The Male Lead’s Sickly Aide is My Type - Chapter 45

Schedule: Tue and Sat. Nana's ko-fi, Nabi's kofi.

Chapter 45

The central square was filled with various peddlers selling all kinds of goods, making it easy to find the items they needed. Carinne and Iris spent their money on cosmetics, new clothes, and accessories. They decided to consider the carriage Iris had seen as their meeting point.

Despite the cold winter day, the inside of the carriage was warm, thanks to the enthusiasm of the two.

“Your complexion is really amazing, sir.”

Iris, who was diligently applying powder on Archen’s cheeks, wiped off the sweat from his forehead and commented.

Carinne, who was picking a lipstick shade next to her, chimed in.

“That’s right. Your skin looks incredibly fair and supple.”

“Shouldn’t you keep your mouth shut?”

“Oops, don’t make that face. It’ll ruin your makeup.”

Carinne chuckled and applied the lipstick to his lips.

“Don’t bite your lips either. Do you want to know what the lipstick tastes like?”

“….”

Archen nibbled on the inside of his mouth. Carinne didn’t want to interfere with that, so she left him alone.

“All done!”

Iris clapped her hands with a bright smile after finishing applying powder and giving his cheeks a touch of blush with a brush.

“You look so beautiful!”

It was not an empty compliment. From his porcelain-like fair skin and thick golden eyelashes to the faint shimmer on his cheeks and vibrant red lips, he looked like an angel descended from the sky. The title of a stunning beauty was not undeserved.

“Wow, you’re a goddess, a goddess. Do you want to see yourself in the mirror once?”

“That’s enough.”

“Aw.”

Carinne playfully teased him but then remembered something she had forgotten.

“Wait a moment. You forgot to wear the accessories.”

“Ah, I completely forgot. Shouldn’t we tie your hair with a ribbon?”

“Let’s not do that and use this beaded pin instead.”

“Or how about this headband? The lace is so pretty!”

“I’m not going to wear anything.”

Archen interrupted Iris and her conversation.

“Hey, don’t be like that. We’re almost done.”

“I’m serious. Once you stick something in me, I’ll go back.”

“…Okay, we won’t do anything then.”

Frustrated by Archen’s dismissive tone, Carinne let out a sigh. If she truly angered him, it could jeopardize their chances at the beauty pageant and the prizes that came with it.

“We’ll be waiting outside. Get dressed and come out.”

“What do you want me to wear… Ah.”

Archen’s expression looked as if the sky had fallen when he received the clothes Carinne handed him. It was a flowing sky-blue dress.

“Yes, I’m telling you to wear that.”

“Are you serious? You want me to wear this?”

He held up the dress, clearly displeased.

“….”

“You can’t wear that coat either.”

“….”

“Don’t worry too much. I chose it because it has long sleeves and reaches down to your ankles.”

“….”

“No one will recognize you. Who would even think that Archen would dress up as a woman and participate in a beauty pageant?”

“….”

“We don’t have much time. You need to change quickly. Understood?”

Ignoring Archen’s disheartened face, Carinne shut the carriage door with a bang.

A little while later, he emerged from the carriage wearing the new clothes, covering his face with both hands. Even through the gaps between his fingers, his face was reddened despite having applied powder.

“I can’t bear to open my eyes,” he said in a crawling voice.

It almost seemed like he was on the verge of tears. Seeing him like that made her feel a little sorry, but… the awe overwhelmed the guilt.

Seeing Archen dressed as a woman! Could it be a dream?

Carinne pinched her cheek hard. Surprisingly, the sight she saw turned out to be real.

“It’s hard to believe…”

It wasn’t a time for admiration. Iris interrupted her admiration by poking her.

“What should we do about that?”

“What’s wrong?”

Iris’s finger pointed to Archen’s chest. At that moment, Carinne realized she had missed one more thing.

Even though his chest was flat, it was too flat.

…A beauty couldn’t have a flat chest!

Archen, seeing the exchanged glances between the two of them, was taken aback and stepped back. His moist eyes were filled with astonishment.

“Are you in your right mind?”

It was a natural question, but any resistance was rejected. Then, Carinne took out some cotton from the carriage seat and added volume to his chest.

“It’s fine. It looks much better.”

“….”

He gazed down at his now plump chest through his hands and tightly closed his eyes. Even though he had asked for time to hide his flushed face, he didn’t have that luxury.

The competition was about to begin.

“Let’s go quickly!”

Carinne grabbed Iris’ and Archen’s hands and ran to the central square. The host behind the podium waved her hand when he saw her.

“Red-haired girl, it’s a shame, but the candidate registration is over.”

Could he say that even after seeing this person?

Carinne pulled Archen, who was hiding behind her, out and stood him in front of the host. He still had his face covered with his hands.

She pulled his arm and made him remove his hands from his face. Then, his hand revealed a face as beautiful as his hair. The downward-sloping bright eyes and the blushing cheeks with shyness added a touch of innocence to his milky-white complexion.

Many hearts were captivated by the beauty that surpassed human boundaries. The eyes of the announcer widened with astonishment as she examined Archen’s face.

“A strong candidate for victory has appeared! Then the situation is different! Come this way quickly!”

Wait a minute. There was something to clarify before that. Carinne stopped the host, who was trying to take Archen away.

“Wait, this girl can’t speak.”

“And she can’t see well either.”

Iris, who had come closer unnoticed, reminded Carinne of the missing point. That was right. Archen said he couldn’t see well without his glasses.

Carinne quickly corrected herself.

“That’s right. She can’t speak and can’t see well.”

Then, she felt Archen’s gaze piercing her from the side as if he could kill her. She felt a little more sorry, but… the first-place prize was also for him…

He would be happy when he heard about the prize later.

The host looked at Archen wistfully and led him to the waiting room. Carinne and Iris took their seats in a place where they could see the stage clearly. With the amplified speech of the host through magic, the competition began.

The candidates on stage stepped forward one by one to introduce themselves. There were exactly ten candidates, and Archen was the tenth candidate.

When it was Archen’s turn, the host came forward and introduced him instead.

“This young lady lost her entire family in an accident when she was young and became unable to speak. She lost her sight as well.”

She didn’t remember saying anything about losing his family in an accident. Archen covered his face with his hands, then stumbled and walked out at the host’s call.

The host patted him on the back as if encouraging him, and he slowly raised his head and looked at the audience. It was the face of someone who had seen everything in the world. He had a resigned look in his dull eyes, which, combined with the host’s false introduction, created an incredible synergy.

People began to be moved by the image of a blond beauty who had lost her family and was left alone, unable to see or speak.

“That poor girl.”

“Look at her expression. She looks so sad.”

“But for a woman, she’s tall, right? She seems to have a bit of a build.”

Some people showed sharp observation skills. Carinne anxiously waited for Archen’s turn to pass.

“We will now begin the voting!”

And it was finally time to vote. Like random voting on a sports day, people just had to go to the area with the number of the girl they thought was the most beautiful.

Carinne and Iris went to the area designated as number 10 and stood there.

Subjectively, it seemed like there were the most people in the number ten area. If they did well, they would be in first place; even if not, they would be in second place. Iris counted the number of people standing in the number ten area and asked.

“Carinne, how should we divide the prizes?”

“If we get second place, you can have it, and if we get first place, I’ll take it. How about that?”

Iris agreed to it. Since Iris was interested in the second-place prize, and Carinne was interested in the first-place prize, it was a fair deal.

* * *

Bianca was the winner of last year’s and the year before’s beauty pageant.

Despite the bright smile on her lips, she was not in a good mood. She believed without a doubt that she would be the first place winner again this time. However, an unexpected newcomer appeared and threatened her position.

Coming late and daring to aim for the first place. She even wore a cheap and outdated dress. The girl in question was sitting in a corner of the stage, bowing her head deeply.

Bianca approached quietly and whispered in the girl’s ear.

“Where did you come from, you little nobody?”

The girl didn’t say anything. Whether she couldn’t hear Bianca’s words or was pretending not to hear, she kept her eyes tightly closed, looking like she was waiting for this moment to pass quickly.

In an exaggerated sense, she looked like a prisoner waiting for execution.

She seemed extremely uncomfortable as if she had come out against her will. If that was the case, then why did she come out in the first place?

“Ah, so you’re mute? Let me see your face.”

As Bianca held the girl’s chin and lifted it up, the girl opened her eyes and looked at her.

“Huh.”

Bianca recoiled as if frightened, and the other candidates asked what was going on.

She trembled, her face turning pale.

“…I’ve never seen such a gaze in my life.”

* * *

The voting had ended. After the assistant finished counting the votes, they whispered something to the host’s ear. The host nodded and shouted loudly towards the excited crowd, “The third place goes to contestant number six! The second place goes to contestant number five! And the highly anticipated first place goes to… contestant number ten!”

The crowd cheered and congratulated the winner, who was too overwhelmed to speak or see clearly. The host held Archen’s hand and raised it high, and he promptly shook off the host’s hand.

“You have quite some strength… Miss, do you engage in any physical activities?”

Carinne appeared before the host, panting heavily.

“Where is the prize?”

She accepted the prize from the host and smiled brightly. Archen touched his forehead, not knowing how to handle Carinne’s enthusiasm.

“Let’s go then.”

His voice sounded like a man’s.

Carinne, Iris, and Archen hurried out of the main square, leaving the stunned host behind.

“Do you believe me now? You really are beautiful.”

“Enough of that. How do I remove this?”

“How to remove it? Just use lavender-scented soap… No, of course, I have prepared something to remove it. Let’s go back to the carriage.”

Carinne teased him but quickly changed her words when she saw his cold expression. Removing the makeup didn’t take long.

She carefully wiped his face with a damp makeup sponge. After removing all the makeup, he came out of the carriage wearing different clothes. He returned to the clean and tidy appearance of the young man she saw when they first met today.

“Today’s incident will be buried in the tomb.”

“Of course. How do you see us?”

Archen looked at the playful Carinne and sighed deeply.

“Well… about the soap…”

“Of course, aide. Don’t worry about anything!” Iris energetically replied, and Carinne nodded vigorously in agreement.

Archen sighed again as if he couldn’t stand the two of them.

“You two are really…”

“What about the two of us?”

“…Nothing. Now that the matter is settled, I will take my leave.”

Archen shook his head as if he was tired. As he walked away, Carinne cheerfully called out to him.

“Today was fun! Goodbye!”

He turned around and made a bitter face when he saw Carinne. But he couldn’t ignore her waving hand and ended up lightly bowing his head. When Archen disappeared from sight, Iris blinked her eyes and asked.

“Carinne, when are you going to use the prize?”

“Well, maybe next year?”

The first-place prize was a travel voucher to the southern island of Esmeril, adorned with the royal seal. It was a protected area accessible only to the royal family and was rumored to have beautiful scenery.

The author of the original story seemed to have used it metaphorically in various expressions. The way it was repeatedly used made Carinne wonder how magnificent a place it must be. It was a place she wanted to visit at least once in her life, and, more importantly, it was a place Archen wanted to visit.

In the middle of the story, a few days before the Ashite Flower Festival, Duke Lucas obtained permission from the king and set off for the southern island with Iris, who confirmed her love for him, by his side.

While the duke was away, Archen, who had to attend to his duties, was deeply disappointed that he couldn’t accompany the duke. He imagined himself looking out of the window on a snowy winter day, wishing he could have gone with them.

That lonely image of his stayed in Carinne’s mind until she turned the last page of the novel.

Although the duke and Iris went on a trip to the relatively mild climate of the southern island to spend a warm winter, Carinne planned to enjoy a proper summer vacation under the scorching sun on the southern island.

Someday, she would travel to the southern island with him.

Perhaps it would be their honeymoon trip?

Carinne returned to the mansion, stuffed with happiness to the point of bursting, and carefully placed the travel voucher in a jewelry box. She would find out later whether they could use the voucher for their honeymoon trip or not.