I don’t understand about the author trying to portray the ml as the good guy ? Idk if it’s cause I lack media literacy but i haven’t seen that so far at all also this is a story that as far as I can tell will have grey characters so it makes sense for the ml to think that way although it’s annoying .. (￣∇￣")
I mean he isn't a good nor a bad person. Though my guess is that as the story progresses, he will learn to be a better person. It's more fun this ngl-I prefer characters having arcs rather than being perfect from the start
Having a saint for a character is not exactly interesting for most stories, specially if it makes no sense for the context and culture of the story... If you want those characters it would be easier to look into more romance oriented novels with prince charming and such.
His views wouldn't matter as much if she weren't his slave and there wasn't such a massive power imbalance. His morally gray character and the "slavery as spoils of war" trope make it hard to overlook but that's just my opinion ofc
He is being shown as a good guy because he acts decently regardless of having the opportunity to use and abuse a woman he's attracted to that was given as a slave. We already saw how socially acceptable it was to denegrate a woman in her position, so he was the best option. He is apathic to the reasoning of the MC because he literally has not being given a reason to care: she was never a priority for him before, and now she's just a maid he took in and is curious to see what she'll do with her life, but he continues to live his life and his goals are not related to her. The problem you have is the setting the story takes place in. The setting is cruel, there are novels with much more mild and amicable settings for the MC and their lead.
As I've stated, I don’t like when authors elevate male characters by contrasting them with 'bad men.' It’s not a setting issue.
totally get where you're coming from! And don’t worry—you’re definitely not lacking anything here. there's a comment below that does a good job explaining how the author is portraying the ML as a 'good guy' in a nuanced way.
Oooh okay okay I get it
Learn to be a better person? So far he hasn’t done anything wrong
This is why I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. The ml is fineeee, but he has problematic views. He doesn’t understand why she would ‘throw her life away’ and thinks she’s only trying to protect her pride. She’s afraid of being assaulted, which he knows because he saw how the men around him behaved when the emperor was deciding where she would go. He saw her smiling, even though she was marrying an old man, and concluded she was just being greedy. Then he assumed her life would be better if she would simply let things be. Five chapters in, and this isn’t for me. I like character development, but it’s clear the author is trying to portray the ML as a good guy just because he didn’t assault her. I can’t stand when authors highlight bad men to make the ML look better