Male Lead, Please Dump Me Three Times - Chapter 45

I’m not sure if it’s just my mood.

Ray’s face was clearly fatigued.

His pupils seemed unfocused too…….

“How are you feeling?”

Ray, who had been quietly looking out the window for a while, asked me.

I was momentarily taken aback by his sudden and odd question.

A laugh escaped from my lips.

I should have been worried seeing him look so tired, but his dazed face was so cute that I laughed without thinking.

“Yeah. I feel light and good. I slept well last night. How about you, Ray? It must have been uncomfortable sleeping on the sofa…?”

“I… slept well too.”

Ray averted his gaze as he responded to me.

‘It doesn’t seem like he slept at all….’

The dark circles under Ray’s eyes had deepened.

He said that but…….

It seemed pretty clear that Ray had a restless sleep last night.

‘This person. He’s not good at lying. It’s quite obvious….’

Ray soon fiddled with his empty hands then asked me again gently.

“Are you feeling okay?”

Ever since a certain point, whenever I faced Ray, my face would heat up for various reasons.

It’s happening now too.

Perhaps it’s because I like the way Ray is showing concern for me right now.

Embarrassment, excitement, satisfaction. Could it be those feelings?

“Of course! The weather is nice, and I’m feeling very good. That’s probably why I’m in a good mood too.”

Although I acted nonchalantly, I was very much concerned about him as well.  

“That’s good to hear. Your parents said they would be back around lunchtime, right?”

“Yes. We won’t run into them. It’s still early morning, so there’s still quite some time before they arrive.”

I said with a pleasant smile on my face.

It had already been more than thirty minutes since we left Ray’s mansion.

It seemed like it was time to bring up the topic….

My lips twitched.

“Um…, Ray.”

“Hmm.”

“There’s something I want to ask you. No, maybe it’s more of a request…?”

“What is it?”

How should I bring it up?

Bringing it up rashly might just make things awkward between us.

For now….

I needed a bit more time myself.

“It’s a bit difficult to say right now…. Can I tell you next time we meet?”

“When would be good for you?”

It would be best to buy as much time to think as possible, right?

“Hmm. Since you’re busy on weekdays, how about the weekend?”

“I’m fine with weekdays too.”

“But you have to go to work on weekdays. You’ll be tired.”

“It’s just for a moment, what about it. Then both are fine, so let’s look at Friday, Saturday, Sunday.”

Ray narrowed his eyes as he spoke.

“All three days in a row?”

Ray nodded at my question. His eyes were still roundly curved.

This was an entirely unexpected turn of events…….

Suddenly, I managed to arrange to meet Ray for three consecutive days.  

Well, that turned out rather well.

I successfully made a natural appointment with Ray.

Suddenly, my gaze shifted to the familiar scenery outside the window.

The carriage was passing the entrance to the road leading to the Carnelian mansion.

“Ray! Can you let me down here?”

“This is quite a distance from the mansion, you know?”

“Just in case. If someone sees me getting off the carriage with Ray…. It would be troublesome.”

“Oh.”

Ray nodded as if he understood, and he commanded the carriage to slow down until it came to a complete stop.

Ray gently lifted me out of the carriage and set me down himself.

‘This has become incredibly natural now. It’s as if he’s used to lifting and setting me down. It’s a bit embarrassing…!’

My toes gently touched the ground.

I looked up at Ray, met his gaze, and smiled as I spoke.

“Thank you, Ray. Then, take care!”

“Yeah. I’ll be at the lake on Friday. Be careful on your way.”

Our gazes lingered in the air for a moment longer.

Ray’s hand touched my cheek.

He gently stroked my cheek and spoke.

I slightly covered his hand with mine and responded with a pleasant laugh.

“Okay. Then I’ll watch you go first.”

Ray looked at me with his deep eyes.

His broad hand caressed my cheek. Soon, his red lips slowly parted.

“You go first. I’ll watch you go.”

At that moment, memories of last night flashed through my mind.

The memory of our bodies pressed together, sharing breaths.

My face heated up once again.

Those plump and soft lips that wouldn’t let go of me….

The sound of my heartbeat began to thunder in my ears.

Once I started paying attention, Ray’s unfamiliar appearance flashed by like a panorama.

“Then, I’ll go first! Take care!”

I said that and hurriedly started walking away.

Leaving Ray behind, I headed towards the mansion.

“Phew……. This is driving me crazy.”

Ray’s desire-filled red eyes came to mind.

Even his touch as he caressed my back and his husky voice was vividly remembered.

It felt too real.

It seems like a good thing to have sent him away here.

If he had escorted me to the front of the house, I would have entered with a face flushed like a boiling kettle.

“By the way. Does time always fly this fast? Two days have passed in the blink of an eye…. It’s already the day my parents come back.”

I felt a bit regretful about the time that had passed.

* * *

  
“You’re doing this to me too? Really, you’re too much, Miss.”

As soon as I entered the mansion, Ellie’s interrogation began.

“Sorry, Ellie. I had to leave in a hurry and couldn’t even say goodbye. Were you worried?”

“Of course! I hardly slept over the weekend!”

“No…. Ellie. Even though I’m well past the age of adulthood, why would you worry that much…….”

“Really, Miss. You don’t even consider my feelings…….”

Ellie’s eyes were reddening as if she was about to pull out a handkerchief and wipe her tears any moment now.

“I’ll make sure to tell you next time! Okay? Don’t cry.”

Ellie showed me a sullen expression and replied petulantly.

“Hmph. Fine.”

Ellie suddenly snorted through her nose and crossed her arms. However, the corners of her mouth were drawing an interesting curve.

So easily appeased.

Cute.

“By the way. Nothing happened, right? I was worried Dermian might cause some trouble being left alone.”

“The young master also lost sleep worrying about Miss.”

“He did?”

“Of course. He kept bothering me about whether we’ve been contacting or not……. Ugh.”

This XX…….

Just keep it to yourself.

What if you give it away like that?

No wonder Ellie’s reaction was more severe than I thought.

“By the way! In the meantime, a letter has come from the palace.”

“What? The palace? Why again?”

“His Highness the Crown Prince has sent a personal letter, I think? Addressed to you, miss.”

Ellie carefully placed several envelopes on the table one by one, which he had brought from somewhere.

“Did he really write all these himself? Why are there so many?”

“There were three.”

Is he really crazy……?

I nervously tore open the first letter and read it carefully.

<‘To Miss Carnelian.
I’ll call you Daisy for short.
I was worried when you suddenly jumped out of the carriage that day.
How are you feeling?
Any injuries?
I wonder how a woman can walk so fast…….
The handkerchief I couldn’t give you then, I’ll really hand it over this time.
If you have time….’>

“Hmm. Nothing much.”

There was a lengthy text written below.

But it’s my principle that letters with long introductions aren’t worth reading.

It’s probably just filled with unnecessary words.

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Ellie, we can throw away this first letter, I guess.”

I opened the second letter and started reading it with an indifferent expression again.

<‘To Daisy.
Why no reply?
I hope you haven’t made up a clumsy excuse about my personal letter being lost again.
I really have something I want to say, so let’s meet just once.
I’ll definitely return the handkerchief. Even if you don’t need it, please take it.
Were you angry because I lied that day?
If that’s the case…….’>

“That damn handkerchief. What would have happened if it hadn’t been picked up?”

There was no need to read further.

Can a man who lied once not lie twice?

A man who lies is routine, do you think I would trust you?

It’s enough just watching Delian being toyed with by such a brazen attitude.

I have no intention of being swayed by such a person.

“Ellie, this one also has nothing much. We can throw this away too.”

Ellie took the letters I handed over in turn.

“Really……. Throw them away?”

“Yeah. There’s nothing important, so it’s okay to throw them away.”

And then I tore open the last envelope.

The third letter was unusually short.

<‘To Daisy.
Actually, I contacted you because I have something to say about Delian.
I’ve been worried about my relationship with her.
It’s a personal matter, so I’d like to talk in person.
Wednesday at five in the afternoon.
If it’s alright with you, I’ll send a carriage to your mansion.
You can just take that to come.’>

The word ‘Delian’ caught my eye.

So I read the third letter to the end.

“Wednesday……. Two days before meeting Ray.”

I murmured lowly as I crumpled the letter.

I flinched at the sound that leaked out between my lips.

At some point when counting days,

I had been counting them based on my meetings with Ray.

Anyway, Killian said he had concerns about Delian.

I might not care about other matters, but if it’s about Delian, I wanted to hear it.

“Wonder if it’s just more nonsense….”

Suddenly, something flashed in my mind.

“Wait a minute. Why did I forget that? But to say that……. He looks too fine…….”

I pondered briefly with my chin propped on my hand.

But only Killian could answer what had come to mind.

I hurriedly took out a quill and paper from the drawer and started writing a reply to send to Killian.

<‘To Your Highness,
Then, see you on Wednesday.
I will be waiting at the promised place.
Daisy Carnelian’>

I handed the finished letter to Ellie and said,

“Ellie, could you send this to the palace? To His Highness the Crown Prince.”