Yes yes,you described it so well.And after reading the novel i felt like Layla had been lying to the audience all this time,she kept brainwashing herself and us that she hated Mathias to death.She did it so well,that readers were shocked at how in the end she just accepted Mathias and forgave him,even confessing that she loved him,like what?How's that possible if she really did hate him.
So i think she liked Mathias from the very beginning,i mean,crush.What she hated is his Pride,and how he didn't care the least,about crushing hers.She didn't like the idea of being a mistress,anyone would hate it,i mean.But to Mathias it didn't matter,so yes,pretty selfish of him,bcs of how he was raised.
So it's like this,both were attracted to each other,Mathias was always obsessed,but layla started liking him bcs he was always there trying to get close,making advances,and all those banters.Until that happened....
And it all came back to that one thing,Pride,Circumstances,and how difficult Mathias is as a person,seriously,the way his mind works and how he feels emotions is,just different.I think he became somewhat normal,only after falling for Layla.
3 words to describe their relationship : pride and prejudice... But in the end, they learned to accept and discover each other without lying to oneself.
Wow I read this part of the novel in the comments and there's a very huge tone shift that I actually love. I don't mind psycho shit but I think I like the manhwa better
The thing that I've always gotten from the manhwa is that in the manhwa leyla to me always felt like she had a crush on Mathias. A childhood crush I'm not saying she's in love yet but that first impression of his face and overall noble aura left her with a crush that she soon had to let go of because of his cruelty yet the heart wants what it wants. It's not unusual to have conflicting emotions as we are human. And I feel like because of that little crush what leyla hates more is him disrespecting her in various ways, that the duke has a fiance and still flirting with her so she feels it insincere and disrespectful. She really does have the pride of a princess and pride is actually one of the main things she hates about Mathias. Like his insane behavior comes from his pride and being spoiled so much that he's experiencing normal human emotions for the first time through someone that almost has the same amount of pride as himself. a commoner at that. and he hates leyla for that in a sense but also can't let go of this new world he's experiencing.
To me hate is always an emotion that shows you're met with a shadow part of yourself so I think Mathias and leyla are more similar than they think they are. And let's be honest Mathias as insane as he is, is also very dazzling. and having his attention would secretly feel good even if you didn't actually want his attention.(not talking about the sa I'm talking about the flirting) It's just human nature to feel good about being pursued by someone high up there and popular for lack of a better word.
I think it's a way better story to have both characters deal with contradicting emotions different from their original values and learn to change and adapt than a story in which leyla genuinely hates "Mathias the demon" and slowly falls for him somehow because she's kind or something and this is why I love this so much it's so well written and the characters are so interesting.