My thoughts

I understand the hate towards Emel. Estelle declared herself to him and he refused and left, returning a few months later as marquis. I understand. However, I also think that we should look at it from his point of view. The story is told from Estelle's point of view, but what about him? Emel was a knight who has been tasked with guarding Estelle since she was little. Then, she begins to grow and he begins to see her from another perspective, that of a young woman. At first, the love he felt for her was brotherly, but it starts to become the love of boyfriends. Imagine yourself, raising and caring for a girl or boy of whom you have no blood ties. This child starts to grow and you start looking at him / her not through the perspective of brotherly love, but through the perspective of wanting to be loved by him / her as a boyfriend / girlfriend. I believe that's what happened to Emel. Hence, if there are other factors. He was a simple knight. She is the daughter of an important family. She saw him through the lens of brotherly love first and he knew it. Of course, Estelle fell in love with Emel. But from his point of view, he believes that the love she expressed at first was a confusion of feelings. It was not true love. He thought she didn't want to lose him, not because she loved him, but because she would lose someone who had been with her for a long time. Of course, he needs to redeem himself, apologize for not taking her seriously. But I understand how difficult it must be to reconcile all of this.
Furthermore, Estelle knows only one side of his personality. From his point of view, the question is, "Would she love me when she found out about things that are not pretty?" or "Would she still have feelings for me even knowing the barbarities I did?".
Maybe he was afraid. Probably yes. But who wouldn't? I know it looks like I'm defending Emel. However, I think that going beyond the story and leaving the protagonist's point of view helps to think a little about these issues. But, as I said, these are my thoughts on reading.