just realized that i worded that wrong and made the two statements contradict each other lmfaoo
anyway, just to clarify, im sick of the "you never know the worth until you lose it but then the victim gets to forgive them easily and they live happily ever after" trope, he wasn't trash tbh rather he was imperfect. he has flaws but the "he couldnt do it bc the people around him was getting killed" isn't exactly the root of it because first of all, he's a duke. considering the fact that there's only two ducal house in that empire and he had the backing of the strongest contender for the throne, he technically has more power than the family the fl came from.
rather i think it was because he was exposed to such great pressure of being a duke at a young age, he couldn't think of a way out and instead drowned in self-blame which endangered him and basically the entire empire (because his child ended up teaming with the enemy).
i just wanna clear up why i have mixed feelings for the ml lol
yes i agree with ppl defending the ml but at the same time, i hope he doesnt recieve her trust again very easily. I'd like to let him experience first hand how hard it is to be abandoned. more than anything, i hope the two of them heal from their pain and make use of their second chance well.
oh and kill the father painfully and slowly or else i might just isekai myself in there and do it myself, thank you very much