Review:
This is the final volume. Although it does continue things on from the previous volume and wrap up a few loose ends, it feels a lot like a "bonus stories" volume.
First, Briddy and Amon are on their child-free vacation when they meet Ronan Kingsford, a cheerful noble who absolutely cannot take a hint. Amon is instantly jealous. Then there's a chapter on Anish and Tillai, as they start to want to play away from their parents' watchful eyes a bit more (with Amon once again feeling somewhat jealous, this time of his own children).
Then it's time for a flashback to when the Emperor first met Briddy's mother, and the time they spent together before Trije (still worried that his brother might become the next Emperor instead of him) agreed to leave Briddy's mother behind and marry someone more suitable. Then we get a Lucy POV section, as she gradually warms up to Lart over the years and falls in love with him. Then we check in to see how Adellai is doing in exile.
The volume wraps up with a light party scene in which Amon once again tries his best to keep Briddy's attention on him.
I actually think jealousy storylines can be fun, depending on how they're handled and as long as they're sparingly used. Amon getting his hackles up around Ronan was kind of amusing, since it was more Amon having an issue with the incredibly dense Ronan than him having an issue with Briddy talking to Ronan. But then there were scenes, multiple scenes, in which Amon was jealous of his own kids.
Look, I get it, having kids changes things and shifts priorities. It's ok for Amon to want some alone time with Briddy, and the volume played it all for laughs. That said, they're kids. I'm not really a fan of the whole "grown men jealous of their own kids" bit. It could have been worse - I have a family member whose husband (now ex-husband, thank goodness) was jealous of the attention she gave their sick child, and Amon was at least able to get his head out of his butt enough to keep an eye on his kids and want to keep them safe. But it still irked me that Amon literally spent days in his kitten form just so that he could get more of Briddy's attention, while she presumably was left doing most of the parenting on her own.
The flashback with Briddy's parents helped to sort of clear up some questions I still had about them (I do wish Briddy's mom had chosen to move on rather than pine for a man she knew would never come back for her).
It was a little weird to see Adellai so sane after she spent all those volumes very much not. I suppose the series never fully disproved my idea that that key was part of what made her go crazy, but it didn't confirm it either.
All in all, this final volume was so-so. It definitely wrapped everything up, but I wish a few things had been done better.
Extras:
Several pages of "congratulations on finishing the series" artwork by people who I'm assuming were assistants working with Yeoseulki.
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