I’m Looking for the Male Lead for the Ending - Chapter 83

Chapter 42.2

“That’s what I’m saying. He’s never shown the slightest interest in women, so I don’t know whether to be happy about this or start worrying.”

Noticing Lev deep in thought with a troubled look, Ban gave his shoulder a light pat.

“For now, let’s just wait and see how things play out.”

As Ban’s hand rested on his shoulder, Lev silently strengthened his resolve once more.

When he visited the Magic Tower this time, he was determined to find out everything about that female wizard before returning.

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ୨ৎ ໒꒱ ‧₊ ୧‿︵

“W-Wait, seriously? The Grand Duke Kaisian is really…!”

Even though I was alone in the room, I instinctively covered my mouth in surprise. After nervously glancing around, I hurriedly sat down.

The message he had sent me was still visible on the paper in my hands.

“This means I can reach the Grand Duke!”

Just earlier, Heron had told me that my father had been keeping an eye on me recently, so receiving something like this now felt like perfect timing. I even wondered if the Grand Duke had sent this because he already knew about my situation.

‘There’s no way he sent this just because he wanted to talk to me.’

Anyway, the important thing was that thanks to this, it had become easier to contact him than before. For the first time, it felt like I was finally making real progress toward the ending, and the thought filled me with excitement.

‘Now I can talk about Marie’s treatment without any trouble. And who knows? It might even make clearing the hidden route easier!’

I took a deep breath, pushing down my excitement, and carefully studied the enchanted paper.

It was roughly the size of both my palms placed together.

‘Oh, his message stays on the paper, so he must have written it at the very top. That means I’ll only have about two palm-widths of space for our conversations from now on.’

I was aware that in a few months, this Untact Paper would become wildly popular among the nobility, but this was my first time actually using it. It wasn’t surprising, though, since none of my previous route targets, like Vien, Allen, or Diel, were the kind of people who would ever gift me something like this.

And they were even less likely to patiently sit and exchange written messages with me.

Maybe it was because they were born into noble families or had exceptional talents, but no matter how much I increased their affection, they never once took my situation into account. If they wanted to see me, they would. If they wanted something, they would take it. And if they couldn’t have it, they’d rather destroy it than let anyone else claim it.

‘Forget it. Stop thinking about it. I’ve had enough of that.’

I pushed away the lingering memories that tried to drag me down again.

Then, trying to shake off the weight pressing on my chest, I let out a long breath. I hesitated for a moment, wondering what to say, before finally picking up my quill and carefully putting my thoughts into words.

I only just found out today that my father has been keeping an eye on my actions recently. I was wondering how we would be able to communicate from now on, so thank you for arranging a way for us to contact each other first.

The moment I finished the last period, the words on the paper rippled and vanished once again.

It was strange that they had lingered for a while before disappearing immediately earlier, but this time, they vanished right away.

‘Ah, does the text disappear the moment the other person reads it?’

I couldn’t help but be impressed by how plausible my guess seemed. If I was correct, then not only could I send messages, but I could also know the exact moment he read them. I was impressed by how ingenious the creator of this must have been to come up with such an idea.

For a moment, I pondered who might have invented this, but then I refocused on the paper.

‘First, let’s focus on the conversation. I’ve already expressed my gratitude to the Grand Duke, so once he responds, I’ll bring up Marie’s treatment.’

It was about time for Marie to receive her treatment again.

For someone like me, who had been desperately searching for a way to contact him, this was the perfect gift.

Excitedly, I waited for his response, expecting it to arrive quickly. But to my surprise, nothing came. At first, I assumed he was just thinking about what to write, but as one minute passed, then two, then three, and still no reply, unease began to settle in.

I absentmindedly drummed my fingers on the desk, murmuring under my breath.

“What’s going on…? Didn’t it vanish because he saw it? Or did I take too long to reply?”

A flood of questions ran through my mind.

As I replayed my message in my head, I wondered if he saw it as nothing more than a polite thank-you and decided it didn’t require a reply. Just as I was thinking about reaching out first again, my eyes locked on the innocent paper, and a sharp knock echoed through the room.

“M-Milady, His Grace is here!”

‘What?’

In a panic, I barely managed to hide the paper between the pages of a book just as the firmly shut door swung open.