I agree, though while I'm not saying that you're wrong about being pissed off at Arthur and Tessia, we also gotta remember that they are (or at least Tessia is) hormonal teenagers going through puberty, while forced into a war and leadership position at a young age at the same time. I have nothing to say about Arthur, in fact, I agree that he shouldn't be with Tessia, not just the fact that he's twice her age, but also keeping major secrets like his identity leads to a much bigger betrayal and hurts the other much much worse. The lack of communication will lead to the downfall of his relationships, similarly to how his parents reacted to his confession, but leading Tessia on like this is a major no-no.
Tessia on the hand, she is canonically 18 (iirc) who had a relatively cushy childhood with little hardships. While yes, she's being extremely immature, but also she isn't fully developed mentally. Why she is placed in such a high leadership role in a war is beyond me other than the creator wanting her to have a bigger spotlight and she's supposedly talented. But yes, she IS immature, considering her age and background, and her being the damsel-in-distress is unfortunately a very common trope, especially for these kinds of stories
Ultimately, both are innately human (you know what I mean) and those human emotions are what causes them to deviate from their logic. They KNOW they shouldn't be running off like that, but the intense feeling causes misjudgement and skew their perspectives. I hope that this at least helps to ease a bit of your frustration, I'd love to hear your side though
I definitely have grace for Tessia as a character, her behaviour is understandable for a young woman her age my main issues lie with how she is used within the narrative of the story, not with her character itself. As for Arthur, hormonal teen body or not, that is literally no excuse. He still has the mind and soul of an adult. A old and wise one at that. It he really is that horny or smth he can rub one out in the privacy of his own tent idc. He has ZERO excuses to be be feeling romantically for Tessa. ZERO. She is for all intents and purposes like a little sister to him. Normal people are not attracted to their siblings. -_-
Honestly fair enough, it's unfortunately a very common trope in these kinds of stories that the girl becomes the damsel in distress.
And I agree there's no excuse for Arthur's case, I'm just providing a possible explanation as to why he's frustratingly indecisive. Him being old doesn't equate to his intelligence and him being wise doesn't mean he's always logical. In fact, we see him being extremely emotional in both lives about the people he cares about and his goals. It's just that in this life, he has much MUCH more to lose than his previous life where he runs on hatred and vengeance, that his emotions run faster than rationality.
There is absolutely NO reason why he should've fallen for Tessia though, one doesn't need to be in love with a (insert gender) to care for them deeply. It is, like you said, used for the narrative that romantic love is the end game. I was hoping that he would gently let her down like Kathlyn and Lilia, but you know, plot
Also Arthur lowkey pissing me off rn idk. Tessa too. Like, no matter how much she grows stronger she’s only ever used as a plot device to make the mc get emotional and be a Knight in shining armour. Also I just don’t like that there is romance in the first place. It’s gross. Sir. You were in your 30s or 40s or smth when you died and you maintained that mental age into this new world and have known Tess since she was a literal toddler. Falling in love with her is weird asf. Seeing her as a little sister would have made more sense p. Also I’m not saying mc never is allowed to find love, but anyone he knew as a kid or who knew him as a kid should just be off limits idk. Fall in love with a hot middle aged baddie later down the line man, why are you kissing a teenager bye. Σ(っ°Д °;)っ