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1!!Sumi Ashida (née Kitamura) [[spoiler: (or better said, Aiko Ijuin)]]
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3[[quoteright:182:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Sumii_3962.jpg]]
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5The protagonist, Sumi is a kind, motherly, compassionate, but ''incredibly'' poor girl living in the slums of Yokohama with her brother Eisuke and adopted siblings. Her life is extremely difficult, as she has no means to feed her siblings or pay the rent for her tiny house. To save her family from dying in poverty, she takes the deal Sōichirō offers her: enter into a loveless marriage with him.
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7As Sōichirō's wife, she tries hard to be educated and enter high society while keeping her commoner roots hidden. Because of their agreement to not fall in love with each other and her husband's coldness towards her, she initially finds herself attracted to his friend, Nozomu Ijūin .
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10* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Apparently, even if they initially preferred the gentlemanly type.
11* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler:With Soichiro in the finale.]]
12* BerserkButton: Sumi always had a dislike for roses, but her reactions toward them get more severe as the series goes on. At first, it's mild discomfort, but towards the end she starts fainting and angrily throwing them into the water when they're offered to her.
13* BreakHisHeartToSaveHim: [[spoiler: She cruelly tells Sōichirō that because he lost everything, she no longer wants to be with him and is leaving him for Nozomu. But Nozomu was present at the time she said that. She visits Sōichirō alone and confesses that it was a lie and is actually working on a plan to have him as President of his company again.]]
14* ElegantGothicLolita: Some of her outfits are more like modern lolita clothing than what would be accurate for the time period.
15%%* HappilyMarried
16* HoneyTrap: Sōichirō's primary motivation for marrying Sumi was to set up a HoneyTrap for [[spoiler: Nozomu]], with [[spoiler:Sumi]] as the unwitting "mole."
17* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Sumi, for only a few minutes, attempts to sell herself for ¥2,000 (which equals to ¥3,000,000 presently) in order to save her adopted siblings from being sold to another country by a man whom Eisuke owes that amount to. Because Sōichirō shows up at that point, she ends up not doing it after all.
18* TheIngenue: Sumi, sweetie, going to the house of a man who is obsessed with you and tried to murder you is not a good idea. Especially if you go alone. No amount of purity, innocence or general amiability is going to help you out if he flips.
19* LongLostRelative: [[spoiler:It is revealed in chapter 55 that Sumi is Nozomu's missing blood sister, Aiko.]]
20* PimpedOutDress: Wore many of them.
21* PluckyGirl: Sumi keeps dusting herself off and getting up again, no matter how life treats her.
22* PromotionToParent: Sumi and (to a far lesser extent) Eisuke for their adopted younger siblings.
23* RagsToRiches: One of the main themes of the series, as Sumi is given the choice to leave her life of poverty behind -- but only if she becomes the wife of an extravagantly wealthy young bachelor.
24* TookALevelInBadass: Sumi, who starts out as a naive and confused [[TheIngenue ingenue]], starts to show shades of this [[spoiler:when she vows to gain back for Soichiro the company that Nozomu took away from him]].
25* TheirFirstTime: [[spoiler:With Soichiro in chapter 52.]]
26* VirginityMakesYouStupid: Despite a couple of close calls, she still falls into this. It is, however, mostly Sōichirō's fault than Sumi's; ''he'' thought Nozomu was no longer a threat, as Sumi initially didn't want to be around him anymore after the hotel incident.
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28
29!!Sōichirō Ashida
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31[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Soichi_9521.jpg]]
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33The hero of the story, Sōichirō is a young rich man and the next in line to inherit Ashida Properties. To do so, however, he must find a wife before the date set by his grandfather. For that reason, he offers a deal to Sumi: she must enter into a marriage in which neither is allowed to fall in love with the other, in exchange for money.
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35Sōichirō is initially cold and aloof, manipulating his wife for his own ends. He is unfamiliar with how different her poor lifestyle is, and has his butler Komai teach her the ways of his high status. [[spoiler:While he only uses Sumi at first, he falls in love with her as the story progresses.]]
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39* AttemptedRape: After overhearing Sumi telling their butler that she has no intention of betraying her husband, Soichiro rewards her loyalty by forcing himself on her in an attempt to get her to ''hate'' him, driving her into the arms of Nozomu. He stops when she promises to try her best to love him, and he replies by yelling that there isn't any love allowed in the marriage. It's not clear if he would actually have raped her, or if it was an attempt to frighten her...still, pretty disturbing.
40* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler:With Sumi in the finale.]]
41* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: So Sōichirō, you want Nozomu to fall for Sumi as part of an evil scheme to get the Ijūin bank's total support? Okay! After all [[spoiler:there's no way he'll ever try to turn out to be a crazy yandere that will do absolutely anything to possess her later on.]] Nope, no chance of that happening.
42* DomesticAbuse: Romance or not, there's no way around it -- this is the way Sōichirō treats Sumi as the story begins. There's physical violence, verbal abuse, MovingTheGoalPosts (Sōichirō keeps making additional demands as Sumi meets his requirements) and AttemptedRape. And that's not even counting the fact that his ''nice'' moments have the effect, intentionally or not, of psychological mindgaming; Sumi is continually thrown off guard as he switches from aloof to violent to pleasant.
43* FlowerMotifs: He fits the comparison with a rose... beautiful, but painful whenever Sumi gets too close.
44%%* HappilyMarried
45%%* HeelFaceTurn
46* HeroicBastard: He was the result of his father's affair with a concubine. His relatives didn't treat him very well for it. The sister of his father's wife goes so far as to ''blame him for the death of his family.''
47* {{Hypocrite}}: Sōichirō orders Sumi not to love him...then gets possessive of her.
48* InLoveWithTheMark: [[spoiler:Sōichirō originally married Sumi to get his inheritence and manipulate Nozomu. However, slowly but surely, he falls for her.]]
49* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Treats his wife coldly, scolds her for her naivety regarding high society...but still runs to save her from dying in a fire and helps her with her adoptive family.
50* ManipulativeBastard
51* MoodWhiplash: Sōichirō is the personification of this trope, but in the story itself we have an AttemptedRape, shortly followed by the heroine cooing over how childish her husband is, then a [[PetTheDog rather sweet dance scene]]... which ends with Sōichirō ripping up a photo in his wife's face and yelling at her.
52* PromotionToParent
53* SonOfAWhore: Sōichirō is the son of his father's concubine, and that's a major reason why his relatives hate him so much.
54* TheirFirstTime: [[spoiler:With Sumi in chapter 52.]]
55* TraumaButton: He completely freaks out whenever he sees fire. [[spoiler: This is due to his family perishing in a house fire when he was a child, and his other relatives accused him of setting it.]]
56* {{Tsundere}}: It's not that he's affectionate or anything, he's just rewarding Sumi for her good performance! Right.
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58
59!!Nozomu Ijūin
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61Sōichirō's best friend and in line to inherit his father's bank. He first meets Sumi when she's trying to get a doctor to see one of the children she takes care of, giving her a wad of cash for the bill and his monogrammed handkerchief. Sumi falls for him immediatly, calling him "The Handkerchief Prince" and one day hopes to thank him. They meet again after Sumi and Sōichirō's wedding, as Sōichirō is secretly trying to get the two of them to fall for each other for his own gain.
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63It works, [[spoiler:but it turns out that Nozumu, despite his initial gentlemanly exterior, is a jealous, possesive man who wants to make Sumi his own... No matter what it takes.]]
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67* AttemptedRape: [[spoiler:Nozomu attempts this several times. The time he's most determined is later in the series when he's drunk. This results in Sumi smacking him in the head with a lamp... which leads to Nozomu screaming her name and chasing after her... breaking down doors with an ax, Film/TheShining style.]]
68* ArrangedMarriage: With Miu.
69* AxCrazy: [[spoiler:Nozomu eventually shows himself to be this, and plays it literally later in the story when he searches for Sumi in the hotel they're staying at, hacking through walls and doors to find her. She and Soichiro were consummating their marriage at the time.]]
70* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler:With Miu in the finale.]]
71* BewareTheNiceOnes: [[spoiler:Aww, look at that nice gentleman helping Sumi in her time of need! Look at him stand up for her when her husband mistreats her! He brought her flowers - OH GOD THESE POOR FLOWERS, WHAT'S UP WITH HIS CRAZY FACE... RUN SUMI RUN!]]
72* BrotherSisterIncest: [[spoiler:''Comepletely'' one-sided. Finding out that Sumi is really his blood sister Aiko doesn't sway Nozomu's feelings for her one bit.]]
73* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: [[spoiler:Where to ''begin!'']]
74* CrazyJealousGuy: [[spoiler:To insane proportions. He even goes so far as to go around with an ax "Here's Johnny" style trying to catch Sumi "cheating on him."]]
75* DeathGlare: [[spoiler:Oh dear God.]]
76* DerailingLoveInterests: [[spoiler:Nozomu goes from "princely" gentleman to possessive psychopath as the series progresses.]]
77%%* EasilyForgiven: [[spoiler:In the finale.]]
78* EntitledToHaveYou: [[spoiler:Nozomu comes to think of Sumi as more of a coveted object than an individual as his obsession with her grows; first trying to barter with Soichiro for Sumi, than finally threatening her family with eviction unless she consents to marrying him.]]
79* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: When Nozomu takes Soichiro's company [[spoiler:and establishes himself as the true villain of the series]], he goes from wearing his hair loose and in his face to slicking it back, giving him a [[spoiler:colder,]] more mature appearance.
80* FaceHeelTurn
81* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler:The first hint of Nozomu's yandere tendencies is shown when Nozomu is by the gates of Soichiro's mansion with a bouquet of roses in his hands. When Nozomu sees Sumi and Soichiro happy and enjoying each other's company through a window, he becomes completely enraged, complete with evil eyes, and tightens his grip on the roses so hard his hands bleed, resulting in them being bandaged.]]
82* HappyMarriageCharade: This is how he feels toward his marriage to Miu. [[spoiler:He stops thinking this way towards her in the finale.]]
83* HappilyMarried: [[spoiler:To Miu in the finale.]]
84* {{Hypocrite}}: He calls Soichiro out on how badly he treats Sumi... [[spoiler:Then later kidnaps her and tries to pull a muder-suicide with her.]]
85* {{Jerkass}}: Nozomu behaves very coldly towards Miu.
86* LoveMakesYouCrazy: [[spoiler:Is the posterboy for this trope.]]
87* ManipulativeBastard: [[spoiler:Ends up getting Soichiro's company merged with his own by helping Natsuki stage his coup... then pulling the company right out of his fingers.]]
88* PropheticName: The kanji for Nozomu's name means "desire." [[spoiler:As the story goes on, he loses himself to his desire for Sumi.]]
89* SanitySlippage: [[spoiler:Nozomu goes from "nice person" to "psychotic {{yandere}}" more and more as the series progresses. Has it been mentioned that he becomes a crazy bastard yet?]]
90* ShadowArchetype: To Soichiro. [[spoiler:Soichiro starts the series as a complete Jerkass when his feelings for Sumi causes him to become a much more caring, loving, person. Conversely, Nozomu starts out as a kind, caring gentleman who's feelings for Sumi eventually cause him to become an AxCrazy Yandere.]]
91* StepfordSmiler: He shows signs of this in volume 2 [[spoiler:before his descent into madness]], where he admits to Sumi that he believes his life is empty and he is worthless.
92* TogetherInDeath: [[spoiler:Tries to pull this with Sumi in the third volume before Soichiro pulls a BigDamnHeroes and saves them both.]]
93* VillainTeamUp: [[spoiler:With Natsuki.]]
94* WrongGenreSavvy: In his mind, Nozomu is the hero, Sumi is ''his'' ManicPixieDreamGirl, and Sōichirō is her RomanticFalseLead. [[spoiler:He continues to believe this even when his actions are so blatantly villainous.]]
95* {{Yandere}}: [[spoiler:AND HOW!]]
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97
98!!Gengorō Komai
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100Sōichirō's butler, Komai has been a servant for the Ashida family since he was a child. His primary role in the story is to serve as Sōichirō's support and help with his plans. He also teaches Sumi how to read, write and behave as a proper lady.
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104%%* ManipulativeBastard
105* NoSympathy: Komai initially appears sympathetic of Sumi's situation, but his loyalty ultimately lies with Sōichirō. He's quick to blame Sumi when something happens to Sōichirō, never taking into account that Sumi is young, confused, lonely and being used as a chess piece.
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107
108!!Eisuke Kitamura
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110Sumi's older brother, Eisuke is a young, handsome man. He's also a womanizer with a severe gambling habit, making him responsible for most of his family's debts. He also has a strange habit of picking up orphans and adopting them into the family. Halfway through the story, he's hired into Ashida Properties.
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114* TheCharmer: If there is one genuine skill Eisuke has to speak of, it's being able to smooth talk his way around women.
115* TheGamblingAddict: This, even more than the children he brings home for Sumi to care for, is the primary source of their financial troubles.
116* ImTakingHerHomeWithMe: Eisuke has a habit of finding abandoned children and bringing them home to live with him and Sumi.
117* KarmaHoudini: Charms and uses everyone in his immediate vicinity, no sign of major consequences (for him) as yet. One of several characters in the story who is long overdue for a piano falling on top of him.
118* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Eisuke's primary motivation for collecting so many orphaned children, as he plans to have them work for him in his future business endeavors (or, in the case of sister Tomi, to be married off to a family of higher status.)
119%%* PromotionToParent
120* UnwittingPawn: After Eisuke starts working for Ashida Properties, Natsuki immediately starts exploiting his weaknesses and his connection to Sumi against Sōichirō.
121
122!!Miu Ijūin (née Fujiwara)
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124A young woman from a highly respected family, Miu becomes Nozomu's wife at some point in the series. [[YamatoNadeshiko A classic Japanese lady]], she deeply cares for her husband and does her best to watch over him. Although she loves Nozomu, he acts uninterested towards her, prompting her to befriend Sumi... but soon, the poor girl starts cracking under the pressure...
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128* ArrangedMarriage: With Nozomu.
129* AxCrazy: [[spoiler: Miu slashes Nozomu's artwork of Sumi with a knife, then later tries to stab Sumi herself.]]
130* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler:With Nozomu in the finale.]]
131%%* BewareTheNiceOnes
132* BreakTheCutie: She came to her ArrangedMarriage with Nozomu as a somewhat WideEyedIdealist, even falling in love with her betrothed, but with Nozomu's downward spiral into obsession with Sumi, she goes on her own downward spiral as well. When Nozumu [[spoiler: outmaneuvers Soichiro out of his own company and takes Sumi for his own, Miu is abandoned in a near-catatonic state.]] She's getting a bit better, though.
133* EasilyForgiven: [[spoiler:In the finale.]]
134* HappilyMarried: [[spoiler:To Nozomu in the finale.]]
135%%* HimeCut
136* LoveAtFirstSight: To Nozomu.
137%%* LoveMakesYouCrazy
138* SanitySlippage: Due to BreakTheCutie.
139* ShelteredAristocrat: Nozomu's given reason for Miu being a WideEyedIdealist.
140
141
142!!Natsuki Kujō
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144Soichiro’s step-cousin and vice-president of Ashida Products. He disregards Soichiro and plans to take him down as President.
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148* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:Eventually by Nozomu. See Nozomu's ManipulativeBastard example above.]]
149%%* ManipulativeBastard
150* OutGambitted: Natsuki didn't plan on anyone, much less [[spoiler:Nozomu]], being competent enough to weasel the Ashida conglomerate out from under him.
151* VillainTeamUp: [[spoiler:With Nozomu.]]
152
153
154!!Keiko Kinoshita
155
156A newly hired maid who works at Soichiro’s mansion. On the outside she seems helpful and trustworthy, but she is really hired by Natsuki to spy on Soichiro and Sumi. She also has feelings for Natsuki.
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159
160* BitchInSheepsClothing: She does become nicer, though.
161* EveryoneHasStandards: When Keiko realizes Natsuki is engaged to someone else, he informs her that she can be his mistress. Keiko declines and breaks ties with him. She also becomes more respectful towards Sumi and Soichiro.
162* HoneyTrap: Keiko tries this once other tactics fail to work, and when that fails she falls back on the WoundedGazelleGambit.
163* IgnoredEnamoredUnderling: Keiko does whatever Natsuki asks of her out of love for him, but it is apparent to the reader he only sees her as another tool in his arsenal.
164* {{Meido}}: While she's being a spy for Natsuki.
165* TheMole: Natsuki has Keiko to work as a maid to spy on Sumi and Soichiro.

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