Misunderstanding? Please like what did the father expect. since he always ignored the Etienne of course Etienne turned to his mother. A child (especially a weak one) has to somehow survive. And I am pretty sure that Etienne might have tried to break free from his mother for obvious reasons but then he wouldn't have anyone to turn to who would protect him. It really is just the father being an asshole. Tru he might never have wanted to have him but it happened. And he abandoned Etienne. Like what does he even expect.
He even knew that the empress would stop at nothing to get what she wants. How could he expect Etienne to be safe with her.
(づ￣ ³￣)づ him and his dad's drama it's getting a bit annoying for... like I just feel annoyed by the misunderstanding (〜￣△￣)〜