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He got married out of duty, not for love. Even the Countess has acknowledged this fact and is why she is abusive towards Rolicia. Is he a coward for not protecting his daughter? Yes, but that was/is the way of the nobility. He could have easily ignored Rolicia's presence and never took her in. Instead, he chose to take her in and also educated her. She wears nice clothes and has more freedom than even her sister if you really think about it. While I would have preferred him giving her an inheritance and sending her off towards her own destiny...he also knows how intelligent his daughter truly is and knows she is strong enough to endure such a nasty Princess. The focus from the readers shouldn't be on the father or his incompetence, but on Rolicia and how her intelligence and inner strength will see her victorious against the odds. It is easy to allow one's emotions sway them into immediately disliking this story, but thinking logically is seemingly much harder for many readers who are missing the point entirely.