In chapter 19 of Manga, it says Farren will be 15 while next year FL will be 18. There are approximately 2 & 1/2 OR 3 years difference between the ML and FL. It's not a big deal. I don't understand why some of you keep saying it's a child being with an adult. They aren't getting married as children. When Farren will be 20, FL will be around 23 years old. You guys are exaggerating. They neither kissed nor slept together as children. More importantly, I want to know why Susan is trying so hard to harm FL and ML. What is her aim?
Per Medena's observations in book 2, Susan has a pathological need/obsession with being the center of attention/perceived as being 'special' (legit, only wanted to be Empress because then the whole country would fawn over her). Farren is a threat to this because he a) sees through her BS and doesn't fall over himself to take care of and adore her like everyone else and b) is just as if not more powerful than she is, which makes her less special. Medena is a threat in her mind as well, because she is a) beautiful, b) wealthy, and c) in the unique position of being heir to a noble seat despite being female (her mother is one of the few women to hold the position of Count, and Medena is set to inherit the title). Medena assumes this is why Susan convinces her to dress in unflattering colors, embezzles money, and frames her in the past timeline-it’s all to remove those things that make Medena special. In current timeline, Medena debuts before her since she's older, and is the talk of society for her business dealings, sponsoring a brilliant wizard, and for her beauty (since Susan isn't making her fashion choices) and Susan is absolutely boiling with jealousy over it - add to it the fact that Medena chose Farren over her, and that they keep humiliating her, and in this timeline the hatred is definitely personal. It IS implied there's something else going on - Susan got an anonymous letter about 'recovering her missing memories', but yeah, basically she wants to be the only special snowflake in the world, and Farren and Medena are a threat to her having the spotlight all to herself. Medena is understandably chilled that the girl she loved and cared for like a sister had her beheaded for such a petty reason.
Susan also has a sort of petty resentment towards Medea for picking Farren over her when she went to the orphanage (this is adding on to additional reasons why Susan targets Medea specifically and not just accomplished noblewomen in general).
That's super crazy! Hope to see a satisfactory revenge on mc's part. I love the face-slaps but I hope heroines end game is well-written. It's kind of weird that no one noticed her double face after she constantly attempts to harm Medea so pettily. I wonder if she uses charm magic to influence others into unconsciously liking her?
On top of the questions about Susan, I'm curious to know how Madena would fall for Farren since she sees him as a younger brother figure. Anyone has spoilers?
So full disclosure that I skimmed (story was kind of dragging on a bit) and it's been a few weeks but a few things that I remember: Spoiler: Susan's end - short version She ends up involved with a cult in her continued quest to be Super Special, and Farren kills her in a magical 1:1 battle to stop her from doing any more harm to Medena (mentally, emotionally, or physically - basically, he knows Medena is terrified of her and wants to allay those fears). This breaks his promise to Medena not to kill anyone without her permission, and breaking a promise violates their blood contract, severing it, which Farren knowingly does because putting an end to Susan and therefore protecting Medena (including protecting her from the pain of having to decideSusan's fate) is more important to him. She then turns into some kind of monster as failed vessel of the cult's god. This all happens in the first chapter of the final volume, so there's still more chapters to go that I haven't finished yet. Spoiler: Susan's end (& some events leading up to it) - longer version The Crown Prince - who is an annoying scumbag and the son of a concubine (who gave him to queen to raise) - ends up infatuated with Susan, and for a portion of the story she is in his castle after collapsing and ostensibly being moved there for her recovery. She's not quite imprisoned, but she also doesn't particularly want to be there. She eventually gets out and escapes to the original male lead's home (original male lead is the true crown prince, though he is believed to be his grandfather's very very very late in life child - this is a cover story for why he was shipped off to another country, the real reason is that he is a wizard, and in an empire where wizards are strongly discriminated against and feared, royal family could not have a wizard heir). Susan starts acting BIZARRE. Turns out, she's involved with a cult. This cult is straight up called the Akashic temple. Author did not go for subtle LOL. Per good ol' wikipedia: 'the Akashic records are a compendium of all universal events, thoughts, words, emotions and intent ever to have occurred in the past, present, or future in terms of all entities and life forms, not just human.' I have to go back and re-read to understand what the heck all was going on with the cult and what they're trying to accomplish but Medena's knowledge of 'original book' is tied into it, Susan ends up likewise with knowledge of the 'original story', and they need a vessel. Can't remember if Susan is the vessel or just a means to get more power for the vessel (who is likely Medena), but, either way, Susan is once again convinced she is The Most Special. Susan's new knowledge from the Akashic records includes the content of Farren's promise to Medena, their blood contract, and Farren's feelings for Medena. When he finally can't ignore the threat of her anymore and comes after her, she believes that he will try and take her alive to Medena. For y'all yandere lovers out there, she specifically calls out his reason for not wanting to break the promise, and it's not 'because you love her / don't want to disappoint her / upset her' (although that's a part of it) but in fact the biggest reason is 'you would never give up the chance to have compulsory control over Medena' which he will get if she is the one to break the contract / he would never want to sever the oath that keeps them bound together. Susan knows they are evenly matched in power, but if he's fighting with intent to keep her alive, and she is not in turn restricted in that way, there is no way he can defeat her. She tells him that either she will die, or he will, and since he won't kill her, he's going to die. IIRC, Farren wastes no time and legit just strikes her with lightning / stabs her in the heart, killing her while she's gloating/mocking him, so it's a short fight. She hangs on long enough to bitch about it before turning into a dragon thing they all have to fight. Basically, he loves Medena enough to give up his chance at truly having her all to himself. Her protection matters more to him than his feelings, and she has been haunted by fear of Susan for as long as he has known her - he wanted to finally set those fears to rest. Additionally, he knows by this point that Medena once loved Susan as a sister, and he thinks that if she had to condemn Susan to death by granting him permission, it would cause her pain, and he will do anything--including giving up their contract--to spare her pain. I'm realizing I was very tired when I read this because my memory is super fuzzy. I'm working my way back through and just starting vol 2, but when I get back to the final vol I'll update/correct as needed. EDIT 10/31/23 so almost a year later I finally finished reading this Spoiler: Update on Susan's end So. Susan DOES die in aforementioned fight. But two years later, the temple folks go full-on Frankenstein. ("A woman was lying on the altar. No, the appearance of 'the object 'was too bizarre to be called a woman. It had a strange appearance, as if it resembled an android or zombie from an old novel.") and revive her by stabbing her with a ritual dagger. Somewhat hilariously IMO, within like, 30 seconds of being revived, she notices her skin is less than perfect, demands a mirror, and flips out at her now monstrous appearance since being beautiful has basically been her entire identity. They end up putting her back to sleep for a few months and casting illusion magic so she can be pretty again. They still intend for their god to descend, and 3 things are needed: The Spear of Akasha, hidden in the imperial palace, the core of a Drake, and a vessel. Susan is basically like, screw your god, I'm going to become a god myself, and peaces out to the palace to manipulate the new emperor (scumbag crown prince, not incognito legit prince) into letting her into where the spear is kept, killing him in the process and transforming into the Drake. She's killed by Farren (again), who, along with Medena, was forewarned by the emperor's wife, who observed the initial exchange where Susan asked for help and was like, that's fishy as hell, I'm out. (Wise decision). It's implied that Medena could have been the one to become the drake in another timeline. Not totally clear to me why she turned back time instead of turning into one...
can I just tell you how much I literally love and adore you and are so incredibly thankful for you!! (and of course the others that gave spoilers but you are such a real MVP!! <3 )
Series discussion I still can't get over the fact the Susan's main motivation as the big bad is her simply being a narcissist/attention whore.
Series discussion since it’s been spoiled here earlier Susan received an anonymous letter for her “lost memories” in the latest MTLd manhwa chapter, are we going to be introduced with the cultists soon? Why would they support Susan over Pharren? Let me add a minor thing, I think it was an incredibly stupid excuse of betrayal to one of Madenna’s maids. I CAN understand healing/saving your siblings and if that was the sole reason, I’d understand it BUT believing on Susan’s lies about the debutante dress just felt… off. The one who loses at the dress argument will always be Madenna, attempting to have the same dress is not a smart move and she was judged a bit harshly but stepped down in the end (though I could understand because maid was not present at the party and maybe not being properly educated also does not have critical thinking skills)
And do you know what happened to the illegitimate pathetic idiot scum crown prince Arlo and Susan's dumb spy maid Pattie at the end?
Wait, do you know what happens to Farren after that? I thought that if they break the contract they will die? I know from other spoilers that he is fine, but how?
i just find the readers who have problem with this age gap a little hypocritical cause cookiehouse leads have the same age gap and no one batted an eye. cookiehouse ml literally fell in love with her when she was 10 and he was 15. and he even waited for her to become an adult to start a relationship with her. but everyone was was going awwww he's so sweet and considerate. ik 10 and 15 doesn't sound as bad but when he was 20 she was 15. don't get me wrong, i like cookiehouse but it's just funny how no one had any problem with them but has with this novel's protagonists. and this novel's fl didn't even consider ml as an option until he was an adult. i do not like age gaps, even more when one party has seen the other since they were minor but it never fails to surprise me how people's attitude change depending on whether it's older!ml,younger!fl or older!fl,younger!fl relationship
Series discussion It's been spoiled earlier Susan eventually runs away to the OGMLs viscounty land, does the prince still help her even though he owes Medena a favor?
Spoiler: What happens to scum prince Short version: He (briefly) becomes emperor, imprisons his mother, goes on a rampage/massacre of temples (since they hid the fact the emperor had died at his mother's order) and then gets his throat slit by Zombie!Susan after promising to help her out (and failing to notice she's a zombie) in exchange for her agreeing to basically become his imprisoned concubine if he does. Longer version: Sometime around when Farren & Medena reunite (2 years after the fight where Farren kills Susan), the emperor collapses and basically exits the story. That leaves 3 imperials, basically (Kaldis is still incognito): CP (Felson), Sabia (concubine/Felson's bio mom), and Cynthia (CP's wife) Felson refuses to acknowledge the existence of his biological mother, Sabia, and hopes that the emperor will quickly disappear. Cynthia's trying to fulfill her duties as the Crown Princess in isolation, but there's little she can do in the already declining imperial family. Sabia is trying to create her own power, but doesn't trust her son. Emperor dies, and Sabia (emperor's concubine, crown prince's biological mother) convinces the temple to keep it a secret, using the excuse of his illness to keep visitors away. Medena uses a meeting with them to about expanding the magic railroad recently constructed in her territory (and not the capital city) to bait the crown prince into trying to meet with the emperor (which will be impossible since he's dead) because something that would affect so many territories requires imperial seal. CP goes to see the emperor on the day of his wedding anniversary, which is a big party so security at temple will be low, and shows up at the party covered in blood, announcing what Sabia did in front of everyone, demanding she be imprisoned, and gleefully announcing he's now emperor. As a result, it's revealed that among the original fifteen temples of the gods, not a single one has any remaining divine power. CP goes on a rampage, executing and attacking temples and massacring the folks associated with them. The country experiences a monster outbreak and the authority of the imperial family, unable to control this situation, completely falls to the ground, and this serves as an opportunity for Medena – who anticipated this from the novel and has spent years preparing for – to establish power. Zombie!Susan who has been revived by the Akashic temple and is under an illusion spell so she looks like her previous beautiful self instead of Frankenstein's monster, appears and tells him (via magically written words so as not to reveal her now distorted voice) that she was kidnapped and kept unconscious for two years by a cult, and has been cursed, and to break the curse she needs a relic from the Red Moon Palace, which can only be opened by the imperial family. CP agrees on the condition that she stay by his side for the rest of her life (FWIW, context makes it very clear this is more of a like, 'agree to be my imprisoned concubine' not an 'I love you, marry me' kind of thing) The place can't be opened without spilling imperial blood, and when his trickle of blood doesn't do the trick, Susan takes the dagger from him and slits his throat. FWIW, Cynthia (crown princess/new empress) is a rational and more or less normal person who has been trying despite being in a bad spot. She witnesses the meeting between CP & Susan, contacts Medena, and figures out that Medena is plotting a revolution, and more or less bluntly asks, 'what do I need to do to not die in that revolution'. Thus, she joins the team and eventually becomes a spy with Jack's group since she has to hide her identity after the revolution anyway. I honestly don't remember about the maid sorry! It's not so much that breaking the contract kills them, but that it could .The condition if you break the contract is that 'the other person will have absolute control over you, up to and including over your life.' So if the non-oathbreaker ordered the oathbreaker to die, the oathbreaker would die. So he would only die if Medena ordered him to after breaking it, which we know she's too soft for! (FWIW, Susan pretty heavily implied that Farren was hoping to have that kind of absolute control over Medena some day, but he sacrifices the chance and gives her control over him instead). Some stuff that happens after the contract is broke / fight with Susan-- (Also, side note for all y'all worried about their relationship dynamic/age gap - heroine has the same thoughts, and they're pretty explicitly addressed in this bit) Spoiler: Short version - Farren's feelings after the fight with Susan Medena and Farren have a kind of heartbreaking but, IMO, honestly super healthy/important conversation about Farren's feelings, and Medena convinces him to leave her side for two years. Medena does this because it's a great opportunity both: For his future (leading a railroad/magic stone mine project in his grandfather's–who surprise, is a Grand Duke–territory) and To figure out if the feelings that he's confessed for Medena are genuine/romantic/unchanging (as he insists) or simply familial affection/gratitude for a benefactor that she would be taking advantage of (as Medena fears). Even though it breaks her heart as well, Medena feels that as a sponsor and guardian, it's the right choice to push him to leave her side and 'find his own way in the wider world', and agrees that if, after those two years, his feelings remain unchanged, then at that time, she will consider them seriously. Spoiler: Longer version - Farren's feelings after the fight with Susan Farren and Medena have a conversation where Medena cautions that it's easy to mistake gratitude for one's benefactor or affection for one's family as romantic love, and even though he's an adult, she's been in the position of his benefactor and guardian all this time. Internally, she feels it would be reprehensible of her to take advantage of that. Farren counters that he knows his feelings best, and going back to how things were would be impossible ('can you still say 'you can hug me anytime'), because they've already changed. He begs her to acknowledge it and to give him a chance, as well as his willingness to wait as long as it takes to have even a piece of her heart. Medena, in his embrace, knows that he's right, and that subconsciously she's already recognized this. She acknowledges to herself that if he continues to stay by her side, she won't be able to stop her own growing romantic affection, and fears that indulging in it would ruin his future ('confine him to her own narrow world'). So, she declares they need some distance from one another. There's an opportunity for someone with magical prowess and knowledge of local affairs to lead a railroad and magic stone mining project in another region, and she encourages him to take it (and provides as an alternative that they can announce he's the Archduke's grandson, in which case he'd have no choice by to go live in the grand dukedom as the future heir) - it will take two years, which she figures is enough time for his feelings to cool off. Because Farren broke the blood contract, Medena could force him to do this, as she now has the ability/right to exert absolute control over the oathbreaker, but she begs him not to make her use that command. She says two years apart will help him realize the truth of his feelings, and then they can have a simpler relationship. Farren responds his heart will never change, starts crying, and says he just wants to stay by her side. This devastates Medena because she has never seen him cry and hates that she's the reason he's suffering, but holds her ground. Farren resists but finally asks "If my feelings remain the same even if we are apart for two years … if they don't change." His red eyes were looking straight at her with a piercing force. "...At that time, can you take my feelings seriously?" Medena hesitates, but feels like her heart is being crushed by his tears, so closes her eyes and agrees that if his feelings remain the same, she will think about it seriously. Medena, after Farren has left and when she's alone, sobs and acknowledges that she didn't want to let him go, she wanted to continue to be together, but that even if she could go back, she would make the same choice: "As a sponsor and guardian, it was the right choice. Medena had to push him to leave her side and find his own way in the wider world. It was impossible to confine Farren to her own narrow world. Nonetheless, in the middle of the night in the east hall, with no one around, she wept for a long time." While they're apart: They don't exchange letters - though they get updates on one another (or at least Medena does, implied Farren does) through their shared business contacts. Farren becomes the external leader of the Luces merchant group (which he's been acting as anyway) with Medena focusing purely on the Rodenherg merchant group (externally, these look like separate companies even if technically Luces is basically an independently operate subsidiary of the Rodenherg group) Medena ends up hiring ten aides to fill Farren's workload void They are both obviously miserable without the other and work like maniacs to distract themselves, to the worry of their aides (ex, when Medena asks Blint, who has been in Farren's territory, how he was doing, he responds '...physically he's fine') Medena relocates her business operations to Rohit in her territory, and it basically becomes a hub of greater importance than the capital city. Crown prince marries Cynthia (honestly can't remember if she shows up in the story prior to this but I don't think so) Construction of the magic railroad between Rohit and other territory (Farren's grandfather's) is completed. Kaldis (actual biological son of emperor and empress, incognito wizard) confesses to Medena (off page - only get hints that he presses for a response of the two years when she does finally respond later in the book) Also, just me rambling on why I liked this bit: I never really had that much of a problem with their age difference since Medena never expresses or even notices him in that way until after adulthood, but I really liked this part. Legit got a thumbs up from me. While they're both adults and Medena has never treated him as anything 'less-than', the power dynamic in their relationship has been inarguably imbalanced in Medena's favor up until this point. This decision gives him time to go off and be his own person, with his own authority, and when they meet again, it will be with that experience and without the contract between them, and will allow both of them a measure of certainty. While it dismisses his feelings in the short term, given her prior authority in their relationship, I think it was absolutely the correct decision to allow them both to move forward. All the more so since there was a legitimate benefit for his future behind it aside from just 'I need you to go away for awhile'. IIRC, he at least is willing to hear her out. Susan is pretty persuasive, and he doesn't have a good reason to have complete blind faith in everything Medena's said at the point Susan shows up. To be fair, he extends this lack of trust to Susan as well, taking a kind of 'trust but verify' approach. IIRC, he does feel Susan is kind of off, but she's also in a damsel-in-distress kind of situation and so he doesn't completely kick her to the curb right off. I don't remember to what extent he helps her/for how long, but he is very much Medena's ally in the endgame. I need to go reread that volume >>
Thanks for the detailed spoilers! I am starting to think that OG FL Heroine Susan and other Fame & Power Hungry Evil Jealous Bitch Characters in the RoFan Genre basically have the same narcissistic motive..... Being the center of attention and being worshipped by the whole world + not being outshined by anyone/any other girl. https://www.novelupdatesforum.com/t...us-bitches-harming-the-fl-protagonist.168463/ But the antagonist Susan is quite unique since she truly hates both the FMC & her ML. Reminds me a little of the Novel The Fake Wants To Leave (This fake sister was the only antagonist in the game, a unique villainess who deeply hates both the female protagonist and her male leads.)
YW! & OMG this poll, I love it. 'Reinforces the idea that women can't get along' for real. So many female antagonists are cartoonishly evil. Like, start twirling your mustache and strapping the FL to the railroad tracks, why dontcha. I LOVE when I find a story with female friendships (hi, Perks of being a Villainess!), sympathetic female antagonists, or where the rivalry is truly more 'rivals' than 'I will assassinate you for the sake of melodrama'. While Susan definitely skews to the cartoony side at points, I do appreciate that you can see the thread of desperation at points (being the prettiest and most impressive = security in as society that sees wizards as 'less-than'/pet parlor trick performers at best) that her hatred is rooted in something, and the role of an external force manipulating her. Plus! Snorri, Portia, and even Cynthia as supporting female cast members with fully rounded personalities, woooo (and disability rep!) Apropos of nothing, a few more spoilers/some fluff moments from the final volume! Short version (fluff moments from the final volume) Spoiler: Fluff moments from the vinal volume Okay so it does take Medena until the final volume to get on board with the idea she has feelings for Farren (for once I think the FL has a decent reason for it–unlike the heroines who are just completely oblivious, or 'he's destined for someone else') BUT after they're separated for two years and free of their binding oath: Farren is so eager to see her after two years that he makes an appointment to meet her at 4 AM when the overnight train will arrive, teleports to her room, and ends up falling asleep on the floor of her bedroom (she was waiting for him at the entrance). Medena is actually the one to propose to Farren! IDK if you'd exactly call this fluff or just classic melodramatic soap plot stuff, but Medena sacrifices the chance to become a god incarnate to stay human with Farren. (okay there, Jean Gray/Dark Phoenix…) Reunion Spoiler: Reunion So, see last post about why Medena (wisely imo) sends Farren away, but he's gone for two years but after that, construction on the magical train has finished, and Medena is informed she will have a guest at the Rodenherg mansion at FOUR AM. And who is the only person insane enough to impose as a guest at that hour? Farren! Who finally gets to see her again! Turns out, Farren plans to take the overnight freight train, hence the crazy early hour, and has no plans to go to an inn or rest first. Medena frets at first, then ends up fully dressed and anxiously awaiting him in the main hall, and is disappointed when he's a no-show, though she tells herself it's reasonable that he decided to rest first, and returns to her bedroom, where she finds Farren leaning against the corner of her bed, fast asleep, and realizes he must have teleported there. Seeing him sends Medena into a tailspin - she's worried about his health and if he's overworking himself (he looks more mature but also thinner and a little rough and obviously exhausted) and, she desperately misses him and wants to see him, but she's terrified that he'll open his eyes and they won't hold affection for her anymore, even though that was part of the intent in sending him away. She can't get him onto the bed by herself so she tucks a blanket around him and promises to face him the next day. When they do finally meet the next day, Farren holds out his hand for her to hold (a habit from childhood) and says he's back, Medena tells him welcome, and he expresses relief that her voice is exactly the one he remembers. She counters that his own has gotten a little lower. Feeling awkward, she tries making some impersonal sort of chitchat about business (even though she's up-to-date a la her employees passing info along) and he just cuts in with, "By the way, Medena. When can I return?" Medena tries to insist returning to being her assistant is a waste of his talents, and realizes the topic she's been avoiding is about to come up, and sure enough, he brings up the promise she made to him two years ago, asking if she remembers - and correctly deducing from her expression that she does. His voice was gentle and confident. "Then I will tell you, Medena." Her heart was pounding like it was going to explode. Maybe, perhaps, if…his heart... "I am in love with Medena. That hasn't changed even now. I love and will continue to love you." The moment the words fell from Farren's lips felt like it lasted forever. Medena goes into another tailspin, afraid she's imagining what she wants to hear, and thinking about all the excuses she used to ignore his feelings, how she tried to put a lid on her heart, how she ran away from it, and how Farren must have been more hurt by her actions and responses than anything, only to still face her and say so gently that he still loves her. So, while Farren was the one to cry at their parting, Medena is the one to cry this time at their reunion. Farren, mistaking this for rejection and sadness at having to hurth him, embraces and reassures her that all he wants is to stay by her side, she doesn't need to be burdened with how he feels or reciprocate. But Medena admits that she loves him as well (and that she was sorry, and she missed him and had a hard time even though she was the one that sent him away.) She gets a bit embarrassed and apologizes, and Farren nonchalantly responds that it can't be helped, he's more experienced in being in love given how long he's been in love with Medena compared to how long she's been in love with him, and he may not catch up in age, but he has her beat in this. Some small stuff after that: Farren is deeply grumpy that he can't go back to being Medena's aide (she's set up an efficient system of aides in his absence, doesn't want to fire good workers, and feels it would be a waste of his talents anyway) and is obviously jealous of them to the point where they're like T.T he's scary and he doesn't like us. This improves slightly after one of them, despite being clearly terrified of him, still speakers up to give him a heads up about how they look in public (aka, 'y'all aren't fooling anyone') and wishes them happiness. However, he IS happy that Medena now reacts to his teasing (What should I do? I think I'll develop bad habits because Medena's reaction is so funny.) He asks her when her next day off is, she asks if he's asking so that he can ask her on a date which leads to this– (Farren raised his eyebrows as if he was a little surprised, then smiled softly, "You understand right away." / "… Are you treating me like a fool?" / "In the past, when I tried hard to seduce her, Medena didn't even notice.") Though he does stuff like kiss her fingertips in private (...which, to be fair, he's done all along despite Medena's obliviousness) he keeps things very innocuous, knowing how 'sponsoree→mistress (or whatever the male version would be called)' would not be a good look for her reputation, so they do cute stuff like go on picnics and to the opera but generally keep it very PG. Farren also acknowledges he's fully aware that his love is…a lot…and that he doesn't expect that from Medena, he's just happy she's said she likes him. Proposal Spoiler: Proposal While Medena and Farren are in a carriage returning from a date, she acknowledges they can't get married unless the empire collapses, or he becomes the next Grand Duke (reminder: he turned out to be the secret grandson of the current GD) but that has complications, and despite this, she has no intention of making him her mistress (...idk a good gender neutral translation for this - 'concubine' carries more sense of 'formal position') implication being she wants to be his equal and he to be hers. "Maybe our attempt to overthrow this country will end in failure. Then we will end up accomplishing nothing." "Medena..." "...but if I become emperor." Squeezing his shoulder, Medena said the words as if she were swearing, "Then stay by my side forever." Farren obviously agrees ("I will be by your side forever. Until the end of this life."), pulls her into his lap and they kiss, and Medena apologizes for not having a ring ready despite giving him a marriage proposal. Farren retorts that it's fine, being empress's consort has been his dream since childhood which makes her…question his childhood dreams a bit lol. Akasha & the age of the gods Spoiler: Akasha & the age of the gods Speed history of religion in the Empire: In the distant past when there weren't yet human civilizations, monsters were everywhere and humans were barely surviving, Akasha, the god of magic and most powerful of the gods, descended on the continent with his subordinate gods. Under the protection of the gods, monsters stopped attacking human dwellings and humans built civilizations, worshiping the gods as their saviors. Akasha liked humans and gave magical powers to some of them, who became the ancestors of wizards. However, jealous humans and lower-ranking gods who joined forces to overthrow Akasha - the human who slew him became the first emperor, built the 'palace of the red moon' where it happened, and retconn'ed temple materials to make Akasha an 'old god' and the remaining gods the main ones. However, some of the wizards who worshiped Akasha survived, and from their perspective, the empire that was founded on killing their god was evil and they were the righteous ones, so they continued to worship Akasha in secret. They also, at some point, went bonkers. Having seen Akasha descend in human form, they decided to imitate it, thus starting a practice of kidnapping young children with immense magical talent and transferring their souls into them, essentially making that original disciple group immortal. (....this is what happened to Jack's sibling) Over time, the gods who betrayed God Akasha eventually lost their powers over a long period of time and left the world. Due to the disappearance of the gods, the power that had previously protected humans from monsters collapsed, and people with powerful magical powers started being born once more. Among the original fifteen temples of the gods, not a single one has been proven to have any remaining divine power. Disciples of Akasha saw this as an opportunity for Akasha to return to the world. Three things are needed for Akasha to be able to descend - a relic that's kept in the Red Moon Palace (the one royal blood is required to open, hence Susan slitting CP's throat to gain access), a human vessel for Akasha to ascend into, and the core of a drake... "Stay with me" Spoiler: Stay with me Okay, so. A thing throughout their entire story is Farren wanting to stay by Medena's side and wanting her to stay by his. It comes up from the very start when he asks for the proximity condition to be added to their blood contract (Reminder: he asks for the condition "don’t leave the other person’s side" which they end up defining more concretely as "don’t go to places that are more than a day away by carriage without the other’s permission.") and he often asks through the story to stay by Medena's side (and thus, the only time we see him cry is when Medena pushes him for the 2 year separation). This comes up in a big way in the finale. First, we have Medena (per proposal above) being the one to explicitly ask him to stay by her side, and then we have the god thing. After reunion and in the palace to chat with Crown prince & princess about railroad rights, Medena touches a relic and is briefly transported to the realm of the gods (this is happens earlier in the story as well, not the first time she gets whisked off) where she hears a voice saying the 'Age of God has come to an end, and the time of choice is coming.' (FWIW, no indication if anyone else notices this happening, she 'comes to' in the waiting room) When she tells Farren this, he says he is grateful she is human and not a god (especially considering the whole 'vessel of god' thing that happened 2 years ago leading to Susan's demise) and whatever the choice is, he hopes she will choose to be by his side. They have this convo again later and he reiterates, "Please stay with me until the end, as a human being." which underscores the incredible importance of having conversations about the future with your significant other, because guess what, Medena gets to face this exact question while Farren is out for the count, and otherwise would have had to make the decision without his input! Huzzah for clear communication ! Medena vs. Akasha ("Okay, bye.") Spoiler: Medena vs Akasha Meeeeeanwhillle, the Akashic cult resurrects Susan, who goes to convince the prince to let her into the red moon palace, claiming she needs an artifact there to break a curse on her. However, after gaining access she turns into a drake - it's implied that either Susan or Medena was always going to become a drake, whichever of the two of them was more miserable (not clear to me why Medena regressed time instead of becoming one in last timeline, but it is related), and the other would become the vessel. Farren kills the drake but is engulfed in what is essentially an endless nightmare. Akasha tries to entice Medena into becoming one with it, saying she can live forever as Farren's lover (aka, use the soul transfer thing the disciples use) and when she continues to refuse, gets angrier and angrier at her for trying to defy pre-determined fate, and saying that humans are beings who need God's care. Finally, Akasha says if she refuses, God will disappear from this world. To which Medena straight up responds, "Okay, Bye." which will never, ever, cease being hilarious to me. (It gets elaborated in her thoughts that 'whether it was magic or science, humans will pioneer a new path and secure their own future' but still). Thus, the god fades from the world (and so too will magic, though it will take some time to gradually disappear) With her remaining divine power, she kisses Farren and sucks the energy of the nightmare out of him. She ends up vomiting blood, because this is a rofan novel and we must be as dramatic as possible and, also in rofan-style, she happens to have just enough divine power to purge the nightmare energy and so both are completely gone when she's done. The new empire Spoiler: The new empire The incident becomes known as the 'Red Moon Tragedy' (A huge red moon rose in the sky and disappeared, and a huge monster called Drake was defeated by the hand of a hero). The Allo Empire collapsed with the death of its last emperor, Felson, and Medena Rodenherg was crowned as the first emperor of the newly established nation of 'Rodenherg' with Farren as her consort. Snorri becomes prime minister, Kaldis gives up his title, and wizards are given equal rights–but unlike original novel, no special privileges on top of them. Medena completely overhauls the system, gradually weakening the authority of the aristocracy, and it's noted "Even if it is impossible in Medena's generation, the nobility will be completely disbanded within a hundred years. It was a system that was scrutinized and prepared over a long period of time with people in the administration, including Snorri and Kaldis, who surrendered his title. Eventually, the boundary between nobles and commoners will disappear." Thus ends the main story!