TL;DR MC is a horrifyingly busy princess. Here’s a list of all the things that MC and company had to organize for the annual “open day,” during which ALL citizens of Wysteria are invited to traipse through the castle:
Flowers: There are supposed to be pretty flowers everywhere in the castle. You know how huge a castle is?! Yikes. (Byron’s route)
More flowers: MC’s supposed to hand make corsages for literally everyone who walks through the door. Because tradition. (Sid’s route)
Party favors: If the corsages weren’t already enough, MC and the staff have also decided to hand out special handkerchiefs to everyone. Thank goodness MC doesn’t have to hand make those, lol (Giles’ route)
Speech: MC has to give a speech, and the bureaucrats may as well have gotten an underpaid intern to ghost write the damn thing for her given how many demands they made. But nope, MC has to write it herself as well (Robert’s route, Louis’ route)
Ceremonial crowning: A lucky orphan gets to ceremonially place a tiara on MC’s head during a cute ceremony. This might actually be MC’s easiest obligation of the day, haha (Louis’ route)
Fancy banquet: There’s a fancy banquet, with foreign dignitaries and such, during which MC has to smile and be polite (Byron’s route)
Fancy party: After a long and exhausting day, there’s a fancy party, considered the biggest event of the day. With dancing. I hope MC’s got some comfy flats on under that poofy dress! (Byron’s route, Sid’s route)
Sounds like the overworked castle staff should invest in an event planner next year, doesn’t it? ^_^
Overall, I thought this event was cute enough, but pretty repetitive, and not super interesting in terms of plot. In other words, it was par for course for MidCin. Based on sheer cuteness and whether or not MC got her suitor a gift (in exchange for the jewelry that’s always given to her), my favorite routes from top to bottom: Sid > Louis > Robert > Byron > Giles. Sid really shined well above the others, imho (“Of course I know what suits you, and what best highlights your charms. And that’s because I love you more than anyone in the world”). I just might have to put aside my dislike of his silly hair and give his route a whirl!
“Call me Byron. Just Byron. …you’re my queen now, are you not?”
What’s more important: the love interest, or their plot? I used to think it was the LI, but after the disaster that was Alyn’s Ever After route, you’ve really gotta wonder! So here’s the good news: Byron’s route isn’t nearly as painful to read as that train wreck. And the bad? It definitely falls short of its potential.
Our MC/Princess first encounters Byron in the forest after he saves her from some bandits. She’s immediately taken in by his good looks (can you blame her?). So maybe it’s a little awkward when she realizes he’s the king of Stein, aka Wysteria’s rival country, but I guess Byron must’ve gotten a good impression of MC somewhere along the way as well, because after something like their 3rd meeting, “Stein” issues “Wysteria” an offer of marriage – for political purposes, of course. Byron invites MC to visit Stein and think things over, and over the next few days/weeks, they get to know each other better. He comes across as a little cold and detached from everything, but he’s generally extremely kind to MC. One of my favorite moments takes place after MC realizes that her room and Byron’s are connected, and he suggestively matter-of-factly replies that he hopes this living arrangement becomes permanent. 😉
As time passes, trouble arises in the form of Byron’s deposed father – a former tyrant of Stein. Dude’s been spreading rumors regarding a Stein invasion in Wysteria, to great effect, and our unlucky couple is forced to temporarily abandon their marriage plans while everyone deals with the political fallout. At some point in time it’s even implied that Byron commits patricide (!), but things are never explicitly confirmed. Pretty ballsy of the writers, all things considered.
MC and Byron have to spend a lot of time apart from each other in this route, but every time they meet up, it’s pretty epic. Byron claims he’s an emotional noob, but frankly, I don’t buy it. Example: at some point, B lets MC remove his eyepatch, and proceeds to seduce the shit out of her before deciding to petition for MC’s hand again. Does this sound like the actions of an emotionally stunted man to you?! In any case, as with all honey/secret endings, this route ends on a happy note, with all the political shenanigans resolved, MC either wed or engaged to Byron (I can’t really tell), and lots of hickeys all around.
So the thing is, there wasn’t really anything fundamentally wrong with Byron’s route, per se. But post-patricide, things dragged a bit. I feel like the writers weren’t quite able to milk the epic Stein-Wysteria rivalry for all it was worth, and things resolved themselves way too neatly. Also, there were too many side plots distracting from the main story, from Nico’s useless drama which seems to show up in every single freaking route, to the random women who suddenly wanted to marry Byron towards the end of the story. All these problems would be easily overlooked if the writing were top notch, but… well. MidCin definitely isn’t going to be winning any awards on that front any time soon, is it?
But still. If you enjoy the total quiet-man-of-mystery trope that Byron embodies, you’re going to like the route. I did, even with all the flaws that I’ve mentioned. Byron’s route shines brightest when the plots/conflict take a back seat and he’s able to be true to his sexy self: marking MC Shingen-style as a promise to meet again, for example, or sending MC letters by falcon when they’re forced to go long distance. And one thing I really appreciate is how, after Byron and MC solidify their feelings for each other mid-route, neither of their feelings ever waver. At the end of the day, if nothing else, Byron’s route definitely showcases just why he’s such a fan favorite!
Choice quotes:
“You have nothing to apologize for. After all, you’re the only one I’ll be kissing from here on.”
Byron raised his free hand, unlacing the front of my dress, and pressed his lips against the soft skin between my breasts. “That’s the time limit for our promise. Before that mark fades away.”
“Didn’t you know? In Stein the wedding night lasts three days.” ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Personality: 9/10. Byron has some A+ dialogue at times, but poor writing hurts his character potential (he’d be a 10 easily with good writing).
Appearance: 10/10. He is stupidly hot, with or without eyepatch.
MC: 5/10. I didn’t really have a strong impression of MC, to be honest. Definitely a bit of a blank slate in terms of personality.
Plot/Payoff: 6.5/10. Not gonna lie – I think most MidCin MS plots are pretty mediocre. This one’s not great, but it’s not the worst, either. In fact, it’s probably the best out of the four I’ve read thus far (which isn’t saying much, but still)!
Personal enjoyment: 6.5/10. I’m definitely growing rather tired of the mediocre writing/plot quality. That said, Byron himself is magnificent!
What happens when you mix Midnight Cinderella, an otome based off one of the most famous fairy tales of all time, with even more fairy tales? The answer: a shocking amount of foreign policy. I’m starting to suspect that each country in this universe is one city…
If I tell you Byron’s theme is Rapunzel, it shouldn’t surprise you to know that this story features a kidnapping. MC and Byron are on their way to a summit with a third country, when MC is grabbed and placed in a tower. Turns out the third country doesn’t want Wysteria involved. Conveniently, Byron had given MC a bird whistle earlier, which she uses to notify his (magical?) pet owl of her location. He arrives, and ends up walking her through the process of climbing partway down with bedsheets – and jumping the rest of the way into his arms (“I’ve got you, MC”). Swoon. 🙂 Overall, I enjoyed how proactive (relative to usual) MC was in Byron’s route. And Byron himself…who needs a knight in shining armor when you’ve got a king!? 💕
Personal enjoyment: 8/10. It’d be a 9 but there was no fallout for the third country from the kidnapping??
Little Red Riding Hood. Rayvis’ route features a bit of political corruption: they’re visiting a hospital that Rayvis suspects has been behind a rise in wolf attacks nearby (to up the patient count). So right after promising Rayvis not to do anything idiotic, MC stalks the shady hospital director into the woods… Turns out he’s been training/feeding the wolves. MC almost becomes a victim, but unsurprisingly, Rayvis swoops in to save the day, and then – for once – gets on MC’s case about running off to danger by herself when she doesn’t even have the fighting skills to take on a baby rabbit (“Why did you go after him by yourself? …You leave the danger to me. Understood?”). So yeah. MC was mind-bogglingly stupid in this route, and it was off-putting. But the route is responsible for one of the best/cheesiest lines ever: “Wild wolves aren’t the only danger around here, so be careful.” “Are you talking about Rook?” “No, I’m talking about me.” God bless whoever came up with Rayvis’ character. ❤
Personal enjoyment: 5/10
In this Beauty and the Beast-themed story, Leo accompanies MC as her security to the party of a foreign duke, who wants to marry MC. Said duke drugs MC and Leo with some extremely potent sleeping powder (seriously…they take one sip), and then tries to coerce MC into agreeing to marrying him, to spare Leo’s life (some hilarious intimidation via rose petals is involved). But at the last moment, Leo bursts in, having used rose thorns (of course) from the greenhouse in which he’d been locked to stay awake, and saves the day (“I’ll always be with you, no matter what”). So…MC’s security detail sucks, considering she’s a princess. And I don’t quite get the duke’s evil plot. After all, based off MidCin’s MS’s, I’ve been led to believe that marriage arrangements can be made and broken at a moment’s notice…!
Personal enjoyment: 5/10
The Snow Queen is the fairy tale for the icy Louis – it’s only fitting. Here, MC’s invited to visit a cold northern country with her bae. For once, there’s no political intrigue – but when MC chases after a report she’s written that a cat stole (yep, you read that right), she accidentally ends up stepping on a plant that gives her selective amnesia. Of her most precious memories…aka everything featuring Louis, because I guess MC never had a family or anything like that? L is amazingly nice about it (“It’s okay. Even if you never remember…I’ll do my best to make you fall in love with me again”). But in any case, true love’s kiss saves the day. So… this route was a total cheese fest, but I appreciated the lack of shitty political intrigue. Also, damn, Louis is smooth af.
Personal enjoyment: 8/10
Hansel and Gretel is MC’s fairy tale of choice for Nico, which imho is a very good choice, given how…unconvincing… I find him to be, as a romantic prospect. Anyways, N and MC hear rumors about a witch in a foreign country who’s been kidnapping children to cook/eat them, and what would you know, they come across an old lady and scared little girl in a forest not too long afterwards. MC and Nico pulls the he’s-my-brother trick to convince the woman to let them stay the night, and the totally platonic pair manage to get the drop on the old woman…right before the local vigilante crew storms her home, anyways.
This route was a mess of contradictions. MC says “I don’t like being the one who always gets protected, Nico” – and then two chapters later, thanks N for protecting her anyways. Nico manages to subdue the old woman – and then acts all relieved when the vigilantes arrive. I just don’t get it. 😦
Personal enjoyment: 3/10
I whine a lot about the flaws here, but the truth is, as far as MidCin events go, this was one of the better ones! The usage of fairy tales as a framing device was pretty clever, and I liked that each route was wildly different. If for some reason you haven’t gotten started yet, def. go with Byron’s or Louis’ first. Both their routes are super solid!
Otome Reviews 