and yeah the main conflict between our leads is the angsty can't move on from first love I could compare it to Golden Time anime from the summaries I've read
good to see a strong af female lead for once, and a very smart one too, she realized that he can't do jack shit and if he insisted on helping her it would only trouble them both
She is so cool *swoon* Duke should be counting his lucky stars his stupid corrupt vassals gave him his biggest blessing
As for this guy (forgot what his name was already lol) I doubt his feelings are romantic? Probably out of respect, and knowing that women nobility tend to be powerless in terms of marriage. You gotta give him credit tho, going up against a known monster and someone with so much status for a friend.