A Stepmother’s Märchen

A Stepmother's Märchen (어떤 계모님의 메르헨) — known as The Fantasie of a Stepmother on Tapas — follows Shuri von Neuschwanstein, married into the empire's second-most-powerful house at fourteen and widowed at sixteen, left to raise her late husband's four older children. When she dies on the day of her eldest stepson's wedding, she wakes back on the night of her husband's funeral, seven years earlier. The webcomic, illustrated by ORKA and adapted from a webnovel by Spice & Kitty, runs slowly: the family politics, the church's role, and the slow rebuilding of trust with each stepchild are the actual subject. ORKA's color palette — soft pinks against bright greens — has become part of the series' signature. Tapas serialized the English release starting February 2021; Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the full-color print edition in 2023.

Best for readers who liked: How to Win My Husband Over (same writer, similar fantasy period setting) and I Shall Master This Family (family dynamics with a second chance).

Where to start: Ongoing on Tapas (digital, English) with print volumes from Seven Seas. Start from the digital prologue.

The marchioness Shuri Von Neuschwanstein is no stranger to hardship: her husband dies when she’s still a teenager, leaving her to manage his lands and raise his semi-grown children herself. Her stepchildren never warm up to her, and other nobles disparage her behind her back. Years later, however, it seems her efforts have finally paid off: her eldest stepson is to be married and take over the estate, freeing her of many responsibilities. But shortly after learning the cruel truth that she’s not invited to his wedding, she dies and wakes up on the day of her husband’s funeral seven years earlier! If Shuri is to live these seven difficult years all over again, she’s going to do things differently. Can she write her own fairy tale ending this time around?