Yeah, the other reviewers didn't give this one sufficient time. This is NOT depression p*rn or anything of that nature. I repeat, it is NOT.
Sure, Radis starts out in a horrible situation and abusive home life, but she gets out of it quickly, and she thrives on her new environment.
To describe Radis, think of the super cool jock girl you knew back in school, whom you had a massive platonic girl crush on, and she was just, genuinely,
nice while also being badass amazing. That's Radis, our splendid lady knight, who has spent over half a decade fighting demons. Think Brienne of Tarth, except small and red-headed.
Her family's neglect may have exposed her to catastrophically fatal amounts of demon energy, but her natural endurance and sheer will to power through lead to a surprising result: she somehow managed to metabolize it into mana. I'm not sure what she is now, but she's slowly exploring her fun new powers and integrating them into her already prodigious sword skills.
And yet, so far, this is not a battle fic.
While she was ready to take her fate into her own hands by applying for a position in a much, much nicer demon subjugation squad and fleeing her family, with the ultimate goal to buy a cherry farm and retire, an interesting twist happened. She caught the passing interest of a prince.
To profit on this and try to use her as a stepping stone, the nearby Marquis offers her a deal. He will socially sponsor her and give her a place to live for two years (until she comes of age) and if she manages to further intrigue the prince, she'll, in turn, keep the Marquis in mind. It gets her out of her abusive household, so she's on board.
Suddenly she's dressing in beautiful ball gowns, going to plays, stuffing her face with delicious foods, and managing an increasing fan club of maids with girl crushes. All while sneaking out at night to practice her new skills on minor demons. Life is looking up!
The Mythos of the story seems to be setting itself up for a return of the Legendary Trio + founding prince scenario, and we may start seeing people slot into their roles as "Fire Sword" "Holy Shield" "Light Spear" and Prince, soon. Not certain, but it's heavily implied.
I currently have no idea who the ML is. There are three possibilities:
Spoiler
The third prince. In a similar abusive family situation to Radis, where he must sacrifice for his older siblings and hide his considerable skills, the third prince is described as empty, icy, and like a hollow doll. He falls in love with Radis at first sight, and it is so, so cute to watch him watch her, the one person who can move him to breaking his facade. However, his situation may be too complicated for him and Radis to have a chance.
The Marquis. He comes across like a moody, goth, middle schooler (and certainly dresses that way). His motivations for taking Radis in are pretty scummy and suspicious, though he's been pretty upfront to Radis that he wants to package her up to sell her (not literally!) to the Prince if the Prince is interested, and treats her pretty decently. The Marquis is convinced the 3rd Prince will be the next Emperor, and that facilitating the guy's first love is his ticket to status and a dukedom. He has little to no idea what real girls are like, let alone a strong woman like Radis, so he can make some fedora-y "milady"-type mistakes when it comes to her, and she tends to view him as a dramatic idiot blowhard, while also loving the new world of shiny, wonderful rhings he's opened her up to.
Robert, Radis's closest friend and comrade in her previous life. Kicked out of his family as the youngest sibling who kept outshining the oldest, Robert likewise has a family experience similar to Radis. A person Radis deeply admired, liked, respected, and relied on, but whom she nevertheless had to keep a distance from, so as to not reveal she is a girl.
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Her garbage family are garbage, and seem set to self destruct on their own. She is content to let them and not give them another single crumb of her, not even in the form of a thought.
