Mercenary Ends Up Under a Sadistic Duke
About:
Warning:
There will be spoilers for the manhwa series Plaything: The Grand Duke's Boytoy.
Content Warning: There may be references to social gap, power imbalance, violence, blood, death, incest (not between the main couple), perceived inbreeding, noncon, manipulation, forced BDSM, murder, coercion, religion, political intrigue, mentions of suicide, cheating (not between the main couple), imprisonment, capital punishment, war, obsession, mentions of arranged marriage (not between the main couple), gun violence, implied poisoning or drugging, fraud, sexual harassment, mental illness, voyeurism, addiction, strained familial relationships, mentions of starvation, suicidal ideation, confinement, mentions of plague, being orphaned, kink-shaming, and mentions of slavery, as they do appear in the manhwa.
Synopsis:
Ilic is a powerful mercenary and is part of a well-known mercenary group. Unfortunately, his position in his group is threatened after he is sexually harassed by and subsequently murders the leader’s son. Using a woman who loves him, he has a tenuous alibi, but the boss is distraught and determined to find the killer. Thankfully, he has an opportunity to escape when the Duke of Miros requests the strongest mercenary to attend to him during the impending wartime. The boss introduces them and leaves. It’s then when he’s alone with the duke that it’s revealed this isn’t a simple exchange between mercenary and client.
The duke knows exactly what Ilic did to the boss’s son and why. He’s all too happy to protect Ilic, but only if Ilic is willing to give his body and dignity up to the duke in exchange. With his only other option being death at the hands of his mercenary group, Ilic really doesn’t have any other choice. So, he becomes the duke’s plaything. Surely, with time, the duke will get bored and move on to more attractive game, but putting up with the duke’s sadistic tendencies might be just too much for the war-weathered Ilic.
Review:
The art style in this can be absolutely beautiful. It’s very smooth and clean, and the duke, in particular, is among the most beautiful men in all of manhwa. However, it is a bit inconsistent early on. But what series isn’t inconsistent in the early stages? For a title with so many horrific content warnings, this is a beautiful one. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention Ilic. While the duke is gorgeous beyond belief, it’s easy to see why he chose Ilic. Ilic has all of the goods. I love a muscle bottom with an ample bosom and a bubble butt. A stunning small top with a big muscle bottom, what’s better than that?
But on to the story. While I did tag this as hate-to-love, this is 99.5% hate with .5% love at the very, very end of the extras. We do get some romance from the duke’s side, which happens during the side stories. I actually really like this difference in perspective. If this had been explicitly a single POV title from Ilic’s side, there would have been little to no redemption for the duke, and there would have been absolutely zero romance. Admittedly, Ilic’s POV was predominantly noncon/dubcon smut and hollow subplots, including political intrigue and war. It was fine for what it was, but the dukes’ POV adds real depth to the narrative. By the end, I felt like the duke was a much more rounded character than Ilic, which I wouldn’t have guessed from the main story.
But even if the duke has an intense romance and obsession with Ilic, Ilic never seems to develop feelings for the duke, which is why I can’t call this a true romance. I can’t blame him, as he’s essentially a captive of the duke. There is even a ten-year time skip, which one would assume would lead to some level of romance between the two, but reveals that Ilic still has the same distance and distrust in the duke as he had before. However, there is a relatively small but interesting look into his past that establishes his distrust and where it comes from. It is a blip compared to all of the background we get on the duke, which is unfortunate, but it does establish that Ilic very well might love the duke but cannot bring himself to trust that the duke will continue to love him in return.
Ilic does eventually realize that what he feels for the duke might be love, which is during the usual smut sessions, but as soon as we get that recognition, and we see a literal and figurative moment of Ilic taking charge in their relationship, the series just ends. Plus, it’s right in the middle of what appears to be more sexy time coming up. It’s so disappointing both on the relationship development front and on the sexy time front. It’s why I can’t call this a romance; there really isn’t any reciprocated romance until the very last couple of panels. I still like it even without the romance, but after all of the background exploration of the Duke and Ilic, I was hoping for a loving payoff. If you are expecting the same, this is not the title for you.
Results:
This is a noncon, low-to-no romance, and smutty BL. I typically want more romance in my BL, so this wasn’t a total win for me, but it’s not awful by any means. Of course, some people won’t like it for its sadistic, cruel, and non-consenting smut, but for those of us out there who like the darker and more brutal side of BL, this is a really strong title. It’s not perfect by any means, but it’s a good time overall. I wouldn’t call this a favorite, but it was beautiful, interesting, and smutty. I can’t fault it on those fronts.
Have you read Plaything: The Grand Duke's Boytoy? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!