RabbitMage

Could you please spoil the context

Lol, here's my copy-pasta

SPOILER WARNING
.

.

.

.

.

So, by the end of Book 1, Maxi is forced to leave Anatol to train as a mage. This decision is not made out of personal ambition or selfish desire, but rather it's part of a calculated plan that Princess Agnes thought of in order to protect Riftan from the political and legal consequences of his actions after he nearly beats Maxi's father to death. While this is arguably the only genuinely redeemable action Riftan ever takes on Maxi’s behalf, it places him in danger of punishment. Maxi’s departure is meant to protect him, *not herself.*

As expected, Riftan is upset by this decision and furiously lashes out at both Agnes and Maxi. He refuses to see Maxi off when she agrees to leave and coldly tells her that if she leaves, he would not wait for her, and he'd erase her from his mind—essentially forgetting all about her. He shouts at her, tells her to "get the hell out" of his room—but not before telling her that she isn't leaving for *his* sake, but rather for her own, despite Maxi assuring him multiple times that wasn't the case—and Maxi ends up leaving in tears. Only after she's gone does he collapse emotionally, admitting that he lied, that he would, in fact, wait for her and that he cannot live without her. The narrative frames this breakdown as a moment of realization and supposed emotional growth. Three years later, Maxi returns.

At this point, we're led to expect some form of reckoning or at least an acknowledgment of his earlier cruelty, relief at her safe return, or even a sincere attempt at reconciliation. Instead, Riftan does the opposite. Upon their reunion, he pointedly ignores her. He avoids her, refuses conversation, and withholds any emotional engagement. This behavior is not neutral or passive; it's actively punitive. He spends the early part of Maxi’s return emotionally stonewalling her, forcing her into uncertainty and distress while never explaining himself, as "punishment" for leaving him. This prolonged emotional manipulation culminates in the infamous "banquet scene."

In retaliation, Maxi provokes Riftan by attending the banquet in a deliberately revealing dress and dancing with another man right in front of him. Her actions are immature and reactive, sure, but they are also a direct result of Riftan’s sustained avoidance and refusal to communicate. Rather than addressing the underlying conflict, Riftan responds with violence disguised as passion. He forcibly pulls Maxi away and has sex with her in a guest room. This doesn't occur once, nor in a momentary lapse of control.

He confines her with him for an entire week.

During this time, he repeatedly has rough sex with her despite her physical discomfort, emotional distress, and explicit protests.At one point, Maxi is crying and begging him to stop, yet he ignores her pleas—pretending as if he can't hear her. The scene itself doesn't read as consensual reconciliation but instead—at least from my perspective—as coercion sustained over days of emotional avoidance. When he finally stops, he smugly asks her, “Isn’t this what you wanted?”—a statement that reframes her earlier attempt to provoke communication as justification for her suffering.

What makes this sequence absolutely disgusting and egregious is that it follows directly after Riftan’s supposed realization at the end of Book 1. There's a noticeable lack of remorse, no offer of an apology for his earlier withdrawal, no accountability for his emotional punishment of Maxi upon her return, and no acknowledgment of the harm he's caused both before her departure as well as after her return. Instead, the story substitutes communication with sexual dominance and expects the reader to interpret this as romantic intimacy rather than borderline sexual abuse.

Far from demonstrating growth, this arc confirms that Riftan’s internal feelings—his guilt, fear, and obsession—never translate into meaningful behavioral change. Maxi bears the emotional consequences alone, and it pains me to witness an otherwise wonderfully written female lead be reduced to a sex object because of the ML's emotional volatility.

If you're expecting a "happy ending," after what was essentially a hellstorm of misunderstandings and miscommunication, then, honestly, it's best if you look elsewhere. At some point, Riftan finally tells Maxi that he's "proud" of her, but along with the lack of accountability or proper apology for his emotional avoidance during the entire first half of Book 2, him telling Maxi he's "proud of her" feels more like a hollow platitude than anything meaningful. Then at the end, he makes a dramatic scene by declaring a "knight's oath" to Maxi, but again, the gesture feels incredibly fruitless because of everything he had done to her but never once apologized for. All in all, in my honest opinion, I'd say to just drop it. It's *an ending,* but I wouldn't call it a good or even *satisfying* ending. I think it speaks for itself when Maxi, in her own words, admits she's begun to feel more like a younger sibling than a spouse to Riftan because of his seemingly withered passion for her. So, after the festering disaster of watching them fumble and fail in their relationship, that's the best we get? The FL is left feeling like the little sister to her once obsessively horny husband. What mess this story has been, I swear.

What the actual fuck?! I'm pissed right know! He's a idiot. And the first part of this story looked so promising, ehh... Thanks for the spoiler, at least I won't be disappointed later (╯°Д °)╯

thank GOD fo this comment. Lately reading this has made me so fucking over Riftan. I still can't get over how he handled Maxie's miscarriage. I don't know if the author wants us to hate Riftan and constantly feel bad for and pity Maxine but that's what it feels like. Whenever Maxine gets agency or accomplishes something, Riftan is there to essentially take her down a peg and make her feel guilty for just having thoughts and opinions. Their sex scenes are also so gross, the sh*t Riftan says is SO RAPEY. Last chapter he said something like "I'm a beast I won't hold back" or some shit. Hello??? What happened to making love and pleasing your partner??? Wdym you "can't hold back" and you're a beast. You're actually not a fucking animal Riftan and you should be able to love your wife and have sex with her without being rough or hurting her jesus christ. Gonna drop this shit, I love Maxine but there are other stories with loving Male Leads that deserve my time more than this. When will authors stop writing pseudo abusive rapist Male leads smh

Thanks for this. I read some chaps then marinating this now.. I get notifs for new chaps just to see if it's near the end so I can resume. Now I won't. Dropping this now like a hot potato. Cuz what the fck was that garbage.

Boi.. can the manga artist/author not just erase this garbage and freestyle a better ending, cus if their not i might as well just drop

Looking at Rosetta's pov there's 2 possibilities that comes to mind

1) What Riftan feels does not matter. Max has already married him. There's nothing more to say about Riftan especially when he has no relation to the sister (in upbringing and blood). Especially with the social setting, it seems like the general expectation is for the woman to stick with her husband no matter what.

2) Rosetta's mind is already set that Riftan is like all men (aka her father). So if her mind is already set, why would she bother confirming if Riftan might be different or not.

You bring up good reasons, but if anything, that only makes me question the author's intent even more. I can absolutely see why Rosetta herself wouldn't bother questioning Riftan. If she's already convinced that men are fundamentally the same and that women are expected to endure whatever comes with marriage, then from her perspective, there's probably nothing left to discuss. What confuses me is why the narrative chooses to have Rosetta cast doubt on *Maxi's* feelings instead. The reader already knows the lengths Maxi is willing to go to for Riftan. We've spent the entire story watching her worry about him, sacrifice for him, and shape major decisions around him. Her devotion isn't really the thing being questioned, nor should it be, especially with what I know about the subsequent arc after the end of Book 1. During the first half of Book 2, Maxi spends a significant portion of the story trying to reach Riftan, understand him, and get him to communicate with her, while he's the one who repeatedly shuts her out and emotionally stonewalls her.

So now, the question to my original point shifts: Rather than having Rosetta question the legitimacy of Riftan's devotion herself, I think the more interesting direction would've been for her conversation to make MAXI question it. Instead of doubting her own feelings, Maxi could've started asking herself whether Riftan truly loves her for who she is or whether he's in love with an idealized version of her. That would've felt far more meaningful to me because it directly addresses one of the biggest issues in their relationship while also giving Maxi something new to reflect on.