Male Lead, Don’t Follow Me! - Chapter 33

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“No, that’s not it. You need to concentrate more.”

“I am concentrating!”

It’s just not working as I want it to.

I shouted at Serna, on the verge of tears from frustration.

Ephelia, who was watching, encouraged me in a kind voice.

“Kiara, you’re doing well! I was the same at first.”

Liar. You must have been born with it.

To think you’d even tell such a lie for my sake, Ephelia, you’ve improved your social skills.

I felt tears flowing from my eyes. This must be sweat.

“Still, I can feel the power, so try to concentrate a bit more.”

“Serna, do I really have potential?”

“Of course! Don’t stop! There’s nothing you can’t achieve with effort!”

Encouraged by her words, I focused all my attention.

How can Ephelia and other spirit users freely use spirit magic when it’s so difficult to create even a single flower?

‘Please, please!’

Let me upgrade from a worthless being to a slightly less worthless one! I’m not asking for much. I just want to gain enough strength to protect myself!

As if my wish was heard, I heard Serna’s small exclamation.

“Oh my! You did it!”

“R-really?!”

When I opened my eyes and looked at the ground, a small sprout had timidly poked its head out.

I had succeeded in creating just one, neither a weed nor a tree.

“But it’s not a flower… is it?”

“Oh my, look closely. There’s a bud forming here.”

At Serna’s words, I bent down and discovered a tiny bud peeking out between the minuscule sprouts.

“Wow!”

“Congratulations! If you keep at it a little more, you might be able to make it bloom!”

Why do I feel so sad despite Ephelia’s sincere congratulations? Helia, who was watching this, also cheered enthusiastically, encouraging me.

“That’s amazing! I can’t make something that small!”

“…That is a compliment, right?”

“Of course! I’ve always been upset that I can only create things that are already in full bloom.”

“Well, that would be perfect spirit magic, wouldn’t it?”

Helia tilted her head slightly.

She seemed to be pondering with an expression of not quite understanding, but then she smiled brightly.

“Lady Kiara, you’re so full of humanity! I’ve always been told I’m just annoying.”

“Ah…”

I could immediately understand why Helia had been told such things.

The way she spoke was similar to the backhanded compliments used in high society.

“I think I could do with a little less humanity. It’s causing me trouble as it is.”

“Still, I envy you, Lady Kiara. It means you have infinite possibilities to achieve something.”

“…Ah, yes. I suppose so.”

Although her tone was without malice, I couldn’t smile. It was a roundabout insult.

Serna seemed to laugh and agree with her words without much thought.

I thought the girl had a very unique way of speaking, but it was true that I didn’t feel good about it.

“It seems Lady Helia is good at everything. There’s a tone of looking down on people in your words.”

Ephelia’s low voice filled the surroundings as she closed her book.

It was the first time I felt her hostility.

“Ephelia?”

Surprised, I turned my head to look at her. Despite her tense face, Ephelia’s lips were curled up.

Seeing this fake smile for the first time, I swallowed hard.

She was very angry right now.

“No… Um, wow! Everyone, look at this.”

I hurriedly tried to change the subject.

The bud that had peeked out between the sprouts had suddenly bloomed fully, revealing its form.

“Oh my, this is…”

Serna looked at the flower and made a meaningful expression.

“It’s a healing flower.”

“What?”

Something this small…? Could it even be used for a scratch? I stared intently at the flower. Is this even worth using?

“Even though it looks this small when it meets the power of spirits, it can achieve quite a lot.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have a contracted spirit.”

“Oh, that’s unfortunate.”

Serna sighed and looked at the flower.

Ephelia, who had risen from her seat, approached me and then infused the flower with spirit power.

“Don’t worry. I’m always with Kiara. We’re a pair that fills each other’s gaps, so even with her small power, we can achieve quite a lot.”

As soon as Ephelia finished speaking, a fragrance burst forth from the small flower.

The flower pollen, riding on the spirit’s power, created a spectacular scene as it scattered.

At the same time, flowers bloomed all around, instantly filling the surroundings.

“Wow, that’s really amazing!”

Serna marveled at Ephelia’s power.

With this amount, we wouldn’t have to worry about healing medicine for a while. What she had accomplished was truly shocking to me as well.

“Wow… Ephelia. You’re so cool.”

“I didn’t do it. I just spread what you created, Kiara.”

She smiled gently as if nothing had happened.

Helia hesitated for a moment at the spectacle unfolding around her, then quickly summoned a spirit.

“Well, I should help too!”

With her words, rain began to pour from the sky.

The flowers quickly absorbed the water and started to grow, and I couldn’t close my mouth at the situation unfolding one after another.

“…But that’s all well and good.”

I looked at Helia and wiped the rainwater off my face with my hand.

“Did we have to get rained on too?”

“Ah! Oh no, I’m so sorry!”

She was startled and looked at me and Ephelia, drenched in rain. Perhaps it doesn’t apply to the user?

Why was she the only one not wet?

I couldn’t shake off the lingering uncomfortable feeling.

Ephelia approached me, soaked, and summoned a wind spirit to dry me quickly.

“You’ll catch a cold. We should go inside now.”

“Oh my, yes. It seems Helia couldn’t control it well. I’ll have warm tea prepared for you.”

“Yes, thank you for your consideration.”

Serna hurriedly entered the mansion.

The strange thing was that she wasn’t wet either. If so, there were two possibilities I could think of.

One was that she deliberately used her power only towards me and Ephelia, and the other was that she made a mistake without knowing.

However, I would bet my life on the former.

She must have done it on purpose. For whatever reason, Helia doesn’t like me and Ephelia.

She’s pretending to be nonchalant on the surface, but if you look at her actions and words, wouldn’t anyone who’s not a fool notice?

‘I guess I’ll have to find out more.’

She might be an even more dangerous entity than Bishwaltz and Serhin. Just when I thought I was finally starting to understand them and find a way to live, another enemy appeared.

They really don’t give me any breathing room.

Perhaps because of me, the original story is getting twisted and strange things keep happening.

At this point, it wouldn’t be wrong to see me as the root cause of all this.

‘Damn, at this rate, there’s no end in sight.’

I headed towards the mansion with Ephelia, once again dry and fluffy.

I remained silent even as Helia apologized profusely behind us, not knowing what to do.

However, it seemed she was determined to follow us until her apology was accepted.

I was bothered by the constant stares from others directed at me.

Knowing that prolonging this situation would only be detrimental to me, it seemed better to shake her off quickly.

I turned to face Helia. She was apologizing with her head bowed, truly like a criminal.

Anyone who saw this would think she had committed a mortal sin.

I couldn’t help but sigh softly at her appearance. Helia was repeating the same words like a machine.

“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry. I’m still inexperienced.”

“It’s okay, I understand. Everyone has their human side, after all.”

I smiled brightly at Helia and patted her shoulder.

“Human nature seems to be really important, don’t you think?”

Tears welled up slightly in Helia’s eyes. I reached out to wipe her eyes and whispered in her ear.

“Although it seems the human nature you’re thinking of and what I’m thinking of are a bit different.”

At my words, her lips quivered.

I pressed my index finger firmly on Helia’s lips and shook my head.

“Oh my, don’t say anything. I understand your feelings well enough, Helia. I’m not such a narrow-minded person. If others saw this, they might think you tried to kill me. When all that happened was that I ended up looking like a drowned rat.”

“Ah…”

“Don’t feel guilty. It’s already in the past, right?”

I smiled at Helia as if I were a broad-minded person, then immediately turned around and became serious.

“Ah, I feel like I’m melting.”

The tea Serna prepared was truly exquisite.

It felt like all my fatigue was washed away, you know? The taste of this tea, which I was trying for the first time, was also excellent.

I had long forgotten about what happened with Helia earlier.

I was a simpler person than I thought, quickly erasing unpleasant things from my memory.

‘It wasn’t something to dwell on for long anyway.’