damn, I love this arc. We're finally getting a look into what's going on in Anastacius' head; Ijekiel is getting a chance to do something (not implying that he hasn't done anything the entire story, he's always been by Athanasia's side, but now he'll actually be able to put his smarts to use... maybe?); it looks like it's getting closer to a point where Jeannette will figure out the truth, and overall everyone's conflicts are coming in to play.
Again, not sure why so many people think this arc has been "dragged on." The fact that Claude was able to accept Athanasia without his memories (not including Diana) is already so much development, and I feel like since Claude is kind of benched right now, it's giving Athy a chance to focus on other people and figure out just wtf is happening. We're also getting more focus on Jeannette, Anastacius, Ijekiel and Lucas' characters, wayyy more than the first two seasons. Also, if people really do like Claude and want him to get better both mentally and physically, then Anastacius probably has a massive role in that (don't take my word for it, I've never read the novel, it's just a guess since they are family and clearly he meant something to Claude before he killed him).
Last thing: about Claude waking up and protecting Athy, first of all, she's literally the main character and she's never going to learn anything if Claude is going to deal with all this shit for her. This manhwa isn't all about visuals and fanservice, it actually has a good plot and several amazing characters. The ending for every character, including Athy and Claude, will probably be total shit if this arc is rushed tbh