the MC does alot of things to try to keep his identity a secret while slowly getting to know the ML while in disguise. I would have preferred to see them fall in love in their meetings and then reveal that the MC was the one night stand. It would have been great if it was like that.

instead we see the ML make a fool out of the MC over and over when the MC was trying to hide his identity and not once did the MC successfully one up the ML (not even something small like winning a game! Nope! He only got the badge cuz the ML let him ugh!) making me so angry on his behalf. And in the end instead of detectiving the MCs identity out the ML uses a sleep drug to search the MCs body to find the nipple ring.

that was the last straw for me. It just felt like he thoroughly disrespected the MC. Even tho he had said that if he didn’t want to get to know him he’d respect his choice. So much for that. The MC just seemed so helpless when it came to going against the ml. Like nothing he could do would work and could only “win” if the ML let him.

from what ive read the novel is pretty good and it just comes down to my own incompatibility with this type of ml. I just hate the mocking type especially when the counterpart is a tsundere. Ugh I need some generic face slapping to wash down the after taste of this novel!

The game that MC won a badge in was a "hunting" competition amongst nobility/rich and powerful. MC can't fight, thats why ML lets him win and teams up with him, it was also because ML needed to bring him to a specific area for plot reasons.

Second, ML used sleep drugs on MC to strip search him because he thought MC was an enemy spy not because he was looking for the ring. ML is the marshal of the empire and he was looking for proof that MC was a traitor because MC was acting suspicious and kept showing up in suspicious places around him. He wasn't expecting to find it at that time, so when he finds the ring ML basically goes "oh sh*t no wonder he was acting weird."

Yes, I like how gently persistent the ML is, and the main CPs kissing scenes were good and teasing, but it just stops dead right there. You never even know when they move further.

I really can't get over with how the ML fall in love at first f*ck for the MC lol. And the worm prince is also such a cutie, what an airheaded baby xD. His and MC's various encounters is such a bizzare thing but you would laugh and love it at the same time.

the MC and ML are set up as rivals in the plot summary but once you start reading, you’ll realise that this is something completely one sided on the MC’s part. the MC makes it seem like the ML is some pompous and stuck up prick but when you actually get introduced to him, he’s honestly much nicer to the MC than he needs to be. their interactions from the start involve the MC taunting and mocking the ML for literally no reason (he even tries to get the ML falsely accused of sleeping with a minor just to blacken his reputation...) and he harbours this sort of prickly attitude to almost everyone in the story. the ML is in fact absurdly tolerant to the MC’s temperamental ways even before he falls for him. it becomes increasingly obvious that the MC has some fabricated persona in his mind that he’s stuck onto the ML likely born out of jealousy towards the ML’s popularity and achievements. i’m not obsessed with the sort of character who’s rude for no good reason and never rectifies their attitude. it bothers me how even when they get together, the MC is still overly grouchy. I like romances where the main pairing show equal love for each other, we barely even get to see the MC show any care for the ML because he’s just so much of a tsundere. the ML is constantly giving and accommodating the MC while the latter tries to push him away. the MC gets annoyed at the ML for expressions of his feelings but then gets upset when he misunderstands and thinks the ML is “cheating” on him so he just comes across as an incredibly difficult person to be in a relationship with.

there’s another review that said they hated the way the ML would constantly make a fool of the MC when he was disguised as DuoNi but no... that’s just the MC making a fool of himself. he makes absurdly s*upid decisions in the name of trying to hide the fact that he and the ML had a one night stand and literally gets himself implicated in a conspiracy MULTIPLE TIMES that later puts him in court with charges of treason. he even goes out of his way to make himself seem suspicious by appearing in places he appeared with his disguise right after, his actions are just so s*upid at times. even after he finds out that the metal devouring bug who he’s gotten acquainted with is tied to a serious crime, he still tries to free him just so the bug won’t expose his secret. this naturally catches up to him and the only reason he is found innocent is because he was lucky enough that the ML figured out his disguise and the truth about their one night stand just before his court date.