Honestly Helena isn't a bad villain, she is stuck in a shitty position because of those annoying men. I used to be pissed at her before and usually, when I hear the circumstances of individuals they tend not to be good/worthy of excusing the ways in which they played a role in the story.
But this is one of those cases where the circumstances explain why.
Right, I thought she is one of those antagonists who acts innocently but is secretly abusing the favor of others. But she isn't.
Ever since people knew that she is receiving special treatment despite being of low status, her reputation was ruined. Even if she tries to reject their advances, it doesn't stop the harassment from others. So the "safer" course of action is to be obedient.
Of course, this isn't necessarily the "right" choice because this will hurt Eris, but what else can she do anyway? Helena is smart enough to know that blind righteousness won't save anyone.
This complexity in her character is what mainly prevents me from... hating her. Of course, I side with Eris, so I just find the whole Helena situation frustrating and unfortunate.
It does hurt Eris but I don't see this going well for Eris either way. Whenever some other lady is stuck with the trashy prince or whenever she is the one who is stuck with that sadist just sucks.
Yeah I side with Eris as well, i love her and I would have ripped the beginning chapters Helena apart.
Surprisingly, I don't really find myself hating Helena. She has her own circumstances and set of goals, and... much like Eris, she's also trying to survive. She's well aware of what's happening around her, where she stands. Most of the time, Helena just chooses to feign ignorance to avoid conflict as much as possible. But that act is poison to Eris.
It just so happened that they are two entirely different people who will always clash. From Eris' perspective, Helena is just that type of person whom she can NEVER agree with.
If you think about it, Helena never really did something that outright provoked Eris. The real piece of trash here is the prince, and to be honest, the royal family as well.