By Mori and Huyuko Aoi. Released in Japan as “Yane Urabeya no Kōshaku Fujin” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by piyo.
I admitted to being very surprised that there was a second volume of this very “finished in one book” series. Even the title, Duchess in the Attic, was not something that was going to make sense going forward unless something silly happened. (The author agrees with me there: it’s an artifact title, and a few jokes are made about her moving back to an attic if things with Claude go south.) So I wondered what was left to learn about Opal now that the series was ongoing. As it turns out, not much about Opal herself – she’s much the same person she was in the first book, if a bit more unforgiving of fools. But the systemic power of the nobility and the misogyny rife throughout multiple kingdoms is very much still a problem, and Opal wants to solve that. If the first book was about Opal rescuing herself, this book is about her trying to rescue others. She’s a philanthropist. Of course, there are a few things to work out first, and that’s what this book is about.
Opal and Claude are off to his new homeland, Taisei, to get married. This involves meeting some of his friends, who regard Opal as a terrible choice of spouse. And the King, who seems to be one of those mischievous kings. Many subplots are introduced, but we don’t really deal with any of them, because the bulk of the book actually takes place back in Socille, as Opal hears that Beth, her former abusive maid who was working for Hubert and Stella, has been fired because she got pregnant. Investigating, it turns out that the father is a rogue noble, Keymont, who apparently has spread his seed far and wide, and other women have children by him. Deciding that enough is enough, Opal decides to shame him at a public gathering to get child support for his conquests, only for things to blow up far more than she intended.
There is no small amount of romance in this. Opal and Claude love each other, and get very jealous when any of the opposite sex shows interest. There’s also the very awkward conversation they have where Opal tells Claude that, despite being married for almost a decade, she’s still a virgin (it’s implied he is as well). But the main reason to read this book is not the romance, it’s the politics and the worldbuilding. These are two kingdoms that are essentially right around where the late Victorian/early Edwardian period was in this world, and progress is happening so fast that it’s unnerving people. Why, it’s gotten so bad that a noble rake can’t even go around robbing common people for the lulz anymore. The other political part of the book is its feminist stance, which is awesome. I loved Opal’s reaction when Hubert indicated Beth’s pregnancy was her own fault – marveling at an Immaculate Conception.
Opal still hasn’t seen her new domain yet, and I have a feeling that the third book will have things go a lot more poorly for her than this one did. Still, I found this just as enjoyable as the first.
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