About:
Warning:
There will be spoilers for the manhwa series Who's Your Daddy?.
Trigger Warning: There may be references to mpreg, drugging/spiking, murder, sexual assault, kidnapping, confinement, rape, torture, abortion, violence, blood, power imbalances, obsession, stalking, slut-shaming, and gun violence, as it appears in the manhwa.
Synopsis:
Louis is the captain of the second guard. He's professional and somewhat cold, making him all the more alluring to those around him. He doesn't have much interest in dating or love, as there is an ongoing serial murder case disrupting the empire's peace, and that takes precedence over all else. Well, until the night of the ball. For one reason or another, Louis awoke the next day to find himself alone, naked, at an inn with vague recollections of being with a man the night before. The only clue that his memories are real is a note that says nothing more than “Contact me.” Without any idea who he should contact, Louis considers it an unfortunate one-night stand and throws the note away.
With the Ropeman serial killer still on the loose, that passionate night is long forgotten until Louis's health starts to decline significantly. After passing out, he's looked over by the corp physician, only to receive a diagnosis he never expected: he's pregnant. Only men of the royal family with strong enough royal blood can impregnate men, which narrows down the other party of that one-night stand to around three or four people, one of which is Louis's social enemy, the crown Prince Metternich. But there is no way he could be the father of Louis's baby, right? If not him, then who?
Review:
First off, the art in this is super inconsistent. It's rough in the beginning with odd-shaped faces, ears that flare far off their heads, inconsistent facial features, and all that jazz. It's rough for most of the series, but it settles into something pretty and relatively consistent toward the end. It still feels stiff for the most part, but where the art really shines is in the sex scenes. Louis has some of the prettiest and most pitiful sex faces out there. It's almost worth buying this just for those panels because his face is so good. I see why Metternich is a red flag top because Louis has a face that you want to see crying in pleasure. I find myself constantly going back to certain panels just to see his face screwed up in ecstasy.
One somewhat confusing thing is Metternich. Specifically, his name. Sometimes, he's called Metternich. Other times, he's referred to as Mettel. It's never established if Mettel is a nickname, or maybe it was the original translation of his name that just wasn't edited out. I'm not sure. He's referred to as Mettel almost exclusively in the beginning, only to be exclusively referred to as Metternich through most of the story. Then, in the side stories, he's suddenly Mettel again. If that's his nickname, that's totally fine, but I wish it had been made a bit more clear.
There are similar inconsistencies in the relationships between the royals. Metternich and Wayton are initially introduced as half brothers, but then there is a misunderstanding where Louis assumes Wayton is the one Metternich loves, which is weird since they're half brothers. But then they say they are step-brothers? I'm not sure if this was a translation issue or if it was just the original writer of the work trying to make that misunderstanding more plausible (though I wouldn't say it makes much sense even with that change in the relationship). I'm not sure if this just needed more editing or if the original was already messy to begin with, but it's rough.
Like most fantasy-based stories like this, it's way too short. It's also based on a web novel, which I assume is probably longer and more detailed, but I could be wrong about that. It needed way more time to world-build and build up their relationship because we're thrown right into the middle of an awkward and tenuous relationship with very little explanation for why or how we ended up this way. There are some explanations later on, but they're very superficial and short for something that supposedly spanned years.
I don't want to end badly, so I have to talk about the baby. If you've read any of my previous reviews, you probably know I am a huge fan of male pregnancy in my BL. This was no exception. I especially loved it because it was a crucial part of the plot, not just something thrown in to cause random tension or just as a sweet bonus. Plus, the baby is adorable. He looks just like Metternich, who is beautiful in his own right. I do wish we got to see more child-rearing, but I was so happy to see that little baby anyway. Love that.
Results:
This is very mid, maybe even subpar. I liked it because I'm a degenerate, and male pregnancy is everything, but I doubt most people would be as swayed by those things as I am. I wish it had been longer for better world-building, and I think it could have used another round of editing to clean up the inconsistent names and relationships. I think it's a fun little romp, but it's definitely not a masterpiece. It may not be worth your dollar unless you have nothing else to read or you are a huge fan of mpreg like me.
Have you read Who's Your Daddy?? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!