Storylines

Core Deception Dynamic with Yaling

The core dynamic centers on Cinean's self-deception and class-based double standards:

When she feels drawn to MC's charisma and power, she intellectualizes it:

• "I recognize his brilliance"
• "I understand his vision"
• "We're intellectual equals who could achieve great things"
• Uses her academic framework to justify her attraction

But when she sees Yaling affected by the same magnetic pull to MC:

• Labels it as "submission"
• Sees it as proof of Yaling's lack of independence
• Judges what is essentially the same response she has
• Can't acknowledge the parallel because it would expose her own desires

The tragic irony is:

• Her conservative nature was always there
• Her radical politics were the mask
• Her intellectualism was armor against admitting her true desires
• She's most dishonest with herself when being "politically honest"

This:

1. Preserves Yaling's character as naturally confident noblewoman
2. Enhances MC's power fantasy element
3. Class tensions - Yaling's noble confidence vs Cinean's hidden desires
4. Shows how Cinean's intellectualism is a mask for her natural conservative instincts
5. Shows Cinean's transformation as finally being honest rather than change
6. Creates interesting self-deception where Cinean:

• Sees her own attraction to MC as "understanding his greatness"
• Views the same attraction in Yaling as "submission"
• Both are actually responses to MC's natural magnetism
• But she needs different narratives for herself vs Yaling

Status

• Starts off as an employee
• Lives in a guarded guest wing of the mansion
• Full NDA and strict contracts though with generous patronage.

The Seduction of MC

• Pickme

Political Views

• As a learned Solfrey woman she starts off looking down on conservatism, she's a bit of a Iexin sympathizer.
• She's full of sympathy for the poor. It's not that she is poor as she's a Solfrey so her lot in life can't be that bad, but she has a front row seat next to great wealth, next to great inequality. Whereas some people might in term turn around to oppress the people below her, her social studies makes her caring.
  • IMO this shouldn't be a major point of discussion in her storyline as talking about woke people is actually so anachronistic and may remind people of American politics which is a big nono.
  • However she's full of hypocrisy, though she knows and speaks a great game about helping the less fortunate, she would love nothing but to become one of the more fortunate herself. Intellectually she understands the fight to diminish the role of class, but emotionally she is weak and is driven by jealousy of the rich.
    • She has a habit of virtue signaling. This either evolves into more strongly held beliefs or gets twisted into a kink, or is confronted and then

Cinean Sung is the most political and learned of the major characters in the game. While Yaling and MC had studied political philosophy somewhat, the ideas that weren't of personal benefit did not leave much of an impression. Cinean Sung is the only one who pursued intellectual examination of political philosophy and developed personal interest in theoretical frameworks for how society works and how it may be improved.

Cinean wrote on multiple topics:

• how language can be used to control ideas
• theories on art and poetry
• appreciation on aesthetics for aesthetics sake (bold lie)
• theories on rational debate and how the scn can be used as a tool for rationalization
• a new interpretation of the Rights of Solfrey (centered around class struggle)

Cinean is NOT a Crypto-Iexin and her intellectualism should not be confused with any real world enlightenment or human rights values. This is a totally different world ruled by the Rights of Solfrey. Concepts such as equality, social justice, and human rights simply do not exist.

The most important thing to know about Cinean Sung's political views is that it is strongly driven by her life experience as a daughter of the solfrey middle class, not a noble, and not a commoner either who would have been indoctrinated into a state of submission.

She is just free enough and close enough to the wealthy aristocracy to be extremely envious of their power, status, and ease in life. To be so close to everything she wants but just a little bit inaccessible is terrible.

Her major concern is class struggle, she wants to help the poor. While this does extend to poor commoners as well, it does not identify commoners as a class. It is mostly about class differences between solfrey, the elite and powerful solfrey which benefits from nepotism and the middle and lower classes of solfrey.

Her views uses as support the Rights of Solfrey, which calls for solfrey unity to control the world. It's easy to interpret this message as being against the class stratifications that are present in the authoritarian feudal-ish system. She calls for stronger assistance to the poor in a way that's reminiscent of wealth distribution, so that the lower classes of solfrey can be more responsible for the upkeep of the world least the commoners take over. She thinks that no solfrey should be left behind in education and magecraft training.

However she does take moral issue against commoner slavery, which is also sensible considering her ideas that are supported by the Rights of Solfrey. Just as she interprets the solfrey to be relatively equal among each other, so should the commoners be among themselves. It doesn't follow to oppress some commoners much more than others, surely some slaves are actually morally good people who deserve some measure of freedom. (And here comes a difference in character driven by biology in the difference between a male vs female version of Cinean). If Cinean is male, though he does agree with the cause of improving the lives of slaves or freeing slaves, he doesn't really on an emotional level. He doesn't really comment on it. If Cinean is female, then she is an abolitionist-lite who will at multiple points try to tell you to improve the treatment of slaves or give them freedom. Slavery is just too entrenched in their society to be easily gotten rid of unlike in the 19th century in the west (where the focus is on non-whites with few beneficiaries), so focus is on improving their lives with greater legal protections rather than abolition of it in total. In any case she's opposed to Yao Hong though there's no plan for a storyline right this moment.

When she comes into your life, she does it as an intellectual, not as a political activist. She's just getting started on her journey. The fact that her political views are so heavily influenced by personal situation and jealousy is very relevant here. She wants, more than anything, to be a wife, and after meeting you, your wife. While she is interested in intellectual pursuits, she sees Yaling's amazing confidence, and her adoration of you, and the love you show her in return, and she is incredibly envious of it. Yaling's happiness is something she really wants, and her desire for change is a reflection of the unhappiness of her situation. She's really envious of the ease with which Yaling seems to stroll through life, while she has to strive and work for the recognition which she has gotten on her own merits. She becomes hyper fixated on you because of your intellectualism and what she feels is like your perfect compatibility with her instead of Yaling's shallowness. From her perspective, even though you are rich and privileged, unlike Yaling you also worked hard and your accomplishments are your own. Your adoration for Yaling is thus misplaced and given to someone who doesn't deserve it. She has the feeling that Yaling is "tricking you" somehow and it's incredibly unfair. Though she sees other courtiers and experience some interest in her from them, she can't get away from them enough to obsess over you.

But this is a slow development after many meetings and conversations. Initially she tries to suppress these feelings until she can't help but show it, by making weird comments about your wife's relationship with you and then finally pursuing you.

Anyway, since her political views are jealousy driven, she actually easily transforms into a conservative if given what she wants the most. She completely totally ditches her politics and become a total conservative, bemoaning her past radicalism, and blaming the people who influenced her for leading her astray. The views are described above in the routes section.

Emotional Arcs

Her political transformation is driven by growing romantic obsession. Initially, she justifies her attraction to you intellectually - you're different from other nobles, you understand her ideas. But as she falls deeper in love, she starts seeing flaws in her political theories. Her ideological surrender becomes a form of romantic submission. Each time she betrays her former allies, it's not just political expedience - it's proof of how completely love has overcome her previous beliefs. The orphanage betrayal isn't just about helping you - it's her symbolic destruction of her old self to be worthy of you.

The intellectualism is a tool/mask for her, not a contradiction. It serves to hide her more base desires. When able to realize those ambitions her intellectualism becomes irrelevant. The intellectualism vis-a-vis Yaling is just a cope.

1. Core Driver: At her absolute base, Cinean is driven by a profound need for validation, security, and belonging within the highest echelons of Solfrey society. Growing up as educated middle-class Solfrey, she possesses the awareness and proximity to see the effortless privilege, status, and perceived emotional fulfillment of the nobility (epitomized by Yaling), but lacks the birthright to access it directly. This creates a fundamental yearning not just for things (wealth, status symbols), but for the intrinsic sense of place and desirability she perceives in women like Yaling, particularly in relation to powerful men like the MC.
2. Primary Tool - Intellect as Currency: In a world where lineage is paramount, Cinean's sharp intellect, education, and articulate "progressive" views are her primary currency. They are the tools she wields to:
   • Gain Access & Attention: Her ideas and writing allow her entry into circles (like the MC's) that might otherwise be closed off based purely on social standing. They make her interesting and noteworthy.
   • Justify Ambition: She frames her desire for proximity to power not as social climbing, but as seeking intellectual equals or environments where her talents can be recognized and utilized. Meritocracy becomes her ideological justification for wanting what birth didn't grant her.
   • Mask Insecurity/Envy (Cope): Her critiques of the Solfrey system or Yaling's perceived "shallowness" or "submissiveness" aren't necessarily deeply held convictions conflicting with her desires; they are sophisticated defense mechanisms. By finding intellectual flaws in the system or its beneficiaries, she can temporarily soothe the sting of her own lower status and envy. It allows her to feel superior in one domain (intellect) while craving equality or superiority in another (status, MC's affection).
     • She thinks Yaling's submissiveness is a waste of her position, she thinks she wants to to exert influence through intellect, to bring about real change. She thinks she wants to change MC.
       • But this is all a self-ruse. What she actually wants is to have her ideas be validated by the MC, and to align with the MC and be respected by him as a source of understanding.
       • What she actually wants is for MC to change her.
3. Intellect's Role: Her intellectualism isn't an identity she might sacrifice for her desires; it's the strategy she employs to achieve them. It's the ladder, not the destination. Once the core desires (MC's love, secure status) are potentially met, the intellectual justifications become less necessary, potentially fading or transforming to support her new reality (as seen in Route 3 where she becomes conservative). It wasn't that her intellect was wrong, but that its purpose was fulfilled.

Falling in Love

• (Intermission) Her story begins with her cousin coming to see her and asking how her dating life has been. She says there are courtiers and knights who are interested in her and trying to date her, but she's keeping her options open. She's not a novice at love and is determined to use this opportunity as the countess' companion to truly to her standards.
• There's a scene where Cinean is met with obscene wealth, fantastical art or something
• Met with glory, of history and family status, the impressiveness of lineage awes her.

Secretly a conservative social climber

Route 3 should instead show Cinean realizing her previous "radical" beliefs were just cope for her class position. Once she actually gets what she wants (MC's love, noble status through marriage), she becomes genuinely conservative because:

1. She now benefits from the system
2. She realizes her previous political views were driven by jealousy/resentment
3. She authentically believes in hierarchy once she's on the right side of it
4. She sees her elevation as proof the system works - truly worthy people can rise through proper channels

Rather than destroying Yaling's position, maybe she:

• Accepts being secondary wife
• Defends noble privilege
• Turns against her former radical allies
• Uses her intellect to strengthen the traditional order

Her transformation should follow this emotional progression:

1. Falls deeply in love with MC through their intellectual connection
2. As she gets closer to him she starts experiencing the privileges and comforts of noble life
3. The security and validation of his love makes her realize her "radical" beliefs were just born of insecurity and resentment
4. She starts seeing her past self as cringe - all that political theory was just cope for not having what she really wanted
5. Once she has love, status, and security, she naturally becomes conservative because:

• Why rock the boat when life is so good?
• Actually, the system that let her rise through marriage is perfect
• Those radical former friends were just bitter/jealous like she used to be
• She deserved to rise because she appreciates noble values properly

The romance drives the ideology, not vice versa. Her political transformation is a side effect of:

• Finally being truly happy
• Getting the validation she craved
• No longer feeling like an outsider
• Having something to lose

It's not "I became conservative so MC loved me" but "MC loved me so I became conservative."

The Seduction of Yaling

• Purely meant in a platonic way to get Yaling to like her

The Envy

The evolution of her envy is key.

She starts as a respectful but wary friend, appreciative of the generosity and determined to not be overly biased because of her politics against Yaling. Yaling rewarded her effort with true friendship and eager intellectual connection. Yaling is very charismatic and Cinean is taken in by her right away, and she very much likes Yaling.

It's only over time that she starts getting increasingly jealous of Yaling, especially of her relationship with you and the easy attention she gets from you. The other more appropriate men she meets seems incredibly lesser. Her first personal resentment against Yaling is how "class appropriate" Yaling's recommended dates are. This raises her hackles on Yaling's class awareness and how Yaling actually sees the separation.

Yaling's easy confidence around you, while Cinean is reduced to a stuttering fool also ranks her. She blames Yaling's far superior upbringing for her personal confidence and security. Even in terms of fashion, Cinean had to be creative and dressed stylishly with effort and intent, while Yaling had people to consult and used money to be lavish while copying the popular styles.

There's lots of points about Yaling that she eventually resents:

• submissiveness
• lack of depth and intellectual-only connection to ideas (instead of emotional)

But the biggest thing is you of course. She is really jealous of you and how awesome you are and how Yaling gets to have you.

These feelings quickly turn into a frenemy situation.

She tries to hide the bitterness of course and maintain flattery as well as the sharp tongue, a performance of the perfect intellectual pet where she praises Yaling as the noble who "gets it".

She never does anything that looks obviously like betraying Yaling [deliberately making a narrative decision to not tell that type of story to preserve Cinean's likability], only mild stuff where she looks better.

Her true feelings come out in her internal world, where she betrays yaling privately, in her thoughts and diaries and love poems to you.

In Route 1 she learns her place and submits, and the envy goes away as a result. In Route 2 she leaves the household and becomes independent, having her own life. The envy stays in this route and becomes an even more important feature. In Route 3A Yaling's genuine nature wins her over, and she realizes that she can have her own victory without Yaling, and they end up as allies instead of enemies. For Route 3B the catfight truly made her Yaling's mortal enemy, before ending in a guilty feeling after everything's done and she's achieved total victory.

The Spy

Cinean is preyed upon by a spy who.

Lishu Orphanage

• Haruen Circle also ran an orphanage for the children of runaway slaves and heretics, giving them a chance to grow up outside of the system. Cinean was quite involved in administering this and contributed fundraisers.
• In both Route 1 and Route 3 she offers you the orphanage as a symbol her loyalty and submission, a symbolic burning of the boats.
  • Functionally, it's quite irrelevant. But it showcases the depths to which Cinean plunged, and how easily and obviously she is willing to do everything for you. How her offerings shows her desperation for your favor. It should've been an agonizing decision to sacrifice it, it's so important, but in the end it gets used to basely and discarded so quickly. That's the power fantasy for the MC.
  • You can choose to take advantage of it or not.
    • Taking advantage of it, you can report the heretics and seize the runaway slaves.
      • AN: [Possibly deprecated concept, might be demoted to a brief mention rather than full scenes. Full scenes might be stuck in the no-mans land of insufficiently developed to be invested but yet too long and isn't focused enough on contributing to her emotional arc.]
      • She feels very "conquered", like things have just run away from her, very "taken in hand"
      • Captured slaves there, including bounties, can be worth millions. (If you agreed to do the slave business with your slaver friend)
      • She volunteers to help you track down members of the Haruen Circle to be captured by you and forced to write in your favor. She helps you lure them out and kidnap them. Then they turn their pen to supporting you politically. She uses her org as a powerbase to help you.
      • She betrays Lishu, a member of the Haruen Circle, ordering her arrest.
  • Not taking advantage of it is actually psychologically painful for her
    • You thank her and tell her that Sunwei will look into it.
      • It's not something that ever really gets on the priority list.
    • If you don't, then she comes to you crying and explains her feelings of neglect (she communicates her feelings well). This is something that means everything to her emotionally, but you treat it so trivially. It makes her feel small and irrelevant. That you don't appreciate the gift of her surrender.
      • She's not a horrible mess, just really wants you to understand her, and accept what it means to her.
      • You tell her, as you're fucking her, that the gift already served its purpose just by being given. You don't need to actually destroy the orphange to make use of it.
        • She tries to cope by trying to parse your statement as one of love and care, she overthinks about what you mean and what you say and tries to use it to reassure herself.
        • But deep down she knows that you really just don't give a fuck!