In the Service of Lady Scarlet (Butchershop horror take on gamelit)

Information

Status

Completed

Year

2022

Author

Lack of Poochline

• Chapter 4: Of Dogs and Duties
  Nov 22, 2022
• Chapter 3: Kill the Dragon, Kill the Dragon
  Nov 21, 2022
• Chapter 2: The Ball Pit and the Cats
  Nov 21, 2022
• Chapter 1: In the Palace of Lady Scarlet.
  Nov 21, 2022

Reviews

Community Reviews(7)

• RMMulderRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  To be honest, this style of writing usually isn't my cup of tea. The first three chapters were confusing, so then I went back and read the reviews. Once I understood that these were the writings of a mad man in his beloved diary, it all made sense to me - so I went back and re-read the first three chapters. After understanding the context, I found the next several chapters quite fascinating as he keeps writing about an intruder stealing his diary and writing in it, and I quickly discovered that this 'intruder' was actually a different personality - a more sane one at that. It was sometimes difficult to determine which personality was writing each entry - but by the time you reach about chapter 6 it becomes a bit more clear.
  As for the GameLit tag, I don't think I've read far enough into the story yet to grasp the gaming aspect (I've only read up to chapter 10 at the time of this review) so I don't really have anything to say about that - only that I hope we begin to see some progression of the character soon as my assumption is that slowly he will regain memories about his former life (I'm guessing as a warrior) and how the powerful sword originally came to him. My prediction is that he was on a quest to kill the Lady, but she put some kind of spell on him to where he lost all of his memory and became her faithful servant. I'm looking forward to finding out what the outcome is and how closely my prediction comes true.
• RaunRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This tale is no nuttily silly and tragically woeful. I personally love it! Just your regular story of an average butler who strives to serve his lovely madam admirably. Only the butler might have gone slightly cuckoo and the lady doesn't seem to be very ladylike...
  It's certainly different from the usual run of the mill RRL stories. Readers might have to be patient and ride along for a bit though...
• phobos15Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  As the title says, gorgeously and gloriously fucked up!
  Visceral descriptions, phenomenal writing and some of the absolute best dark/gallows humour that somehow manages to act as sufficient balm to the absolute brutality going on in the story.
  Only fair to mention, there are some spelling/grammatical errors which can be at times jarring, and yet, the writing is so visceral and immersive that it barely, if at all, managed to knock me out of said immersion.
  Short and sweet, definitely give it a read... Don't disregard the warnings though that's for sure.
• PizzaPizzaRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  First off, I do want to say that this piece is a bit hard to get into, and is indeed, gamelit psychological horror. Judging from the worldbuliding and expectations the author has outlined, I really don't expect this to have a satisfying and happy ending.
  Style: The story, as stated on the blurb, is told from the perspective of a madman's diary. It's extremely macabre, and if anything, I'd compare the style to Edgar Allan Poe. Think The Masque of Red Death or The Cask of Amontillado. It's hard to really talk about this with spoilers, but be aware that the narrator is very clearly insane from the opening chapter.
  It's pretty nonsensical for the first three, and I found myself staring at the page trying to map what he was perceiving to reality. Context clues and the bouts of lucidity, as hinted at in the blurb, do make it more clear as you go on though, but if you're like me that can be a bit difficult to get into.
  Character: What can I say? The main character is a stark raving lunatic that serves the 'Lady Scarlet' - , but a lunatic with bouts of lucidity in his writing where he's still insane. The author gives you enough clues to figure out what's going on, and the gamelit tag is accurate for this for several reasons. At the risk of spoilers regarding the MC that may detract from the experience:
  The protagonist is a game lit protagonist who fought the Lady Scarlet when he was more or less at his power cap, and lost to a spell that effectively turned him into an insane, gibberin servant.
  Grammar: Small mistakes here and there, but not enough to distract from the experience. I spotted three minor spelling errors / typos in my entire read-through.
  Story: Following the narrator's diary is one of the best dark fantasy experiences I've had yet on this site, and I have to give full credit to Poochline's mastery over prose, worldbuilding, and narration for this. The first couple of chapters are more or less full of lunacy and madness, but then you reach the entries written w
• MezzoCatorceRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  What a ride. One thing is for certain, this is certainly a unique piece for RoyalRoad. It may relate to Gamelit tangentially, and is technically an Isekai, but don't come into this expecting any of the standard tropes you might expect.
  Instead, In The Service of Lady Scarlet is a poetic, tragic journey through the mind of a madman. Written in a unique diary format, we follow the life of an unnamed Pawn, who chronicles his daily life, before things take a more sinister direction as our loyal Pawn contends with terrifying glimpses of sanity.
  It's macabre, genuinely disturbing, and tragic, qualities which are quite rare on Royalroad.
  Review TL;DR
  Story: 4.5/5 - A twisted tale of madness, duty, and revenge that is engaging throughout, but stumbles a bit at the end.
  Style: 5/5 - A fantastic, unique diary style, poetic with an amazing command of the language, especially for somebody for whom English is a second language. Grimly fantastic tone.
  Grammar: 3.5/5 - Jarring transitions between solid, flowing prose and borderline broken English.
  Characters: 5/5 - A fantastic study into the mind of a madman, with a handful of supporting characters, each of whom is relatively fleshed out.
  Story
  4.5/5 - A twisted tale of madness, duty, and revenge that is engaging throughout, but stumbles a bit at the end.
  The story itself is fantastic. At its premise, it follows the life of a servant for the enigmatic Lady Scarlet in her castle, but at once things seem wrong, and his descriptions of objects make it clear that not everything is as it seems.
  The story expands and shifts as events unfold, and truths make themselves  known, into a poetic tale of lost love, ruin, and despair.
  The one flaw of the story is its ending. Mind you, I don't have a problem with the ultimate destination of the ending, although those who always prefer a 'happily ever after' ending may find it unpalatable. No, my issue is more the last few steps it takes to arrive there.
  The climax comes at the very end, and the
• Rookie12Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  This review is based on the first eleven chapters.
  The story follows a person who serves the mysterious lady Scarlet and is being told to us from the perspective of the MC's diary. There are some grammatical mistakes occasionally, but because we are viewing the story through the eyes of a not fully sane person, I choose to believe that they are made intentionally.
  From the first chapter and onward, you can feel a sense of wrongness in the atmosphere. Even if the character is mad, some things look too out of place. The hints are given sparingly, but we soon understand that there is no mysterious vandal who ruins the MC's journal, it is he himself who tries to warn himself about something dire.
  The style is superb, even without flowery description, you can easily see the world through the MC's eyes. The story itself is great, not a single chapter is wasted, and every chapter drops a hint about what is going on in the setting, or about the characters involved in the story. Soon enough, you will begin to see the true picture of what is happening in this scary and unsettling place, despite the madness that the MC feels.
  The story is excellent, solidly five stars. The characters come off as threatening and mysterious, and even when they treat the MC with care, you still feel that he is staring into the shark's mouth without fully realizing the danger. The MC, despite his madness, is proactive and eagerly moves around to try and deal with something that bothers him. Even if he does not fully understand the cause of his woes, he moves on to deal with the problem.
  All in all, I highly recommend checking out this story. It manages to hook the reader (at least me) with the very first chapter, due to how strange and weird the setting is and the mystery behind the MC.
• OlivebirdyRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  Don't read this for a lighthearted romp of an insane butler, this is for readers who enjoy the depressing and macabre. Once past the hump of the initial chapters, this is very readable, building up to a fitting climax. Grammar, vocabulary, characterization, all excellent, though at the moment there's still typos littered around.