beta
I don’t like how they made the former oppressed slave the villain. Like, none of the ruling class are opposing slavery and are perfectly happy with the twisted system they have. Why go out of the way to show how absolutely awful Rashta’s life was if she’s going to be made the evil home wrecker. What, was the former slave supposed to turn down the literal emporer when he wanted to sleep with her? Did the empress ever advocate for slaves rights? No? Then Rashta owed her no loyalty or consideration.
It feels so scummy to have the former slave be evil bc she stepped above her station, especially since Rashta becoming more unhinged and viscous is the result of isolation and manipulation by others of the ruling class. That redheaded woman who treated her like trash was actually rewarded and suffered no consequences for treating someone with no power so horribly.
I like the empress as a character, but there are no “good” people in this story. If a character exists in a story where slavery is an accepted system, and they do not at the very least, bare minimum, verbally oppose that system, then I can’t root for them. Personal opinion but the treatment of Rashta’s entire character in this feels too slimy for me to continue.