Navier Ellie Trovi was the lifelong companion of Sovieshu, the emperor of the Eastern Empire, with whom she spent her youth discussing the empire they would build together. She was intelligent, compassionate, and courageous. She was the perfect empress of the Eastern Empire, until the day Sovieshu fell for another woman, demanding a divorce. However, it was Navier who shocked Sovieshu, his beloved mistress, and a speechless court as she coldly declared: “I accept this divorce…and request an approval of my remarriage!”
REVIEW
Empress Navier and Emperor Sovieshu looked like the perfect couple – until a beautiful girl steals the Emperor’s heart. Not content merely to make the girl his mistress, Sovieshu petitions for divorce. To everyone’s astonishment, Navier agrees – on the condition she’s permitted to marry Prince Heinrey of the Western Kingdom. But how did the Prince and Empress get so close? It all began with a bird…
The Remarried Empress began as a Korean web fiction and has since expanded to various media including this full-color manhwa. As you might guess from the title, it is a palace drama. Specifically, it has a European flavor, so if you enjoy your characters with extensive wardrobes featuring ruffles, cravats, flounces, frock coats, cloaks, gold braid, sweeping skirts, puffed sleeves, bows, and epaulets, you’ll have a lot to feast your eyes on. Even if you’re not particularly inclined toward European styles, SUMPUL’s illustrations are a visual treat, whether depicting Queen the bird’s natural beauty or the elegance of a royal tea party. Prince Heinrey’s almost entirely naked body in Episode 8 is nothing short of gorgeous.
The book opens with the Imperial couple on the verge of breakup; then on page 13, it backtracks a few months in time to show how they got there. The story’s told primarily from the perspective of Empress Navier. Betrothed as a child to Sovieshu, Navier’s dedicated herself to becoming the perfect Empress. While the marriage is not based on love, they grew up as friends. So when Rashta, a girl of unknown origins, catches Sovieshu’s eye, Navier’s hurt but resigned to the situation. That is, until Sovieshu and Rashta’s love affair undermines her position. While Navier can do without her husband’s love, she won’t be disrespected.
This is definitely an old theme, and this variation has Navier as the absolutely wronged party. Rashta is portrayed as conniving. She’s quick to act like the victim and manipulates situations to have her breaches of etiquette, no matter how insulting, brushed off as innocent mistakes. While Navier is likable and Rashta lives up to the part of the deceiving rival, Sovieshu, the man at the center of the conflict, is flat. The intro indicates that he and Navier had mutual dreams for their empire. However, in his scenes, he is a brainless pretty face who simply agrees to whatever Rashta wants, regardless of how it impacts his or his nation’s standing.
Fortunately, there’s another man in the cast, the mysterious Prince Heinrey. He has a colorful reputation that includes playboy and associate of pirates. Outwardly, he’s a frivolous charmer, but he’s surprisingly astute and adept in social situations. And like all good romantic leads, he’s highly attuned to his love interest’s situation and emotions. Heinrey’s intercessions on Navier’s behalf as well as his alternate feathered identity keep this palace drama interesting, and I look forward to the next volume.
SUMMARY
If you like the kind of palace drama where a royal’s wandering eye leads to a clash of love, rank, duty, and reputation, give The Remarried Empress a try. While it includes a touch of magic, the focus is primarily on the relationship the Empress turns to when her husband’s upstart lover tramples on her identity and position. Although the opening shows readers how things end up, the unlikely combination of punctilious Navier and rash Heinrey makes me eager to learn the details of their story.