I’m Looking for the Male Lead for the Ending - Chapter 81

Chapter 41.2

After convincing myself, my heart felt much lighter.

Heron, who had been silently watching me, reached for his cup of tea and asked,

“…You mean you’re indebted to Perideline Kaisian?”

“….”

“Why?”

His eyes narrowed as he picked up his teacup.

Feeling like I was being pressured to answer, I stiffened my expression and shot the question back at him.

“Did you come to my room today to interrogate me, Brother?”

Heron flinched slightly at my words. He was quiet for a moment, then set the untouched teacup down on the table before speaking.

“I’m just asking because your recent behavior isn’t like it used to be.”

“….”

“…If I’ve made you uncomfortable, you don’t have to answer.”

“…Yes?”

His sharp gaze softened, and his tone grew noticeably gentler. Instead of feeling relieved by his change in demeanor, I was mostly just bewildered.

‘What’s with him, acting so scary like that?’

Whether he was aware of how I was feeling or not, Heron stood up from his seat and said,

“Anyway, I think it would be a good idea to avoid going out for the time being.”

“…Are you saying I should refrain from going out for a while?”

“What?”

Heron squinted for a moment, then sighed before speaking.

“It means Father is keeping an eye on you, so be careful with your actions.”

‘Why would Father be…?’

Heron’s unexpected words left me completely confused. I couldn’t understand why my father, who usually showed no interest in me, would suddenly start watching me.

He looked at me with a stern expression and added, seeing that I remained silent,

“If the person you’re involved with is from the Grand Duchy of Kaisian, then letting Father find out won’t do you any good.”

“….”

“…But I’m sure you’re well aware of that.”

After finishing his sentence, he turned away without hesitation.

‘Is he advising me not to get on Father’s bad side?’

It was a strange, yet oddly ticklish feeling.

I stared at his back in a daze, and before I knew it, I called out to Heron, who was reaching for the door handle.

“Th-thank you, Brother!”

“….”

“…I won’t do anything to tarnish the Aidelis name.”

Despite the fact that it wasn’t anything special, for some reason, my face grew warm. I resisted the urge to look away immediately.

Heron, still silently meeting my gaze, parted his lips slightly.

“I thought you…”

“….?”

“Forget it, it’s nothing.”

He looked at me briefly, then held back whatever he was about to say and turned away.

‘He thought I…?’

I was trying to figure out what he was going to say, but as the door clicked shut, I pushed the thought away. I slumped into my seat, replaying everything that had just happened in my mind.

“…It feels like I just survived a storm.”

I sighed softly and muttered to myself when I suddenly heard urgent footsteps outside the door. There was a knock, and I quickly replied, prompting Marie to rush into the room.

“Young lady!”

Marie approached, a slight flush on her face, and asked,

“Why did the young master show up all of a sudden? Have you two gotten closer recently?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her barrage of questions and gestured toward the untouched tea.

“Hmm, I don’t know if we’ve gotten any closer or not. Sorry, but could you take this away, Marie?”

“Yes, I’ll clean it up… huh? You didn’t drink any of it?”

“It wasn’t exactly the kind of moment to sit and drink tea.”

“…Did I jump to conclusions again?”

“It’s not that. Don’t worry.”

She studied my expression for a moment before shrugging her shoulders and saying,

“You know that, don’t you, Lady? I’m always on your side!”

“Of course.”

“Phew, I’m just glad to hear it wasn’t anything serious. To be honest, I was getting my hopes up since the young master used to completely ignore you, but lately, it seems like he’s been showing some interest.”

“Really?”

“Yes, but seeing your expression, I started to worry I might have gotten it wrong again! You wouldn’t believe how much I was pacing outside!”

As Marie, who had been trying to lighten the mood, took one more quick glance around the empty room, she leaned in close to my ear and whispered,

“Then I started to think… what if Master Heron came to see you because he found out you met with the Duke recently? My heart almost stopped!”

At her words, I couldn’t help but turn my head toward the desk. It suddenly occurred to me that I had completely forgotten about the paper I had been looking at, all because of Heron’s visit.

“Uh… Marie, could you bring me some tea again?”

“Oh, of course! I’ll be back in a minute!”

She quickly left the room, offering a quick goodbye.

With a click, the door shut, and I quickly got up from my seat. I rushed over to the desk and grabbed the paper I had tucked between the books earlier. The place where my writing had been was now filled with unfamiliar handwriting. No, it was the exact same handwriting as the one that had been there before.

It reached me, very clearly.