
It'll be shown here much later on but Chases family is quite bad. They haven't treated Chase at all well since he was a child. Not to mention Grayson gaslighting Chase into believing that he spent his first rut with a dog, which made Chase fear dogs an ungodly amount.
Also before anyone questions whether it's forceful or consented on Josh's part whenever anything sexual happens, yes it is. The amount of times he thinks about kissing Chase again or if he should give in and experience the night they had before again are to many. But he doesn't force anything on Chase either.

If we judge how Ashya is in the novel she makes a great empress. Yes she doesn't have a strong family line to back her up but she's not a pushover. In the novel she gives the petty nobles a run for their money with how unbothered she is with their schemes to embarrass her at the ball. She also has the emperor to lean on when necessary. As well as Cecelia as her aide, once she becomes the duke of the Dupret house.
Hope the illustrator feels better soon! We are slowly getting to the fun parts I can't wait to see them when this comes back!