The Obsessive Male Lead Is Obsessed With Me! - Chapter 11
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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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Episode 11
“How could this be….”
“I’ll overlook it once, but not twice. This time, really don’t give it to anyone, don’t lose it, and take good care of it. Got it?”
“….”
Without any intention of responding to my words, Lionel touched the fountain pen with unfamiliar eyes.
It was exactly like the reaction of someone reuniting with a person they thought they’d never see again in this lifetime.
‘Seeing this expression, it feels like the losing business was worth it?’
Though I’d spent quite a bit of my allowance buying five luxury fountain pens, since I’d drawn out this kind of expression from this man, I thought it wasn’t really a loss after all.
Feeling proud of myself, I spoke in a patronizing manner.
“If the First Prince happens to come looking for it again, make excuses about me and say you can’t give it to him.”
“Make excuses about you?”
“Say that the daughter of Duke Roheim cried and threw a tantrum, then ran to Duke Roheim to tattle, and Duke Roheim got furious and threatened to withdraw all support promised to the Imperial Family. That’s what I mean.”
Of course, it wouldn’t work on the First Prince at all.
But what about the Emperor?
No matter how much the First Prince acted like a tyrant under the Empress’s protection, he couldn’t ignore the Emperor’s mood.
As if my guess was correct, Lionel said this:
“But if you say that, wouldn’t your reputation hit rock bottom?”
“So what if my reputation falls a bit? I’ll still be the youngest daughter of House of Roheim and the Second Prince’s fiancée.”
Reputation versus practical benefits.
If I had to choose between the two, I’d definitely pick the latter.
Rather than be a hungry Socrates, I’d rather be a well-fed pig!
“Anyway, got it? I’ll check if you’re keeping it safe every time I come.”
“Yes. I understand.”
Lionel, who had put the fountain pen back in its box, looked at me and smiled faintly.
…Huh?
“I’ll treasure it well. Properly this time.”
“Wh-what was that just now?”
“What do you mean?”
The smile had already disappeared from Lionel’s face as he asked back with a puzzled expression.
‘I should have invented cameras sooner!’
Because it vanished in an instant, I couldn’t tell if what I saw was a hallucination or not.
‘No, but for it to be a hallucination, it was too… too…!’
I don’t even know how to describe it.
Anyway, it was really good. So devastatingly powerful that my heart skipped a beat for a moment!
“Th-then I’ll be going now!”
“Already?”
“I’m busy too, you know! I’ll come again next week…. It’s homework! Prepare a flower to give me as a gift. One that suits me well!”
Somehow, it became difficult to keep looking at Lionel’s face.
I left as if fleeing, and in the carriage on the way home, I belatedly realized I’d left something behind.
“My fountain pen!”
…Well, I could just go get it next week.
Anyway, one strategy had succeeded.
The reason I gave Lionel a meaningful gift even though I knew it would definitely be taken by the First Prince.
‘If I accumulate experiences of getting back stolen items one by one…. Won’t he be less shocked later when the crown prince position is taken away?’
The so-called shock mitigation therapy!
Mm, I really am smart.
* * *
After Cecilia, who had swept in like the wind, disappeared like the wind again.
Lionel also realized that Cecilia had left behind her return gift.
‘She said she’d come again next week, so I can give it to her then.’
Without recognizing that he was naturally looking forward to next time, Lionel carefully stroked the fountain pen.
Then Maximus, his aide who had been standing behind Lionel and had seen and heard everything Cecilia said and did, let out a faint exclamation.
“Somehow…. She’s quite remarkable. The daughter of Duke Roheim.”
Lionel didn’t respond at all, pouring all his attention into the fountain pen.
Noticing this, Maximus spoke to him directly.
“What do you think of the daughter of Duke Roheim, Your Highness?”
“What?”
“The daughter of Duke Roheim.”
Lionel pondered Maximus’s question for a moment before opening his mouth.
“Someone like my brother.”
“Pardon? Someone like the First Prince?”
If Cecilia had heard this, she would have breathed fire and flipped the table.
Similarly, Maximus looked flustered.
“May I ask in what way you think so…?”
Instead of answering Maximus’s question, Lionel slightly lowered his eyes and recalled Cecilia’s appearance from their first meeting until now.
Though he’d only seen her three times, so many expressions and voices came to mind. Lionel had seen exactly one person as honest with their emotions as she was. His brother.
Completely opposite to him, who had dried up not only tears but even smiles, the reason these two people could grow up like that was….
‘Because they were loved abundantly.’
Suddenly, he thought that his brother might suit her better than someone like himself.
But as if scolding such thoughts, the blue diamond sparkled in his hand.
“It’s homework! Prepare a flower to give me as a gift. One that suits me well!”
“…Maxim.”
“Yes?”
“I need to learn about flowers.”
“Pardon? Suddenly?”
“I suddenly need to. I don’t need a teacher, just get me a flower encyclopedia.”
“A flower encyclopedia…. Yes, I understand.”
Maximus let out a small sigh. As he took out his notebook and scribbled, the sound of him lamenting “Your Highness’s sleep time….” could be heard, but Lionel pretended not to hear.
Eventually, he carefully stroked the blue diamond embedded in the pendant with his thumb, then put it back in the box.
And he placed the wooden box deep inside the drawer.
As if imprisoning it in a place only he knew, where no one else’s gaze could reach.
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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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