For Sale: Male Lead, Obsession Included - Chapter 77
A threatening tone.
Clovin’s usual playful demeanor had vanished, leaving his expression cold. But I didn’t back down and lifted my chin.
“Isn’t some of the responsibility yours as well, Sir Clovin? After all, you’re the one who brought Declan here.”
“Oh? My responsibility, you say.”
“I did my best to act the part and fled all the way here, only for you to open a portal and bring Declan along. What were you thinking?”
“Hm, when you put it that way, you have a point.”
“And besides, just as you said, I’m just a powerless commoner. So how am I supposed to reject a high noble like the Young Duke when he begs me to at least be his friend? Wouldn’t that be a crime of disrespect?”
Clovin glanced at Declan through the door, then looked back at me with a mischievous smile.
“So… are you going to be friends? With our Young Master?”
I hesitated, considering Declan’s desperate plea to be something other than just master and slave.
In truth, I wanted to sever all ties with him and live a life where we were strangers with no points of contact.
However, seeing him look as if he’d collapse if I didn’t at least agree to be his friend, I couldn’t bring myself to say no.
After some deliberation, I finally said that I supposed being friends would be fine.
Declan, who had looked on the verge of tears, broke into a radiant smile. For a moment, the world seemed to brighten with that beautiful smile, and my heart skipped a beat.
But guilt weighed on me, knowing I’d just made a promise I might not be able to keep.
“Of course not.”
“Right?”
“Yes. A noble and a commoner as friends? Impossible.”
“It’s good to see you know your place, Estira.”
Ignoring Clovin’s grin, I headed toward the room where Feyden and Ariel were waiting.
Friends.
It’s just a common label, something you could use for anyone you exchanged a few words with in passing.
A friend who shared a few nights back at the margraviate… someone with a shared past.
And friends can cut ties and slowly drift apart as well.
Defining Declan as that kind of ‘friend’, I began packing my things.
I needed to leave this place as soon as possible.
***
“Friends, yeah right.”
When Feyden asked about my relationship with Declan, I answered that we were friends.
Feyden scoffed, not even bothering to laugh, and told me not to say nonsense.
“Why don’t you believe me?”
Declan and I are close in age, after all.
I began packing the few things I’d just unpacked and left the inn with Feyden and Ariel.
“After seeing those eyes? Friends?”
“Huh?”
I turned my head in the direction Feyden was looking.
Declan was striding toward me.
W-What? I thought he’d left!
I glanced at Clovin standing behind him, hoping for an explanation, but he just shrugged obnoxiously.
Even as I awkwardly took a step back, Declan didn’t stop approaching me.
The moment he came close enough—
Feyden stepped in between us, unsheathing his sword with a sharp sound.
“Feyden!”
I called out to him in alarm as he raised the blade to Declan’s neck.
Did he even realize Declan’s status? Was he crazy?
I tried desperately to shake and pinch Feyden’s arm, but his solid arm wouldn’t budge.
Was he seriously planning on losing his head?
While I was considering whether to bite his arm, a strange tension built between Feyden and Declan.
“That’s enough. Can’t you see she’s uncomfortable? Back off.”
“…Move.”
Gone was the heartfelt, gentle tone Declan had used with me. His voice now was so cold it felt like ice.
Declan briefly shifted his gaze from me to Feyden, and his eyes were filled with ferocious hostility.
The pressure in his gaze was so intense it made my throat go dry just from watching.
“Look at this kid’s eyes… Now I get why you want to avoid him, Estira.”
“What?”
“His eyes are deranged. It creeps me out, so imagine how much scarier it must be for our dear Potato.”
I didn’t have time to react to Feyden’s irritating nickname because Declan had just gripped Feyden’s blade tightly with his bare hand.
Blood trickled down his wrist, yet Declan didn’t flinch. The blood ran down his arm, staining his pants and shoes.
Feyden let out a low chuckle.
“You’ve got guts, but women don’t like controlling men like you. Especially someone small and skinny, with nothing to show for himself.”
Feyden’s towering height, his thick, solid muscles that were worlds apart from Declan’s smaller, lean frame, and his confident smile made a stark contrast.
His dry gaze swept over Declan from head to toe.
“You need to be at least my level for women to be completely captivated. Isn’t that right, Estira?”
Feyden whispered, his voice dripping with mockery, making Declan’s jaw clench.
