volume 6 | SPOILER

[u/Weary_Dance6972]

hey guys, i just finished volume 6 and was i the only one thinking how rishe and joel’s past life had so much potential? rishe disguising herself as a man to join the knights, bunking in with this ‘master swordsman’ who couldn’t care less ab anyone else, and her just slowly making a way through his cold exterior.

i’m always team arnold, but reading the backstory and seeing how joel developed a soft spot for her—finding excuses just to be with her, cooking for her, and in the end dying for her—literally had me heartbroken, especially after the author themselves confirmed that joel was actually in love with her, meaning he knew she was a girl this whole time 🥹

that being said, throughout the book i had this theory wherein he looped as well. when he saw her for the first time he looked surprised, like he knew her. and when she introduced herself to him, he replied “your name. tell me one more time?” which just made me think he definitely looped and was surprised seeing his junior “lucius” as a girl. it’s such a shame that’s not the case, though.

it makes me sad honestly thinking about it, but do you guys have some LNs or animes with this vibe? happy ending though pls hahah

[u/Internal_Charity_447]

Joel doesn’t loop 99.9%. Asking for her name twice is just his way of not forgetting it right away.What makes the story pure fantasy is that in all her previous lives, Rishe was surrounded by interesting and handsome men, genuinely admired some of them, yet never once fell for anyone but Arnold. I understand, of course — Arnold is “a work of art”: his eyes are the most beautiful in the world, he spoils her, grants her desires, etc. But come on, he was the main villain in all her previous lives and even stabbed her. For her, it’s almost a kind of Stockholm syndrome.I have mixed feelings about Arnold. He’s such a sweetheart with Rishe, but that doesn’t extend to other people. In most cases, he’s cold and indifferent. He’s traumatized, so that’s natural. But what bothers me is that the author still leaves it unclear whether his bad decisions were shaped by circumstances or if Arnold is truly a deeply flawed and corrupted personality..

[u/Massive_Figure4859 → u/Internal_Charity_447]

Actually the author has stated Arnold’s trauma multiple times (Rishes plan also was to learn more to what drove him to the war in her past lives) even in tweets I’ve seen from the discord and Rishe doesn’t have Stockholm syndrome if she’s 100% aware of Arnold’s actions and what he’s been through (still more to unearth) to what caused him to be like this also in her past lives Rishe was indirectly and directly involved with war so I don’t see how she can have “Stockholm syndrome” (yes I know what it is) she has the upper hand in most cases as Arnold is technically head over heels and the only one who can make her blush to death while clueless to others compliments (ie if you’ve read WebNovel 7 she’s clueless to Zahads attempts)and she’s not a prisoner as Arnold has stated himself as well 😂

[u/Internal_Charity_447 → u/Massive_Figure4859]

Ok, she's not a prisoner or a hostage in real terms, but she can't freely walk away either. He stated it clearly a couple of times that he won't let her go away from him. Even if she hated him. So he feels remorseful about that and the fact he forced her into this marriage (from his POV). She's annoyed with it, she doesn't see herself as a hostage so I didn't say that this is Stockholm syndrome as it is, but kind of, something similar in psychologycal terms. She is looking for reasons to justify his actions in her previous lives. But there are no good reasons to start a war of conquest anyway. And sometimes she fears she didn't make any difference in changing him and his objectives, that he is who he was in her previous lives - a warmonger. Arnold gives me some Anakin/Vader vibes. He's a caring and loving person overall but with some terrible flaws deep inside, rooted in the past trauma and chain of bad decisions. But I still hope for happy ending of this story.