From left to right: Regis (the titular father), Jubelian, and Maximillian
The protagonist is hit by a car and is reborn as Jubel, a novel villainess so hated by everyone that even her lover and father left her to die a pitiful death. To avoid the tragic end she knows awaits her, Jubel breaks up with her lover and gives up trying to win her father's love, instead focusing on using his wealth to enjoy her new life to its fullest. But when her father begins looking for a new suitor, Jubel asks her father's student to enter a contractual relationship until she can live independently from her father.
Father, I Don't Want to Get Married is a Korean Webcomic adapted from the web novel by Hong Hee su, written by Yuri, and illustrated by Roal. An official English translation is hosted on TappyToon
, under the title Father, I Don't Want this Marriage.
İncludes examples of:
- Abusive Parents:
- Averted with Regis, who truly loves Jubel more than anything; but because of societal pressure and the magic ring that has cursed Regis to enact Darius’ will whenever it is demanded, he cannot openly care for his daughter nor express his true feelings of fatherly affection as he wishes without having Darius use her as an actual hostage. In the first timeline, this made Jubel believe that he does not love her, leading to her suicide.
- Played straight with Emperor Darius, who sees his children as nothing more than pawns. Apart from constantly attempting to assassinate his son, he also has no problem gambling with his daughter's life.
- Empress Isabelle is emotionally abusive to her daughter Beatrice and resents her for not being born a boy. However that is not to say that she doesn’t actually love her daughter, as she does, which is more than Darius ever did. And when push comes to shove, Isabelle will step up to the plate to protect her child from her own husband, even at the cost of her own life.
- The Ace: Duke Regis Floyen is both the head of the most powerful family in the empire (second only to the imperial family) and its greatest hero and warrior. He's also incredibly talented in several areas, at one point managing to become a master patisserie in less than a year through nothing but sheer determination.
- Animal Motifs: Max (and Beatrice) is often depicted as a cat, and Jubelian as a mouse. Jubel compares Max to a stubborn black stray cat that she tried to take care of when she was little.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Initially, the relationship between Max and his younger half-sister Beatrice is distant at best—while they don't hate each other (despite her mother's ambitions, Beatrice has no real interest in the throne), they're not close either. Then Beatrice befriends Jubel, making her another rival for his lover's attention and causing them to develop a humorous Sibling Rivalry.
- Antagonistic Offspring: A justified example with Maximilian. Even though he constantly intimidates his father and makes plans to bring about the end of the Emperor, Darius is a cowardly, sociopathic tyrant who does not hesitate to try to eliminate his son and cares about no one but himself. Max has every reason in the world to kill him.
- Archnemesis Dad: Max is willing to do just about anything and everything to kill his father Darius. In turn, Darius has made multiple attempts to get rid of his son, from sending him to dangerous battlefields to outright assassination attempts.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Beatrice instantly grows attached to Jubel for being the first person to be truly kind to her. To such an extent that she doesn't hesitate to side with Jubel over Darius once she's aware of the full scope of danger her friend is in.
- Better to Die than Be Killed: In the first timeline, Jubel assumes The Dreaded Crown Prince is about to torture her as a suspect in his half-sister's poisoning. That plus the belief her father doesn't love her drives the lady to commit suicide with the knife Regis handed her.
- Big Bad: Fafnir, the dragon sealed within Darius's ring and the father of the first Emperor of the Ashet Empire. He's the one who really controls Regis and the mastermind behind Darius's plans.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Darius throws his weight around all the time and tries to act like the major threat he pretends to be, but in reality, he's a Dirty Coward with no real talents who only still has the throne because of his contract with Fafnir. Fafnir only keeps him around as a useful pawn, and will get rid of him if a more useful one shows up.
- Boyfriend-Blocking Dad: Regis is right to hate a jerk like Mikhail, but in general he disapproves and pushes away any man who approaches Jubel. When Max tells him that he really loves Jubel, he says, "You're a devil who stole my daughter." He later freaks out when Max calls him his father-in-law. Although he comes to accept Max as his daughter's lover and future son-in-law, he continues to maintain a hostile attitude towards him, with the two constantly competing over Jubel's attention and affection. Not even being married stops him, as he instead evolves into Obnoxious In-Laws, forcing Max and Jubel to take a secret honeymoon to finally consummate their marriage.
- Daddy's Girl: Jubel adored her father as a child, an attitude that returns as their relationship gradually heals throughout the story. Regis similarly dotes on her once he drops the mask, and puts her well-being over everything else.
- Delicate and Sickly: Jubel is known to have delicate health, even collapsing on a daddy-daughter date. Hearing about this causes a brief Jerkass Realization for Mikhail as he had always assumed her to be Playing Sick to get his attention, and though he momentarily feels bad, his epiphany doesn't stick.
- Dirty Coward: After Darius was crowned Emperor of Ashet, his country went to war with the Kingdom of Tezeria. When the kingdom's knights invaded the capital, Darius cowardly fled for his life, using his guards as shields. His cowardice continues as he uses Regis, whom he controls with a magical ring and keeps by force, threatening his daughter's life to prevent the assassination attempts of his son, the Crown Prince.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Empress Isabelle is power-hungry and cruel, and emotionally abuses her daughter Beatrice. But she goes crazy when Darius and Mikhail try to poison Beatrice to death just to frame Max. She drinks the poison herself, reveals the Emperor's crimes, and in the final moments of her death tells Darius to go to hell.
- Even Evil Has Standards: There is very little Isabelle will not do to claim the throne. However, she is visibly shocked when the Emperor tries to kill their daughter for his own purposes. Unlike Darius, who only cares about himself, Isabelle loves Beatrice deep down and can't stand the idea of seriously harming her.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good:
- This is Darius' Fatal Flaw, causing him to die miserably in both timelines. He can never understand the meaning of valuing anyone other than himself. He believes that he has Regis under his control because their lives are connected, failing to realize that Regis doesn't care about his own life, only his daughter's. Knowing that Darius will eventually harm Jubel, he allies with Darius's son Max behind the Emperor's back, and together they cause his downfall. Similarly, when he tries to gamble with the life of his daughter, whom he sees as nothing more than a pawn, Beatrice (who is well aware Darius doesn't give a damn about her) stands against him to protect both her freedom and Jubel, the first person to treat her well.
- To a degree, Isabelle also fits this too. While she did emotionally abuse her daughter, she also greatly underestimates her innate maternal instincts for Beatrice. Even though Isabelle is power-hungry and cruel, asking her to try to kill her own daughter is the one thing she can't bear to do, and leads her to expose all of her husband's crimes.
- The Evil Prince: Maximilian is so widely feared in the Empire that in the first timeline, Jubel commits suicide rather than allowing him to approach her.
- Forgotten First Meeting: Justified due to her young age, but Jubelian and Max did meet when she was three or four and gave him cookies when he was starving. She's embarrassed to have forgotten when Max brings it up but considering how old she was when the encounter happened he doesn't hold it against her, particularly since they are already married.
- Hate Sink:
- Mikhail is an extremely narcissistic, hypocritical jerk and Entitled Bastard. He dates Jubelian only for her father's status, uses her throughout their relationship, and does not treat her well. As if leaving her for Beatrice, who has higher status, wasn't enough, he helps the Emperor frame Jubel for poisoning the princess, causing Jubel to commit suicide. His death by Regis in the first timeline is satisfying, to say the least. It's no better in the current timeline. When Jubel breaks off relations with him, he is arrogant enough to think that she did it to get his attention. He becomes delusional and begins sending humiliating and hateful letters to Jubel, saying that she should beg him to come back to her (fortunately, Regis burned them all before they reached Jubel). Jubel wasn't the only girl he took advantage of, as seen when he used Veronica to get Jubel's attention. When he finally realizes that Jubel genuinely no longer loves him and has forgotten him, he tries to unite with the Emperor and destroy the Floyen family so Jubel will come back to him.
- Emperor Darius is a selfish, power-hungry, arrogant, cowardly, and cruel tyrant. He enjoys the suffering of his people with sadistic glee. He is manipulative, ungrateful, and treacherous; He is ready to betray and cast aside even his most loyal citizens if they pose the slightest threat to his rule. There are no redeeming features to this man. One of the darkest reveals in the story is when we find out how Jubel’s mother died: Darius had used his mind-controlling ring to force Regis to watch as the Emperor's soldiers killed her, hence why Regis is so reluctant to talk to Jubel about her mother, since he knows that he had a part in her death, even if that part was being completely unable to save her. He cannot understand the act of caring for someone other than himself. (Even the Abusive Parent and equally cruel Isabelle at least prioritized her daughter's life when she learned of Darius’s intentions for her.) He sees his children as pawns to use and abuse at best and threats to his power that must be disposed of at worst.
- I Just Want to Be Loved: Said verbatim by Jubelian in the opening chapter and a constant issue throughout the story. Thanks to Regis not wanting to get too close to her out of a misunderstood desire for her safety, she feels like she isn't worthy of love.
- Inconsistent Spelling: Okay, so is the Main Character named Jubelian or Juvelian? Most translations seem to land on Jubelian as her name, but some hobbyist translators have called her Juvelian. The official English translation also uses Juvelian, for what it's worth.
- Irony: Jubel enters a contractual relationship with Max because she erroneously comes to believe that her father intends to set her up with the tyrannical Crown Prince—completely unaware that Max is the aforementioned Crown Prince, and he's actually the last person Regis wants her to marry.
- King Incognito: Max's public persona as the Crown Prince involves constantly wearing a mask, allowing one of his men (who bears an uncanny resemblance to him) to impersonate him for important ceremonies and other uncomfortable occasions he can't bother to attend himself. It also allows him to freely travel the country using his real appearance with everyone but Regis none the wiser. The ruse is only broken when Max, acting as the Crown Prince, publicly removes his mask at the hunting party and reveals his true face to everyone.
- Living Emotional Crutch: The only reason Regis hasn't killed himself and taken out Darius for good is because doing so will leave Jubel alone, orphaned, and unprotected. When she dies in the first timeline, he loses both his will to live and his mind, before heading to the hall to slaughter everyone who played a part in her death. Darius, upon realizing Regis really is about to kill him, asks why he would give up his life like this, and the Duke plainly states that he has no desire to live in a world without his daughter.
- Love Redeems: Regis failed to teach Max the importance of humility and compassion. Max despised his master's love for his daughter Jubelian, believing her to be a weakness the Emperor could exploit—until he eventually met Jubelian himself and fell in love with her.
- MacGuffin Super-Person: Fafnir consumes the mana of magicians, and initially intends to consume Beatrice for her mana until she manages to sway him into making her the next owner of his ring instead. The magician he's after the most, however, is Jubel, because she bears the power of the Goddess of Magic, Circe—the same power that was used to seal him into the ring when the Ashet Empire was first founded.
- Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: It's revealed midway through the story that Empress Isabelle is pregnant, but for some reason she refrains from telling the Emperor until the pregnancy is impossible to hide. It's later revealed that the baby isn't Darius's, an executable offense as she compromised the royal bloodline by sleeping with another man. Darius and Mikhail later use this to try and blackmail Isabelle into going with their plan to poison Beatrice and frame Max, with the former promising to accept the child as his new heir if she does.
- Not Good with Rejection: In order to survive, Jubel decides to break up with her lover. Mikhail lets her since he assumes she will soon crawl back to him, but with time passing without any contact and rumors about her finding another man spreading, Mikhail understands Jubel is dead serious and gets furious.
- Oh, Crap!: Mikhail craps his pants when he learns Jubel's new commoner lover is actually Crown Prince Maximillian, who is both A) vastly superior in status, and B) a notorious Ax-Crazy basket case.
- Older Than They Look: Regis, who is 39 and has an 18-year-old daughter, is ridiculously like this. Just look at the cover photo above. Jubelian also comments on this in the second chapter, and his good looks even for his age are a reason why he is still desired by women in the Empire despite the fact that he is also a father. This is later revealed to be a result of his swordsmaster powers. He hasn't aged a day since the moment he awoke them.
- Poor Communication Kills: This drives a lot of the drama. Regis is taciturn when he isn't being angry and this causes Jubelian to believe he doesn't care about her. The story begins because he simply hands her a dagger without telling her what it's for (self-defense), causing her to use it to commit suicide when it looks like the crown prince wants to torture her for what happened to his half-sister. It turns out that he keeps his distance because he doesn't want her in Darius' cross-hairs but he never tells her that until much later in the story.
- Properly Paranoid: Regis's Boyfriend-Blocking Dad antics can be smothering at times, but are later proven to be justified. Jubel tends to attract a lot of scumbag suitors, with Mikhail being the worst among them.
- "Reborn as Villainess" Story: Subverted. Although the series seems like a straight example of this at first, it's later revealed that what really happened is that Regis turned back the hands of time to bring back Jubelian following his bloody massacre of the entire Noble Society and the Emperor after he found her body. It turns out that the novel does not exist and that Jubelian was made to believe that it did so that she could change her future and avoid experiencing her traumas. The first chapters foreshadow this by showing that she has actual memories of her childhood and enjoys thinking about them, and knows the people around her strangely well.
- Spiteful Suicide: After he's defeated, Jubel takes pity on Mikhail and asks Max to give him a potion to erase his memory before having him join his family in exile. Instead, Mikhail attempts to commit suicide to make her feel miserable guilt over his death for the rest of her life. His scheme fails, because as it turns out Max always intended on killing him for all he did to Jubel and had already switched out the potion with poison. After he dies, Max has the body cremated and the ashes sent to the exiled Hessens while telling Jubel that Mikhail died of illness during his imprisonment.
- Stupid Evil: Darius's plot against Jubel in the original timeline was completely unnecessary and caused Regis to lose the only hostage who prevented him from killing him.
- Taking the Bullet: Jubel tries to throw herself in front of Beatrice when it looks like a monster is about to kill the princess. Thankfully, Beatrice's powers awaken in time to slow the monster down, allowing Max to knock her away before the attack can get to her.
- Tragic Mistake: In the first timeline, when Jubel is accused of poisoning the princess and sent to interrogation, Regis gives his daughter a knife to defend herself while he goes to Max to swear fealty and help him usurp Darius if he in turn promises to save Jubel. But because he didn't tell her this, she thinks that Regis gave her this knife to commit suicide because she would be tortured, and after concluding that her own father abandoned her, Jubel loses all hope of living and kills herself with the knife when Max enters the dungeon. Upon discovering her body, Regis completely loses his mind and his grief is so raw and intense, he overpowers the influence of Darius’s mind-controlling ring to brutally kill everyone in the hall, including the Emperor and Mikhail, who played a role in Jubel's arrest.
- World's Best Warrior: Regis is by far and away the strongest warrior in the setting, having singlehandedly won a war and saved the empire in his youth. Even Max, his student, pales in comparison to him, and it takes him until the very end of the story to reach his master's level.
- Worth Living For: As his relationship with Jubel starts repairing, Regis tries to delay his plan to kill himself and take out Darius for as long as possible so another solution can be found, as he knows his death will cause his daughter indescribable pain. He only begins considering going through with it again after accepting Max as Jubel's lover, because he knows his student will be able to protect her in his stead should the worst happen.
