Case Study of Manipulative Duke Cedric
Name / Alias: Cedric Clezio
Source: I’ll Find My Happily Ever After with the Smothering Love of the Yandere Nobleman! Anthology Chapter: Chapter 3 (Flowers and Love Dedicated to You ~ The Story of a Certain Fallen Young Lady and the Next Duke) by Kabashima Rirako
Relationship target: Noella
Setting: Historical Setting
Personality: Obsessive, possessive, patient, secretive, gentle on the surface
Role: Love interest, male lead
Yandere Type Classification
Escalation style: Slow build up with obsession hidden beneath his polite behavior.
Attachment Style–Anxious
Core Fear: Being Rejected
Self-Image: He believes that she will choose him since he loves her the most.
Behavior Tendacies —He ordered his servants to report her every move, removing any threats that hurt her, pretending to be someone else to get closer to her, and having obsessive thoughts about them.
How they started interacting with the target: Cedric fell in love with Noella before she became a fallen noble. He described her as elegant and graceful.
Progression: After Noella's downfall, he became fixiated on her and influece her staying at his estate. While feeling isolated, he stays anonymous and sends her flowers with thoughtful messages. Rather than revealing his identity as a duke, he inserts himself in many ways until she feel comforted by his prescence.
Current dynamic: They are married, and he offers his eternal love to her.
Boundaries: Noella doesn't know Cedric's obsessive desire towards her. The relationship is built on hidden involvement than informed trust.
Danger level: High
emotional dependency tactics
isolation through “only I care for you”
controlling her social environment
shaping her perception of safety and trust He has power and status as a duke.
He secretly gathers information through servants.
He manipulates situations from behind the scenes.
He inserts himself into her emotional life anonymously.
He quietly removes obstacles
He hides his obsession under gentleness and refinement
My Thoughts: Chapter 3 was a tad better than Chapter 2. It still had its cliches of a heroine who is the damsel in distress, one-dimensional bullies, and the male lead there to save the day. What makes chapter 3 better is you can see his yandere acts rather than him subtly telling us in the text. This is nitpicky of me, but I like the ones who would actively try to protect the heroine. The male lead here is a bit messed up. While she feels isolated, he gives her thoughtful cards while being anonymous, making her think that he is the only one that cares for her. I don't like that he doesn't do anything immediately when the bullies abuse her. It was stated in the manga that she first started to work at the mansion at a working age, and there were mentions of seasons having passed. I assume the maids bullied her at the start when they saw her not smiling at them, and now they assume that she is above them. I wished he would have gotten rid of them in the middle instead of playing this identity game with her.
CONCLUSION Type: Manipulative
Threat Level: Medium-High
Effectiveness as a Yandere: Show, don't tell done well. Wished he had done something sooner rather than later.
Ratings: 3.5/5
