Male Lead, Don’t Push, Pull! - Chapter 59

I scolded myself inwardly for reacting to Kyle’s words.

I should have avoided being alone with Kyle from the beginning.

Or at the very least, I should have kept Sienna company.

Perceptive as he was, Kyle seemed to realize that I had been avoiding him ever since my last visit to the crown prince’s palace.

I’m not sure if he knows the exact reason for that and if he’s articulating an apology.

“Please, let’s talk.”

I inwardly sighed. The moment of facing him had arrived much faster than I had anticipated.

Moreover, the words I wanted to hear from Kyle weren’t an admission of guilt.

Of course, Kyle needed to apologize for openly displaying his feelings of not wanting to take responsibility for me.

But after that apology, I didn’t expect to hear a confession that he liked me.

I wanted to escape, but avoiding the situation blindly wasn’t the right answer.

To maintain our childhood friendship, I couldn’t just avoid Kyle right now.

With an effort to control my expression, I slowly turned around.

Kyle’s face, which I faced, was darkened. Because of that, my heart became even more unsettled.

After a moment of choosing his words, Kyle finally spoke.

“Did you not receive the letter I sent?”

I did. Kyle had been sending letters all of last week, but I chose not to receive them.

Not wanting to pay attention to Kyle, I didn’t read the letters and simply put them in the drawer of my desk.

As I debated whether to be honest or to tell a lie, I eventually chose the former.

“I received it.”

“Well then…”

“But I haven’t read it yet. Was it something important?”

A hint of disappointment crossed Kyle’s face. However, he soon managed a bitter smile and nodded.

“No, it’s probably better this way. It’s easier to say it in person.”

What could have been written in that letter that made Kyle react like this? Should I have at least read it?

“Vivi, I know you’re disappointed in me. Is it because I hide things from you intentionally?”

I stared at Kyle intently. That was one of the various reasons I was angry.

Kyle whispered urgently, like a sinner confessing to a god.

“I’m sorry if I upset you. But I didn’t hide it on purpose. First, the crown prince…. I couldn’t tell you in advance that there would be an announcement at the foundation festival. Because His Majesty the Emperor made up his mind the day before and informed me.”

“His Majesty told you first?”

“Yes. Because I asked him to make me crown prince.”

I narrowed my eyes.

Kyle had actually asked the emperor to make him crown prince, rather than the emperor choosing him?

The male protagonist in the original work wasn’t this proactive. He had even been somewhat afraid of the emperor.

“I’m sorry for hiding the fact that I’m a Sword Master. In reality, I reached that level several years ago. But at first, I intended to keep it from everyone…”

“Why?”

“So that it would be easier for me to protect you.”

The second confession was equally confusing.

Hiding the fact that Kyle had awakened as a Sword Master was to protect me?

From what?

Perhaps the confusion I was feeling was evident on my face, as Kyle continued to explain.

“When traveling the world, it’s safer in many ways to hide your abilities than to reveal them.”

“Traveling the world? What are you talking about?”

“Originally, when I returned to the capital, I had something I wanted to tell you, Vivi.”

“You did.”

“In fact, I wanted to ask you to go on a trip with me. Now that we’re done with our studies at the Academy, I wanted to get out and see the wider world….”

Kyle’s blue eyes turned to me.

“With you, Vivi.”

Is today the day I hear all the feelings that Kyle has hidden until now?

I couldn’t seem to gather my thoughts in the face of the truths pouring out from Kyle.

I rubbed my forehead with a throbbing headache, and after a moment, I asked, as if to confirm.

“So, Kyle, you’ve been a Sword master since the Academy, and you wanted to go on a trip with me after graduation, and now you’re a crown prince because you told the Emperor you wanted to be one?”

I was blown away by what he said. Why on earth did you not tell me?

Perhaps Kyle was aware of his own mistake, as he hesitated before answering.

“…To sum it up in one line, that’s correct.”

“Why? What made you suddenly change your mind?”

I couldn’t understand it. From a traveler exploring the world to crown prince of an empire. It was too abrupt a change.

And the words that followed soon after left me speechless.

“Because you came back from Rosaline injured.”

I looked at Kyle. His eyes, as blue as the sea, met mine without avoiding them, deeply entwined.

“You got hurt because of me. I can’t pretend not to know.”

“Why would it be because of Kyle? It’s because of Princess Rosaline.”

“Rosaline’s interest in you was ultimately because I’m a prince.”

I slightly furrowed my brows. I didn’t want to hear Kyle deny his own existence.

“As long as I’m in a position to threaten Logan, Rosaline will continue to be wary of you, and not just her, but Logan and the Empress as well, because Vivi….”

Kyle hesitated for a moment before speaking earnestly, as if he had made up his mind.

“For me, Vivi is more precious than anything else, and I never want to lose you.”

My face turned significantly red upon hearing Kyle’s words.

 Those words, stating that I was the most precious thing to him, sounded like a heartfelt confession.

“Even if I leave for a journey around the world, their wariness towards me won’t change unless I completely abandon this empire. In fact, due to my status, I might become more of a risk. So, I thought that in order to protect you, Vivi, I also need to have strength.”

“…And that’s why you demanded the position of the Crown Prince from the Emperor?”

“Yes.”

In an instant, the tightly suppressed emotions welled up and overflowed.

Oh my, that’s it.

In the end, Kyle was worried about me.

Kyle had been explaining that all the choices he had made so far were born out of his desire to do what was best for me.

These were clearly decisions that couldn’t be made without feelings of affection towards the other person.

Kyle was telling me that he liked me without using the word ‘like’.

It just can’t be helped.

Suppressing these fond feelings, I don’t want to do that.

“Kyle, you know what?”

There might come a moment of regret, but for now, I wanted to express my feelings to Kyle.

With a trembling heart, I spoke to him.

“Actually, I… really like you.”

“Just a moment, Vivi. Don’t say it yet.”

But at that moment, Kyle covered my mouth. Taken aback by this unexpected reaction, I blinked.

Did Kyle stop me from speaking because he wanted to confess before I did?

But the expression I saw on Kyle’s face wasn’t that of a man about to confess love. Rather, it resembled the expression someone wears when they’re about to admit to wrongdoing.

Could it be that Kyle feels he’s done something wrong by stopping my confession?

Has he been keeping his thoughts hidden from me all this time?

But he had already confessed that to me himself.

“Vivi, there’s actually something I need to tell you.”

Could it be that Kyle values me, but his feelings are different from my liking him?

In that moment, I recalled the scene where Kyle gazed at Sienna during the coronation ceremony.

The moment, which played out exactly as depicted in the original, seemed so perfect that no one could interrupt it.

The affection I felt toward my childhood friend was beyond comparison.

It felt like hitting an insurmountable wall in an instant, and I felt a sense of desolation.

Kyle seemed to treasure me, but my feelings went beyond that.

“Sorry, I can’t hear that.”

I bowed my head deeply, taking a step back and muttered softly.

I hadn’t even properly spoken my confession, but I didn’t want to hear a rejection right from the start.

I staggered backward.

“Kyle, forget what I said. It was just a comment.”

“Just a moment, Vivi. Behind you…”

“Yeah, right. Just words. So, let’s just go back to normal… whoa.”

“Vivi, watch out!”

Suddenly, something low like a railing caught my hind leg. I momentarily lost my balance and stumbled.

“Vivian!”

Kyle rushed forward, grabbing my hand. At the same time, both of us fell into a large fountain, where a refreshing stream of water gushed out.

Splash.

A tremendous stream of water poured over our heads.

“Pfft.”

Drenched in water in an instant, I let out a breath. The collision from falling and the continuous downpour of water obscured my vision. Even now, with water pouring over my head, I opened my eyes with a surprised look.

“Kyle?”

Kyle’s chest was right in front of me. He had his arm around my head, protecting me.

But Kyle’s expression was strange. He was frowning too much for someone who had simply fallen into a fountain.

Suddenly feeling anxious, I asked Kyle.

“Kyle, what’s wrong? Did you get hurt?”

“It’s nothing, ugh.”

“Just a moment, what’s going on with you?”

Quickly assessing Kyle, I caught sight of his wet back and stiffened.