I Became The Male Lead’s Female Friend - Chapter 41

My parents seemed to have never thought I would be able to ride a horse because I was afraid of horses.

 

My father scolded me all day long, and my mother sternly retorted my father’s words.

 

Quietly listening to my parents’ scolding.

 

It was because I sincerely regretted riding a horse, and above all, I was worried about Rudrick and distracted.

 

Seeing me sitting there all day, my parents stopped scolding me after a while.

 

Instead, they said this, ‘It’s not a big wound. He might wake up tomorrow.’

 

Not to mention that my father’s sigh deepened as I immediately stopped crying and raised my head.

 

I stayed up all night and stuck at Rudrick’s side.

 

Rudrick’s body continued to develop a fever, so he needed someone to constantly change the towel by his side.

 

Usually, such things were done by maids, but this time I insisted on doing it myself.

 

My parents told me to take a rest too, but they couldn’t break my stubbornness.

 

Eventually, my parents left after I promised to take care of Rudrick for just one day.

 

Staying up all night looking after Rudrick and nursing him.

 

Then, when I dozed off without realizing it, I felt someone looking down at me and opened my eyes.

 

“Dahlia, are you okay?”

 

Rudrick wasn’t blaming me, but he was rather worried.

 

Noticing his gaze on me, I felt something creeping up from the depths of my chest.

 

Tears were nothing compared to his injuries. Rudrick has been unconscious for a whole day.

 

In the end, unable to contain the frustration, I burst into tears silently.

 

Only the innocent Rudrick was embarrassed by my sudden burst of tears, but there was nothing he could do.

 

I didn’t know I could cry so much…

 

‘You’re too kind and fall for it…’

 

That day I made a promise. In this harsh world, I’ll protect him until Rudrick’s all grown up.

 

And as I decided, I would do my best with all my heart and soul.

 

As a result of this situation, dance lessons were forced to stop, and thanks to this, I had nothing to do, so I went to and from the Duke Bouser every day.

 

Then I took care of him, making a fuss next to Rudrick.

 

At first, Rudrick, who was awkward on such a day, showed signs of reliance on me, as if he had adapted to it now.

 

Seeing him shy but somehow happy, it showed that my efforts were not in vain.

 

By the time I visited the Duke of Bouser as usual.

 

‘It’s kind of weird.’

 

At the current atmosphere of the Duke family, I shook my head but something felt different from usual.

 

Somehow, it felt like the entire Duke’s mansion was shaking.

 

The Duchess, who greeted me warmly every time, had already gone out, and the workers were busy moving and their faces were stiffer than usual.

 

Most of all, the expression on Rudrick’s face as he greeted me was unusual.

 

“Dahlia, I’m fine, so you should go home early today…”

 

“Why?”

 

Rudrick couldn’t answer.

 

But I soon found out the answer.

 

Bang!

 

Someone violently opened the door and came in.

 

The man who strode in with long legs passed by me and stood in front of Rudrick.

 

As I stared blankly at the man’s back, I slowly became shocked.

 

At that moment, his hand went up. As I was facing him, Rudrick closed his eyes, and I screamed as I jumped onto the bed where Rudrick was lying with all my might.

 

“What’s wrong with you?” (Dahlia)

 

The person who tried to slap Rudrick on the cheek as soon as he entered.

 

He was the Duke of Bouser.

 

 

✿

 

 

In the novel 『Silver Lady』, Duke Bouser was described as follows:

 

「The black ebony hair was neatly swept back, and the dark eyes are deeper than black. 

 

As the years passed, his wrinkled face became as cold as if no drop of blood would drip even if a needle poke him.」

 

It was the impression that the heroine had when she saw the portrait of the great Duke in the north.

 

For reference, the male lead used to call him like this.

 

‘Crazy.’

 

But that was exactly right.

 

‘Aren’t you crazy?’

 

I covered Rudrick with my whole body and glared at the Duke.

 

In the novel, Rudrick appears as a decent adult who even fought the war, and there was hardly any mention of the previous Duke in the novel.

 

Even if he appears, was it when the male lead briefly reminisced about the unfortunate past?

 

So I only heard that Duke Bouser was ‘trash‘, but I didn’t experience it myself.

 

But seeing the Duke in person, I realized it.

 

‘It’s trash that couldn’t be recycled.’

 

As soon as you come to visit your injured son, you want to slap his cheeks?

 

He was more stubborn than I thought.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

The Duke’s dark eyes turned towards me.

 

Looking into those eyes that looked like dead frozen eyes, I greeted him only after swallowing my fear.

 

“It’s an honor to meet you, Duke Bouser. I am Dahlia Averine, daughter of the Duke of Averine…”

 

“Who said I was curious about your name? I mean what are you doing in front of me right now?”

 

What do you mean? I’m just blocking your stupidity! (Dahlia)

 

I couldn’t bear to say this, so I closed my lips and continued speaking calmly.

 

“I’m protecting him.”

 

“Protect?”

 

“Yes, you suddenly appeared and tried to beat a child who has been injured for no reason, wasn’t it normal to protect this child in such a situation?”

 

For a moment, the eyes of Rudrick and the Duke were fixed at the same time.

 

In particular, the atmosphere of the Duke staring at me was terrifying, so I wanted to run away immediately, but I threw it away.

 

Soon after, the Duke’s cold voice came.

 

“I’m his father. What’s wrong with a father educating his son?”

 

“Violence without cause was an assault, not education. What the hell did Rudrick do wrong?”

 

“Do I need the princess’ understanding?”

 

“Yeah, otherwise I’ll never leave here.”

 

As I spoke confidently, a light laughter of ridicule flashed across the Duke’s face for a moment.

 

The Duke said, as the corners of his lips rose.

 

“What could a princess do? I think it’ll be easy to get rid of you with a single gesture of my hand.”

 

“Are you saying that you’re going to hit me?”

 

Far from denying, the Duke looked at me and said dryly.

 

“If necessary.”

 

Instead, I smiled broadly.

 

“Me? The only beloved daughter of the Duke of Averine?”

 

“What?”

 

“My parents would make a fuss if I got a little scratch on my body, but you said you’re going to hit me?”

 

“…”

 

“Well, I couldn’t help it if you’re too angry. Of course, even if my angry father cuts off all the transactions with the upper part of the north, it couldn’t be helped. Right?”

 

The Duke’s expression crumpled as time went by, but my mouth didn’t stop.

 

On the contrary, I spoke with a brighter expression than before.

 

“My father was quite hot-tempered. If we cut off these transactions by pressing not only the upper part of our side but also the upper parts interacting with the North, the North would be more isolated. What would you do?”

 

“…”

 

“Your Excellency wouldn’t mind even if the number of commoners relocating due to lack of food supply increased, would you? You’re the kind of person who could easily get rid of me with just one gesture!”

 

“Let’s stop.”

 

I smiled broadly as I watched the Duke with his crumpled forehead.

 

You thought I’d be scared if you threatened to hit me, right? I’m also clever enough to wield my background!

 

As he clenched his fists tightly, the Duke, who was now looking at me strangely, began to say weird things.

 

“The princess’ strange. Didn’t you get hurt because of him?”

 

“…What?”

 

“I heard you couldn’t ride a horse. Still, that guy who dared carry the princess on his horse didn’t handle the horse properly and put your life in danger. Couldn’t I blame him?”

 

With a cold face, the Duke was saying something appealing to his emotions and reasoning.

 

With a slight frown, I answered without hesitation.

 

“Why was it Rudrick’s fault? Rudrick didn’t force me to ride the horse.”

 

“…”

 

“It was my choice. Accepting Rudrick’s offer was a decision I made even though I knew I was not good at horseback riding.”

 

“…”

 

“It’s my responsibility because it happened according to my choice. Even if I was seriously injured, I wouldn’t have been able to blame Rudrick. But Rudrick even saved me.”

 

“…Dahlia.”

 

“I’m grateful to Rudrick. Even in that situation, saving me came first.”

 

After talking for a while, I paused for a moment to catch my breath.

 

There was also Rudrick, but I was embarrassed for a moment that I might have been too honest, but if I didn’t say this, the Duke wouldn’t back down.

 

Looking up again and stared at the Duke proudly.

 

“I heard that’s what the other person felt. Wasn’t it funny that the three of them scolded him?”

 

It was an expression of my opinion, ‘So don’t bother Rudrick!’

 

The Duke did not answer.

 

I wondered what would happen if he caught me in the midst of his anger, but instead of that, he kept silent and stared at me.

 

No, rather, the Duke seemed to be observing me.

 

His face that was staring seriously at me was neither a look of ridicule nor a look of annoyance as before, so I had no choice but to swallow my saliva anxiously.