King was gagged lmaoooo now it all make sense. He wasn't favoring Rishar over Etienne. He was favoring his crush over the empress who forced herself on him and the kids were just collateral damage... sad how in Etienne pov he blames himself so much when in reality, his parents were just trash and irresponsible. I'm so proud of Rishar for giving the king that reality check!! Also, can we bring back his father cause DAMN he was so hot..