The Obsessive Male Lead Is Obsessed With Me! - Chapter 168

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 168
“Wow, finally?”
So I don’t have to pretend I don’t know anymore?
‘Now that I see it, that notebook really is the one.’
The notebook Lionel carried with him whenever he traveled through the Northern Region collecting stories of people’s romantic and marital experiences.
The very notebook I had to feign ignorance about each time people cast curious, pitying glances, wondering if he’d heard a confession today or if he still hadn’t.
‘So I’m finally seeing the real thing.’
It had been how many years? Four? Five? The notebook I was seeing after all that time was far thicker than I’d imagined. More than that, the cover and edges bore the smudges of heavy use—not just a casual flip-through here and there.
“First, to gain certainty in my feelings, I spoke with a total of six hundred eighty-three people…….”
“Wait a moment.”
I raised my hand to stop Lionel mid-sentence and took the open notebook from his grasp.
As I flipped through the pages, I could see at a glance that it contained fascinatingly compelling stories throughout.
‘If this were officially published, it’d be a bestseller.’
Of course, since these were all real people’s actual stories, that would hardly be appropriate.
In any case, I decided to save this fascinating reading for a time when I had leisure, and go through it slowly later.
I set the notebook aside and looked into Lionel’s eyes.
“You don’t need to tell me why you feel this way, or what made you certain, or any of that. Just say one thing.”
I asked with a smile.
“Do you love me?”
To be clear, the reason I could ask this question while smiling without the slightest tension was simple.
“Yes. I love you.”
I already knew Lionel would answer this way.
Back then, when he couldn’t yet be certain of his own feelings—when he’d promised me he would one day give me a clear answer about his heart.
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t said it directly either.’
I brushed my lips lightly against his, then told him:
“I love you too.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Really? A man who took years to understand his own feelings—how did you figure out mine?”
“It’s all written here.”
Lionel pointed to the notebook I’d just set beside me.
“Liri grew jealous whenever I met other women, and I made an effort to protect my honor in ways you didn’t overlook, and you’ve stolen my lips before, and when I was separated from you…….”
“Wait, wait, wait! Something odd just got mixed in there?”
“Something odd?”
Lionel tilted his head, apparently not grasping what I meant.
I raised my voice indignantly.
“When did I steal your lips!”
“In the Rose Greenhouse, that time.”
“Right, and you don’t remember that you kissed my forehead first?”
Then Lionel replied with a grave expression.
“A kiss on the forehead and a kiss on the lips clearly carry different meanings. The notebook here documents that a kiss on the lips is fundamentally a matter of erotic significance…….”
“Ah, ah, ah, I don’t want to hear it!”
I bit those infuriating lips once for good measure, then glared at him, who was now wearing a slight frown, and asked:
“So what you’re saying is, I fell for you before you fell for me? That’s what you want to say?”
“I believe our starting lines were different.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“When we were seven, I was a Blue Bird to you, but you were a person to me, were you not?”
“And?”
“To me, the Blue Bird that was you was a friend, but you, a person, were already…….”
“Something you liked?”
Lionel nodded without the slightest hesitation.
“Yes.”
“You’re ridiculous, seriously!”
“It is not unfounded. The distance from the Duke’s Residence to here is considerable, yet you always came to meet me in that small form of yours…….”
“That’s not it! I was just……!”
“Just?”
Just……! Just……! Just……!
“Because the cookies you gave me were delicious!”
“Did you not say that the Duchess’s cookies were the most delicious? You came all that way just for cookies?”
“Oh, fine! Just assume that’s how it was!”
Then Lionel broke into laughter.
“Very well. I shall assume as much.”
Look at him, granting permission like he’s doing me a favor. It’s infuriating.
“……This won’t do. I’ll need to hear the story.”
“What story?”
“When and under what circumstances you became certain of your love for me. Tell me that story.”
I handed the notebook back to Lionel.
“You’d better do this properly. If I’m not satisfied, I’ll have you prepare it again.”
“Understood. Then I shall begin.”
Lionel opened the first page of the notebook with a determined expression.
“When and under what circumstances does one come to recognize love? Of the six hundred eighty-three people who provided me answers, two hundred ninety-eight reported that they first became aware of their love when they witnessed jealousy upon seeing the object of their affection with another person of the opposite sex…….”
As I listened and listened and listened, I eventually nodded off, and thus I did not hear even half of the presentation Lionel had prepared.
Yet I found no need to tell Lionel to prepare it again.
“Liri, I have just felt love for you once more.”
……So Lionel had developed a new verbal habit, one that rivaled his previous catchphrase in its ability to disarm.
* * *
Laughter spilled across every street in the Capital.
Children without a care in the world were busy running about, while adults, clicking their tongues at what a poor day for business it had been, gathered at taverns as evening fell and clinked their cups with merry laughter.
“The year’s almost over already……. Time sure flies.”
“Tell me about it. Nothing comes as easy as getting a year older.”
“Pretty soon I’ll be a grandfather.”
“A grandfather? Nobody becomes a grandfather for free! You need your son to marry and give you grandchildren. Isn’t that right?”
“Right, right.”
“Quiet, you lot!”
My head’s already pounding over my son who can’t get married, and these so-called friends just keep needling me instead of offering comfort.
The middle-aged man soothed his rising irritation with a bitter draught of dark beer.
One of the men laughing at the sight suddenly added, “Now that you mention it…….”
“Shouldn’t we be hearing news from the Imperial Palace soon?”
“News from the Imperial Palace? What news?”
“What news else—the Future Sage-King!”
Such talk was not confined to these men alone. Today, yesterday, the day before—whenever people gathered, they waited with anticipation for the birth of the new Imperial heir.
Why wouldn’t they? For when a new member of the Imperial Family was born, one of the Empire’s few entertainments was speculating on what Divine Oracle they would receive. And this time, the Emperor to be born had already received a prophecy before his birth—that he would become the Future Sage-King.
“Though who knows, the Future Sage-King might not be born this time.”
“True. Maybe it’ll be a second, or third, or fourth child…….”
“Then what kind of Divine Oracle will the one born this time receive?”
“It’d be amusing if they got a somewhat tragic prophecy. Haha!”
Since ultimately this was no concern of theirs, the people exchanged remarks bordering on idle gossip and simply laughed merrily.
Those who could not laugh this way were the people for whom the birth of an Imperial heir was not someone else’s business.
The Roheim Family gathered at the Imperial Palace upon learning that Cecilia had gone into labor and entered the Delivery Room, as did Lionel.
“Wail……. Wail…….”
“Ruda, does it hurt terribly? What are we to do.”
The Emperor, who doted on the Empress, hung so near the door of the Delivery Room that they had taken the unusual measure of casting Soundproof Magic within.
Thus they could hear nothing of what transpired inside, yet from watching Ruda—who lay whimpering in Lionel’s palm—one could easily discern Cecilia’s present state.
“What are we to do……. Tell me, how many hours has it been since the Empress went into labor?”
“It will be eight hours soon.”
“Eight hours?”
From Sophia, the only one among them with childbirth experience, there came a sigh of anguish.

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