I did this to myself, can't believe I desperately read this far hoping FL gets smarter. Dropped at 157. What a waste of a setting. So much could have been done if the FL wasn't so unbearably stupid.
She goes through the literal exact same humiliations from new characters again and again AND AGAIN. She never uses her powers until people are already hurt. Those powers NEVER activate themselves at a convenient time...even though it says it'll save the FL if she's ever in danger. It's NEVER around if it breaks the plot.
In other stories the reason why the powers don't activate is usually given, even if they're incredibly flimsy excuses. I'm not talking about FL's ability to open gates, btw. It's the gates themselves that are sentient and have relatively freewill. They never show up when they need to.
Sometimes it reads like she did something clever and supposedly finds the solution herself but someone else will ALWAYS deal the final, decisive blow to the bad guy. Always.
Incredibly frustrating.
Especially the Academy arc where students aren't allowed to show off their noble status and no one knows each other's background. Absolutely fucking idiotic plot made even dumber by FL's non-action.
People treated FL like absolute shit...while treating someone else like a prince because they were simply suspected to be a Francieff.
Bizarrely FL has the most unique, loudest hair color ever. It's only seen on the immediate, direct bloodline of the Francieff but apparently these students are fucking blind as well as unable to do simple deductive reasoning to figure out she's the real descendant.
It's even mentioned as being crazy rare in the story itself!
Of course, her family swoops in to save the day when she's unable to save herself. So all of that subterfuge and "MUST hide your status or be expelled so everyone is equal at school" was pointless.
Her family or her teacher or her professor will ALWAYS save her. Not once does she speak up for herself in a winning way. She has all the tools and status to not be used as a pawn but she's not smart enough to use it.
What's the point of being a Francieff if she refuses to use the name or her well known status of being a saintess? Because it's not like the narrative will let us forget.
Worse? Her family WILL use their name and status to protect her. So...her stupidity, timidity and lack of resourcefulness means the exact thing she refuses to do WILL be used to reinforce her plot armor and save her anyway.
She should have leaned into the very important person she is instead of being jerked around by literal nobodies.
Ugh.
EDIT: Holy shit. This idiot claims to know she's being used by the queen/concubine and empress but doesn't know that the princes are fighting over her? She's so incredibly airheaded. I'm shocked that she just goes and does everything the empress "asks" of her.
Just...waltz right into the crown prince's bedroom BY HERSELF. Because the empress gave her some sob story about him being weak? She asininely and ineffectually "argues" that he has a fiancee but she STILL goes to him anyway? That's not standing up for yourself, you pea brained moron.
She NEVER consults with her family either. Never tries to come up with a strategy to keep her virginity safe or her reputation clean, it's her family doing all the work. AGAIN.
Or if she does talk to them we only know after the fact, and they'll be berating her for her naivete. So, even her family is aware of just how stupid she is.
At least the artist change was welcomed. The 1st season artist was...not good. The 2nd and 3rd season's art is a painfully generic Otome Isekai style but at least the faces aren't too creepy and the colors are vastly improved.
The Male Lead just just keeps getting nerfed though. 1st season was a perfect design for him. By the 3rd season he's so basic looking only his eye color really distinguishes him from background characters.
