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Plaything: The Toy of a Grand Duke
A robust and naive mercenary, Ilrick, accidentally killed the son of the leader of his unit, who was after Ilrick's body. After he believed that he had successfully concealed his crimes, Ilrick received the summon of an unexpected individual. With flowing silver hair, the individual was the most handsome man Ilrick had ever seen in his life- the Grand Duke of Miros. The duke graced a chillingly beautiful smile on his face as he spoke to Ilrick. "Isn't it only correct for you to be the one asking me to fuck you up?"
1290 pages, Unknown Binding
Published December 16, 2020
6 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 4, 2025
I have no idea what kind of deal the artist made with the devil, but this is hands-down one of the prettiest manhwa I’ve ever laid eyes on. The top looks like a fever dream, delicate, ethereal, with that “murderous Victorian doll” kind of energy. And the bottom? Beefy, brooding and reluctantly whipped. Like, Inject that combo directly into my bloodstream!!
But listen…this is not some fluffy romance. This is unhinged aristocracy, toxic BDSM games and a whole lot of psychological manipulation wrapped in silk ribbons. The duke is straight-up feral and obsessed, and the mercenary is just…tired. He’s got the body of a Greek god and the decision-making skills of wet toast. He could bench press the entire castle and chooses to be a bratty little housewife instead.
That said, the dubcon is absolutely baked into the premise and it does not try to sugarcoat it. If that’s not your thing, run. But also, it doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. The vibes are feral, horny and tragic.
And yet… it’s so good. So stupidly addicting. The plot might be hanging on by dental floss, but the chemistry is unbelievable. The tension is juicy, the sex scenes are top-tier and the fact that the merc still wants to bite the duke’s head off by chapter 40 is honestly a breath of fresh air. No sudden “I love yous” here. Just trauma, bondage and vibes.
So yeah. If you’re here for art, chaos, obsession and a walking red flag top seducing a very confused muscle-bottom who absolutely should’ve known better? Congratulations. This is your meal. Bon appétit😋!!!
But listen…this is not some fluffy romance. This is unhinged aristocracy, toxic BDSM games and a whole lot of psychological manipulation wrapped in silk ribbons. The duke is straight-up feral and obsessed, and the mercenary is just…tired. He’s got the body of a Greek god and the decision-making skills of wet toast. He could bench press the entire castle and chooses to be a bratty little housewife instead.
That said, the dubcon is absolutely baked into the premise and it does not try to sugarcoat it. If that’s not your thing, run. But also, it doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. The vibes are feral, horny and tragic.
And yet… it’s so good. So stupidly addicting. The plot might be hanging on by dental floss, but the chemistry is unbelievable. The tension is juicy, the sex scenes are top-tier and the fact that the merc still wants to bite the duke’s head off by chapter 40 is honestly a breath of fresh air. No sudden “I love yous” here. Just trauma, bondage and vibes.
So yeah. If you’re here for art, chaos, obsession and a walking red flag top seducing a very confused muscle-bottom who absolutely should’ve known better? Congratulations. This is your meal. Bon appétit😋!!!
August 27, 2025
ngl they had us in the first half with the fake incest thing. we dodge a bullet there, hallelujah
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 4, 2025
biggest flop of the year……… the art was so stunning …. it had such a good set up for a fun plot and twists but then it just???? dick go in hole…. i guess 😔😔👎👎
March 20, 2025
Extremely well-drawn art drawn with a skilled eye towards detail, color and perspective. The story as far as it goes is not too shabby, there is a healthy touch of realistic skepticism between the initial interactions of the two leads that doesn't quite forget about the class barrier either. The merc is made to feel out of place in the duke's surroundings, debates killing the man multiple times for his persistent advances, and has a believable interest in aligning with him initially.
Their chemistry is not so good, it seems rather one-sided most of the time, though I'm not sure if it's meant to be depicted as "man not so good at affection/communication is able to express himself through sex", it ended up coming off more as "man who really isn't into this finds the physical pleasure just good enough to put up with everything else".
The side stories provided much-needed further exposition regarding the Duke's motivations and drive, which were very funny but I won't spoil. However there was still a considerable amount of dissatisfaction within me since the merc never really understood the Duke's core, they didn't perceive each others' hearts with the level of intimacy or comfort that lovers can. They may be a fantastic combination physically, but good sex isn't the end-all of a compelling narrative.
It would have added a lot more to the narrative to see them going back and forth trying to understand their innermost selves, biases, feelings and to push past them, in the Duke's case his almost-perfect disconnect from reality and desire to monopolize and act out his sadism on his chosen partner, in the mercenary's case his lack of grounding connection to people around him, his desperate need to avoid stepping on the ruling classes toes to avoid losing his life/livelihood, the fact that he ignores communicating his desire or lack thereof regarding their relationship and instead allows the duke to draw him into captivity/sex-situationship spanning longer than a decade, the latter two probably closely related to each other.
However, I suppose that's on me. After all, it wouldn't be called Plaything: The Toy of a Grand Duke if Ilic wasn't just that.
Their chemistry is not so good, it seems rather one-sided most of the time, though I'm not sure if it's meant to be depicted as "man not so good at affection/communication is able to express himself through sex", it ended up coming off more as "man who really isn't into this finds the physical pleasure just good enough to put up with everything else".
The side stories provided much-needed further exposition regarding the Duke's motivations and drive, which were very funny but I won't spoil. However there was still a considerable amount of dissatisfaction within me since the merc never really understood the Duke's core, they didn't perceive each others' hearts with the level of intimacy or comfort that lovers can. They may be a fantastic combination physically, but good sex isn't the end-all of a compelling narrative.
It would have added a lot more to the narrative to see them going back and forth trying to understand their innermost selves, biases, feelings and to push past them, in the Duke's case his almost-perfect disconnect from reality and desire to monopolize and act out his sadism on his chosen partner, in the mercenary's case his lack of grounding connection to people around him, his desperate need to avoid stepping on the ruling classes toes to avoid losing his life/livelihood, the fact that he ignores communicating his desire or lack thereof regarding their relationship and instead allows the duke to draw him into captivity/sex-situationship spanning longer than a decade, the latter two probably closely related to each other.
However, I suppose that's on me. After all, it wouldn't be called Plaything: The Toy of a Grand Duke if Ilic wasn't just that.
February 16, 2025
I weirdly like this a little too much 🫣. I think it’s because of the insanely gorgeous art style, otherwise there’s literally no plot. But honestly, I like that too It’s so messy in a best way. The side stories were good, but ending both the main story and the side stories on a cliffhanger is actually insane. I guess that’s just the author’s thing.
But I really wish we got to see Ilic be more into him. It pisses me off that even after ten years, he’s still in denial. Like boy, you literally described your type, and it’s exactly him, just admit it already! And one more thing… I really wish we got to see Ilic say “I love you” but I guess that’s asking for too much 🤷🏻♀️
But I really wish we got to see Ilic be more into him. It pisses me off that even after ten years, he’s still in denial. Like boy, you literally described your type, and it’s exactly him, just admit it already! And one more thing… I really wish we got to see Ilic say “I love you” but I guess that’s asking for too much 🤷🏻♀️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 28, 2023
Actual Rating: 3.5 / 5
December 31, 2024
Me encantó, es uno de los primeros manhwas que leí. El duque es un transtornado, pero lo quiere tanto que le perdono todo. Sorry not sorry.
February 17, 2025
3 stars and that’s just for the side stories because main story is asssss
April 27, 2025
Red flag … I said red flag… but beautiful
May 31, 2025
Didn't finish. it was ok.
July 20, 2025
Nice.... quite nice indeed... 😈
November 27, 2025
buddy-read with a friend whatever happened to plot midway through it just fell off, ending didn't feel like a proper ending as well. side-story became more interesting than the second half of the story SUCH A SHAME BECAUSE THE ART STYLE IS PHENOMENAL
August 25, 2024
Un noble conoce el secreto del mercenario sobre su implicación en el asesinato de otro y le pide ser su juguete sexual.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews