The Sub Male Lead is Burning with Jealousy - Chapter 4 Part 2
If he had included the subject in his sentence, his feelings would have been completely exposed.
‘No, it can’t be. It’s not certain yet! There’s no way I could fall for someone else this quickly…’
Despite his embarrassment, he continued to hold Anais, and as he stole glances at her, Anais wriggled to free her arm and then wrapped it around his cheek.
“Ugh!”
Rahil flinched in surprise, causing Anais’s eyes to widen.
“I thought your face was red because you might be feverish…”
“Ah, uh, um…”
“If you dislike me touching you, I won’t do it again.”
“No, that’s not it!!”
Rahil nearly screamed in denial, startling Anais once again. This time, he turned even redder and finally let go of Anais, overwhelmed by embarrassment.
“It’s not like that. You can touch me however you want.”
He felt like he would cry if she said she wouldn’t touch him again. It was rare for Anais to initiate physical contact.
‘I must be the biggest fool on the continent.’
As Rahil looked away, dejected, Anais became suspicious. His face had been turning red and then pale… His condition seemed off.
“Look at me. Are you cold? Or do you have a fever?”
“Do-Do I look cold?”
Casting a furtive glance at Anais, Rahil asked. Anais grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to face her directly. It was no easy task given his height and build, as he tried to avoid eye contact by looking away.
“Your face is red, and your body temperature seems a bit high. Was it too much to start traveling by carriage right after the wedding?”
Anais’s concerned gaze made Rahil contemplate whether to pretend to be sick. If he claimed to be ill, would Anais stay by his side to take care of him? After all, she was his wife now. If he said he was deathly ill, would she continue to stay by his side?
He briefly entertained the thought before dismissing it as foolish. Pretending to be sick would inevitably be discovered.
Sion would look at him with disdain, and if Theodore found out…
‘He’d tease me for 30 years.’
Yet, he still wanted to do it. The idea of receiving care from Anais made him feel like he could do even more extreme things.
“Do you have a headache?”
It seemed she mistook his head shaking as a sign of discomfort. Rahil vehemently shook his head no and then suddenly pulled Anais into a tight embrace. He seemed even more docile than the day before, perhaps thinking he was sick.
“Check if I… have a fever.”
Following his request, Anais placed her hand on Rahil’s warm cheek and forehead. In contrast to his warmth, Anais’s hand was slightly cool. This difference in their feelings towards each other made Rahil feel a bit slighted.
“It seems you might have a slight fever…”
“Just my face? What about the rest of my body? Won’t you, check?”
Rahil said this, looking expectantly at Anais. She met his gaze.
Thump! Thump, thump, thump, thump…
His heart raced wildly as he locked eyes with her blue irises. Rahil forgot to breathe as he stared at Anais, finding it difficult to breathe under her gaze. Suddenly, her eyes narrowed.
“…I’m not going to do ‘that’ first thing in the morning. Go wash up and get ready for breakfast.”
Her voice turned somewhat cold as she said this, pulling away from his arms and leaving. Rahil had to grab Anais and whine for a while, insisting that wasn’t what he meant.
* * *
If the emperor had been a blissfully ignorant puppy until yesterday, now he seemed like a puppy desperate for his master’s attention and love.
Sion watched Rahil follow Anais, thinking he would have screamed at him to get a grip if he knew.
‘Has he come to realize it now?’
It was quicker than Sion had anticipated. The emperor, clueless about love, was expected to bungle things for much longer.
‘I’m not sure if this is good or bad.’
Even with this realization of love, there was no guarantee that the emperor would make wise decisions. Rahil was skilled in politics and warfare, not in matters of love. If he had been good at romance, he might have been able to win Angelica from Theodore…
‘That’s improbable.’
The two had been childhood friends, and their roots in love were deep. If romance skills could have made a difference, other men who loved Angelica might have had a chance too.
Moreover, If he had met the current Empress then, he thought it would have been a disaster. No matter how he thought about it, she was exactly His Majesty’s type in every way.
‘Lady Ruol would despise him for being an adulterer and Duke Calix would have turned his back on him completely…’
Still, the empire would have been maintained, but Rahil’s life would have become much more desolate. Sion thought so, and Rahil’s lack of tact seemed like a blessing from the gods.
“Sir. Let’s also board the carriage.”
Urged by other aides, Sion headed towards the carriage. The lord’s family bid farewell to the imperial couple until the last moment. Rahil kept stealing glances at Anais.
‘What’s with him?’
If he was blatantly staring at her yesterday, today he was sneaking peeks. The difference lay in the busy darting of Rahil’s eyes and head.
Anais pondered why the emperor was acting this way. Every time their eyes met, his face would turn red, he seemed to sweat coldly, and he would startle if their hands nearly touched.
‘Just… like a boy in his first love.’
Anais wondered if Rahil had a stomach ailment or was suffering from some other ailment, considering he wasn’t embracing her arm as he had done differently from the day before.
Though sitting beside her, Rahil didn’t touch Anais’s hand, merely stealing glances at her intermittently. Just yesterday, he had embraced her arm, held her hand, and eventually pulled her into a full embrace.
‘Something feels off.’
As she pondered, the carriage set off. Rahil managed to sneakily grab Anais’s hand while being wary of her reaction, but he let go when she looked at him as if questioning his actions.
