SPOILER
ML has loved FL from the very beginning. They got married under the Emperor’s orders, but later on he confessed that it was all just an excuse because he genuinely wanted to marry her. After that, their relationship actually progressed, but then more misery kept befall them. Their child died, and fl fell into another depressive state. For a while she seemed stable again, but then another tragedy hit. Seriously, this story is just misery upon misery…
And eventually in the recent chapters the author actually killed fl, and ml went mad HAHA. I can’t anymore.
One thing’s for sure tho ml truly loves and cares deeply for his wife, and he’s always protecting her behind her back. You’ll actually end up feeling bad for ml because he’s just such a good person, while on the other hand, fl doesn’t really get much character development.

Ive read the novel up to ch 190 and i can say with confidence that ml DOES love fl. There are happy moments... but it is a tragic story for sure. Anyway, the novel is super good.