Synopsis

Iris is the daughter of a marquess who was married off to nouveau riche, Baron Lucas, to become his aristocratic etiquette guidebook. Their relationship started as a mariage blanc, but the two find themselves slowly drawn to each other. However, one day, Iris discovers that there’s someone lurking in the shadows, maliciously trying to ruin her family, House Karelia. The perfect opportunity to convict the mastermind of his crimes is at her younger sister’s engagement party! Will Iris and Lucas successfully capture the criminal and grab ahold of their happiness?! (Source: Cross Infinite World)

An Upstart Noble’s Final Showdown!

Following Iris’ unexpectedly happy new married life, the conclusion to The Invisible Wallflower’s saga has her facing off against her demons. 

The story begins exactly where the opening volume left off—with Iris being invited to help with her younger sister’s engagement party. This is a difficult ask for Iris, as she’ll be forced to come face-to-face again with her abusive parents, bratty sister, and former fiancé. 

Iris handles this situation deftly. Likely in large part due to her time spent in less hostile territory, she’s grown leaps and bounds. No longer playing the role of the delicate wallflower, she uses her newfound strength to confront and fight back against those who’ve wronged her, and it’s a good thing too, considering the villains of this arc are best described as people who enjoy the act of kicking puppies. 

While Iris’ father and stepmother play the role of abusers well, they end up being overshadowed by the true antagonist of this tale: Mikhail, Iris’ former fiancé. He’s the most villainous villain to ever villain, and there’s no end to his list of crimes. With him, trafficking, rape, and murder are all on the docket, and not even Iris can escape his evil machinations as he tries to rape her not once but twice during the volume. 

These uncomfortable assault scenes are played to mixed effect within the story. The first is played off well as the author manages to build Mikhail’s character around the event. His thinly veiled lies, chalking up his actions for the sake of the nation’s purity, belie a man obsessed with the idea that a woman should be controlled and act much like a porcelain doll. 

Unfortunately, this characterisation doesn’t carry forward, as he plans to carry out his second assault at the end of the volume. Featuring a frenzied and unpredictable Mikhail, this sequence contains some of the most vomit-inducing phrases ever put to paper, and even though the series ends with a happy ending, this scene still leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. 

While Iris takes the brunt of Mikhail’s twisted aspirations during this volume, Lucas’ role has him in the background for most of the volume. Under the orders of the kingdom’s third prince, he also ends up crossing paths with Mikhail as he investigates him for crimes of trafficking and treason. This eventually leads to a conviction scene during Iris’ younger sister’s engagement party. 

The conviction and accusation scenes play like a well-choreographed dance, as nouveau riche and old blood spar for the sanctity of the nation. It’s just a shame that this ends up taking time away from Lucas and Iris, as their relationship has only just begun to bear fruit. Moreover, these scenes end up losing some of their impact as they’re all undone for the sake of the climax. 

Overall, while The Invisible Wallflower’s final volume showed potential, it is inevitably overshadowed by a poorly planned climax that leaves nothing but a bad taste in your mouth. 

I Give The Invisible Wallflower: 6/10