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Perle
Empire Joachim, which flourished once but now falling down.
Gin Erhart, who used to be a catamite of the Duke, got back there, masking as an adopted son of the Duke and a successful capitalist. While preparing to revolutionize Joachim, he is looking for a "Little Pearl", a secret supporter and lover of him.
Meanwhile, Gin meets 'Maximilian Joachim', the Prince of Joachim, at a banquet. Somehow, this lazy and promiscuous crown prince seems to know that Gin used to be a catamite....
Gin Erhart, who used to be a catamite of the Duke, got back there, masking as an adopted son of the Duke and a successful capitalist. While preparing to revolutionize Joachim, he is looking for a "Little Pearl", a secret supporter and lover of him.
Meanwhile, Gin meets 'Maximilian Joachim', the Prince of Joachim, at a banquet. Somehow, this lazy and promiscuous crown prince seems to know that Gin used to be a catamite....
317 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 21, 2022
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67 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 15, 2025
✰ 4.25 stars ✰
When the man you're destined to kill, may be the very one who gave meaning to your life, when the imperial who claims the most powerful seat in a nation on the brink of upheaval and political revolution, is the one who claims hold to your heart - how does one decide which path to follow?
THE PLOT ⚔️🐯🖌️
“Refrain from telling me about your disappointments that arise from your impatience and desires. I shall hold you in my heart and wait for you.”
At its core there are three distinctive plot lines running concurrently that beautifully interweave to create this story that is more than just a simple love story. It is a young man's quest to bring peace to a kingdom caused by unrest by the stark social class struggles, by striking up a honeytrap kind-of set up with a man, who may or may not hold the key to his heart - his Perle a mysterious kind hearted soul who brought him out from under his own weak and feeble status and propel him to the status of lord he now claims. 😥
With vibes akin to historical European, a liaison set up similar to paint me like one of your French girls, to gorgeous framework of the plot interlacing with the two main characters' own explosive intimacy to the final breaking-point, it will be an emotional rollercoaster of awaiting the final blow, while vehemently hoping for a different outcome - a yearning for a less than tragic finish. 😢 The inner conflict of loyalty to a dubious assumption that the Crown Prince Max, sensualist nuisance that one must not associate with is the man Lord Jean intends to take his head to restore justice, could be the very kindred spirit who saved him from the depths of squalor - is perhaps the cruelest form of love, and the most devastating one. For you know, then, it must have been love. 💟
THE WRITING ✍🏻
“Lord Jean, I don't forget a thing of beauty easily. And when it's something I coveted... I would never forget such a thing.”
Based on the novel, Perle: A Memoir of the Empire Joachim, the manhwa does not go into too much detail regarding the dichotomy of conflict, which felt fitting as the themes of unrest could apply to any empire. Not deliberately vague, just intent on portraying the strength of morality and conviction of said characters who had to make impossible decisions in the face of justice. 👑⚔️ Each chapter served as a careful wager between the two unsuspecting forces, propelling the plot forward with unlikely questions and hidden motives. the calculated exchanges between the two mcs, where it feels like they know what the other's true motive is, but deliberately shielding the truth, for the sake of protecting the other.
THE SHIP 🤧🫂
“I know that... this man is far from being my savior... So then why do these lips taste so sweet?”
Jean, with his own reservations that this seductively beautiful mysterious man before him could be his devastation and salvation, whilst Max, seemingly unperturbed by the conflict waging within Jean's soul - soothes and serves the both with adoration and comfort within the sheets and without - one where as a reader, you're forever second-guessing the nature of their intimacy, the mystery of doubt prevails throughout of where they stand with each other. We do not get his POV, but there are those glimpses of a strong-willed charisma, burdened by the image he has to carry, yet willfully defiant. 😟
It's ominously tragic, but so strikingly vivid in portraying their tenuous dynamic. 😢 All you want is for them to be together and happy and content in each other's arms, not ever forgetting jean's initial purpose of snuffing max out, as it slowly gnaws on him the hesitation and reluctance to do so. and all the while, wondering that perhaps, max may not be as unaware as to the scheming machinations of jean and cohorts - maybe still pulling the strings, searching for his own redemption as his Perle. 🥺🥺
THE SMEX ❤️🔥😍
“And the sound of our lips meeting became our music. And we kissed, so we kissed... And yet we kissed.”
Veiled kisses in the night, gentle touches and tender passion, breathless pleasure so intense it becomes tangible in their facial expressions and body languages, the sweet flirting attempts, burning sensations, soothed by the gentle smiles that escape when they bask in the afterglow - seeing each other as if for the first time, inner thoughts evoking the deepest desires. ❤️🔥❤️🔥
The dangerous cadence in which the shift is tragically happening for Jean that he can no longer see Maximilian as the true enemy. Caught in a flame of yearning and want for how he can't seem to get enough of him that he could lose sight of his mission, especially as even as someone who veils his true self from all those around him, slowly allows Jean to see his most vulnerable self, reaching for him, trusting him, aching for him... 🥹 🥹
THE ART 🌟🤌🏻
Breathtaking, emotionally expressive, visually aesthetic, artistry that captures the characters' emotions with such achingly tenderness, and with a fluidity that makes each action feel so alive in their movement. every sweep of a cloak, every cautious, but ever-searing embrace - the art, itself, is literally poetry in motion. 🌟
Unlike manga, most manhwa usually are full-colored; which does make it a lot more aesthetically pleasing to read. but i LOVE how the artist chose to keep it black-and-white with only slight splashes of color to selective panels. 👌🏻👌🏻 It gives such a weight to the select instances the colors spring to life, capturing the beauty in a more intimate light, how it shines in Max's alluring scarlet against Jean's blond hues, bringing with vivid detail each caress. And when you get to the final panel - it will be virtually impossible not to cry, for you will painfully understand the depth and meaning behind this crucial decision and then stare in awe at the beauty of it. 💛❤️
The Quotes ⭐🤴 ❤️🩹
There are things one cannot avoid in history for a new world.
You're like a tiger who holds a little pearl in it's mouth.
It was a something I'd never felt before... A sensation of exhilaration so intense that it made me tremble.
Why do all lofty people have such pitch black souls?
I have purchased the shackles that bound you. May you find freedom to be a gift to your liking.
Tragically poetic, hauntingly mesmerizing, it was a surreal experience - one filled with longing and ached with desire and the painful heartbreak that follows in the wake of learning what it means to love only for it to be ripped away just as soon as it was found. 💔😞 It spoke to me more at how it's still a mystery slowly being unveiled, the uncertainty of who Maximilian truly is to Jean that kept the storyline so strong.
It will remain a special and memorable read for how their relationship was so heartbreaking and the artwork equally mesmerizing in its unique depiction of masterfully capturing the depth of their actions and emotions.
The last few chapters were painful to read, because I knew what was about to happen, despite how I desperately craved for a what if to just sweep in and save me from the sadness and heartbreak that would undoubtedly follow in the wake of a tragedy, one that even has me questioning why I am so eager to read the novel? Perhaps to touch upon some points not covered in the manhwa. As if experiencing one heartbreak wasn't enough for the masochist in me? 😭
“It was love and nothing else.”
When the man you're destined to kill, may be the very one who gave meaning to your life, when the imperial who claims the most powerful seat in a nation on the brink of upheaval and political revolution, is the one who claims hold to your heart - how does one decide which path to follow?
THE PLOT ⚔️🐯🖌️
“Refrain from telling me about your disappointments that arise from your impatience and desires. I shall hold you in my heart and wait for you.”
At its core there are three distinctive plot lines running concurrently that beautifully interweave to create this story that is more than just a simple love story. It is a young man's quest to bring peace to a kingdom caused by unrest by the stark social class struggles, by striking up a honeytrap kind-of set up with a man, who may or may not hold the key to his heart - his Perle a mysterious kind hearted soul who brought him out from under his own weak and feeble status and propel him to the status of lord he now claims. 😥
With vibes akin to historical European, a liaison set up similar to paint me like one of your French girls, to gorgeous framework of the plot interlacing with the two main characters' own explosive intimacy to the final breaking-point, it will be an emotional rollercoaster of awaiting the final blow, while vehemently hoping for a different outcome - a yearning for a less than tragic finish. 😢 The inner conflict of loyalty to a dubious assumption that the Crown Prince Max, sensualist nuisance that one must not associate with is the man Lord Jean intends to take his head to restore justice, could be the very kindred spirit who saved him from the depths of squalor - is perhaps the cruelest form of love, and the most devastating one. For you know, then, it must have been love. 💟
THE WRITING ✍🏻
“Lord Jean, I don't forget a thing of beauty easily. And when it's something I coveted... I would never forget such a thing.”
Based on the novel, Perle: A Memoir of the Empire Joachim, the manhwa does not go into too much detail regarding the dichotomy of conflict, which felt fitting as the themes of unrest could apply to any empire. Not deliberately vague, just intent on portraying the strength of morality and conviction of said characters who had to make impossible decisions in the face of justice. 👑⚔️ Each chapter served as a careful wager between the two unsuspecting forces, propelling the plot forward with unlikely questions and hidden motives. the calculated exchanges between the two mcs, where it feels like they know what the other's true motive is, but deliberately shielding the truth, for the sake of protecting the other.
THE SHIP 🤧🫂
“I know that... this man is far from being my savior... So then why do these lips taste so sweet?”
Jean, with his own reservations that this seductively beautiful mysterious man before him could be his devastation and salvation, whilst Max, seemingly unperturbed by the conflict waging within Jean's soul - soothes and serves the both with adoration and comfort within the sheets and without - one where as a reader, you're forever second-guessing the nature of their intimacy, the mystery of doubt prevails throughout of where they stand with each other. We do not get his POV, but there are those glimpses of a strong-willed charisma, burdened by the image he has to carry, yet willfully defiant. 😟
It's ominously tragic, but so strikingly vivid in portraying their tenuous dynamic. 😢 All you want is for them to be together and happy and content in each other's arms, not ever forgetting jean's initial purpose of snuffing max out, as it slowly gnaws on him the hesitation and reluctance to do so. and all the while, wondering that perhaps, max may not be as unaware as to the scheming machinations of jean and cohorts - maybe still pulling the strings, searching for his own redemption as his Perle. 🥺🥺
THE SMEX ❤️🔥😍
“And the sound of our lips meeting became our music. And we kissed, so we kissed... And yet we kissed.”
Veiled kisses in the night, gentle touches and tender passion, breathless pleasure so intense it becomes tangible in their facial expressions and body languages, the sweet flirting attempts, burning sensations, soothed by the gentle smiles that escape when they bask in the afterglow - seeing each other as if for the first time, inner thoughts evoking the deepest desires. ❤️🔥❤️🔥
The dangerous cadence in which the shift is tragically happening for Jean that he can no longer see Maximilian as the true enemy. Caught in a flame of yearning and want for how he can't seem to get enough of him that he could lose sight of his mission, especially as even as someone who veils his true self from all those around him, slowly allows Jean to see his most vulnerable self, reaching for him, trusting him, aching for him... 🥹 🥹
THE ART 🌟🤌🏻
Breathtaking, emotionally expressive, visually aesthetic, artistry that captures the characters' emotions with such achingly tenderness, and with a fluidity that makes each action feel so alive in their movement. every sweep of a cloak, every cautious, but ever-searing embrace - the art, itself, is literally poetry in motion. 🌟
Unlike manga, most manhwa usually are full-colored; which does make it a lot more aesthetically pleasing to read. but i LOVE how the artist chose to keep it black-and-white with only slight splashes of color to selective panels. 👌🏻👌🏻 It gives such a weight to the select instances the colors spring to life, capturing the beauty in a more intimate light, how it shines in Max's alluring scarlet against Jean's blond hues, bringing with vivid detail each caress. And when you get to the final panel - it will be virtually impossible not to cry, for you will painfully understand the depth and meaning behind this crucial decision and then stare in awe at the beauty of it. 💛❤️
The Quotes ⭐🤴 ❤️🩹
There are things one cannot avoid in history for a new world.
You're like a tiger who holds a little pearl in it's mouth.
It was a something I'd never felt before... A sensation of exhilaration so intense that it made me tremble.
Why do all lofty people have such pitch black souls?
I have purchased the shackles that bound you. May you find freedom to be a gift to your liking.
Tragically poetic, hauntingly mesmerizing, it was a surreal experience - one filled with longing and ached with desire and the painful heartbreak that follows in the wake of learning what it means to love only for it to be ripped away just as soon as it was found. 💔😞 It spoke to me more at how it's still a mystery slowly being unveiled, the uncertainty of who Maximilian truly is to Jean that kept the storyline so strong.
It will remain a special and memorable read for how their relationship was so heartbreaking and the artwork equally mesmerizing in its unique depiction of masterfully capturing the depth of their actions and emotions.
The last few chapters were painful to read, because I knew what was about to happen, despite how I desperately craved for a what if to just sweep in and save me from the sadness and heartbreak that would undoubtedly follow in the wake of a tragedy, one that even has me questioning why I am so eager to read the novel? Perhaps to touch upon some points not covered in the manhwa. As if experiencing one heartbreak wasn't enough for the masochist in me? 😭
January 8, 2025
oh, fuck off
January 14, 2025
got me sobbing for 10 minutes straight
January 9, 2025
I knew that was gonna happen but still What the fuck. I'M SOBBING, i don't think I'll be able to ever recover from this ending. I went through every possible emotion while reading this. It's so painful I'm killing myself.
July 9, 2025
ว้าว ไม่ได้อ่านอะไรที่มันสั้นและทัชใจขนาดนี้มานานมากๆ / อ่านรอบ 2 ไปแล้ว ไปเปิด twitter คนวาด เค้ามีแนบเพลงให้เข้ากับแต่ละตอนไว้ด้วย ยิ่งเปิดฟังแล้วอ่าน คือโคตรอิน! น้ำตาไหลกันเลยทีเดียว เป็นเรื่องที่ beautifully done จริงๆ ที่สำคัญเค้าวาดสวยมากจริงๆ ไม่อยากให้ kakao webtoon ปิดเลย เศร้า อยากอ่านซ้ำอีกซะ 5-6 รอบ
April 18, 2025
Holy shit. That ending was absolutely brutal in an utterly beautiful way. I didn't see some of the developments at the end coming- at all. I couldn't put this down until the mystery of who actually was the protagonist's secret benefactor was resolved once and for all. That piece of information gets revealed at the very end with a punch to the gut. My heart just aches for Jean and Maximilian.
The blurb honestly doesn't do this justice. This kind of convoluted relationship between the mastermind of a revolution and the nation's crown prince really makes for the perfect recipe for tragedy.
I started out reading the manhwa because I wasn't sure if I wanted to commit to the novel, but now I'm pretty sure that I'll need to read the novel down the line as well. After I've recovered, that is.
The blurb honestly doesn't do this justice. This kind of convoluted relationship between the mastermind of a revolution and the nation's crown prince really makes for the perfect recipe for tragedy.
I started out reading the manhwa because I wasn't sure if I wanted to commit to the novel, but now I'm pretty sure that I'll need to read the novel down the line as well. After I've recovered, that is.
January 23, 2025
this is so good, bawled my eyes out
February 19, 2025
Don't lie to yourself that a story has a happy ending when it obviously doesn't (now I'm a sobbing mess all because I believed in the impossible)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 24, 2025
i couldn’t find the manhwa version but i had to give 5 stars somewhere .. this WAS AMAZING AND HEARTWRENCHING WITH BEAUTIFUL ART no words
June 6, 2025
10/10 I cried my heart out.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews