A Howling Sacrifice: The Wolf General's Bride (狼将軍の生贄の花嫁) Is a romance webcomic by YUI Sumire, which began serialization in Comico in December 2022.
A young lady named Elise is horribly abused by her blue-blooded family, the Trauslid’s, because she’s the daughter of a prostitute while her father was the previous lord of the family. When her fiancé, Conrad, dies in combat, Elise is forced by her family’s matriarch, Duchess Gilberta Hirskhorn, to become a sacrificial bride for General Wolfried, because he wanted to marry the princess but is of low-birth origins and has a nasty reputation as a bloodthirsty killer, not to mention a hideous burnt scars, making him wear a frightening wolf mask that can only cover a portion of his facial burns. Yet everyone goes around accusing Elise of being cold-hearted and a gold digging whore for getting married so quickly after Conrad’s funeral, even though it’s obvious Elise has no say in the matter. But her new husband is nothing as the rumors make it out to be, as he’s the first person to have ever treated her so humane and gentle. It doesn’t take long for Elise to fall in love with him, but the two are in dire jeopardy when caught up in a game of thrones sweeping the kingdom.
A Howling Sacrifice: The Wolf General's Bride provides examples of:
- All of the Other Reindeer: Elise is loathed severely by her family because she’s the daughter of a prostitute and the previous head of the family. She’s essentially forced to be their servant and abused a lot of the time, particularly by Lady Hirskhorn. At her fiance’s funeral, a lot of aristocrats outright shames her for not crying, leading to a sever beating by her family’s matriach. The reason Elise wouldn’t cry? Because it’s hinted that she’s traumatized by Conrad forcing himself on her. Which turned out to be true. When the feared General Wolfstien demands the princess for his bride, her family force Elise to take her place. Fortunately her new husband turns out to be a Nice Guy.
- Aristocrats Are Evil:
- Trauslid family constantly drag Elise down because of her “lowborn blood” since her mother’s a prostitute while forcing her to be their servant. Then she’s forced into an Arranged Marriage to Wolf but her two younger female relatives go as low as to call her horrible for getting hitched so quickly after her fiancé’s funeral, and to his killer no less.
- And her so called monster of a husband? Turns out he’s a Nice Guy and was made out to look like a monster because a bunch of noblemen made it look like he’s responsible of a deadly battle that killed a lot of their country’s men with their enemies, but it was actually a high ranking aristocrat who’s responsible but pinned the blame on him.
- Turns out to be the case for the Maximillian. He’s competing with his sister as the next crowned heir, and he’ll stop at nothing to get his crown. He goes as far as to frame Wolf for trying to assassinate his sister at a royal ball and tries to rapes Elise. Fortunately she fights him off.
- Asshole Victim: Conrad gets killed on the battlefield by Wolf, and Elise can’t feel remorseful for her fiance’s death because he raped her before he enlisted.
- Attempted Rape: Maximilian tries to force himself on Elise, directly after admitting his plans to frame her husband and revealing she’s been used as a pawn in his plans to take out said husband be become the next heir. She manages to fight him off.
- Beast and Beauty: Wolf is badly burned on the right side of his face, neck, right arm and hand, so he usually wears a mask to cover the upper half of his face. It doesn’t help that he has a monstrous reputation as a killer general. And he gets married to a beautiful young lady, Elise, although she had no say in the matter. When they arrive at his estate, He asks Elise if he may remove his mask; she agrees but is immediately horrified when she sees his face completely exposed. But when he asks her if she would prefer to have his face covered, Elise refused, even though she’s visibly shaken and tries to avoid making eye contact. Wolf prefers to keep his mask off while at his residence, but wears it again when attending a royal ball; by then Elise has fallen in love with him after looking past his burned scars and adores him for his golden heart.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing:
- Conrad. Wolf spoken that he was a beautiful and lively young man and admitted back on the battlefield that his existence was like a blooming flower. Oh yeah, he’s also revealing all of this to his new wife who was also Conrad’s fiancée before he killed him. A lot of mourners, particularly Lady Hirskhorn, talk about how tragic it is for such a beautiful man died too soon. But underneath the surface, Elise greatly feared Conrad and prayed he never come back from war since he raped her on the very night prior to his enlistment, and feels extremely grateful for her new husband to killed him.
- After treating Elise lower than shit for who know how long, Lady Hirskhorn has the gall to accuses Elise of being this trope and tries to persuades Maximillian not to fall for it.
- Calling the Old Woman Out: When Elise is forced into meeting Lady Hirskhorn in secret by Maximillian, the old hag goes on her usual rant over how horrible Elise is for not feeling mad towards her fiancé murderer. But when she insults Wolf, Elise finally puts her foot down and tells her off.Elise: Master Conrad… DID SOMETHING… UNSPEAKABLE TO ME!note THE NIGHT BEFORE HE LEFT FOR BATTLE! HE DESERVE TO BE CALLED A BEAST MUCH MORE THAN GENERAL WOLFRIED DOES! I PRAYED EVERY SINGLE DAY FOR THAT MAN TO NEVER RETURN! I… I WAS HAPPY WHEN MASTER CONRAD DIED! I wasn’t sad at all! Utterly! Not one bit! I am General Wolfried’s wife. I’ve decided to keep living… for the person who saved me from Master Conrad!
- Cane Fu: Duchess Hirskhorn owns a cane with a huge purple jewel as the handle, and she constantly beats Elise with it. But in chapter 23, Elise finally has enough as she pushed Maximillian off of her, lands behind the old bitch and makes her drop the cane.
- Daughter of a Whore: Poor Elise is constantly reminded by her family that her mother was a prostitute. To the point Duchess Hirskhorn outright considers Elise a prostitute herself.
- Female Misogynist: For Duchess Hirskhorn, she beats it into Elise over her belief that a woman ought to be in an Arranged Marriage, no matter how terrifying the other man maybe and must obey no matter what. Not to mention constantly degrading Elise over her mother’s origins, to the point of outright calling Elise a prostitute as well. She allies with Maximillian over his sister so that he will be the next heir to the throne. When Elise has enough of dealing with her crap and reveals Conrad raped her, Duchess Hirskhorn reaches a new low by getting more furious at HER cause she accuses Elise for being ungrateful for his “affections” and again, beats it into her. Then she gives the okay for Maximillian to rape Elise! The idea that another woman would give the approval to rape another woman who’s already gone through the same trauma is the lowest and most bitchiest thing EVER.
- Gossip Evolution:
- General reveals to Elise that he’s heard about how the former had grieved so greatly that she almost took her life at the wake of Conrad’s death, and wonders if that’s the reason they’re now married. And he asks her if Duchess Hirskhorn was trying to give her a reason to live by marrying her off to her fiance’s killer and ask of his final moments. Elise is confused, but immediately deduces Duchess Hirskhorn started the rumors out of pure malice and wouldn’t stop feeling satisfied until Elsie is dead. But Elise doesn’t reveal this to her new husband.
- It turns out Wolf never declared he wanted the princess hand in marriage as a reward for his hard work on the battlefield, but the other way around. As she’s competing with her brother as the next heir, Apollonia saw the feared general as a worthy “dog” to have by her side and firmly believed marrying him will seal the deal. But a lot of the nobles did not like the idea of a commoner mingling with the royal bloodline, so rumors began to spread around that it was Wolf who demanded to marry the princess while Elise’s family arranged to have her stand in for Apollonia.
- Hate Sink: One chapter alone will get your blood boiled with all the Jerkass characters doing what they do. Examples include.
- The Trauslids. Elise grew up under their thumb and they all love to rub it in her face she’s not loved and shame her over her mother’s origins. Two young girls in the family find joy in shaming Elise over her upcoming marriage to General Wolfried while their dad refuses to scold them up educate how it’s a necessary for their family’s goals. They all go on about how cruel and terrifying Elise’s future husband is that of an bloodthirsty general. All of this while Elise is standing in the same room while modeling for her wedding dress, reducing her to tears. Come the next day, the girls come back and complain that such a beautiful dress is not worthy for Elise.
- The matriarch of the Trauslids, Duchess Gilberta Hirskhorn, is the worst of them all. She’s a powerful believer in the Female Misogynist and loathes Elise over her mother’s blood, to the point of believing Elise is a prostitute herself. The old bitch constantly beats Elise with her jeweled cane but views HER of being cold-hearted and ungrateful.
- Prince Maximillian. Oh boy, where to start. He comes off as creepy as he walks Elise down the aisle, as he compliments her beauty while bragging over her new and reportedly cruel husband (Who turns out to be a Nice Guy). He forces Elise to be his dance partner while his sister dances with Elise’s husband, then drags Elise to meet Hirskhorn. Sure he manages to convince the old bitch to stop beating Elise, but he doesn’t reprimand her over the cruel things she told Elsie. Maximilian also reveals he framed Wolfried for a lot of the terrifying and most bloodiest battles that HE orchestrated, along with sending an assassin after Elise. Then he reveals his plans to assassinate his sister, frame Wolfried for the deed, claim Elise is the one who alerted him, then tries to rape her after gaining Hirskhorn’s permission.
- Hero with Bad Publicity:
- This turns out to be the case for Wolf. The event that gave him the reputation of a heartless and blood lusting monster of a general is far more messed up that it really turned out. A high ranking nobleman was desperate to take out the enemy soldiers, so he created a massive fire to take out the opposing army while sacrificing his own army. Since the aristocrats cared more about saving face, several of them pinned the blame on General since he’s a commoner, leading to his bloodthirsty killer reputation. Elise is furious when she finds out the truth and is appalled Wolf just brushes it off.
- Elise is viewed as a whore by the general population and seen as a gold digging bitch getting her just desserts to her Arranged Marriage to General Wolfried, even though she’s a very shy young lady who’s anything but terrible. A lot of people are even more upset that she’s getting married so soon after her fiance’s funeral, and to his killer no less, even though she feared Conrad and her family forced her into marrying his killer. The servants are surprised over Elise’s willingness to bake desserts for their General and are taken by her sweet nature.
- Hypocrite: Duchess Hirskhorn constantly beats Elise with her jeweled cane while berating over her lowborn birth since her mother was a prostitute. And she has to audacity to believe Elise is the one who’s cold-hearted, since Elise couldn’t find it in her to cry at her fiance’s funeral. It’s eventually revealed that Elise’s inner feelings towards Conrad is that of pure loathing and terror, since he came into her room and raped her on the night before his enlistment.
- Informed Deformity: As if to kick Elise while she’s at the depth of her lowest despairs, other people highlight her future husband’s killer reputation by bringing up that he’s hideously deformed because of his badly burnt scars nearly covering the entire right side of his body while slaughtering his enemies. Wolf usual wears gloves and a mask but it still shows his scars as it can only cover the upper half of his face, but he strongly resembles Gerard Butler in his role in The Phantom of the Opera (2004). He does have the curtesy to ask Elise’s permission if he may remove his mask, which she agrees to. She’s horrified when she sees his face for the first time, yet he’s still drawn as Tall, Dark, and Handsome. Elise gradually starts to feel attracted to him as they get to learn more about each other.
- Insane Troll Logic: Oh boy, does Lady Hirskhorn obsessed with these arguments! She constantly drags Elise through the mud because her mother was a prostitute, and in her twisted sense, that makes Elise one as well. And her Arranged Marriage she set up with Wolf? Argues that Elise is the one deluded for thinking she’s his wife and is nothing more than a sacrificial offering!
- Jerkass: Practically EVERYONE that is outside our protagonist’s inner circle is this! Notable examples include-
- As Duchess Hirskhorn is furiously beating Elise out of her raw hatred towards the poor girl, Elise proposes that she’ll move into a convent, since it’s no secret everyone in the family, especially Duchess Hirskhorn, strongly hate her. So with Elise out of the way, the family will have no one to hate and override their stress levels, right? Wrong, as this makes Duchess Hirskhorn even more furious for Elise wanting to leave them just so she can live in a convent and decided to get her an Arranged Marriage with a feared general of low-birth, just so she’ll continue to suffer.
- Even then and up to the wedding day, Duchess Hirskhorn and the rest of her relatives continue to berate Elise for daring to get hitch so quickly after her fiance’s funeral, despite the glaring facts she had no say in the matter.
- When Maximillian tricks Elise into meeting Lady Hirskhorn at a private room while a royal ball is going on, she continues to tear down Elise over marrying Conrad’s killer and not feeling mad at said killer. Even though she forced Elise into marrying Conrad’s killer!
- Never Found the Body: Conrad’s fate. Justified since he died on a blazing battlefield.
- Nice Guy: Despite his bloodthirsty reputation, Wolf turns out to be this trope. After revealing how Conrad died, he’s surprised by Elise unwavering loyalty but can tell she’s terrified and trying to pull up a brave front. He apologizes for grabbing her face and of the the horrible things he had just said over her fiance’s death, as he admits they weren’t his true feelings. Wolf is especially willing to grant any wish Elsie may desire as a way to atone for his sins.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Conrad forced himself on Elise because of the chance he may not come back alive from the war, but the next morning, he insists they live together once he comes back and delights at the idea of “doing it” again. Elise eventually confides in Wolf over what he did to her and expresses her gratitude for freeing her from a life with a rapist for a husband.
- Red Baron: Turns out General Wolfried is not his real name, it’s just Wolf. His notoriety is that feared, so he’s called as such. But several people call him by his real name, unknowingly believing it’s his nickname, and eventually implores Elise to do as well; she happily agrees.
- Revenge: Wolf reveals the reason he accepted his Arranged Marriage to Elise is because he killed her fiancé, Conrad, so he automatically assumed she must want to find out about his final moments and avenge him. But he’s shocked that wasn’t the case since she had no say in the matter and hated Conrad.
- Samaritan Relationship Starter:
- Since Wolf is greatly feared to be a bloodthirsty warrior, Elise is terrified that’s she forced to be his wife. But once they arrive at his estate, a little boy pops out of nowhere to gives Wolf some flowers because he wanted to congratulate his marriage. The little boy also expresses his gratitude that his dad came home alive. Wolf appreciates the flowers, tussles his hair, and keeps the flowers inside his home. This is what makes Elise start to see him in a different light.
- But in the next chapter, she still feels nervous around him and starts to doubt if his kindness is real or not when he rants about his prey drive and lust for pyromacy, and gets startled when he removes his mask and completely shows his whole, burned face; revealing how he killed her fiancé didn’t help either. Only for Wolf to apologize for startling her as well as grabbing her face, and admits his haunting words just moments ago weren’t really what he meant. She feels guilty for misjudging him and starts to like him at that very moment.
- Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!: Duchess Hirskhorn’s entire characterization, bar none.
- Shrinking Violet: Given her abusive upbringing, It’s no wonder Elise is extremely shy around everyone.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: At first Elise is terrified at her forced marriage to the bloodthirsty General Wolfried. She feared the rumors about him were true when Wolf reveals how he killed her fiancé, but he apologizes and admits his poor choice of words were not of his true feelings. But what shocks Elise is that someone with status and honor would ever apologize and bow their head to her, who’s always been treated like an outcast. Wolf admits he agreed to marry Elise because he figured her family is planning something terrible for him, but believed it’s karma for all the blood he spilt. Wolf offers anything in his power to grant Elsie whatever she wishes, but all she would want is to get to know him better. It’s from this point on that Elise falls in love with Wolf, since he’s one of the few people in her life to not treat her lower than dirt.Elise: I wonder why… I was able to believe that this person is a beast. More than the Trauslid family… more than master Conrad… This person is kind and humane.
- Slut-Shaming:
- As if Duchess Hirskhorn pushing Elise around liked a kicked puppy is hard enough, the old crone even goes as far as to call her a prostitute, since her mother was one.
- As she’s walking down the aisle, a couple of attendees pity Elise over her forced marriage to the feared General Wolfried, but everyone else lampshades this trope for daring Elise to get hitch so quickly after her own fiance’s funeral.
- Too Dumb to Live: Wolf reveals to Elise that this was the way Conrad died. In the mist of battle, he ignored Wolf’s orders and rushed into the enemy line. The general himself deduces it was because a nobleman like Conrad would never want to take orders from a commoner like Wolf, despite the former’s higher military standing, and Conrad wanted to show off how brave he was. He also points out that Conrad didn’t bring along guns with him in the middle of a battlefield because it seemed cowardly. Wolf also warns Conrad that he’ll fire at their enemies if they fell for a trap, but Conrad still didn’t heed his orders. Wolf speculates that Conrad’s pointless death is because he honestly thought he wouldn’t burn alive since he’s a nobleman, but the general proved him wrong.
- Lack of Empathy: Duchess Hirskhorn response to Elise revealing what Conrad did to her. She admits the reason she could never feel remorse at her fiance’s death and refuse to hate his killer is because Conrad raped her. But Duchess Hirskhorn outright refuses to sympathize with Elise and beats her up.
- Ungrateful Bitch: Elise has been forced to her family’s servant for her whole life. Despite working her to the bone, said family constantly complains over how horrible Elise is because of her mother’s origins. But Duchess Hirskhorn is the worst of them all since she has the gall to accuse Elise of being the ungrateful one, just because she wanted to leave and join a convent instead of paying back HER debt to the family, while guilt tripping Elise into believing this too.
- Wants a Prize for Basic Decency: This is Duchess Hirskhorn’s general attitude towards Elise. She’s constantly tormenting the poor girl, wether it be with verbal abuse or beating her with a cane, Duchess Hirskhorn will constantly remind Elise she owes a debt to the family since they allowed her to live with them despite her mother’s origins. But Elise has been forced to be a literal servant and a stress reliever said family without giving her a shred of humanity. And said debt is considered paid by forcing her to marry a general who’s widely believed to be an extremely bloodthirsty killer and her fiance’s killer! By chapter 22 , Lady Hirskehorn is still not satisfied by Elise’s marriage and continues to whine over her debt; Elise eventually has enough of Duchess Hirskhorn usual rants, unfortunately it’s rendered mute when Duchess Hirskhorn ignores her and continues to beat her.
