When Archduke Cesare returns from war, Eileen barely recognizes the man she once knew—he's cold, commanding, and burning with unspoken desire. But nothing shakes her more than his sudden proposal. As old feelings stir, Eileen must choose: take his hand, or flee before his fire consumes her.

A Wicked Husband has story by SAHA. English translation is done by Manta. Published on Manta's app (December 16, 2025).

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

If you like messy romance novels with dangerous male leads, add half a star to the rating. If you're not necessarily a fan of messy romance novels with dangerous male leads, subtract half a star from the rating. And if you abhor messy romance novels with dangerous male leads, maybe don't read any of the novels serialized on Manta's app, but definitely not this one.

As you have no doubt guessed – or possibly known from our coverage of the webtoon version - A Wicked Husband is a messy romance novel with a dangerous male lead…and at first, that looks to be all there is to Cesare, heroic soldier and archduke in his own right. Eileen, who has known him since childhood, has always been aware of the darkness lurking inside of him, but she's fully unprepared for him to come home from war and immediately propose to her. He claims it's because her illegal research into opium-based analgesics is about to net her a one-way trip to the guillotine, but there's clearly more going on here. His drive to save her seems desperate in a way that what's going on doesn't quite bear out. Yes, Eileen's in danger of being executed if anyone finds out about her research, but as far as we know, that knowledge isn't widespread. And Cesare's actions also have the air of prescience: he mentions another potential suitor she's unaware of, has her surrounded by his soldiers at all times, and is just generally far more anxious than is warranted…at least as far as Eileen knows.

Over the course of these first fifteen chapters Manta has serialized on their app, I've come to suspect that Cesare is acting like this because he knows what's about to happen – because he's looping back through time, trying to save Eileen. In this theory, his various efforts have failed up till now, hence his increased desperation and intensity. He makes one remark when she gifts him a pocket watch that leads me to believe I'm right, and that adds a dimension to the story. We're firmly in Eileen's head for most of the book, with a brief sojourn into the minds of two of Cesare's soldiers, so author SAHA is turning a familiar genre into something more mysterious than we typically see. The way clues are sown throughout the text is very well done, and this feels like one of the more interesting stories I've seen use the plot device.

All of this is assuming I'm right, of course. But even if I'm wrong, the writing is easy to read and the translation supports that. The setting, which resembles the end of WWI, is interesting, and Eileen feels decently believable in her thoughts and actions. It's messy in the right way – and I'm thinking that our male lead may not be quite so dangerous as he seems.