whatever you say about the dad, you can't not admit he is completely self sabotaging and setting himself up for a royal son in law bahahaha.... every other man is terrified of the duke it's only Max that's capable of standing up to him! If Max and Juvel had never met and every candidate had been "vetted" there's no way on earth the Duke would have let her marry any of them (it's pretty clear he only let Mikhail be close to her because she was in love with Mikhail).