Selena's whole world is turned upside down when Sienna, the daughter of a maid, suddenly claims that she's the real daughter of Count Estarion. Sienna remembers everything about Selena's childhood, making everyone believe that she's the real daughter. Her once supportive brother and father, who are everything to her, turn cold and kick her out of the house. Even her close friend and fiance turn their backs on her. With nowhere to go, she is saved by the only person who treats with her kindness, Eideun Calypso, a war hero who was once a lowly slave. He asks Selena to be his private tutor and teach him high society etiquette. Why is Eideun being so generous to her? Will Selena be able to find out the truth about her identity? Will she take revenge on those who betrayed her trust?

I Thought I was the Real Daughter has a story by Bosal and art by Yonggi, based on a work by Madrum. English localization by WEBTOON. Published by WEBTOON (April 13, 2026). Rated YA.

Bolts
Rating:

The first couple of pages of the story hooked me strongly. The idea of a woman turning her back on her family, who originally disowned her over a misunderstanding, set a really engaging tone, and I wanted to see exactly what happened that got the family to this broken point. The problem is that what got the family to this point was steeped in a lot of forced writing and misunderstanding. Have you ever read one of those stories where you know the writer wants to get to a very particular status quo, so they just write everybody like an idiot to get to that point as quickly as possible? That's what it felt like reading this story. Selena was a young woman whose life was turned upside down when another woman who looked just like her claimed to be the real one. Selena gets so easily replaced by this imposter because her father and brother were manipulated so thoroughly within the span of what couldn't have been longer than a month. By the time I was up to chapter three, I was rolling my eyes so hard that I genuinely was getting a headache.

This is a story about corruption and treachery. When Selena is ousted from her family and forced to live on the streets, she almost immediately starts arming herself with the tools to get back what was hers, but it takes a while to get to that point. The story feels so uneven, and most of the cast are unlikable, here to just drag Selena down instead of feeling like characters in their own right. I'm trying to find enjoyment in the character dynamics when the story is primarily a character piece, but most of it just boils down to more and more betrayal.

There are strong facial expressions and solid use of color, but this felt like a story that didn't have any actual real people in it besides the protagonist. I understand that the story wants me to feel bad for her unfortunate circumstances, but I feel bad for her because it feels like she's in a story that didn't want to treat her with the respect she deserved. You can still have an engaging drama about betrayal, but I still need to feel bad for everyone involved, not just Selena. I really liked the initial hook, and I still want to see how everything ties back to that flash forward I saw on the opening pages. But unfortunately, the more I read this, the less I wanted to give this story more of my time.