The Sub Male Lead is Burning with Jealousy - Chapter 2 Part 10
As Angelica stepped forward, it almost felt like the air itself had stopped. People ceased their conversations and stared as she approached the Emperor.
Her husband, Theodore Calix, was five steps behind her. He knew that if he grabbed her wrist and stopped her, it would only fuel the scandalous rumors.
Rahil seemed to notice Angelica just then. Judging by his surprised look, he hadn’t been aware of her presence until that moment.
‘Angelica.’
He was shocked to realize that from the moment he entered the ballroom until now, he hadn’t thought of her once. This was unprecedented since he realized his love for Angelica.
Before he could ponder why this had happened, their eyes met. Angelica’s challenging green eyes shone brightly.
‘The blue seems more beautiful, though.’
Huh?
Caught off guard by his own thought, Rahil was about to question it when Angelica opened her lips. But before she could say ‘Your Majesty’, Sion spoke.
“Your Majesty.”
It wasn’t a shout, but his voice cut sharply through the ballroom. Now that he thought about it, Sion had advised against dancing with Angelica. Rahil had gritted his teeth in youthful defiance, determined to dance at least one song with her…
“……”
It wasn’t out of curiosity to see Sion’s expression that he turned his head. It was a reflexive response to being called.
Then he saw Anais beyond Sion, her hand resting on her brother Francis’s. She was looking this way.
Gasp.
Her gaze was colder than the northern frost. It lacked any resignation like ‘I knew it’ or ‘It can’t be helped.’
Instead, it was a sharp, icy anger that made Rahil’s legs freeze. The saying ‘A woman’s grudge can freeze flames even in midsummer’ randomly crossed his mind.
Anais’s glance was brief. She quickly turned her head away.
‘She’s not… crying, is she?’
He couldn’t understand why he thought she would cry when she looked so angry. Rahil found himself turning and rushing towards Anais without thinking.
He nearly missed Angelica’s fingertips brushing his robe.
His mind, emptied of everything but Anais, had completely forgotten about Angelica standing right before him.
The sound of the dance music, which had seemed to slow down, swelled again due to Sion’s gesture. Angelica, embarrassed, stopped in her tracks, and laughter could be heard not far away.
She looked ridiculous. Angelica realized this and flushed red.
She had never approached Rahil with any other intention. But people saw it differently, and Rahil’s actions only compounded the misunderstanding.
“Angelica.”
Theodore approached and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Angelica looked at Rahil with a mix of injustice and fury.
Obscured by the crowd, Rahil was barely visible. She didn’t know if he had reached the Empress and was talking to her.
‘Why did this happen?’
The fleeting thought that the Empress might have orchestrated this awkward situation because she disliked her crossed her mind. After all, Anais had plenty of reasons to dislike Angelica.
‘It’s so unfair!’
The situation felt unjust and infuriating. Angelica believed that even if you were close friends, getting married naturally distanced relationships.
But feeling it firsthand made Angelica resent Anais.
‘There was no need to go this far. Are you really good for Rahil?’
Angelica believed she should have known about Rahil’s marriage plans first. If she had, she could have stopped the wedding if Anais wasn’t the right person for him.
* * *
Anais was quite surprised to see Rahil running towards her. She had naturally assumed he would take Angelica’s hand and ask her to dance.
‘Did I make a strange face?’
But even if she did glare, she couldn’t help it. If Rahil danced with the woman he was rumored to be in love with on such a day, people would mock Anais, the Empress, before criticizing them.
The foolish woman who couldn’t capture her husband’s heart.
It was always easier to point fingers and blame the weaker party. This country was no different. Anais had braced herself for this bitter reality, expecting the inevitable to happen.
But unexpectedly, Rahil ran to her side. It was unusual, as there was no reason for him suddenly to become sensible.
“Anais.”
Her brother, a handsome man and her true sibling, looked at Rahil with no intention of letting go of her hand. Rahil casually glanced at him and then studied Anais’s expression.
Her eyes, previously icy, softened upon his approach. The surprise in her wide eyes was almost cute. Seeing her questioning look made him want to embrace her.
‘Why am I acting like this? Is it because we’re married?’
It wasn’t only women who felt unsettled after a wedding. Men too could become confused and overwhelmed. Rahil didn’t want to run away, but he did feel a bit scared.
Ah. He wished he could kiss her here, something he hadn’t done at the ceremony. But he thought Anais might get angry. She had already given him a cold look just for resting her head on his lap.
‘There must be another reason. She wouldn’t get so angry over just that…’
Could someone have slandered him? Was she angry because she heard some false rumors? With these thoughts, Rahil reached out and took Anais’s other hand.
Rahil was oblivious to the fact that people were watching them intently.
‘How do I calm her down? It seems like everything I do just makes her angrier…’
Still, he wanted to appease her. He knew she wouldn’t accept an apology without him knowing what it was for, but he felt he at least needed to improve her mood.
The scene that came to Rahil’s mind was how Theodore had apologized to Angelica and cheered her up. The memory, which usually pained him, strangely didn’t hurt this time.
“Don’t be mad, Anais.”
Rahil lifted her hand and pressed his lips to the back of it, looking up at her. Due to their height difference, Rahil naturally looked down at her, but this gesture made him bend over, reversing their views.
“I’ll do anything.”
