Responses
Is it really a five year age gap? Isn't the king around 20 and Nina 15? I get that she had a previous life and stuff but i couldn't respect any 20 year old that gets with someone who's around 15. But yeah even if I was wrong with the ages, there is such a huge power imbalance and the king also seems to treat her like property so I don't think that'll be solved anytime soon. Aside from that, I've always thought nina was the king's relative or even daughter because both of them have the same eye color so I'm extra creeped out by the idea that they might have a romantic relationship.
I’m not bothered by the age gap. It’s only 5 years, and would only be icky if the king tried to put the moves on her now. I’m more concerned by the power imbalance between Nina, who is a mere maid, and the King who has the power over life and death. But I also have to say, the king already showed creeper behavior when she was only 14. Might not have been his intention but it still made me think of him as a grooming predator (in a way). But I also understand that with him being the king, he wouldn’t concern himself with thoughts about how his treatment of Nina could impact her reputation negatively in the palace. I hope this will be addressed as I always liked stories about social/class gaps in romantic relationships and the ensuing problems because of it. I’ve never read the novel so I don’t know if this will be glossed over or not.