Pluto

Ofc they’re the only poc, where do you want to find another poc in an old European setting. Besides the poc are not shown in a negative light here, they were portrayed as beautiful, strong and free. The fact that the author even made the ML poc should tell you all you need to know, as Koreans most often have preference for white washing

I don't think fetishizing applies here. The meaning of that word does not work for this story no matter how hard I try to twist it. So I cannot agree with that. ^^;
As for the racism part, I can probably help explain as a writer myself:

The story's setting IS supposed to be racism including.
Different cultures bring along different baselines for behavior and what they deem normal, sophisticated and negative. And this story plays on the reallife idea from back in the day that, for example, people from south-eastern europe or such were savages and behaved like beasts (which probably stems from warcrys they met intruders with I can imagine, as well as the different housing and clothing aspect). People nowadays STILL think of some people as animal-like just because of different ways of living. Tho for this story this is taken quite literal and the people infact DO have animalistic features like fangs, cat-like pupils and so on. So in a way it's basically less racist than some in reallife calling someone an animal. XD
This story aspect is used to evoke emotions for both the good and bad guys in the story and create a happy moment when slaves get liberated or when you find you as a reader that people are simply not what you previously thought they would be like. Much like reallife racism: You discover most things you heard is bs if you bother checking. :D
This is also similar to the trope of: Heroine gets married to the rumored brutal duke of the north, but then she discovers he's a stoic but kind person who just doesn't like kissing aristocrat ass with nice words. (〜￣△￣)〜

Racism/Slavery has always existed, in all parts of the world. Depicting this in fictional pieces does NOT make the creator racist (because some people seem to think that, I feel the need to say this out loud).

Either way: Racist depictions are perfectly fine in specific settings, specific meaning it being used to portray someone/something as negative to enhance the emotional investment of the readers. It's similar in how it's used as the abusive partner to the MC being a common trope or a likable character in a movie going onto a futile mission to simply buy the hero a moment more for his important task (Lord of the Rings, etc.) and so on.
Stories NEED negative moments to shine, stories that do not have them are bland and boring, but those who do incorporate them are often grand stories that make people immersed into the world, the characters and ultimately may have people become a fan of the author. Latter of which is the goal of any author, mind you. You cannot win a steady fanbase by making run-of-the-mill content that uses chewed out tropes and is generall predictable and boring. XD
Most importantly to note tho: It's not about THAT there is racism, it about HOW it is dealt with by the in-story characters that matters. :)

I like this story kinda but it definitely is lol. The majority of manhwa set in this era makes a point that the countries with poc are animalistic and act on instinct. I dont think the author means to be racist but theres definitely some fetishizing in the works here