Marielle Clarac never thought that she’d be living a life like the ones she writes about in her novels, but she’s thrilled at how much material she’s getting a chance to experience first-hand!
Marielle, the plain daughter of a low-ranking noble family, has a secret that her family would rather not get out — she’s a best-selling romance writer! Marielle is having the time of her life being a wallflower at noble parties, gathering material for her novels, but her life has suddenly become a bit like her novels as one of the best looking bachelors around, Simeon Flaubert, vice-captain of the Royal Order of Knights, heir to an Earldom, and a childhood friend of the prince, asks specifically for her hand in marriage!
Marielle is sure that there’s a twist behind his proposal but for the moment she’s taking advantage of the perks of being Simeon’s fiancée and gathering as much material for her writing as she can!
This is the manga adaptation of the Tales of Marielle Clarac series that J-Novel Club has also licensed and I remember being interested in the novels when they were first announced but being put off by reviews which made them sound a bit too bland and silly for my taste. However, after being completely charmed by this first manga volume I think I will need to go back and check out the novels after all, although I will be very sad to lose Alaskapan’s art which jumps from shoujo prettiness to “very silly chibis” from panel to panel. That art really helped underscore Marielle’s own general internal silliness; when things seemed to be going badly for her I didn’t worry since we’ve seen how she thinks, it’s almost certainly just a misunderstanding!
When used in moderation, misunderstandings are a delicious ingredient in romance stories and it is fun to watch Marielle, someone who clearly relishes being on the outside of these stories, being caught up in one herself, high-stakes misconceptions and all! She’s convinced that this marriage is one of convenience for Simeon (though she can’t fathom what she has to offer to him/what her father must have surely blackmailed Simeon with to make this marriage happen) so it’s rather sweet for the reader to see parts of the story from Simeon’s prospective and how that’s not the case at all. Simeon started falling for her years ago when he first spotted her lurking at the balls and, between that and her novels (which he had also figured out before the start of the story), he thought she might make a rather good intelligencer and eventually realizes that this strange girl might be the perfect match for him.
As is the case with the most fun romances, all of these misunderstandings pile on top of each other until it resolves in a scene that is equal parts dramatic, silly, and quite sweet. Marielle may still not be completely convinced that Simeon had no ulterior motives for proposing, especially with his slightly dark and scheming inner self, but she’s letting down her guard and her cheerful, fangirl self is on full display around him now. This first volume quite easily breezes through what felt like an entire arc and sets up a second one with more of a mystery premise that I’m eager to continue with. It does also include a snippet of the light novels but without Alaskapan’s art the story did come off a bit stiffer, despite having the same translator and editor for both the light novel and the manga. So, maybe this will be a series I will follow via the manga adaptation rather than the original but either way I’m ready for more!
For folks who enjoy Regency-era historical romances and the drama that comes from two characters wildly misunderstanding each other, The Engagement of Marielle Clarac will be just up your alley.