It was the emperor and empress that resented claude. Even his own brother turned against him because he was much more talented than the actual heir. His brother would mock him about how his parents (emperor and empress) thought low of him.
The only reason he banged that ho Penelope was to hurt Claude.
In spite when he became emperor his bro murdered his mother and this is what fuelled him to take revenge and usurp the throne.
Yeah but I feel the webtoon is very different from the light novel in certain parts. The spoiler forum said that Claude's mother was a maid and here in the webtoon in a flashback child Anasthasius said that "oh looks like his mother again beat him " saying that Claude's mother is abusive. Not to mention in the LN the shady brother is actually a notable magician's soul residing in his body (someone related to Lucas) so yeah things are very different here which is quite boggling
What's funny is that he has a thing for lucas that's why he is doing all this.
He even had the history books say Lucas "feel in love with him and went into to despair after his death" and Lucas is like "wtf?".
I'm kinda annoyed how they changed how Athy returned because Claude went psycho mode by holding lily hostage and threatening to kill himself.
Instead they just needlessly interjected Jeanette's character as a peacemaker to an emotionless Claude.
Currently in the webtoon version Jeanette is a very bland character---the little character development she had was when Ijekiel confessed his feelings about Athy and Jeanette who was pretty much suffering from princess syndrome realised that her life is not a fairytale and that everything she has been hoping for is only based on her own delusions and perhaps some motivation from Duke Alpheus who, sadly is now not very sure about his plan although he still wants to carry it out. But according to the novel readers her character turns black when she realises that things are not going to end up the way she wants, she starts becoming jealous and obnoxious.
I might pity Jeanette for being treated like a pawn and having a lonely childhood but remember when Athy ran away from home and then we were shown Jeanette self pitying herself and thinking how cold her supposed family was, literally blaming Athy. This way of thinking is very twisted. Instead of worrying for her sister who was a refugee and didn't even had a stable roof above her head, Jeanette only seems to think about herself. She is more twisted than we think she is
The root of his character isnt that he is a "cold-hearted" man , its more the case he a broken-hearted man. That felt more pain and despair from remembering his love of Diana than he does from the betrayal and abuse he endured from his "family" and that ho Penelope. Even the murder of his own mother didn't break him to extent that losing Diana did or even having memory of her.
Both him and Jeanette are very pitiful characters.
Jeanette because she has been fed a lie since birth to make her a strategic pawn. Even her conception was not stemmed from the love of her parents but their malice and twisted nature that led to them experimenting with black magic. Even her eye color is an illusion (the natural colour is green).
Jeanette wants so much to be "loved" , she bases her entire existence on and dreams of a "happy family" with two people she thinks are her dad and sister. Not understanding from the reader's (accurate) POV she is more a hinderance than actual "family" to them.
Her involvement in their life causes nothing but pain and misery. We know this from the original events in the novel and the current events occurring.
Therefore, it's understandable why she is disliked by many readers.
Jeanette doesn't understand the suffering caused just for her seeking out this delusional fantasy stemmed from the conniving whims of those fuelling it.
To fulfil her purpose in life of being a pawn, for the ambition and greed of her foster parents and her mother.
She wants so badly to believe in the lie she has been told of her origin and the fantasy "family reunion". Since, she is a lonely and lets be honest a pretty unremarkable child.
In a way Jeanette is greedy too. Although, naively so, because she desires to have what isnt hers even at the expense of breaking up claude and athy's relationship. Even if she may not be self aware of it. We know what she is capable of. It's why readers mostly dislike her and want her gone. We already know what happened to the MC in the novel when Jeanette got her "dream".
Claude is pitiful because, out of all the miserable memories and experiences he had in his life. the most heart breaking ones is when he was the happiest with Diana.
And the suffering of her death and memory of her, causes a worse pain than the abuse from he received from the empress as a child , the betrayal from his brother and ho fiance.
Killing his brother whom he once cared for etc.
Out of All the memories he chose to sell his soul for to banish, he chose his happiest.