thank you tiktok

Same. My heart aches for him. But, well, I read the first chapter again after that chapter. And got irritated by him again. He realize his love for her too late.

Same here, I was hating on him for not calling her by name the entire time so that part hit really hard for me

i thinkkk it’s not that he realized his love for her too late, rather the love was there from the start. BUT given his nobility and conditioning, his love became flawed because he had that instinct to fulfill his royal duties that took her for granted. it was shown from story how he saw her as somewhat his salvation, and given how jiwoo emphasized that he told her how important his bloodline his tells me that he really didn’t have any choice from the start because he was raised that way, to act like a prince and to become an emperor some day and to be the face of the royal family with his own heir. this is the result of his upbringing, even before jiwoo came to that world. it’s not like i’m giving him an out in this because he is a selfish prick!! if he really loved jiwoo, he would sacrifice too. he wants his crown, his empire, and his healer of a lover at the same damn time meanwhile in the expense of others. but this selfish nature from him really speaks like a royal, because he is. and like what the heck!! when jiwoo wanted his comfort, he chose to dance with another woman with a higher status. :/ he wanted to maintain his public face of the royal family, and while we didn’t really get much of this, possibly the gossips that he was entertaining a commoner was getting to him. he IS an asshole in many ways, but it’s crucial that we understand where this many ways is coming from, he is a royal, and given that jiwoo’s condition on how she can’t conceive a child, may have amplified this sense of duty of his. am i making sense idk i haven’t slept. aleph may you atone for your major fuck up forever

i’ll also add that i theorize that maybe he’s aware of how selfish he’s being with jiwoo, but he was too blinded by his duties to care. only when jiwoo left did he realize how much it has affected her, and how grave it is. it’s another flaw that he can’t measure these nuances because of, again, his upbringing. he sees everything holistically, to see the world from beneath his feet. but because of that, he doesn’t know how to feel one singularity which is the emptiness that jiwoo feels for their love, even though for him it was real. so when she left, that forces him to finally see her as an individual, where everything didn’t matter anymore that he’s now willing to sacrifice his image and even their ties with the church, because again he loves her. but that is again, another flaw of his, he doesn’t know how to go forward, he even contemplated if how should he beg, would it be enough. it’s his first time to finally face a problem that he cannot solve with his imperial status, where he’s standing equally with the commoner who once loved him.

I actually understand where you're coming. I mean, I thought of it too. I'm just so mad at him and hurting for him. I even wished for a side where in he has his own happy ending

i’d love for him to get a side story honestlyyy i loveee complex characters that are complex because of their background! and i love it when it’s written quite well! makes up for a good discussion to analyze them ヾ(☆▽☆)