Father, I Don’t Want This Marriage Volume 1 Manhwa Review – Review

Like Not Sew Wicked Stepmother‘s release before it, Father, I Don’t Want This Marriage‘s source novels were translated and previously published by WordExcerpt. For unexplained reasons, this Korean novel translation outfit has ceased to make its books available outside of the serialized format available on its website. (Only volume two of Daddy, I Don’t Want to Marry currently appears on Amazon, although three were released physically and for Kindle.) That’s bad news for those who prefer to read source novels before their manhwa adaptations or to read books without scrolling, but Inklore’s physical release of Yuri and Roal’s comic version takes some of the sting out. It may not be Hong Heesu’s original, but it’s faithful to it and still a solid take on the reincarnated villainess genre.

The story follows a Juvelian, the eighteen-year-old daughter of Duke Floyen. Her father raised her on his own (we don’t know what happened to her mother yet), but only for a loose definition of the term – Juvelian grew up feeling neglected by her cold father. When she made her debut in society, she was desperate for positive attention while also having learned that bad behavior would at least get her some notice, and with this horrible combination, she set her sights on Mikhail, a handsome young nobleman. Regretfully for Juvelian, things did not work out well, and she ended her days in the dungeon.

But as is common with these stories, she’s about to get a second chance…as someone else. The events narrated in the paragraph above happened in a novel series, one that the current Juvelian was reading before her untimely death in a ubiquitous isekai traffic accident. When the book opens, she’s four days out from realizing what’s going on. Since she has zero interest in dying violently again, she immediately begins to work towards changing her prescribed ending. First order of business? Break up with Mikhail, then show people she’s not the temper-tantrum-throwing lady she was before. But what she doesn’t figure out is that her father, someone she’s given up on based on how he “raised” his daughter via neglect, sits up and takes notice. He’s concerned that she’s broken things off with her beau, and suddenly, his daughter’s happiness becomes important to him.

The implication here is, of course, that he never thought of himself as neglecting Juvelian in the first place. In his mind, he was allowing her to live her life free of his dangerous work as the king’s sword and the crown prince’s tutor, and when he sees that she’s unhappy enough to break up with the man he assumed she’d marry, he springs into action. Duke Floyen’s reactions to what he assumes is his daughter’s heartbreak show that he does care; he’s just awful at expressing it. Later in the book, we also get the distinct impression that the king has been threatening the duke by saying that he’ll do something to Juvelian if he rebels, so Duke Floyen’s apparent coldness could also be an act to keep the king from realizing how much he loves his daughter. His actions as the volume goes on do bear that reading out because once his student enters the picture, it looks a lot like Max is jealous of how much Floyen loves his daughter.

Although Max is, ostensibly, the male lead, we don’t see much of him in this book. We learn enough to understand that his father has been even worse to him than Juvelian thinks her dad has been to her and that he felt that Floyen was his only real ally. So, when the duke begins paying more overt attention to Juvelian, Max becomes incensed: in his mind, Duke Floyen is abandoning him just like the king did. Juvelian likens Max to a feral cat who does want to be loved but can’t bring himself to trust people, and that’s a pretty apt description. When Juvelian, who has no clue who Max is, fails to be afraid of him despite his best efforts, he’s confused to the point of fascination. He can’t figure Juvelian out, which seems to be a new feeling for him, although he’s been holding himself so tightly for so long that maybe it’s more that he’s never allowed himself to feel anything but distrust and unacknowledged fear.

The romance angle doesn’t kick in until the book’s last quarter, but that’s not an issue. Juvelian’s relationship with her role in the novel she’s now living in and with her father is much more important to setting the scene because she needs to change her character from the ground up. Where Book Juvelian was sneeringly cold in reaction to her father’s perceived neglect, Current Juvelian diligently works to be a better person. She doesn’t necessarily want to be the belle of high society, but she’s very aware that she needs people to like her at least a little if she’s going to avoid death; just breaking it off with Mikhail isn’t likely to be enough. (His reaction supports that – he’s just as bad as Book Juvelian was.) The title comes from Duke Floyen’s decision that he needs to help Juvelian find a new suitor when she’s more interested in just living a quiet life under the radar, something which we seasoned readers of the villainess genre know isn’t going to happen.

Roal’s art makes good use of color, with primarily pastel hues filling the pages. Juvelian’s eyes can look a little crossed at points, and their drooping outer corners don’t always look great, but for the most part, the art is charming and easy to follow. There are several pages of congratulatory fanart from other manhwa artists in the back, but the text isn’t translated, and we aren’t told who the artists are, which is my major gripe with this volume. But the book overall reads smoothly and is easy to get into, with the ending making it necessary to pick up volume two when it comes out.

Father, I Don’t Want This Marriage‘s first volume is an enjoyable time. It may not be reinventing the reincarnated villainess subgenre of isekai, but it plays well within its structure, and that’s almost more important. If you enjoy a villainess-good tale filled with lovely art of a royal fantasy world, try this.