Strange. It’s strange.
“Why hasn’t there been a response?”
She left the space for Cheston’s conditions blank, expecting him to fill it out. Days passed since she signed and sent it, yet no response came.
‘Didn’t he like my condition?’
There were no unreasonable demands from his perspective. She had only written that the engagement would be annulled once she successfully inherited the title of head of her house.
The debutante ball was approaching, and she needed to confirm the engagement before that.
“There’s also no word from the dye shop. Even visiting the address on the business card I received that day didn’t yield any useful information.”
She had contacted the intelligence agency, but they couldn’t find anyone buying the dye, either. Whitney lay down on her bed, her mind cluttered with thoughts.
‘I’m glad at least. No one knows about the queen summoning me secretly.’
If rumors had spread, Melissa would have shown up and caused a scene, perhaps even accusing her of not taking her along.
There will likely be discussions about compensation.
Whitney recalled her secret visit to the queen’s palace. Now it made sense why everyone was wearing black.
She hadn’t expected the queen’s cousin to have died.
“That’s why they were wearing mourning clothes then.”
The strange part was, despite her cousin’s death, why was the queen not mourning and instead wearing a flamboyant dress?
‘Could it be…’
Whitney sat up suddenly. Why hadn’t she thought of this before?
What if the whole thing was orchestrated by the queen?
It didn’t make sense why the king, who adored Prince Cheston, sided with Carl over an incident she witnessed. Why he had no choice but to kill his own son.
The queen must have manipulated the situation.
Her heart raced at the thought. The queen might be more dangerous than she had realized.
‘It’s different now. No need to be afraid.’
Whitney slapped her cheeks to focus. She clenched her trembling hands into fists.
The image of the queen smiling effortlessly at her sent chills down her spine.
Knowing everything, there was no need to fear.
‘I’ll turn the tables.’
Whitney wrote another letter to the intelligence agency. It was essentially a nudge to Prince Cheston.
“Is this even a reasonable situation?”
She couldn’t wait and sent a pressing letter. Not only had she drafted the contract herself, but now she sent a letter implying she wanted a quick response.
Cheston laughed hollowly.
“Truly a woman who does as she pleases.”
“I don’t understand why you’re pondering over this.”
“You’re right. It’s not something to ponder over.”
Cheston swiftly signed the documents. His condition was to end the contract once his mother was cured.
He composed himself and sealed the contract in an envelope. He handed it to Aron and stood up.
“I should go. If I’m late, there will be a fuss.”
“Be careful. Maybe just let her have her way this time?”
“……I’ll consider it.”
It had always been that way. Hiding his abilities to not outshine Carl, concealing his emotions. Since he learned to bow his head from a young age, it wasn’t difficult for him.
Whitney left the secondary palace and headed to the main palace’s training hall for the first time in a while. The king’s attendance at the training session added to the weight Cheston felt at this moment.
Unable to decide what to do, Cheston entered the training hall and was immediately greeted by Carl’s beaming smile.
“It’s been a while. I’ve missed my brother while I was confined in a near house arrest.”
Cheston responded with a bright smile.
“I missed you too. I was eagerly anticipating seeing how much your swordsmanship has improved, and now Father has personally organized this opportunity.”
“I’ve had some fun while you were cooped up in the secondary palace.”
Carl chuckled and drew his sword, whispering softly enough for only Cheston to hear.
“I met a girl as beautiful as your mother. Plain-looking, but strangely captivating. I don’t understand why I’m drawn to women who don’t know men.”
Cheston’s eyebrows twitched. Carl’s words darkened his expression. He suspected the person Carl was referring to.
Whitney Orleans.
Carl seemed to be reminiscing about her. Pleased with the thought, he grinned and said,
“Whitney Orleans, the only daughter of the Orleans Duke’s family. Quite famous among the ladies these days. That innocent look in her eyes and her docile attitude. You should have seen how embarrassed she was when I suggested having tea together.”
Carl, looking at his sharply edged sword, opened his eyes lazily. He caressed the sword as if he was caressing a woman.
“Pale skin, brown hair, eyes like greenery, red lips. A slender body, but quite a sight. She’ll soon be of age, and surely hasn’t met any men yet…”
The implication of his words was clear. Carl’s casual spouting of vile thoughts was repulsive.
My Step-brother Is Obsessed With Me (Female-dominant)
A gentle female protagonist vs pitiful in the early stage, and a sick male protagonist in the later stage
Cheng Songer transmigrated into the body of a vicious cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name as her in a female-dominant novel.
In the original story, the cannon fodder female supporting character was inhumane, committing domestic violence, gambling excessively, being lustful, and even wanting to sell her stepbrother to a brothel for money.
As luck would have it, she just happened to transmigrate at this time.
Seeing Cheng Qingzhi biting his lip, enduring the tears in his eyes, looking pitiful, her heart softened.
She stuffed the money back into the Madam’s hand and reached out to him.
“Brother, come home with me.”
