Booradigm

Now, I actually still dont know why that is. It wasn’t a major change, per se, and it's probably just so that the frame is understood instantly (cause like what else is a kneeled person in front of a cold and rigid guy supposed to represent other than an obvious power imbalance), but I feel like it would have been better if they RETAINED the novel version.

Cause Penelope acting hella arrogant is a MAJOR trait of her character and reputation. Derrick even mentioned she had a wicked behavior, which I'm pretty sure is her acting mightier than what he deems appropriate and not towards the opposite spectrum.

I dunno if the artist may have been uncomfortable drawing the scene of Derrick scolding Penelope while she was still in bed or smth (cause his feelings and all) but at the same time, this is the SAME girl that proudly refers to herself as the only daughter of the Eckhart duchy and gets mad at being snubbed, there is NO way that she would just easily get on her KNEES.

Siyeon literally agrees with that. Even the duke was surprised by it.

Other than it being more impactful as 'Penelope' to have been the first time she had knelt, keeping the novel version would have REALLY hammered it in that Penelope was not respected AT ALL, especially if it is assumed that she was still in her nightgown; because it shows a lack of regard that she was supposed to be a noble LADY.

Penelope never apologizes, too, btw, which further makes it more unbelievable when I reread the manhwa.

Unlike Derrick, who was often absent due to his responsibilities as heir, Reynold was PRESENT in Penelope’s life, which sounds like a good thing UNTIL you think about what that implies.

Reynold spent time with her, and his proximity gave him a LOT of opportunities to stand up for her, doesn't it? And yet, instead of using that closeness to offer even the most basic protection, he just ALLOWED and indirectly fueled the household’s mistreatment of her.

He, out of all the Eckart men, was the MOST aware of how shitty Penelope was treated. It's why he PREFERS that she be as aggressive as she was, unlike Derrick and the Duke who expected her to just tell them.

His lack of intervention also created a domino effect; when the knights and servants saw that Reynold ALLOWED her to be insulted and does it HIMSELF, WITHOUT consequences, they followed suit, normalizing OPEN belittlement and hatred of Penelope.

By contrast, Derrick’s negligence was structural, NOT personal. He viewed Penelope as an OBLIGATION or duty, often cleaning up her scandals in a way that protected the family’s image, even if it meant belittling her.

He's USED TO handling it when Penelope causes scenes. Yes, it would be in a demeaning "she's childish, she didn't know any better," type of way, but it was MEANT TO HELP (and it DID help in keeping Penelope out of punishments, judging from how assured Derrick was that he can bail her out like it's normal).

If Derrick only acted AFTER Penelope causes trouble, then Reynold, directly or indirectly, was the CAUSE of it.

Her problematic behaviour began when she realized the duke refused to listen to her side, which was caused by none other than the necklace incident, when REYNOLD framed her.

HE was the catalyst that started the chain of reactions.

The duke and Derrick are neglectful but not INTENTIONALLY malicious and never knew she was being ACTIVELY abused; they only thought she wasn't respected.

It's why when the duke found out about her being given toy cutlery by the chef, he not only renovated the ENTIRE dining area, but also revoked a previous order he made years ago about opening up the attic (something he RARELY does) as he thought it would cheer her up. There are also other instances where the duke tries to cheer her up when he thinks she's sad, such as giving her the crossbow in the hunting tournament.

Derrick's later action of firing a knight for insulting her also suggests that he NEITHER encouraged NOR tolerated public disrespect.

So even though Derrick’s help was impersonal and often begrudging, it STILL protected her.

“But Reynold was 14 and Derrick was 17, it was expected that Reynold was more immature-” okay, if we’re talking age, then what about when they got older, huh?

While it IS true that Reynold was younger than Derrick and thus might be expected to act more immaturely, age alone DOESN’T excuse the PERSISTENCE of it, especially considering that HE DID NOT GREW OUT OF IT as they got older and he was 19 already.

How can you argue that someone being a kid justifies their actions when even after they were NOT children anymore, they STILL acted the SAME?

It was ONLY because of Siyeon refusing to take his shit and INTENTIONALLY making him feel guilty that he began to change. He would NOT have done that for Penelope when she tolerated him, smh.

In contrast, Derrick, though also flawed and emotionally distant, showed a degree of responsibility consistent with his role as heir.

If age was the only factor, then Reynold would have gradually become more mature as he got older. But he didn’t. He was perfectly content continuing to treat Penelope like that had Siyeon not come along. So yeah, age CAN explain Reynold’s behavior in the beginning, but it did NOT justify its continuity.

“But Derrick saw Penelope as a woman, he's a pedophile since she first came to the duchy at 12 while he was already 17-” If that were true, then OBVIOUSLY, he would be the worse of the two.

BUT! There wasn’t ANYTHING that hinted that he was attracted to her AS A CHILD?? Nor groom her?? There is certainly no doubt that AFTER Siyeon got into Penelope, his affection meter went up, but if you take a look at WHAT makes it raise, you would see that it is NOT childlike behaviors he is attracted to like a pedophile would be.

There was NO textual evidence suggesting Derrick viewed Penelope romantically or lustfully when she was a child (that is, unless you count her being 17 as a child). The narrative shows that he didn't recognize those feelings until Penelope was around 17, by which time she was already described to look like a "vixen" (chapter 4).

A pedophile is a person who is sexually attracted to children. But there weren't any scenes or implications that Derrick became sexually attracted to her as a child. Ngl tho, I also thought he was a pedo, but after looking more into it, there was just NOT enough evidence for me to argue that (I apologize to Derrick defenders I thought were retarded for this), so while he is DEFINITELY pseudoincestious, I wouldn’t go as far as to say he is a pedophile.

But anyway, back on track-

Unlike Reynold, who ENABLED the household to be hostile toward Penelope under his watch, Derrick maintained a degree of authority that DISCOURAGED open disdain toward her, thus why he never knew that the knights were disrespectful towards Penelope.

They likely never acted up around Derrick, only around Reynold.

Besides, Derrick developing romantic feelings for Siyeon later DOESN'T make his PRIOR behavior worse than Reynold’s, especially given that he himself WASN'T aware of his feelings until Siyeon arrived and made people think Penelope has matured, so it was unlikely that he was predatory before that. His actions STILL showed restraint and a consistent pattern of protecting her, even if he never liked it.

Whether or not he grew to love her, his earlier conduct STILL contributed to a safer environment for Penelope and at least enforced protection and boundaries that Reynold never did.

---

Though, that ISN’T to say that they remained like that when it came to Siyeon, since by the end of her story, the less bad brother is definitely REYNOLD.

After all, while Reynold was active in Penelope’s abuse, he CHANGED with Siyeon and was not only more genuine than Derrick, but ACTUALLY grew to see her as a sister and himself as her brother.

He internalized his wrongdoings and literally got drunk from how deeply he regretted the way he treated her, showing that he TRULY mourned the sibling relationship they never even truly had due to him ruining it before it can even start.

His willingness to put her desires above his own when he helped her escape the duchy in Chapter 186 also contrasts with Derrick’s, who prioritized his own desire by continuing to try and change her mind even after she already decided, as in Side Story Chapter 20.

Overall, I think Reynold certainly has both good and bad qualities, but he DID redeem himself in Siyeon’s perspective, because he became a decent brother to her in the end, trusting him so much that even after carelessly telling Judith - her DAUGHTER - to basically kill Callisto - her HUSBAND - he was only banned for 3 months.

And while I don’t support the constant victim-blaming in ‘Villains are Destined to Die’, it really does a good job in portraying how abusive families and people can still be caring and human.

---

Anyway, onto the whole Callisto VS Winter debate. Thanks for sending me the pics of the argument you were referring to, so let’s start with looking into their conversation for their points.

CALLISTO:

“Strongest man in the empire” regarding physical strength & swordsmanship.

The novel didn't outright say that, but it does seem to be in the subtext, as he and Eckles certainly seem like the most skilled with the sword (amongst the cast) and I doubt the narrative will let anyone be better than them at it.

Can imbue sword w/mana.

Chapter 49 in the novel said that “All knights who trained for long enough are capable of mana, which is how they are able to use magical swords,” and in Chapter 100, Siyeon also said that imbuing with mana can sharpen even a wooden sword enough to cleanly slice through straw practice dummies. So this is TRUE.

Able to survive a strong antidote with no antidote.

The first time he was poisoned (in the hunting tournament), his wound wasn’t deep, only a few drops, and HE, himself, confirmed that he would have DIED if he had gotten any more of it (Chapter 96):

“They must have gotten their hands on some exotic poison this time. What a shame for them that it didn’t kill me. I’d be dead, though, if they’d managed to get me with any more of it."

- Callisto

It’s less about him being a macho man that can tank poison, and more about luck that it wasn’t a deep wound. I guarantee that ANY of the male leads would have survived it, given that Derrick survived having Leila claw a hole right through his chest, or that Eckles was perfectly fine even after being struck by Siyeon’s lightning, his chest stabbed by ice, and sent flying by the dragon into Hamilton alleyway.

This just ISN’T the type of story that will take medical information realistically, let alone kill major characters, so some things we aren’t supposed to take seriously.

It was the dragon fang that saved him the second time he was poisoned. No explanation is really needed there, but for all you non-novel readers, Chapter 199 showed that the golden dragon’s tooth is able to “save people,” such as Siyeon’s real body that was ridden with stomach cancer (hence why she wanted to get it), but it was ultimately used by her to save Callisto in Chapter 230.

“Callisto is a demigod so he’s more powerful in a natural state.

I genuinely don’t know how you came to this conclusion, but I can understand the glazing since I do the same to Penelope as well, HAHA.

I guess it makes sense to think of it like that, yes, seeing as the Regulus family is canonically descended from the golden dragon and has it as the imperial house emblem everywhere.

However, one has to remember that it DOESN’T directly mean he has powers. This AIN’T Percy Jackson and the Olympians, but I can understand this assumption likely stems from either other stories with familiar plot, or just the fact that his daughter Judith is so OP.

I mean, in hindsight, it makes sense that the descendant of the golden dragon has superpowers, right?

BUT we need to consider how Judith, herself, is a special case who was the first 1 year old able to cast magic, and the only one other than the founder of the empire (also the one who received its tooth) to have been born with golden wings.

Callisto was born relatively normal, basically. Even if he is a demigod, he can’t cast spells, nor do anything god–ish. His strengths seem to have been borne purely of his own skill and capability, similar to Eckles.

Just observe their fight in Chapter 227, where Callisto even lost to Eckles:

---

I gasped as his frightening face suddenly jerked closer.

“Get back, Lady Penelope!”

With a deafening clang, Callisto deflected Eckles’ sword, lightning fast. I’d initially thought he was attacking me, but his target had been the crown prince.

“Your Highness!” I shouted, scared.

Eckles attacked over and over, one after another in quick succession, before Callisto could even respond.

“Damn it, look at the kind of opponents I have to face off against because my fiancée is so popular with other men!” Callisto spat, busy defending since Eckles had gotten a head start on him. “Don’t worry about me, just go after the Laila, my lady! I’ll follow after I’ve taken care of him!”

“A-all right!” I agreed, nodding hesitantly. Right now, I had no other choice.

--

Good news for a change. I wouldn’t be able to last long, however, because the dragon was too strong.

But what about Callisto? Cold sweat dripping down my body, I started looking around for him. For better or for worse, he was still standing a few paces away from me, locked in combat with Eckles. They seemed to have exchanged countless blows in the short time that had elapsed— their faces and bodies were covered in slices and cuts.

Eckles, whom I’d expected would be easily defeated by the crown prince, was actually managing to hold his own. What surprised me wasn’t just his skill, however. The crude sword he was holding, which had no ornamentation, unlike the crown prince’s fancy weapon, was the magical sword I’d given to him as a gift.

Son of a bitch! Enough already! I thought with a shudder as I continued to hold the spell.

Their swords clashed harshly yet again, and this time Callisto’s blade broke with a piercing clang. Eckles was on him immediately, but Callisto parried with what little remained of his weapon. An ear splitting noise filled the air. It was obvious that Callisto was losing now, and Eckles looked as if he had every intention of killing the crown prince.

As Callisto was slowly forced back, I felt my heart sink. Then he suddenly lurched back then darted forward, ramming his forehead into Eckles’ face.

“Ugh!”

Eckles tottered back and Callisto swung his broken sword, going for his neck. Despite wanting him to win, this was an underhanded tactic. I stared, slack-jawed. Eckles immediately recovered and blocked the attack with his own blade. The rest of Callisto’s sword, unable to withstand Eckles’ strength, shattered to pieces.

“Your Highness!” I shouted.

Callisto was staring down at the hilt in his hand with a look of distress on his face. Eckles became frenzied now that the prince had no weapon. He started swinging his sword wildly and Callisto used his sheath to block, only barely managing to avoid serious injury. The sheath was not enough to completely defend against every attack, however. Before long he was bleeding heavily.

“Callisto!” I screamed.

The crown prince lost his balance and I entirely forgot that I was meant to be holding the spell. I turned and ran toward him.

Eckles saw his opening and took it. Lifting his sword into the air, he was about to plunge it into Callisto’s chest. The moment seemed to last forever, but I interrupted his attack without hesitation.

“Freeze fission!”

Three deadly sharp shards of ice formed and shot toward their target.

Immediately realizing that he was being attacked, he changed his weapon’s trajectory to block. Two of the shards broke apart, but not the third.

“Ugh!”

It burrowed itself deep into his chest.

---

(That was basically the end of Callisto VS Eckles, as following that, Eckles saves Siyeon and got kicked off by the dragon and disappeared after.)

Notice how on par they are, and how Callisto LOST, even as a “demigod,” against a non-demigod prince of Delman.

Just being descended from the golden dragon DOESN’T give him extraordinary abilities, and he certainly seemed as capable as a normal boy when the empress consort sent assassins after him.

Callisto was born relatively normal, basically.

WINTER:

“Strong support than fighter”

I’m guessing this is assumed due to mage side characters in the story being put as more for defense, like making barriers to shield knights, but that is just false. Not only was Winter shown to know attack spells literally multiple times throughout the story, but the ancient mages literally went to WAR, too, so they are certainly NOT just for support.

“Nice guy and a nerd."

Winter being a “nice guy and a nerd,” is NOT a valid reason as to why Callisto is stronger than him, because neither is a direct weakness. I can’t believe y’all are making me defend this guy and the others, but yeah, his kindness isn’t a weakness unless he was being blackmailed or smth, and his nerdy dedication to attaining knowledge is legitimately one of the reasons why he as a mage is so powerful.

“Winter can use ancient magic but it has negative effects so he isn’t as strong unless there’s a catastrophe.”

Winter ISN’T capable of ANCIENT magic. It’s likely that it was confused with him being able to use FORBIDDEN magic, such as what happened when he asked Becky’s soul. (Chapter 209).

Now that that's done, let's try to see which of the two would win. The most accurate depiction of how they would fight would be in Chapter 131 where they teamed up against the Laila cult:

---

Against the combined strength of the two male protagonists, the villains were completely outmatched.

The love interests in this game are all pretty competent, huh? I was relieved to see the monsters falling so quickly. There were no notifications from the system indicating any main quests, which probably meant this episode of the game would soon be over after we rescued the children.

The monsters shrieked as Winter attacked many of them simultaneously with his magic, allowing Callisto to quickly reach the altar. His sword sliced through three of the robed figures like butter. He showed no hesitation as he cut down the followers responsible for producing the monsters from their pouches.

The crown prince was still invisible to them since he wasn’t using any magic—per Winter’s earlier instructions. Many of them fell with relative ease thanks to his invisible attacks.

“Th-there’s another one! He’s invisible!”

Noticing their companions suddenly collapsing with bloody open wounds, they quickly realized that someone was hiding among them.

“Protect the goddess! Release more monsters!” the leader commanded.

The men who hadn’t yet been cut down by the crown prince quickly pressed close together near the altar.

One of them produced a shining crystal ball, similar to one I’d seen at the palace in the past. The rest of them held their black pouches out in front of them, muttering unintelligible spells. A loud thump vibrated through the chamber, followed immediately by a powerful roar so loud I had to cover my ears.

When I’d recovered from the shock of the loud noise, I doubted what I was seeing with my eyes. “What the actual heck!”

Five monsters, far bigger than any I’d seen so far, had slithered from the depths of the pouches and now filled the chamber with their impressive bulk. They were far more gigantic than the one I’d only barely managed to kill earlier with the crown prince’s help. The ground rumbled beneath their massive feet. They screeched, their large shadows looming overhead.

“Damn it. How far are they going to take this?” the crown prince spat, adjusting the tight grip he had on his sword.

Winter also appeared deeply concerned by the sheer size of the creatures.

Why do things keep getting harder and harder? This episode should be over by now! I stood in the corner, unable to do anything, feeling anxiety slowly growing inside me. Winter and the crown prince, however, gathered themselves and began to battle the monsters.

Callisto hacked at the monsters’ legs, while Winter cast spell after spell using his staff. Given their extreme size, however, neither of their efforts seemed to do much damage to them. The monsters simply grew more agitated and angrier. They were also uncontrollable, since some of them even turned on the followers of the Laila, attempting to trample them underfoot. Seizing the opportunity, the crown prince encouraged the monsters to attack them instead.

“Give them food!” their leader hollered, seemingly feeling cornered by the beasts.

“N-no!” I cried, knowing full well what he intended on feeding them. I dashed toward the altar where the children were being kept. It wasn’t clear if I was capable of helping them without the system’s aid, but I had to do something while Winter and the crown prince were occupied fighting the monsters. Before I could even draw close to the altar, however, one of the black-robed figures picked up two of the children at once.

“Stop!” I clenched my teeth.

“Purr-ra-tee-oh!” Winter shouted suddenly, even as he attempted to fight off one of the monsters.

The five children still lying on the floor vanished with a bright flash of light. Freezing in my tracks, I turned to look at Winter.

“Ugh!”

As the price for his distraction, a lizard monster’s tail caught him around the middle and he was sent flying into the opposite wall. He slid to the floor, convulsing several times before slumping over, unmoving.

“Oh no…” I watched in terror, hardly able to draw breath. Is he dead?

What do I do if he is?

The events unfolding around me felt too unbelievable to be real, and yet they were. I felt like I might go insane from the terror that shot through me whenever I was reminded that everything I’d thought to be simply part of a game was my current reality. I was scared and I wanted to escape from this place as quickly as possible.

“...lope! Lady Penelope!”

In the end, it was Callisto who pulled me from my frozen state of panic.

“Penelope Eckhart!” he hollered, jolting me out of my daze. He rolled away from the three separate monsters that were pursuing him and shouted, “Get it together! Take the lion-masked child and run while I distract them!”

I immediately turned my attention to the altar, surrounded by many of the followers in black. Laying at the white-robed woman’s feet was the tiny boy in the lion’s mask, unconscious. I fixed my unsure gaze on the crown prince, who was struggling alone against the monsters.

“Nobody can see you. You can do it!” he shouted, deflecting a blow from the tail that flew at him.

---

"‘Proof’ that Callisto is stronger in combat than Winter"? Not at all. As we can see here, they are BOTH framed as competent fighters, perfectly capable of quickly taking down the monsters simultaneously, and BOTH their attacks didn’t affect the large monster, so they have roughly the same limitations when it comes to combat.

The only reason Winter got knocked out is because he got distracted by having to protect the children that were at risk of being fed to the monsters. And even then, Callisto wouldn’t have been able to handle the fight by himself, which he KNEW, as well, as clear by the way he encouraged Siyeon to run with the child mage while he DISTRACTS them. He was STRUGGLING and being driven back.

So, it is certainly NOT a VALID proof that Callisto is “stronger” than Winter in battle.

All in all, there is no canonical evidence that one would "definitively win" against the other, since while Winter is OBJECTIVELY the most capable of the male leads, he is also bound by morals, and has a weakness for children.

Callisto, on the other hand, while ultimately not built against magic, is VERY underhanded. There is a chance he would just blackmail Winter to get what he wants.

They excel in different combat roles, and when they fought side by side, they performed as EQUALS, both competent and both limited in different ways.

If it were for peace’s sake, I would say it’s a draw.

However, HYPOTHETICALLY speaking, if they both WANTED to win against one another, for whatever reason, I have no doubt that it would be WINTER.

And it's not because Callisto is weak, but because Winter’s power is simply broader and far less predictable.

Callisto’s strengths lie in physical prowess, swordsmanship, and mana-enhanced combat. He’s fast and canonically a war hero.

HOWEVER, Winter is literally stated to be the greatest mage in the empire, as Siyeon said in Special Side Story Chapter 4.:

---

Our child was being taught, of course, by the greatest mage in the empire. Her powers were so strong, however, that even he said her magic was already at his level.

---

Winter was only knocked out because he prioritized protecting others, NOT because he was outmatched.

Importantly, while Callisto’s sword can be sharpened, Winter can manipulate memory, freeze time, speak to souls, and even sacrifice his own life to reverse time, something that Callisto has NO real counter for.

Talk about how Callisto’s demigod lineage gives him a divine edge all you want, but the narrative NEVER grants him powers beyond peak human ability. His close calls, too, often hinge on luck like a bear appearing to kill the assassins that were going to kill him as a child, or external tools like the dragon fang that saved his life.

Even if we give Callisto every benefit - his ruthlessness, cunning, and sheer force - Winter’s versatility, magical intellect, and resolve make him an opponent who could win in a lot of unexpected ways.

If they were to fight, it would be a battle of sword vs. spell, in which Winter doesn’t even need to get physical. He just needs to cast faster.

---

It was an idea inspired by how in the OG world, Leila (I'll call the Laila that possessed Yvonne's body as "Leila" for distinction's sake) let Vinter live because he swore allegiance to her when he was brainwashed.

And these scenes, too.

I get the feeling that Penelope would have been Leila's BIGGEST, most lethal weapon. Her younger mind would have been easier to manipulate than an adult's like Winter (not saying she's weak, just that even if she resisted, her brain is just biologically not fully developed yet), AND she was an ancient mage, so she (if awakened) can most likely take on other mages like Winter, as well as possibly the other Lailas that were sealed in the mirror that tried to kill her after being freed.

So, Penelope can possibly guarantee her safety from both the Lailas sealed in the mirror AND from mages that can stand up to them.

However, it is double-edged. Because IF Leila awakens Penelope, yes, while that COULD make her such a boon if she got her in the cult, it could ALSO backfire BADLY if Penelope breaks out of it.

That's why Leila will have to make sure Penelope loves her TO HELL; at least until she finds a way to restrain Penelope and deal with potential threats on her own—

Because having to use human souls to get power is just WAY too much of a hassle if you consider the mages' abilities, and how not only the Laila cult seems particularly weak to ancient magic, but their vessels can still be harmed even with non-enchanted weapons (like the dagger Siyeon stabbed Yvonne's body with), if the mirror is still incomplete.

So Leila will have to complete the mirror first, among other things, before she can attempt to get to Penelope.

But seeing as the reason it was incomplete in the first place because Siyeon took a shard from her in Soleal, it can be assumed that by the time she returns to the manor, she would have ALREADY completed the mirror.

Especially seeing as Penelope knows next to nothing regarding these things, Leila can act as her "enlightenment," and feed the former any information she wants her to believe. Yes, grooming (eugh) basically.

However, we're talking about time and budget here, and there is NO DOUBT that drawing the ENTIRE narrative would take MUCH MORE time AND budget, as then the artist would NOT ONLY have to dedicate a panel that showed the duke buying slaves and Siyeon being uncomfortable at the thought, but then they'd ALSO have to retain it in their character for the rest of the story, otherwise it will look like it was forgotten about despite being brought up.

THAT is why it was cut out.

While details like these are important in FLESHING OUT the characters, they AREN'T essential to the MAIN story, since - as we can see here - the RESULT of Siyeon's progress (she got into the auction house) was fine even without it.

That is why their characters are reduced to their 'main' personality, or the developments (from the romance, to worldbuilding, etc.) are rushed compared to the novel. Since, rather than to consistently treat them as fully-fledged characters, it would be easier to just treat them as plot devices and ONLY save the truly important scenes in, such as the attic scene with Reynold (which was so important to the plot that barely any detail was changed from it).

When you think of it like that, it makes sense why Siyeon's more sympathetic and emotional aspects aren't going to be shown UNLESS it serves the MAIN plot, presenting her to be more logical in order to avoid needing to draw more scenes that overall won't contribute too much.

Simply put, in this 'dish', while the sides put more flavor and depth into the taste, they aren't 'needed' in the main course, and since the chefs don't have the budget to prepare them, they just make do with the time they were given.

---

As for how often I think Derrick blamed Penelope for her mistakes, I think he did it THROUGHOUT their time together, much like Reynold's case. Both of them were clearly hostile to her ESPECIALLY when the duke ISN'T around.

For WHY he blames Penelope, it's because his low opinion of her makes him genuinely believe she is guilty.

Penelope had a "wicked behavior and terrible manners" and spends a lot of the money he (and Reynold) thinks she had "NO RIGHT to spend so lavishly." And so he thinks so LOWLY of her.

The entire REASON why Derrick is SOFTER to Siyeon compared to Penelope is because Siyeon was acting like a civilized person, instead.

Also keep in mind that while he knew he doesn't like it when she refers to him as 'brother', he didn't even know WHY that is.

Derrick doesn't shift blame to Penelope with the intention to make others hate her or make her miserable. He doesn't think of things from Penelope's perspective, only about what the CONSEQUENCES of her actions on the Duchy are.

When he DOES belittle Penelope, it can either be to protect the Eckart name's reputation, or to vent out his frustrations about her.

It's NOT about "making her suffer for being a shameless replacement," like Reynold's intentions are, he's too prideful to ever stoop to being so 'childish.'

As for if Derrick belittled Penelope for the 'purpose' of making her dependent on him, that COULD be part of the reason, but it's more likely he did it for DAMAGE CONTROL; to be able to control how the narrative goes and make it easier to clean up another 'stain' on his house.

Derrick was RAISED to be the next Duke, and so the damage to Penelope's reputation automatically goes to the very duchy. He couldn’t have 'wanted' Penelope to be hated, since if that happens, then the Eckart duchy would be damaged along with her.

It was just like in the court trial.

What he wanted most WASN'T to disgrace her, rather, to just get through it as fast as possible.

The reason he didn't listen to Siyeon's accounts was because it was the "best and most efficient way," to protect his house, which, while she IS part of (hence, making her part of who he has a duty to protect), that DOESN'T mean he'll put her OVER the duchy.

After all, he scolds EVEN Reynold and the Duke, putting the Eckart name over them. It's not JUST Penelope that he prioritizes the family reputation over.

He's not like Reynold who goes out his way to bully Penelope in a "Serves you right for trying to steal my sister's place, bitch," manner. Derrick addressing Penelope is more of a "I don't hate you, but the House of Eckart comes first. Stay in that cell until I fix this and don't cause more trouble until I bail you out."

I CANNOT stress enough just how many people mischaracterized him on this part. He is NOT sadistic like Callisto, people!

Like yall, I don't like him either, but if you're gonna hate, can't you do it ACCURATELY instead of PROJECTING your own "bad guy" idea onto him?? If there was ANYONE among them who ACTIVELY antagonized Penelope, it was REYNOLD.

But at the same time, BOTH of them are highly loyal to their family name, and are capable of genuine care (I'm looking at you, cringy-ass gachatubers that swap their personalities to make Reynold the passive one while Derrick is the childish one when it comes to Penelope).

In conclusion, while Derrick wants Penelope to depend on him, that's NOT his reason for belittling her. He just thinks it's 'REASONABLE' to compromise things to protect the Eckart reputation, and THAT is his justification for not defending either Siyeon in the trial, and Penelope in all previous incidents.

He genuinely believed it was the best option for his house.

---

On another note, I DO think ALL of the Eckarts wanted Penelope to be dependent on them, NEVER allowing her to leave on her own, NOR allow her an allowance despite agreeing to buying her extravagant things (even if they don't like it).

While none of the Eckarts cared enough about Penelope, they still DIDN'T want her to leave.

After all, while it IS true that she spends a lot, what difference will there be if she spends it by herself versus if she gets permission to have it bought FOR her?

The difference is that they'll KNOW and be able to STOP her if they wanted.

NONE of the Eckarts (before Yvonne returned) wanted Penelope to ACTUALLY leave. The duke literally BUILT HIGHER WALLS when she tried to sneak out before.

At first, I thought it was for safety purposes, but no, they just didn't want her to leave.

Penelope is always kept in the manor and only allowed to go to events that she was explicitly invited to.

It wasn't even Siyeon asking for money that triggered them. They only got outraged AFTER they get the impression that Penelope was planning on 'LEAVING'.

While none of the Eckarts cared enough about Penelope to see how she's doing, or give her proper care, ALL three of the Duke, Derrick, and Reynold WANTED Penelope to remain DEPENDENT on them.

Because they don't want her to leave.

And regardless of whether Derrick's 'love' for Penelope is true or not (or if it was EVEN Penelope he 'loved,' seeing as he treated only Siyeon better), one thing for sure is that he WASN'T consciously aware of it when it was Penelope.

I think of it in a similar way as to how the affection scores work and hint at. Just as how the 5 target leads or literally everyone ONLY liked her when she was Siyeon, it's because WHO they like is Siyeon, NOT Penelope.

Callisto loves Siyeon, not Penelope. Vinter loves Siyeon, not Penelope, Eckles loves Siyeon, not Penelope, and so on.

As nice of a thought as it is that Siyeon's husband would love her even when she was FULLY Penelope, that just ISN'T true; because the traits he loved about her was Siyeon's.

(I reached the 10 pic limit, damn you Tumblr.) Here's the specific parts I meant in chapter 134:

[In the beginning, it had been nothing but a passing amusement to Callisto. He’d found it amusing, the way Lady Penelope had lied through her teeth and did her best to keep the obvious deception alive.

He’d looked forward to seeing her, wondering what clever little pretense she would think of next, and it had made his horrible existence in the capital mildly bearable. His amused interest in her had not waned even after the hunting tournament. If anything, his curiosity regarding the girl who seemed to shudder at the mere sight of him had only increased.

When Penelope had appeared caked in makeup and put on her silly little act, one he would have been able to see through from a mile away, he’d even thought her cute. He’d believed the rumors at first and expected that she was just an arrogant commoner who’d been lucky enough to be adopted by the duke, but now he couldn’t seem to forget about the way her tiny lips timidly talked back to him every time they met. And that had led him to act impulsively…]

I brought this up because it HAS to be made clear that Siyeon's very CHARACTER is the REASON why 'Penelope' was 'loved' by the end of the story.

We ALL know Penelope would NOT have acted as 'cutely' as Callisto thought Siyeon did. She would have acted EXACTLY like the "arrogant commoner that was just lucky enough to be adopted by the duke," he believed her as, and he wouldn't even be able to force her to spend time with him like he did to Siyeon because Penelope would NOT have cared about keeping up appearances and following etiquette.

Callisto wouldn't have liked Penelope because she wouldn't have been 'interesting' and 'amusing' to him like Siyeon was, and given how Penelope grew up, she WOULDN'T have liked Callisto, as well, because the way he thought lowly of her was EXACTLY the same as how everyone around her treated her.

And just as Callisto wouldn't have liked Penelope if she didn't act like Siyeon, this sentiment would have applied to EVERYONE else, INCLUDING Derrick who ONLY started treating her well AFTER Siyeon transmigrated to her body.

Yes, the Eckarts might have 'cared' about Penelope, to an extent, but NONE of them GENUINELY and wholeheartedly loved Penelope. Not like they did Siyeon. Because it was ONLY Siyeon they TRULY loved.

Here in the manhwa, we can see she is this kind girl that doesn't approve of the way Siyeon was being insulted and given backhanded compliments by the other ladies:

However, in the novel version, she was PART of the noble ladies that MOCKED Siyeon:

To sum it up, she IS actually part of the ladies' clique in the novel, and these scenes where she was grouped with Siyeon in the manhwa was ONLY in the manhwa.

It's also good to mention that since Aries originally didn't regard Siyeon highly, she also NEVER appeared in the novel ver. after that, as you can see here:

No Aries in sight. Just right into announcing the winners of the hunting tournament.

Most manhwa readers ADORE her because in the manhwa, she was presented as a cute and sweet person who is different from people that automatically hate Penelope.

Though I usually drag manhwa changes through the mud for SIMPLIFYING the characters, I actually genuinely like this one because it does the OPPOSITE.

I think the manhwa was clever in the way it added this part in because while it couldn't give ENTIRE narrative details that fully flesh out the characters (for production and time-saving reasons), it CAN give the ILLUSION of it.

It really was a smart move to give her this depth, as just by the way they used Aries to imply "special people who DON'T hate Penelope like most do MIGHT exist," it AUTOMATICALLY gave ALL the characters complexity, to an extent.

And no, I'm not saying this just because I love Penelope, I just respect how these changes were made SO WELL that it covers up the shallowness of most characters in manhwa compared to the novel.

Because not only does what it imply of Aries as an 'NPC' also implied to the rest, she also DOESN'T have a role originally, showing up only ONCE in the tea party, so the manhwa WON'T have to give her the time of day again; meaning, they not only just made the narrative FEEL richer as a whole to somewhat make up for the superficial aspects caused by skipping over a lot of details, they ALSO didn't change ANYTHING regarding the main plot.