I take back whatever I said about previous chapters kicking my ass. THIS chapter kicked my ass.
No wonder it did, it's a great chapter. I'm glad they finally figured things out, because I want to throttle her parents, ugh.
 
No wonder it did, it's a great chapter. I'm glad they finally figured things out, because I want to throttle her parents, ugh.
Part of the reason I'm a week later than usual is because I ended up substituting the entire first half of this chapter. Keith's loss of control was originally much more spectacular, and while that had the positive of making a big scene where you really got to see just how outmatched Katarina was in that particular department (seriously: Keith's earth magic is scary powerful)... It just didn't work. I ended up taking the extra week to rewrite that entire section to its modern incarnation.

And yeah, I don't think the Claes are winning any 'parent of the year' awards anytime soon. It turns out that comedic romantic misunderstandings are a lot less comedic when you're on the other side of one. :(
 
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I appreciate that Milli's response was not very productive or mature - and her treatment of Keith was unconscionable - but it's also understandable that she'd want to save face and avoid directly sitting down with her husband to discuss how blatantly he's throwing his affair in her face.

Luigi, on the other hand, is a grade-A moron who deserves divorce regardless of the truth behind Keith's parentage. The man just showed up with a whole entire kid one day and said "yeah, you're his mother now, our daughter is out of the line of succession, smile". Who the fuck does that? That he spent over half a decade apparently oblivious to his wife and daughter despising Keith and the "love of his life" suffering a steady emotional breakdown over all of this doesn't make it better that he didn't so much as ask Milli's opinion on the hypothetical concept of having another kid to take Katarina's place as heir now that she was marrying out of the family. Absolutely gobsmackingly offensively stupid dipshit. This is why you never marry an anime harem protagonist, folks.
 
I appreciate that Milli's response was not very productive or mature - and her treatment of Keith was unconscionable - but it's also understandable that she'd want to save face and avoid directly sitting down with her husband to discuss how blatantly he's throwing his affair in her face.

Luigi, on the other hand, is a grade-A moron who deserves divorce regardless of the truth behind Keith's parentage. The man just showed up with a whole entire kid one day and said "yeah, you're his mother now, our daughter is out of the line of succession, smile". Who the fuck does that? That he spent over half a decade apparently oblivious to his wife and daughter despising Keith and the "love of his life" suffering a steady emotional breakdown over all of this doesn't make it better that he didn't so much as ask Milli's opinion on the hypothetical concept of having another kid to take Katarina's place as heir now that she was marrying out of the family. Absolutely gobsmackingly offensively stupid dipshit. This is why you never marry an anime harem protagonist, folks.

I think you are missing a line in the last update where Luigi says that "I told you [Miri] that Keith was adopted from a branch family." Which means he told the truth and Miri just thought he was lying to save face. Which does paint him in a brighter light. As does the fact he says that he thought Miri was upset with him because of things other than cheating on her, because he never realized that was a thing. He didn't turn a blind eye to her suffering, he just thought he was the cause of the suffering and removed himself from her as much as he could to give her space.

Luigi assumed one thing, Miri assumed another. Neither of them was in the right and both should have acted with maturity and respect for each other and themselves instead of just wallowing in their mutual Suffering. If they had just talked to each other honestly about everything this could have been solved a decade ago, but instead chose to bask in their own issues amd failures, neither of them understanding hiw their actions impacted Keith and Katerina.
 
I appreciate that Milli's response was not very productive or mature - and her treatment of Keith was unconscionable - but it's also understandable that she'd want to save face and avoid directly sitting down with her husband to discuss how blatantly he's throwing his affair in her face.

Luigi, on the other hand, is a grade-A moron who deserves divorce regardless of the truth behind Keith's parentage. The man just showed up with a whole entire kid one day and said "yeah, you're his mother now, our daughter is out of the line of succession, smile". Who the fuck does that? That he spent over half a decade apparently oblivious to his wife and daughter despising Keith and the "love of his life" suffering a steady emotional breakdown over all of this doesn't make it better that he didn't so much as ask Milli's opinion on the hypothetical concept of having another kid to take Katarina's place as heir now that she was marrying out of the family. Absolutely gobsmackingly offensively stupid dipshit. This is why you never marry an anime harem protagonist, folks.
I think you are missing a line in the last update where Luigi says that "I told you [Miri] that Keith was adopted from a branch family." Which means he told the truth and Miri just thought he was lying to save face. Which does paint him in a brighter light. As does the fact he says that he thought Miri was upset with him because of things other than cheating on her, because he never realized that was a thing. He didn't turn a blind eye to her suffering, he just thought he was the cause of the suffering and removed himself from her as much as he could to give her space.

Luigi assumed one thing, Miri assumed another. Neither of them was in the right and both should have acted with maturity and respect for each other and themselves instead of just wallowing in their mutual Suffering. If they had just talked to each other honestly about everything this could have been solved a decade ago, but instead chose to bask in their own issues amd failures, neither of them understanding hiw their actions impacted Keith and Katerina.
To be doubly fair, Luigi still did not consult his wife before the adoption. Part of me wonders if that's because he got an inkling of how bad Keith had it at his then-current home and so decided to take him to Claes Manor right away, but either way it fits a pattern of him acting impulsively and not considering the impacts his actions might have on other people. This, luckily, is a trait no-one else in the family shares, especially not his daughter. :whistle:
 
I think you are missing a line in the last update where Luigi says that "I told you [Miri] that Keith was adopted from a branch family." Which means he told the truth and Miri just thought he was lying to save face. Which does paint him in a brighter light. As does the fact he says that he thought Miri was upset with him because of things other than cheating on her, because he never realized that was a thing. He didn't turn a blind eye to her suffering, he just thought he was the cause of the suffering and removed himself from her as much as he could to give her space.
No, that's my point. Even if we assume he communicated Keith's true parentage in an entirely believable and unambiguous fashion, and even if we completely overlook his inability to figure out how his wife is taking it badly or why, even if we give Luigi a total blanket pass for all of that and accept all his best intentions at face value... he still just goddamn showed up with a kid like a souvenir he'd picked up while shopping, and dumped him in Milli's lap without so much as a tentative consultation.

Never asked if she'd be willing to adopt and raise another heir. Never brought her to meet the kid or his parents. Never asked if she had family she'd like to adopt from. Never asked how she'd like to handle her daughter's inheritance. Never asked Katarina how she'd feel about a sibling. Never asked if she'd like to have another kid of her own (and fuck, wouldn't that feel like a slap in the face to someone who believes she's only been married in the first place to churn out an heir, a belief that let's face it would not have persisted for the decade up to that point in a healthy relationship).

I'd be pissed off if my partner showed up with a goldfish without asking if we wanted a pet, never mind a bloody child. "Poor communication" is one aspect of this, the other is a total, disgraceful lack of respect and consideration on Luigi's part. Divorce him, Milli, he's no good.
 
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Never asked if she'd like to have another kid of her own (and fuck, wouldn't that feel like a slap in the face to someone who believes she's only been married in the first place to churn out an heir, a belief that let's face it would not have persisted for the decade up to that point in a healthy relationship).
Just to clarify here: It's only sorta implied in the source material, but here I'm going to outright state that Millidiana is no longer capable of having children: Luigi and her tried.

It's part of why she suspects he's gotten a mistress.
 
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(and fuck, wouldn't that feel like a slap in the face to someone who believes she's only been married in the first place to churn out an heir, a belief that let's face it would not have persisted for the decade up to that point in a healthy relationship).

This is someone whose daughter, in another timeline, spent a full decade believing - among other things - that her fiancee was only using her to stop other girls from bothering him and would get rid of her as soon as someone came along that he actually liked. Like, we can speculate on how reasonable or unreasonable their beliefs and actions may or may not have been given whatever they actually saw of others' actions, but at the end of the day, their daughter is not the sharpest tool in the shed, and she had to get it from somewhere.
 
This is someone whose daughter, in another timeline, spent a full decade believing - among other things - that her fiancee was only using her to stop other girls from bothering him and would get rid of her as soon as someone came along that he actually liked. Like, we can speculate on how reasonable or unreasonable their beliefs and actions may or may not have been given whatever they actually saw of others' actions, but at the end of the day, their daughter is not the sharpest tool in the shed, and she had to get it from somewhere.
Don't forget how Luigi saw Katarina and Maria holding hands and blushing at one another as many of the people around them showed very visible jealousy at the interaction... and he congratulated his daughter on being such good friends with a commoner.

Katarina gets most of her looks from her mother, but she has her father's charisma... and his density. :p
 
Don't forget how Luigi saw Katarina and Maria holding hands and blushing at one another as many of the people around them showed very visible jealousy at the interaction... and he congratulated his daughter on being such good friends with a commoner.

Katarina gets most of her looks from her mother, but she has her father's charisma... and his density. :p

Harem antics are like orbital physics. The denser the subject the more it attracts bodies to revolve around it.
 
This is someone whose daughter, in another timeline, spent a full decade believing - among other things - that her fiancee was only using her to stop other girls from bothering him and would get rid of her as soon as someone came along that he actually liked. Like, we can speculate on how reasonable or unreasonable their beliefs and actions may or may not have been given whatever they actually saw of others' actions, but at the end of the day, their daughter is not the sharpest tool in the shed, and she had to get it from somewhere.

Unless I'm misremembering, the version of Katarina who believed the Prince was using her as a shield believed so because she had memories of his route in Fortune Lover, in which she learned from an outside perspective that he was doing just that. The version of Katarina who he was actually doing that with thought he actually did like her, or maybe knew that he didn't like her but wanted him to despite that. Nobody came up with that theory out of thin air.
 
Unless I'm misremembering, the version of Katarina who believed the Prince was using her as a shield believed so because she had memories of his route in Fortune Lover, in which she learned from an outside perspective that he was doing just that. The version of Katarina who he was actually doing that with thought he actually did like her, or maybe knew that he didn't like her but wanted him to despite that. Nobody came up with that theory out of thin air.
It's not about how she came up with the theory, it's about how long she stuck to it despite evidence to the contrary.
 
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