What a weak and round about way of trying to "protect" the shota by the dad, the king. Have the old man be the only one to protect him and he almost died just from tasting for poison.
Dude was grieving, sure, but damn get that shota some backup.
I was really hoping they'd do something different.
But no... it's just same d*** enemies as any other series..
Could have instead of had a queen that sympathized with the girl and didn't want her to go through the same suffering.
And also she could realize that her son is incompetent and want the step-son to be king.
And that the prince really did mean it when he said he saw her as a sister. Maybe even make him sympathetic, realizing how much his mom was suffering in a loveless marriage while her husband which she dedicated her entire life to pined after another woman...
It would be a much more interesting story.... but instead, it's another evil step-mother and former-fiancee story to deal with....