as from what i understand in the spoiler i read, dio was one along with the king who agreed to kill nina. sir leo was the one who slit her throat, her brother the priest (not yet shown in the manhwa) was the one who suggested to kill her, the king agreed to kill her too. I didnt read any involvement of the grand duke alec (this is why i also root for him to be nina's endgame), though i didnt read the whole novel and only depends on the spoiler i read. And all of this is for the reason to save the saintess. Remember the myth about the first king who sacrificed his concubine for the sake of his people? Like 1 will be sacrificed to save the 99. It's what happened with Nina. it seems that the king wants to save the saintess bc he loves her. As the saintess reached the Iberia, she automatically became the queen even w/o the people's knowledge. So for the saintess not to die for the sake of the 99, Nina became that 1 instead. She was sacrificed in place of the saintess. And it was her brother who suggested it. Though i still dont grasp the full reason why it had to be Nina. Then she was forgotten later on after all that. The only one who remembers her and was guilty of her death was Bea, the king's advisor. The one with the brown hair and glasses?? He's the only onw who thought it was unfair to kill an innocent child though he cant do anything abt it as it's the king's decision that will prevail at the end of the day.
I cant tag u on the spoilers i read but it's just one of the comments here! I just summarized it according to what i understand. Hope this helps. 。◕‿◕。
Yep. Thjs is why it's gonna hurt bc in nina's 2nd life (though it isnt nina's soul), she became close with the very people who had all direct hand in her death. ☹ After reading the spoiler, i cant anticipate the romance anymore like Leo was the one who slashed her throat in nina's first life, the king agreed to her death as suggested by her brother the priest, dio also agreed to kill her. Bea (scholar, the advisor) was the only one who thought it was unfair and the only one who felt guilty until the end, but cant do anything against the king's decision. All for this bc of the king's love foe the saintess. He doesnt wanna sacrifice her so they sacrifice Nina instead (remember the legend abt the 1st king where he sacrificed his lover for the people). It's gonna be sad. I enjoyed the harem though
read from a spoiler that all of them had a hand to her death in her past life. this is gonna hurt so bad bc their relationship rn in the present is just so good and precious