YOU ALL ARE FORGETTING SOMETHING, THE BEAST EMPIRE EXISTED LONG BEFORE, WHEN THE BEAST KING AND QUEEN WAS ATTACKED BY THE EMPIRE AND THEIR MAGES THE QUEEN WAS PREGNANT RIGHT? so she was sold and raised Javi in the slave center,that was way long ago,it was the reason the mage tower was locked with such restrictions so it was long ago before FL was born so even though Javi appears like a young boy because he didn't receive the stimuli to come out of the cocoon of his young self because of his mother's death and malnourished, but now that the beasts are recuperating and regaining strength and he has a purpose in life,which is FL, since she saved him from the slave traders Javi awakened,so Javi is actually older than FL in terms of age.
That's just a story backup to explain the grooming stop yapping
The entire plot is contradictory. Like the Female lead is strong in one chapter then ignorant and weak in Another chapter. The imperial family is scared of the duke family but then hate and think the duke is inferior. And what is this whole thing with the kid being the MC? I'm sorry but isn't this literally grooming ? If a male lead does this to a young girl, he's a creep but when a female lead does this then we're supposed to take that as adorable ?!