With only one prince left at the palace, The Royal Tutor has entered a new phase. Now Leonhard must face his first challenge without his brothers: having tea with Eins! Meanwhile, Bruno and Licht tackle life outside the palace, and Heine is still suspicious of Ernst’s involvement with the other princes.
In some ways, The Royal Tutor Volume 10 continues just as before, with a new prince (or, occasionally, another character) taking the lead each chapter. That hasn’t changed, which is good news. However, if you’re a Kai fan, prepare for disappointment: he’s limited to one short letter that Heine reads. The message was so very Kai-like, but still. Licht and Leonhard fans, though, will be happy with the amount of attention the two get. It’s not surprising since the other brothers are away from the capital, but this volume feels more unbalanced than the previous ones.
That also plays into the story. The final chapter about Adele’s dress is rather uninspiring except for a single cute, funny panel, and considering she’s on the cover, I had higher hopes for her part. The story about Leonhard being worried about Heine physically hitting him would have been better suited much earlier in the story. On the other hand, seeing Bruno not so much of as a Master-obsessed fanatic or the smart big brother is wonderful for his character development. The Leonhard and Licht section is also pretty heartwarming. It’s one of the rare times where the torte-loving prince is shown as the stubborn but concerned older brother. Obviously, Leonhard doesn’t have many chances considering only Licht and Adele are younger than him, but it was one of the best moments in the volume.
Also, it was interesting to see Eins interact at the tea party. We know he’s the scary older brother to the princes and another one of his adorable sons to Viktor, but we haven’t seen him much with his grandmother or Adele, and this volume fixes that. Perhaps with Bruno and Kai being limited for now, we’ll see more of him swinging by the palace.
As for the big question about how involved Eins and/or Ernst is with the whole “sending the prince away” plot…Akai teases a bit of new information on that front at the beginning and the end here. It’s not the complete puzzle, but the picture is starting to become clearer. Ironically, while it was thought that Ernst was going to push Heine into doing something to protect (or bolster) his students, it may turn out to be the opposite. Ernst is stunned when Heine notes that Viktor isn’t supporting Eins as the next candidate, and we’ll see if that’s a fact the royal tutor should have kept to himself.
In short, the first half starts out strong before fizzling a bit, but this volume is going to depend on who your favorite character is:
Licht, Leonhard = great
Bruno, Eins, Heine, Adele = okay
Kai, Viktor = disappointing.
I like Leonhard and Licht so I had a good time, but for fans of some of the other characters, The Royal Tutor Volume 10 is going to drag. Better luck next time, Kai fans. I’m rooting for you.