Male Lead, Don’t Follow Me! - Chapter 19

***

“My lady, what’s the occasion for attending a tea party?”

“Well, something came up that I need to do.”

I told Ena I’d be back and quickly headed to the gathering place.

I usually didn’t come here often because of some ladies who liked to spread gossip, but now I needed them.

“It’s been a while, Lady Erin.”

“Oh my, Lady Kiara! I’m so happy to see you attending a tea party.”

I sat down next to them with a bright smile.

Ephelia said she couldn’t attend due to her duties as a spirit user.

‘That’s actually better. I can speak more freely without Ephelia here.’

After slowly scanning the attendees of the tea party, I started conversing with them while sipping tea.

As expected, the main topic was about Duke Bishwaltz.

“Who could that woman be?”

“Instead of hiding and talking, she should meet him directly and speak.”

“I guess she doesn’t have the courage.”

They showed signs of discomfort towards Bishwaltz’s non-existent woman as if they were annoyed.

“And they say she confessed her love yesterday?”

“She left due to a misunderstanding, but now she’s confessing her love?”

“But I heard it might be someone else. What could they be thinking?”

I was curious about that existence too.

Thanks to it, I was able to escape the encirclement a bit, but it still felt unsettling.

“It’s certain now that monsters don’t appear in the Forbidden Forest any more, right?”

“I guess that’s how it is.”

I casually brought up the topic of the forest, shifting the conversation.

“But come to think of it, we can’t be sure if that woman is really the one the Duke met, can we?”

“Well… that’s true.”

“She might have been secretly in love on her own, or maybe she was being considerate of the Duke, worried he might be troubled.”

“That could be the case. Indeed, no one has seen the Duke meeting another woman.”

Good. The atmosphere is flowing as I wanted.

They’ve always been interested in Bishwaltz.

Perhaps that’s why they started to empathize intensely.

Among them, there might still be women who harbor feelings for him.

“Don’t you think that woman is clever? She’s certainly caught the Duke’s attention.”

It felt a bit odd to call myself clever using my own name.

But one method was certainly effective.

“The Duke might want to find her out of curiosity.”

I tilted my head and put on an innocent expression. The ladies’ faces gradually relaxed and soon changed to excited expressions.

“Even until now, no one has been able to find out who she is. How could the Duke find her even if someone came forward? To be honest, isn’t this a good thing from that woman’s perspective?”

Of course, not for me.

Bishwaltz wasn’t the type to fall in love over something like this. Besides, to call it love after causing him such shame.

But conversely, for someone who has feelings for Bishwaltz, it wouldn’t be bad if he found out they were that woman.

They might die, but how could he kill everyone if multiple people came forward claiming to be her?

“Well… now that I think about it, you’re right.”

Bellita put down her teacup and covered her mouth with a fan. With slightly flushed cheeks, she whispered in a small voice as if something had occurred to her.

“They say the Duke is quite… robust down there too.”

“Oh my, Lady!”

Sensing the opportunity, I drove the final nail.

“Or maybe the Duke has slightly different preferences. He was so generous even after being cursed at like that in the beginning.”

“Oh come on, no way.”

But I was certain from the look in the ladies’ eyes.

Of all the stories that would spread in the Forbidden Forest from the next day.

***

“Your Grace, we’ve received another report.”

“…A report?”

Bishwaltz pressed his forehead while looking at the documents on his desk.

“They say a human voice was heard again in the Forbidden Forest at night.”

“…Is it the same words this time too?”

The head butler nodded. It had been reported more than five times over the past three days.

At this point, the head butler was curious about what the Duke was doing outside.

“Did you find out who it is?”

“I don’t think that will be of any use, sir.”

Bishwaltz’s eyes sank.

Was she quite a clever woman? He didn’t expect her to give him such a headache.

He thought he just had to set a trap and wait.

But he never imagined she would escape so blatantly.

For some reason, almost every day, the sound of “Bishwaltz, you bastard!” could be heard from the Forbidden Forest.

If only that was the end of it. There were love confessions as a bonus, and even plaintive cries asking to be found, saying she was waiting.

‘That woman must have come up with some scheme.’

Bishwaltz’s sunken eyes were shadowed, and he looked visibly exhausted.

Now, what to do?

“To catch this rat of a woman, I’ll have to do the same to her.”

He had a woman in mind, but until he caught decisive evidence, the other party shouldn’t know.

Otherwise, she would undoubtedly run away.

He was also tired of entertaining the ladies who came forward claiming to be that woman.

Bishwaltz decided to become the bastard everyone wanted him to be.

***

“I should have done this earlier.”

It would have been nice if it was just my own bamboo forest, but since I was in danger, making it everyone’s bamboo forest would suffice.

I sprawled on the bed, yawning lazily and rolling around. With a knock, Ena quietly entered the room.

“Um… my lady?”

“What is it?”

I tilted my head back to look at Ena. It was a day when I didn’t want to do anything.

I waved my hand dismissively, but Ena handed me a letter.

“An invitation has arrived.”

“Huh?”

It must be from Bishwaltz, I thought. As I was opening the letter Ena gave me, I rolled off the bed.

“The, the Imperial Palace?”

Seeing my wide eyes, Ena cautiously asked.

“Did you perhaps do something wrong, my lady?”

Honestly, what on earth did I do so wrong? Besides, I hadn’t even said anything special to Liandore.

I clutched my head in distress.

“Should I tell Madam right away?”

“No, she’ll just make a big deal out of it.”

Alright, I’ve decided. What could it be? Might as well go see it.

Having received an invitation, I couldn’t just ignore it. If it were from the Duke’s family, maybe.

But this was an invitation from the Imperial Palace.

Just looking at the gleaming golden seal, don’t you feel an undeniable pressure?

So, I obediently changed my clothes and finished preparing to go to the Imperial Palace.