The story begins with Edele, she is the perfect noble lady but her father never cared for her. He got her married to an old man who is a duke. Edele didn't want to get married to him as he was way too older but her mother also didn't pay attention to her wishes.
As her father finds her useless she decided to sacrifice herself, she got married to the duke. Even though she was not happy after marrying him she kept smile on her face as if it didn't bother her, people criticized her for staying in the normal state.
After sometime the duke ran off because of commiting treason. Except Edele everyone ran away, the great count Laslo Krissus had taken her to with him, it was ordered by the emperor to take her as a prisoner.
There was a huge gathering and Edele was presented, all of the man were trying to ask for Edele as she's the greatest spoils of the war. The Emperor Demarkus Tuberine decided to give Edele to the greatest contributor in the war and it was none other than Count Laslo Krissus.
Laslo Krissus did not deny to take her as he needed a maid, he expressed his feelings towards it. Emperor was impressed he let Edele go with Laslo. He personally came to take her with him in the carriage. Edele was already was thinking of ending her life, as she knows the wife of a traitor won't be treated as a human being.
Also, she was afraid that he might exploit her. She couldn't bear to live like that and when she was thinking about to jump but Laslo stopped her from thinking about it as he already knew she was about to finish her self. Edele is now going to lead her life from a Noble lady to Maid.
! [Spoilers Ahead!]
To be honest I liked this story very much because of the count Laslo, he is way too genuine. He is the loyal dog for the emperor and the most dangerous one. Bedsides that he respects women, he has a sister so he can never think of doing something bad with some other lady.
He knows the story of Edele how her family sold off her to the old duke. He is still unsure about the characteristics of Edele. Laslo tries to maintain distance with Edele and she also slowly found out that he is a good person. I feel he is truly a gentleman, I liked his character very much.
Laslo also had settled in his mind that he would never lay finger on Edele as he thinks it would be disrespectful for Edele. Because he thinks of himself as a lowly count who doesn't deserve to get a hold of a noble lady like Edele.
I kept reading this manhwa only because of him, also it's rare to find male leads with this kind of mentality, the beard does suit him and he looks pretty mature. I thought at first he was saying maid for a reason to take her with him but he truly made her do the job of a maid. I feel sad for Edele because her father wanted her dead as he thought it's shameless to live after being humiliated to work as a maid.
I just feel so bad for her, she didn't even do anything and now she has to face humiliation because of her husband. There's a head of the maid at counts place , that old lady is very rude. She wants to treat Edele lowly as Edele was once a noble lady. That maid just wants to feed her ego by demeaning Edele.
I am really curious about how they relationship between Laslo and Edele will proceed. I don't like any kind of misunderstanding or miscommunication, I would not like to see this kind of dramas. It would be better if Laslo could see what Edele is going through and he makes things easier for her.
I also want to see some character development in Edele, she was groomed by her parents from the very beginning. She does know how to use her words wisely but I think she doesn't take her own stands that much.
The artwork seems fine to me, it was nothing exceptional but I liked it. I think the face expressions are not that much expressive also the colorings are bit off. It felt like the colors are not coordinated properly. The Emperor at first looked like a male lead to me then I realized it's not him so it's a complicated feelings about the artwork. Few chapters at first were long but later it got shortened so I didn't expect that to happen.
In my point of view, you should definitely read this manhwa called "Duchess in Ruins." It won't be a boring ride for sure as there are many new things you would be exploring inside the story. I have enjoyed it and I hope that other people will like it as well. I have heard it has a slow burn romance tag so if you have patience for that then awesome.
Ratings: 8/10
The images are screenshots from chapter 1,2,3,4,5,6 on webtoon. Images are edited with Canva
