The Male Lead I Raised Is Obsessed With Me

Unaware that there was someone following him, Treon bowed his head and apologised to Tickle.

Upon hearing Treon’s apology, Tickle laughed.

“Apologise?”

Then, he kicked Treon in the chest with his foot. Treon fell to the floor from Tickle’s kick.

“You apologise? Do you even know what you’re apologising for?”

Treon frowned from the pain but knelt down again as before.

Seeing Treon bow his head without saying a word, Tickle fumed.

“Hey. Tell me. What did you do wrong?”

“…I apologise for what I said and my behaviour towards you during meal time.”

“Really? Then, you should be punished right?”

Tickled poured wine on Treon’s head.

Treon’s hair and clothes were soaked in red wine.

“Why did you do it?”

“……”

“I asked. Are you ignoring me now?”

“……No.”

Tickle smacked Treon’s head with his hand.

There was a loud sound as if a watermelon had cracked open.

Treon slowly opened his mouth.

“…I did a mistake because I was stupid.”

“Hahaha! Ah, this is fun. It’s entertaining to see that face. Hey, if I had known that you would kneel down so easily for a few coins, I would have thrown some money and played with you earlier.”

Treon gripped his fist.

A few coins.

But for the Duchy of Valruga, it was a lot of money.

Treon repeated to himself.

‘I’m the only one who has to endure it. It’ll be over soon. It’s okay. I can stand it.’

Tickle, who had been giggling by himself for a while, glanced at Treon and said.

“It was really your fault, wasn’t it?”

He walked towards the sword that was hanging on one side of the room and tossed it on the floor.

Treon’s face turned pale when he saw the sword wrapped in a jewel-embedded scabbard.

If he got hit with that, he clearly wouldn’t be able to get up the next day.

Could he fool the madam and Bircher as if nothing happened after getting hit by that?

He wanted to quickly run away, but he clenched his teeth and endured it.

“The fact that you were born with a good-looking face and seduced the girls I liked.”

Tickled nudged Treon’s head with the sword.

“The fact that you caught the Emperor’s eyes just because you gave a good impression. It wasn’t your fault, was it? It’s because I was never good enough, right?”

“……No. I never thought it that way.”

“What do you mean, no? You bastard.”

Tickle slapped Treon’s cheek with the other hand.

 He grinned as he stroked Treon’s swollen cheek.

“I’m really curious about something, why did you reject the Emperor when he scouted you? If that were the case, our roles would be reversed by now. Hey, tell me. You regret it, don’t you? Then, you wouldn’t have to deal with my crap here. Right?”

“……No.”

“Wouldn’t your master freak out if she finds out that you’re doing this for some money?”

“……”

“What do you like about that poor duchy? Not to mention, the duchess still needs one more year to be called that title. I heard you picked her up from an orphanage?”

For the first time, Treon raised his head stiffly.

“Where did you get the guts to look up?”

“…It’s fine to insult me. But don’t insult the Valruga and the madam. She is a great person.”

“……What?”

Tickle Martech’s eyes narrowed.

“This bastard, see how I’ll deal with you……!”

The sword rose up in the air.

Treon shut his eyes closed.

At the same time, he heard a girl’s voice that shouldn’t be here.

“Treon!”

The door, which should have been closed tightly, opened, and a girl and a young man ran into the room.

“Bircher, stop him.”

At Felia’s command, Bircher grabbed Tickle’s arm.

“Sh*t! What do you think you’re doing?!”

Bewildered by the sudden appearance of the two, Tickle twisted his body but couldn’t beat Bircher’s strength.

Bircher instantly kicked behind Tickle’s knee, knocking him down, then tossed his arm to the ground and pinned them.

“How dare you put those filthy hands on our madam?”

While Bircher grabbed Tickle, Felia looked at Treon.

“Butler, are you okay? Can you stand up?”

Confused with the situation, Treon stared at Felia with a puzzled face.

Fluffy pink hair and blue eyes.

The lovely appearance which resembled a baby rabbit matched the face of the master he served.

“This……”

“Aren’t you going to let go of me? Who do you think……!”

“How dare you talk back to the Duchess when you have no title?”

Felia glared at Tickle.

Despite confronting an adult much larger than herself, Felia’s momentum did not shrink at all.

“How dare you do this to the Duke of Valruga’s vessel? Are you prepared to face the consequences?”

“That ruined duke?! The one who should be prepared is you b…!”

Before Tickle could end his sentence, Bircher grabbed Tickle’s hair and smacked him to the floor.

And he proceeded to speak with a pure face that screamed, ‘The bad villain in the fairy tale was defeated by the teacher.’

“If you say bad words in front of the madam, wouldn’t that make you a bad adult?”

And when he lifted Tickle’s head again, he had already fainted.

“Huh? Madam, this guy has already passed out.”

“What? Already? He has no guts.”

“Right! I only hit him once!”

He didn’t even realise that that one hit had the same destructive power equivalent to that of a bear’s paws.

“I’m not sure when he’ll wake up, so can you tie him up first?”

“Sure–!”

Bircher responded cheerfully and pulled out a rope from his sleeve.

“Where did that come from?”

“When you are a member of a secret organisation, a rope or two is a must!”

Bircher dug his hand into his other sleeve and pulled out a gag this time.

“Gags, as well!”

“As expected, you’re preparation is thorough! Alright, let’s use them all!”

“Yay!”

Bircher smiled like a child and tied Tickle tightly with a rope.

Usually, he had a gentle impression because of his happy smile, but in fact, he was a butcher with destructive power that matches that all of a bear while carrying various torture tools up his sleeves.

‘The fact that he truly enjoys these kinds of work is also terrifying about him.’

Treon thought to himself as he stared at Bircher’s smile which was brighter than usual.

Felia, who treated such a person like a dog, was no ordinary person.

Bircher gagged Tickle’s mouth before placing him in the closet in a way that the servants wouldn’t find out easily.

He then spoke while feigning to wipe the sweat that didn’t appear.

“At this rate, no one will able to find out until the next evening.”

“Well done!”

“Being with madam makes me happy because there are fun things to do every day. What should I do? Should I take you away from the Duke of Valruga and destroy his first love just like that?”

“You’re going to take me away?”

“W-Wait! What is going on?!”

Treon, who barely regained his sense of reality, shouted.

“What is going on? We defeated the villain and saved Treon?”

Felia replied calmly.

“You can’t do this. If so……”

“Why?”

“It is clear that Count Martech will break the deal with our family. Then, we would have no income.”

Treon spoke in an uncharacteristically hurried tone.

“The duchy needs money. The duke’s biggest income now comes from this trade with Count Martech. I will stay and beg for forgiveness, so please go back first.

Felia’s expression faded.

The lively atmosphere disappeared and she stared at Treon calmly.

“So you’re saying that we should throw the butler as a victim of power abuse and spend the money?”

“……Huh?”

“I’m sorry, but I refuse to let that happen. No, I can never do that.”

Felia said firmly.

“This is the best choice for the duchy. Madam, I’m…I’m fine with it.”

“You’re fine? Really?”

Felia took out her handkerchief and wiped Treon’s face.

He felt a sharp pain as she touched the wound.

A dark red liquid, a combination of the wine and blood, dripped down Treon’s face.

Treon couldn’t say anything.

She was worried about his current state.

It was a perplexing act.

“……”

Seeing Treon’s face wince in pain, Felia spoke.

“Does it really not hurt? I saw everything. You got hit. And you…were beaten very badly.”

No matter how much Felia wiped, the liquid dripping down Treon’s cheek did not diminish.

“You’re the duke’s people, too. But how could you sacrifice yourself like that…?”

Felia said with a troubled face.

“……I’m sorry I doubted you. That’s why I followed after you. I just, I just…”

I didn’t mean for this to happen.

The whisper sounded clear to Treon.

Felia pulled Treon.

“Let’s go. Let’s get out of here quickly. There is no need to sacrifice the butler for this.”

An indescribable emotion struck Treon.

It was the first time.

That someone stopped the violence he suffered.

It was 10 years ago when he first became a victim of Tickle Martech’s violence.

The reason was trivial.

The woman he fancied said she liked Treon.

For that reason alone, he broke Treon’s leg, who had visited for the deal.

Tickle said calmly to the screaming Treon.

“Be quiet. You’re here because you need our money anyway, right?”

His self-esteem was hurt, but it was true.

The Valruga Duchy needed the money of Count Martech.

Light iron was a common ore.

There was no place that wanted to buy the Valruga’s light iron, whose quality was not particularly good and the shipping was expensive due to the distance.

Yet Count Martech paid Treon well every time.

If he endured it, he would be able to reduce the burden of the Duke and his father, who sighed when the income was gradually decreasing, and feed the young child who had been starving for several days.

So Treon decided to remain silent.

Calculating rationally, it would be best for him to make sacrifices, and talking about it to others wouldn’t make the situation any better.

But sometimes it was suffocating.

He wanted to shout at someone about how sick he was, that he didn’t want to be beaten anymore.

But each time, he always chose silence and headed towards Count Martech.

If he stopped sacrificing himself, the duchy would only have money to last a year.

“Why? Why do I not have to do this?”

“Do you need a reason?”

“My sacrifice is the most profitable. So the duchy…”

“Don’t say that it’s beneficial for the family. I’m well aware of that. What I’m curious about is what the butler thinks now. Didn’t you get really hurt when you got hit?”

Felia asked, looking straight at him.

He had always wanted to say that.

It hurts. It’s scary.

Whoever it is, please save me.

He recalled his father’s face, who smiled brightly at the money he received without knowing how he had gotten it.

His broken leg, from 10 years ago, began to ache.

“…It hurts, it really hurts.”

At his words, Felia responded.

“That’s my reason.”