Hmmm.. I respect your opinion. But in my opinion, i think that nora isnt looking at the mc for a replacement for parental love because based on what i read in the manhwa, he was already interested in her from the first time they met, in which he didn't know she was a step mother. I think that they are more like friends who comfort each other because they know what each other has been through (like their family situations). On the other hand, I agree with you and also dont like the crown prince because he is the one who is looking for maternl love and i guess he is just jealous and wants the mcs attention for himself. This is just my opinion :)
I agree to the reply above me. Nora and shuli started out as friends and there was no indication that he is shifting his parental figure to shuli. He still acknowledges his parents, and wants parental love, but he doesn't want to receive that from shuli.
The prince however-(⊙…⊙ ) He is obsessive with shuli due to the fact that she looks similar to his mother. He thinks of shuli as an someone that he cannot let go, like his dead mother. That is where your point kinda makes sense. It fits in the crown prince's narrative, but not for nora.
I never thought of the prince as a potential love interest in the first place anyway, so I'm not expecting any shift of shuli being a parental figure into a romantic interest in the story. But, i do hope he will have a change of heart since he's going to be the emperor of the country lol jkjk unless
Sorry for my bad english ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶
POTENTIAL SPOILERS
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so i saw that the ML in the novel is nora but it makes me feel kinda ew.... bc although she's close in age with jeremy and jeremy's friends, nora and the crown prince, they're both her potential love interests. BUT their relationships so far all have emphasis on how she's able to love them in replacement for parental love they never got. and that's just ....... how do you become a love interest from that????? wow the boys are going to have to grow up a lot and do some more relationship development for me to be on board for this end game couple