Male Lead, Don’t Follow Me! - Chapter 16

What business could he have at a cafe?

Surely he didn’t come to buy desserts, and why is that person here too?

Seeing Serhin beside him, it doesn’t seem to be a coincidence.

And suddenly, Ephelia waved her hand to call them over.

“Ephelia?”

“Ah… Actually, the Duke made the reservation here.”

“So why did you…”

“As it turns out, he’s a good person.”

She told me with a bright smile.

***

So, how on earth did this happen?

I sighed, looking at the combination unfolding before my eyes.

“As expected, Lady Kirin, your skills are exceptional. It must have been quite difficult to purify that place.”

“I’m still lacking. But thanks to Your Grace’s support for the orphanage, the children were very happy.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Bishwaltz replied to Ephelia, pretending to be a nice person. I looked him up and down with half-closed eyes.

‘When on earth did they become so friendly?’

It shouldn’t be possible, but when did they get close?

No matter how much I thought about it, there was no connection.

Supporting the orphanage was something Ephelia’s family had been doing every year.

They built the family’s reputation through donations and helped children grow up properly by supporting them.

Well, those children would end up helping Ephelia when they grew up…

Did Ephelia ignore my advice? But she liked me too much for that.

In the end, I spoke to Ephelia through ventriloquism.

“What’s going on?”

“Ah, we happened to run into each other because of Father’s donation project, and His Grace gladly supported the orphanage. I helped him a bit with purifying the polluted area he requested.”

It was suspicious that he asked Ephelia specifically when there were many other spirit users.

Even if it wasn’t intentional, it seemed too perfect to be a coincidence.

Is this what they mean when they say protagonists are inevitably drawn together?

Seeing how they met despite all my efforts to prevent it, maybe it’s something I have to accept.

All my efforts so far felt futile.

“Kiara, don’t worry. Really, nothing happened except for business.”

But look, look at his eyes!

How can you say that when you see those eyes that look like they’re about to fall for you at any moment?

I stretched out my hand holding a cookie to abruptly block between Bishwaltz and Ephelia.

“Ahaha, would you like to try this? It’s delicious.”

With an awkward smile, I offered the cookie to Bishwaltz.

He frowned at the cookie thrust in front of him.

Suddenly, he pushed away the cookie with his hand and refused.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t particularly like sweet things.”

Did you think I offered it because I wanted to see the cookie go into your mouth?

I tried to withdraw my hand while pretending to be fine.

Suddenly, Serhin grabbed my hand and took a bite of the cookie.

“It’s delicious.”

I froze in place, unable to do anything out of surprise.

Serhin finished eating the remaining cookie and even licked the powder off my hand.

“W-What are you doing!”

I was startled and quickly pulled my hand away. Serhin licked his lips and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

“Didn’t you offer it to be eaten?”

“That’s true, but…”

My heart was still pounding. Ephelia seemed as surprised as I was, looking back and forth between me and Serhin.

Bishwaltz offered me a handkerchief once again.

Is it just my imagination that his eyes look a bit displeased?

“Please use this to wipe. I’ll apologize on his behalf.”

“Ah, well…”

There’s no need to apologize. This time, I accepted his handkerchief.

Because I didn’t want to wipe where Serhin’s mouth had touched with my own handkerchief.

I wiped my hand and immediately returned it.

“Thank you.”

“You don’t need to return this to me.”

“No, I’m fine, really.”

At my firm words, Bishwaltz accepted the handkerchief with a bewildered expression.

“Come to think of it, we seem to be seeing each other quite often.”

“Indeed. Not that I’m particularly pleased about it. By the way, have you found the person you’re looking for?”

I asked Bishwaltz.

He chuckled softly at my tone, which implied, ‘Why are you approaching Ephelia instead of looking for that person?’

“As a matter of fact, I’m searching diligently.”

“Since you’ve even spread false rumors for that purpose, I hope you find them soon.”

Bishwaltz’s eyebrows raised at my blunt remark.

“It seems to be a voice that’s unforgettable once heard.”

Bishwaltz took a sip of his tea while making eye contact with me.

I feel like I’ve heard something similar before…

“What do you mean?”

I asked, not understanding his words.

“It’s nothing. I just thought that I might be able to find her soon.”

He deflected the question with a cryptic smile.

As Serhin’s head turned towards Bishwaltz, Ephelia clapped her hands to draw attention.

“That’s great! We’d like to help too… Could you tell us more about it?”

“…We?”

“Yes, since we received help this time. It would be nice if things work out well.”

Ephelia whispered to me quietly. Her words also implied that if he found that woman, things wouldn’t work out between them.

That’s true, but…

Do you know who the woman Bishwaltz is looking for is?

‘It’s me, Ephelia. It’s me!’

I screamed internally while grabbing her sleeve.

***

“It was to find the woman who spread that rumor?”

Bishwaltz looked up at Serhin’s deep voice.

“Why?”

Bishwaltz couldn’t understand Serhin’s sensitive attitude towards that woman. Wasn’t he the one who had never shown interest in anyone?

‘Now that I know she’s Kiara, I can’t help it.’

Serhin was displeased that he had unknowingly helped Bishwaltz.

He had no intention of driving her to the edge.

This won’t do. At this rate, she might run away.

“I thought you might have developed an interest in Lady Kirin?”

Serhin asked Bishwaltz.

However, Bishwaltz responded with an enigmatic smile.

“Is it similar? Well, I do need her.”

“Need?”

Bishwaltz didn’t elaborate further.

He had sufficiently tested Ephelia’s capabilities for what he intended to do.

Her ability to immediately purify polluted land and her skills as a spirit user was beyond what he had expected.

It’s just that the woman who kept interfering between him and Ephelia was becoming bothersome.

Moreover, the voice that kept echoing in his ears somehow felt familiar.

“So what do you plan to do now?”

“For now, I’ll observe. It’s about time I did something, after all. Besides, since Lady Kirin offered to help, something might come up.”

If Ephelia, who has a good reputation in social circles, takes action, they might find her more quickly.

Rumors about the Duke’s passionate love had already spread far and wide, and everyone was looking for that woman.

Moreover, he had publicly announced that he would show appreciation to anyone who found her.

“I didn’t realize people were this interested in me.”

Bishwaltz was newly aware of his popularity.

Thanks to this, the number of people bothering him had decreased significantly, and people’s perception of him had changed a lot, so it was ultimately more beneficial than harmful to him.

“What if she stays hidden and never appears?”

It didn’t matter much.

While his pride was hurt, if she appeared before him now, he probably wouldn’t let her off easily given his personality.

However, he had no intention of giving up before even trying. After all, wasn’t she the one who provoked him first?

“Serhin, if I was going to give up, I wouldn’t have escalated things this far.”

Bishwaltz gritted his teeth. For someone who disliked being the subject of gossip, once he had made up his mind to see this through, there was no turning back.

“But you don’t know for sure, do you?”

Moreover, Serhin’s reaction was strange.

Not only had he been sticking close to him lately, but he was also showing an unusual amount of interest in her.

It was almost amusing to see him, who had been so eager to torment him before, now looking a bit anxious. Such opportunities don’t come often.

“That’s what makes it interesting.”

Bishwaltz nodded with a satisfied expression.

“What?”

“Can’t you picture her scurrying away like a little mouse?”

Serhin recalled Kiara, who had flinched at Bishwaltz’s words.

He sighed involuntarily, remembering her pale face and her eyes darting around nervously.

“There’s one thing I know.”

“What’s that?”

“I think I’d recognize her voice if I heard it.”

Serhin’s body trembled at his words.

Bishwaltz recalled the voice he had heard that day, though faintly. It seemed vaguely familiar, but not clearly so.

‘If I could just hear her speak once more, I’d know right away.’

The fact that he could almost remember but not quite was increasingly irritating.

This feeling of frustration mixed with a sense of almost knowing.

But since he had placed a barrier around the Forbidden Forest, she wouldn’t appear there again.

They say criminals often return to the scene of the crime, but he had blocked even that possibility, so he had to look elsewhere.

He couldn’t keep the barrier up forever. Of course, it would disappear after a certain period.

“Are you really sure?”

“About what?”

“That you’d recognize her voice if you heard it.”

Bishwaltz nodded at Serhin’s question.

He wore a determined expression without hesitation.

What an idiot.

Serhin shook his head as he looked at Bishwaltz. It seems his worry was unnecessary.

‘This might work out better than I thought.’

He plopped down in a chair, crossed his legs, and rested his chin on his hand. It seemed unlikely that Bishwaltz would recognize Kiara.

After all, she wouldn’t dare to shout “son of a b*tch” in front of him again.