I’m Looking for the Male Lead for the Ending - Chapter 32

Chapter 17.1

‘There was a route for Grand Duke Kaisian? No, why is the penalty like this?’

I couldn’t understand all the information that the system window showed me. Even the fact that the brooch given to me by the child was that of the Grand Duke and that his brooch was the key to opening a hidden route didn’t make sense to me at all.

No, what I found most unbelievable was the way the system seemed to be trying to force me to open the hidden route.

‘…There’s a penalty of refusal, and my health would be decreasing by five per hour?’

The only penalty so far has been nothing more than a decrease in the favorability of the target character. Of course, if their favorability reached zero, there was a penalty to my health, though that was temporary. So, at least if the person in question wasn’t in front of me, the penalty was no longer applied. Still, it seemed that the system was now telling me that it would continue to penalize me if I didn’t open the hidden route.

“Heron… What has he been doing all this time?!”

As I heard my father shouting again, I quickly diverted my gaze from the system window and tried to compose my expression. My heart pounded loudly in my chest.

“Y-Your Excellency, please return to the Marquis’ residence first. I’ll prepare the carriage right away…”

“Now that Heron has lost, do you want me to look like I’m running away?!”

“Yes? N-No! I never meant that… I-I apologize deeply, Your Excellency!”

The next moment, Daren immediately flattened himself to the ground, trembling as he sputtered his words under the weight of my father’s tirade. It seemed that even the quick-witted butler seemed quite taken aback by the unexpected situation, so he may have said something he normally wouldn’t have said.

My father, who was huffing and exhaling roughly, reluctantly sat down. As he said, it was obvious that people would sarcastically say that he went back without congratulating the winner because his son didn’t win.

“D*mn it!”

I pretended not to notice my father, who was slamming the armrest and venting his anger, and lifted my gaze to the system window again. To be honest, in this situation, my only option seemed to be ‘YES.’However, despite knowing this, I hesitated to press the button.

‘…Is it really okay to choose as the system intended?’

As I was trying to figure out what to do, I suddenly remembered that I had been holding onto the lapis lazuli brooch the whole time. At that moment, I recalled the system window informing me that the brooch was the key to opening the hidden route.

‘If I return the brooch to him, would I no longer need to open the hidden route? The key would be gone from me.’

As I looked over the stage with a sudden thought in mind, I saw him standing on stage with the audience cheering. It seemed worth a try.

̊ · : * ✧* : · ̊

〈 Go to the carriage first. 〉

My father, who had been wearing a composed expression throughout the awards ceremony, momentarily vacated his seat upon receiving the Emperor’s summons. Taking advantage of his absence, I quickly passed by the participants’ waiting room and headed towards the carriage in an attempt to meet the Grand Duke once more, but his figure was nowhere to be seen.

‘…Is he by any chance with His Majesty the Emperor?’

I felt upset at the turn of events not going as planned. Perhaps my anxiety was evident, as Marie asked with a worried expression on her face.

“What’s the matter, Young Lady?”

“No, it’s nothing…”

As I shook my head and reassured her that it was nothing, I noticed someone standing in front of the Marquis’s carriage. His jet-black hair glistened in the sunlight, resembling obsidian.

“Huk.”

Recognizing the man’s identity, Marie gasped in surprise.

As if sensing our gaze, he turned around.

I halted for a moment before slowly approaching him. When I stopped three or four steps in front of him, he greeted me first.

“I was waiting in front of the carriage to see if I might be able to catch a glimpse of you for a moment, but I’m glad I did.”

“Are you saying you’ve been waiting for me?”

“Yes, I have something to ask you.”

Although I studied his face quietly, I couldn’t discern his thoughts. Finally meeting the Grand Duke’s gaze, I shook off my lingering thoughts and opened my mouth again.

“That’s a welcome response. I also have something I’d like to say to Your Highness as well.”

Then, his eyes widened in surprise. As I extended the brooch I had been holding towards him, his blue eyes turned towards me, seemingly questioning the significance.

“I’ve been thinking after hearing what the adjutant had said earlier.”

“….”

“While it’s true that I received this brooch as a gift, I don’t know its origin, so I thought, as the adjutant suggested, that it could be Your Highness’s brooch.”

Despite the fact that I already knew through the system window that the brooch belonged to Estieren, I pretended not to know, feeling my mouth go dry as I tried to return the brooch and undo the opening of the hidden route.

“So, I thought I’d give it back.”

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