I’ve read up to chapter 39, and this feels like a rare find. Normally, with stories like this, I wish the author would hurry and age up the characters so the plot and romance can progress. But here, the pacing works, the story develops steadily, and watching the female lead’s relationship with the duke’s household and the ML grow keeps it from dragging.
The characters’ motives and relationships feel believable. There are a few cases where someone seems to survive purely because the plot demands it, but thankfully the story doesn’t lean too heavily on those “because plot” moments.
Several intriguing plotlines are teased (no spoilers), and I’m eager to see where they go. That said, one element feels particularly odd: the emperor’s attachment to his daughter. The deeper the story goes, the more inconsistent and puzzling it becomes. I just don’t understand why he cares for her the way he does. I can’t tell if this is deliberate or an oversight, but I hope the author addresses it.
Overall, I’d recommend this book. However, readers sensitive to trauma may want to skip it, as the story doesn’t seem written with much care in that area. A smaller gripe is how the children, supposedly around 7–12, act more like they’re in their twenties. It doesn’t ruin the story, but it does stretch believability. I also wish the FL’s grief over her family’s death had been explored with more depth.