Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion

Episode 4

I'm sure I wasn't the only one worried about how this production would handle an episode set at a ball. While the plotting and pacing have been quite good (this episode of Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion takes us basically to the end of the first manhwa volume), the art and animation have had some issues. However, having recently read volume three of the books, I am sorry to report that "poorly drawn horses" come straight from the source. It's perhaps faint praise to say that the ball is handled with mixed results. On the positive side, the waltz hold is more correct than not, and the CG dancers at least appear to be moving in an approximation of the correct rhythm. On the negative side, Raeliana and Noah's motions aren't half as good when they're dancing, and the decision to obscure all background characters from the shoulders up feels very much like the shortcut it is. Oh well, at least the subtitles left in Nick's amazing "bitch-choo" sneeze from the official manhwa release.

The plot of this episode firmly moves the story out of the domestic sphere and into the political realm. Although this element has been consistently present, this is Raeliana's first public event as the fiancée of Duke Wynknight. That's a big deal as any reader of historical romance can tell you. This is doubly true because Raeliana comes from a merchant family elevated to peerage during her lifetime. She may have money to her name, but it's tainted by the fact that it was earned recently, rather than inherited. Although the caste system has been officially abolished, the old nobility isn't above using it against new money. It's a very easy way for them to show off their assumed superiority in a way that may well still sting. Unsurprisingly, that's precisely what Vivian Shamal, the novel's villainess, does almost immediately upon meeting Raeliana. From Caroline Bingley on up, it's been the default way to attempt to get under a romantic rival's skin.

Raeliana's past as Rinka, however, largely makes her immune to this. Not only is she very well-educated thanks to her modern upbringing, but she's fully aware of Vivian's novel persona. Now, as seasoned isekai viewers/readers know that, in no way, means she knows the actual Vivian. Raeliana hasn't quite figured out that the world she's living in isn't exactly the book she read. But she's still got more in her arsenal than Vivian assumes, to say nothing of a team of five knights hovering in the background, ready to swoop in if need be. And if that “need be” is “in the restroom?” Thankfully, one of them is Dame Ansley, a lady knight, presumably included in her security detail for just that reason. I can't see Noah being thrilled with the idea of Adam or the other guys following his bride into such a personal space.

He also may be at least tangentially aware that Raeli won't be able to carry out the task he's asked of her if there are too many people hovering. Essentially, he wants her to infiltrate a group of high society matrons to funnel information back to him, and the woman he's chosen as her target is a young marchioness wed to a man who quite literally twirls his mustache. It seems likely that her marriage was strictly political (with maybe a dash of financial spice), and her retiring nature makes her an easy target. She's also, somehow, involved with Vivian makes her tempting because, as the king's betrothed (or soon-to-be betrothed; it's not clear if that's something that's happened yet), she's in a position to know things she might share with her social group.

Of course, for this to work, Raeliana has to avoid being kidnapped from the ladies' retiring room while she's only being guarded by Dame Ansley. I guess even Noah can't account for all the possibilities. It's a good way to end an episode, though! Now we'll see how attached Noah has become to his “false” fiancée.

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Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.