The Male Lead Won’t Let Me Be!

Chapter 3

Oops.

I quickly looked away, pretending to be distracted. I hadn’t meant for Siegfried to hear that. It had been barely louder than a breath, but his hearing must have been quite sharp.

“What did you just say?”

I just rolled my eyes and glanced at Siegfried. There was a crack in his previously expressionless face.

Uh-oh, what do I do? Should I just tell him I didn’t mean it as an insult? That would be a lie, so I can’t use that as an excuse.

As I hesitated, unsure what to do, Siegfried took several long, stormy strides toward me. He glared at me, flushed. Some might consider twenty years to be a short life, but it was long enough to have taught me that in cases like this, it was best to lead with an apology.

I jumped to my feet and bowed.

“I-I apologize. I misspoke.”

Siegfried huffed with obvious annoyance and gestured for me to rise. I straightened hesitantly. I could see his swollen wrist beneath his sleeve, which had slid back as he swung the wooden sword. Just staring at his wrist was enough for me to feel the dizzying pain myself.

My gaze stuck on his skin, I asked, “How is your wrist? I heard you were hurt. I can call a doctor now—”

“Why are you so concerned with my affairs?” Siegfried suddenly asked, without letting me finish.

That’s… That’s because you’re the male lead.

I remembered that Siegfried had been a very cold character in the novel, but today marked only our second meeting, so I didn’t understand why he was acting so prickly.

Does he already know that I’m set to be the crown prince’s fiancée? That seems incredibly unlikely.

Just meeting his gaze was enough for me to feel his hostility. I must have committed some misdeed.

“Your Highness, have I wronged you?” I asked cautiously.

I had gawked at him a few times, but I could proudly say that I hadn’t been rude otherwise.

“No.”

I was taken aback by such a blunt answer.

What does that mean, then? He’s behaving like this when I’ve done nothing wrong?

“Then why…”

“Because I don’t like you,” Siegfried said, cutting me off again.

Yeah, I picked up on that. I want to know the reason. Why?

I was so indignant that I mentally started organizing a list of questions so that I could interrogate him properly.

“The reason is…” Siegfried began before I had finished the list. I looked up at him blankly. “The moment I looked at you at the manor, my mood was suddenly ruined.”

All the questions that I had lined up in my head vanished.

That’s, uh… Understandable.

“In what way?”

I lifted my hand to my forehead to shield my eyes. Siegfried was standing against the sun, so the light was blinding me.

“Must I explain it to you?” Siegfried mussed his hair, annoyed. I waited without responding. He continued, “I felt it right when I entered the manor. Outside, I couldn’t see very well, so I was unaware. As soon as I saw your face, I felt suffocated and nauseated. It was terrible. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that way before.”

The reason was incomprehensible to me.

Ah, so that’s his excuse. Isn’t it just that his condition worsened right at that moment?

His current condition supported this idea.

Why is he blaming that on me? Is this just to be expected from a male lead?

“Your Highness, do you feel the same way now?” I asked anxiously.

Siegfried stared at me quietly. We were in a different location, but the situation was not unlike when we had first met. I felt a little nervous, so I fidgeted with my dress.

What am I going to do if he says his feelings are the same? Do I have to leave Siegfried’s presence and hightail it out of here? This is my home. Why do I have to leave? Can’t I just kick him out? No, if I earn the hatred of the male lead, it could spell trouble later.

I was anxious, but I still couldn’t tear my eyes away from Siegfried’s. In the next moment, he cocked his head and looked away first. His smooth forehead creased.

“No, I don’t particularly feel that way right now. My eyes aren’t suddenly painfully dry like they did before, either.”

“So it’s not that you don’t like me,” I remarked at once.

Siegfried didn’t try to deny it.

Oh, that’s all? I thought he had some serious reason.

I sighed and let go of my crumpled dress. With that, my week-long worry simply vanished without a trace—what a waste of time it had been. It hurt my heart to be hated by someone so pretty. Seeing that the pretty person was the male lead, it had made me anxious that I was fated to die. I relaxed my stiffened face and sighed out the breath I had been holding.

“Sorry.”

“Pardon?” My eyes widened in shock.

Did Siegfried just apologize to me?

“Sorry,” he spat out again, probably assuming that I hadn’t understood him. “And I’m sorry about bumping into you when we met as well.”

I smiled awkwardly and nodded.

“Well, that was… It was completely understandable. You were in pain when we were standing at the front door too, right?”

“I wasn’t feeling very well.”

Again, Siegfried didn’t deny it. Come to think of it, Avishion had recently mentioned something about convalescing or vacationing or something similar concerning Siegfried.

Was Siegfried sickly as a child? It’s easy to picture him as a pretty, frail boy.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Like you pity me? I’ve just recently been poisoned. I’m usually in excellent health.”

Siegfried tossed the sword away and plopped down beside me. He raised one knee and rested his elbow on it.

He was poisoned? That’s news to me. I guess I did just skim the novel.

I had already known that I hadn’t retained much information, but it surprised me the extent of my ignorance. Even as I felt astounded by the failure of my memory, I kept darting glances at his red, swollen wrist. Siegfried, who had been rolling down his sleeves, started to side-eye me too.

“I suppose you were right. It’s true. Right now, looking at you hasn’t soured my mood in the least.”

“That’s good, but what do you mean by ‘poison’?”

“My older brother, Eisa, attempted to poison me to death. I realized it as soon as it touched my lips, but it still had a powerful effect.”

How can he so casually mention that the crown prince tried to kill him?

I winced and looked around, fearing that someone had overheard. To my relief, we were alone. I lowered my gaze a little. The back of Siegfried’s hand was covered in white scars. They weren’t the result of sword fighting—someone had done that to him on purpose. The only person who could get away with inflicting that on Prince Siegfried, was Eisa.

“Still, it seems like your condition is improving. You ventured outside.” In my head, I compared the Siegfried of a week ago to the Siegfried now.

He rubbed his thumb on his chin, considering it, then shook his head.

“I thought so too, but just as I was warming up, I twinged my wrist. I suppose I’m not completely healed yet.”

He clicked his tongue.

If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to leave his wrist wrapped as a safety measure?

I planted my hands on the ground and leaned closer to hover over him.

“Why don’t you wrap it up in a handkerchief so you don’t strain it? You can show it to a doctor when you return.”

“It’s not that seri— Ow.”

For some reason, it bothered me that he’d refused immediately, so I’d softly poked his wrist. When I applied a little pressure with the tip of my finger, he groaned and then frowned.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked through clenched teeth.

“Hold on.”

I held my handkerchief in my mouth as I rolled up Siegfried’s sleeve in the blink of an eye. He flinched in surprise, but he didn’t push me away.

“Lift your hand a little? Yeah, like that.”

My handkerchief embroidered with peach blossoms was now wrapped around his wrist.

Siegfried was looking down at me quietly, not attempting to stop me. Just as I was tying the knot, he said, “You seem experienced.”

“Of course. I’m an Ellifritz. Knowing how to do things like this is a given.”

My older brother, Avishion, and younger brother, Miliard, were knights.

Well, Miliard wasn’t technically a real knight yet, but they both often came home wounded. When we couldn’t call a doctor, I had to treat them myself. Naturally, I knew the proper emergency treatment for slight injuries like this one.

“It’s all done,” I said, giving his wrist a satisfied examination.

When I leaned away, Siegfried tried moving his wrist this way and that. The shock was apparent on his otherwise expressionless face.

“It doesn’t hurt.”

“Of course not, but you still have to let a doctor look at it.”

“Thank you.”

Siegfried inclined his head slightly and nodded. It seemed that he was bowing, or his version of it. The pretty boy with black hair and purple eyes thanked me. I melted instantly.

I beamed and said proudly, “You’re welcome. I can take another look any time.”

“I’m not usually hurt from something minor like this.”

“Oh, Mm-hm,” I agreed without giving it much thought.

Why is he so confident? His form when he swung around that wooden sword was terrible.

I looked up at the sky. Just a moment ago, the sun had been so hot that it had burned my eyes, but now the sunset was already spreading across the horizon. At this rate, I wouldn’t get the chance to open the book I had brought.

“Will you be remaining here, Your Highness?”

“I’m not sure,” Siegfried muttered, looking up at the sky just as I had been.

I had a prior engagement, so I decided to get going.

“I’ll be leaving, then.”

“Oh.”

I had plucked a blade of grass from my dress and was about to rise, when suddenly—

“Wait.”

“Ah! F*ck, you scared me!”

I was startled out of my wits by the pale face that had suddenly rushed forward so that our noses were nearly touching. Siegfried had shoved his face up close to mine without warning.

“F*ck?”