Helen: Newlywed life for Filimena and Edy is proving to be not very different from their pre-marriage life: while they are now living together, Edy still spends most of his time working as the Chief Enchanter of the kingdom and, given the amount of attention Edy is currently getting from being a part of the party to defeat the Lord of Darkness, Filimena and Edy’s wedding hasn’t even been made public knowledge. Filimena understands the intense amount of scrutiny she (a low-ranking noble) would be under if people knew she was Edy’s wife, but at the same time she still wishes that their honeymoon period could be, well, a bit more like a honeymoon! There’s still a bit of distance between the two of them as well, which is why Filimena hadn’t told Edy about the terrifying nightmare she has been having every single time she closes her eyes….
Judging by the afterword by the original author, Syuri Nakamura, the first two manga volumes covered the first volume in the light novel series which makes me even more confused why the series name is Fiancée of the Wizard given that, well, Filimena is now married! In fact, when I went to double-check that I realized that the original light novel series is still on-going with 7 volumes to date which leaves me quite puzzled about where this manga is going to wrap up in the next volume.
That’s not the only, broader question I had about the second half of this series; I wouldn’t call it a plot hole per se but the conflict in this volume revolves around Filimena being the victim of a nasty curse and the entire idea seems to come out of nowhere. She’s lived a fairly sheltered life and with her marriage being kept a secret she really shouldn’t have any enemies to curse her. I can think of theories of course (I suspect it’s from one of the noble families that wants to marry Edy off to one of their own daughters) but I’m not drawing from anything in the text for those theories, just my own genre-savviness. It would be interesting if this curse ends up being tied to how Filimena is “loathed by the spirits,” due to her accidental scarring as a child, but at the same time I’m not sure one more manga volume would be enough time to introduce that as a plot point and end up resolving it.
While the story is cute, and I truly enjoy the fluffy romance and cute art when reading it, as I think back on the volume later I find myself with more questions than general good feelings towards the story and I can only hope that volume 4 sticks the landing.
Helen’s rating: 3 out of 5
Krystallina: As Filimena reintroduces herself to readers, she says if you add up her two lives, she’s about fifty years old. And yet somehow, she hasn’t absorbed something emphasized both in fiction and the real world: communication is key. Especially when your problem is magical in nature, and your husband is a top-tier mage!
Filimena fulfilled her dream of marrying Edy, but he requests he keep their marriage a secret, likely to protect her from being kidnapped, harassed, and the like. She’s disappointed, and that feeling only grows as she sees and hears rumors of her husband and a noblewoman (Luna-Marie) spending a lot of time together.
Not only that, Filimena has been suffering from a lack of sleep due to shadowy nightmares and hearing someone crying. She hides this issue and takes it upon herself to investigate at the library. There, she meets one of Edy’s coworkers, Servus, and hides her identity. Servus senses Filimena is physically if not also emotionally struggling, but he doesn’t force the issue.
As for why he can tell Filimena is going through something but Edy doesn’t…well, that’s going to be something Edy never lives down. Filimena eventually breaks down, but doesn’t blame him, of course. She says it was her fault for hiding it, but Edy (and Princess Clementine, whom he turns to for help) don’t see it that way. All of this is drama for the sake of drama, and it didn’t need to be. The identity of the crying voice and tracking down the purse causing these nightmares is enough, and this is finally incorporating more of the fantasy and isekai aspects of Fiancée of the Wizard. The series is unlikely to be a magic- or reincarnation-heavy story considering the plot, but it’s nice to see Filimena’s past play a role more than just a reason for her to like black hair.
And this change was welcome, as neither Filimena or Edy come across as great here. I mean, okay, maybe Filimena was just really good at hiding her lack of sleep, but geez, what did she think was going to happen? Figure out the cause and…go find some literal witch doctor, I guess, to stop the spell? Geez, Filimena, you like to remind people you’re not a little girl — act like it!
By the end, she’s made a decision, and, well, just in time considering there’s only one volume left to go. It seems surprising since the novels have reached double digits, and a lot of my gripes about the characters’ actions are likely found in the source material. And with volume 4 being the finale, either the culprit turns out to be the most unsurprising reveal ever, or the question is going to be left unanswered. I doubt it’s #2, but either way, Fiancée of the Wizard is going to have to pull together a great finale to avoid another mediocre entry.
Krystallina’s rating: 2.5 out of 5