“I won’t let my master be criticized.”
In her previous life, the Crown Prince abandoned her, and Noah saved her. The choice of whose side to take was clear. Her mind, previously troubled, cleared instantly. Amy regained her energy and began to move.
“Greetings to His Highness, the Crown Prince.”
The people lined up at the gate bowed in unison. The Crown Prince, sitting on a richly adorned white horse, looked straight at Noah and Amy at the front with a stern face.
“Rise.”
“Yes.”
As they stood up and faced him, Amy locked eyes with the Crown Prince.
He called her softly, “Amy.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Unable to ignore his call, she answered. The Prince sighed softly and smiled distantly.
“Have you been well? I missed you.”
The crowd’s astonished gazes turned to Amy. She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them, cursing inwardly.
Yet, she hid her feelings and replied formally, “I am honored that you remember me, Your Highness, who I once served.”
The Prince’s smile twisted slightly at her distancing words.
“To call a decade merely ‘once’…”
Just as the atmosphere began to turn awkward again, Noah quickly intervened.
“Please come in, Your Highness. Welcome to the north.”
The Prince’s gaze shifted from Amy to Noah, and a sneer appeared on his face.
“Yes, you are here too.”
The tension hung in the air, unspoken.
Anyone overhearing might have mistaken Amy for the master and Noah for a servant, given the Crown Prince’s dismissive words to a ruler of a duchy and head of a state. The faces of the Grand Duchy’s people stiffened at the lack of courtesy. Just as Amy was about to respond, boiling with anger, Noah spoke again.
“You remember me, that’s surprising. I thought you had forgotten, since you never sought me out in the palace.”
The Crown Prince’s smile vanished. The subtlety in the Grand Duke’s tone, hinting at a slight sense of neglect, changed the expressions of those around. The Prince, fearing being labeled as neglectful to his younger half-brother, hastily tried to recover.
“I was very busy back then.”
His forced smile shattered at Noah’s next words.
“For 17 years, I had no choice but to misunderstand. After all, you’re someone who doesn’t cherish even a decade.”
The Grand Duke’s remark was a direct hit at what the Crown Prince had earlier said to Amy.
Rita and Mari exchanged shocked looks.
‘Our Grand Duke can say such things?’
“…You.”
The Crown Prince, failing to maintain his composure, pointed a finger at Noah, his teeth gritted. But then, a cough was heard from behind him.
“Your Highness, perhaps it’s time to enter the castle?”
It was Martin, the captain of the Imperial Guard. His timely intervention saved the Crown Prince from losing face. Bradley and Vernon grimaced, recognizing Martin’s intent.
“You must be tired from the journey. Please, come inside and rest.”
“Hmm… Very well.”
The Crown Prince reluctantly steered his horse towards the castle. Amy and Noah stepped aside, bowing as he passed.
The entourage followed the Crown Prince. It was then that Amy caught sight of someone.
She jolted, quickly bowing her head. Noah, sensing something amiss, looked at her, but in that brief moment, Amy had regained her composure. Noah frowned slightly, sensing something unsaid.
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.”
