English Dub Review: Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion “Why Raeliana Handed Her a Handkerchief”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
Raeliana attends the annual monster hunt in the Sycret Mountains, where each lady traditionally gives a handkerchief to her chosen participant, who in turn gives the lady a monster he’s killed. On the first day, Noah makes a request of Raeliana…

Our Take:
A couple of episodes ago, we discovered that the romance novel world Raeliana is in actually features a monster. This inclusion felt a bit unusual, given the context of the genre, at least from what I’ve seen so far. Well, it turns out that there’s a reason for its existence, thanks to this week’s episode. In a traditional isekai fashion, the series reveals that this seemingly harmless realm full of romance and mischievous men also includes a bunch of creatures for people to kill in an annual three-day hunt in the mountains. This tradition involves a chosen hunter’s lady handing him a handkerchief in exchange for a monster he’s murdered.
Unsurprisingly, Noah is invited to participate in the event, with Raeliana accompanying him. But, of course, even the monster-hunting event couldn’t escape their “complicated love”. Even though we got some development in their relationship in the last episode, this episode seemed like nothing had changed between Raeliana and Noah. It’s not without a couple of amusing moments, but regarding its usual chemistry beats, it might be starting to grow a bit tiring after a while.
However, we see that Noah’s not the only one participating. Adam Taylor is also joining the hunt, but not before he receives Raeliana’s request via a handkerchief to kill a dragon. Additionally, one of Raeliana’s bodyguards, Ainsley, participates in the event, which everyone seems to be okay with. You know, since we see nothing but faceless men joining the hunt.
During the event, we see more of Raeliana’s concerns about the novel’s main heroine, Beatrice, who was last seen in the crowd during last week’s episode. As stated by Raeliana, Beatrice was supposed to return home after Raeliana’s death, sparking the romance between her and Noah. Unfortunately, because Raeliana changed her fate, Beatrice’s return didn’t happen, causing Raeliana to question her choices. We also see more of Vivian and her comrades, who quickly resemble Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters regarding their bitchiness toward Raeliana.
But it looks like those minor problems are quickly put on hold when Ainsley returns from the hunt injured. What type of monster caused those injuries, and was it also responsible for killing some of its participants? Were some of the hunters include Noah and Adam? Those startling questions are enough to kickstart the series’ second half, which might involve Raeliana getting in on the hunt as well.