The Male Lead I Raised Is Obsessed With Me

Luc answered my question.

“I said no because she would look ugly if she looked anything like her.”

I burst into laughter at the unexpected answer.

“Can’t sister go somewhere more fun next time?”

“That’s why we’re going to Lake Anse now. They say the scenery there is really pretty.”

For reference, Logan recommended Lake Anse as a good place to create an alibi.

Looking at me, Luc tilted his head.

“Sister, where did your lizard go? You always carried him here. Where is the pouch?”

Luc looked at my empty waist and asked.

“Blackie went to do something for a while.”

“Are lizards busy, too?”

Luc tilted his head.

“Of course! Animals work, rest and do everything!”

Actually, I had left him with Logan to protect him.

I handed him my pouch and told him to never open it and take care of it carefully.

If he opened it or treated it harshly, don’t even dream of seeing his daughter.

……Feels like I was using them as a hostage.

But it was fine, since his daughter will be comfortable and eating delicious food in the Duchy by now.

After half a day passed, we arrived at Lake Anse.

As soon as we got off the carriage, I could see why Logan had recommended this place.

‘There are so many people!’

It was the first crowd I have seen ever since coming to this world.

There were people everywhere, all of whom were enjoying the beautiful scenery of the lake.

‘So that was why he recommended this place as an alibi.’

There were definitely a lot of people, so it served as the perfect alibi. 

After unpacking at a nearby inn, we headed for the lake.

“Wow!”

There was a crowd, but now I think I can tell why it’s popular.

On the wide endless lake view, the ripples shimmered softly, likely due to the sunlight. 

As spring was approaching, the scent of fresh flowers wafted whenever the warm breeze blew. 

It was a rare sight in Valfruga, where it was cold even during the summer.

“Pretty, isn’t it Luc? It’s a good thing you came along, right?”

“Pretty…”

As his sentence became muffled, Luc raised his heels and whispered to me.

“Sister is prettier, so can’t I just look at you?”

I touched my ear that tickled from Luc’s breath and pulled Luc’s hand with my other hand.

Perhaps it was the weather, but it was strangely dazzling that I couldn’t see Luc’s face clearly.

“…I’ll let that slide.”

We held hands and walked along the shore of the lake together.

It was better to walk along the path where there was no crowd.

Then, Luc suddenly pointed to somewhere.

“Sister, sister. Look at that.”

“Huh? Oh! Luc, don’t look at things like that!”

I hurriedly covered Luc’s eyes with my hands.

Even in the midst of that, the lovers kissing in the bush did not intend on stopping.

This wasn’t even a private spot, but they were passionate.

“Sister. Are they done now?”

“Uhm……no.”

Looking at them, it didn’t seem like it would end anytime soon.

“Luc, let’s move forward one step at a time, starting with the left foot.”

I waddled forward, covering Luc’s eyes.

After walking for a long time, without the lovers in sight, I released my hand that covered Luc’s eyes.

Perhaps it was from the heat of my hands, Luc fanned himself with a slightly flushed face.

“Sorry. It was humid.”

I fanned him with my hands too, and Luc shook his head and asked.

“But why were they doing that?”

“……Huh?”

“Why were they sticking together like that?”

“Be-because they’re in love……”

“Love…”

Luc covered his cheeks with his hands.

Luc’s face flushed red with a different heat than before.

“Then how do you know if you’re in love?”

“Well……”

Right. How do you know if you’re in love?

I looked across the lake for a moment.

In Korea, I was busy with work and had never been in a proper relationship since I just kept getting involved with strange guys……

“Uhmm……You, you’ll just know. That’s how love is.”

I told him something I had heard somewhere.

Fortunately, Luc simply moved on with that answer.

“Then, if you love someone, do you do what we saw just now?”

“Uh, well……Yes.”

Suddenly, I recalled Luc from the original story, who begged for the heroine’s love.

……Wait.

I had forgotten that the original Luc and our Luc have different temperaments, but didn’t the original Luc kidnapped and imprisoned the heroine?

It was because, during the second half of the plot, he misunderstood that the heroine liked another man……

To be exact, he even went as far as breaking the heroine’s ankle.

It was fine when I read it as a novel, but I felt chills thinking that our Luc would do such a thing in real life.

I can’t imagine our Luc doing that.

I grabbed Luc by his shoulders, met his gaze and spoke resolutely.

“Luc.”

“Yes?”

Luc blinked with an innocent look.

The appearance of the lovely child was unstained and pure, and did not resemble the male lead who would kidnap, imprison and rape in the original story.

I organised the words in my head and spoke clearly.

“Don’t make a woman cry.”

Luc tilted his head.

“If Luc makes a woman cry, she will be very upset. If you make a woman cry, it would snow even in the middle of summer.”

“Doesn’t it always snow anyway?”

Oh, right.

No matter how much I think of it, the Duke of Valfruga had truly chosen the wrong place.

“Anyway, if you make a woman cry……”

“If they cry?”

What should I say about what happens if they cry?

Uhm, uh……I won’t buy you toys anymore!

I’m not sure if I should say this carelessly.

Isn’t that bad for this kid’s education?

No, I’ve never had a proper parent before, so…well, uh….

When I looked at those bright eyes that thought of my words as the truth of the world, I suddenly began to care about what I said.

Eventually, I panicked and spit out anything that came up.

“I, I will cry too.”

Luc looked at me with astonishment.

“R-Really…? Sister will really cry?”

Surprisingly, it worked better than I thought.

I nodded resolutely.

“Yes. I will cry a lot, too.”

Luc pondered for a long time with a serious look on his face.

“…Then, what about men? Can men cry?”

Huh?

‘Taming the beast’ was a romance novel, so Luc probably won’t have to get involved with a man.

Was he talking about arguments between friends?

“…Men can cry.”

“Okay.”

Luc agreed with a determined nod.

“I will never make a woman cry.”

“Yes, yes.”

It felt odd, but anyway, the end justifies the means[1].

[1] Literal translation; it does not matter how you go, as long as you go to Seoul. Means that achieving the goal is more important than how it’s done.

I prevented the kidnapping and confinement, didn’t I?

I didn’t know then.

That later, after being told that he should not make a woman cry, Luc came to the conclusion that women should be dealt with before they could cry.

By the time I realised it, it was already too late.

＊  ＊  ＊

Please do not repost. Read only at Dropped Inks.

After walking outside for a long time, I felt like collapsing from exhaustion.

But there was still work to be done today.

After making sure that Luc had fallen asleep like a peaceful angel, I sneaked out of the inn with Bircher.

Bircher, who held me up, jumped on the roof.

Even with my weight added, Bircher’s movements from roof to roof were light.

‘I won’t fall, right……?’

I held Bircher’s neck tighter, trying to avert my gaze from below.

“Madam. You don’t have to worry so much, it’s safe!”

“Yeah, I know that……”

Knowing and experiencing it yourself were different.

Rides can have safety bars, and still be scary.

“How much time is left until the plan?”

“About an hour or so.”

I entrusted Blackie to Logan in advance, but Blackie needed to get closer to me in order to use magic and physical strength. 

Because of that, I was making my way to the Count’s castle this early in the morning.

We had to fly around like a thief at night since I thought I wouldn’t be able to ride a horse since it could cause trouble if there was a witness.

‘Was this not like setting up a wi-fi connection?’

Then, was I the wi-fi router and Blackie was the cellphone?

If we break the seal, then communicating at a further distance could be possible.

Bircher and I perched on a tree with a good view of the Count’s castle. 

“Good job, Bircher.”

I removed my arm around Bircher’s neck and massaged it.

My arm went numb from staying in one position.

Bircher asked, massaging my arm for me.

“Will this be alright?”

“Yes.”

I could faintly sense Blackie’s presence. 

Bircher pulled out a thick blanket, wrapped it around me, and handed me a cup of hot tea from somewhere.

“The night is still cold. You shouldn’t catch a cold, madam.”

“Thank you. When did you prepare all of this?”

“I can’t afford to be negligent in serving madam! After all, I’m better than Bella, right?”

I responded, drinking the tea that Bircher gave me.

“I’ll say that you’re better since you’ve worked hard today.”

“Yay! I’m going to brag to Bella.”

I immersed myself in my thoughts, scouring around for a connection with Blackie.

‘Speaking of, shouldn’t it be okay if I tell him that I possess a divine beast?’

It would be risky to tell all the servants since you wouldn’t know where the words might leak, but I think it’s alright to tell Luc or the head retainers like Bircher or Bella.

‘He doesn’t even seem like a person who will betray me. He’s also loyal.’

I asked Bircher, who was meticulously removing the branches around me so I wouldn’t get hurt.

“By the way, don’t you wonder how I will stop the explosion?”

I simply handed over a pouch, and said that it was a magical item, but didn’t mention how or where I got it.

Had the previous Treon seen this, he would have found this suspicious and would dig around for evidence that I was linked to other factions.

Bircher answered my question with ease.

“Everything you do has a reason.”

“What?”

“Madam is an amazing person. Brave, mysterious, clever. And also…”

Bircher spoke, counting his fingers one by one.

“Oh, I don’t know! I can’t fully express madam’s greatness because my knowledge is small, but I know that madam works hard for the family. And all I can do left is to trust madam and do whatever you tell me to do well.”

After knowing him for several months, I knew very well that his loyalty was sincere.

If the other person believes in me like this, isn’t it right for me to repay that trust?

‘Then, how should I start……’

The moment I thought of folding the blanket, my strength was suddenly drained and my eyes spun around.

‘Blackie……!’

I knew it by intuition.

Blackie had activated the shield.

A loud boom followed.