Rejected by Daughter’s Second Male Lead – Chapter 79

Author: nicotine

The reason Gillen was angry was simple. It was because he was genuinely angry.

Even when the carriage suddenly collapsed and a protective shield was cast around him, Gillen remained calm. Accidents like this happened from time to time, and because the carriage had already been jolting severely due to the rough road, he was not greatly surprised.

What truly surprised him was when Yuan, who was embracing him, let out a pained groan. He had naturally assumed that Yuan had cast the protective shield on both of them. However, the shield only enveloped Gillen’s body, and Yuan, holding Gillen with his whole body, had been pierced in the shoulder by a fragment of the broken carriage.

Why on earth? Is this brat crazy? No, why did he protect only me?

Honestly, he was dumbfounded. So much so that he was at a loss for words. To think that his instinctive judgment in a dangerous situation was to protect Gillen. Without even a thought for his own body!

So… why?!

He had never seen such a foolish person. He always acted so high and mighty, so tough, yet at the crucial moment, he could not even perform basic self-defense. Come to think of it, the way he suffered from past trauma, unable to even breathe properly and his reason paralyzed, was an extension of that.

This brat did not know how to take care of himself at all. And that fact made Gillen furious. At the same time, he felt helpless, sad, and so much pity for him.

Overwhelmed by a whirlwind of emotions, Gillen had no choice but to leave Yuan’s side. He checked on the condition of the servants who were in the cargo carriages following behind and received a report on the extent of the damage to the carriage.

Fortunately, the cargo carriages had not suffered any other damage apart from the horses being startled and thrown into disarray by the sudden stop in front of them. However, they needed time to calm the startled horses, and many of the carriages had their tow lines twisted and tangled, so they decided to take a short break.

Gillen deliberately walked to the end of the procession, composed himself, and then slowly returned to where Yuan was. He was still in a turmoil of complex emotions, but he had to check if Yuan was alright once more.

No matter how angry he was, he should not have lashed out like that. Gillen regretted it inwardly. He had been overwhelmed with emotion many times before, but it seemed that only in front of Yuan did he let it all out.

I should apologize first… And then I’ll warn him never to do something like that again…

“Huh?”

A dumbfounded sound escaped Gillen’s lips.

The knights and servants were all prostrated on the ground, shouting things like “You are amazing!”, “Oh, Your Lordship!”, as if they were worshiping a god. And in their midst, Yuan stood with his arms crossed and his chin held high, haughtily receiving the praise of the masses.

What is this situation now…

Yuan and Gillen’s eyes met. Yuan raised one corner of his lip as if to say, ‘Look at this,’ and swept his hair back with a flick, like a preening peacock.

No… even if you do that, it doesn’t mean I understand the situation… Gillen moved a little closer to Yuan. At his presence, the captain of the knights raised his head and hurried over.

“Your Grace! Just now, Marquis Hampton fixed the broken carriage with a single gesture and put the runaway carriage wheel back on!”

As soon as the knight captain finished speaking, the others chimed in with their own remarks, “By Retina!”, “This is a miracle of God!”, “Thank you, Your Lordship!”, and so on. It was a loud and chaotic scene.

It was true that Yuan’s magic was on a different level from other mages. Instead of chanting spells, using a wand, or drawing magic circles, his magic appeared with a flourish, a single gesture, a single point of his finger.

Moreover, not only the servants but even the private soldiers of the Blake family were knights who protected the ducal household, not the battlefield. While one might see mages quite often on the battlefield, these men did not have many opportunities to meet mages.

Yes, I understand… I get it now, but.

“Even so, is there a need to prostrate and bow like you’re worshiping a god?”

When Gillen asked as if he found it pathetic, this time Yuan retorted coldly.

“This is how most people react. It’s you and Cecilia who are strange for taking it so calmly.”

“Most people bow and praise you like this?”

“Of course. The reaction is like this wherever I go.”

Yuan walked past the devotees surrounding him and strode right up to Gillen. As Yuan approached, Gillen saw the knight captain bow even deeper in respect.

The angle of his bow is even sharper than when he bows to me, isn’t it?

While Gillen was inwardly feeling resentful toward the knight captain, Yuan spoke.

“This is what it means for me to use magic. It’s not something to get angry and curse about.”

“Hah…”

So, in the end, Yuan was so annoyed and furious at what Gillen had said that he had put on a spectacular performance in front of everyone. Yuan wore a solemn and clever expression, like a baby bird with its beak tightly shut. It was clear that he was determined to get an apology.

“Hah…”

As Gillen continued to let out nothing but sighs that sounded like air escaping his lungs, Yuan’s face turned slightly red.

“Hey, Gillen! Right now, my words—”

“Hah… really… this damn brat…”

“What, what did you say?”

Why is everything this damn brat does so… childish and cute? It was impossible to stay angry at him to the end. Others might be appalled, but Gillen found this transparent boy increasingly cute and pitiful.

“Alright, did you fix the carriage for me to see?”

Gillen asked in a deliberately stern voice, swallowing a laugh. Yuan’s eyebrows twitched. His long eyelashes fluttered. It seemed this was not the reaction he had expected.

“I didn’t fix it for you to see, I fixed it because it had to be fixed! But everyone prostrated themselves on their own, and I’ve always! Usually! Received this kind of treatment.”

“I see. So you’re saying you fixed the carriage out of pure goodwill?”

“Goodwill? It would be more accurate to say I fixed it from the perspective of efficiency. Our journey has a schedule, doesn’t it? It’s just that.”

“But we could have just left the carriage and ridden horses ourselves. We could have left the carriage for the workers to fix. As you’ve said many times, magic is not a common sight. A genius mage like you is rare and receives ‘this kind of’ treatment wherever you go.”

“…That’s right.”

“So you did deliberately use magic to fix the carriage, right?”

“Yes. Is that important?”

Yuan asked sharply. His tone suggested he did not know what this conversation was for. Gillen replied with a grin.

“Of course it’s important.”

He looked around at the people and raised his voice.

“You, Yuan, are truly a rare and noble gentleman for this era! Not only did you use your precious protective magic to protect me, your lover, first in a dangerous situation, but you also used magic to repair the carriage perfectly so that everyone would not suffer. As expected of the unparalleled hero who made the empire prosperous. Amazing!”

Gillen clapped. Immediately, everyone else there followed suit and clapped. Yuan, who was suddenly met with a round of applause, frowned and glared at Gillen.

Is this Mister messing with me? That’s probably what he’s thinking. Gillen, suppressing his laughter, leaned in close to Yuan and whispered.

“Let’s have a talk.”

After giving some time for the procession to reorganize, Gillen took Yuan into a deserted part of the forest path. Yuan followed Gillen without a word of complaint, but he was still frowning.

When Gillen found a suitable flat spot and stopped, Yuan let out a grumble as if he had been waiting.

“What on earth is wrong with you? First, you get angry and leave, then you come back and praise me. Is it pheromone menopause, or something? I can’t keep up with you at all.”

However, Yuan’s complaints were met with an apology.

“I’m sorry.”

Gillen was wearing a gentle smile, but he seemed genuinely sorry. He carefully took Yuan’s hand. Yuan flinched.

“I was surprised when you got hurt. But for some reason, the fact that you only cast the shield on me made me angry.”

“At that time… my desire to protect you first took over without me realizing it. Because you’re a non-mage. That’s all.”

“Exactly. You were worried about me. I was worried about you too. I was angry because you seemed foolish. I was angry at myself too. So I handled it immaturely. Please forgive me.”

“…You were, worried?”

“Of course, naturally. Aren’t we lovers right now?”

“Contract lovers. Fake lovers. Don’t forget.”

Yuan cut in and emphasized Gillen’s words. However, his expression was much softer than before.

“I know, I know. Then let me put it differently. You’re my dear friend, aren’t you?”

“…I am?”

“I’ve already grown fond of you. Haven’t you?”

Gillen swayed their hands as if gently placating Yuan. Yuan’s gaze went from Gillen’s hand back up to his face.

“You fixed the carriage to show me, right? To prove that you are indeed a genius.”

“What if I did?”

“Hahaha! I knew it. That’s why I gave your intentions a more noble packaging earlier. Didn’t I do well?”

“Hmph. Whatever my intentions were, all they needed was for the carriage to be fixed, right? People are amazed by the power of my magic anyway.”