For Sale: Male Lead, Obsession Included - Chapter 35
Ah. He cried.
Through the slowly closing door, I saw the transparent teardrop.
I bit my lip because I wasn’t immune to his tears.
Crying just because he couldn’t sleep beside me.
‘He’s not a child…’
I sighed silently, unable to move my feet in front of the closed door.
Declan’s sorrowful face kept coming to mind. Moreover, I was worried that my words had hurt him too deeply.
‘If you behave this way, it will cause me trouble, Your Lordship. I am now a commoner with no title, and you are the Duke’s heir.’
I closed my eyes tightly, regretting it over and over again.
I never thought I would say such an old-fashioned line, ‘I am the teacher, and you are the student.’
I sat down on the spot and leaned against the door. The cool texture of the wood spread through my back to my whole body.
Sighs continued to pour out.
“Please let me in.”
Then, Declan’s tearful voice came from beyond the door.
I pressed my ears shut.
‘I’m sorry, my lord.’
Now, the Young Duke and I must go our separate ways.
You will walk a wonderful path as the main character of the original story.
I will live a modest life as a supporting character in the original story.
So if you have any good feelings towards me, please let go of them after seeing my cold-hearted side.
‘I’m sorry!’
Thud!
There was a sound from the door against my back.
‘What is it?’
I quietly focused on the sound beyond the door, and a ridiculous smile came to my face as a situation occurred to me. It was as if I were a dog owner teaching a puppy to sleep separately.
Hearing the pitiful sound of a puppy scratching the door made my heart flutter with a mix of emotions.
Is this why so many dog owners fail at training their dogs to sleep separately?
As my heart weakened, I forced myself to pull it together.
‘Get a grip.’
If I give in here, I might end up living in the same bed with that dangerous puppy forever!
Didn’t I vow to live a life unrelated to the main characters of the original story?
Repeating these thoughts like a mantra, my firm resolve was once again threatened by Declan’s voice from outside.
“Butler. Let me sleep here. I don’t want to go to my room.”
“Young Duke, you must sleep in your room…”
Declan’s desperate voice echoed through the hallway.
‘Hah, damn it.’
I tilted my head back and banged it against the door.
I was only trying to do something good for Declan.
…So why do I feel so uncomfortable?
‘Really…’
I’m about to cry.
***
After repeating over and over how sadistic and obsessive Declan was as the male lead in the original novel, and how much trouble it caused to be entangled with the main characters as a mere extra, I finally managed to sort out my feelings.
This even caused a headache I didn’t have before.
Only after suffering from that headache for a whole day could I finally step out of the room.
“The Duke calls for you.”
It was the summons from the Duke, Dezereth.
I was trying to enjoy the rare leisure of a holiday for the first time in ten years when I hurriedly followed the butler.
“This way, please.”
“Oh, yes.”
My steps following the butler were light.
Why?
Just thinking about the reward the Duke would give me made me smile and hum.
The process of confirming Declan as his child must be completed by now, so he must have called me to give me my reward.
Since I had already planned out my life with the huge sum I would receive, I was even more excited.
It felt like winning the lottery and heading to the bank’s headquarters.
In the original story, the female lead received a reward of 100,000 gold.
A fortune that would last a lifetime even if lived as an idler.
As I smiled sneakily behind the butler and swallowed my saliva, I realized we were heading in a strange direction and asked the butler.
“This road leads to the prison, doesn’t it?”
“The Duke is there.”
Prison?
They wouldn’t give me the reward in prison, right?
‘Could it be that they plan to dispose of me because a commoner who knows the Young Duke’s past is unnecessary…?’
As I rolled my eyes and descended the stairs leading to the prison, I was greeted by the stale smell and a cloud of dust.
“95 counts of smuggling, 18 counts of slave trading…”
The further I descended, the more I could hear Clovin reciting the Margrave’s crimes one by one.
Next to Clovin, who was sitting with his legs crossed, looking at the imprisoned members of the Margrave’s family through the bars, was the Duke.
‘…Unbelievable.’
The indifferent gaze and the haughty posture as he looked at the Margrave and his children in the cell. The thoroughly disciplined and aristocratic demeanor.
I couldn’t help but admire the Duke’s imposing presence, who didn’t even flinch in front of the Margrave.
It was a sense of awe I wanted to learn from.
As my footsteps drew closer to the Duke, he turned his head towards me.
“Greetings, Your Grace.”
As soon as I spoke, the three wretched faces of the Glioced family, kneeling beyond the iron bars, turned sharply towards me.
Simultaneously, resentment and anger boiled over in their eyes.
Even though they were in prison, their spirit was unbroken.
