"Tensions are brewing under the seemingly calm surface of the Vasilios Empire, a kingdom ruled by the Imperial Family and the Temple. Lady Medea Solon has lost her place next to Crown Prince Eros, but resolves to do whatever it will take to win back what's rightfully hers. Will she reclaim her throne?"
Your Throne
(AKA I Want to be You, Just For a Day) is a Webcomic by SAM. The official English translation can be read on the Webtoons app. The majority of chapters are available for free, but the latest five or six chapters will require money to be read.
The story begins after the selection exam to find out which noblewoman will marry Crown Prince Eros. While everyone agrees that the beautiful and fearsome Medea won the challenges, the prince directly intervened to ensure that he would marry the much more naïve and gentle Psyche. Unwilling to give up the throne, Medea arranges an encounter with Psyche on the day of prayer to try and take back the position of crown princess. This does not go according to plan, as the two of them wind up switching bodies.
Things only get more complicated from there, as we learn that Psyche and Medea's relationship was not as it initially seemed, and the same can be said for Prince Eros. The two of them once saw each other as friends before Eros pit them against one another, and it soon becomes clear that his decision to marry Psyche was not out of love, but for much more selfish reasons.
This Series provides examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Both Psyche and Medea had these. Psyche's parents confined her to a Gilded Cage style prison cell in their manor's basement. Medea's father was physically abusive and murdered her Nanny, whom she loved as a mother. Learning this about each other helps them to abandon the enmity they felt towards one another and start focusing on bringing down their abusers.
- Acquired Poison Immunity: As part of her training, Lady Medea learnt a lot about poisons and has acquired immunity to most.
- Affectionate Nickname: Medea calls Helio "Heli."
- Medea's brother calls Medea "Medi."
- Medea calls Dekis "Deki."
- Aristocrats Are Evil: Most of the nobility are corrupt, to put it mildly.
- Aura Vision: Perion can apparently see if someone is a murderer by the shadows that surround them.
- Bad Boss:
- When in a rage, Lord Solon will have his servants attacked and brutalized. In one extreme case, he has the beloved nanny of his daughter beaten to death.
- Prince Eros will casually execute or send to their deaths even the most loyal of his men.
- The Beautiful Elite: Lady Medea Solon ... Obviously! Beauty, wealth, nobility, savoir faire, sophistication, elegance ... she has it all.
- Black Sheep: Dekis is the kindhearted son in a family full of scheming nobles.
- Both Sides Have a Point: Right before the corrupted nobles are declared guilty, Medea and Psyche have a conversation. Medea reveals that her decisive witness is actually fake, making her in contrast with Psyche. Medea says that letting the nobles go free would be even worse, while Psyche is worried of when the people will find out about the witness being fake, since they will start doubting the truth. Medea says that Psyche is too idealistic, while Psyche says that Medea is too practical.
- The Chessmaster: Lady Medea and Crown Prince Eros always have a plan, and cleverly and ruthlessly manipulate people and events.
- Childhood Friends: Medea and Helio were Best Friends ever since Medea rescued and took Helio under her wing when his parents died.
- The Clan: The ancillary Solon family.
- Combat Pragmatist: In chapter 123, a knight sent by Eros to kill Medea activates an explosive device as per the prince's instruction since the latter knew that no one could defeat Medea in close quarters combat.
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Completely Different Title: Original Korean title is literally translated as I Want to be You, Just For a Day. English version goes with Your Throne, while French one is La duchesse déchue, meaning The Fallen Duchess. - Coordinated Clothes: whenever Eros and Psyche appear together in official function as the crown prince and his future wife, they wear matching clothing.
- Costume Porn: the clothing of the nobles, especially Medea's, Helio's and Psyche's is very intricately drawn, detailed, glamorous and bejewelled.
- Curtains Match the Window: Purple haired Medea also has violet eyes.
- Declaration of Protection: In Episode 62, Medea promises to save Psyche if she's ever in danger of death.
- Dub Name Change: English translation changed the surnames of all main characters:
- Medeia Belliard/Bellial -> Medea Solon
- Psyche Polly -> Psyche Callista
- Helio Thropium -> Helio Niccolo
- Iaros Orna Esperanto -> Eros Orna Vasilios
- Engagement Challenge: Eros originally sets up a crown princess tournament, where Medea and Psyche have to compete in three categories to win his hand in marriage. After Medea wins handily, he overturns the result to get engaged to Psyche.
- The Evil Prince: Crown prince Eros, who only wants to marry Psyche for her power, emotionally manipulates her, and tries to have her imprisoned and killed.
- Eye Scream: After Perion loses a bet to Medea, where he promised that he'd take out his eye if she beat him in a duel, he uses a sword to cut out one of his eyes.
- False Soulmate: Psyche comes to realize this about Eros.
- Forceful Kiss: Eros does this to Medea twice, and it is definitely not consensual.
- "Freaky Friday" Flip: The conniving, ambitious Lady Medea Solon and the sweet and gentle Lady Psyche Callista end up switching bodies, which results in chaos as both of them don't know how to adapt to their new lives.
- Freudian Excuse: Medea was ignored by her parents most of her life, until she started getting ideas to improve the kingdom. Her father than used her, stealing her plans and presenting them to the Emperor as his own to win favor and prestige. When Medea found out, she saw her Arranged Marriage to Crown Prince Eros as a way to gain power over her father and escape his authority. After her betrothal is broken and Psyche becomes engaged to Eros, Lord Solon blames Nana, Medea’s old nanny and Parental Substitute, for making Medea soft, and beats the old woman to death. So, thanks to Psyche and Eros, Medea has lost not only her best chance to get away from her father’s abuse, but also the only adult who ever loved her like a parent.
- Gambit Pileup: While Medea and Eros are the top schemers, several other nobles are running their own games (which often derail when they come into contact with Medea's plans). Even Psyche gets in on the action.
- Godhood Seeker: Prince Eros plans to kill and absorb the powers over life and death that his fiancée Psyche Callista possesses; it would allow him to rule over his kingdom as a cruel god deciding who lives and who dies.
- Gold and White Are Divine: Psyche, who has divine powers, has golden hair and commonly wears white.
- Graceful Ladies Like Purple: Medea's elaborate purple gowns.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Psyche has golden hair and is young, beautiful, kind and innocent - this is deconstructed when Eros uses her naivete to trick her into believing that he loves her.
- Healing Hands: The so called Gift of Divinity allows the gifted to heal and harm with a touch. Psyche having it is the whole reason Eros is interested in her.
- Human Traffickers: Lord Solon is a beloved war hero who runs an orphanage where orphans are cared for. In truth, this orphanage is a scam and the children are taken and sold to willing buyers.
- Icy Blue Eyes: Eros has icy silver/blue eyes representing his cold, ruthless, and calculating personality.
- Important Haircut: Psyche cuts her long hair to shoulder-length after deciding to stand up for herself.
- Internal Reveal: Crown Prince Eros Orna Vasilios is revealed to the audience to be the mastermind antagonist when he plots to kill his "lover" Psyche in episode 9.
- Iron Lady: Lady Medea is ruthless, cold, and tough in order to maintain her political power and outwit her political enemies.
- Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: Lady Medea (in Psyche's body) after getting ambushed in the garden at prince Eros' birthday banquet.
- Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: Psyche and Medea, respectively.
- A Lighter Shade of Black: Lady Medea is willing to betray Psyche and see her executed to reclaim the title that she believes was stolen from her. Compared to Prince Eros, however, she is much more sympathetic, as her evil deeds come from wanting to escape her abusive family, also that she believes Psyche betrayed her first by accepting Eros’s proposal when she knew how badly Medea wanted to be Crown Princess, whereas Eros’s motivations are to steal Psyche’s magic powers so he can use them to rule over his people like a god.
- Manipulative Bastard: Lady Medea and Crown Prince Eros, who will cleverly set things up to tip the scales in their favor.
- Lady Medea gives Psyche flowers that are typically harmless, but when combined with exposure to a certain drug, will make her ill. Furthermore, she wards off suspicion that she poisoned Psyche by putting the drug in the sugar cubes, not the tea, which Medea also drinks, throwing off any suspicion. To top it all off, none of this kills her, just makes her weak enough when she goes to temple, weakening any further suspicion from Medea as killing her directly would have made her the prime suspect, whilst Psyche surviving makes everyone chalk it up to a simple fever.
- Crown Prince Eros seduces Psyche Callista and gives her hints on how to win the Engagement Challenge. He hires a servant to turn public opinion to Psyche’s favor so everyone will agree with Eros’s last minute decision to propose to Psyche, and Eros’s father will bow to the people’s desire. He even sets things up to make it look like Medea’s family assassinated his father, to make a clear path to the throne and disgrace the Solon family in the process. All this so he can gain control of the castle and assassinate Psyche in secret to gain her powers of divinity.
- Marry for Love: At all least that's what Psyche and the entire Empire thinks is the reason behind Psyche and Eros' royal engagement ... exploited by Eros
- Mask of Sanity: Prince Eros acts as ever the kindly Prince Charming, but in truth is a ruthless sociopath who would gleefully kill anyone in his way.
- Meaningful Name: Psyche and Eros as the - ahem- designated couple have their names from Amor (whose greek name is Eros) and Psyche from greek/roman mythologie, whereas the mythological Medea was a smart, strong and knowledgable princess, who ultimately wrecked the marriage of her former husband in revenge - attributes and a goal that Webcomic!Medea shares.
- Mercy Kill: Helio does this to Nana at the latter's request.
- Ojou Ringlets:The hairstyle of "Psyche" (Medea's soul in Psyche's body) in episode 8 during the birthday banquet.
- Parental Substitute: Medea’s nanny was more more of a mother to her than the Duchess Solon, which was why Medea became so thirsty for Psyche’s blood when the latter being chosen for Crown Princess led Duke Solon to blame and beat Nana.
- Patricide: A rumour going around about the content of the last oracle accuses Medea of planning to kill her father and bring down the empire. It was a rumor she intentionally had spread for her own plan.
- Power Glows: Psyche's gift of divinity manifests as golden light whenever she heals someone and red when she harms someone.
- Prayer of Malice: Medea at the temple prays to rule instead of Psyche and get everything Psyche has.
- Psychotic Smirk: The expression on Eros' face when he is plotting something ...
- And the chilling expression on Medea's face when her plans are going just right.
- Purple Is Powerful: Medea, The Chessmaster, is associated with purple.
- Purple Is the New Black: Medea's hair varies between black with purple accents and purple with black accents.
- Sheltered Aristocrat: Psyche has been locked into her parents' manor her whole life, making her naive and trusting.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: The amiable Dekis and ruthless Medea.
- Single-Target Sexuality:
- Played with through Prince Eros. It eventually becomes clear that he strongly prefers submissive women whom he thinks are weak-willed. As such, the body swap makes him begin to pursue Medea more seriously again and view her as his woman. It's unclear if this was an adjustment he made to his plans after the encounter and his failed attempt at assassinating Psyche and, by extension, failed attempt at framing Medea, or if this was the original end goal after initially turning down Medea.
- More straight with Helio, who completely puts Medea on a pedestal, regardless of whose body she has.
- Theme Naming: Most characters are named after figures in Greek and Roman mythology.
- The Sociopath: Eros has all the identifying traits of a sociopath, including Lack of Empathy, lack of remorse, and a grandiose sense of self importance. He manipulates and lies perfectly and is unable to understand how people can have a conscience, as seen when he wonders briefly if Medea wants to hold a criminal trial for her father because of her conscience, before dismissing it quickly as impossible.
- Undying Loyalty: Helio will die for Medea and even tried to kill himself when he thought she was dead. If that's not loyalty, nothing is.
- Unlimited Wardrobe: The noblewomen, especially Medea, who wears a new gorgeous, frilly, bejewelled outfit every scene.
- Unwitting Pawn: When Marquess Horen tries to scheme against the Duchy of Solon, Eros tells him not to be this. The Marquess doesn't listen.
Eros: Know who the sword points at before you try to wield it.
- Villainous Crush: Eros is attracted to the anti-hero/villain protagonist of the series, Medea. He wants to make her his crown princess after he kills his current fiance Psyche who he pretends to love.
- Villain Protagonist: The protagonist is Lady Medea Solon who is an ambitious and murderous noble who desires the throne for herself and will go to ruthless aims to get it. Her being opposed by far worse opponents makes her A Lighter Shade of Black, however.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Crown Prince Eros is beloved by his kingdom as a handsome and kind figure, while in truth he's a horrendous and abusive sociopath who's aiming to have the kingdom bend to his will.
- Wham Line: Chapter 165 has probably one of the biggest so far, from the emperor himself. It's so completely unexpected that even Eros loses his cool for a moment.Eros's father: Attention! I have an important announcement. As the Emperor of Vasilios I am going to adopt Medea Solon as my daughter.
- White Sheep: With a raging father, authoritarian mother, and scheming sister, the kindhearted Dekis is the outcast.
- Would Hurt a Child: Marquess Horen is a savage Serial Killer of children and has them caged and whipped to death to take out his frustrations.
