The Male Lead I Raised Is Obsessed With Me

“……Huh? Wait, Luc. What did you say just now?”

I just heard something that I couldn’t simply ignore.

Then, Luc tilted his head and asked.

“The emperor is also a divine beast contractor. Isn’t it possible for divine beast contractors to know that the other is a contractor too? I thought sister was trying to reveal it this time.”

“…It’s possible?”

When I asked Blackie, Blackie nodded his head.

[Didn’t you know, Master?]

In the original plot, the heroine did not need to hide her divine beast, so I didn’t know such a setting.

“W-What should I do? I don’t want to reveal it yet! Should I say I’m sick right now?”

As I lowered my voice and whispered, Blackie asked.

[Is the emperor’s divine beast the white lion?]

“Yes.”

[Don’t worry, Master. Just let me meet the divine beast, there’s a way to solve this.]

The way Blackie spoke was surprisingly casual.

Can I really let him meet Riolen, the divine beast in the form of a white lion?

I couldn’t believe that there was such a simple solution.

In the carriage heading to the imperial palace, I asked Blackie again.

“Is it really possible to solve everything if the two of you just meet?”

[It’s true, Master. How many times must you ask?]

“It’s because I’m afraid I’ll be labelled guilty for trying to lie and get arrested.”

I made a lot of money, but I still wanted to live a long life.

[The contractors of a divine beast won’t die, instead they’ll be taken in and be made to work.]

“What if they work me to death instead?”

[But you won’t die.]

“You’re comforting me now, right?”

Then, the carriage stopped and the coachman notified me.

“Madam, they say we can’t enter by a carriage from here.”

“Mhm. Alright.”

I placed Blackie in my pocket and got out of the carriage.

“I’ll be back soon, so just wait for me here.”

“Yes, understood ma’am.”

It was a long walk from here to the Sand Palace, where the lion divine beast was located.

It was quite a long distance by foot, but carriages were prohibited inside the imperial palace to prevent any possible threats.

‘Even so, I was able to enter so freely because I was the Duchess.’

Although we were a ruined family, the title of the only four dukes who contributed to founding the country was certainly a privilege here.

As I was walking to the Sand Palace, Blackie suddenly stuck his face out of the pocket and sniffed.

“What’s the matter?”

[Something smells nice, Master.]

“Can you smell a jewel?”

[No, it’s not that. It just smells good. Go over there, Master.]

Blackie pointed to the maze garden with the tip of his nose.

“You were supposed to meet the divine beast.”

[But it smells really good.]

For some reason, Blackie insisted.

Time was not tight, so I set foot into the garden following Blackie’s guidance.

What appeared at the end of the winding path was a boy I had never seen before.

He looked a year or two older than me, and the summer sunshine complimented him well.

Striking blonde hair and blue eyes.

His sleeves that rolled up to his elbow flowed casually.

As the little bird perched on his white fingertip chirped, the boy’s mouth perked up gently.

[That boy has a special energy. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a human with such energy.]

“What…”

When I tried to respond to Blackie, I belatedly closed my mouth.

At the sound of my words, the bird flew away and the boy turned towards me.

I apologise for disturbing your peaceful time.

However, instead of being angry, he asked gently, curving his eyes gracefully.

“What are you doing here?”

“……I’m lost.”

After thinking about it for a while, I came up with the most simple excuse.

[Looking at him up close, it’s clear now. This is a creature made by God with great care. No wonder it smells good.]

While listening to Blackie’s words, I kept my mouth closed tightly and looked at him.

“Are you here to see His Majesty?”

“Huh? No!”

Meeting the emperor? What a scary thing to say.

“Then, why did the Duchess of Valfurga come to the imperial palace?”

I didn’t say anything, so how did he know my identity?

“How did you know?”

He laughed wordlessly.

“Then, who are you?”

He opened his eyes wide and asked.

“You don’t know me?”

It was clear that he was a very high-ranking person if he spoke like that.

“Yes.”

The emperor is an old man, so it must not be him, and I’ve never seen such an elegant boy in the original plot.

Could he be one of the high priest candidates?

But seeing how Blackie seems to like him, I doubted that as well.

Fortunately, his identity was soon discovered.

“Your Highness! I brought you biscuits!”

A knight, who emerged from the bush, raised his pouch like a trophy and exclaimed.

“Thank you.”

The boy thanked him in a friendly manner.

Your Highness? The crown prince?

I looked at the prince’s face with a surprised expression.

It was natural to not know.

Felix Aylator.

The first son and crown prince of the empire.

He was called the embodiment of a warrior and was loved by everyone for his brilliant mind, elegant appearance and gentle and fair nature.

However, he was already dead before the original story started.

The cause of death was suicide.

After recognising his identity, I couldn’t believe it even more.

To think that someone who looked so good standing under the sunlight would take his own life.

The knight looked at me staring at the prince and asked.

“By the way, Your Highness. Who is this lady?”

“The Duchess of Valfurga.”

At those words, the knight’s gaze changed.

“Ah, the commoner girl……”

He looked at me up and down, speaking in a haughty manner.

It was clearly an attitude of disdain towards me.

‘How should I deal with this? Kill or let him live?’

As I was pondering over it for a while, the prince opened his mouth first.

“You are being rude, Evan. She is a member of the Duchy of Valfurga, recognised by His Majesty. As a knight, you are not in a position to be disrespectful.”

It was a calm tone, but it contained charisma that could not be ignored.

“But Your Highness……”

The knight muttered, but the prince looked at him quietly.

“Or should I punish you personally?”

“……”

At those words, the knight bit his lips and bowed his head before me.

“I’m sorry.”

“Evan, apologise and be polite.”

“I apologise for the rudeness I have committed towards the Duchess. Please forgive me for my foolishness.”

When I nodded and accepted his apology, the knight stood up.

“Since you have broken the knight’s etiquette, you will be duly punished. Do you have any complaints?”

He responded loudly to the prince’s question.

“None at all!”

The prince looked back at me this time.

“I apologise for making you go through an unpleasant experience. May I escort you instead? Where were you planning to go?”

“I was on my way to the Sand Palace.”

“If it’s the Sand Palace, are you going to see the divine beast Riolen?”

“Yes. I’ve never seen a divine beast before, so I was curious.”

“I see.”

The prince moved and I followed along.

And as soon as we left the garden, I asked him.

“Are you close with the knight?”

“He’s just an imperial knight. Even if we were close, a knight’s rudeness is their lord’s responsibility. I simply did what I had to do first before you could.”

He was silent for a moment, then looked at me.

“……Were you offended?”

“No, it’s alright. I was actually wondering how to handle it.”

“That’s a relief. I had wanted to get along with the duchess.”

“Huh?”

“I heard what the duchess had done after marrying the Duke of Valfurga. They were all amazing.”

My eyes narrowed to catch his intentions.

His demeanour was friendly and elegant, but he was from the imperial family.

I wasn’t sure what scheme he could be hiding on the inside. 

“The most surprising thing among them was the recent hiring of administrators.”

“What is there to be surprised about? Administrators are hired in any territory.”

“But no family employs that many commoners.”

I shrugged and said it was no big deal.

“As you know, the Valfurga is a rough location and not many people want to come because of the cold weather. I simply hired them because they had the ability.”

“Did you know that people are talking behind your back because of that?”

“What?”

“There are people who associated it with the duchess’s origin and mocked it. There are a lot of people who would not be kind to you, just as that knight just now.”

I stared at his face, wondering if he was trying to manipulate me, but his handsome face seemed rather worried about me.

‘I must have seen it wrong. How could he worry about a person he just met.’

I shook my head and said.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s just words behind my back, anyway. If they have the courage to talk, do it before me.”

I said, raising my right fist playfully.

“I wouldn’t just let it go.”

At my words, he made a puzzled face.

After that, he pondered for a while, but kept his mouth shut and moved along silently.

“This is the Sand Palace. Riolen is probably taking a nap by now.”

“Thank you for taking me here.”

“You’re welcome. If the opportunity arises, I hope to speak with you again next time.”

He smiled softly like before and kissed the back of my right hand.

After parting with the prince, I headed straight to the Sand Palace.

It was time for Blackie and Riolen to meet.

＊  ＊  ＊

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The crown prince, Felix, separated from Felia and hastily moved on.

He knows it’s not polite, but his heart that was beating so fast could not calm down.

She was a lovely girl, like a fluffy rabbit. 

From her sweet appearance, it was easy to recognise that she was the rumoured Duchess of Valfurga.

Because he remembered every influential nobles’ appearances.

From the first time he heard the news, he had been interested in her unique move.

Among them, what caught his attention the most was the news that she hired a large number of commoners.

Because of that, there were all kinds of rumours circulating behind her back, but the person concerned did not seem to care.

Even when the knight was being rude to her for being a commoner, she was angry but didn’t seem to feel ashamed or humiliated.

At the sight of the attendants, Felix’s pace gradually slowed down as usual.

As he passed by them, he could hear the attendants whispering among themselves.

“Look there, it’s the crown prince.”

“My God, how can he be so elegant and handsome?”

“Have you heard? The crown prince has a gentle personality and has never once taken out his anger on people like us.”

“As expected, he’s like the incarnation of a hero.”

Every step he took, eyes followed him.

He had a perfect smile on the outside, but on the inside, those gaze directed at him made him sick.

‘It doesn’t matter. It’s just words behind my back, anyway.’

He was curious.

How could she be so detached from the words surrounding her?

Furthermore, they were not words of admiration or respect as in his case, but words that discredited and denied her status.

He was also curious about another thing.

If the title of ‘Duchess of Valfurga’ disappears, will she be able to say that again?

He wondered if she would be able to escape the schemes prepared by his father, the Emperor.

Felix looked back.

The bright spring coloured hair which stood out even from afar, had long disappeared, but the figure remained vivid in his eyes.