Cabellenus, ugh, all-time favorite ML from any novel ever. I cannot stress how good his character development is. You know a character went through some serious growth if you can just imagine them from the end of the story throat punching themselves from chapter one. He's been through so many things, whether it be his trauma, being used as a child soldier, being tortured for the sake of these experimentations, or even being manipulated and gaslit by his older brother. But despite all of this, seeing him care so deeply for Alicia and Michael towards the end of the story is so heartwarming. Like, he's been through hell, but now he has a lovely wife and an adorable son and I just--! The thing that really caused the rift in his and Alicia's relationship was when Cabellenus called Michael a 'monster' back when he was in the womb. He said this because (due to the experimentations to inject demon blood into him) Cabellenus was convinced any child of his would be a monster like him. But hearing someone else call Michael a monster years later, it made Cabellenus realize how hurtful his words were, even if Michael didn't hear him say them. He went from "I don't weak things" to the most loving husband and father that you'll ever see.

Once Alicia really comes into her own, growing into an independent woman, I cannot stress how much of a MAMA BEAR she is. She is such a wonderful mother to Michael and you can tell that absolutely everything she does is for his sake. Having something to protect gave her the opportunity to grow and change from a timid, servile woman, to (she literally tortured a guy for hurting her son). Once she and Cabellenus started repairing their relationship, she's fueled with a desire to become someone that he can rely on too, so that he doesn't feel like he needs to protect everything by himself. To that end, there's a part where Cabellenus is forced to leave their home (Schwarhan) and Alicia is left there alone with Michael when there's an attack. Alicia stands her ground in front of all the nobles, declaring her position as Grand Duchess and vows to keep everyone and everything safe in Cabellenus absence. SHE IS WIFE!

What I also love is that later in the story, Cabellenus and Alicia have this really wonderful conversation where they confront the toxicity of their relationship at the start. They acknowledged that they cared for one another, but that their love wasn't genuine because their relationship wasn't equal. Alicia was constantly terrified Cabellenus would get tired of her and he never told her important things, while Cabellenus only knew how to show his love by hiding Alicia away and trying to keep things from her because he thought she would get hurt. It's such a wonderful scene in the novel and I keep rereading it because it's so raw and real. It's a turning point in their relationship when they truly start loving each other not as the people they made the other out to be, but as their true selves.

Not to mention the overarching plot is so intriguing too. The fights between the Imperial family, the Church of Prime, and their desires to take control of Cabellenus for their own selfish reasons, Alicia trying to save him, while Michael struggles with the belief that he's a 'monster'-- it's all so interesting. I'd love to ramble for ages about it, but there's just SO MUCH. And seeing them get to be a family at the end was wonderful. When Michael actually called Cabellenus 'Dad' for the first time, I almost threw my phone across the room in excitement. It took 100+ chapters, but it was worth it LOL And remember, broke is thinking James is the 2ML. Woke is knowing Fenrir is <3

Basically the first ~50 or so chapters are just set up, showing how Cabel (ML) and Alicia (FL) met and how they eventually broke apart due to circumstances surrounding Alicia's mysterious powers and her pregnancy. This results in Cabel believing her to have died, leading to an eight year separation.

The first chapter (which details their reunion) depicts Cabel as a total a**hole, but I promise you he's the sweetest person, albeit clumsy and awkward. After learning of Alicia's 'death', he mourned her profusely, not resting until he could make the people responsible pay. He even planned on following her into the after life once he got his revenge because he felt there was no point in living any longer. After reuniting with her, he's extremely elated to see her alive but is choked up to see she has a son (whom he doesn't believe to be their unborn child from eight years ago due to the boy looking much younger and not having the trademark black hair and golden eyes of his bloodline). But despite their rocky start, he and Michael start to bond and seeing that process is super endearing. Like I said, Cabel is clumsy and clearly doesn't know how to treat Michael, so it's a learning process for them both. Eventually, he learns to care for Michael as his own son rather than just as Alicia's, even crying out of guilt and regret for the things he said about him before he was born-- not wanting his own son to have to feel that way (which is great because due to things, Cabel's emotional range is basically non-existent). It's honestly one of the best parts of the story.

As for Alicia, she starts off the story as a timid, shy, and broken woman-- constantly asking for death. She is acutely aware of how tenuous her position as Cabel's 'woman' is, as he's the one who gets to define the relationship, whether negative or positive. In other words, if he began to dislike her, she'd have no choice but to leave, but at the same time, he has the power to force her to stay even if she didn't want to. The clear power imbalance makes her uncomfortable the more she begins to value her own life. But after the eight year time skip, she's become a total mama bear. She'll do anything to protect her son and is terrified Cabel will take him away or hurt him if he ever found out the truth. Luckily, through various twists and turns, their family comes together to protect one another, slowly but surely bonding over time.

Michael is a total cutie. He's very mature for an eight year old, being understanding and sympathetic towards his mother's difficulties while still being a child afraid of things that go bump in the night. He's very aware of how hard Alicia has worked to provide for him, with most of his childhood memories consisting of his mother baking him his favorite cookies and holding him in her arms as they fled from town to town. Alicia is often disrespected for being a single mom, so Michael's really protective of her. Because of that, he doesn't trust Cabel at first, even telling him to stay away from his mom because he 'doesn't need a dad' after he found out that Cabel likes her. But after a few incidents, Michael realizes that Cabel is a strong person-- strong enough to protect Alicia until he's old enough to do it himself, so he's willing to give him a chance as a 'father candidate' (despite discovering Cabel is his biological father early on, unknown to Alicia and Cabel themselves). He's an unbelievably precious boy!

Im already nine chapters in and she's barely spoken or done anything, and when she does all she talks about is wanting to die. From the little info we're given about her past it explains why she is how she is however her lack of Will makes the story feel very slow and (in my personal opinion) sometimes boring