A secondary male character has “wandering hands” and the female main character earns servants before his visits. The female main character's aunt-in-law locks her in her room for days to coerce her marriage to a cousin (the in-law's son) so they can get her inheritance. The protagonist dislikes the cousin and finds him creepy. He grabs her by the wrists or shoulders several times and pressures her to marry him, implying twice that he will get her pregnant with or without her consent. He is depicted as weak-willed, and the main power struggle is consistently between the protagonist & her overbearing aunt-in-law. The male lead is magically bound to serve the wielder of his enchanted sword. The situation is tested with seriousness as a form of slavery, and he reflects at times on the (non-sexual) abuses he has suffered at the hands of past masters. The protagonist happens into possession of the sword, and their relationship is in many ways a study in valuing consent amidst complicated circumstances - especially in contrast with the above situation.