Male Lead, Please Dump Me Three Times - Chapter 31

The person who opened Delian’s door and entered was none other than Ray.

His appearance as he gracefully walked into Delian’s room seemed quite natural.

Ray’s eyes were filled with surprise when he found me.

“…Daisy?”

A slight tremor could be felt in his voice.

“Ah… I just came to see Delian for a moment. I was about to leave.”

I said to him with a light bow.

I thought I had become quite close to Ray…

Perhaps because I was concerned about Delian’s presence, I found myself being polite to Ray without realizing it.

“Daisy, are you leaving already?”

“Yes. I have to go now. There’s a guest here.”

“Stay a little longer. Okay?”

Delian stretched out her thin arm and clung to mine. I spoke to her soothingly,

“I’ll be back next time. In the meantime, you have to put on some weight. If the butler says you haven’t gained weight, I’ll just turn around and leave! Got it?”

I said after carefully removing Delian’s thin wrist.

“Yes… I understand.”

I walked towards the door. For some reason, I couldn’t face Ray directly.

‘Why did Ray come…?’

I was momentarily perplexed by the question that crossed my mind. It was strange to wonder about such things when a friend was withering away and dying.

This behavior felt unfamiliar to me.

“Then, please go inside. Take good care of Delian.”

I said as I passed by Ray, who was standing at the door.

Then, I hurriedly opened the door and took brisk steps away.

‘What’s this tension? I thought I was going to suffocate…’

Suddenly, someone urgently grabbed my wrist. My body naturally turned around.

I found myself facing a man’s broad chest.

“Daisy, wait a moment.”

The scent of wood was strong on the tip of my nose. It was Ray’s scent.

“Where are you going in such a hurry?”

His hands rested on my shoulders as he asked, looking into my eyes.

“No… I have to go now.”

“Then, let’s talk for a moment before you go.”

“Ray. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Delian is waiting… Please go inside. I have an appointment, so I’ll go ahead.”

Ray’s face hardened. I smiled at him as if nothing was wrong and removed his hand from my shoulder.

Then, I turned my back on him. Only the sound of my hurried footsteps echoed in the corridor.

* * *

“Oh? Sister Daisy?”

A soft voice called my name. It was a young man with silver hair fluttering and amber eyes.

“Ian?”

“Wow! Sister, it’s been a long time!”

Ian soon approached me quickly, with steps that matched his tall stature.

“Hey, we saw each other a few days ago.”

Ian ignored my words.

Seemingly happy just to have met me by chance, he took my hand and said, his transparent amber eyes sparkling brightly.

A dimple appeared at the corner of his smiling lips.

“Ah, we only briefly passed by each other at the night market. It’s been 3 years since we really met, and it’s sad to part so quickly.”

“Oh… was it?”

“Yes!”

Ian earnestly held my hands with both of his.

“On graduation day… you disappeared all of a sudden, so I couldn’t even say goodbye…”

Ian said, dropping his head.

He was fidgeting with my hand in his as if it were precious.

Despite being an unmistakable young man, since we had known each other since he was very young, this kind of skinship wasn’t unpleasant.

After all…

When we were at the academy, Ian, still a kid then, and I often walked holding hands like this.

It felt very natural.

Like he was a younger brother.

For a moment, I imagined holding hands with Dermian.

It was horrifying.

But with a biological younger brother… It’s different…

“But Sister.”

“Yes?”

“Seeing you in broad daylight like this… Sister, you’re really small. Cute.”

Ian measured the distance between his head and mine with one hand.

When did he grow so much?

Now that I looked, Ian was at least two heads taller than me.

Ian is now… It seemed he was determined to catch up on 3 years’ worth of missed time right here and now.

Although I was happy to see Ian after such a long time, it was inconvenient now.

“Ian, unfortunately, I’m quite busy today.”

I said, pulling out the hand that Ian held.

When I tried to pull my hand away from Ian’s grasp, it seemed he had no intention of letting me go.

It seems blood really can’t be faked….

He was holding onto me tightly, just like Delian did a moment ago.

“Uh, Sister. Can’t you stay a bit longer?”

Ian pleaded with drooping eyebrows as he held onto me trying to leave.

Ever since he was young, Ian would make that face when he felt neglected or scolded.

“This isn’t the time for that. Don’t you know about Delian’s condition?”

“You’ve already met my sister.”

“Yes. She didn’t look good.”

“Really? I haven’t seen her… Everything I know is from what the butler told me. I’ve stopped by the annex several times… but they wouldn’t let me see her.”

“I see… But please understand. If I were Delian, I wouldn’t have let you go either.”

I joked with a mixture of seriousness and laughed softly.

“I know. I’m not that bad of a guy.”

Ian showed a bitter smile. I patted Ian’s head affectionately.

“You’re kind. Take care of your sister. I always say this, but I believe in you, okay?”

Ian’s eyes narrowed slightly, and like an obedient dog, he nodded his head.

“I’d like to stay and play with you guys longer, but Delian isn’t doing well right now… So, I’ll have to go today.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll come to play again next time, then we can have a meal together. Right now, I have things to do.”

It wasn’t a lie. I needed to start preparing for my departure from the south in earnest, so it was indeed a busy time for me.

Suddenly, I felt a presence behind me.

The sound of heavy footsteps was getting closer and closer.

At that moment, Ian’s gaze shifted behind me. A chilly breeze blew over my shoulder.

The grip of Ian’s hand, which loosely held mine, tightened further.

I instinctively followed Ian’s gaze.

And I saw Ray looking at us with a cold gaze. There was no smile on his face. His presence felt even more threatening due to his bright red eyes.

“Duke Croit…? The one who was with Sister Daisy that time… right?”

Ian asked me while looking into my eyes.

“Yes, that’s right. It’s Duke Croit.”

I pondered how to naturally avoid this embarrassing situation.

Ray’s gaze slowly started to fall.

Soon, he was staring at our interlocked hands with an indifferent face.

‘Why is he staring like that… It’s a bit uncomfortable….’

Ray’s gaze soon turned back to Ian.

“I stopped by to deliver a message to Lady Ruina.”

“To my sister?”

At Ian’s question, Ray nodded.

Ian tilted his head with a puzzled look.

Thinking about it… Ian was a very annoying villain in the original story…

That’s probably why he didn’t get along well with Ray.

How did Ian… end up growing up so well?

Well, that aside… I need to sort out this unusual situation first.

“Ian, you should go now. This sister has to go.”

“Huh? Suddenly…? Can’t you play a little more with me…”

“Really!! Ian, Delian was looking for you!”

“What? Really? That’s the first time I’ve heard that. You didn’t say that until just now……”

“No, I forgot. If I happen to run into Ian, she asked me to please tell you to come see her.”

Only then did Ian’s hand fall away from mine.

“Oh, then I should go. Sister Daisy, come play again next time! Let’s play with Sister Delian!”

“Yeah! I’ll bring lots of delicious food!”

I quickly sent Ian away with a white lie.

It was when Ian had just disappeared into the annex.

“Why did you leave in such a hurry?”

A low bass voice came from behind me.

I turned around to face Ray.

“I have an appointment.”

The words that slipped through my teeth were somehow sharp.

I was momentarily startled.

It was a tone of voice that Ray could find quite rude and disrespectful.

‘…Why did I do that just now?’

I wondered about my puzzling behavior, forgetting about Ray’s presence.

“With that friend just now?”

“No. I just happened to meet Ian.”

“Can we talk for a moment? Earlier…”

“Ray. It’s okay.”

“Daisy.”

“You don’t have to explain everything to me.”

“Daisy. It seems there’s a misunderstanding…”

“You must have come here for work, Ray… You don’t need to tell me every personal matter, right?”

Ray pressed his temples slowly, seemingly frustrated, then called my name again.

“Daisy.”

“The weekend. If there’s something you want to talk about, I’d like to hear it then. I’ll definitely come on Saturday. You haven’t forgotten our promise, have you?”

“How could I forget? I’ve been waiting for that day.”

He let out a light sigh again.

I smiled at him.

“Then let’s talk on that day.”

* * *

“Ah… I’m tired… Ellie, save me…”

“You’ve been going out quite often lately, Miss. Is Miss Delian all right?”

“No… It’s serious.”

“That must be tough…”

“Yeah, well…”

“By the way, Miss, a letter arrived for you earlier… There was no sender written on it?”

Ellie took out an envelope from his possession.

Only my name was clearly written on the front as the recipient.

“I’m tired of looking at letters… I should just leave. I’m so fed up.”

I read through the letter handed to me by Ellie.

<To Lady Carnelian.

Did you get home okay?

It seems we need to meet once.

This handkerchief you dropped seems quite important, isn’t it?

Unfortunately, I picked it up.

If it’s okay with you, I’ll return it in person.

Please let me know a convenient time and place.

I’ll come to meet you.

Killian Duel.>

“What the hell is this guy on about… It’s annoying.”

“…Miss?”

“It’s even XX sleazy. Where did this sneaky dog ​​come from?”

“Miss…”

I crumpled up the letter and threw it away.

Why can’t Delian explain why he likes that kind of guy?

Ellie, with a face full of shock and horror, couldn’t continue speaking and just looked at me with a pitiful gaze.

“Ellie, tear it up and throw it away right now. No, just burn it.”