Am I the only one who doesn't feel pity or sympathy towards the queen? I recognize the thought process that led her to making the decisions that she did, but I don't think they made much sense nor were they reasonable in any way imo. As an outsider, I don't think I would've made the same decisions she made, starting from marrying the king as his second wife.
Disclaimer: I do agree that the manga is incredibly flawed, especially in the way it absolves the King and Marquis Nigel Langley (the business partner who tried to SA the FL) of their horrid actions. I have no sympathy for those two men and I believe how their actions are handled by the story is incredibly disgusting and deserves to be called out and criticized. The way the ML fails to call out his father for being foolish, incompetent but also manipulative, and also a straight up loser is so disappointing. He deserves to be ostracized, isolated, and betrayed by his sons equally in the same way the queen was if not more. He's a terrible husband, father and human being. It will be even more frustrating if the ML truly does allow that gross predator to get away unpunished for literally attempting to rape someone. I'm choosing to focus on the queen because there are people who seem to sympathize, empathize, and feel sorry for her in a way I genuinely do not understand.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think she was ever pressured into marrying the king. She pursued him and the position of queen all on her own. As the daughter of a high ranking and very respected noble, I assume she had the privilege of being able to choose any nobleman of high status and wealth who proposed to her (lol I know writing it out like this doesn't make it seem like much of a choice, but I'm pretty sure there would've been several people lining up for her hand in marriage and she would've been free to select any of them). She had options. Her only obligation as the daughter of Marquis Milbourne was to continue her family legacy as loyal vassals to the crown. I never interpreted that to mean she had to marry him, she just had to uphold her family's reputation. Her father didn't push an engagement or marriage between her and the king (then crown prince) after he got engaged to Alexandra. She was confessed to by the student council clerk and he proposed as well. She was aware that there was a man who wanted her, but she declined. She would rather commit to gaining the title of queen and the soon to be king's favor through whatever means possible. This ambition was entirely hers and no one else's.
The king is a liar and therefore untrustworthy. She knew that. She admitted that he's a manipulative person, but she felt as though all his flaws didn't apply to her. She genuinely believed that his shitty behavior and personality would never be directed towards her because she sees herself as better than all the other women who ever approached him. She could've easily abandoned the sinking ship that is her attachment to that scumbag, but she allowed her ego, pride, and delusion to get in the way. No one forced her hand. She chose to pursue and later marry the king all on her own. How does anyone feel sorry for someone who knowingly made the worst decisions for herself when she had better options? She created one sided beef with a woman who had no say in marrying that dickbrained loser and "competed" for the heart of someone who never respected or loved her. I think she and the king are equally responsible for the present day mess they are in and the misery innocent people had to suffer as a result of their decisions. She chose the path of self destruction and it eventually caught up to her and blew up in her face.
Maybe you could make the argument that she was blinded by love, but I would hard disagree on that as well.