Fostering the Male Lead

“Don’t make excuses using me.”

Then Sihael acted like it was unfair, saying he did his best to dress himself because he didn’t know how I’d feel.

You’re making me laugh. It was his choice to dress up nicely, not mine. I didn’t even tell him to do anything like this.

“Anyway, you’ve shown her enough, so Rosetta let’s go.”

“Yeah. I’m going to hang out with Lanoa now.”

I agreed with Lanoa’s words and joined him. This much was enough for our superficial relationship.

From yesterday’s gift to the moment we entered the hall together. It was time to step back because we had thrown enough fodder for people to gossip about.

‘And if the rumors are excessively inflated, it’s Sihael who will be in trouble.’

My goal was to remove the empress from Sihael’s side, but these actions could put him in a position to be used by me.

‘What if the rumors go wrong and his road to marriage gets blocked?’

I moved along with Lanoa to the seat of honor. However, it wasn’t long before Sihael grabbed my arm. He called someone in a low voice.

“Hissen.”

The man who appeared from behind Sihael held out a box to Lanoa. The man was actually the attendant who had dragged the carriage to our mansion yesterday. When I saw the box in Hissen’s hand, an unknown anxiety gripped my fingers.

“Take it.”

“Is it a bribe again?”

Lanoa’s face collapsed in an instant when he opened the box with a determined face, saying he would never fall for it this time. I closed my eyes tightly when I saw his smile reach to his eara.

No wonder I had a bad hunch.

“If you thought I would fall for this kind of bribe, you thought it correctly. Have a good time with Rosetta.”

So I was sold for a bottle of wine again.

* * *

The coming-of-age ceremony went smoothly. The event for congratulatory speeches was dull and boring. However, since the elders knew about my horrid personality, the ceremony was shortened, and it became the shortest coming-of-age ceremony in history.

The guests seemed a little taken aback by the coming-of-age ceremony, which ended quickly, but were delighted with the short and concise speech. All that was left was to enjoy the rest of the banquet with the guests.

“Young lady, congratulations.”

Everywhere I went, people would congratulate me whenever they saw me.

“By the way, what’s your relationship with the Crown Prince?”

Then, they would glance at Sihael, who stood firm by my side, and asked what our relationship was.

‘What kind of relationship is it, friends?  It’s a bit subtle though.’

I swallowed the words that filled my throat. I just pretended not to know keeping only a faint smile. Then, having misunderstood my reaction, they blushed and withdrew on their own.

But that was only possible when Sihael was by my side. The people who had been quietly asking about my relationship with Sihael turned open when he was away for a while due to the duke’s call.

“Are you engaged?”

“Huh?”

“When are you planning to hold the ceremony?”

“Ah, haha. I’m not sure.”

I pretended not to know, but the elders did not back down.

“The sooner you get married, the sooner-”

“My father is calling me. Excuse me first.”

The questions kept flowing like flowing water, and I ended up running away at the talks of my engagement.

My God, an engagement!

It was already embarrassing that they were asking if we were lovers, but the progress of the elders was too fast. I quickly took refuge in the garden and hid myself deeply away from the people. Sitting on a bench, I looked at the sky where the sunset was slowly setting.

“Why on earth did they come up with such a plan?”

I didn’t know what my parents and older brothers were thinking. No matter how much they tried to get rid of the empress, we were using Sihael. I don’t think it’s a very good choice, but everyone except me seemed satisfied.

Even Sihael.

‘What’s so good about being taken advantage of?’

Rather than being offended, Sihael was actually enjoying it. For whatever reason, he was overly enthusiastic. As a result, I felt like I was the only one going crazy.

I was already preoccupied with not allowing Sihael get too close, paying heed to the eyes of those around us, and interacting with all the customers. But sometimes, when Sihael looked at me with a heated look, I just wanted to quit and run away.

“I’m in trouble.”

There was no way I wouldn’t know if he kept expressing his feelings like that.

I thought it was a joke at first. He was pretty mischievous even when he was a wolf. I thought he was just teasing me. However, what happened in the cave could not be dismissed as a joke.

‘When did he start feeling that way?’

I didn’t know exactly when, but it was clear that any chance of having Liliana and Sihael together had been smashed because of me. When I told them to give away the original work, they really gave it away.

‘Even if Sihael is mischievous, he’s not someone who plays with people’s hearts.’

I didn’t know how long these feelings would last, but it seemed certain that it was directed at me now. I pressed my eyes dry with fatigue.

‘I feel distraught!’

During the day, I told Leonard that I would drink until I vomited as a joke, but now I really wanted to drink to oblivion. I stared at the sky in a daze and listened to the voices I heard. Judging by the voices, it was a male and female pair. If so, they probably came to the garden for private time.