The world building and plight of the villain are honestly really compelling. But there's something about the main characters that is a hit or miss. For some it's the Female protag and you know what understandable, as above said, she doesn't reasonably engage with the actual blood in the empire's history. I don't mind her too much honestly.
For me, it's the male lead. OH I HATE HIM. I hate him so badddd like omg i think he ruins the story. This is just a rant but he's so vexingggg. At the beginning I liked the pretty boy and somewhat naivety but it's not gone anywhere. And now I see how unrealistic and bland he is, I just think his backstory and history would create a completely different character and his position in the story is so the writer can shoe in these misunderstanding plots. His sudden revelation at the end of season 2 has prevented me from starting 3, it's real petty of me but I don't want them togetherrrrr! It's getting to a point where I hate seeing him, which is crazyyyy because the art is objectively gorgeous.
So yeah, I side with then villain and I hope she gets what she wants. Would absolutely read a spin-off where we follow her in her machinations. I'd eat it up <3