I already read the whole novel, aaaaand... . . . . . . . . . . . . I'll start by the TL,D...

I already read the whole novel, aaaaand...
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I'll start by the TL,DR: I don't like the emperor AT ALL.

Hear me out here: In a story with a very strong MC and a very strong Villain, his narrative reduced him to nothing more than a pawn in a game that is theirs.

Patrizia and Rosamund pushed this story forward. When you have a MC and a villainess like Patrizia and Rosamund, the ML gotta measure up to that.

But he didn't, and he didn't prove himself worthy of being the ML standing by Patrizia's side.

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Now, for the long explanation.

First, the bad:

The very plot of the story required a King that hated the MC bc he loved his Mistress. But that could very easily make people hate him, so the author had to give us a reason for him to be the way he is, one that would explain and excuse his behavior.

So she chose trauma. That's a very valid reasons to be the way he is indeed - he was very abused by his mother and it was actually well portrayed how Rosamund took advantage of his traumas and emotional vulnerability to make him emotionally dependant on her.

But, as the story progresses, by never being held accountable for his actions because of his trauma, he also lost his autonomy in the story: everything he does is always because of someone else. He fell into the role of just annother pawn in the bigger game, just like the side characters who are allies to either Patrizia or Rosamund.

Patrizia and Rosamund are the real players here, and his narrative, created to give him ML relevance, just doesn't fit in organically with the rest of the plot, it's actually cringey how weak his narrative is when compared to Rosamund and Patrizia's.

Thus, the novel ended before he could actually make up to Patrizia - tho he was very repentant and well on his way to being a good husband by then. Still, I wish we had seen more, for I am not sure if he just changed the subject of his emotional dependency from Rosamund to Patrizia.

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Now, for the good:

Rosamund, what a villain! Omg, we all hate Rosamund. I think she's one of the greatest villains because we don't pity or side with her, we loathe her. And her actions are not hollow, she's got a complicated background as well.

Get ready: she's gonna do worse. Some sick shit is gonna be revealed and we're gonna hate her even more.

But fear not: Our MC won't take it lying down. She's gonna do her worst as well. Patrizia commands the whole fucking story. She is absolutely worthy of being the MC, and of being the fucking ruling queen. Emperor can step down from his duties, bye bye.

I think what I absolutely LOVE about her narrative is how she achieves everything by herself. She doesn't get her happy ending by luck or any other plot device, she works for it. She's smart and she's fierce, she gathers allies and she's not above doing some really shady things against Rosamund.

Once she gets the upper hand against the villain, Rosamund will be reduced to a pathetic little girl struggling to survive. And failing hard.

I was really happy with how Patrizia dealt with Rosamund. She stepped up and plotted heavily to get the proof she needed to get that piece of shit executed. Best fucking revenge scene ever.

Also, loved how Rosamund's allies got the chop well. Fucking assholes.

As for Petrolina, loved her ending, with a loving husband of her own.