Oh, ok, got it. So the father wasn't an evil one, he simply was a bit too narrow-minded or too righteous or too focused on trying to stay as a neutral force between the empire, that he forgot other sides of the equation and the noble world, and he forgot how to nourish his kids properly.
Idk if he lacked "common sense" or if he offended the Emperor, I personally think it's weird that the Emperor went as far as to kill him and destroy the entire family on the way (unless he's crazy ofc). IMO killing a whole household shouldn't be as easy, especially if we're talking about such a relevant one, but maybe in her father's intents for staying neutral and out of trouble he lost everyone's interest or support, so maybe when he went against the Emperor (or maybe someone else played their cards and used the Emperor to destroy them, who knows), there was no one for them ready to help them.
I don't understand several things yet, the beginning was a bit misleading and confusing tbh, but what I can tell is that this family needs to get involved with the powerful noble houses asap, otherwise they'll face a bad ending again. In that regard, this kinda reminds me of Lippe (Lady Baby), lol.
Tnks for sharing. <3