i think its because the emperor recommended her and the dont trust the him
I think it's because the duke has a bad reputation and they don't want him to get hurt since his curse only attracts bad things? And by having a random lady come by she'll end up dying and he'll hate himself because he thinks it's his curse, or she'll kill him because the emperor is sus.
Im pretty sure they're the ones who spread that bad reputation because they wanted the lady to reject him after hearing the rumors one of them spread
His knights weren't the ones who spread around the fact that he was cursed. I think that's just a generally well known fact (the only reason she isn't affected is because she's blessed by god, but like, not even she knows that tbh).
Why do the knights want their lord to never get married?
I remember them saying shes from 'just a baron house' but? Hm? Is that really it? That makes them real assholes...