Val is portrayed as a typical criminal in every way possible without crossing the line of being mentally ill or inhuman. However, because he has the appearance of a dangerous guy, it is no surprise that as the series goes on,
he starts being portrayed as one of the potential romance candidates for Pride. This includes his not-so-noticeable get-up change into that of a well-built man. In the end, he is even dressed in a way that highlights his multiple packs and muscular build.
Of course, events and other elements are introduced to somehow connect him to Pride, but instead of Pride punishing Val for crossing the line, she just gets embarrassed and takes no further action (the masochist loves to be dominated). And of course, he makes more of an impact as a man to Pride than the other boys, whom Pride most likely sees as brothers rather than romantic interests.
And in case it wasn’t clear why all of this is unacceptable: Val confirmed that he captured and sold children like it was an everyday job, and if he weren’t under a binding contract, he would have continued selling children. And of course, this also explains everything related to him, like why he didn’t do any further harm to Pride—it’s not that he didn’t want to; he simply couldn’t due to the magic restraining him.
Yet, as the series goes on, the person who destroyed the lives of countless children—and who knows how many more—is portrayed as if he is a trustworthy and good person. Well, no surprise, after all, a lot of people don’t realize that even human traffickers party with joy, smile, have families they care about, and so on. Yet, the man who is restricted to doing good deeds only because of his punishment for all his crimes is presented as if he became a respectable and trustworthy person, worthy of being a love candidate for Pride.
