I Became The Male Lead’s Female Friend - Chapter 52

Chapter 52

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The only way to get rid of my mother’s false accusation.

That’s the very beginning of the incident and what drove my mother to this point…

‘Only my father can do this.’

To be honest, Rudrick was not confident in persuading his father.

For him, his father was still the object of fear.

When his father slapped his mother, he was angry, but in the end, he couldn’t even run and face his father.

The truth was, he’s still terrifying.

Even if I try to persuade my father, would he listen to me, or just drive me out this time?

‘If I don’t tell him, I won’t know.’

Nevertheless, Rudrick settled down because he remembered the story Dahlia had told him.

‘What?’

‘Whatever… No matter how close you and I are, we’re still different people. How could we know each other’s thoughts? Right?’

‘Yes… ‘

‘So if you want the other person to know, tell it to that person first. We may bump into each other because we have different opinions, but if we tell the truth, one day, that person will recognize us.’

I don’t know why such a story came out.

At that time, however, Rudrick hesitated to answer.

Because Dahlia’s words are too ideal. It was unimaginable when I was in the North, so I hesitated for a while and asked again.

‘What if I don’t know?’

Dahlia said with a bright smile.

‘I’ll tell you until you understand.’

Dahlia, who said so, looked so glistening that Rudrick couldn’t say anything in the end.

However, I thought to myself.

If I continue to be by her side, I wonder if I’ll be able to say things like that someday.

I don’t know when such a day will come, I’m not even sure if it will happen, but if the time comes, it’s right now.

Reading Dahlia’s letter, he realized anew. And he was able to decide.

If I tell my father about my mother’s innocence, he may not recognize it right away, but as Dahlia said, if I don’t give up, it may be delivered someday.

‘So many times.’

I can say it. And when that time comes, my mother…

Rudrick stopped thinking and looked at the glanced in front of him.

When I was young, I used to tremble because I was scared to stand in front of this door. Whenever I came to my father’s office, I was only scolded.

But now I’m standing here by myself.

Rudrick swallowed his dry saliva. He had told the aide beforehand his visit, so that his father would know he was coming.

That’s why there was no response when I knocked on the door.

I exhaled quietly and opened the door carefully.

Then I saw my father. A father with a cold gaze, like when he pushed my mother into the annex.

“…”

My father wouldn’t raise his head even though he might have felt my footsteps.

The way he treats me as if I’m nothing was no different from the usual, so I barely opened my mouth, holding my breath.

“Father.”

My father was still silent, so I continued to speak,

“My mother didn’t do that.”

Only then did my father raise his head when I immediately brought up the subject of my visit.

Looking at the cold blue eyes that resemble him, Rudrick continued to talk.

“She’s not the one who can do that. My father knows that, too.”

“Me? Who?”

I heard my father’s tone of ridicule.

“No matter how gentle a person is, it’s human nature to change in an instant. Is there any way not to say that you are your mother’s son?”

It was a bitter assessment for a person who had been next to him for more than a decade.

Rudrick, feeling choked up at the moment, almost spit it out without realizing it. Then he wondered if the person his father loved so much could change at any time.

However, Rudrick tried hard to swallow the rising anger and calmly recited the words he had prepared.

“I know because I’ve been in and out of her room frequently since my mother moved her room, I would have noticed it first if there’s a suspicious movement on my mother’s…”

“No, you wouldn’t have noticed.”

“…What?”

Rather, Rudrick’s shoulders flinched at his father’s voice, who seemed convinced. Even before he asked what he meant, his father’s words continued.

“No, to be exact, it’s right that you didn’t notice.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“How much do you trust your mother?”

Rudrick frowned at the sudden question.

“What’s wrong with that?”

“When did I allow you to talk back?”

Looking at him with his mouth closed, his father snorted as if he were pathetic. Then he got up from his seat and headed somewhere.

The place where my father headed was a chest of drawers.

Father pulled something out of the top drawer and threw it at his feet. Rudrick’s gaze automatically turned downward.

An object that’s rolling on my feet. That’s…

‘Bottle…?’

It was also a small bottle half filled with transparent powder.

Rudrick’s eyes, who was staring at the bottle blankly, began to widen slowly. Finally, Rudrick raised his head in haste.

Then, in front of him stood his father with a smile on his lips.

“It’s a bottle from your mother’s room. It was so ridiculous that it was placed on the shelf.”

Shelf…? At that moment, the scene of my mother’s room unfolded before Rudrick’s eyes.

“No, that’s ridiculous! It can’t be. I’m sure I hadn’t seen anything like that until a few days ago… No, there’s no way that you’re going to put such solid evidence in a place that’s easy to find!”

“…”

“Somebody must have placed it. Someone’s trying to accuse her of being a culprit. Please give me some time. I’ll find the evidence and find the real culprit behind this…!”

“Rudrick Bouser.”

Rudrick, who had been speaking hazily at the low voice, hesitated and stiffened.

Then I swallowed my breath quietly.

Before I knew it, my father came close. A cold gaze fell on me.

Seeing him trembling, his father said in a very friendly tone.

“You’ve changed a lot. Now you know how to raise your voice in front of me.”

“…”

“Okay, tell me since you’ve been begging like this.”

But the words he heard were quite cruel.

“Actually, I’m not curious who the culprit is.”

Rudrick’s mouth fell open.

“What…?”

“It’s just that there’s someone in here who’s trying to hurt my family.”

His clenched fists were trembling helplessly.

“Father… Father. That’s what Iㅡ!”

‘Please.’

Rudrick begged to himself, please don’t say such things.

No matter how much you hate us, we’re also your family, saying that we’re not your family, what the hell did we do so wrong for you to do that?

“Your mother is just an example.”

His father’s cruel words relentlessly crushed him.

“Yeah, it doesn’t matter who did it. The important thing is that it might happen again. There’s no way one can’t have the same malice twice.”

“…”

“In that sense, the Duchess is a good example. If I show that even a person of that position relentlessly gets thrown out, they won’t be able to easily antagonize me in the future.”

“…”

“By the way, Rudrick.”

In an instant, the large hand over Rudrick’s head disappeared.

Rudrick couldn’t even answer anymore, so he looked ahead instead. His father, who had a meaningful smile, was looking at him.

“I really don’t know. You, who trembled and pretended to be afraid at every gesture of mine, grew up and try to convince me.”

“…”

“This father is so moved. But…”

The grip, which was gently stroking his head, grabbed his hair in a moment.

“That’s Averine’s method, not Bouser’s way.”

“…”

“I let her take you to the capital, and only got bad water from somewhere. Tsk, you need to train again.”

Rudrick couldn’t tell what his father was saying. He couldn’t even feel the pain in his head.

Everything felt numb as if I were just having a terrible dream.

“Come to think of it, it’s time to do that.”

Rather, I wanted someone to wake me up from this dream, but I couldn’t help but stare blankly at my father, who was muttering something I didn’t understand.

“Were you twelve years old? It’s a little early, but looking at your current state, there won’t be a time like this.”

“…”

“Rudrick.”

My father’s face came close.

“Aren’t you curious? Why did all the previous Bouser Dukes have the same personality?”

“Yes…”

“Every generation of Duke’s says that. Being cold, and cruel, so they don’t look like a person.”

“…”

“Isn’t it strange? Even if they are of the same bloodline, their personalities are bound to be slightly different as long as they have their own will, but they are the same as replicas made only by the Duke of Bouser.”