There's been a report that there are pages missing from this chapter. Some of us are trying to get in touch with Mistakes Were Made to check on this.
Anyway...
Man, this is an intense look into how badly poor Euphie has been hurt. Her desperation for Anne-Sophia to tell her what to do, to set her back on a clear well-defined path for her life, is truly heartwrenching. Her wounds run far deeper than just the betrayal by Algard: that merely brought them all to the fore.
I really hope Anise can help her heal.
Seeing this chapter makes it a bit more clear to me why some changes were made from the WN. The discussion with Anne-Sophia and Euphie and their fathers about Anise reviving her claim to the throne would have significantly hindered this character growth. To Euphie, that would basically become her new "purpose" preventing her from grasping the freedom that Anise wants to give her. And the reveal of Anne-Sophia's tattoos would also be too soon with this in mind: Euphie isn't in the state of mind right now to declare that she's going to watch over Anise and make sure she doesn't do something like that to herself ever again.
I think taking the time to more deeply explore just how damaged Euphie is and how Anne-Sophia helps her slowly heal from that makes this already very strong series even stronger.
last edited at Dec 27, 2020 10:25PM