Am I the only one who thinks this is strange?

Yes you are the only one.

Whereas I find it odd that you'd call a kid a groomer simply because he has a romantic fixation on a younger kid and then apply real-world crimes into a historical fantasy BL about a ruler who is madly in-love with one of his subjects and does what he can to legally marry him while never forcing himself on him.

The guy doesn't need to force himself on Asha for it to still be grooming behavior, even putting aside the significant age gap when he first took an interest (13yo and 7yo, generously). I'm not knocking the story bc I genuinely do enjoy reading it, but it inadvertently checks a LOT of concerning boxes.

Taken verbatim from a site about it, here are some common characteristics of grooming-

- Abusers will attempt to physically or emotionally separate a victim from those protecting them and often seek out positions in which they have contact with minors. (Emperor keeps Asha in the palace as long as possible and instructs his men to specifically prevent Asha from coming into contact with his family at the ball)

- Abusers attempt to gain trust of a potential victim through gifts, attention, sharing “secrets” and other means to make them feel that they have a caring relationship. (This one isn't too bad imo, but emperor does tend to give sweets/presents/jewelry to Asha freely)

- Desensitization to touch and discussion of sexual topics: Abusers will often start to touch a victim in ways that appear harmless, such as hugging, wrestling and tickling, and later escalate to increasingly more sexual contact, such as massages or showering together. (Emperor taught Asha that handholding in the palace is mandatory and likely made a similar excuse for greeting kisses; Asha's been so desensitized at this point that even though he doesn't recognize his relationship w the Emperor as romantic, he will sleep together with him, allow him to hold and touch him freely, push him down etc)

Again, I like the story anyways (and you can make the excuse of different historical context somehow justifying it), but it's good to recognize it for what it is in case you run into something like it irl.

Leave IRL stuff to educational or informative works that are meant to spread that message. This PSA is misplaced and does a disservice to those of us who just want to enjoy a silly romance.

I respect the time you took to look it up, but there wasn't a need for it.

First of all, what the emperor is doing is clearly an obsession, not a "romantic fixation." If you can’t see that for yourself, then red must be your favorite color. Moreover, the fact that you feel the need to tell us to separate real-life issues from fiction sends the wrong message. While not explicitly stated, you’re essentially implying that grooming can be overlooked just because it’s fictional. Imagine the precedent that sets for people.

In what way is it a disservice? Is it because it shattered your skewed fairytale version of what is actually a complex story that goes beyond your OTP? I never said you had to agree with me, but you’re completely missing my point. Furthermore, how is this "PSA" misplaced? Are you suggesting these concerns should only be addressed in educational or informational works? That doesn’t seem right at all.

Also, I never said he was forcing him. I said he was manipulating and coercing him, which is completely different. I also pointed out that grooming isn’t limited to minors (peer-to-peer grooming exists—do your research), so your argument about them both being underage doesn’t hold up.

What I said about my hopes for the story’s development isn’t as complex as you’re making it out to be. I was just hoping the author would give Asha time to reflect on his feelings, instead of defaulting to the typical "forgive and forget" scenario we see in so many series.

Lastly, I never intended to knock or hate on the story. I just wanted to highlight that the emperor's behavior should be recognized as unhealthy.

I find it brave that you're willing to state your feelings so openly though. However, something I’d like to point out is that there are more polite ways to disagree. Maybe start with better reasoning and fully read through everything before starting an argument you can’t win.

Here’s the revised version with improved grammar and flow:

First of all, what the emperor is doing is clearly an obsession, not a "romantic fixation." If you can’t see that for yourself, then red must be your favorite color. Moreover, the fact that you feel the need to tell us to separate real-life issues from fiction sends the wrong message. While not explicitly stated, you’re essentially implying that grooming can be overlooked just because it’s fictional. Imagine the precedent that sets for people.

In what way is it a disservice? Is it because it shattered your skewed fairytale version of what is actually a complex story that goes beyond your OTP? I never said you had to agree with me, but you’re completely missing my point. Furthermore, how is this "PSA" misplaced? Are you suggesting these concerns should only be addressed in educational or informational works? That doesn’t seem right at all.

Also, I never said he was forcing him. I said he was manipulating and coercing him, which is completely different. I also pointed out that grooming isn’t limited to minors (peer-to-peer grooming exists—do your research), so your argument about them both being underage doesn’t hold up.

What I said about my hopes for the story’s development isn’t as complex as you’re making it out to be. I was just hoping the author would give Asha time to reflect on his feelings, instead of defaulting to the typical "forgive and forget" scenario we see in so many series.

Lastly, I never intended to knock or hate on the story. I just wanted to highlight that the emperor's behavior should be recognized as unhealthy. I admire you for bravely stating your opinion, however, something I’d like to point out is that there are more polite ways to disagree. Maybe start with better reasoning and fully read through everything before starting an argument you can’t win.

This damn website not allowing me to delete the reply before this one with grammar errors.

I get your point !! Though I’d like to advise that if someone continues to comment hate on your replies/thoughts on this manhwa, just ignore and don’t engage since most of readers will stick to their opinions. And they might go as far as replying more hate and even send you private messages on here. I know you want to stand your ground but better leave reviews like this on the official reading platform. People who read on sites like this (i’m not judging y’all okay, i read illegally too) would go crazy if you try to shatter their fantasy. Just saying this bc i learned the hard way when i left a brutally honest comment on a popular manhwa

Who Is This Diva

What you did was called using your critical thinking skills. Idk why the other person got so defensive. I actually do agree with what you Said. I felt the same while reading this. Especially when the handholding scene happened but you explained it so nicely. I love how you put in the effort to look it up and then type it out. I'm glad that people like you still exist. I aspire to be more like you!!!

I think it's interesting to read both povs about the situation in this particular manhwa where the line is kinda blurred due to their special historical/royalty circumstances and their meeting since childhood. Some can see it as grooming and some don't. It all depends on the aspects of their dynamics that one focuses on.

Imo i think he was more like a toxic person than a groomer when he was younger. It has been made clear in the story that Kiel wasn't normal since he was a kid, lots of people close to him have mentioned it and still behave cautiously around him. He took advantage of Asha's innocence for sure to hold hands and kiss but Kiel was also an inmature kid at that time and was a spoiled prince on top of that, used to get whatever he wanted. An insane kid like that would naturally want to do those kind of things.

And also one can't expect that someone crazy like Kiel who was obsessed since 10 years old would magically forget his crush with Asha as soon as Kiel became an adult. That's not how it would work in this case.

Regardless, it has also been mentioned that Kiel kept his distance while Asha was still a minor, and demoted him when he thought that Asha rejected his proposal (by falling asleep mid conversation, not even a real answer lol). Which is more a childish and toxic behavior than grooming imo too. Kiel himself explained that he did it to make Asha miss him and want to come back, so it wasn't to isolate him, Asha was just fine living where he was demoted. So in summary there is no need to think too much about it in this story. It is scandalous indeed as the title says but also lighthearted and that's why people can just chill and enjoy the drama

Ur so fcking eloquent and your opinions are so right i love it you’re hot

I don't think this is an either/or thing. It doesn't seem unusual given the setting and makes sense premise of the relationship between the characters, and I don't really see it playing out any other way - AND it's still a solid example of grooming.

And it's also not illegal to both understand that and still enjoy the story (I still do, I love me a good psychotic lead lmao), it's just good to be in the habit of recognizing these behaviors and not completely normalizing them irl

*edit to include that there are a lot of romanticized parts of irl history that 100% don't hold up to modern scrutiny. A thing can both be romantic in context AND still kinda unhealthy in retrospect lol. It's ok to see it both ways simultaneously

Agreed! People here are so sensitive (?) or closed minded. Having disagreement and different takes on fiction is normal, yet instead of being polite about it, they bark. It's crazy. Love how I found few sane people from this discussion alone lmao

Actually the issue is why you felt the need to bring up an irrelevant subject to an obviously fictitious story. I disagreed with what seems to be an attempt to prompt manufactured concern. You didn't bring it up to help someone who's in need, you did it to show off, whether it be pedantic or basic copy-paste, it served no actual purpose
other than to flex. That is what I take offense with the most. And due to that I gave you a very pointed, yet cordial response.

Uhh, their comment was in agreement with OP in response to you disagreeing with them. It's kinda weird that you're saying that they're flexing when they're simply adding substance to explain their pov.

"This is just fiction, leave reality out of it!"

The fantasy of dark romance is save heaven for some, so I understand why others don't like it when their favourite fiction is criticised. However, that doesn't warrant you to stop others from having discussion about it. Every readers are allowed to have different perspective and reaction. You may disagree but it's unreasonable to shut people down, saying that they're being unnecessary.

"There's no real victim here, this is just silly story so let's not talk about it or else you're just flexing about how morally superior you are!"

We don't need to wait for someone to be a victim to finally talk about complex issue. We don't need the story to serve the correct purpose. As long as the theme is there, that's already a topic to talk about. It's good that you can recognise what's wrong or right, reality and fiction but it's generous to think everyone is. For some, this could be a learning experience so if others want to talk about it, let it be. It's not necessarily a hate or an attack. It's just simply acknowledging and relating to real life situation whilst still separating fiction from reality.

Point is, while yes it's fiction, you can enjoy it while calling out the negative context. There are people who still can enjoy this story and are aware of the problematic stuff while there are those who enjoyed this blindly and didn't see how those issues were problematic.

I'm like you, I enjoyed this story and is aware of what's bad. You and I understand it's just fiction serving certain fantasy, we don't endorse those irl but we also don't care pointing it out because it's a silly romance anyway. Even so, I don't mind if other readers want to discuss about it, even the translator was curious about this specific topic. So let people speak.

Let people have discussion as long as they're being civil. Again, disagreement doesn't warrant you to stop people from having discussion. Disagreement also means ignoring.