Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre - Chapter 175

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 175

I confirmed that Leo’s eyes and ears were firmly blocked and faced Cheri.

I could see some emotion surging in his red eyes like a volcano about to erupt.

Just from meeting those eyes.

“That’s because I love you, my lady.”

Suddenly, that day’s confession tickled my ears.

With the feeling of crushing a red flower that had been holding its breath all winter and had finally bloomed fully, I opened my mouth.

“Cheri, to be honest, I… you…”

While recovering in bed, I had agonized over the words to reject his feelings.

But when it came to actually saying them out loud, I wasn’t certain.

To say I didn’t like him would be wrong, since I had already made room for him in my territory.

But to say I liked him rationally…

‘I’m not sure.’

Understanding my own heart was harder than understanding someone else’s.

In the end, I said something different instead of the answer I had been thinking about.

“I… I don’t like you with the same weight as you like me.”

“Yes, I understand.”

At my answer, Cheri nodded with a face that showed not a trace of hurt. His plain reaction left me flustered instead.

I studied his expression carefully and asked suspiciously.

“…Do you really understand what I said?”

“Yes, I will work hard.”

See, I knew it! He didn’t understand at all!

“You don’t need to work hard at anything. This is a matter of my heart.”

“But if I don’t even try, I don’t know how I could win your heart.”

“…”

“If I shouldn’t even make such efforts, please tell me. I’ll do my best to… restrain myself.”

This guy, what kind of program did he download while I was recovering that keeps blocking my words?

Flustered by Cheri’s suddenly high-performance eloquence, I habitually fidgeted with the ring on my finger.

Cheri’s life had been full of things to endure. Because of that, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him to restrain himself.

But what if my answer became useless torture of hope or gave him false expectations?

‘No, wait. Why shouldn’t I give him hope?’

I heard somewhere that if you feel like you could kiss someone, there’s plenty of possibility for developing into lovers.

The situation was what it was, but I had already kissed him, right? Then wasn’t there plenty of possibility for developing into lovers?

‘But then what?’

I’m the Marquess Blanche, and he’s the Duke of Baluashten.

As heads of noble families, we couldn’t proceed with marriage based on private feelings alone.

‘…Why am I naturally thinking about marriage again?’

While the tug-of-war between permission and rejection continued tensely in my head, Cheri’s next words cut through the rope of the tug-of-war and pierced through.

“My lady, shouldn’t I even make an effort?”

Behind Cheri asking that, I seemed to see a large dog begging for snacks. Even though his expression was clearly blank.

I broke out in a cold sweat and stammered.

“That’s… I mean… effort is…”

Should it be okay? Or not?

Even I couldn’t predict what I would say.

It was the moment I opened my mouth randomly, not knowing what I was babbling about.

“No…”

“Can I open my eyes now?”

Leo, who had been quietly still, asked carefully.

I nodded with the feeling of grabbing a lifeline and answered Leo.

“Of course! You can open your eyes, Leo.”

Please open your eyes, Leo. Save me!

But unfortunately, Leo, who had his ears and eyes tightly shut, couldn’t hear or see my permission.

“Lady Belinda? Knight?”

“My lady.”

“You’re here, right? Can I open my eyes?”

“Permission to…”

Being pressed for answers from both sides, I shouted in a truly frantic state.

“Yes! You can do it!”

Even I was confused whether I was speaking to Leo or answering Cheri.

The next moment, Leo’s eyes sparkled open.

“I will work hard.”

Cheri answered plainly and smiled faintly.

I was dumbfounded and could only blink before turning my head toward the window.

With heat rising to my face, I desperately wanted cold air.

* * *

Our destination was a place called ‘Penfelhae.’

They said we just needed to go a little west from the castle, but as far as I knew, there was no sea near Baluashten Castle.

So I wondered why the character for ‘sea’ was attached after the flower name Penfel, but as soon as we arrived at our destination, I could understand the origin of the name.

“Wooooow.”

Leo burst into admiration at the sight visible through the carriage window. I felt the same.

The blue flower field stretching to the horizon was so vast that it wouldn’t be strange to call it a sea.

Moreover, whenever the wind blew and the flower stems swayed back and forth, it looked exactly like waves.

Soon the carriage stopped near a tree standing alone in the middle of the flower field.

The castle employees who came with us in other carriages moved nimbly, efficiently moving simple tables and chairs, quickly setting up a simple tea table, then dispersed in an orderly fashion.

While feeling uncomfortable with their attitude that showed determination not to disturb us, I took a seat in the prepared chair.

Leo sat next to me, munching on simple sandwiches and cookies, then soon moved to the flower field and began making something earnestly.

I opened my mouth while Leo was distracted by the Penfel flowers.

“I told Leo. Let’s keep Leo’s birth secret for now.”

The day he heard about his parents in the Black Swan’s Room. Leo became gloomy but didn’t cry secretly or become noticeably depressed.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t sad about his parents’ story, but because it probably didn’t feel real yet.

That his parents had passed away, that he was of Baluashten bloodline, that Cheri was his uncle.

So for now, we decided to keep Leo’s birth secret.

Until the child grew enough not to be swept up in the situation, until he became strong enough to speak of his parents’ matter with his own mouth.

“Has Leo shown any signs of recovering his lost memories?”

At Cheri’s words, I shook my head.

His gaze turned to Leo, who was sitting in the middle of the blue flower field, fidgeting around.

They said that every summer that came to the North, the young lord and his wife would pick armfuls of Penfel flowers and fill the child’s room.

Thanks to that, young Leo learned that summer was blue.

However, even with remnants of the past before his eyes, Leo couldn’t remember anything.

Only Leo knows exactly what happened that day six years ago.

How he was able to safely escape the castle, what relationship he had with the Harpers couple – the answers would be in Leo’s memories, but neither Cheri nor I tried to rashly dig into the child’s memories.

Because we couldn’t be certain that recovering his memories would be for Leo’s benefit.

In the memories Leo had forgotten, there was a five-year-old child who was purely happy receiving his parents’ affection, but there was also a five-year-old child who had to lose his parents and leave home.

We couldn’t know whether those memories would be poison or medicine for the child.

Then, Leo, who had been fidgeting for a while, suddenly stood up and ran to me.

In Leo’s hands was a flower ring made by weaving penfel flowers together.

The flower buds were small and must have been difficult to weave, but Leo offered me the flower ring that was more intricately woven than I expected and said.

“Originally I was going to make you a flower crown…”

Grateful for the child’s sincerity, I accepted the flower ring and asked.

“Who taught you how to make flower rings?”

“I’ve never learned it, I could do it from the beginning. Probably since I was born?”

At Leo’s words as he puffed up with a face containing slight bravado, Cheri hesitated.

I glanced at him once, then removed the ring I was wearing and carefully slipped Leo’s flower ring onto my finger so the flowers wouldn’t get crushed.

“Everything suits me well, but this one suits me particularly well.”

As I playfully spoke while lightly tapping Leo’s nose bridge, I saw Cheri’s gaze turn toward the ring I had removed.

This worked out perfectly.

I returned the ring with the blue stone to Cheri and asked.

“You’ll return to the Royal Capital with us, won’t you?”

“Yes, of course.”

Despite his clear answer, Cheri’s expression as he received the ring back looked quite regretful.

When I returned the token of promise to Cheri like that and came back to the castle.

As I was about to return to my room, Cheri carefully stopped me.

“My lady, actually I can make them too.”

“…What?”

“Flower rings.”

“Oh, I see.”

Did he want me to praise him or something?

As I tilted my head, Cheri carefully took something out from his inner pocket.

What lay in his very large hands was a ring made of penfel flowers with slightly crushed petals.

“One summer day, my sister-in-law, that is, Leo’s mother, sat me, my brother, and the child down and taught us how to make flower rings. She said that as men, we should at least know how to make rings with our own hands to give to women.”

As if catching flying flower seeds, he gently took my hand.

“The reason Leo could make flower rings must be because the memory of that day remains somewhere in the child’s heart.”

The flower ring Cheri made fit perfectly on my finger as if it were custom-made.

That series of actions was so natural that I couldn’t even think to stop him and just stared blankly.

Finally, Cheri gently brought his lips to the flower ring and said quietly.

“It’s not as good as Leo’s, but it suits you very well.”

“…”

I belatedly realized that the finger Cheri had put the ring on was the ring finger, the place for engagement rings, and quickly pulled my hand back.

“That…”

“Yes, Lady Blanche.”

“Don’t try so hard, Cheri.”

I threw out those words and hurriedly entered my room.

Annoyingly, unlike my face that had turned bright red, the flower ring that Cheri’s lips had touched remained as vivid as if it had just bloomed.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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