its funny how people often mentioned the contradictions when guessing about the rela between Frederick and Serena. while Fred thought he had to hold his mind, and had many self-pity feelings in his own pov, Serena on the other hand keeps asserting that she has given both her heart and body to Fred (just because she knows nothing about segg, i think Serena doesn't know what virginity is or she thinks she's already a playgirl). dont want to mention virginity, but the author is really good at twisting us, it emphasizes that what we read is pov not the truth (so it has contradictions, because the experiences and perspectives of each character are different). i wish this series was appreciated for its details, its subtle changes, and the way the author twists us. seems like many people will come back to read the series after this chapter, but i'm not that happy, they come back because Serena is a virgin and don't care about the good content
Btw the fact that for all the time Serena was with Fredrick, what about 2 years? Serena never felt the urge or desire to have him, to touch or caress or be close to him in a lovers way, to love basically. It makes me so happy My point here being in love you want your partner not just because you are biologically feeling the need to have s*x but rather because she is she. You won't feel like that about anyone else. You want her all to yourself, do all sort of stuff to her I mean forget about s*x, she was pained because first Eiser cared for her when he saved her but when he brought her to that village he was somewhat distant. So she was feeling this new feeling of pain i guess. It was driving her crazy, that distance . She wanted to be close to him and act lovey dovey. She even mentioned " before you hugged me but now you are acting like that ". Thank god Serena is very bold and acts upon her feelings otherwise she would have just stayed quite feeling sad and wouldn't have jumped on Eiser demanding answers Thats so funny and cute. Serena thinking she is a badass playgirl now
Very true, it's concerning for me that a lot of female readers criticized Serena as an unworthy, "dirty", and tainted FL because they thought she lost her virginity to Fred, it's 2024 but some still have the mindset of medieval folks that women's best value is her virginity.
I’d bet the change wouldn’t be drastic, I’m leaning more to the subtle changes for the both of them. The soft gazes from S to E and vice versa, them bridging the gap of skinship, E holding S hand whenever he’d feel like it. Especially I think how close the both of them will go when talking with one another like the leaning of S to E to read something whatever they S/E is also reading or S holding unto E. I’m excited to witness E and S possessive arc
So, here’s my two cents in this whole virginity topic. I personally like to see both MCs having their first time with one another. However, it is mostly with love stories with a shoujo plot or storylines with “first love” kind of vibe. But when it comes to stories like Serena, that it basically a “enemies to lovers” or where both MC are in the right age and don’t love each other in the first place, I don’t really mind if they have already done it with someone else or was in a relationship previously. As they are obviously not portrayed as “cute, innocent, and pure” characters. The main point of storylines like this is experiencing “one great love or true love” after all the downfalls they experienced. This sort of backstories contributes a lot to their character development as you can see them realize the difference of simply wanting to have someone by your side to actually love and care for someone. As for the actual pov of Eiser, he actually expected Serena to have an experience already. But did not really mind it as he understands their relationship and situation back then. But since he’s already in love with Serena (he just doesn’t realized it yet) he was somewhat happy to know that he will be her first. PS: The doctor did not explicitly mentioned that Serena was sexually active. She just warned Eiser before cause of the kiss marks she found on Serena’s body. The doc just had to make sure that Serena wouldn’t get pregnant as kissing and all will mostly lead to “that”.
Serena had done a lot with Frederick, from sleeping together, kissing and him kissing her body when she changed but it is pretty clear that they haven't gone all the way (penetration) because of his comment that he is the most patient man. So, it is not sudden change of plot from author. However, there's a plot hole for this though in my humble opinion. Serena is smart woman and likes to read as shown she reads a lot of books (not hotel manuals) in early chapters (shown as flashbacks), there's no way she didn't try to read some things about sex education. I just feel like her knowing nothing about sex is more unbelievable rather than her being a virgin. I honestly do not care about her being virgin or not though, but I really want her to know about it rather than clueless. It just makes everything more exciting imagining her asking Eiser to teach her because she knows what it means. But that doesn't mean I didn't like the current route though, I mean who am I to complain when I keep giggling when they made out Also someone commented that if they did Serena will get pregnant because contraceptive is not available during that time, you don't have to worry since it seems that Eiser done it with someone before and no one ask him for his child support, I assume he did 'coitus interruptus' with his partner. He may done that to Serena too, unless girl wants him to stay till the end lol
It's very simplistic to say that people who complain about Serena's virginity don't care about good content. I'm here to tell ya that it's precisely because I care about good content that I was not thrilled to find out that she is a virgin at this stage of the game. The author intentionally tried to paint an imperfect image of Serena only to make the big reveal at the climax of the story that she's a stereotypically perfect FL. Because, yes, after purposely suggesting that Serena was physically intimate with Frederick, being a virgin makes her conform to an idealized standard placed on women. I don't think that her virginity would have been a big deal if it had been made crystal clear since the beginning. I wouldn't have cared. But the steamy scenes and ambiguity were meant to mislead and confuse. For one, this overused cliché trope of a pure, innocent, virginal FL with an experienced ML can instantly turn a great story into an unorginal one. It can turn something original into a dime a dozen thing. So how does that happen here? It was interesting at first that Serena was a complex character full of contradictions. She is weak and strong at the same time. Emotionally unstable and fragile, chaotic and self-destructive. At the same time, she has damn mighty inner strength. Part of what made her weak and immature and honestly just human, was her resentment and escapism. There she was, forced into a marriage with a heartbroken man. Eiser was so bitter and stone cold, he couldn't even afford to smile or be kind. He did not give a shit about Serena at all because the relationship was about business, just a means to an end. Add to that the fact that Serena thought that Eiser was just as evil as Victor and you're stuck in a horrible marriage. Serena herself was heartbroken because of the death of her family and she also spiraled into depression. It made complete sense that she would want to escape the pain by seeking pleasure. In these specific circumstances, THIS is why it would have made sense if she had actually slept with Frederick. Aside from being a realistic human experience because people go through it in the real world, it also shatters the idealized standard that makes virgin women automatically more virtuous and desirable (= better). I don't think that Serena HAD to be a virgin in order to prove that she is in fact very innocent, naive, immature and as young mentally as she is physically. Even before the revelation that she is a virgin, the readers already knew that because of her own toughts and actions throughout the story. As for what makes Serena strong, she is willing to endure any hardship to protect her loved ones and what is rightfully hers until death. When Victor kidnapped her, she never begged pointlessly to be speared and she never revealed her identity. One of the reasons why Eiser started to become interested in her is precisely because she is the complete opposite of Dia in this regard. He compared them because Dia is a coward who would choose the easiest way to save her own skin even if it means throwing away her dignity and what she holds dear. So being an extreme badass and a virgin now makes Serena's character idealistic, as opposed to realistic. She only has convenient flaws. And of course, in most cliché stories, it doesn't matter how young the ML is. He is always more experienced, worldy and mature than the FL. I'm exhausted with this trope but the world can't get enough of it.
ANYWAY, CAN WE ALL JUST APPRECIATE HOW INTENSE AND SATISFYING THIS CHAPTER WAS?!? i mean, we literally waited for this moment. Also, THE DRAWING and coloring has done so beautifully. Don’t get me wrong. This webtoon is definitely a god-tier when it comes to visuals. But DANG. Eiser and Serena were extremely beautiful this chapter. Especially Eiser! He’s visuals never failed but I felt like he was drawn with less details these past few chapter as opposed to Serena (w/c is understandable since S is the main character) butttt i felt like Eiser’s past design (ch 1-10) had a major comeback this chapter and i’m loving every panel ✨
I understand that most people don't like the fact that she is virgin. But Serena actually shared many things with Frederick, except sex, and this was actually pointed out by Frederick in Chapter 26. When Serena was with him, she thought they really did everything. And if she had more knowledge, I bet she wouldn't mind continuing with him either. And Eiser didn't mind, in any case. He already thought that she had slept with Fred. The main problem is her ignorance. This makes me really sad for her. Most girls in the past learned about relationships from their mothers or anyone close who was able to give advice. To think that she didn't have a single person advising her or telling her all the time is really sad. It only makes me think of the loneliness and isolation that Serena was experiencing. All of her relationships were work relationships or fake ones. In front of society, she was a woman who had everything: beauty and young age, a husband who worked for her family and made money; a lover on whom she depended sexually and emotionally; and all she had to do was go to random masked parties and enjoy her time. But in reality, she is just a person whose life stopped at the age of 17 after the death of her family, afraid and depressed all the time. Her work as Sera under all of this still amazes me. And being a virgin or not didn't ruin her character's development for me, it just made me see another weakness in Serena and remember how young she was during this whole mess.
It didn't ruin anything for me personally, I just find it unrealistic not that she is virgin but that she doesn't know anything about it. True manhwa is based on old times but Serena is not some 15 year old in Catholic school for girls in 18 century. I find it especially hard to believe because she was in same room with man for two years and wasn't curious about some things. I know her family died when she was 17 and that she was depressed but she had her own business, wasn't isolated or something. It is not attack on Serena's character I just wonder why author decided to take this approach. Anyways chapter was great and I don't mind that Eiser is more experienced since he is not some playboy but I hope he will explain some things to her so that she knows before they fully proceed.
The problem was never about her virginity but about her cheating and the fact that she's still a virgin does not magically change that fact
Okay, now what do you think will happen in the next chapter, a snu snu scene or not ? Personally, I initially thought so, but after some reflection and especially considering that Serena is a virgin, I think it's a bit rushed even if we have an horny Eiser. So, I tend to believe that in the next chapter, she will make it clear that she's not ready, and then maybe there will be a small skip, and they'll either sleep together or separately. Next day, I think they will go on a date. Eiser bought clothes for Serena, they will do some activities to take their minds off things and have a pleasant time. I can envision a scenario later on where Serena will ask Eiser to teach her when the moment is most opportune. However, I hope I'm wrong, and in the next chapter, we get the hottest chapter ever, LOL
Here’s why Serena is a virgin has enough backup for me (prefer she is not but i think author did a sufficient job here that i wish she just carry on w their love life rather than go back to explain): - Uneducated, no foundation/theory - Didnt have the right mind for it due to family trauma and unreasonable marriage - Was curious then met a fake lover to become intimate w but didnt love enough to do it with - Fake lover felt inferior to her and respect her so didnt force into it (this for me was key. She was lucky F didnt take advantage of her. E even mention he was more surprise at F than at S). - Was advised to learn from husband and didnt consider she have one yet She did mention in the chapter that when talking about the topic Fred always seems like there is more to share but hesitate so she just leave it at that. So there was Curiousity, just not enough to push further. Other than that, i doubt she watch porn or read sex education book (thought she didnt read before Eiser) or have close friends that brag about sex life she was practically half dead before she met Fred. Regarding next chap, i’ll take anything but some light munching then skip to morning… anybody have read past works by Ina? Is she usually that cruel? The series is young adult so i have some hope its not completely toddler-friendly…
YES, THANK YOU. I think this is what others [who get frustrated with people like us] don't understand. Virginity itself is not the issue, but this overused trope, this damn double standard about men and women's virtue that's been overused and quite frankly makes me uncomfortable as a woman. Like if it's written in only half of stories, okay, no problem, but this stuff with an experienced ML and inexperienced FL is in 98-99% of stories. When I started reading this manhwa and assumed Selena wasn't a virgin, it excited me b/c this was different. Rarely are there ever stories where the FL is experienced like the ML. It also went well with Selena's story, it made sense with her psychology, but now I feel like the story has been a bit cheapened. Idk. I get that some people think it makes sense, but to me it felt like it came out of nowhere... I'm still gonna read this manhwa b/c it's great, but I admit I'm a bit disappointed now that this overused trope has made its way into another story. But damn, just reading your comment made me feel so good b/c you expressed everything I feel and it's so nice to see someone else seeing this all the same way.
People put my username to shame regarding the virginity aspect. Everyone is like "oh this is such an overused trope" but I can't recall a single romance manhwa I've read where this was used... I am not saying it was never used but it is not as common as people claim it to be. I do not read smut tho and I can imagine that this might be a reoccuring theme in smut since it is fetishized for sure but this just highlights the huge difference between romance and smut. Also we don't know how experienced Eiser really is. He is 6 years older than Serena and had one relationship before her. Die mad about it. This is such a non-issue in this manhwa I see no malice in this whole scenario here at all but people make such a ridiculous fuss about it (I do not care about other manhwas this topic is about Serena).