Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion ‒ Episode 11

I say this with all kindness: Noah, if you don’t get your act together, you are going to lose Raeliana. Telling her she’s a nuisance? Probably not an amazing choice, even if you are attempting to do what you may consider the right thing, as evidenced by the decision to tell the newly-awakened king the truth about the engagement. Not that Raeliana is all that great at admitting what she wants or who she likes, but between the two, neither of them is going to keep this relationship, no matter how much they might want to.

There are different reasons for each of them to be making such mistakes, of course. Raeliana has been the focus of the story: she doesn’t believe she’s allowed to be the heroine because she has displaced Beatrice. This is common enough in this isekai subgenre, although this story takes it a bit further with Raeliana’s determination to restore things to the way they’re “supposed” to be. She doesn’t want to die, but she also seems to think the world itself is actively trying to kill her, not accepting the idea that instead of the world trying to course-correct to match the novel, someone very human might be behind the whole mess. It’s an idea I’ve only really seen in one other place, the two-volume light novel series I’d Rather Have a Cat than a Harem!, which revolves around the fact that the heroine Amy can’t truly be happy until she accepts the fact that although the world is familiar, it isn’t a game. Raeliana is in a similar situation, with the difference that while Amy was shy, Raeliana keeps charging into danger despite her determination to stay alive.

Mostly, that’s because she can’t accept the possibility – which she hasn’t even considered – that Beatrice is no heroine. Noah’s issue is more that he’s struggling to accept and understand that he’s fallen for Raeliana. He interprets his actions as mere teasing towards her, like the whole dragon thing, or when he lays her on the bed and makes double-entendres as he does this week. It isn’t until three in the morning, after he’s stayed awake reading in an attempt to ignore her, that he begins to allow himself to notice how he feels. Like many revelations at three a.m., it seems easy enough to brush off, but when faced with both his brother and Keith looking at him and asking if, now that the royal seal doesn’t need to be hidden, he’ll end his engagement, the answer doesn’t seem so clear. Noah and Raeliana have been willfully blind to their own emotions, but Noah seems to be getting closer to being unable to do that anymore.

Is there anything that can help Raeliana snap out of it? That’s a much more difficult question. Alongside the whole book issue, she’s also fighting for her life against someone who wants her dead, which doesn’t leave a lot of room for love. It’s worth questioning the role maid Haley is playing in all of this because her popping in to tell Raeliana about a haunted mirror that will answer any question could go either way: she could be trying to cause Raeliana and Noah to bump into each other in a situation where Raeliana’s emotions are heightened, or she could be setting up something much more dangerous than what Noah inadvertently thwarted. The uncertainty about Beatrice makes it difficult to trust anyone, which could be a major problem for Raeliana – especially if Beatrice is at the grave next week. A confrontation between Beatrice, Raeliana, and Noah would be an interesting way to end the season.

It doesn’t seem likely that we’ll get any concrete answers in next week’s finale. There just isn’t enough time, no matter how much manhwa gets crammed into twenty-four minutes. But at least the books are coming out in English if we find ourselves left high and dry after episode twelve next week.

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Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion is currently streaming on
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