Rejected by Daughter’s Second Male Lead Chapter 82

A moment later, Yuan and Gillen began riding side by side on their horses. The knights followed them from a good distance behind.

“Why are those guys following so far behind?”

Gillen asked, looking back with a perplexed expression.

“It doesn’t matter if there are no escort knights at all. Whether it’s bandits or wild animals, I can take care of them all myself.”

Yuan had no interest in why the knights were following from farther away than before, and he made no effort to care.

However, if Yuan had also taken an interest and told the knights to come a little closer, the outcome of the incident that would soon unfold would have been completely different.

“They’re moving slowly now. The knights are also farther away than before.”

A man standing on a mountain path, looking down on Yuan and Gillen from a distance, spoke. He had his skin covered from head to toe in black cloth, and his comrades positioned throughout the mountain path were dressed in the same attire.

“Still, don’t let your guard down. Duke Blake is tough and skilled in martial arts, but Marquis Hampton is on a completely different level. We might get annihilated.”

“But we succeeded in removing the carriage wheel earlier. And we have three mages on our side.”

“Whether the carriage overturns or thirty mages show up, it’s still a question of whether we can even beat Marquis Hampton alone. We can’t underestimate him.”

The guild master nervously chewed on the skin of his lips. He was the head of an assassination guild, and he had come all this way after receiving a first-class request from the Nogarius family.

Although the request and the advance payment came from the Nogarius family, anyone with a brain knew who the real client was.

Duke Gallot. It had been quite a while since he was treated like a toothless tiger, but he was, in name and in reality, a duke of this empire. And he intensely disliked Duke Blake.

“In any case, now is the perfect time to attack. It will be more difficult if the group of knights from behind joins them.”

The subordinate urged the guild master on. Seeing that, it seemed he was just as nervous as the guild master. Indeed, as a first-class request, the pay was high, but so was the risk.

“Right, I understand. Get them ready.”

At the guild master’s words, the subordinate nodded. A few seconds later, the subordinate vanished like a shadow. His specialty was stealth. He silently blended into the darkness and moved to the optimal position to shoot an arrow at Yuan and Gillen.

In the silence, a bow was nocked and the string was drawn. Not even the sound of the wind could be heard from the assassin’s movements. Swoosh. Only when the arrow cut through the air and flew did Yuan and Gillen finally look up.

“Gillen!”

Yuan shouted as he cast a protective barrier in front of them. Remembering how he had been scolded in the carriage earlier, he had reflexively made it large. Startled by the sudden arrow, Gillen simultaneously felt a momentary sense of pride. But that feeling was brief, as arrows began to fly from all directions.

“Your Grace, the Duke!!”

“Your Grace!”

The knights from behind quickly galloped over and stood in front of Yuan and Gillen. They drew their swords and deflected the incoming arrows. But the arrows were like a drumbeat announcing the opening attack, and assassins began to leap down from various spots on the mountain.

“Damn it! Krautz, you take the front! I’ll take the rear!”

Switum shouted as he steered his horse behind Gillen.

“Yes, Vice-Commander!”

Krautz dismounted and drew another sword. He was famous as a knight who wielded dual swords.

“I’ll help too.”

Gillen said to Krautz and got off his horse. When he moved, the protective barrier moved with him. It was truly a masterful spell.

“Yuan, you stay back for now! Use your magic if you need to!”

Gillen shouted without even looking at Yuan and positioned himself next to Krautz. There was no reply from Yuan. But trusting that he would handle things well enough, Gillen also drew his sword.

“Truly, I’m genuinely curious how you manage to live with such memory, cognition, and judgment, Gillen.”

Yuan spoke slowly, then raised one hand high. Then, as if giving a command, he uttered a short incantation.

“[Procumb].”

Thud!

Gillen couldn’t believe what had just happened and blinked his eyes several times. He even rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand like a child who had just woken up.

But the scene before him remained the same. With a single word from Yuan, all the enemies—literally all of them—were slammed face-first into the ground. As if they were bowing to Gillen’s party, their heads were planted in the dirt, and they lay sprawled like insects, their arms and legs twitching.

“H-How can this be… by Retina!”

Switum cried out to his god without realizing it. Krautz said nothing, but he seemed to have developed a sense of awe toward Yuan. And Gillen, who was so utterly surprised…

“Yuan! Are you alright?”

…ran to Yuan.

“I said use it if necessary, who told you to resolve the situation!”

Gillen, in a rather scolding tone, checked Yuan’s body all over.

“I know you’re a magic genius. That’s why I was saving you as a trump card. It means you don’t have to step forward and use your abilities.”

At his words, Yuan retorted in a low voice.

“I am a person who stands at the front. Not someone who hides in the back. It’s best to win most battles efficiently—that is, as quickly and overwhelmingly as possible. Dragging things out is what the weak do.”

“But I’m here, and two knights from our Blake Knight Order are here as well. You don’t have to use magic—”

“[Conside].”

While Gillen was in the middle of lecturing him, Yuan pointedly chanted a spell. At that, an assassin who had been stealthily approaching Krautz from behind let out a choking sound and fainted.

“If I had just let that one go, that knight who is currently distracted by us would have had his Achilles tendon cut, fallen, and been killed with a single blow. Are you still saying I shouldn’t use magic?”

Why won’t he trust me. Why won’t he think of me as more amazing. He praised me in front of people earlier, so why is he scolding me again now. Yuan was confused. He was a genius who could read other people’s thought processes like a dictionary, but he couldn’t comprehend what was going on inside Gillen’s head at all.

In the past, he would have made a rash judgment and shuddered in disgust. He would have assumed that Gillen was deceiving his own heart by pretending not to be interested in Yuan, and he would have scoffed at him and used an even more powerful ability, as if to say, Will you still deceive yourself now?

But now, Yuan knew about Gillen. He was not a person who hid or feigned interest or affection. Nor was he someone who would deceive himself. He was pure and honest. He was a person accustomed to giving others an overflowing amount of love, and someone who felt joy from doing so.

Thus, the more Yuan got to know Gillen, the more confused he was bound to become. He truly wanted to understand him, but it was just so difficult.

Perhaps noticing the dark expression on Yuan’s face, Gillen let out a deep sigh. Yuan flinched. Why is he sighing? Did I do something wrong just now? He was about to open his mouth.

“Yuan. Thank you for saving Krautz. It’s not that I don’t know what an incredible mage you are. I’m also well aware that if you step forward, this situation will be resolved in an instant.”

Gillen said, squeezing Yuan’s hand tightly.

“But I worry about you. The way you so nonchalantly throw yourself into danger every time a problem like this arises. The way you try to take on everyone else’s share while being overconfident in yourself—that’s what worries me.”

“Wor… ry?”

Yuan asked hesitantly.

“Just because you’re overflowing with magical power and can use magic freely, doesn’t mean there’s no burden, right? That’s what I’ve heard. Especially if you push yourself to use a simultaneous spell like this, won’t you use up a lot of mana and get exhausted?”

“That’s just a drop in the bucket. And it’s not something Gillen needs to worry about. In the first place, worrying about a mage of my caliber is tantamount to an insult. So—”

“An insult? I am your lover. Beyond that, I am someone who cares about you. This isn’t an insult, Yuan. It comes from a place of concern for you.”

Yuan froze. He didn’t blink even once, and he didn’t breathe. Because he had never heard such words in his life. It comes from a place of concern, not an insult… He worries because he cares about me. He worries about me because he is my lover.

Slowly taking in Gillen’s words, Yuan lowered his head and rubbed his face with one hand. Then he muttered softly.

“Gillen, you really are… hopelessly in love with me.”

“Huh? I can’t hear you well.”

“Hah… I understand now. Why you weren’t very impressed by my magic all this time. It was because… you were worried about me.”

“What are you muttering about to yourself? Huh? Let me see your face. Are you okay?”

Gillen leaned his head down to check Yuan’s face. Their eyes met. Soon, Gillen’s eyes widened.

“Hah… haha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Yuan! I know I shouldn’t be laughing in this situation, but… hahaha! Your face looks like it’s on fire! Hahaha! That’s not magic too, is it?”

Yuan’s face was as red as a tomato. His eyes were brimming with tears, and his expression was that of his usual sulky child.

“Are you embarrassed? Ha! Ha! Ha! You’re so cute I could die.”

“Wh-what are you talking about! I was just…”

Yuan scowled and yelled. Gillen laughed even louder. But just then.

“Your Grace, the Duke!!”

“No!”

The knights, who had been watching them acting lovey-dovey from a distance, suddenly rushed forward in unison, screaming. And thwack—an arrow, flying from afar, lodged itself in Gillen’s back.