Man is Reborn into Novel as the Most Evil Duke Ever
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Warning:
There will be spoilers for the novel or novel series The Despicable Duke Settles His Affairs.
Content Warning: There may be references to suicidal ideation, terminal illness, parentification, suicide, blood, torture, implied rape, death, murder, mentions of immolation, power imbalance, mentions of capital punishment (including mass execution), imprisonment, mentions of hostages, child abuse (including imprisonment, torture) dismemberment, overwork, child abandonment, implied pedophilia (not between the main couple), implied grooming (not between the main couple), sexism, violence, invasion of privacy, self-deprecation, arranged marriage (not between the main couple), extortion, mentions of religious persecution, mentions of child murder, mentions of arson, sexual assault, drugging, dubcon/noncon, commentary on body weight, confinement, possible homomisia (mentions of men being “weird”), permanent injury, and disordered eating, as they appear in the novel or novel series.
Synopsis:
Tsukasa has made a decision – one that will save his family but irreparably change all their lives. Tsukasa plans to kill himself. Unfortunately, after his father abandoned his mother and left the family with immense debt, Tsukasa’s little sister ended up with a chronic illness. So, he and his mother have taken on as much of the work as they can to take care of his sister and pay off the debt, but there is a much easier solution. If Tsukasa successfully frames his suicide as an accident, his family will receive a large windfall that could finally resolve their financial problems.
So, Tsukasa does what he thinks needs to be done.
But then he opens his eyes. Well, not really his eyes. Instead, he wakes up as none other than Heinreid von Rodvelia, the most despicable duke in a light novel he’s read before. Unfortunately, this isn’t a perfectly clean slate, as all of Heinreid’s thoughts and memories linger inside his mind, and though Tsukasa has complete control, seeing and thinking all of these horrific things is as traumatizing as if he had done them himself. But Tsukasa knows how this all ends, and once again, it is through an early death, but he has the opportunity to right some of the horrible wrongs and save as many lives as he can before his inevitable end.
So this new Heinreid plans on settling as many of his affairs as possible in the time he has left. But there is a man, his personal guard, Craig Bauer, who seems to notice something has changed in the evil duke. And while Craig is supposed to be the one to kill the duke, his feelings are steadily evolving and may ruin all of Heinreid’s plans.
Review:
First off, let me praise the translation. I’ve read so many novels – specifically danmei and Korean novels – that are poorly translated and edited. While I know this isn’t danmei or a Korean novel, it was such a breath of fresh air to read something that is not only legible, but is of high quality on the editing front. This is the first title I’ve read from J-Novel Knight (J-Novel Club’s new BL imprint), and I was not at all disappointed. I’m looking forward to giving the other titles I’ve picked up from them a shot.
However, while the translation’s quality may be on par, that doesn’t mean the entire journey reading this was without complaint. Mainly, I hate the internal monologue, and I don’t mean the exposition. This is pretty common in light novels written in first person (my preference), where exposition explains the main character’s thoughts. That is all good with me, and is actually what I prefer. But then there are sections where the thoughts are actually given voice, and we’re hearing (reading) them as if the main character is saying them, and I hate it. It always comes off as super corny and weird because the thoughts are usually overtly expressive to the point of being silly, and even those that aren’t just could’ve been exposition. It ends up making me like the character with these thoughts less, and I wish this weren’t as common a thing as it is. Now, I have seen it work, but usually only as single sentences of thought, not multiple lines of text, which this is.
However, while I didn’t like that major aspect of the narrative, I have to give credit where credit is due. This really exceeded my expectations. Midway through the novel, all of Heinreid’s plans have come to fruition, and he’s preparing to finally die and receive his punishment. This feels like an ending, which it obviously can’t be, but the way it continues the story is everything. I love that the king calls out Heinreid; all his plans, which seem altruistic and heroic, are actually selfish and cowardly. It is a very powerful moment where Heinreid not only has to come to terms with the fact that everything he has done is self-serving in a roundabout way, but it is also a reflection on the decision he made to kill himself in his original life. Was it really to save his family? Sure, that would be the ultimate result, but was it more of an escape for him? A way to run away without being seen as a coward or a villain like his father, who abandoned his family? It is an awesome moment that changes the entire direction of the story, and I adore it. You can tell the author took a lot of time to craft the parallels, and I appreciate it so much.
But maybe even more impressive to me is how this ends. Now, this is likely to be a major point of contention for anyone who decides to give this title a shot, which is why I think it is important to discuss it. While the two main characters do end up together, they are not at all in a happy relationship. On the contrary, the ending is immensely bittersweet. Heinreid no longer plans to kill himself, whether by being the villain or by doing so directly, but he also has no intention of living a happy life because he doesn’t feel he deserves it. Sure, he isn’t actually Heinreid, but unlike some isekai and reincarnation stories where the person just appears as either a new person entirely or becomes a preexisting person, but with no memories, Heinreid does retain all of the duke‘s memories, so he feels compelled to atone for those sins. I personally find this very believable and in line with the self-sacrificing traits he has shown. Unfortunately, this does lead to a less-than-romantic ending, which some people are going to hate, but I think it really works here narratively. I, personally, like it.
Results:
This was very interesting. I wouldn’t call it a favorite by any means, and there are weird aspects to this that I didn’t get to talk about, like Heinreid’s (Tsukasa’s) memories of being groomed by older women to escape stress, but it has such powerful moments that it is hard to dislike it. I think narratively, this is a very strong novel. As a romance novel, though, I can see many people being bothered by the choice of a bittersweet ending. I think if you can go in with an open mind, this is a real treat to read, but if you’re looking for a straightforward romance, this isn’t the one for you. However, as my first entry into J-Novel Knight‘s catalog, this is a very promising indication of the quality we can expect moving forward.
Have you read The Despicable Duke Settles His Affairs? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!
