@theilikepie
Well, there’s a difference between ‘hanging around’ and ‘clinging’
Maria’s fault isn’t that she’s close the the prince but
1. She clings on to him (having intimate touch)
2. She butt into a conversation between the upper-nobles (Yes, Irene followers did that too and it’s already shown through Ria’s reaction that it’s not alright to do so)
3. She falsely accuses Irene in order for them to break off the engagement
Also I don’t think This has anything to do with NTR. Irene followers may admire her but they didn’t try to break them up with false claims like Maria did in this chapter.
(More over, we know that Irene got some rumours about being close to lots of guys so we can see here that it’s not like people turn blind eyes at her. Though just ‘hanging around’ isn’t a condemn-able crime as oppose to Maria being physical and such)
Well, that’s just what I’ve seen so far so I can’t actually say that is exactly what it is. Who knows what’s behind the scene and what’s to come?