Manga: The Royal Tutor 8

The Royal Tutor Vol 8
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Kai makes a friend at school and invites him over to the palace for tea. He asks his brothers for help in making conversation, but is that really such a good idea...? Then it's a battle of wits when Heine joins the princes (and princess!) for a game in the courtyard. After all the time they've now spent under his tutelage, can the students finally overcome the master? 

Well...things have definitely gotten interesting this volume! The Princes threw down the gauntlet to their older brother, Eins, last volume and we're seeing a continuation of them working hard and pushing themselves because of that. 

Leonhards had a bit of a rough ride being mocked last volume and struggling, so it was nice to see him shine at fencing and get praised and just generally have his confidence boosted. Until Maximilian  that is...although it was nice to see more of him too! He and Ludwig are always lurking in the background and I do love it when they interact with the Princes! 

We get a new character this volume, Elmer, who's Kai's first friend! I honestly felt just as proud as the palace staff at this development. The new volume starts off with some entertaining chapters before digging in for the serious stuff in the final two. 

It was a matter of time before someone found out about Licht, let's be honest, and we see one of his brothers become suspicious about his activities. Not to mention Eins and Rosenberg showing up to stick their noses in too. 

I'm really intrigued by Licht and how his story arc is going to go, he's had his eyes opened to the way things can be and he's looking at different options he can have and different things to aspire to be, and he's actually having a little bit of a crisis this volume. Not to mention he clashes with one of his brothers. He goes on quite the journey of self discovery, basically. 

The part that had me screaming was the final page, because of course Rosenberg as to show up, shady AF like "let me help you my dude, one less person in the way for Eins". We all know Rosenberg helping Licht will not end well at all, and we're left on that cliffhanger. 

The plot is moving forward with the Princes determined to challenge Eins, and working out what exactly it is that they want for themselves and their futures in some cases. We also get to examine the Princes and their feelings in more detail, and they've all come such a long way since the first volume, and think about things more. This volume is obviously focused on Licht though, it's pretty natural that he's the first to really think about his options for the future when he's been exposed to a different way of life!