The Fall 2024 K-Comics Guide

Conquer My Heart

What's It About? 

Arrogant Duke Ixor Malkuth is used to getting absolutely everything he wants... until he meets the beautiful Daon, a slave who refuses to give in to his demands. As the conquerer of Daon's territory, Ixor tries to treat her like his mistress, but when she runs away, he decides to charm her into loving him. Yet with every attempt to seduce her, Ixor finds himself slowly falling for her instead. Will the prideful duke succeed in stealing Daon's affection, or will he find his own heart conquered?

Conquer My Heart has a story by Tamhada and art by Bison, and an adaptation by Bandi. English localization by Kakao Entertainment. Published by Tapas Entertainment.

Is It Worth Reading?

The most important character in this story doesn't have a voice. Or rather, she keeps her thoughts mostly to herself, all to keep herself alive in the dangerous world she lives in. Daon's origins aren't entirely clear, but we know that as a young teen, she lost her home and family, and the only thing that keeps her going is her mother's insistence that she live, no matter what. That got her through slavery to an older man who clearly had terrible plans for her, then an unclear situation with a lord and his son, and now she's trying to survive her next trial: the determination of a conqueror to make her his mistress. Unluckily for Daon, Gwin Ixor Malkuth is both utterly ruthless and completely fascinated with her, and every attempt she makes to freeze him out only makes him want her more.

It's an old-school kind of romance, and that means that it's not so much “romantic” as it is about unbridled wanting and dubious consent. Daon's made it very clear that she doesn't want what Ixor is offering, but he's equally clear that he doesn't actually care. In fact, the only reason he seems to be holding back right now is the fact that he finds Daon interesting, and he seems to be operating on the premise that if he can make her come to him willingly, it'll be much more fun. Not that he appears to care about her actual consent – across these fifteen chapters, he kisses her without that all-important acknowledgment three times at least. He also appears to believe that her late employer and his son owned, rather than employed, her and that she was both of their lovers and frankly, I think he's barking up the wrong tree on both counts. The flashback we see of Daon and her late master makes it look like he's taking her in, not purchasing her, and the implication is that he was very kind, if not a bit naïve. And judging by how Daon responds to Ixor, she wouldn't have put up with the sorts of things he's imagining anyway.

Make no mistake, Daon is the best part of this series. She's difficult to know, but still absolutely running the show. It's still hard to deal with the way Ixor treats her (and his attitude is perhaps best described as “smug and insufferable” anyway), and the plot feels unrelentingly dark while also not really progressing all that much. It's one of those series where I understand the appeal and didn't hate reading it, but also don't feel like I'd ever read it anymore. With its art in shades of brown and the grimness of its plot, it's not an immediately appealing read – but if you're in the mood for it, it is still a pretty good one.

There was definitely something appealing about reading something so inherently toxic. It was never my personal thing, but I can definitely see why so many people are enamored with this type of story where possessiveness and toxic behavior is on full display. Some people like seeing just how manipulative humanity can be, especially if that desire isn't satiated immediately. That idealization is at the heart of Conquer My Heart, which is inherently a story about a strong, calculating, confident man trying to obtain something that is out of his reach.

The story structure isn't the most balanced, as there are a lot of politics that are just sort of thrown in your face considering the story takes place in the middle of a big war where territories need to be conquered. There's a lot of political intrigue here with regards to what regions need to be occupied and how our dashing character Duke Ixor goes about asserting his authority. A lot of this is done to establish the fact that this man really can get anything or anybody he wants except for this one elusive slave.

Honestly, whenever the object of his affection, Daon is on screen, that is when I think the story is at its best. She is a woman of few words and the tragedy of her circumstances is appealing on its own, but seeing her strength displayed not only in the way that she carries herself, but also in the way that she tries to outwit everybody is enticing. The story makes such a strong case for why she should have every reason to not be with this man, which is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the dynamic that our two leads share is where a lot of the entertainment value comes from. They try to out-wit each other and try to get the upper hand in terms of who has the most control in the dynamic. The downside is that I see no chemistry for a genuine romance between these two, so when the book leans a little bit in that direction towards the end, I get taken out of it. Still, though, I feel like this is the quintessential type of toxic cat-and-mouse story that a lot of people like, so if that seems up your alley, then I think that this is one of the better examples of that story trope.