It’s not very common for the princes of the empire to propose to the same person at the same time.
In that situation, even the emperor might not be able to force her to accept the 1st Prince’s proposal.
Velia looked at Khaled, her face beaming as she tapped her desk.
“……Then the initiative will be mine.”
The person to choose a spouse from those who sent proposals will be her.
Velia, who had thought that far, asked him in a soft voice.
“A proposal with the Emperor’s seal. Can you bring it? They won’t give it up easily.”
“It won’t be easy. But it’s not impossible if it goes through the Empress. But before that.”
Khaled lightly held Velia’s hand on the table and smiled mischievously.
“We need to solidify our relationship further.”
Then there will be a reason to persuade the Emperor.
It’s not that the 2nd Prince just randomly proposed to the woman the 1st Prince proposed to, but because they have a deep relationship, he couldn’t lose her. This also makes for a good romance narrative to spread in society.
“Not bad.”
Velia had already begun to envision how she could use that rumor.
She was quite satisfied with it.
“I’ll do my best to help with that mess, so please take good care of it.”
They looked into each other’s eyes and grinned, thinking of someone who would be troubled by this.
[This is the time separator]While preparing for a party to be held in a few days, Velia hurried to the office at the sudden call of the Herald. She was anxious on her way to the office, wondering if Prince Raul had said something about the proposal again.
“Come in, Velia.”
“Big brother. Did Prince Raul say anything about wanting an answer to his proposal?”
Velia asked urgently.
“Haha. It’s not like that, don’t worry. I just had something I wanted to ask you.”
The Herald, who paused for a moment, sighed and cautiously began.
“Velia. You told Abamama that you wanted to marry Prince Khaled.”
Ah. That.
She had been called to the King’s office to explain her behavior at the previous 2nd Prince’s welcome ceremony.
And there, she had told them that she was considering marrying Khaled, not Raul.
It seems the news had reached the Herald.
Velia nodded.
“Yes, I did.”
“……Is it your scheme?”
The Herald asked cautiously.
He didn’t want to doubt, but it was suspicious that she had mentioned marrying Prince Khaled, the 2nd Prince, suddenly not long after saying she wouldn’t marry Prince Raul.
“What do you mean?”
“Are you using Prince Khaled to avoid marrying Prince Raul?” he had asked.
It was an accurate guess.
Yet even as Herald asked this question, he had doubts.
His younger sister, whom he knew, was not very tactful, stubborn, and a bit naive, not the type to handle matters in such a way.
“Didn’t you hear this from Aba Mama? I like Prince Khaled, brother.”
“Velia…….”
“I’m serious. I want to marry him. So, I dislike Prince Raul.”
At the sight of Velia’s obstinacy, Herald sighed, leaning deeply into the backrest.
“Ask me honestly.”
Herald’s feelings were extremely complicated.
He hadn’t even dreamed that Velia, rather than Clozé, would have such an accident.
“Why did you suddenly change your heart when you were interested in Prince Raul just a while ago? And when did you meet Prince Khaled? What on earth are you thinking, Velia?”
“……Even if I explain, you won’t understand, brother.”
Everything that had happened when the Velia of the past had chosen Raul was still vivid.
How the Ronica Kingdom had collapsed when she became the empress of the empire by choosing and loving him, how Aba Mama and Ama Mama died, how Clozé and her brother died.
And in the end, even Velia herself had to end her life miserably.
Velia swallowed all those words tightly into her mouth.
When she thought about that time, all kinds of negative emotions, including anger, surged up, even as she became accustomed to this peaceful and comfortable life.
‘Nobody would believe me if I said I went through all that and came back to the past.’
So, she had no choice but to make excuses while bottling up her emotions.
“Please think it’s just my childish whim, brother.”
As Velia lightly nodded her head, Herald sighed.
“……Your behavior has been strange and different from usual, honestly, it worries me a bit.”
“There won’t be anything for you to worry about, brother.”
One day, Velia’s behavior suddenly changed.
‘It probably started from that day when she was crying.’
Herald saw his sister unable to control her emotions for the first time.
Velia was a bit cynical, so it took her longer to recognize her emotions than others.
When he saw his sister crying in such a large crowd, he thought his heart would drop.
And after that day.
Velia began to behave in ways he could not understand.
‘She seemed to have feelings for the 1st Prince.’
How did her heart change so abruptly?
It wasn’t easy for her to turn her back on someone she’d given her heart to, as she was slow to realize her feelings.
He didn’t know why Velia hated the 1st Prince so much, but anyway, Herald couldn’t let his sister marry someone she disliked so much.
“I’ve been trying to find a way to refuse the proposal without causing friction with the empire. But you suddenly say you’ll marry the 2nd Prince, and honestly, it’s a bit surprising.”
Ah…….
You too, brother.
Velia was surprised to hear a story she didn’t know and looked at Herald.
“But I trust you. I know you’re not a child who would do anything stupid. Anyway, I’ll look for more ways, so just restrain from acting so abruptly. I can’t take it anymore.”
Velia laughed at the sight of Herald jokingly clutching his chest.
“Thank you. Brother.”
Velia looked warmly at Herald.
Maybe when everything is over someday.
Won’t she be able to tell him everything then?
Velia’s smile was a bit lonely somewhere.
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.”
