1. The first way. Don't be a stepmother.

It is often said that the main character of my story is me, but there in this story, I am not the main character. I grew up with my childhood friend, a girl who was born in a much better family than me and much prettier than me but the same age. I was not the main character.

The child grew up to be an elegant and gentle lady, she married the Duke and gave birth to an heir. When my childhood friend told me that she missed me, I ran the whole way to her. The child I hugged was very beautiful and healthy, resembling the Duke and her. Like his mother, he will probably become the main character of someone's life.

While I was holding the child on behalf of the weakened mother the Duke said, looking at the child I hugged.

"The child's name is Carlos".

Then he left without looking back at his wife who almost died giving birth to this child. I looked blankly at the back of such a man. It was the first time a man left without looking at my beautiful friend having been loved since birth, who was haggard from childbirth.

The winter wind sounded like a sick man's cough rattled the bed and window sill.

'The child's name is Carlos.'

Carlos, Carlos von Demancier, here the mother's name is used as the middle name, so Carlos Marilyn von Demancier. The more I thought, the more this name felt strangely familiar.

"Carlos von, nicknamed... Carl. Yes, I would prefer Carl."

Cough, cough, cough, and the sound of phlegm came from Marilyn. His nickname is Karl. His mother's name is Marilyn, his father's name is Gellerhard the ruler of the North and a child born on a winter day in the Duke of Demancier.

The baby I saw had pretty green eyes, resembling his mother.

You are the protagonist of this world..!

Before I became Marilyn's childhood friend, before I was born into this world, I remembered the novels I had read in my previous life.

It was a novel about a man born on the coldest day before spring in the northern part of the works, where half of the year is winter. The man lost his mother shortly after birth and grew up in the hands of a wicked stepmother, who uses his half-brother to threaten the succession of the Dukedom. In volume 1, the male lead has to leave the castle for the Academy because his father, who was a great hero, did not protect him. Volumes 2 and 3 were about young life in the Academy, filled with dreams, love, and tricks. By volume 4, the boy, now grown into a man, returns to his family. But due to his stepmother's schemes, he is sent to the border to battle against monsters every day, earning merits and gaining loyalty from the knights. And he falls in love with the dragon during the battle, ending the war on the border. With the long-awaited volume of 5… the man kicks out and kills his evil stepmother and half-brother, then inherits the title of Duke from his father.

I realized that the baby in my arms was the protagonist of this world, who ended the long-standing war with monsters with love and will be remembered as the greatest Duke in the north.

Cough Cough Cough, Marilyn's coughs became more frequent, and the maid continued to add firewood to the fireplace. But Marilyn's life, unlike that flame, will soon fade, and this child will be abused by a wicked stepmother due to his uninterested father.

The sadness for the child was in my heart. He's such a pretty child, and I feel sorry for him. If it weren't for Amanda...what?

Marilyn's father and mother, Count and Countess Betrika, take care of the successor as if he were their child, and quickly find the next duchess. It was this way that Amanda, the daughter of Viscount Venta, a vessel family, was able to become a duchess. The fact that she was a childhood friend who grew up with Marilyn was also a good thing for the Countess. It was expected that she would take good care of the child of her deceased friend and know how to act on her behalf.

Coughing, choking, choking! Marilyn's cough intensified and her skinny body shook. The doctor came rushing up to her and a seasoned maid whispered to me.

"Princess might get sick. Go ahead and take the young master out!"

And I went outside with the baby in my arms. Unlike Marilyn's room, which was hot and humid due to the large fire in the fireplace, the hallway was chilly because it was cold outside. Due to the hot room the baby had reddened cheeks, he rubbed small lips together. I slowly walked to the nursery with the baby in my arms. Where to go, the maid approached me in an intent full way.

"Madam Amanda! There you are! Count Vietrika and Viscount Venta are looking for you!"

My steps stopped with the child in my arms. Marilyn's childhood friend, Viscount Venta's daughter, Vietrika's vassal. Amanda. That was my name.

And perhaps, I'm going to be the stepmother tormenting this child.

Come on.