Even the MC’s mother—the Empress—who was initially presented as a biased villainess, fawning over the MC while despising the ML, seemed like a shallow caricature of the evil stepmother trope. But over time, she’s revealed to be one of the deepest, most compelling characters in the story. She’s surprisingly relatable and, eventually, genuinely endearing.

I think that he should have much more character than just 'i like MC so much im willing to go above and beyond, even give up my future (left out of his dad's will) for someone who doesn't even see me that way the slightest bit'. At least have some sense of self preservation, especially since he is supposed to be raised by a great merchant. I like a playboy finally falling in love trope if done well, but I think this one is not fully fleshed out.

Honestly at times I wished MC would end with mr knight, because crown prince can get too intense... You can tell his childhood seriously messes up his head. But this is that type of novel after all.