Also heads up I dont think he told her that he loved her cause she was under the impression he didnt. Her trauma doesnt disappear because oh he secretely love her. He isnulted her after childbirth, he insulted his child. He absolutley humiliated her and you think thats ok because he loved her and it was part of a plan. How hard would it have been to let her know that 'oh yeah elena im going to riun your selfesteem cause you months of trauma but dont worry i still love you'.
Well we see in chapter 39 and the second or first chapter that he insults her quite a lot. Its also mentioned in the comments that he had to neglect her and her child. So yeah also after child birth he says that this was a mistake. He means that he shouldnt have been so mean or something, but he doesnt clarify himself and he really ends up hurting the FL.
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The translator also has a website. Read the novel! NOW!
I'm not gonna justify the crown princes actions, honestly he's a douche, I hate him. Say what you want but as soon as the mc starts falling in love, Ima drop this shot faster then you can say lol (I swear when they start falling in love this is gonna be just like abandoned empress, were we just forgive all the shot the crown prince did in the past) ( ̄へ ̄)
The first time the female lead doesn't let her emotions or the attractiveness of the male lead distract her from her mission. I've read (and dropped) so many manhuas where within one day the fl becomes conscious of the ml as a man and stops being so badass or capable. I know that it can be frustrating seeing the fl completely miss the ml's feelings towards her but I love the subversion of tropes keeping this fl as fresh and reliable as she was in her introduction.
i see alot of ppl say who it was out of the blue that Eclis betrayed Penelope but really if u look at his character the story tracks. we know hes an obsessive person, really hes the classic yandere in any dating sim, overly attached, submissive and a toxic kinda love. and he seems to have gained a real hatred for the duchy especially because he thinks they keep causing penelope pain, weve also seen his immense jealousy (amplified when its about the crown prince) see when he was upset for days at a time bc Penelope had to postpone talking to him even though she was technically obligated to due to the princes rank. i think what he wanted was to either ruin Penelope or to create a huge divide between her and the family/ rest of the nobles. its why he encouraged his fellow people to sell the herbs, so it would get back to the duke and cause trouble for her, its also why he brought the real daughter back. it would cause a divide in the family and make him look good to them. he can then have penelope all to himself. its also why he didnt want his slave status to be removed, he wants to stay in the family so hes nearby and can keep an eye of everything. if she gets ruined in the process well then he no longer has to deal with class barriers keeping them separate.
obviously this is all my predictions but if you look at the character type of the yandere and the common traits then he does have alot. rather than the yandere who wants their partner to be happy and would do anything for them, Eclis seems to be the yandere who doesnt mind hurting their partner as long as it creates dependency.