Rejected by Daughter’s Second Male Lead Chapter 108

Yuan was silent for a moment. He blinked a few times, then chuckled.

“Have I been overworking myself too much lately? I thought I just heard Gillen tell me to end the contract.”

“That’s right. That’s what I said.”

“…That’s strange. It still sounds like that.”

Then, Yuan tapped his own ear with his finger. It seemed he had cast a healing spell on his ear. However, since there was no point in healing an ear that was perfectly fine to begin with, the result was the same.

Gillen took Yuan’s hand, pulled it down, and sat him on the edge of his desk. Then he looked up at him seriously and said.

“There’s no need for us to pretend to be lovers anymore, is there? So let’s terminate the contract, Yuan.”

“So… I didn’t mishear you. By any chance…”

Yuan swept his hair back, then asked gravely.

“You’re not about to make a cliché confession about ending the fake lover contract and becoming real lovers now, are you? I prefer it when people get straight to the point. I hate this kind of roundabout way of speaking.”

Yuan didn’t even give Gillen a chance to continue.

“And if that’s what this is about, I refuse. I was only playing along for the sake of Gillen’s reputation and the Blake family’s honor, so I have no intention of doing something as troublesome as a real relationship.”

“That’s… a relief.”

When Gillen said this bitterly, Yuan’s expression hardened.

“A relief?”

“Yes. Now that the lover pretense contract is over, there’s no need for you to seek me out or deliberately try to maintain a connection with me. You are free now. We are breaking up.”

“…Free?”

Yuan reacted as if he had heard the word for the first time in his life. Still, Gillen’s words had registered in his ears, so he had to get to the point quickly.

“I was truly grateful for everything, Yuan. You must have had a hard time because of me, an older man, another dominant alpha, whom you once thought of as your prospective father-in-law. From the matter with Ivy, to restoring my honor and saving my life, to the imperial budget allocation and the construction of the Marian Orphanage… there’s nothing your hand hasn’t touched. There were times you drove me mad, but looking back, you always helped me. Thank you, really.”

“…Well, I’m, you know… a person who doesn’t do anything halfway.”

“Ha! Ha! Ha! That’s right. You’re like good fortune that comes wearing the mask of disaster. And I never knew it.”

“What, the mask of disaster? If it’s good fortune, just say it’s good fortune. What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Hahaha! Ha! It’s a joke. You’re right. You’re my bundle of good fortune. So now, with a truly grateful heart, I will let you go. You no longer need to step forward and help like a vassal of our family. The wedding gifts have been exchanged, and Cecilia has already moved most of her things to the imperial palace, so the imperial family will be more proactive with the wedding preparations. The orphanage construction is also in its final stages… so you should stop being tied to me and do what you want to do.”

In truth, that last sentence was what Gillen really wanted to say. Everything else was an excuse. He knew that Yuan had come to like him, and he also knew that Yuan wouldn’t reveal it because of his pride. He was cowardly using a truth he couldn’t help but know with his years of experience.

That was why he had deliberately cornered Yuan by saying he was ‘helping with all sorts of things out of good will’ and declared the end of the contract.

Yuan was still frozen like a stone, looking down at Gillen, and he seemed not to know what to say. It was plain to see how great of an internal conflict was raging within him. But it couldn’t be helped. He had to end things cleanly here before Yuan could swallow his pride and tell Gillen his true feelings.

Gillen stood up. He then extended a hand to Yuan.

“Here, let’s shake hands one last time. We’ll still see each other often in passing, but this is to commemorate the end of the contract.”

Still dazed, Yuan dazedly took Gillen’s hand and shook it. Gillen gently pulled his back to help him stand, then let go of his hand. Then, he placed the communication device that had been on one side of the desk into Yuan’s arms. It was the device Yuan had gifted him so they could communicate privately.

“Well then… farewell, Yuan. With this, our contract is terminated.”

“…Right. Contract termination…”

As the two of them said ‘contract termination’ together, a magical contract appeared in the air. The contract they had signed together to become fake lovers burned up in a blue light and vanished without a trace. The contract was truly over.

“You should teleport now.”

Gillen urged Yuan, who was still looking spaced out. Yuan nodded like a fool and then disappeared with teleportation.

And so, everything was over. Very cleanly and simply.

Gillen let out a deep sigh and went back to sit at his desk. He didn’t feel very good. Even though he knew this was the right thing to do, he felt as if he had lost something precious.

‘Yuan will accept it soon enough.’

Thinking this, Gillen picked up his pen to focus on his work again. But then—whoosh—Yuan reappeared before his eyes.

“…Huh?”

Didn’t he leave three seconds ago? Why is he back again?

Yuan was no longer wearing a spaced-out expression. He was angry. His beautiful face was flushed red and blue, and the communication device in his hand was cracked. It seemed he had squeezed it too hard.

“Are you kidding me? Who decided to end the contract? Who are you to break up with me first!”

‘It seems he accepted it and came to his senses in three seconds…’

Should I call this genius or foolishness? Gillen swallowed a sigh and stood up from his desk again. Calming Yuan down was his specialty.

“Shall we sit on the sofa and talk first?”

“Even if we break up, shouldn’t I be the one to say we’re breaking up? And look at all the things I’m helping with right now. You don’t even fire a servant this way! How could you do something so trashy?”

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry. That’s why I’m suggesting we sit and talk. If my explanation earlier was insufficient, I’ll explain until you feel better.”

Gillen sat Yuan down on the sofa. An agitated Yuan glared at Gillen.

“You seem to be under a serious delusion, but I was helping you by force, because of the contract, and because of my angelic heart! So then, shouldn’t I be the one to propose ending the contract first?”

“You’re right. But since you’re so angelic, I thought you’d feel sorry saying it, so I said it for you instead… how about you think of it that way?”

“…”

Yuan stared at Gillen, seemingly at a loss for words. His face, which had been flushed with anger and agitation, could be seen slowly returning to its original color. Yuan was gradually starting to feel sad. It was conveyed through his pheromones and his expression.

“Yuan…”

Gillen’s heart ached too. He had just wanted to end it quickly, in a rush. It seemed that was nothing more than a fantasy. Once a connection is made with a person, in any form, it cannot be severed so simply.

“You liked me. Why are you ending the contract now? I was even thinking of extending the contract if you asked, and even…!”

Yuan couldn’t finish his sentence. But Gillen knew what he was about to say. ‘I was even prepared to date you for real.’ It must have taken him a long time to even admit that to himself, so it was only natural that he would choke up trying to say it out loud.

Gillen spoke calmly. At times like this, at least he had to respond with composure.

“Yuan, do you remember when I first told you that I didn’t like you?”

“I do. The ordeal was even worse because of that ridiculous lie.”

“Did you ever consider the possibility that it wasn’t a lie?”

“What did you say?”

Yuan scoffed.

“Back then, Gillen, you flirted with me. You held my hand and we walked around the garden several times, and you brewed dozens of cups of tea to keep me there. You even took me into town on your horse, didn’t you? You even tried to go to the restroom with me. I only put up with it because of Cecil, but in fact, if we were to bring up what happened back then, you were a truly shameless bastard.”

Yuan said, panting with rage. It seemed his anger was flaring up again. Gillen, without getting swept up in emotion, replied in a low voice.

“I didn’t want you to marry Cecil.”

That was the first time Gillen had spoken his true feelings. The thing he had been hiding all this time. The strange truth of being a transmigrator who knew the original story, and the truth he had swallowed out of consideration, for fear of hurting Yuan.

Of course, he couldn’t talk about the original story here, but it was possible to tell it in a different way. Without lying.

“The way I saw it, you didn’t truly love Cecil. You only proposed to Cecil because you thought she was on your level, your eyes clouded by a minor past affection and an inferiority complex about your status.”

“What… did you say?”

“The reason I kept you by my side was… because I didn’t want you to go near Cecil. Because I thought you and Cecil shouldn’t get married. Because I wanted our Cecil… to meet a better partner.”

Yuan’s sculpted face turned pale blue. As if his heart had stopped, he could only stare at Gillen with wide, shocked eyes, utterly dumbfounded.

“I’m sorry. I denied it at first, but later, I thought if I told you the truth, you would hold a grudge and become even more obsessed with Cecil, so I deliberately… didn’t properly answer when you asked if I liked you.”