Both as a first volume but this is also my rating of this series as a whole. Just utterly adore the world Kaoru Mori has built/depicted and all her characters are so lovely and wholly realized. The research that must have gone into historical clothing alone is just stunning.

A lot of people are put off by the age difference and such but I recommend anybody interested in this series to have some faith in Mori as an author and how she continues to depict their relationship. This is not a manga where their relationship is some straightforward romance, it is more nuanced than that, and the entire series revolves around women, forms of marriage, and how their lives are affected by their cultures and families etc. But if you're not into this then I can confidently recommend her other series, Emma, which is also great!

Anyway, I adore this series.