It Is grooming and hes known asha since he was a baby it literally tells u in the first like 6 chapters. He tried to change imperial law so he could marry Asha when he was like 10 and asha was 4, thats weird, a ten yr old should NOT be crushing on a 4 year old.
I don’t know about your morals, but both of them are literally children under 10 years old. It would be weird and wrong if one was already above legal age while the MC was still a minor, but that’s not the case here. There’s no grooming involved because he liked the MC when they were both kids, and he just stayed true to those feelings as they grew up.
The only thing he actually did wrong was manipulating the situation and isolating the MC from other people, basically leaving him with no other choice on who to marry or even meet. That part was definitely messed up. But that’s a separate issue from grooming though. He’s the emperor, so he had the power and authority to control the situation like that.
See ur morals are all wrong bc with that kinda logic there's nothing wrong with a 16 year and a 9yr old getting together bc neither are above legal age and the age gap is the same as in the manhwa. Its not all black and white when it comes to grooming. When u were ten I can assure u, u weren't crushing on 4 year olds. In the manhwa he legit fell for him when he was a TODDLER.
They also made it so clear in the manhwa that kael was way smarter and mature for his age, while also leaning into the narrative that the asha was naive and childlike. Its not event he age gap that's weird its how the author chose to portray it.
If u go with the manhwa timeline then kael was in love with asha when he was 16 and asha was still 10 thats weird and he was def old enough to know better. He was genuinely plotting to marry a ten year old??? Is that not weird to u??The way he isolated and manipulated him is textbook grooming too and doesnt help his case along with the age gap.
Even if u don't admit its grooming, you should atleast be able see how weird the dynamic is. You cant say how the author set up their dynamic isn't the LEAST bit weird
Let’s not mix up the ages of the characters. Since you were the one who mentioned that their first encounter happened when they were 10 and 4 years old, then let’s stick to that context. Because for me, if they had met at 16 and 10, then of course that would be weird and wrong. That could be considered grooming. A 16 years old already has the capacity to think of wrongful intentions, and we both agreed that a 10year sold is still a child. There’s clearly a power imbalance there since 16 is already close to maturity.
Now back to the actual topic. the ML first met the MC when he was 4, which means both of them were still children. Regardless of the ML’s maturity due to being the heir to the throne, he was still only around 4–5 years ahead at the time in terms of education. Let that sink in. Also, when the 10 year old expressed wanting to marry the 4 year old, there were supervised adults around, especially the MC’s uncle (priest).
I understand why people have doubts because the ML really did manipulate situations later on. But if they had actually met at 16 and 9–10 years old, then I would completely agree with you that it would be grooming. However, that is simply not the case here.
I don’t know about the ML’s conscience or intentions, but the MC is also academically smart and didn’t even consider the ML as romantic material until much later, around age 24. And considering that there were no explicit acts throughout those years, then it really does not fit the definition of grooming.
I’m not saying the relationship is morally perfect. Morally questionable? Sure, that can be debated. But people are changing the context by using different ages than what was actually presented in the story.
Also I consider it more of a power manipulation more than grooming. Since the ML wanted to get the MC with legal procedure, no explicit act before marriage, and he separated the MC with others so that he can't get married during the preparation. I hated that part but It's a tactical decision and during that time MC was around 19 when he got deployed from the countryside (I forgot the places wehre he got demoted).
I am agreeing with you at some parts. Anyways I like debating w u HAHSHAHAHHS it makes this story more interesting.
yall it's not grooming, they met when mc is 7 and ml is 13. remember mc is 24 and ml is 30. they are children when the ml fall in love please bfr. they have literal 6 years age gap and not fkng until the wedding.