Nov 25, 2025
Haikei Mishiranu Dannasama, Rikon shite Itadakimasu, whose title has been localized poorly as To Sir, without Love: I'm Divorcing You when the actual title would be closer to something like "To My Stranger of a Husband, I Request a Divorce," is a fun read thus far, twenty chapters in, with a great deal of potential.
Lady Byletta Holland is a feisty, brilliant swordswoman who has been arranged to marry Arnald Swngan, heir to Count Swangan. Arnald wanted a "fearless, courageous, strong" woman, and Byletta is the only one in the whole of the empire who fits the bill. Of course, he actually set those requirements to
...
try to get out of it, but joke's on him. Anyway, Byletta doesn't want to get married because she wants to be an independent businesswoman and she thinks a husband will cramp her style. But the day they're supposed to meet, he leaves for the front because the war is going very poorly. So... married on paper... for eight years. Neither she nor he ever take the initiative to write a letter to each other.
Once the war finally ends with victory, she sends a blunt note demanding a divorce. Arnald is amused by this at first, but then he hears about the unfortunate reputation his wife (undeservedly) has. So he comes home quite angry, since femme fatale types are the women he hates the most. So he makes a bet with her: he'll give her a divorce if he fails to impregnate her in a month. She accepts, and he very quickly discovers he erred in his opinion of her.
"Will they or won't they" is in full play here, since they're both incredibly compatible with each other, in bed and out of it, but refuse to communicate honestly with each other. Even though they are genuinely attracted to each other, neither is willing to step past their pride and express anything honestly. Hell, Byletta is trying to cheat her way to victory by taking contraceptives, which very much goes against the spirit of their wager. Of course, their situations are also far more dangerous than they realize: they are both targets of lust for people who would like nothing more than to destroy their union (and mindbreak them while they're at it).
The art is quite lovely, with detail lavished on important characters like Byletta and Arnald, and their family members. Of course, Byletta gets the most love, as one would expect of the heroine of a romance manga; her dresses and her hair are given significant attention by the mangaka, but it's not like she's the only beautiful thing in this world. Attention is paid to the backgrounds, the battle scenes, and the "spicier" scenes that involve Arnald's effort to win the wager, so everything has been a visual delight to date.
I know I usually only review completed works, but even so, I felt I had to strongly recommend this. It's engaging, with a rather widespread appeal in its art. Byletta and Arnald are well-suited to each other, and frankly given the enemies lurking around them, need each other if they're going to make it to a happy ending of any kind. I cheerfully root for them to not only be married on paper, but in love with each other.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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