Read 50 chapters (S1 completed) on Tapas

Plot Summary

Hilda is trapped inside the horror game, The Murderer of Pflatzgraff Manor.

And having played herself, she knows the protagonist, Adrian, aims to murder as many people as possible.

As one of his maids, she’s no exception.

So Hilda’s trying to survive while saving enough money to leave the manor.

However, the game system insists on making this goal and her life difficult in nearly every way possible.

My Thoughts (Contains Minor Spoilers)

TL;DR The horror is great, especially because of the art. The plot and romance are slow so I recommend using ink.

General Plot

Based on my experience, I highly suggest readers use Tapas Ink to binge.

While I did enjoy the plot, it’s a bit slow to enjoy through WUF.

There are some chapters where very little happens.

Plus, due to the horror/suspense element, WUF detracts from the experience.

Genre/Art

Throughout season 1, I was struggling with how to categorize this manhwa.

It’s got horror, comedy, suspense, and romance.

The romance doesn’t start until much later though.

And much of the atmosphere was carried by the artwork.

And one thing that stood out was how the artist managed to show certain dark scenes and conversations with light tones.

There was one scene where I was even questioning if Hilda was essentially spectating Adrian murdering someone through the system.

The manhwa strikes a balance between the lighthearted, cute moments with moments of fear and dread.

Or even dark topics with a light tone.

System

The system is supposed to keep Hilda alive yet it’s so goddamn harsh.

Particularly where earning and saving money is concerned.

As a maid, Hilda can earn gold while working and then spend it on what she wants.

She initially wants to grow her savings but the system essentially steals it from her.

It does this through strict requirements regarding what she can and can’t do.

Specifically how she can’t sleep without a pillow.

And being sleep-deprived creates penalties on her income.

Which makes it so she can’t afford to buy a pillow, trapping her in a nearly inescapable situation.

It’s so severe that I wonder if the system or world is purposefully keeping Hilda from leaving the mansion.

And that’s because the only reason why she won’t leave despite the danger is that she’s broke.

Which I can’t entirely fault her for.

It’s like how people will live in natural disaster-prone areas instead of leaving for somewhere safer.

It’s because the alternative is being homeless/struggling.

However, the system isn’t entirely bad.

The system mostly grants Hilda detection skills to stay alive.

When they’re active, they let Hilda know when danger is nearby or an object is a potential murder weapon.

She hasn’t gotten any inherently offensive or defensive skills.

But this makes sense as in the game, Adrian is in danger of discovery, not harm.

And we can assume any new skills introduced in season 2 will also be detection/investigative in nature.

Another helpful aspect is the gift-giving mechanic.

It’s, in my opinion, incredibly forgiving for how unrealistic it is.

Hilda can raise people’s affection levels by giving them presents.

And it doesn’t matter if it’s the same gift.

Hilda at one point buys a luxury pencil for Adrian and boosts his affection levels.

So she buys 16 more luxury pencils for him and he doesn’t bat an eye.

I just find it so interesting how everything else about the system makes Hilda’s life difficult but she gets a free pass on this.

Female Lead

Hilda can be best described as unhinged.

And you might get second-hand embarrassment from watching her.

But I can’t deny that it’s effective.

Whenever Adrian corners her, she pretends to be a pervert.

Which is often enough for Adrian, the literal devil, to get uncomfortable.

And bad enough for me to sympathize with him.

At the beginning of the manhwa, she’s headstrong until she encounters Adrian.

Even though she tells herself it’s just a game, she cannot help but be terrified.

However, this slowly starts to change throughout season 1.

This is partially because of the skills she gains.

As soon as she isn’t entirely helpless against Adrian, Hilda starts being proactive (sometimes recklessly so) in keeping herself safe.

And towards the end, she can not only have full conversations with Adrian but support him too.

She still gets scared of him, mind you.

But I think the way her character developed makes the most amount of sense for their future relationship to work.

Adrian’s not able to change due to plot reasons which means Hilda needs to meet him at least halfway.

Male Lead

I do feel sympathetic towards Adrian but he’s still evil.

Of course, we do get a “reason” as to why he murders though that’s questionable due to a certain side character.

It doesn’t change what he’s doing or the type of people he’s targeting.

Which means he’s great if you love red flag MLs but not so much if you don’t.

While I’m not 100% into red flag MLs, I’m still invested in where his character will go in season 2.

This is because the author could’ve taken the easy way out and had Adrian somehow only go after serious criminals or death row inmates to put him more in the morally gray area.

A lot of isekai manhwa seem to do that too where the tyrant or villain of the story is actually misunderstood or they’re doing the least possible harm.

With all of that said, he’s not an emotionless killing machine.

Adrian sincerely wishes he wasn’t so isolated from people, including his mother.

He gets creeped out by Hilda’s antics and blushes at higher affection levels.

Though given his character, I wonder what he’ll become at higher affection levels.