Title: High Society Chapters 1-5
Publisher: Manta Comics
Language: English
Format: Webtoon
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Publication Date: May 18, 2024
The Story
All Adele has known is a life of poverty. Disguised as a man, she makes a living shining shoes in the slums of Gimora. The slums are run almost like a crime syndicate and she has to pay a protection fee or else she would be physically abused. One day, she was shining shoes in the town square when she overheard a conversation with a man looking to sell off a woman so that he could get out of his arranged marriage. That man just happens to be Cesare Buonaparte, a high-ranking noble. Seeing her chance to escape her fate, she offers herself as the solution to his problems.
Of course, being a lowly shoe-shine rat, there was no way that he would ever accept her proposal; however, after some convincing, he believes that she could be the answer that he has been looking for. While she showed promise, Cesare wasn’t taking any chances. He’s giving her three months to become refined to high society so that she can play the part; however, if she fails to meet his expectations within that time frame… the deal is off… and by that, she could very well lose her life!
Characters
First off, you can’t help but feel for Adele. An orphan with no parents forced to live a harsh life in the slums who was constantly beaten nearly every day. Of course, she would take the first chance she got to leave that life behind so you cannot blame her for doing so. Even the threat of dying for her failure didn’t cause her to waiver because she knew that if she continued to live the life she had been, she would be as good as dead anyway. In a way, I think that she knew that even if she failed, it would have bought her more time than she would have had which is kind of a grim way to look at it but if she were to succeed, then at least she had a chance.
Adele truly came off as both dejected and desperate in the beginning; however, as soon as she arrived at the manor and had to learn the part, she didn’t seem to do so out of fear or necessity but rather in a way where she had something to prove. The thought of being in high society didn’t phase her; however, she knew that a better life could be on the horizon and that served as her driving motivation. She knows it’s a do-or-die situation but her inability to waver in the face of a pass/fail situation shows just how much she has all but given up. It’s as if her attitude is like “Well, I’ll see how this goes and if it doesn’t, oh well… at least I’ll be put out of my misery.” Nothing to lose and everything to gain with a fearless heart. This makes for an extremely solid main character!
Cesare Buonaparte, on the other hand, was described as someone in nobility who was surrounded by a myriad of scandals and you see, first-hand, just what kind of scandals he involved himself with. The fact that he was willing to use Adele just to get out of an arranged marriage and even threaten her with death speaks to the kind of character he truly is. There are other moments during these opening chapters that paint him as a devious and sinister individual. All he cares about is what’s best for him without any concern for anyone else and he will scheme to get what he wants. A loathsome individual through and through that will serve very well as this series’ main antagonist.
Next, we have Eponi who is one of the very few who know about Cesare’s plan. She’s not there to be Adele’s friend; however, she is there to make sure that the plan goes through. She will be Adele’s personal maid and train her in basic etiquette. She is all business with little compassion for Adele; however, she’s not exactly mean. She’s a bit forward but rather forgiving as she understands the situation that she’s in. Sadly, the same can’t be said about our next character…
Flavia takes strictness to a whole new level. She was called upon to give her advanced etiquette lessons. While Eponi taught her things like how to eat or bow, Flavia’s job is to make sure she conducts herself and speaks in a way that is fitting of high society and nobility. The moment she laid eyes on Adele, Flavia went up one side of her and down the other verbally. She protested, felt that she wasn’t worth an ounce of her time, and said that someone like her would never make the plan work all while putting her down and trying to make her seem as insignificant as possible. She is someone who not only upholds the standards of nobility but enforces them to the extreme. While we’ve only just met her, it is clear that this will be Adele’s first major hurdle to overcome!
Final Thoughts
Whenever I see a fantasy romance series such as this, I often wonder how many of the standard boxes it is going to check off. We have a noble society, someone at the top of it, schemes, lies, deceit, and scandals, the older man who sits at the top and is revered for his good looks, an arranged marriage, and just about anything else you will find in this genre which seems to have been done to death.
So, why am I enjoying this so much?
Because things are a bit different. This isn’t a typical rags-to-riches story… this is a rags-to-survival story. More often than not, you’ll witness the main character gush and fawn over the dreamy prince, swoon over her new place in this strange culture, get swept up in it, and it all becomes like a fairy tale come true. You don’t get that here. Adele doesn’t care about high society or nobility. She just wants a better life. It doesn’t even have to be nobility… she would have been fine in some middle-class house and three square meals a day. She only ended up in this situation because she was desperate and it was the first opportunity that was presented to her.
In a way, she and Cesare are almost alike. As long as they both reach their end goal, they don’t care what happens, so long as the goal is reached. For Adele, it’s a better life, for Cesare, it’s getting out of his arranged marriage. Two completely different scenarios but the same notion. I think this is why Adele comes off as unphased because she knows she secured her ticket to her goal. It’s a bit underhanded but you would never think that because you got to know her as a character.
At some point in our lives, we’ve had our backs to the wall where we would have done anything to try and get out of that situation which makes Adele so relatable. Going from one dangerous situation to another just for a chance is the same kind of risk many of us often take. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t but we are not telling a story of reality here, we’re telling a story of fiction so you know there must be that eventual happy ending and after reading the first five chapters, there are many scenarios you can draw as to how Adele will reach that happy ending. You can already see future events being set up which gets you excited for what is to come.
High Society takes the typical nobility love story and adds a sense of grittiness, tension, and darkness to it while shining a light of hope. It’s a great balance that creates enough intrigue and entertainment to make you want to keep reading!
If you’re looking for a fantasy romance with a twist that will hold your attention and make you want more, then check this one out!
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This item was provided for review by Manta Comics
