The Obsessive Male Leads Want to Eat Me Alive - Chapter 155

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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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Side Story: Kyle and Marriage (6)
As I opened the Reception Room door and stepped inside, a woman with lovely pink hair and pink eyes caught sight of me and broke into a radiant smile.
“Kyaa, Anette!”
A broad grin spread across my own face.
“Shasha! How did you know? Why are you here waiting for me?”
“I didn’t know you’d be here! I just stopped by, and I thought if you weren’t around, I’d go beg Victoria for some jelly!”
“Oh, so that’s what happened…?”
True to form as my friend, she was up to the same tricks I would have been.
In any case.
We clasped hands like little girls and bounced up and down together.
It wasn’t as though we hadn’t seen each other since childhood—we’d met dozens of times already—yet somehow, every reunion filled me with joy and warmth I couldn’t contain.
My reunion with Shasha had been a year ago.
It happened not long after I returned to Valienne Estate.
Shasha told me that shortly after I fled The Forest, she was adopted by a kind-hearted noble couple, and by fortunate coincidence, that family was none other than Marquis Rochuana’s household, which had established itself in Valienne Duchy.
The Marquis Rochuana family was one of considerable learning and refinement.
‘And Shasha had shown talent for summoning magic since childhood…’
Why, she’d even summoned 104 chicks during The Forest’s level test and defeated the moles with them!
The Marquis Rochuana family, eager to nurture Shasha’s talents, had even sent her abroad to study, offering her their full support.
Thanks to that, she had just completed her studies at the finest Summoning Academy in a foreign land and returned, which was when we reunited.
‘Shasha studying… I was truly shocked.’
She’d never shown any aptitude for academics.
When we saw each other as adults, we were both taken aback.
“Huh? Anette is a Duchess?”
“…Shasha, you earned a degree? You’re smart now?”
I knew it was terribly rude to ask, but I genuinely couldn’t believe it.
The model student of The Forest at twelve years old—that was me, Anette—and the friend I remembered was kind but not particularly clever.
Shasha laughed brightly and answered.
“Yep! I got smart because I ate a lot!”
Hmm, it seemed like she hadn’t changed much after all…?
In any case, though she retained her unique quirks, she claimed to have graduated at the top of her class.
She was now, without question, the most promising summoner in the entire Empire.
And from that day forward, Shasha’s supporters gained one more member alongside the Marquis Rochuana family.
The owner of the highest-grade mana mines.
The lord of a territory so vast and fertile that its agricultural bounty was distributed throughout the entire Empire, and whose wealth was so abundant it overflowed—a person of immense riches.
That was me.
“Kyaak, really?! Anette, you’re really going to establish a Summoning Academy in your territory…?”
“Yes, I’ll create a space where you can research freely and nurture the next generation. Valienne Duchy will become the center of summoning magic and a true home for all summoners.”
“Duchess, you’re the best friend ever!”
With that same innocent joy from childhood, she was delighted, and so was I.
Of course, it was a choice made for my friend, but it was also for the sake of my people.
While the Valienne Duchy possessed abundant resources, it lacked a prestigious academy—until now.
And I had my own needs as well.
“Would you do me a favor too? There’s something I desperately need, and I think you might be the only one who could create it, Shasha.”
“Of course I’ll make it for you!”
We’re friends, after all.
Shasha’s cheerful laughter at her own response warmed my heart—she hadn’t changed a bit from before.
The academy was established at lightning speed.
Once we renovated the Old Castle, a rather impressive structure within the duchy, it transformed into a proper hall of learning and research.
Good. Let’s ride this momentum.
The distinctive atmosphere of the Old Castle, draped in ivy, evoked the image of a “prestigious academic research institute boasting centuries of tradition.”
As a result(?), everyone was overwhelmed by the exterior, thinking “Wow, this must be an incredibly prestigious place,” and students flocked there in droves.
Of course, it helped that Shasha, the greatest summoner, and the distinguished faculty she recruited were all renowned.
‘And apparently the research funding is astronomical.’
I began spending an unexpectedly lavish amount of money on the academy.
And when it came to developing what I’d requested, I spared no expense.
I frequently visited the academy to check on the progress of the research with Shasha.
There were several occasions when I left the Marquis’s residence empty to come to the duchy.
‘…As a result, my dear Kyle felt quite neglected.’
But it’s a secret from him.
What I’m creating, that is.
Sip.
I gazed at Shasha across from me as we leisurely sipped tea in the Reception Room.
When she was younger, Shasha used to wear her hair in a style like pink cotton candy, but now she had neatly braided her hair, which had taken on a subtle rose-pink hue.
Just looking at it gave her quite an intellectual and mature appearance.
“Listen, Anette.”
If only she wouldn’t stuff her mouth so full of jelly…
“…You could swallow the jelly first before speaking.”
“But I want to say it quickly! Um, I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“I’m getting married.”
Pfft!
I sprayed my tea everywhere.
Of course, since I had already married, Shasha was certainly old enough and in a position to marry as well.
But my shock stemmed from a different point entirely.
“Wait, to whom?!”
I’d never even heard her mention dating anyone!
I’m your best friend!
Shasha swallowed the sweet jelly and spoke shyly with an expression even sweeter than the candy.
“Well, it’s someone you know, right? A lovely and unique man, they say? He confessed and proposed at the same time.”
“Someone I know? There’s a groom candidate among the people I know? There’s no one suitable for you to marry. Wait, no—more importantly… if he confessed and proposed simultaneously, did you accept the marriage proposal on the spot without even meeting him first?”
“Ung! Hehe.”
Oh no, this is bad.
I shook my head and took a sip of tea.
In a world like this, someone had spotted the innocent Shasha at a glance and was coiling around her like a serpent, ready to whisk her away.
How was I supposed to stop this?
Some snake-like creature, so vile and filthy, with a heart as black as pitch….
“Marry Julian instead.”
“Pffft!!”
Fluffy golden hair and eyes as vast and blue as a lake.
The child whose runny nose I was always wiping.
That little snotty kid from the Forest, Julian, raising his chubby little fists like small potatoes and saying such things?!
“My future dream is to become a bean beetle!”
“Because I can make circles perfectly round!”
He was the very definition of harmlessness.
Thinking back to when he earned a “good child score” for helping up a friend who fell during the level test and bringing them to the Infirmary… he was probably still kind and soft-hearted even now.
He really was adorable.
Had he become a bean beetle by now?
“Julian became a secret Imperial Inspector, and his nickname is ‘Demon.'”
“….”
It was as shocking as Shasha becoming intelligent.
“I fell for him watching how thoroughly he rooted out corruption. When he touches the nobility’s ledgers, he digs so deep into their souls that everyone trembles. Plus, he’s younger than me and over 190 centimeters tall.”
“…Please… introduce me to him.”
That Demon is Julian?
I’d heard rumors about that Demon and knew of him well enough, but the cognitive dissonance from how poorly he matched with Julian was nearly overwhelming….
“And congratulations on your marriage.”
Barely collecting myself, I offered my friend the words I should say.
In any case, it was reassuring.
A man with such meticulous character would balance well with the free-spirited and eccentric Shasha.
“Thank you! Oh, and I almost forgot—I have something to give you.”
Shasha pulled a small box from her bosom.
Tap.
And held it out before me.
I could tell the moment I saw it.
What lay inside that box.
Shasha’s lips curled upward in a smile.
“Yes. I finally finished it.”

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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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