Sigh. I really liked the ending of the novel, where
Killion and Edith take over the territory he was promised earlier in the series and they build it up from scratch to a prosperous territory with help from Edith's modern knowledge
. It's now forgotten on the manhwa. I liked that they left behind the toxicity of the nobles who tore Edith down and had their own peace in the home and community they build up on their own, allowing them all to heal their relationships. Tbh I don't understand why they had to make Cliff this besotted fool when he was also controlled by the author, and he could have also moved on like everyone else.
Killion just getting the Duke's position by default is so antithetical to what his character struggle was, of how he felt he never measured up to perfect Cliff, it just sucks that this changed because it wastes the development he's had up in this last part. Killion finding peace in himself and his relationship with Edith in the novel meant mentally and physically distancing himself from the toxicity he was subjected to and forging his own spectacular success with Edith. Not this slapped on Duke position handed to him. He would be forever living in Cliff's shadow.
I dunno, sometimes I feel these Korean manhwas glorify the status symbols of these fictional hierarchical societies too much, where a higher title = success = happiness. Yet the characters could also lead happy, successful, fulfilling lives with a different disposition, away from the politics of the capital, focusing on their own growth as a couple and finding happiness in the hard work they can put in to develop something they can fully call their own.