Aurora loves doing embroidery. Attending parties? Not so much. That’s why she spends her time at one staring at other girls’ dresses. While there, she’s suddenly bonked in the forehead by a small object. It turns out to be a ring, and it comes with a surprise bonus: a proposal from a stranger!
…Well, maybe not, because the next day, he’s groveling for forgiveness. But hey, he’s having a great morning since people aren’t pestering him to meet girls, so maybe Aurora would consider keeping up this engagement?? Pretty please with sugar on top??
The Fiancée Chosen by the Ring adapts the yet-unlicensed-in-English novel of the same name, and perhaps some of my criticisms could lie in the original. For instance, Aurora is suddenly accosted by a man she doesn’t know and declared his fiancée at a party…what happened next? Did this man, who turns out to be Clavis (a.k.a. the Scion of Ice, a.k.a. the Moon Knight) drag her outside so she wouldn’t react in front of people? Did she just play along? Who knows. All we know is the next day he’s apologizing, and even when Aurora accepts, they don’t discuss how long they are supposed to keep it up or anything.
Other parts in the story also seem to gloss over details and events. Clavis is a knight who can use magic, but the manga doesn’t even reveal that magic exists in this universe until chapter 2. A man (not Clavis) suddenly appears on Aurora’s balcony, and she’s like, “Oh, how strange for a court mage to appear.” Aurora didn’t know Clavis was a magic knight, but it would have been nice for readers to know at the onset this is a fantasy tale — one where chapter 3 then opens with Clavis hypothesizing Aurora must be a magic user as well!
…Um, okay? I was hoping to first learn about how Aurora’s family is reacting to the news of her engagement, but sure, let’s instead discover Aurora’s hidden talent first, I guess…
Again, I’m not sure if the novel kind of skips over events to focus on Aurora and Clavis or if the manga is picking out these scenes for the fluff over a smooth narrative experience. I want to like this series, but at times I feel as stunned by things as how Aurora felt when Clavis declared they’re engaged. Right now, the fantasy elements feel shoehorned it.
I will point a nice change of pace though: Clavis himself. Too often love interests are described as cold, and it’s only due to meeting their fated one that they start to warm up. However, Clavis admits that his icy nickname is a misnomer; according to him, everyone comments that it doesn’t fit him within a couple days of meeting. And also rather unusual is that while he’s one of the best knights, he’s not really from a high-ranking family. Even in a lot of these fantasy/historical kingdom stories, even when the main couple are both nobles, there’s a bit of a rags-to-riches tale to it. The two are of fairly equal status, and Clavis is touched by how frank and open-minded Aurora is. As a couple, they could turn out to be an example of a healthy relationship and how one should develop, not one that involves trying to tame a bad boy/girl.
So that’s a very good reason to check out The Fiancée Chosen by the Ring, and perhaps now with the basic story established, the manga won’t be as choppy. The premise is good; the execution is not.