I Became The Male Lead’s Female Friend - Chapter 34

Now completely terrified, Jeron began running, hastily through the bushes.

 

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t see the way out, and when he tried to scream out loud-

 

“Haa-!”

 

He froze on the spot.

 

What he finally found after searching through the grass. It wasn’t the entrance to the garden, it wasn’t the tree he marked, it wasn’t an ordinary person…

 

“Fairy?”

 

 

✤

 

Jeron Hayward. He was a pessimistic, down-to-earth, and bleak boy.

 

He grew up without enjoying his childhood because of his terrifying older brothers.

 

That’s why, of course, he didn’t believe in the existence of fairies that would sometimes appear in fairy tales.

 

However, he had no choice but to say so at the unrealistic scenery he saw as he walked through the grass.

 

‘Fairy…’

 

‘That’s ridiculous.’

 

Truly, the being in front of him had a beauty that could only be described as a fairy.

 

The black hair that fluttered in the wind was as soft and shiny as high-quality silk.

 

Underneath it, a small and white face with big innocent eyes, the small cute nose, and the thick pink lips.

 

In particular, the pink dress worn by the fairy was swaying around like flower petals and fluttering in rich lace, creating the illusion that the fairy was sitting on a large flower.

 

And what’s this sweet smell since earlier?

 

Jeron’s eyes widened in disbelief…

 

The existence in front of him was so beautiful that he kept blinking because he thought it would disappear if he opened his eyes again.

 

But, as if to wake him up, he heard the fairy’s voice.

 

“…Fairy?”

 

Even the voice of the fairy was pretty.

 

The voice, which seemed a little lower than an average girl, had a subtle charm that was strangely catchy and softly wrapping around Jeron’s ears.

 

But the fairy didn’t seem to like him with a puzzled look on his face.

 

‘The fairy’s face, looking at me, was full of anger. Only then I was reminded of being lost, and I looked at the fairy, no, the girl in front of me.’ (Jeron)

 

When I finally regained my composure and took a closer look, the girl was definitely a human.

 

But what was so unpleasant about it, the girl’s fine forehead crumpled and gave him a cold look.

 

‘What’s wrong? Why…’

 

Could she be offended because he mistook her for a fairy?

 

As soon as he realized it, he felt a sharp pain in his chest.

 

‘My heart, which has been steadily beating since I met the girl, suddenly started to pound loudly.’ (Jeron)

 

At the same time, Jeron became nervous. He wanted to beg the girl for forgiveness right away.

 

Because he felt like his heart would break just by thinking that the girl hated him.

 

“Oh, that, I- I’m sorry… I misunderstood… Uh, it’s…The-”

 

But the only thing that came out of his mouth was a stupid stuttering voice.

 

How stupid would it be to look pathetic in front of the girl?

 

For a moment, Jeron wanted to die with his head buried in the ground. But at that time, he wanted to keep the girl in his eyes for even one second more, so he endured it.

 

But it was also his wish after all. The girl suddenly rose from her seat.

 

‘Oh, no… ‘

 

Jeron looked at the girl with longing eyes and regret.

 

‘I wish she had seen my desperation that I wanted her to stay a little longer, but the girl was relentless. She left without glancing back at him once.’ (Jeron)

 

In the end, it was Jeron who plucked up his courage and grabbed the girl.

 

Jeron, who held the hem of the girl’s skirt, let alone her small hand, pressed down on his uncontrollable trembling heart. As the girl turned to look at him, the trembling got worse.

 

Jeron opened his parched lips. Then, he barely managed to speak…

 

“Hey, your na-name…?”

 

Jeron asked the girl’s name.

 

I want to know her name. If I don’t know her name, we might never meet again, which made me more desperate.

 

The girl seemed a little hesitant, and she gently lowered her long eyelashes and seemed to think for a moment before she lifted her eyelashes again.

 

As the girl’s clear eyes turned to him, Jeron’s heart seemed to stop beating for a second.

 

“Dahlia.” Said the girl in a little voice.

 

And that was it. The girl turned around and completely left.

 

Jeron remained there in a daze, repeating the girl’s name. “Dahlia, Dahlia, Dahlia.” 

 

‘I like the way it feels when I say her name. The way my tongue moves every time I say it with my lips.’ (Jeron)

 

It was the name of his first love.

 

 

✤

 

“Eh, why was my ears so itchy?”

 

Dahlia stopped walking in the hallway and rubbed her ears.

 

I know it’s not a decent act, but at that moment, my ears were itching unbearably.

 

Usually, when my ears are itchy, someone was talking about me

 

‘Was it Rudrick?’

 

That’s very likely. He ran away crying, it was obvious that he was hiding somewhere and resented me.

 

In addition, it was expected that the degree of resentment would be higher than this time, considering that he didn’t return for quite some time.

 

This time it’s going to last quite a while. Contemplating how to comfort him, I turned to someone’s call.

 

“Dahlia?”

 

It was my mother who called my name. My mother hurried as if she were going somewhere important and found me.

 

In an instant, my mother’s eyes widened in surprise.

 

“Are you really Dahlia?”

 

“Ye-yes?”

 

I tilted my head at my mother’s unusual reaction, and soon found out why.

 

I came out looking for Rudrick and didn’t change my clothes, so now I’m dressed like a man.

 

Before I knew it, my mother had forgotten her original purpose and was staring at me like crazy.

 

I looked at her awkwardly because I think I knew why my mother was doing that, and it was not long after that my mother said with a little admiration.

 

“Oh, Dahlia. You really…”

 

She smiled shyly and continued.

 

“You really look like your father, don’t you?”

 

“He’s gonna be surprised to see you.”

 

My mother who said that seemed really excited and said, ‘It’s cuter than I imagined’, ‘It’s a pity that I couldn’t save it in a video tool’, and ‘Please show it to your father later’.

 

If I stayed like this, I’m sure she would have scheduled a date for when I would dress up as a man again, so I hastily cut off my mother’s words.

 

“Well, wait! Where were you going? You seem to be in a hurry.”

 

“It would be fun to dress up your father as a woman and set him up with you… Oh, what am I thinking?”

 

What did I hear? I glanced at my mother in bewildered eyes, but she asked me in a troubled voice, but she asked me in a troubled daylight, as if she had ever uttered such a blunt word.

 

“Did you happen to see a lost child?”

 

“A kid…?”

 

That’s what my mother said afterwards.

 

Earl Hayward, who was about to start a new business, came to Duke Averine’s to seek help from my father.

 

My father, who was paying attention to the specialties of Earl Hayward at the same time, gladly allowed them to visit, and it was good until they arrived at the Duke’s house and talked about it safely…

 

“Earl Hayward’s son was lost?”

 

“Yes, I thought he was just playing outside, but I couldn’t find him.”

 

Of course I know why that kid got lost. The Duke of Averine was famous for its size, being the second largest territory after the Imperial Palace in the capital, and even the garden was as complex as any maze.

 

Should I ask an employee who has just been employed in Averine to never go deep into the garden?

 

Even I, until a few years ago, would often get lost in the garden.

 

And if that son of Earl Hayward was lost, it would probably be in this garden.

 

“So, have you ever seen a boy with green hair and gold eyes?”

 

“Green…?” (Dahlia)

 

What’s that? Such a fantasy-like hair color?

 

I think I’ve seen most colors of hair since I was born here, but I’ve never seen a green hair before.

 

Come to think of it, there seems to be one supporting character with a similar hair color in [Silver Lady]…

 

My mother added an explanation when I was agonizing over the memories that came to mind.

 

“He said his name was ‘Jeron Hayward’.”

 

“Jeron Hayward… Jeron…?”

 

A memory that struck me like a bolt out of the blue.

 

‘Ah, that sub-male!’

 

Should I call him the sub-male lead or just a supporting character?

 

In [Silver Lady], there are a lot of men who got involved with the female lead. In fact, I remember that he’s role wasn’t big enough to be called a sub-male.

 

I still couldn’t think of anything about him.

 

Still, I remember how much he liked the female lead. Later he even wrote a poem about her.

 

‘What was he really doing?’

 

But the worries didn’t last long.

 

It was because my mother asked in a voice full of expectations how she had misunderstood what I was thinking.

 

“Have you seen him?”

 

‘Oops’, did I accidentally pretend to know too much? I averted her eyes and scratched my head.

 

“I thought he was familiar…because he had a similar name among the former servants. I haven’t seen Earl Hayward either.”

 

“I see…”