Rejected by Daughter’s Second Male Lead Chapter 83

Yuan’s expression went blank. He could not believe what had just happened before his eyes. An arrow… is lodged in Gillen’s back…? While I’m standing right here?

“Krautz!”

As soon as Switum called his name, Krautz ran toward the direction the arrow had come from. Another arrow flew from that direction, but this time, Krautz was able to deflect it with his sword.

Switum stood in front of Gillen, who was being supported by Yuan, and took a guarded stance. And Gillen…

“What’s with that expression? Hahaha, something like this is nothing.”

Gillen laughed, pretending to be fine, and leaned his weight on Yuan, who was supporting his arms. In truth, it hurt like hell, but he couldn’t show that in front of Yuan. He put strength into his legs to keep from collapsing. Not only for Yuan’s sake, but he also couldn’t show the enemy he had fallen.

“Yuan, pull out the arrow in my back.”

“…”

“Yuan?”

“Ah, uh, yes. I got, I got it. I’ll use healing magic right away, so just hold on for a moment. It’s no big deal. In just a moment… I’ll do it really quickly…”

Yuan spoke rapidly, rambling, as he wrapped one arm around Gillen’s back and pulled out the arrow with his other hand. Squish. The sensation of the sharp arrowhead tearing through flesh as it was pulled out was vivid. Yuan bit his lip and immediately placed his hand on Gillen’s wound. A dazzling white light poured out and settled on the injury.

“Wow, that’s incredible.”

Gillen remarked in admiration, his body flinching slightly. His voice was on a different level from the one he had used just before while pretending to be fine; it was a voice that was truly okay. The wound had healed.

“Yuan, my respect for you grows by the day. How can you… Yuan?”

But Yuan’s condition was strange. His face was as white as a sheet of paper, and his eyes were unfocused. What is it? Is it because he used too much healing magic? Even for a genius mage, he had overused magic today. Just as Gillen hurriedly pulled Yuan into an embrace, intending to evacuate to a safe place.

“I know why you got so angry with me during the carriage accident earlier.”

The end of Yuan’s sentence was trembling uncontrollably. Gillen looked into his face to check if he was having trouble breathing and was startled. Yuan’s beautiful eyes were brimming with tears…!

“Y-Yuan? Why are you crying? Huh? Why?”

So flustered, Gillen kept asking meaningless questions. He was at a loss, fidgeting anxiously. He was completely unaware that Switum and Krautz were fighting for their lives against the remaining assassins behind them. Because Yuan was crying!

He had seen tears fall from Yuan’s eyes once before, during what might have been hyperventilation or a panic attack. But that had been a biological reaction, not Yuan actually ‘crying’. Now, he was clearly crying. Of Yuan’s own will, he was shedding tears like jewels.

“Yuan, were you that scared? Or are you exhausted? Why are you crying? F-first, let’s sit down and rest—”

“Get a grip.”

Yuan said coldly, slapping Gillen’s hand away.

“Can’t you see your knights fighting behind you right now?”

Of course, since they were fighting behind him, he couldn’t see them. But just as Yuan pointed out, Gillen currently had no mind for the knights’ battle. And now, that made Yuan anxious.

“You almost died. If I hadn’t been here, you would have died from an arrow right here.”

Yuan said dazedly.

“You’re not wearing armor, nor do you know how to use magic… just what kind of nerve do you have to stand in front of me? Come to think of it, it’s always been like this. When the bear appeared, and when you had your acute rut, you never spare your own body. As if it doesn’t matter if you die, why, why… gasp, huff…”

Yuan’s breathing grew ragged. As he gasped for air mid-sentence, Gillen swept a large hand down Yuan’s back.

“It’s okay. Breathe out.”

This time, Gillen was not flustered and soothed Yuan.

“It’s not that I don’t care if I die. I’m just used to protecting someone. I’ve protected Cecilia my whole life. I have many vassals and family members I must look after. The children at the foundation all look only to me. I have a duty to stand at the very front. That is the weight of being Duke Blake, and the responsibility of an adult.”

Gillen deliberately controlled the pace of his words, speaking slowly to help Yuan’s breathing slow down. Behind them, the sound of blades clashing, clang, clang, could be heard.

“I just wanted to protect you. I wasn’t being careless with my own life, I was just prizing you. So don’t be angry, okay?”

But Yuan showed no signs of calming down in the slightest. Instead, he glared at Gillen with bloodshot eyes, which, filled with tears, shimmered and shone, and asked.

“Huff, huff… a moment ago, in the carriage… was that why you got angry with me?”

“For me, it’s differ…”

Gillen started to answer but stopped himself. He had been about to say it was different. As he had told Yuan, he had been angry that Yuan had saved only Gillen without looking after himself. I was worried about you, I was angry because you were so reckless, and I was angry at myself for being unable to do anything. And the reason for that…

‘Aren’t we lovers now?’

‘Then shall I put it differently? You are my dear friend.’

‘I’ve already grown fond of you.’

Gillen replayed his own words in his mind. Yes, that’s right. That was the undeniable truth. If Yuan is angry for the same reason…

“You… you really… like me.”

Gillen said quietly, as if he had realized something. He had made a playful joke like ‘You like me, don’t you?’ earlier, but at that time, he had meant the kind of affection between friends.

But now, Yuan was hyperventilating, so shocked thinking Gillen was going to die. He was also crying. He was angry at Gillen. Furthermore, he believed that Gillen was ardently in love with him. In that state, for him to say, ‘I know why you got so angry with me earlier,’ meant…

“You… like me…”

That Yuan liking Gillen had to mean ‘that’ kind of liking.

The moment he realized this, Gillen took a step back from Yuan.

Is he serious? He’s twenty years younger than me. He’s an alpha, like me. He used to like my daughter. He hated me immensely, and even found me repulsive. That’s why he even made a contract with me. His thoughts tangled into a complicated mess.

What was more surprising was his own inability to laugh this situation off as he usually would. He could have done so with Yuan, just as he pretended not to notice the advances of young ladies, or when he deflected Viscount Iple’s subtly expectant gazes with a smile. But why… why was he so confused and heavy-hearted right now?

Fortunately, Yuan did not notice Gillen’s confusion at the moment. He kept rubbing his chest and trying to use healing magic, but since it was a mental issue rather than a physical injury, it didn’t seem to be working well.

Gillen came to his senses and approached Yuan again, patting his back. After a while of doing that, Switum spoke from behind.

“Your Grace, the Duke, everything has been taken care of.”

“Hm? Ah, I see. Good work.”

Only then did Gillen see the scene of Switum and Krautz having killed all the assassins. Was it a good thing that their clothes were black, making the blood less visible? Gillen looked around at the corpses with a bitter expression, then asked Switum.

“Their identities?”

“They all committed suicide by biting down on poison capsules hidden in their teeth before we could interrogate them. It’s the method of assassins. We couldn’t find out who commissioned them, but for now, they are members of an assassination guild… and judging by their numbers and considerable skill, it must have been a first-class request from a large guild. There is only one person who would pay that much to order an assassination.”

Simon Nogarius. A person of interest who tirelessly and opportunistically targeted the Blake family, and a loyal underling of Duke Gallot.

“That old man sure holds a grudge. Whenever there’s a chance…”

Gillen let out a hollow laugh. Duke Gallot was more cautious than Simon Nogarius, but if he thought Gillen showed an opening, he would never miss the opportunity.

“Then again, a journey made entirely by horse and carriage without teleportation. It was an environment Duke Gallot couldn’t resist trying something in, I suppose.”

He had forgotten because it had been a few years since that old man had been quiet. Duke Gallot still held a grudge against Gillen and Cecilia. It was because he saw the decline of his family as Blake’s fault. Well, that was true.

“I will send Krautz to tell the knight order following behind us to further investigate and dispose of the bodies.”

“Yes, do that. We’ll… rest for a moment. It would be better to regroup with the others. I let my guard down for a moment, thinking I was with a great mage and a knight order.”

At Gillen’s words, Krautz quickly started running toward the rear. His stamina was immense, even after fighting the assassins just now.

Switum, despite knowing there was no one else around, turned again to survey the surroundings. And Gillen looked at Yuan, who stood with his back turned, trying to calm himself.

The assassins were gone, but the problem was still here. That problem was the fact that Yuan had come to like Gillen. And not in a humane, affectionate way like Gillen felt, but in a romantic way.

…What do I do now?