I’d agree if not for the fact the author themself wants it like this; they’ve already gone the shounen-ai route for the novel so them wanting the story to touch on R18 is just them touching up on the story, we just lack the means to access and read the novel
I disagree with your statement only because the comic has skipped over SO MUCH that it is ruining everything about the main couple instead of helping it. Now it's rape, not even dubcon, instead of keeping it to longing and conflicted feelings. It's icky. People who have read the novel have even said so. So unfortunately I understand the desire to show them having a deeper relationship, but they failed to pull it off well.
Unpopular opinion: This is one of the few stories I feel it would work better as a shounen-ai than yaoi. All the other characters are likeable and well written...Then there is the duke. Like, I love all the heroes, his friend players, the servants... it give me a vibe like TCF or ORV. But the duke is JUST starting to become a little better (but still SA him when he was unconscious). It would be better if they were frienemies with bromance