Finally caught up with 'I Became the Hero's Rival' yesterday, and that ending had me conflicted for hours. It wasn't the explosive, everyone-gets-what-they-deserve finale I was half-expecting. The protagonist's long game against the 'hero' culminates in a very public, political unmasking, not a magic duel. The 'hero' is exposed as a fraud whose divine blessings were basically stolen, and he's stripped of his titles. But our main character doesn't take his place on the throne or get a grand coronation. She basically forces the kingdom to reform its rotten system, then walks away to live a quiet life, leaving the rebuilt nation in the hands of more trustworthy people she helped mentor. It's oddly... peaceful? After all that scheming and surviving assassination attempts, the ultimate victory is her getting to retire and be boring, which is kinda brilliant when you think about it. Some readers on the forum were mad there wasn't a big romantic payoff with the knight captain, but their last scene, just sharing a meal without any titles between them, felt more earned to me than a wedding.
I did wish we got one more chapter from the fallen hero's perspective, though. His final fate is just exile, and we never really see him process the truth. Felt like an unanswered thread, unless the author is saving that for a side story.