt know how to express his emotions because he's so sheltered!"

No, just no, I don't care how "hot" he is, I don't care if he's your protective little bad boy. I don't care about his supposed character development, That's a straight up abuser who started off killing birds knowing it would damage to Layla to straight up assaulting her. (I don't know if that will stay in the webtoon, but it was in the novel) no character development can make me like a fucking rapist

Like how in the hell is Claudine considered worse than Mathhias, sure she isn't so peachy herself but goddammit to think of the fiance who if anything would be supported had she been the main protagonist, yes she's pretty demeaning, a bit shallow, and only views Matthias as the perfect Duke, but at least she's not going around mentally torturing a boy who can't do anything against her. I haven't gotten to her ending yet but from what I hear, it isn't a good one. She such a wasted opportunity since she is such a perfect example of a woman prepped and groomed to just be a Dukes wife would come out feeling that her worth only comes her husband.

Justice for Claudine, I just know there's a fanfic out there where you get with Riette, grow as your own person, and live a pleasant life.

You wanna know what really hurts me about this manhwa though? The fact that's it's so unintentionally accurate to how horrible it truly is to be a mistress in an era where women, especially women with no royal titles or status, were often treated by rich and powerful men. They would mostly have no right to say no to a man who decides he wants her, Layla romanticizing her abuse is not just heartbreaking but also unfortunately realistic as it's a coping mechanism for those who had endured nothing but abuse their whole life so they tend to shove their feelings in a box and pretend everything is okay (obviously this isn't the same for all victims of abuse, it's one of the many coping mechanisms people could develop)

In a lot of historical manhwa, there's usually the obligatory mistress character designed to be a dumb trashy bimbo to uplift the lead. Most of the time, the mistress in question is either a daughter of minor nobility that was chosen by a Emperor, crown prince, or Duke, or the mistress lived her life as a poor farm girl and in some situations lived a life where no one cared about her and was likely abused, the latter is often rare for these mistress characters since authors of those stories only want you sympathizing with the leads but in rare cases, the mistress did have a hard life but it ends up being undermined to further damage the mistress as torture/revenge porn or in Laylas case: used as an explanation to give a disturbing reason to why she ends up falling in love with Matthias which wouldn't be wrong if the story was written in a way that was a tragic one, not a romantic one.

you would think this kind of glamorouzation of abuse would only exist in the authors mindset and the degeneracy that is a junior high girls mind, but no, the ides that Layla is somehow the one in the wrong for her own abuse and reluctance of Matthias and there is even an Instagram post claiming she has BPD for being too "difficult" they sound like those 1950s doctors that find any reason to lobotomize a patient.

Laylas character does open the truths of what it's truly like to be practically owned by a nobleman, she's not like Rashta or Aisha from divorcing my tyrant husband where she's portrayed as a silly and cute strumpet with ulterior motives, she is genuinely upset but she can't do anything about it so all she can do is convince herself that Matthias loves her so she can keep her sanity, but where it goes wrong is that instead of portraying this as an unhealthy yet sole coping mechanism for an abusive relationship, the story just chalks it down to "silly Layla! You'll see that he's just misunderstood and you really do love him deep down!" Its frankly atrocious that the one time a story has a realistic pair of the typical women in this trope, the first wife who is classy and refined and the mistress who is young and free spirited ends ultimately destroyed yet again with a case black and white writting. One woman must be good and the other woman must be bad.

Frankly these characters are well written for the most part and until I realized I supposed to see Matthias as the love interest and not Kyle, I was fine with who Matthias was since he was presented more so as a villain, the art is also one of the prettiest cottagecore artstyles I've ever seen to the point where the 3D models look really good since it blends in perfectly, it's just sad that cry or better yet beg is a sick twisted tale equivalent to the average Colleen Hoover book.