Chapter 6 (Part 4)

Amelia quickly grabbed Edwin’s hand as he tried to leave.

“Wait.”

He stopped and turned to face her. Amelia gestured for him to come closer.

After hesitating for a moment, Edwin lowered his head and approached.

“W-what do you want to say… Ugh!”

Before he could finish, Amelia reached out and grabbed the bulge in his trousers. The solid texture felt unfamiliar, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.

Just touching it made Edwin let out a small groan.

“I have a favor to ask.”

“S-Stop and talk, t-this is the palace. Hah!”

Edwin tried to pull away, but as Amelia stroked the object up and down, he staggered and fell to his knees.

“Don’t worry. No one will come in unless I command it.”

Determined not to miss this chance, Amelia unbuckled his trousers. As she pulled them down, the hidden object sprang out.

Fearing Edwin might run away, Amelia quickly grabbed his member. The hot, soft sensation surprised her, and she gripped it tighter. A clear fl*id began to ooze from the tip.

“Stop it. What are you….”

Edwin’s face turned beet red, and his breath became ragged. It was the first time she had seen him so embarrassed.

Covering his face with one hand, Edwin tried to stop her with the other.

Amelia felt a warm sensation pooling in her lower abdomen, perhaps because this was different from his usual intense demeanor.

“Shouldn’t you hear my favor first?”

Not intending to stop, Amelia provocatively stroked the swollen sh*ft. Edwin gasped and breathed heavily.

Seizing the opportunity, Amelia began to move her hand faster. As the pace increased, Edwin, unable to contain himself, closed his eyes and bit his lower lip.

It seemed he had given up trying to stop her and was instead trying to endure the pl*asure. But it wasn’t easy; soft moans and heated breaths escaped his lips.

Seeing him overwhelmed with desire brought a smile to Amelia’s face. Who would have thought she’d be the one to tease Edwin like this?

“Hah.”

As Amelia vigorously stroked him, a milky fl*id began to ooze from the tip. She quickly covered it with a handkerchief.

The handkerchief couldn’t contain all the sticky fl*id, which dripped down her hand.

“What are you doing?”

At that moment, Edwin’s eyes regained focus. Realizing what had happened, his face hardened. Amelia, hesitating, cautiously spoke.

“Um… Can I ask you a favor?”

“What favor?”

Edwin adjusted his clothes and stood up.

“Well, you see.”

After carefully explaining the plan that the Duke of Hamilton had mentioned, she watched for his reaction.

“…”

Edwin gave no response, and a thick silence hung between them. Amelia was so nervous that even swallowing felt like a conscious effort.

“Wasn’t it you, Amelia, who said you didn’t want to marry me? I don’t think there’s any need to revisit past matters.”

The reply that broke the silence was skeptical.

Looking at the bulge in his trousers again, she had a small hope, but it was just Amelia’s wishful thinking.

‘Was I mistaken? Why did I subconsciously hope he might accept?’

It was wrong of her to think that just because Edwin had proposed once, he liked her. She had merely interpreted it in a way that suited her.

Being rejected wasn’t surprising, but it felt heavy, like being turned down even without confessing.

‘Did Edwin feel the same way as I do now?’

Now she understood what Edwin might have felt when she rejected him the last time.

“I was indeed shameless. Sorry, let’s pretend you didn’t hear that. I hope you meet a good woman. But you’ll still remain a good friend to me, right?”

Tears welled up, but Amelia held them back. She tried to speak nonchalantly, but she was so flustered that she didn’t even know what she was saying.

However, in her heart, she resolved never to use him again. At the same time, she genuinely hoped that Edwin would meet a good woman.

Whoever becomes Edwin’s bride will be happy. He will be kind and gentle to the woman he loves.

Compared to her own fate of living a life without the Crown Prince’s love, it was just her destiny, and she had to accept it.

But strangely, she didn’t want to end her relationship with Edwin here. She wanted to maintain their friendship.

If she officially became the Crown Princess, she would meet the people of the Hamilton family, but apart from that, she would feel lonely if she couldn’t see Edwin. So she had no choice but to ask him to remain friends.

“Sure. I’ll remain a good friend for life, as you wish.”

Edwin’s face also showed a hint of loneliness. Seeing that, Amelia felt uneasy as well.

“Sorry for making you uncomfortable. Could you please leave? I want to be alone for a while.”

She didn’t want to see Edwin’s face right now. If she stayed with him any longer, she felt she might burst into tears. The tears she would shed now were different in meaning from the ones she had shed earlier, and she didn’t want Edwin to see them.

She expected him to leave immediately, but Edwin didn’t. He stared silently at her.

“Why…? Do you have more to say?”

“If I refuse, will you become the Crown Princess?”

“Unless His Royal Highness changes his mind, yes.”

“I see.”

‘Why did he ask that?’ 

Feeling puzzled, Amelia didn’t ask anything further. She just looked at him silently, waiting for his next words.

After maintaining the silence for a while, Edwin spoke again.

“If I accept your proposal, do you really intend to marry me? I want to hear your honest feelings.”

Seeing his face so serious, Amelia couldn’t bring herself to answer affirmatively. It felt like there was a thorn in her mouth.

“Do you really want to know my feelings?”

“Yes.”

If she lied now and said she wanted him, Edwin would probably help her avoid becoming the Crown Princess. But somehow, she couldn’t lie.

At this moment, she didn’t want to gain her freedom by deceiving him.

If she told the truth, she would have to endure a stifling life in the palace forever. The future seemed bleak, but she had to face reality and brace herself.

“The truth is… I wanted to use you to escape this situation. My father found out we slept together.”

“I see.”

Edwin’s expression turned serious. He fell silent for a moment, his face slightly contorted as if in deep thought, then spoke with difficulty.

“Sorry. I don’t think I can grant your request. I can’t stay single forever, so I plan to find my partner and propose soon.”

* * *

“Sigh.”

Sitting at her desk in the study, Amelia let out a heavy sigh. She had dropped her pen on the desk multiple times.

The documents were stained with ink, but she was so lost in thought that she didn’t even notice. Since being rejected by Edwin, she couldn’t focus on anything.

‘Was I too honest? What if he ends up hating me?’

To describe her current state in one word: shock.

He said he would propose to someone soon….

She couldn’t believe how shocked she was when she heard that. Even after Edwin left the room, she couldn’t regain her composure for a long time.

The strange thing was that although Edwin spoke in a calm tone, his words sounded cruel to Amelia. It wasn’t a cold voice, so why did it feel that way?

‘He said he would propose soon? To whom?’

Moreover, she couldn’t understand why the thought of Edwin proposing to someone soon weighed so heavily on her heart.

She had hoped he would meet a good woman, but hearing it from his mouth made her chest feel tight, as if something was pressing down on it.

‘If I knew I would be rejected like this, I wouldn’t have asked in the first place….’

She felt that by asking, she had only pushed them further apart. If not for that, they might have remained friends.

Although Edwin said he would remain a good friend for life, it seemed impossible now.

Like trying to piece together broken fragments, the relationship with Edwin could never return to what it was. Hence, maintaining a good friendship with him seemed out of reach.

‘I will become the Crown Princess, and Edwin will marry a lady who suits him.’

Amelia couldn’t understand why the idea of someone being by Edwin’s side bothered her so much, but she tried to suppress these thoughts deep within her heart. If he truly met a woman he loved, she should sincerely congratulate him.

But…

Strangely, she felt she couldn’t do that. No, she didn’t want to. It might be a selfish thought, but she couldn’t even imagine another woman by Edwin’s side. It hurt so much.

This was a big problem. How could she feel this way after rejecting him first?

Amelia dropped her pen again and covered her face with both hands. She finally understood her feelings.

‘What I want is…’

As she let out a deep sigh, she felt like crying. Why did she realize these feelings so late?

Amelia only realized after hearing that Edwin was going to propose to another woman. She no longer saw Edwin as just a friend.

She had taken the emotion of love too lightly. The feelings of love were hidden under the guise of friendship, and she had only thought of it as friendship.

‘What’s so strange about friends becoming lovers?’

Thinking back, it seemed to have started that day. The day she had a dream of witnessing Edwin pleasuring himself.

She had perceived him as a man for the first time, but because that feeling was awkward and uncomfortable, she had avoided it.

Awkwardness. Uncomfortableness. She had suppressed her true feelings with such words, not realizing them because she was afraid of the relationship changing. And as a result, she had pushed away the man she liked with her own hands.

‘What should I do?’

Now that she couldn’t call Edwin back to reveal her heart, there was nothing Amelia could do.

‘What can I possibly do?’

Her gaze turned to the stack of documents in front of her. Sitting in a position she didn’t want, doing tasks she didn’t want to do every day… She no longer wanted to live such a life.

Even if she did as told, she would only continue to be tormented, and the Crown Prince didn’t care either way. 

‘Could this situation be called a normal marriage?’

If she stayed still, she would end up in an unwanted marriage, burdened with excessive work.

‘I don’t want that.’

No matter how she thought about it, Amelia didn’t fit the role of Crown Princess at all. If she felt such aversion, it was better to do something about it. So to change her future, she needed to act first.

What Amelia could do right now was to confirm whether her suspicions were true.

She had overlooked suspicious parts due to the possibility that they might be true. But being confined in the Crown Princess’s palace and just having doubts wouldn’t change anything, so she had to do what she could now.

Even if it meant risking imprisonment.