Male Lead, Please Dump Me Three Times - Chapter 19

“Eric, Nyx. What are you doing here right now?”

When their names were called, the shoulders of the two foolish brothers rose one after the other.

Thanks to that, I learned their names in turn.

Eric and Nyx, with voices full of tension, couldn’t even turn around. Only their eyeballs were shaking vigorously.

“Oh… Haha… Commander. The thing is, it seems a special guest has arrived, so we were guiding them.”

“Guiding?”

‘Is that guy… blatantly lying without batting an eye?’

“Uhm, she’s a guest, right? Commander’s guests…”

Was it Eric…?

He was clearly excited just a while ago.

Now his voice was trembling as if he had a fever.

So, annoyingly, I decided to close my eyes.

“I thought so.”

Nyx, who was sweating nervously, shifted on his feet.

Nyx also seemed to be swallowing dry saliva at Ray’s sudden appearance.

“Why is it you two who’s guiding her?”

“S-Sorry! Oh my… We’re busy so we’ll take our leave now!”

“Sorry! We apologize for the intrusion! Then I’ll take my leave as well!”

The foolish brothers bowed so deeply it seemed they might break their backs as they bid us farewell.

The foolish brothers ran off as if they were in a race.

“Ugh, annoying…”

Ray’s casual tone carried a sense of intimidation.

And what about his wrinkled face?

The way his eyebrows twisted, and his lips that seemed annoyed, to the faint wrinkles on the forehead, and the stern expression on his face…

I stared blankly, admiring that appearance. It was a new expression from Ray.

‘He really looks intimidating…’

I was proud to say that I’d gotten his cold stare quite a few times.

But that was nothing compared to now.

His stern expression and tone directed towards Eric and Nyx were incomparable.

So, this level of sternness in his way of speaking and his expression was a first for me.

However…

Ray’s current appearance felt strangely sexy.

Ray continued to watch as the foolish brothers walked away.

Ray seemed to notice my gaze belatedly and turned his head sheepishly.

Then he immediately relaxed his intimidating expression.

“Oh. Let’s just leave it at that.”

“Just one more time…”

“Yes?”

“Yes…?”

Am I going crazy…?

To blurt out my inner thoughts like that…

In response to the sudden outburst of emotions, I quickly covered my mouth with a hand.

‘He probably didn’t hear it, right?’

I brushed my long hair to the side and smiled awkwardly. Then I smoothly changed the subject.

“Oh, no. Haha… That’s right. They were cheerful friends. Your subordinates?”

“Yes. They’re not particularly cheerful.”

Ray replied diplomatically.

He then led me to his office.

Following behind him, I took in the sights of places I had never seen before.

In the blue garden, there was a very large fountain.

The fountain sprayed cool water droplets beautifully.

* * *

Ray’s office was closer than I thought. 

It was the innermost room on the first floor of the largest stone building. 

The office was very spacious and had a high ceiling. 

The interior was neatly organized as if there wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere. 

The furniture was mostly in neutral colors, but in the center, there was a black sofa with an elegant gold trim around the edges.

‘Of course… It’s so much like Ray. He likes neutral colors and he has a tidy personality.’

And on the wide black desk, documents were piled up like a mountain. 

‘Ah… an office worker…’

I looked at him with a pitiful gaze.

Despite my concerns, fortunately, Ray seemed to be in a fairly good mood today. 

A faint smile hung on Ray’s lips. 

“Daisy, could you wait a little bit?” 

How could I not wait, looking at that pile of documents? 

“Sure. I did arrive quite early today, didn’t I?”

In fact, I rushed here because of my parents. 

— Remember. Absolutely not. I can’t allow it even if a knife is held to my throat.

It would be awkward if they returned earlier than scheduled and I ran into them.

“It’s fine. Just rest for a while. Feel free to look around.” 

“Yes!” 

I sat on the sofa as he suggested. 

Ray returned to his desk and began flipping through the pile of documents.

“…….”

In the spacious room, only the sound of Ray flipping through papers and the scratching of a pen could be heard. 

Thirty minutes passed like that.

I started to feel drowsy. 

‘I should really sleep at home… Is there anything I can do to pass the time while waiting?’

At that moment, my gaze turned to the bookshelf that filled the opposite wall. 

I turned slightly to look behind me. 

Ray was still busy with his pen in hand, appearing quite occupied.

“Hey, Ray. Can I take a look around your office?” 

Ray raised his head to meet my gaze and nodded in agreement. 

I walked towards the bookshelf.

I was worried that my footsteps might disturb him since he was so focused on his work

‘Wow… There are really a lot of valuable books here.’

If it were about books, even the library in the Count’s mansion had quite a collection. 

I always liked reading books since I was young. 

My parents paid special attention to the mansion’s library for me.

But in Ray’s office, it wasn’t just about having many types of books. 

At first glance, there were many signs of time, like old books or manuscripts. 

I carefully skimmed through the books on the shelf with my fingertips. 

The pleasant scent of paper books lingered at the tip of my nose.

As expected, there was something about the smell of paper books that made people feel at ease. 

The bookshelf filled with books of various thicknesses was packed tightly.

The tall bookshelf was unreachable by eyes or hands. 

So, I only looked at the books placed within my reach. 

“Oh, that’s…!” 

What caught my eye was none other than the limited edition of ⟨Encyclopedia of Demons.⟩ 

It was an encyclopedia full of detailed information about rare demons or creatures that now existed only as fossils.

“Um…” 

‘I want to see it… But it looks like I can’t reach it at all.’ 

Disappointed, my hand hovered over the empty space above my head. 

I stretched out my hand.

I estimated that I would need to be around 178cm tall just to barely reach it.

‘In that case… Let’s ask Ray for help…!’ 

But I stopped myself from turning back to ask him. 

‘No, he seems deeply focused on work… Let me try to handle this myself.’

Chin in hand, eyes rolling, I searched for something sturdy enough to step on. 

Suddenly, a dark shadow fell on the bookshelf. 

‘Swish.’ 

Soon, a hand touched my shoulder gently but firmly, enveloping it with warmth.

A pleasant warmth radiated from the touch.

“Did you want to look at this?” 

A deep woody scent brushed past my nose. 

It was Ray.

Ray’s deep voice resonated from above.

He skillfully took out a book from the shelf with agile movements. 

Ray gently wrapped his arm around my shoulder and turned me towards him.

He bent slightly to meet my eyes.

Every time he blinked slowly, his thick eyelashes seemed like they would fall any moment. 

Our gazes intertwined in the air. 

In an instant, the thumping sound of a heartbeat echoed in my ears.

I was worried if he could hear this heartbeat too. 

“Tell me.” 

“Um… You seemed busy so…” 

His low voice echoed in my ear. Feeling embarrassed at our closeness, I trailed off at the end.

And then,

‘Knock knock.’

At that moment, a faint knock was heard. 

It wasn’t a sound that would be audible if it weren’t such a quiet moment as before. 

It seemed like someone deliberately tried to knock so they could be heard.

“Commander? Would you like some refreshments…” 

It was Eric, one of the idiot brothers from earlier, who timidly pushed open the door.

Next to him was Nix.

Upon closer inspection… there were a few more people behind them. 

Their eyes were filled with curiosity, staring at us through the crack in the door with a somewhat burdensome gaze.

A chorus of ‘What, what?’ and ‘Is it real?’ echoed through the hallway.

Murmurs echoed down the corridor. 

The two foolish brothers, Eric and Nyx, were taken aback when they saw us. 

Their pupils tripled in size, but they seemed to be trying hard not to show their surprise.

But the truth was already written all over their faces, and they strained their faces with all their might. 

Ray’s hand was on my shoulder.

Looking at our positions, it seemed as if we were affectionately reading books together.

“Get out.” 

Yes, understood.” 

Eric bowed in response to Ray’s command and promptly closed the door as he left. 

I actually wanted some refreshments, but I held back

Come to think of it, I hadn’t eaten anything this morning… 

I felt bad seeing the refreshments leaving…

Then it happened. 

My stomach made a loud noise, and I closed my eyes tightly.

‘Damn it…’