By Reia and Haduki Futaba. Released in Japan as “Akutoku Joo no Kokoroe” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Faye Cozy. Adapted by Abigail Clark.
I will admit, the direction of this second volume surprised me. I was expecting there to be a lot more struggle against the evil families who were behind her parents’ death. I was expecting at least one betrayal from a close ally I got none of that. If anything, her revenge was nearly pitch-perfect. But what I’d forgotten is that this second volume is also the final volume, which means that the revenge can’t be the point. The point is Luxeria’s own character growth, and also whether this book turns out to be a tragedy or not. It’s touch and go for a while, and you can argue that the resolution is a bit out of nowhere. But I think it’s thematically appropriate. A queen who has been unable to trust anyone, whose only friend was damaged because of her, whose true love she had to (supposedly) kill. The big question is here not will she get her revenge, the big question is whether she’ll survive it.
After the shocking coronation events, Luxeria is determined to continue investigating the other marquess houses to find out what skeletons they have in their closet, and also to prove what she already knows – that they killed her parents. That said, there are also more dangerous things going on. Children are getting kidnapped all over the land, and it might have something to do with the mysterious circus that’s always in town when it happens. Some of the marquesses are garden-variety assholes, one of whom is so banally evil that his own wife, on finding he’s been arrested, gives all the evidence they need to execute him, then drinks poison so she can end her terrible life. Worst of all,. there’s still the fact that Luxeria’s magic is slowly killing her, and all the allies that she has around her can’t save her because she’s mind controlling them into forgetting she has symptoms at all.
The title is not just for show here. The queen absolutely goes to town on everyone who was plotting against the royal family, be it actual assassination, or merely garden-variety apathy. The heads of family, and all their relatives, are executed. One or two folks turn evidence against their families, so she lets them live, but they have their identities magically changed, and they can’t even reveal their new self to their best friends. And this all weights heavily on her. Even as she is surrounded by people who are helping her, who share her hopes and dreams, who love her, she cannot help but see herself as walking a path to damnation. There are odd moments in this book where she just starts laughing maniacally out of nowhere, like a stereotypical “villainess”. But that’s what she thinks she is. She wants to feel exultation that she’s managed to avenge her parents, but she just feels empty. It’s all performative. Fortunately, thanks to the two people closest to her (and oh my GOD I wish we had an OT3 here, but alas), the worst case is avoided, but this book gets pretty dark.
It ends happily, though. Probably a little TOO happily. But hey, I’ll forgive it, since it’s the last book. Short and not-so-sweet.
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