The episode opens with a furious battle against the demon lord, which eventually sees the prince and his party of girls triumphant. But immediately upon victory, someone rushes in from the side and starts looting the demon lord’s body. This is Romelia, our protagonist. The prince turns and calls off their engagement, citing her lack of participation in the battle as his primary reason. But it’s true. She didn’t fight. He even says “once again,” which means she regularly hangs back. She gladly accepts the charge and agrees to dissolving their relationship. Obviously, there’s no love lost here. Still, I have so many questions. Why were they engaged in the first place? Why wasn’t she fighting? She makes a good point that the demon’s army is still standing, but she still could’ve helped. Why is the prince only partied with girls?
The party returns home, and after a bit of doubt from the general, they eventually convince everyone that the demon lord is dead. Romelia, however, happily negotiates her way out of the room by claiming she only wants the items in her backpack. Clearly, she’s the only one who knows the true value of the loot the party accumulated over their long journey. She then makes her way home to a cold and distant family. Her dad is somewhat relieved to see that she’s okay, but they don’t embrace or anything. Meanwhile, her mother just wails and wails about how her daughter is no longer betrothed to the prince, so their status as nobles has been diminished. Oh no, oh dear! She then ends up fainting after getting herself all worked up. Sheesh, that’s your daughter, whom you haven’t seen in quite some time. The guards out front literally do not recognize Romelia because she’s been gone for so long.
But of course, it’s not as though Romelia is sticking around for long. We see her sell all of her valuable possessions (mostly fancy dresses). She even gifts her father what looks like a giant shiny rock, but it’s supposedly dragon spit, a useful ingredient in fragrances. It’s a little gnarly, but not quite as shocking as whale poop. Go look up ambergris if you’re not familiar with what I’m talking about, but I digress. The point is, the dragon spit is worth such a pretty penny, the anime won’t even tell us exactly how much he’ll be paid for it. Basically, Romelia solves her family’s financial problems as a way to cleanly cut ties with her family — as clean as you can get without being outright disowned, anyway. Judging by the way her mother treats her, Romelia is an asset. You can use her as an invaluable chip for political gain, which is why the woman despairs over the engagement being called off. Romelia handing her father essentially a bucket of gold is a way of saying, “Hey, I’ve paid my dues. Let me do as I wish without a fuss.”
As a result, Romelia departs for Cashu with only her maid beside her. I’m not sure if the maid is sticking around. I don’t really know what’s in Cashu either. The anime is playing its cards close to its chest, because I’m still not sure what to make of our heroine with just the first episode alone. She’s certainly knowledgeable and likely talented in many other areas. But the last time I saw such a cool and collected woman, she ended up being a villain who was hellbent on destroying her home country regardless of the innocent people she might hurt. So why exactly is this called “Romelia War Chronicles?” You’ll have to forgive me if I’m a little wary. After all, Romelia refused to fight in the final battle, which isn’t very heroic. It’s funny, because the light novel’s title alone kinda reveals everything: Romelia War Chronicle: The Count’s Daughter Rallies an Army in the Wake of Mankind’s Victory. Oh, well, there you go. She still wants to protect the kingdom. So why did she hang back in the “final” fight? Maybe she wanted to ensure that the engagement would be called off? It’s obvious that she never cared much for the prince.
Usually, in shows like these, the prince is a real jackass, and he’s been seduced by a jealous woman. We’ve seen it over and over again in countless villainess shows. Because the premise is so familiar, I kinda consider this to be a villainess show as well. I mean, it’s all there. Brilliant, talented woman tossed to the side by her fiance. She goes on to do great things without him. There are just subtle differences that make you ponder. The prince might be foolish, but he isn’t an overt jackass like in other shows. He’ll marry the healer in the party, but we don’t know if she seduced him like other shows (she’s certainly classist, though). And usually, the so-called villainess immediately meets a guy who would be way better for her than the prince. But no obvious candidate exists as of now. We only see a blue-haired boy stare at Romelia as her carriage passes him by. Still a villainess show, but perhaps one with a bit of restraint. I’m still not sure how good this show will be, but it’s definitely something to keep an eye on every time the weekend rolls around. For now, however, I still have it slotted for Villainess Villainy (or lack thereof) because I’m not sure it’ll generate enough food for discussion.
Girl, you gotta tell the cook to give you better sides than some sad steamed broccoli.
