I Unintentionally Cured the Grand Duke’s Insomnia - Chapter 81

41. — The Truth About Popularity (1)

“Albus!”

As my attention fixed on the child before me, a woman suddenly materialized beside him and swiftly muffled his mouth. The woman, presumably his mother, wore a slightly embarrassed smile and offered an apology.

“I’m sorry, Young Lady Adelia. My child seemed to disturb you while I was briefly in the restroom.”

Her gaze wavered, clearly flustered.

In response, I waved my hand and then cast a quick glance at the child who was wriggling in his mother’s grasp.

“No. That’s okay, but what do you mean by no fun…”

“Why are you covering my mouth? Mom said so yourself that you found this older sister’s book so boring that it was putting you to sleep…!”

“You’re really—!”

The woman swiftly returned her hand to cover her son’s mouth as he screamed. Holding the struggling child, she then quickly bowed and apologized.

“I’m sorry, Young Lady Adelia. I’m really sorry!”

Without waiting for my response, she hastened to leave the cafe with her restless child.

In the meanwhile, my gaze followed them until they disappeared through the cafe’s exit as I remained rooted in place.

…No fun?

Did they say no fun?

Did they just say that my book was boring? My thoughts went completely blank as I was taken aback. At the same time, my mouth hung open like a goldfish, unable to find any words to respond to a situation I had never even imagined before.

“Young Lady Adelia?”

Even with Million’s cautious voice calling out to me, my mangled brain couldn’t function properly.

My trembling hands felt an ominous foreboding.

“Are you okay, Young Lady Adelia?”

“Yes? Oh, yes. I’m fine…”

“Keup!”

The man who had been stealing glances at our table couldn’t hold back his laughter any longer and eventually burst out with it. When I instinctively turned my head towards the source of the sound, he seemed to feel my gaze and quickly cleared his throat loudly, avoiding eye contact with me.

In that moment, my mind, which had been momentarily paralyzed, started functioning again as I processed his actions.

The other people in the cafe, who had been discreetly glancing at me, were now struggling to contain their laughter, which was on the verge of breaking out. Whenever our eyes met, they would awkwardly clear their throats and look away before exchanging amused giggles amongst themselves.

The voices, which had been eerily subdued, now rang in my ears with a clarity that revealed their thoughts.

“I told you not to laugh! Young Lady Blaise will notice because of you!”

“No. I tried not to laugh, but it was just too funny. Seriously, how boring it is to make you fall asleep when you haven’t read a single line!”

As the taunts and ridicule directed at me became more overt, my face grew hotter with embarrassment.

I wanted to run away.

All I wanted to do was to go somewhere where nobody knew me and hide as a mixture of resentment and embarrassment, feelings that I couldn’t even comprehend, floated precariously in my mind.

“—lia, Young Lady Adelia.”

As my hands trembled on the table, another hand, as cold as ice, touched mine. Startled by his sudden touch, I looked up, and Million continued with a calm expression on his face.

“You don’t need to be embarrassed by other people’s opinions, Young Lady Adelia.”

“…Yes?”

“The enjoyment of a book is subjective. A book that someone finds utterly boring might be incredibly captivating to someone else, keeping them up all night reading. So, don’t worry too much about it.”

He offered his comforting words cautiously yet firmly.

While I looked at his hand tenderly clasping mine, I pressed my lips together.

“T-Thank you…”

“As long as we write without betraying our conscience as writers.”

“…Yes?”

“It means not plagiarizing someone else’s work or stealing their material. People who do such things shouldn’t even be tied up as us writers.”

“….”

“Isn’t that right, Miss Million?”

Even though he made the comment in a playful tone, my heart felt like it was being stabbed and aching. Contrary to the smiling corners of his lips, his gaze sharpened as if waiting for my response.

It was a secret that no one else knew.

…Yet, it felt as if the man before me had somehow unraveled that very secret.

My anxiety skyrocketed, propelling me to leap up from my chair without a second thought. When the chair crashed to the floor with a resounding thud, the previously bustling cafe abruptly fell into a hushed stillness as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over it.

Million’s eyes sank lowly as he watched me freeze at the loud sound of the chair tipping over.

“Young Lady Adelia.”

As he called my name, I felt the gaze of everyone in the cafe turn toward me as if their eyes were piercing into me. The weight of their collective gaze felt like a predator’s glare in the darkness, freezing me in place.

I wanted to run away.

…All I wanted was to flee from those prying eyes that seemed to peer into me.

“I-I’m sorry. I think I need to go. I’m sorry, Young Lord Black.”

Ignoring Million’s voice calling for me, I stumbled out of the cafe. With each step I took, the mocking laughter and scornful gazes of people grabbed at my ankles.

I wished I could just be dragged to the ground and disappear forever.

˚ : * ✧ * :· ˚

“You call that original?! The title is exactly the same as the book I published…!”

“Well. Even if you say that to me, it’s not going to change anything.”

The calm atmosphere inside the bookstore was disrupted by the confrontation between the two men.

“Note, there’s a new interesting release… What is this?”

Unaware of the situation, Jenny hesitated as she opened the door and entered the store.

The man who was raising his voice towards Note seemed taken aback by the sudden entrance of a customer before quickly drawing the black cloak around him. Thrusting the bundle of papers he was holding into Note’s hands, he then spoke with a stern expression.

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