It's not just a "charitable reading". Do ya'll even know what story you're already reading?
The land is already owned by the one ruling over it, they don't "own" the village.
The intention to buy is just to move it from one lord to another lord.

And how did the first lord come to own the land? Are they ethnically Mulai, or a foreigner that conquered the place with violence?

Alaska is already owned by Russia, the natives don't "own" the village.
Louisiana is already owned by France, the Indians don't "own" the village.
The intention to buy is just to move it from one lord to another lord.

Because the line between exploitation and business can be very thin. Ultimately that's who Hesha and Jolene are, they're businesswomen

Hesha and Jolene are aware of the real value of the product, and they know the villagers aren't, so they immediately decided to take advantage of it. That's exploitation. In my book "business" implies a fair trade between peers.

For me, if the villagers looked and dressed the same as Hesha or Jolene, without changing any of the plot or writing, I could easily see this kind of thing taking place between any number of European countries back in the day.

Yeah, that's my issue with it. The author could have decided to portray the villagers as poor citizens that had to resort to banditry to get by. But instead decided to portray them as foreign "savages".

I'm not accusing just yet the author of portraying colonialism in a positive light, I'll wait to see how the story unfolds and to see if Hesha and Jolene get a change of heart. But these are the vibes I'm getting for now, and it's uncomfortable.

So…are we supposed to root for KellyxDiana? Really cannot bring myself to like Diana in any way for how psychotic she’s been.

Hesha was also a psychopathic spoiled noble at the beginning of the story, trust the process.

last edited at Sep 4, 2026 7:11AM

gg former illustrator. thanks for everything

I dont know about other people, but I'm loving how truly evil and manipulative some of these characters (who we're supposed to root for btw) can be. Im really looking forward to Diana's arc and seeing how Kelly changes her for the better. Hesha x Jolene are great and I love them but Irene and Diana are such interesting characters because they feel like antagonists in the protag role. Theyre both ruthless but at the same time I understand why they do their business in such ways, with the kind of world/times they live in. There's just as much fluff as there is cruelty and I find this story fun, even tho I can see how it may turn others off.

Aside from the fact that I don’t even care the whole colonialism arc right now (as is very common in these types of scenarios, I know what it is and let it go) I think is very funny how people see colonialism as this very closed and strict concept when we even have moderns terms like neo-colonialism (and neo-imperialism) because they are more of a system than destruction by force to take lands and natural resources, It’s an english forum so I assume most people are from the west and not the global south but maybe if colonialism looked like this back in the day, most people wouldn’t see why it’s bad and just see it as business.
Either way, I really liked the drawings in this chapter more than any other one lol So seeing the artist go was cold water in my face. I hope she gets better.

last edited at Sep 7, 2026 8:34AM

I dont know about other people, but I'm loving how truly evil and manipulative some of these characters (who we're supposed to root for btw) can be. Im really looking forward to Diana's arc and seeing how Kelly changes her for the better. Hesha x Jolene are great and I love them but Irene and Diana are such interesting characters because they feel like antagonists in the protag role. Theyre both ruthless but at the same time I understand why they do their business in such ways, with the kind of world/times they live in. There's just as much fluff as there is cruelty and I find this story fun, even tho I can see how it may turn others off.

You get it!!

I dont know about other people, but I'm loving how truly evil and manipulative some of these characters (who we're supposed to root for btw) can be. Im really looking forward to Diana's arc and seeing how Kelly changes her for the better. Hesha x Jolene are great and I love them but Irene and Diana are such interesting characters because they feel like antagonists in the protag role. Theyre both ruthless but at the same time I understand why they do their business in such ways, with the kind of world/times they live in. There's just as much fluff as there is cruelty and I find this story fun, even tho I can see how it may turn others off.

It does make me wonder if there will be a "turnabout" moment for Diana wherein she finds herself on the "other side", as it were. Something like a Fall Arc, except in the sense that she starts off a haughty royal with power and seemingly little empathy for anyone she considers beneath her station--and then at some point in her particular arc within the story stumbles hard on some narrative moment that renders her initial status and power moot, and/or encounters challenges that force her to adapt, moving away from this "my way or the highway/I'm powerful and can do what I want" mindset & demeanor and becoming more humble as she gains some awareness and understanding of the perspectives of others not like her.
Because I agree that Kelly is being set up as her counterpart and that Diana will be changed for the better. But her behavior and depiction seems to be one of considerable repugnance; she's royalty, sure, but she also seemingly wants to move away from her mother/"the old way" of doing things (which mirrors the other kingdom where H&J reside). So I'm mostly wondering if Diana will be forcefully humbled and made to reckon with the consequences of her behavior, or if she'll get a much more gentle transformation, that sees her insulated from the treatment she's been bestowing upon others.
And I wonder that in particular, because she's rather unsympathetic and lacking in empathy toward those "beneath" her. Forcing her to "learn" empathy by subjecting her to the sort of stuff she's putting others through--in any sort of corresponding capacity--is one path toward changing her mindset and expanding her worldview, and doing it in a dramatic fashion would mirror her outward treatment of others.
And we have similar notes already played, in the form of Jolene and Hesha's relationship, even, so it wouldn't even feel out of place if she had a fall from grace that saw her having to reassess herself and her ways in order to persevere.

Sooo, are we still shipping Diana x Kelly?

Sooo, are we still shipping Diana x Kelly?

I definitely am not, this chapter was so vile. I don't know if I can keep going with the series to see where it goes at this point. We just got slavery and branding combined with uncomfortable racial elements...as it switches perspectives back to the colonization side of the story. This is such a bizarre series to me.

last edited at Sep 22, 2026 2:40PM

Where the fuck is this even going?

I wonder If the author is really trying to make Diana x Kelly a thing. Good luck with that...

What the fuck, Diana?

I honestly don't even know what "a good outcome" for Diana would look like. Because it's not like saying "the answer is reciprocity" works, because that's just revenge in the other direction, and a lot of bad things would have to happen to a number of people to culminate in the heir to the throne of an entire kingdom falling to the same level where Kelly currently resides. Does she simply get ousted in a coup against the Crown and executed, or something? That's hardly "romance" that solves the pairing being pushed with Kelly, and there's presently no one else introduced to replace the princess...but other than a complete reversal of their relative station and circumstances to balance out the existing disparity is just Kelly having to swallow all of the abuse and violence being enacted upon her—and again, that's revenge, not "narrative balance"—I just don't see how Diana as a character can be salvaged from this point.

She's coming across as a heartless abusive royal who dehumanizes those around her. The flimsiest of excuses could be hung around the neck of her mother instilling these sorts of values into her, but that sorta flies out the window the moment she's BRANDING OTHER PEOPLE.

And that's not touching the colonialism aspect that Hesha is getting involved in. I guess making the leader woman an exiled/ousted royal is supposed to mean she could ostensibly make a play for the throne, or something? It sorta feels like this is setting up Hesha & Jolene helping the women they've been residing with in overthrowing the kingdom with how horrific Diana is being portrayed, but I also feel like even that's reaching way off the rails to try and make sense of the pieces being placed down at the moment.

At this point I'm more morbidly curious what the author has planned to resolve all of this than I am in any way enjoying the series, but I really dislike leaving things incomplete, so....yeah.

yeah idk what is going on. i think hesha and jolene are the happy couple and irene and faye are the toxic couple. not sure where kelly and diana fit in.

i think it's possible that the author is going either the loveless marriage route, maybe via Hesha's intervention (since Hesha knows Kelly's gender) kelly and diana end up on a level playing field. alternatively perhaps kelly and diana don't end up together (in a "not every couple works out" fashion) which reminds me of the author mentioning that Kelly will find her own self-value in the story. i would be really surprised if this ended up in a master-servant type relationship since that's kind of already filled by irene and faye.

I guess making the leader woman an exiled/ousted royal is supposed to mean she could ostensibly make a play for the throne, or something? It sorta feels like this is setting up Hesha & Jolene helping the women they've been residing with in overthrowing the kingdom with how horrific Diana is being portrayed, but I also feel like even that's reaching way off the rails to try and make sense of the pieces being placed down at the moment.

I hope Kelly runs into Adela (the pretty lady negotiating with Hesha and Jolene right now) and sees that she deserves more than dealing with Diana's bullshit. Hesha does see Kelly as a full person, but I'm sure those women in the village would also see Kelly as the good person she is.

woah the new art copies the style well, but you can tell this artist takes a different path to get there

re: colonialism, I think you'd want an isekaied person in order to skip that part of "history"
recall the prince getting uppity about pushing gay rights through without the social climate already being in a good spot
furthermore it's kind of empty if it's the "white" people doing things regardless of whether it's colonialism or liberation; the exiled noble here is almost certainly setup in that regard

last edited at Sep 22, 2026 9:59PM

WTF is worng with that princess?¡

Diana really is a piece of work, I do hope Kelly finds her way out of this situation (Also could this be a glimmer of hope for my Faye/Kelly ship? Probably not, but I choose to believe regardless)

Holy s##t!
My girl mentions Hesha once and Diana went full blown yandere psycho and not the fun kind. I knew she was cruel but bro! I did not expect her to brand Kelly! Poor girl. I dont know if there's hope for this ship anymore but the drama Diana is bringing is....wow...

Ok at this point the only way I could see Diana and Kelly working together is if this one action causes Diana's entire life to fall apart at a rapid pace cause holy fuck

That was really, really fucked up and really, really hot.