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Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion
Episode 9

by Rebecca Silverman,

How would you rate episode 9 of
Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion ?
Community score: 4.2

raeliana-ep-9

If you didn't figure it out or were too annoyed to bother with it, the Divine Tongue Raeliana and Heika speak of in this week's episode is subtitled in mirror writing. Annoying, yes, but still readable if you feel like pausing. If you don't, he's basically asking her where she learned to speak the Divine Tongue and telling her that he could teach her better than the “old dotard” he assumes was her professor, while she tells him to stop being rude to people “above” him. Not important, but I was still irritated enough to want to know. (And too lazy to go upstairs and get my copy of volume three of the manhwa.)

This episode sets up for what's to come, and it's nice to have a calmer, funnier break from the intrigue that has been lurking beneath the surface of the rest of the plot. Raeliana, as the recipient of the most impressive kill from the recent hunt, is slated to play a part in a holy ceremony at the temple complex, making her the first person who is not Vivian to do so in a long time. No one is quite sure what to expect – not the priestesses nor Raeliana herself, and since the ceremony doesn't appear to have been covered in the novel Rinko read, she's completely adrift. From deadly gruel to the shota grandpa (frankly, a nice change from the loli grandma we more often see), Raeliana can't quite find her footing.

But then, neither can Heika, the ancient high priest who seems to prefer looking like a little boy. Either he didn't get the message that someone other than Vivian was carrying out the ceremony this time, or he just didn't care, but in either case, he's in no way prepared for a girl who ignores pretty much everything he says and treats him like the little kid he appears to be. Of course, part of the problem—and later appeal—is that Heika thinks fates and destinies cannot be changed. When he sees Raeliana attempting to save a bird that has fallen into the warm weather barrier surrounding the temple complex, he tells her that she shouldn't bother; it's a winter bird, and it was doomed the minute it hit the summery weather, no matter what. But this was the wrong approach for a young woman who survived being shoved off a building and attempted poisoning (to say nothing of a kidnapping). Raeliana has fought fate and won at least three times now, and she'll be damned if she's going to sit back and allow destiny to play out the way it's “supposed to.” When the bird recovers and flies off, Heika can't quite believe it: not only did this insolent girl tell him off, she was right. It was Heika, taking things as immutable, who looks like an idiot.

We're all familiar enough with the basic tropes of shoujo romance to know that Raeliana standing up to Heika and proving herself to be a stubborn force to be reckoned with is fast-tracking his interest in her. As of this episode, it doesn't appear to be a romantic interest, which is good because no matter how powerful Heika is, Noah is unlikely to back down. What's more important is that Heika could be a very powerful ally in Raeliana's quest to not die, and having him on her side when the emerald ornament reveals its true nature is almost certainly a good thing. Vivian's vendetta feels pretty tame; until someone (Beatrice?) gave her the emerald to hide in Raeliana's belongings, she stuck with the basics of social bullying. But if there's someone behind the scenes making Vivian dance to their tune, Raeliana is going to need all the powerful allies she can get. Heika may be weird and a little annoying, but his fascination with the one person who doesn't worship/respect him on sight stands to be very helpful indeed.

Rating:

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


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