That's what I was thinking actually, it seems very possible. Kai does not seem like tyrant, he's acting like a regular child so far. On the other hand so called "heroine" Edith is not heroine-like at all, and very calculative. Sounds possible.
Except why then didn't that happen in the original version of the novel? Because Kai's personality was the same in both cases (so still a tyrant because the FL called him a tyrant based on this very behavior he's displaying NOW) and apparently Princess Edith still existed as well. Or did HER personality change? Also why DIDN'T the crown go to the Grand Duke? You seem to be implying it had something to do with Edith but don't explain how. But I like your explanation here about why this version of the novel might appear to be different in practicality from how one would view it as an outsider when reading it. Your theory doesn't (at least at first glance) base the inherent differences on Kai's personality.
That's just it. I was saying based on Kai's personality (right now because he's still a child), he's not a tyrant. He's shown to be a bratty brother and a ride child but from the few scenes that we've seen him acting as king/emperor/whatever you wanna call him, he's been a model monarch. Not in the sense that he's actually doing his job well )because he's still 12 or 13 at most and only been doing this for a year), but in the sense that he puts on a serious, work demeanor and actively tries to do it well. It's the attitude that matters here. The MC calling Kai a tyrant is absolutely fair because he acts like a complete jerk to her, but only her. He's shown no untoward behavior in any situation so far unless his sister is directly involved.
Edith, on the other hand, had been shown to be absolutely cunning. She'll put others down and get her way while maintaining her perfect and kind princess facade. I'm not saying the novel is wrong or had changed. I'm saying that if it was told from a narrator's third person perspective, then all those events could seem to be true. Kai is perceived to be a tyrant by the populace. He's a rude brat and has been shown to not pick up Edith's manipulations of the situation. With his personality, even if he tries to do his job well and behaves seriously during his job hours, all it would take is a bit of manipulation that is so common in these villain(ess) stories for him to be the ultimate bad guy for Edith to rise to the top.
As for the crown issue, I don't understand your confusion. The crown didn't go to the Grand Duke because his brother's son was found. Otherwise, without a husband, Edith likely would not have been even considered for the throne. The crown then would have gone to the Grand Duke with the (in their minds at the time, non-existent prince nor) princess eligible to take the throne. This, of course, wouldn't happen if there is another male with a position higher than the Duke but lower than Kai's.
No. She called him a tyrant even before she entered the novel. Like that Creusa Hime account on Facebook said.
Also I was asking about the first version of the novel before the sister rewrote it. Because it wouldn't make sense for Edith to both not have existed and not have done anything to claim the throne in either version (if her personality HADN'T been changed between them). In other words, if you are telling me that you aren't saying her personality had changed in the sister's rewrite, things actually make *less* sense. On the other hand, if you are referring to my comment about how you seemed to be explaining that things might appear different while living in the novel compared to what readers see on the surface, I still don't understand your own confusion. After all, I wasn't saying anything had changed from this second version, either, when I made that remark. I was merely pointing out that what we see on the surface is indeed often different from what goes on underneath it.
Finally, if you don't think Edith had anything to do with the Duke not inheriting the throne then I'm even more confused as to why you pointed out that *Kai* being there gives her time to find a husband, especially when you mentioned nothing about age.
Ah, then I misunderstood as I didn't realize you were referencing what her sister had wrote prior to the current story. The story of the tyrant king marrying a princess from another kingdom may have the same characters but the story itself no longer exists. It's a work that was being worked on but changed in it's process to be something else in addition to switching the main characters. So you can call it her personality changing if you would like but that Edith exists in the new story as much as the current male lead existed in the previous story as a personality. Edith as his other half sister was never even mentioned nor is Alicia, herself, in the second half of the book. The main character also is actually Ares, at least in name, unless that's a typo on the translators part (though I don't think so considering that Kai means sea, to my knowledge, while Ares is the god of brutality in war).
However, for argument's sake, let's say that the main character in the work in progress novel wasn't actually the current Ares but the current Kai just named Ares. Let's also say that the Edith from the published novel not only exists but also has the same personality as the current Edith. Why wouldn't she try to take the throne then? She still could have tried. If we go by my previous (summed up) statement of how Kai(or Ares in this case) is a shithead but not actually a tyrant king and Edith manipulated that, we still have the final character that could perform a real butterfly effect here, the previous female lead.
The foreign princess is supposed to have almost magically changed the male lead's personality, ridding him of his title as the tyant king through love. If we are still going on perceptions being skewed here, she could just as easily be Edith's political match as Edith being a political manipulator. Edith doesn't take the throne in this case because the foreign princess is also either competing for it or she somehow genuinely fell in love with the male lead of that novel and wants to stop Edith either way.
Lastly, that age thing was entirely a guess on my end of how I've seen a lot of these royal succession stories go. For a woman to have a chance of succeeding the throne, she needs to be married and all that. It hasn't been discussed on how succession works in this world so aside from Edith being knocked down the succession line, we don't know if the Grand Duke would have inherited the throne of if she would. I shouldn't have spoken about my guess in a place where I was using facts unless I clarified it more so I do apologise about that one.
I would also like to say that I, of course, don't know what's going to happen any more than anyone else here does. This is all speculation based on what I've seen so far and the common theme throughout this story: fooling perceptions/seeing thru them.
edith needs a husband to inherit the throne as she as a women cannot have the throne and the power that goes with it
and when she finds a husband then she would get rid of kai as she definitely doesn’t consider him as a real heir and since he doesn’t have kids yet than it all in her favor now
but for edith to inherit the throne and get rid of kai she needs a powerful husband like ares that doesn’t care about ruling a country or someone thst she can easily manipulate enough for her to have a child and be the puppet master before killing him off if the child is a boy
Seeing Kai and Edith makes me wonder if he really ends up being a tyrant or if that's how she made it seem as justification to take the throne. Think about it. By rights of succession, it seems like the crown would have gone to the Grand Duke, her uncle, not Princess Edith. In the story, the tyrant king isn't taken down until *after* Edith ends up with the male lead. Edith needs a husband to take the throne. Kai being there, for now, gives her time to get one.
The male lead shows no interest (so far) in the country's political or social spheres meaning that not only is he the perfect husband in terms of looks, virility, noble bloodline, skill, hero status, and general popularity, but he also would allow his wife to take control of matters he has no interest in. Marrying him would not just give Edith power as a Queen but (more importantly) as a King as well.
It may seem like simple bullying towards our MC, but I think she's just trying to keep power from the only other person who threatens it and doesn't have the status of an emperor. A princess in name is still a princess as princesses in that age get power from the families they were born into, the families that they marry into, and (rarely) their talents. Our MC is both talented and beautiful in addition to holding the title of princess because of her brother. This makes her a valuable match for powerful families as they would not have to negotiate with her maternal family for her hand and will make a close connection with the palace.