I really like the game! Already posted most of my thoughts in discord. I just want to elaborate a bit more on something I feel you missed..
Humans are not very noble in what they find attractive. Yes most of us will like someone that is nice, but we don't into a rabid rage to find a nice person.
I'll list some examples from other vns:
* amicus (emperor of a fucking space wolf planet)
* grifter (coach, authority figure)
* spencer (very hard working and independent sport player)
* darius (mega rich playboy)
In short, things like: wealth, authority, power, independence etc are attractive.
Now i'm not saying a character can't be attractive if they don't have any of these traits, but they need to stand out relatively. In other words, they need to shine like a diamond among a bunch of rocks.
So if most people in the world are poor slum dwellers, someone that has a house would count. But if there's someone else with a mansion, that house owner would pale in comparison.
In your case, marshall and his son. One is a high ranking person with a LOT of authority, and the other is his servant basically. See the problem?
Alen also has a problem where he lives his life as almost a slave to the enemy empire..
Another aspect is the forbidden fruit. In essence, the more impossible it seems to date that character, the more people would DESIRE to do it. (straight looking guy, childhood friend that is probably straight, fucking planet's emperor... you get the idea)
I will conclude this lecture for now. If you want more in depth analysis i'm free :3