i think people are misreading what i'm saying lmao: i have no issue with there being romance in a manga like this. my issue with it is that the romance is uhhhh not good. as i've said, the two apparent romantic leads have no chemistry and Julius is kind of a terrible person in a way that goes completely unexamined by the narrative, despite more or less coming from the exact same place as his brother's abuse of scarlet. whenever he shows up, it takes away page time and focus from the characters I'm actually interested in, namely Scarlet and Nanaka (who do, in fact, have a fantastic amount of chemistry and a great dynamic).
i like a good romance well enough. this just isn't one of them.