Wait so- the emperor is like "Larkabela deserves to fail!" 2 chapters ago nd now he's suddenly "hm, has she really changed???"
There wasn't even much dialouge to rectify his thought process.
I've been feeling so iffy and like I've been missing out, but I've just now realized that the writer just does that for some reason.
They just get the MC from A to B without much challenge or fluff in between! Like, her new friend suddenly has confidence because Larkabella told her so? The supposed ML likes her because she's changed even though it's given reason as to why he feels like that and her popularity is skyrocketing with only a single hitch!
It's like a power fantasy without all the bits that made it feel fantastic.
And the art is getting stiffer? I understand art is hard, but just put less detail if it's hurting the output. Seriously, it was so awkward in the last chapter just seeing an extra run away like a stiff NPC from jazzpunk