Chapter 103

It’s funny to me how Cesare came up with this entire scheme and got his cousin to basically “sell the sacred royal bloodline,” but he didn’t expect his family to support him to this extent. (F his parents for abandoning him as a child, though.) This really puts into perspective how fkd he and Adele would have been if they’d been found out much earlier in the story. Cesare 100% would have been jailed or exiled and Adele 100% would have been executed. I’m glad they’re outlining those consequences because when the story began and Cesare told her they would be fkd should they get found out, I’m not sure it was something people thoroughly grasped. I actually appreciate that more now because I think I’m one of the few people who could see the fkd up scene of him stomping on her foot, understand it was fkd up, and also actually grasped why he acted cruelly as well as what he was saying as he did that.

The way I saw it, the man grew up in High Society, with a nuance of the mindset we’ve all seen these nobles have. The plan he agreed to didn’t merely threaten his fortune, but also his freedom and potentially his life. In a situation where they have time constraint, and strict rules to follow, Adele mistakenly believed she was meant to endure being mistreated and abused by her instructor. Not only did that mess up the plan, but it set them back as well since she wouldn’t be able to come out into high society when she was meant to, further risking what was already at stake. Thus unfolded the stomping of the foot.

I think some people remember that moment as the main reason why they hate him. I personally remember that moment as a coherent reaction from a man in power, whose freedom was at risk because in his arrogance, he believed he could pull this entire scheme off (which he now only can because his family played their parts). It made Adele all the more interesting to me because I think she’s able to love Cesare because she sees him for exactly what he is and appreciates the way his mind works. I believe it’s those one-on-one conversations they sometimes had that truly got her to fall for him. Anyway, things like that get harder to grasp when we choose to read the story, not by judging the characters in the setting they’re meant for, but with our modern-day lense guiding how we should judge these characters.

I can’t wait for the whole thing to end so I can read it again. Consistency in a story isn’t always easy to find. Especially in characters who many dislike because they aren’t Prince Charming or a variation of what they call a “green flag”.